Chapter 10- The Ball (at last!)

A/N: Here we go, next chapter- and the ball at long last! This ones for Mister Spidey (Spider-man to all of you who aren't totally insane like moi!) for being generally cool and great. Don't you just wanna be able to be like him with all that swingy business? sighs Maybe its just me.

After breakfast, Kel consented to go out for a walk with Dom in the gardens. They walked at a pleasant speed along many paths, past many different types of gardens and flowers; past big, old trees and new ones barely planted and past many water features. As they walked, taking in their surroundings, they talked of their families. Kel told Dom about her many siblings and their families and in return she leant that Dom had one older brother and one younger sister. His brother was a knight; his sister a lady at court.

Distracted, Kel stepped on an uneven stone and lost her footing, slipping and falling into Dom. He stumbled sideways, dragging her with him. Kel just managed to gain her balance in time and reached out a hand to grab Dom's tunic as he began to fall. But he fell and Kel was unable to stop him and she toppled over too.

'Well,' said Dom. 'That was a nice little trip we both went on.'

Kel looked up at him, brushing her hair back behind her ears. He was so close…she was practically in his lap. And he was so lovely…his dancing blue eyes…his soft grinning mouth…

Kel couldn't stand it any more; it was like he was teasing her! She leant forward and gently pressed her lips against his. Dom, shocked, took a moment to react but when he did it was with a daring passion he had wanted to share with Kel for so long. Kel followed his example and deepened their kiss, letting her hands snake around his neck and her fingers bury themselves in his hair. She forgot Cleon's death; forgot Alianne's arrival; forgot her pain and her confusion and everything other than herself and Dom and the way she felt pressed up against him. That was something she wouldn't easily forget in the future.

Dom broke their kiss to take deep breaths of air. He looked searchingly at Kel who was at that moment reprimanding herself and avoiding eye contact. Dom placed two gentle fingers under her chin and lifted her face up so that she was forced to meet his eyes. Then, satisfied with what he saw in the unguarded depths of Kel's hazel eyes, he kissed her again yet this time he was more gentle, more tender. Kel kissed him back; his lips and strong hold was a comfort, one she had been longing for.

They broke apart from lack of air but stayed where they were- Kel didn't want to move from the warm reassurance she felt being held by him and Dom was quite happy to oblige. After a few moments of comfortable silence, Dom said, 'Well, my lovely lady, would you do me the honour of letting me escort you to the ball tonight?'

'Mmm,' said Kel, snuggling closer to him.

'I'll take that as a yes, then?' asked Dom.

Kel looked up at him and sighed. 'I have to go,' she said reluctantly. 'The Baron wants to see me.' Damn my training! thought Kel. Always interrupts at the most…interesting times!

Dom sighed and kissed the tip of Kel's nose (A/N: awww! How cute!). Kel stood up. Dom opened his mouth to repeat his question but as Kel started to walk off, she called back, 'I'll see you tonight then, Dommy-boy.'

Dom grinned a comical, lopsided grin from his seat on the ground. He watched Kel disappear around the corner and, lost in his thoughts, he missed the approaching footsteps. It was one of the men from his squad and he was also a friend of Dom's.

'Dom?' he said, making his friend and commander jump. 'What in all the realms are you doing sitting in the flower bed?!'

Dom looked around. Not only was his friend, Seth there but Alianne was also watching Dom.

'Er…I…um- think I- er fainted,' Dom muttered, standing up and brushing himself down. Glancing over his broad shoulder, he was glad to see that he and Kel hadn't done that much damage to the flowers.

'Hi Dom, I'm Alianne,' said Ali.

'Yes, I gathered that. Your mother's ex-squire was my cousin.'

*

'You're doin' well' said George. 'Here, take a break while I go speak with Thom.'

George left the room. Kel poured herself a drink and sat on the window seat. Staring out over the castle's grounds and courtyard's, a streak of vivid blue caught her eye. Looking back more closely, she saw it was Alianne, walking through the gardens with a very familiar person…Dom. Kel frowned. As she watched, they stopped by a door. Alianne said something and they both laughed. Then the Shang reached over and put a hand on Dom's arm, leaning in very close to his face. Dom didn't seem to mind and squinting, Kel could just make out his cheeky grin. Then Alianne left, headed into the house. Dom watched her before turning around and walking back the way he had come.

Kel pursed her lips. Now what was that all about? But she had no time to ponder because just then George came back in, locked the door and ordered her to pick it open again.

*

Kel looked at herself again in the mirror. She smoothed a hand over the silk of her simple kimono yet again and re-tucked a curl behind her ear. She looked strikingly different to how she looked on the practice courts but Kel knew that she wasn't extremely pretty. However, the green embroidery over the outer kimono and the pale green colour of the under kimono complimented the green tints in her eyes. The grace of the silken Yamani dress gave her that more feminine touch and made her seem less muscular.

Her heart was pounding hard enough as it was; it almost stopped completely when Dom knocked on the door. Kel paused, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. I am a lake, she told herself. A still lake on a calm summers day. Then she crossed her room and opened her door. Dom was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

'Aah,' he said. 'So you are in. I was beginning to wonder if you'd gone off with someone else.'

Kel looked him over. He was dressed in black deerskin boots. His shirt was pale blue; his tunic royal blue lines in silver. For once, he had abandoned his sergeant's band.

Kel reached up and straightened his errant hair. Dom caught her hand as she brought it down and took it to his lips, his eyes never leaving hers. He kissed her hand softly and Kel knew he saw longing in her eyes. He pulled her close to him, wrapping his strong arms around her body. She didn't protest. He gently cupped her cheek with his warm hand before bringing his lips down to caress hers tenderly. She kissed him back.

When they broke apart, Dom smiled at her. 'Well,' he said. 'Shall we go to the ball, my lady?' He offered her his arm. For once, Kel took it and didn't protest to being called his 'lady'.

As they entered the great hall, Kel unconsciously tightened her grip on Dom's arm. She was not very fond of these parties but by the look of it, it was already in full swing. There didn't seem to be anyone who wasn't enjoying themselves, apart from maybe the Lioness.

'Um, Kel?' Kel turned to Dom. 'May I have this dance?' Kel grinned as he did a little bow to her.

'I suppose so,' she said. 'I've got nothing better to do.'

'No,' replied Dom, leading her onto the dance floor. 'You can't get better than the best.'

Kel laughed and let him draw her close to him.

Alanna looked out over her hall. There was her only daughter, Alianne, flirting with a bunch of men. Alanna shook her head, smiling to herself. Alianne certainly hadn't got that from her- Alanna couldn't flirt to save her life! Re-surveying the crowds, a pleasant surprise met her eyes. Keladry was on the dance floor, held close to the chest of her partner, Dom. Well, hopefully Kel had taken Alanna's advice to heart and was getting over Cleon and moving on. It looked that way, anyway.

After a few dances, Kel and Dom separated. Dom went to speak with his friends; Kel was asked to dance by a couple of others. Once Kel had had enough of dancing, she excused herself and slipped outside. She found herself on a balcony with cushioned benches and decorated richly with flowers. It was a warm night and Kel leant against the railing, staring up at the stars. Soon she was joined by one of Alianne's male friends.

Back inside, Dom went to get a drink. Turning around, he nearly bumped into Alianne.

'Oh sorry, my lovely blue-haired lady,' he said grinning. 'I didn't see you.'

'That's okay,' replied Alianne, smiling at him. 'At least you're not on the floor this time.'

Dom grinned. 'I try not to pick up nasty habits.'

'Good good- nasty habits aren't particularly attractive.'

'Oh. Well it's a good thing you warned me then- I definitely don't want to be any less attractive.'

'You'd still have all the girls after you,' commented Alianne dryly.

'Why thank you. And can you guarantee this?'

'Well, I can certainly guarantee you'd still have one girl after you, anyway.'

'Oh.' Dom didn't know what to say. He'd only been teasing; only mucking around yet Alianne had obviously believed he was seriously flirting with her. Now he was in trouble. He could let nothing happen- what if Kel saw? He would never dare be unfaithful to her; it would ruin any chances their rocky relationship had.

But Alianne was coming closer. Stupidly, Dom backed up against the wall. But Alianne kept advancing on him, grinning at his evident displeasure.

'Alianne…' he warned. Dom remembered how Neal had mentioned that Ali was a big flirter and acted quickly on receiving flirtations. Damn! thought Dom- too late now! If only he'd remembered earlier…oh well, that was always the way it went.

'What Dom? Don't tell me now that you didn't mean any of that.' She laid her left hand on his chest, taking the right up around his neck to twiddle her fingers in his hair.

Dom put his hand up to grab her right wrist, putting his left hand on her hip to push her away. Some instinct told him to look up and he did. His eyes seemed to automatically lock on one single person in the whole of the crowded room: Kel. Her arms were folded over her chest and when she caught him looking at her she raised her eyebrows, making a face as if to say, 'well well well, what are you going to do now? I've caught you'. Then she turned and walked outside.

Dom made a growling noise in his throat and pushed Alianne away with such a strength that the unexpected Shang warrior nearly fell over. Dom crossed the hall, headed to the door Kel had left through. He didn't care that he bumped into a lady on his way, almost sending her flying. Anger had flared up in him. How dare Alianne? Couldn't she see that he was only jesting? Why didn't she understand? And damn Kel! How dare she just assume things like she had! Couldn't she see it was only a one-sided flirtation? Didn't she understand…?

Dom stepped through the doors onto a balcony. His anger soothed slightly and he tried to walk to Kel's side as calmly as possible. She was leaning against the edge of the balcony and turned away as he stood next to her. There was silence for a minute or two: Dom didn't know what to say; Kel didn't want to say anything.

Finally, Dom let out a sigh. 'Kel…' he whispered.

'What?' she asked coldly, still keeping her face from him.

Dom turned to face her and put a hand on her arm. She glared at him and he could see why she had kept her face from him; she was fighting not to cry.

'Take your hand off me,' Kel hissed.

'No,' replied Dom firmly. Instead, he put his other hand on her other arm and twisted her round to face him. At first, she fought against his hold but realizing that he wasn't going to let her go, she stopped fighting and looked at her feet. He had pulled her so close to him, she could see his legs even with her eyes fixed on her feet.

'I'm sorry,' he continued. 'I'm sorry I've caused u pain. I'm sorry it looked like I was being disloyal to u. I'm-'

'Looked like you were being disloyal?' repeated Kel. 'Oh yes, it certainly looked that way to me.'

Dom's anger rose. 'Kel, stop making assumptions! You weren't there, you don't understand!'

'Of course I don't. How could I understand?'

He wanted to hit her. He wanted to shake her so that her teeth rattled and her legs wobbled. He wanted to shout at her; why wasn't she listening? Couldn't she see he'd never hurt her? But that was just it, he couldn't hurt her and that was why he couldn't do what he wanted- he couldn't hit her and shake her and shout at her. So instead, Dom shut his eyes, took a deep gulp of air and began to count under his breath. He meant to count to ten but only got as far as four before he could no longer stand the silence and opened his eyes again.

'Kel. I. Love. You.' She just glared at him. 'It's up to you whether you believe me or not but that's the truth. Nothing happened. I admit she was flirting with me but I didn't fully realise what was going on. I swear. I thought she was jesting with me in a friendly way and yes, I retaliated but not seriously!' Kel still scowled at him, her face no less fierce than before. 'Please Kel; believe me. There's no other way I can convince you I'm telling the truth. I would never hurt you, cant you see that?'

During his little speech, Dom's hands had slipped down to her waist, holding her even closer to him. His eyes were beseeching her, pleading desperately. If she wanted, Kel could pull away from him easily now. She stayed still.

Kel didn't know what to say, didn't know what to do. Luckily Dom saved her, saying, 'Kel, you're so out of trust.'

This brought her back to her senses. 'What?' she snapped. 'No I am not!'

'Then trust me,' he coaxed. Kel looked away and he sighed. 'Kel, listen to me. You can't go on without trusting anyone- you need somebody. Why can't that someone be me?'

Kel looked back to her feet. Why does he have to ask me the most awkward questions? she raved. How in all the realms am I supposed to answer that? I'm meant to be angry with him yet here he is turning puppy-dog eyes on me and melting all my insides away!

He was waiting for her answer and she knew it. Finally, keeping her eyes averted, she whispered his name. Searching for the right words, she said, 'It would never work.'

He put his fingers under her chin and gently lifted it so that their eyes met.

'How do you mean?' he asked softly.

She sighed. 'We're both warriors for a start. Neither of us are going to want to stay at home and watch the other go out to fight.'

'Then we'll go together.'

Why did he keep making this so hard?

'Dom- you're a commander. You've worked all your life to gain that position- I know, Neal told me. You always wanted to be a commander as a child. You've reached your dream. If we had a serious relationship, one day we'd want to marry. You can't marry in the King's Own and I would never let you give up all your dreams for that.'

'Kel. I would give up anything for you. You are all that fill my dreams now. You are my thousand dreams and more.'

Kel bit her lip, tears springing to her eyes. How could she continue? How could she even look at him? A thousand dreams he had said? Yeah, a thousand dreams she wished she could believe. Didn't every girl wish that someone would say that to them? Now someone had, Kel was stuck- was torn- between what her head said was right and what her heart said was right.

'You know I'll protect you.'

Kel looked up at him. Now what had made him say that in that very particular way? 'I don't need protecting.'

He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. 'Let me protect you anyway? Please?' he whispered. 'My world has come to surround you. Will you just let it crumble and fall apart?'

Kel pulled her hand back. 'Don't ask me things like that.'

He wrapped his strong arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She braced herself against his warm, muscular chest.

'You can't help who you fall in love with,' he whispered.

Kel shivered as his warm breath ran over her; his face was now incredibly close to hers. She wanted to push away from him, to run hard and fast and forget this had ever happened- it was too much! But her body had other ideas and wouldn't respond to her. Her hand lifted of its own accord, letting two gentle fingers delicately trace his features as if to imprint them on her memory forever.

As she drew her hand back, finally gaining control over her herself again, she whispered, 'You will always have my friendship, Dom.'

He had been leaning in towards her; now he stopped. 'Friendship?' he repeated after a pause. 'Nothing more?' His voice was not right- it was on the edge of cracking and becoming extremely squeaky.

Kel gulped. She was split. Part of her said she was doing the right thing: she couldn't get mixed up in a relationship- she would get hurt and Dom would lose his job- his life. She had to stop this before her feelings- her attachments- became worse than they already were. The rest of her screamed at her to stop, that she could still erase the damage she had done if only she stopped now. She didn't.

'You have my friendship and I will always be there for you. I can give no more to anyone.'

He closed his eyes to try and hide his hurt but his pain was etched all over his features and Kel had seen the usual spark in his eyes extinguished with grief. His arms became limp around her and she pulled away from him.

'I'm sorry, Dom. I must go now.'

She began to walk towards the door.

'Kel.' She turned back as he opened his eyes yet he only barely managed to keep form his pain being all that she saw and his tears from leaking out.

'I love you. Always. Remember that- it'll never change. You can deny my love all you like but you'll never be able to escape it. I found a dream in you, Kel and you're the only person that can keep it alive. A little part of me will die with every bit of the dream that fades away.'

Kel looked at him for what seemed an age, knowing that hot tears were running down her cheeks. Then she turned and walked determinedly away. Once out of his view, she broke into a run for her room.

Dom sank onto one of the cushioned benches as she disappeared around the corner. He put his head into his hands. He would have groaned if he had the will to. A tear ran a track down his cheek and fell to the ground. Where had he gone wrong?

*

Ta-da! Phew, that was long. Don't worry- next chapter Dom's point of view- reflecting and what-not. Chapter after that, Kel's point of view on her reasons and feelings. Do you know I did this scene before all mushy and it totally didn't work so I hope this ones come out better. Now review!