Kel knocked on Merric's room first. He wasn't there, so she checked Neal's
room. He was there, along with a few of their old friends, none of whom Kel
had seen in years, most even longer than six.
"Ah, Kel! I was wondering when you would show up. I decided to have a few people over, now that we're all back."
Kel shook her head, smiling. Neal would do that. She had been planning on saying hello to Merric quickly and then going to talk to Lalasa. She needed some dresses anyway, and she still hadn't been to see her old maid.
Though she hadn't seen her, Kel knew that Lalasa was doing very well. Her business had blossomed, forcing her to expand to a larger location in an even better part of Corus, and she became the Queens personal tailor. She went to Lalasa for everything, and it did wonders for the young woman's career. She was now almost considered wealthy, even though she was only a commoner.
Kel's thoughts were pushed to the back of her head as she was bombarded by old friends. She put on a smile and dealt with it. It wasn't where she wanted to be, but she stayed anyway.
After an hour, everyone was having fun, and Kel had said hello to everyone. She walked over to Neal. "I'm sorry, Neal. But I need to go see Lalasa. I'll see you later, all right?"
Neal looked her in the eye. "All right, what's wrong?"
Kel shrugged. "Nothing's wrong. What would be?"
Neal lifted her chin with his hand, looking her over. Kel couldn't help but smile. Even after not seeing her for six years, he still knew her well enough to see. "Well, there's nothing wrong. You were telling the truth about that."
She nodded. "I told you so."
He grinned. "So what happened?"
Kel frowned. "I don't like your attitude, Meathead." She glared at him. "How did you know that?"
He shrugged. "I thought you were upset, because you had your Yamani lump face on. But you're actually happy, aren't you? And it must be something big, because otherwise you wouldn't hide it."
Kel rolled her eyes. It wasn't fair, why could he read her so well? She could never do that, but Neal understood her so easily. "I'm not going to tell you now." She said, "Later, okay?"
He nodded. "Fine. But you have to tell me!"
Kel hugged him. "Later, don't worry."
She said goodbye to everyone and went out to find Lalasa. It was still early, barely the afternoon, and she hoped that Lalasa's shop wouldn't be too busy. She walked down the busy city street towards the shop, before she stopped in her tracks. She didn't know exactly where Lalasa's new location was. She wandered around for a while, asking people for directions, finally finding it much closer to the palace than she had expected.
"Good Morning, my lady. How may I help you?" A young girl came up to her as she came in the door.
Kel smiled. "Yes, I'm here to see Lalasa."
The young girl looked nervous. "Oh dear, I'm sorry, but she's in a fitting with the queen. And you must make an appointment if you want to see Miss Isran if you wish to have a fitting with her personally."
Kel raised an eyebrow. "Is she in the building?" She asked.
The girl nodded. "Yes, but I'm afraid she can't see you right now. If you like, one of our other seamstresses could help you."
Kel smiled. "No, I think I will talk to her now. Where is she?"
The girl looked from side to side, wringing her hands. Kel reached out and held her arm. "It's all right. You won't get in trouble, I promise. Can you just tell me where she is, please?"
The girl sighed. "She's in the first fitting room."
Kel smiled. "All right. Thank you." She gave the girl a coin and walked back to the fitting rooms. She found the first fitting room and knocked on the door.
"I'm busy." Lalasa's voice came through the door.
Kel opened the door a crack, in case Thayet wasn't decent. She glanced in, and saw that she was dressed in a beautiful green dress with a laced bodice. Kel opened the door and stepped in.
"Hello, Lalasa." She said.
The girl spun around and screamed. "Lady Kel!" She said, leaping on Kel and giving her a big hug. "Goddess, how are you?" She realized that she was supposed to be working and blushed. "I'm sorry your majesty." She said to the queen, who smiled.
"Don't worry. I don't mind if Kel stays. I haven't seen her in a while either." Thayet said. "So, hoe have you been, Kel?" She asked.
Kel smiled. "Not bad, but I'm much better now that I'm back."
Thayet nodded. "You should be happy to hear, I have been training very hard with the glaive. Yuki has been training me, but she is not good enough any more. We're at about the same skill level, now that I've been doing it for so long. Maybe I could get someone from Yamani to come over as my teacher." She smiled at the idea, knowing that the king would not approve. Kel looked at the queen. She had aged beautifully, her face full of laugh lines when she smiled. Her hair was graying slightly, noticeably, but not drastically. She still looked as beautiful as ever.
Lalasa smiled at Kel. "What can I do for you, Kel? You wouldn't come all the way out here just to say hello."
Kel smiled. "I hate to say it, but it's true. I need new breeches and blouses, some tunics, and a dress or two."
Lalasa raised an eyebrow. "A special occasion, I presume?" She asked.
Kel shook her head. "No, I just would like to have a dress, just in case I need one. Since the war is over, I was assuming there would be some balls some time soon." She didn't understand why everyone thought she hated dresses so. She didn't like wearing them all the time because they were large and cumbersome, but she still loved to look beautiful for special occasions.
Thayet smiled. "I know how you feel, Kel. Everyone assumes you will always hate dresses, just as they assume I always love them. If I showed up in breeches to any public event, I would be a shame to the royal family, because it is not what is expected of me."
Kel felt slightly comforted by the queens words. She was royalty, and she felt the same way.
"Umm, Lalasa... the girl in the store said that I needed an appointment. Is that true?"
Lalasa laughed. "Of course not! I told you, you are always welcome in my store. You deserve anything you want from me."
Kel smiled. "Thank you."
Lalasa looked up to Thayet, who looked confused. "Kel helped me get my store started with the money from Joren. Without her, I would not have any of the success I have today."
Thayet smiled. "That sounds like Kel." She said quietly.
Kel stayed and waited for Lalasa. After Thayet left, with Kel's promise that she would come to glaive practice the next morning, Lalasa started on a dress for Kel.
"Don't you think I could just get a dress from the shop instead of having to stand here the whole time?"
Lalasa laughed. "Absolutely not. There are more than one of each dress, and I want them to fit you perfectly. I won't have you wearing some common, ill- fitting dress."
Kel smiled. "You make those dresses sound like they're horrible. I saw some of them in the window, they are still beautiful."
Lalasa looked her in the eye. "I didn't make any of them." Kel raised an eyebrow. "It's true," Lalasa said, "I teach the girls who work here how to sew, and they work for me. Some of them are doing wonderfully." She looked nervous. "Actually, I'm scared that they are going to be better than me."
Kel laughed. "Well, I doubt they are, but if they happen to become better than you, you will still be able to get a job with Thayet." She smiled. "And don't worry. You're still the best there is."
Almost three hours later, Kel stepped off of the stool pinned and primped, in a toght bodice and a large flowing skirt.
"Well?" Lalasa asked.
Kel smiled. "I love it."
Lalasa stepped back and admired her work. "It won't look exactly like this. This is just a muslin sample, I still need to make the actual dress. What colour would you like?"
Kel shrugged, or, attempted to, but she ended up poking herself with pins. "Surprise me." She said, wincing.
Lalasa sighed. "And the material?"
Kel shrugged. "I don't know. Something light, summery."
Lalasa smiled. "I know exactly what I will do. You said you wanted another dress?"
Kel nodded. "Nothing as fancy. Just a nice simple dress to wear on special occasions that are not balls."
Lalasa nodded. "I have your measurements now, I will put both dresses in your room when I'm done." She said as Kel got changed.
Kel hugged her old maid. "I missed you, Lalasa." She said. "I will see you soon, all right?"
The girl nodded. Kel realized at that moment that Lalasa was no longer a girl. She was a woman, almost thirty. She was older than Kel, though not by much, but she still looked the same to Kel.
"Lalasa..." Kel said, "are you married?"
Lalasa blushed. "No, Lady Kel. A number of customers have frowned upon a commoner like me not marrying, but her majesty said not to compromise for anyone. Unless I truly love a man, she said, and he promises not to take any of my career or money from me, and I know I can trust him, I should not marry. I have taken her advice, and I could not be happier. I am one of the richest dressmakers in Corus now, and probably the most fashionable. Her majesty said that if she had the power, she would make me a noble, because she said I have more power in Tortall than most nobles."
Kel raised an eyebrow, and Lalasa smiled. "That's what I said, but her majesty said that I have power over almost all of the women in the city's styles, and that is power. I am making their decisions for them."
Kel laughed. "I can see you doing that."
She said goodbye again and walked to the door. "Oh, Lady Kel!" Lalasa said. Kel turned back to her, holding the door open with one hand. "What about you? Has Dom talked to you yet?"
Kel flushed horribly. "How do you know about that?" She demanded.
Lalasa winked. "He was in here often the last time he was here, asking me questions about you. We became friends. He's very nice. Very good for you." She said lightly, picking up the scraps of fabric from the floor.
Kel just rolled her eyes and left.
She was right about the balls. That night, a ball was announced for the next day. Kel groaned. She didn't mind balls that much, but things were a little awkward with her and Dom, having not seen each other in such a long time. And Kel didn't want to go to the ball with anyone else.
She sat down at a table beside Raoul. "Good evening, Lady Knight." He said. Kel frowned. She hated that. Raoul just grinned. "You know what the best part about being married is?" He said.
Kel shrugged. "You don't have to worry about your having to go the balls with court women you're not interested in?"
Raoul's face fell. "How did you know?"
Kel smiled. He was a sweet man, a wonderful knight master, and a great fighter, but he was predictable quite often. He had always been that way. Even with being away from him so long, Kel still knew that he would be happy to not have to court ladies. "I know you still don't want to go to the ball." She said.
He sighed. "It's true. I would rather be just with my friends."
Kel took a bite of her roll. "It's not so bad. It can be a big party with your friends. It all depends on what you let it be. Talk to your friends. If you surround yourself with them, no one else will try to talk to you."
Raoul nodded, thinking about it. Kel knew she was right, and after a moment, he sat forward again. He banged his fist on the table. "Damn it, Keladry, why are you constantly correct?"
Kel just rolled her eyes and went back to her food.
A few minutes later, Dom and Neal walked in together, arguing, no less. "That's not true." Neal said, red in the face.
Dom shook his head, still calm. "It is. There is no doubt about it."
Kel turned around to look at them. "there is no doubt about what?"
Dom looked back at Neal for a second, then grinned at Kel. "Neal doesn't seem to agree that he is a wimp."
Kel raised an eyebrow as Neal protested. "It's not true. Just because I happen to be in love..."
Dom shook his head. "I don't know of any other person who writes poetry." He grinned. "Not even the girls."
Neal frowned, obviously not enjoying himself. "Look, I haven't done it very many times, okay?"
Kel smiled. "You also used to have crushes on every girl imaginable. I remember in my first year, when you were in love with Daine."
Neal flushed. "Leave me alone." He muttered.
Kel smiled. Neal was constantly ragged on by his cousin, but Kel rarely minded. She enjoyed it, in fact.
Kel quickly finished her meal and rose. Dom grabbed her wrist lightly, making her heart jump. "Where do you think you're going? Just when everyone is having a good time, you leave?"
Kel smiled. "I have to do some training tonight. I haven't done much today. And I need to feed my animals."
Everyone seemed to think this a perfectly reasonable response, and they all went back to their conversations. Kel sighed and walked to the door. Just when she had grasped the large brass handles in her hands and pulled them open, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Dom standing behind her.
She felt her heart jump again. She didn't understand what she was doing. Ever since she had talked to Dom the first time the day before, she had felt her heart flutter every time she thought about him. Now that he was with her, it was full out jumping.
"Are you all right?" Dom asked her, his grip tightening comfortably on her shoulder.
She shook her head slightly, shaking out the thoughts. "I'm fine," she smiled, "just thinking."
He nodded. "Would you like to walk?"
She nodded slowly.
Neither of them said anything. Kel wasn't sure if their silence was comfortable or not, but it didn't matter. She didn't know what to say anyway. She decided to focus her energy on looking at the flowers in the garden they were walking in. It really was beautiful, one of the places Kel rarely found time to enjoy, let alone see at all.
There was a large circle of gravel with a fountain decorated with the muses on it, and surrounding the fine grey gravel was three rings of flowers; not neatly arranged like some of the other gardens, but beds of wildflowers. Daisies and milkweed, Lady's Slippers and Indian Pipes, all cluttered together, but kept in the perfect border of the gravel.
It was exactly what Kel felt inside. She looked so serene on the outside, with her Yamani lump face and her straight fighting stance, but inside, she was a jumble of wild things all contained in a little circle that was her.
She looked up at Dom, determined to get something out of the jumble. "Dom, I'm sorry I teased you yesterday." She looked down again. "It was rude of me."
Dom shrugged. Kel could tell he didn't really know how to respond to that. "Was it true?"
Kel blushed, hardly able to contain her smile. "Some of them."
Dom sighed. "I guess I shouldn't bother trying to hide it then?" Kel shook her head. Before she could respond any other way, he kissed her. Kel felt her knees get weak as she stood there, wrapping her arms around him and almost hanging off of him. She had never felt anything like it in her life, not with Cleon, not with anything else. It wasn't a fit of passion that made him kiss her, it was love.
Kel slowly pulled back from him and looked him in the eye. They both blushed and looked down in time. They silently walked over to a bench in front of them, under the fountain, holding hands. Kel sat down and leaned against Dom, feeling his breathing, his chest moving slowly up and down, wrapping herself in the warmth of his arms. He kissed her on the forehead.
"I am sorry if I offended you." He said.
Kel chuckled. He was just too polite. "Don't worry. I think I was hoping you would do that."
He kissed her again. "Kel," he said slowly, "would you do me the honour of accompanying me to the ball tomorrow night?"
Kel, still looking down, smiled. "I would love to." She said, feeling his face brush up against her forehead again. "Dom, as comfortable as this is, I really do need to go back to my room. It's getting late."
He sat up, and Kel pulled herself up as well. She kissed him one last time, and they departed for their own rooms, not seeing the grin on the others faces, that would not disappear all night, no matter how long they tried.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yay chapter 4....I already have an idea for another story...I would use it with this story, but I want this one to be a happy ending, same with my other one, but I also want to write one that isn't. and maybe, some day, I will write a story that, shame of all shames, will not involve a romance with Dom! Though that may take a very long while to get to.
Wake-Robin: Thanks. Don't worry, I already fixed it, no worries.
Anon: that's what I try to do. In this story (I barely started it in this chapter- I'm very tired) I want to spend sections of the story digging deeper into different things. I will start with characters, digging into the underlayers of their being, working out how they tick, why they act they way they do, how they feel, and their relationships with Kel. Yay!Sweet. thanks for the great review! And I'm sorry it took so long, but I've been insanely bust this last while, and I mean insanely, and I haven't had much time to write. But come on, my chapters are long, be-otch! Kidding, kidding.
Rootless Californian: thanks!
Legofiance: As I mentioned before, it's already fixed. I very rarely actually go back and fix these things, but I knew I would get so much more crap for it, I decided it was worth it.
Lady Wolfspeaker: I don't really have a response....
Ossini: cool. I don't remember what I said, but I'll figure it out.
SJ: Did I? that doesn't sound right, seeing as it is six years after she last saw her friends, which was after the end of Lady Knight. Either you read it wrong, or I wrote it wrong. I don't know exactly where I wrote it, so I'm too damn lazy to check. So, I say: I believe it was 28 I worked it out to. She's 28, for the time being, if I figure something out, I'll tell you.
Anonymous: grr....stupid smart spell checking people... hate them so much... kidding! Thanks, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Pinky: thank you...its going to be good, I've already decided...
AJ 4EVA: Absolutely!
Lioness33: Of course!
Lady of Masbolle: I don't believe so, so thank you! He WAS! Read the frickin chapter! It really has absolutely nothing to do with the story. I think I had a dream about it or something, so I put it in.
PsychoLioness13: Sweet! Thanks!
Lizai: hee hee...now that I read that, I actually hate it, because it is really random. But it was part of the aforementioned dream.
Tanydwr: thanks!
Kore Yan: I shall indeed.
Wow, there were lots of new reviewers in there! Thanks guys!
-unolimbo
"Ah, Kel! I was wondering when you would show up. I decided to have a few people over, now that we're all back."
Kel shook her head, smiling. Neal would do that. She had been planning on saying hello to Merric quickly and then going to talk to Lalasa. She needed some dresses anyway, and she still hadn't been to see her old maid.
Though she hadn't seen her, Kel knew that Lalasa was doing very well. Her business had blossomed, forcing her to expand to a larger location in an even better part of Corus, and she became the Queens personal tailor. She went to Lalasa for everything, and it did wonders for the young woman's career. She was now almost considered wealthy, even though she was only a commoner.
Kel's thoughts were pushed to the back of her head as she was bombarded by old friends. She put on a smile and dealt with it. It wasn't where she wanted to be, but she stayed anyway.
After an hour, everyone was having fun, and Kel had said hello to everyone. She walked over to Neal. "I'm sorry, Neal. But I need to go see Lalasa. I'll see you later, all right?"
Neal looked her in the eye. "All right, what's wrong?"
Kel shrugged. "Nothing's wrong. What would be?"
Neal lifted her chin with his hand, looking her over. Kel couldn't help but smile. Even after not seeing her for six years, he still knew her well enough to see. "Well, there's nothing wrong. You were telling the truth about that."
She nodded. "I told you so."
He grinned. "So what happened?"
Kel frowned. "I don't like your attitude, Meathead." She glared at him. "How did you know that?"
He shrugged. "I thought you were upset, because you had your Yamani lump face on. But you're actually happy, aren't you? And it must be something big, because otherwise you wouldn't hide it."
Kel rolled her eyes. It wasn't fair, why could he read her so well? She could never do that, but Neal understood her so easily. "I'm not going to tell you now." She said, "Later, okay?"
He nodded. "Fine. But you have to tell me!"
Kel hugged him. "Later, don't worry."
She said goodbye to everyone and went out to find Lalasa. It was still early, barely the afternoon, and she hoped that Lalasa's shop wouldn't be too busy. She walked down the busy city street towards the shop, before she stopped in her tracks. She didn't know exactly where Lalasa's new location was. She wandered around for a while, asking people for directions, finally finding it much closer to the palace than she had expected.
"Good Morning, my lady. How may I help you?" A young girl came up to her as she came in the door.
Kel smiled. "Yes, I'm here to see Lalasa."
The young girl looked nervous. "Oh dear, I'm sorry, but she's in a fitting with the queen. And you must make an appointment if you want to see Miss Isran if you wish to have a fitting with her personally."
Kel raised an eyebrow. "Is she in the building?" She asked.
The girl nodded. "Yes, but I'm afraid she can't see you right now. If you like, one of our other seamstresses could help you."
Kel smiled. "No, I think I will talk to her now. Where is she?"
The girl looked from side to side, wringing her hands. Kel reached out and held her arm. "It's all right. You won't get in trouble, I promise. Can you just tell me where she is, please?"
The girl sighed. "She's in the first fitting room."
Kel smiled. "All right. Thank you." She gave the girl a coin and walked back to the fitting rooms. She found the first fitting room and knocked on the door.
"I'm busy." Lalasa's voice came through the door.
Kel opened the door a crack, in case Thayet wasn't decent. She glanced in, and saw that she was dressed in a beautiful green dress with a laced bodice. Kel opened the door and stepped in.
"Hello, Lalasa." She said.
The girl spun around and screamed. "Lady Kel!" She said, leaping on Kel and giving her a big hug. "Goddess, how are you?" She realized that she was supposed to be working and blushed. "I'm sorry your majesty." She said to the queen, who smiled.
"Don't worry. I don't mind if Kel stays. I haven't seen her in a while either." Thayet said. "So, hoe have you been, Kel?" She asked.
Kel smiled. "Not bad, but I'm much better now that I'm back."
Thayet nodded. "You should be happy to hear, I have been training very hard with the glaive. Yuki has been training me, but she is not good enough any more. We're at about the same skill level, now that I've been doing it for so long. Maybe I could get someone from Yamani to come over as my teacher." She smiled at the idea, knowing that the king would not approve. Kel looked at the queen. She had aged beautifully, her face full of laugh lines when she smiled. Her hair was graying slightly, noticeably, but not drastically. She still looked as beautiful as ever.
Lalasa smiled at Kel. "What can I do for you, Kel? You wouldn't come all the way out here just to say hello."
Kel smiled. "I hate to say it, but it's true. I need new breeches and blouses, some tunics, and a dress or two."
Lalasa raised an eyebrow. "A special occasion, I presume?" She asked.
Kel shook her head. "No, I just would like to have a dress, just in case I need one. Since the war is over, I was assuming there would be some balls some time soon." She didn't understand why everyone thought she hated dresses so. She didn't like wearing them all the time because they were large and cumbersome, but she still loved to look beautiful for special occasions.
Thayet smiled. "I know how you feel, Kel. Everyone assumes you will always hate dresses, just as they assume I always love them. If I showed up in breeches to any public event, I would be a shame to the royal family, because it is not what is expected of me."
Kel felt slightly comforted by the queens words. She was royalty, and she felt the same way.
"Umm, Lalasa... the girl in the store said that I needed an appointment. Is that true?"
Lalasa laughed. "Of course not! I told you, you are always welcome in my store. You deserve anything you want from me."
Kel smiled. "Thank you."
Lalasa looked up to Thayet, who looked confused. "Kel helped me get my store started with the money from Joren. Without her, I would not have any of the success I have today."
Thayet smiled. "That sounds like Kel." She said quietly.
Kel stayed and waited for Lalasa. After Thayet left, with Kel's promise that she would come to glaive practice the next morning, Lalasa started on a dress for Kel.
"Don't you think I could just get a dress from the shop instead of having to stand here the whole time?"
Lalasa laughed. "Absolutely not. There are more than one of each dress, and I want them to fit you perfectly. I won't have you wearing some common, ill- fitting dress."
Kel smiled. "You make those dresses sound like they're horrible. I saw some of them in the window, they are still beautiful."
Lalasa looked her in the eye. "I didn't make any of them." Kel raised an eyebrow. "It's true," Lalasa said, "I teach the girls who work here how to sew, and they work for me. Some of them are doing wonderfully." She looked nervous. "Actually, I'm scared that they are going to be better than me."
Kel laughed. "Well, I doubt they are, but if they happen to become better than you, you will still be able to get a job with Thayet." She smiled. "And don't worry. You're still the best there is."
Almost three hours later, Kel stepped off of the stool pinned and primped, in a toght bodice and a large flowing skirt.
"Well?" Lalasa asked.
Kel smiled. "I love it."
Lalasa stepped back and admired her work. "It won't look exactly like this. This is just a muslin sample, I still need to make the actual dress. What colour would you like?"
Kel shrugged, or, attempted to, but she ended up poking herself with pins. "Surprise me." She said, wincing.
Lalasa sighed. "And the material?"
Kel shrugged. "I don't know. Something light, summery."
Lalasa smiled. "I know exactly what I will do. You said you wanted another dress?"
Kel nodded. "Nothing as fancy. Just a nice simple dress to wear on special occasions that are not balls."
Lalasa nodded. "I have your measurements now, I will put both dresses in your room when I'm done." She said as Kel got changed.
Kel hugged her old maid. "I missed you, Lalasa." She said. "I will see you soon, all right?"
The girl nodded. Kel realized at that moment that Lalasa was no longer a girl. She was a woman, almost thirty. She was older than Kel, though not by much, but she still looked the same to Kel.
"Lalasa..." Kel said, "are you married?"
Lalasa blushed. "No, Lady Kel. A number of customers have frowned upon a commoner like me not marrying, but her majesty said not to compromise for anyone. Unless I truly love a man, she said, and he promises not to take any of my career or money from me, and I know I can trust him, I should not marry. I have taken her advice, and I could not be happier. I am one of the richest dressmakers in Corus now, and probably the most fashionable. Her majesty said that if she had the power, she would make me a noble, because she said I have more power in Tortall than most nobles."
Kel raised an eyebrow, and Lalasa smiled. "That's what I said, but her majesty said that I have power over almost all of the women in the city's styles, and that is power. I am making their decisions for them."
Kel laughed. "I can see you doing that."
She said goodbye again and walked to the door. "Oh, Lady Kel!" Lalasa said. Kel turned back to her, holding the door open with one hand. "What about you? Has Dom talked to you yet?"
Kel flushed horribly. "How do you know about that?" She demanded.
Lalasa winked. "He was in here often the last time he was here, asking me questions about you. We became friends. He's very nice. Very good for you." She said lightly, picking up the scraps of fabric from the floor.
Kel just rolled her eyes and left.
She was right about the balls. That night, a ball was announced for the next day. Kel groaned. She didn't mind balls that much, but things were a little awkward with her and Dom, having not seen each other in such a long time. And Kel didn't want to go to the ball with anyone else.
She sat down at a table beside Raoul. "Good evening, Lady Knight." He said. Kel frowned. She hated that. Raoul just grinned. "You know what the best part about being married is?" He said.
Kel shrugged. "You don't have to worry about your having to go the balls with court women you're not interested in?"
Raoul's face fell. "How did you know?"
Kel smiled. He was a sweet man, a wonderful knight master, and a great fighter, but he was predictable quite often. He had always been that way. Even with being away from him so long, Kel still knew that he would be happy to not have to court ladies. "I know you still don't want to go to the ball." She said.
He sighed. "It's true. I would rather be just with my friends."
Kel took a bite of her roll. "It's not so bad. It can be a big party with your friends. It all depends on what you let it be. Talk to your friends. If you surround yourself with them, no one else will try to talk to you."
Raoul nodded, thinking about it. Kel knew she was right, and after a moment, he sat forward again. He banged his fist on the table. "Damn it, Keladry, why are you constantly correct?"
Kel just rolled her eyes and went back to her food.
A few minutes later, Dom and Neal walked in together, arguing, no less. "That's not true." Neal said, red in the face.
Dom shook his head, still calm. "It is. There is no doubt about it."
Kel turned around to look at them. "there is no doubt about what?"
Dom looked back at Neal for a second, then grinned at Kel. "Neal doesn't seem to agree that he is a wimp."
Kel raised an eyebrow as Neal protested. "It's not true. Just because I happen to be in love..."
Dom shook his head. "I don't know of any other person who writes poetry." He grinned. "Not even the girls."
Neal frowned, obviously not enjoying himself. "Look, I haven't done it very many times, okay?"
Kel smiled. "You also used to have crushes on every girl imaginable. I remember in my first year, when you were in love with Daine."
Neal flushed. "Leave me alone." He muttered.
Kel smiled. Neal was constantly ragged on by his cousin, but Kel rarely minded. She enjoyed it, in fact.
Kel quickly finished her meal and rose. Dom grabbed her wrist lightly, making her heart jump. "Where do you think you're going? Just when everyone is having a good time, you leave?"
Kel smiled. "I have to do some training tonight. I haven't done much today. And I need to feed my animals."
Everyone seemed to think this a perfectly reasonable response, and they all went back to their conversations. Kel sighed and walked to the door. Just when she had grasped the large brass handles in her hands and pulled them open, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Dom standing behind her.
She felt her heart jump again. She didn't understand what she was doing. Ever since she had talked to Dom the first time the day before, she had felt her heart flutter every time she thought about him. Now that he was with her, it was full out jumping.
"Are you all right?" Dom asked her, his grip tightening comfortably on her shoulder.
She shook her head slightly, shaking out the thoughts. "I'm fine," she smiled, "just thinking."
He nodded. "Would you like to walk?"
She nodded slowly.
Neither of them said anything. Kel wasn't sure if their silence was comfortable or not, but it didn't matter. She didn't know what to say anyway. She decided to focus her energy on looking at the flowers in the garden they were walking in. It really was beautiful, one of the places Kel rarely found time to enjoy, let alone see at all.
There was a large circle of gravel with a fountain decorated with the muses on it, and surrounding the fine grey gravel was three rings of flowers; not neatly arranged like some of the other gardens, but beds of wildflowers. Daisies and milkweed, Lady's Slippers and Indian Pipes, all cluttered together, but kept in the perfect border of the gravel.
It was exactly what Kel felt inside. She looked so serene on the outside, with her Yamani lump face and her straight fighting stance, but inside, she was a jumble of wild things all contained in a little circle that was her.
She looked up at Dom, determined to get something out of the jumble. "Dom, I'm sorry I teased you yesterday." She looked down again. "It was rude of me."
Dom shrugged. Kel could tell he didn't really know how to respond to that. "Was it true?"
Kel blushed, hardly able to contain her smile. "Some of them."
Dom sighed. "I guess I shouldn't bother trying to hide it then?" Kel shook her head. Before she could respond any other way, he kissed her. Kel felt her knees get weak as she stood there, wrapping her arms around him and almost hanging off of him. She had never felt anything like it in her life, not with Cleon, not with anything else. It wasn't a fit of passion that made him kiss her, it was love.
Kel slowly pulled back from him and looked him in the eye. They both blushed and looked down in time. They silently walked over to a bench in front of them, under the fountain, holding hands. Kel sat down and leaned against Dom, feeling his breathing, his chest moving slowly up and down, wrapping herself in the warmth of his arms. He kissed her on the forehead.
"I am sorry if I offended you." He said.
Kel chuckled. He was just too polite. "Don't worry. I think I was hoping you would do that."
He kissed her again. "Kel," he said slowly, "would you do me the honour of accompanying me to the ball tomorrow night?"
Kel, still looking down, smiled. "I would love to." She said, feeling his face brush up against her forehead again. "Dom, as comfortable as this is, I really do need to go back to my room. It's getting late."
He sat up, and Kel pulled herself up as well. She kissed him one last time, and they departed for their own rooms, not seeing the grin on the others faces, that would not disappear all night, no matter how long they tried.
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Yay chapter 4....I already have an idea for another story...I would use it with this story, but I want this one to be a happy ending, same with my other one, but I also want to write one that isn't. and maybe, some day, I will write a story that, shame of all shames, will not involve a romance with Dom! Though that may take a very long while to get to.
Wake-Robin: Thanks. Don't worry, I already fixed it, no worries.
Anon: that's what I try to do. In this story (I barely started it in this chapter- I'm very tired) I want to spend sections of the story digging deeper into different things. I will start with characters, digging into the underlayers of their being, working out how they tick, why they act they way they do, how they feel, and their relationships with Kel. Yay!Sweet. thanks for the great review! And I'm sorry it took so long, but I've been insanely bust this last while, and I mean insanely, and I haven't had much time to write. But come on, my chapters are long, be-otch! Kidding, kidding.
Rootless Californian: thanks!
Legofiance: As I mentioned before, it's already fixed. I very rarely actually go back and fix these things, but I knew I would get so much more crap for it, I decided it was worth it.
Lady Wolfspeaker: I don't really have a response....
Ossini: cool. I don't remember what I said, but I'll figure it out.
SJ: Did I? that doesn't sound right, seeing as it is six years after she last saw her friends, which was after the end of Lady Knight. Either you read it wrong, or I wrote it wrong. I don't know exactly where I wrote it, so I'm too damn lazy to check. So, I say: I believe it was 28 I worked it out to. She's 28, for the time being, if I figure something out, I'll tell you.
Anonymous: grr....stupid smart spell checking people... hate them so much... kidding! Thanks, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Pinky: thank you...its going to be good, I've already decided...
AJ 4EVA: Absolutely!
Lioness33: Of course!
Lady of Masbolle: I don't believe so, so thank you! He WAS! Read the frickin chapter! It really has absolutely nothing to do with the story. I think I had a dream about it or something, so I put it in.
PsychoLioness13: Sweet! Thanks!
Lizai: hee hee...now that I read that, I actually hate it, because it is really random. But it was part of the aforementioned dream.
Tanydwr: thanks!
Kore Yan: I shall indeed.
Wow, there were lots of new reviewers in there! Thanks guys!
-unolimbo