Chapter 7: Testing of Tempers

A/N: It's been a long time, but I'm very sorry to announce that there has been a change of plan! Due to unforseen problems, I have decided to cut Tomoyuki! I'm very sorry, but I decided that another OC would get Loving You a little off track as I invented the complete biography of Tomoyuki ;

So. I have gone back and changed the last chapter, so you can go back and read it, if you wish. But if you don't/are lazy like me, all you really need to know is that Tomoyuki does not exist and is not coming to Tortall. This chapter is simply a continuation of from when Kel has already left Tortall.

Sorry to Wake-robin, Pheep and The Original Meathead, who were sweet and said they were looking forward to Tomoyuki! And every one who said they liked the idea! huggles

sigh I think I made Dom OOC for this one. Sorry again.

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Twilight fell over the trees, creating silhouettes and deep shadows against a indigo sky. This was not a very good time of day to be in the Royal Forest, to say the least. There were numerous night creatures lurking in the trees, as well as more bugs than anyone could care to count. And, if you were lucky, there were also the bandits. The Royal Forest was not known as a good place to stay the night.

Domitan of Masbolle couldn't agree more. He was cold, weary, sore from riding and his foot hurt like hell. Maybe an hour or two's ride out of the forest, a healer, a hot bath, and a soft bed awaited him in the palace. Yet here he was, huddling in the snow with his squad of men among the small fire they had built.

"We're cursed," Wolset proclaimed, swatting at a moth. "Out of all the squads in the Own, why us?" The other men murmured in agreement. Dom's foot throbbed as he hobbled over to the fire, where a large chunk of meat had been roasting. That was the only good thing about today – there was no lack of meat for dinner.

Inhabitants of the Royal Forest had reported a large wild boar running in the Forest, wreaking havoc as it went. It wasn't said to mad or enchanted, so Dom's squad had the misfortune of being picked for the job of putting an end to the beast.

The task wasn't all bad. At least the boar was easy to track down, and to a squad of ten men, posed no challenge. Plus it had been a good way to test out the new recruits to the squad. They weren't bad, Dom mused as he poked the fire. They just needed more experience as working as team. He winced inwardly as he remembered the morning's events. One of the new men, Irvine, had accidentally backed his horse into Dom, his horse's hooves clipping the edge of Dom's foot, triggering a torrent of curses as Dom hopped about in agony.

Upon closer inspection, however, it they had discovered that the foot wasn't really that bad. It hadn't been broken; just severely bruised. With no healer around, the best they could do for it was snow and a bandage. Neal would have a coronary when he saw him.

"Our grand feast is ready," Dom declared. The men gathered around as the meat was divided into portions.

"I wish my Gillian was here," said Irvine glumly, stabbing at his meat. "She knows how to cook a good boar."

"You're lucky," one of the other men, Simeon, said in an equally gloomy manner. And they didn't even have an inflated foot to worry about, Dom thought. "At least she could do something useful. Bringing a noblewoman into a forest is like putting a fish in a desert."

"Unless it's Kel, of course," a voice said slyly from the group – Dom suspected it was Wolset, though when he looked at him, the corporal was engrossed in his meal. There were snickers throughout the circle. Word spread quickly in the palace.

"Where is Kel, anyway?" Wolset asked after a moment. "I haven't seen her in the practise courts in a while."

"Off on holiday in the Islands." Dom was now as despondent as the rest of his men.

"Oh yes, that's right," Wolset said, an evil looking grin playing around his face. Sometimes Dom hated having a corporal whose wits matched his. "How could I have forgotten their picturesque parting gestures?"

More sniggers throughout the men. Dom suspected he would have acted out the scene, if he didn't stop him soon. Usually the sergeant would get back at him by teasing him about his size, but with his foot reduced to the pathetic lump it was, Dom didn't think this was a good time. "You men are just jealous," he grumbled. "Hey, I wasn't going to see her for another month. I saw you and Sophia when she heard you were leaving the PALACE"

Dom grinned at the disgruntled look on Wolset's face, then grimaced as another jolt of pain shot up his leg. He sighed and carefully got to his feet. "I'm going to bed," he announced. "Get some sleep. We're heading out early tomorrow." He crawled into the tent and into his bedroll, praying that tomorrow would be a better day. He didn't think he would live if it wasn't.

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As promised, Dom's squad rode out early the next morning, cutting across much of the forest to bring them to the palace as quickly as possible. His foot had now turned an ugly purple colour, and has swollen to the size of a watermelon, which was rather alarming. Dom couldn't even fit it in his boot anymore. Instead he let it slowly numb in the chilly winter air. No doubt he would have frostbite when he got back, Dom thought cynically to himself.

It was mid-morning when they finally reached the palace. Dom handed his reins gratefully to Tobe, who had finished his bond with Kel and was now working as assistant to Stefan. With the support of a guilty-looking Irvine, Dom then limped off to see his uncle.

"A horse, you say?" Duke Baird asked. He examined Dom's foot in front of him, propped out on a stool.

"Yes, Uncle. A heavy one at that." Dom flinched as Baird placed a hand on the bruise, then felt coolness seep into his skin and sighed in relief as the pain faded. When he looked at his foot again, it was almost back to its normal size.

Baird eyed the foot critically, before wrapping it in a fresh bandage and handing Dom a tiny container of suspicious-smelling ointment. "Rub that onto the bruise twice a day – when you wake up and before you go to bed," he instructed. "Try not to put too much pressure on it, and it should heal within a few days." He helped Dom ease his foot back into the boot, then stood. "By the way, Neal came by this morning looking for you," Duke Baird told his nephew. "It didn't sound too urgent, but you should probably go and see him some time soon."

Dom thanked him, then walked down the corridors until he reached his room in the wing set aside for the King's Own. Turning the key in the lock, he saw a huge stack of forms piled up by the door and sighed. Raoul said that being a knight was hard, but being a soldier had to be equally tough. Why didn't I just become an apple picker or something? Dom thought in despair, flipping through the papers.

It was going to be a long morning.

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Three hours later, Dom still hadn't finished his paperwork. His eyes tiring, Dom decided to take a break from paperwork, heading down to the stables to brush down his riding horse, March. It was soothing work, and Dom was feeling much more relaxed by the time he finished. So relaxed in fact, he was even willing to visit his cousin Meathead.

Unfortunately, several things were about to change that. After a bath, Dom headed to the wing of the palace where the knights were in residence. He nodded to several people he knew from the Own. He was halfway there when one of the ladies greeted him – Lady Ophelia, whom he courted a while ago. Dom smiled politely at her and bade her a good morning, then continued on his way, intending to reach his cousin as quickly as possible. However, Ophelia didn't seem interested in his idea. "Do you think I could speak to you for a moment, Dom?"

Dom looked uncertainly at her. "Uhmm…that depends on how long it would take. You see, I'm in a bit of a rush now…"

Ophelia smiled coyly at him. "Well, that just depends on your answer." And without further hesitation, she latched a hand onto his upper arm and dragged him off to one of the nearby rooms in the corridor. Dom sighed and remembered how Kel had done exactly the same thing barely two weeks ago. Only the action didn't seem to suit the delicate court lady the way it had seemed so natural for Kel. She closed the door behind them.

"So…what did you want to discuss with me?" asked Dom uncomfortably as they sat down at a table, facing each other. As a matter of fact, he had a pretty good idea, but he honestly hoped that his hunch was wrong. Otherwise it would result in a rather awkward situation for both of them.

Ophelia folded her hands in front of her. "Well…you remember that we used to court a while ago. But then you were with Keladry…But now she's gone, so I'm taking the opportunity." She took a deep breath. "I was wondering…if maybe…you would consider courting me again."

Dom stared blankly at her for a minute. Then what she was saying finally sunk in and the silence stretched as he tried to think of what to say in a situation like this. Ophelia mistook his silence for uncertainty.

"I know that you would feel that you would be betraying Kel, but I think this is a chance for us to reignite old passions. I know it would be hard for you, but it would be worth it if you were to choose me…"

And so her monologue went on and on for the next fifteen minutes. Ophelia was pretty good by Court lady standards, however, and previously she had never sounded this forced. What puzzled him was why she was doing this in the first place. He knew that they had broken up by mutual agreement, so why was she asking him again? Dom strongly suspected that someone – her parents most probably – had put her up to this. Still, he didn't want to be rude by interrupting her so he managed to keep up a troubled, yet interested-looking face. However, his acting obviously wasn't that good, because after a while he heard her say, "Dom? Are you all right?"

Dom snapped out of his stupor. "What? Oh. Yes. I'm fine." Seeing her frown, he added, "But I thought you were courting Evin the last time we talked." The blonde haired, blue eyes commander was extremely popular with the ladies.

"Evin?" Ophelia frowned. "Oh. Yes. We broke it off a while ago, when he started to court one of the Riders. Miri or something…"

Dom felt sorry for her. Ophelia was pretty, and unlike most nobles, treated everyone as an equal. But like the typical noble parents, hers had made her try to marry someone she didn't even love anymore. Dom replied with the truth.

"You know I'm already in a relationship, right? And, as much as I appreciate it… I'm sorry, but I have to decline your generous offer." He made a half-bow to her in the seat as an apology.

Dom thought he saw relief flash across her features for a moment, but it disappeared a split second later. She bowed her head. "Thank you for considering my offer then, Dom…"

Dom stood up to leave, then hesitated a moment. "Good luck…I hope you find someone worth loving you."

Ophelia looked surprised, then smiled gratefully at him. Dom left the room and continued on his way.

He was almost at Neal's door when to his dismay, saw another lady heading down the corridor towards him, walking with a very purposeful stride. Dom recognised her as one of his Midwinter flirts and fervently hoped she was not coming to him for the same reason Ophelia had. Glancing for an escape route, Dom spotted a servant's passage, which led into the kitchen. Better safe than sorry, he thought to himself as he ducked into it. If his presumptions (though vain, he admitted) were correct, then it would be better if he didn't have to hurt any more people.

Several halls and passageways later, Dom finally arrived outside Neal's door. He looked around nervously, then knocked on his door.

An annoyed Neal appeared at the door several seconds later. He glared at Dom for a moment, then recognition flickered across his face and he let a relieved Dom into his room.

Lady Yukimi was already there, sitting by the window seat, reading. She smiled at Dom when he came in, then returned to her book. Dom took a seat at Neal's desk, enjoying the peace for a brief moment. As usual around Neal, it didn't last.

"What happened to you?" demanded Neal as soon as he had shut the door. "You're all messed up."

Dom shrugged apologetically. "Some lady wanted me to court her again –"

Neal cut in, looking a mix between shocked and appalled. "I don't believe it! Barely a week, and you're already betraying Kel! I told her –"

It was Dom's turn to interrupt. "I turned her down, all right?" he asked impatiently. "Mithros, you're so paranoid. You're like a protective older brother, only much, much worse…" he grumbled.

Neal glared at him. "Well, some of us are concerned for her."

"So you're saying I'm not?" Dom didn't even bother listening to the answer to that one. "Uncle said that you wanted me. So what did you want?"

Neal shoved a stack of papers at his cousin. "You sent these to me the other day. I think they were meant for Raoul…"

Dom flipped through the papers sceptically, then frowned when he saw Neal was right. "Tch…how'd they get here?" he muttered to himself. "I thought it was quite clear on the packaging…" He flipped the package over, then to his horror realised that it was clear, but in a very bad way. Dom buried his head in his arms to avoid seeing the writing on the package: Sir Nealan of Queenscove, Room 356, Eastern Wing of the Royal Palace of Tortall.

"I can't believe it," Dom said in disgust. "I guess I must have put it in the wrong envelope…" he trailed off, mumbling something about "distracted" and "Kel leaving".

Nealan of Queenscove smirked. "Wrong envelope? Nonsense," he scoffed. "You must just have been so busy thinking about my superior intelligence and expert weaponry skills and thought I could proof read your awful report," he told Dom loftily.

Dom looked around in surprise. "Superior intelligence? Weaponry skills? If I needed someone with those, I could have just checked it myself," he replied with a grin.

Neal scowled at him, looking offended. "Did you not notice the pronoun use of "I"? That usually means that one is talking about oneself, you know."

"Well, from your description, I never would have guessed," retorted Dom. He was now enjoying himself thoroughly. Yuki laughed quietly in the corner.

Neal whipped around and frowned at her. "Yuki! You're meant to be on my side! Not that…insubordinate… thing's…" he gestured at Dom.

Dom smiled and gave his cousin a mocking salute. "I'm so sorry if I've been insubordinate…I would never dream of insulting you, dear cousin!"

"As you've so often proved in the past."

"I have, haven't I?" Dom sighed reminiscently. "I've been the model of the perfect family member. Now, if you don't mind, I think I should be sending that package to its rightful receiver now." He bowed once more to Yuki, and despite his protests, tousled Neal's hair affectionately.

Dom strode down the hallway, feeling more cheerful. He had forgotten how fun Meathead torture was. Maybe this month wouldn't be so bad, after all.

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A/N: And so this chapter is done. I'll post more often in the future, since holidays are coming up, and hopefully I will be able to attract my old reviewers back…sorry this took so long to post up!

Pheep: Again, sorry for editing Tomo! I rather liked him too…but read explanation above …yes. Thank you for your helpful comments. So I was right! A Takuto fan you are! I want to find out what happens in Volume 7 too… You can read jap? Or do they have Full Moon in English in America? looks hopeful I'm sorry for taking so long to post.

The ORIGINAL Meathead: Thanks…sorry about Tomoyuki as well… I'm sorry for posting so late.

Atlanta Enchanted: I kind of killed off the cliffie in Chapter 6… And Dom didn't cheat!

FanFictionFantom: Thank you!

Irish Violinist: Thanks!

Rowenhood: Ahaha…sorry I took so long…It's a KelDom fic all the way

Dreamerdoll: Thanks for adding me! I took even longer this time, didn't I? Sorry!! I love Dom and Neal too )

Wake-Robin: Sorry about Tomoyuki again…and sorry for taking so long.

Dragon Shadows: Thanks for the reassurance that my chapter went well and for reviewing and boosting my ego.

Rosy: You know I really hate it when stuff like this happens. Oh well. Thanks for adding to my review list. I probably should have written it in Nancy's book…but otherwise she would have lost my name. sigh

Ahem…notice how there are much fewer replies to reviewers. As you would know, that means I have received fewer reviews that normal. So help me change that and please review!

hanakazari

And thanks once again to Kit for beta reading. Yes, I must thank you at the end of my chapter.