A/n: So sorry about this story; I really, really don't like it. I started out really liking it, and then I realized it's sort of a dismal failure. I started it mainly because I wanted to get a Kel/Dom story out there, since my last was Kel/Neal, so I was like…hey…I could do this, and then I posted the first couple chapters and really grew to despise it, but I know I have to finish because it wouldn't be fair for the couple of you who do like it. So I actually made myself finish it all in one shot in about six hours the other night. I think it's all in all 18 chapters, and I'll try to post one every couple days until I leave for vacation, that way it'll be finished right before or right after I get back. Again, I apologize, bear with me, if I start another fanfiction it will be much better than this one; I promise. I think I just got too used to bending the rules with my anime fanfics; it's so much easier to add things to them that didn't really happen for some reason…Oh P.S. do stay tuned for Kel and Dom in the next couple chapters ., your requests have not gone unnoticed!

Chapter Thirteen

The Price of a Shield

"Stone Mountain up ahead, My Lady."

A scout rode back to Kel just past noon on their fifth day. "Looks pretty nasty, guess the bandits saw the Lord of Stone Mountain wasn't coming out, so they'd stay a few days."

Dom cursed with the fluency of a soldier, but Kel took the news calmly, "We'll stop here for lunch. Dom, Yvenne, William," she addressed the scout, "come with me."

The three she'd called led their horses after hers as the men began to dismount and pull food from their saddlebags.

The scout, William, led them to the top of a nearby ridge where they could survey the damage.

Fires were smoldering in the small town outside the walls of Stone Mountain's manor. The fields looked as if they'd been trampled and pillaged, livestock roamed free where fences had been broken, grazing on whatever was left from the bandits. And as always, the piles of dead were mounting. They were too far to make out individual faces, but the three veterans knew all too well what they would find below.

"This is what I suggest," Kel's eyes never left the scene where as Yvenne had to look away almost immediately. She'd lived through a raid, and almost regretted it as the flashbacks ripped through her heart.

"Fianola! Don't! You can't fight!" she shrieked as her dearest friend drew a sword from her father's armory.

"We can," Carri responded, slinging a quiver over her nine year old shoulders.

"Maybe this will convince father to let us enlist," Fianola's eyes glittered at the very thought.

"To be a knight," Yvenne had lost the dream until that moment.

"We should go in and act like aid, show no interest in the manor at all. Hopefully, it will throw him off-guard, and he will at least stay put if not come out," Kel's plan pushed the images away.

"He's cocky enough to come and try to help," William spat, and Dom nodded though would not repeat the notion.

"It'll give us a chance to help and get Lord Burchard out of his manor. Two birds with one stone," Dom added approvingly.

"Good, it's all settled then," Kel spun Peachblossom around and spurred him back toward camp.

"My Lady never stops," William muttered, somewhere between aggravation and admiration.

"She's always so quick to help others she never stops to help herself," Dom watched Peachblossom's fading form, deep in thought.

"Then we'll have to watch over her won't we?" Yvenne kicked Argilla forward after her knight master, and William chuckled softly.

"Just what we need, a woman knight with the Lioness' magic and temper and Lady Keladry's strength and stubbornness, an award should be given to anyone who tames that one."

Dom laughed and nodded, "But she's a good lass – crooked roots and all."

"Ah, so that is true?" William's eyes glinted. "His Majesty speaks of her often, she's his little gem, but I thought she'd cut us off."

Dom shook his head, knowing full well the thieves he carried with him, "Never, she's too proud of the Rogue to forget her roots."

William nodded approvingly before he and Dom headed after the other two.

Yvenne's eyes wanted to block out the horrors that lie in front of her, but the images seared into her brain.

She rode next to Kel with Dom to her right, "So much for oaths of fealty," he was whispering spitefully, but she couldn't get any part of her body under control to respond. All she could do was look ahead.

Argilla stamped uncomfortably while the stench of death filled his nostrils which flared angrily. She reached a hand down to soothe him subconsciously.

People lined the streets, haggard faces lighting in hope. Each face was a pale gray; every set of eyes was hollow. Yvenne knew those eyes all too well. Small cheers erupted, weak, but joyous just the same, "Mindelan!" "Tortal!" "Mindelan and Masbolle!"

Kel smiled warmly at the people who received her. Lady Keladry of Mindelan was here, and she'd brought help. Everyone knew Lady Keladry was the Protector of the Small; she would surely help. Already, Dom and Kel were surveying and weighing.

"We don't have enough Healers for this," Dom was grumbling.

"First we'll need to set up hospitals," Kel told him. "Get the Healers over here."

Yvenne nodded and cantered back to the Mages, "We need Healers, more than we have. Anyone with any talent come with me. I don't care if you can't fix a bone if you can stitch a wound - absolutely any healing, magic or no."

Half a dozen Mages rode forward to Yvenne's side, and they headed back to Kel.

"Better than nothing," Kel began to give them instructions, "You know as well as I that there aren't enough of you to do this job. Use houses as temporary hospitals and enlist whatever people you can to help. Pick those you can help without spending your Gift. Don't try anything radical; we're gonna need your Gifts for this."

They nodded and headed in different directions to find and gather the wounded.

"As soon as they've assembled hospitals you may join them Yvenne," Kel added, and Yvenne did a slight bow in her saddle.

"Have some men go into the forest and cut some lumber to mend and rebuild fences. We'll need them to round up the livestock, and send another crew to search the fields for food, anything that's edible," Dom instructed next.

"Find Tobe, he'll gather up all the animals," Kel added, and Yvenne set to her tasks. She knew she was getting taught by playing messenger and didn't complain. She went first to a burly man whose name was Jeoffrey. He was a blacksmith by trade who was enlisted for embezzlement, "Oh Jeff!" she called sweetly.

"Oh, if it isn't the Princess of Thieves come to mingle with the commoners," he joked, and she laughed. "Nasty bit we got here. What does the Lady have for us?"

"Could you take a few of your men into the woods and get some lumber to repair these fences? We need to get the livestock in heel."

He nodded, "Be glad to, it's a right shame what their Lord did to 'em. Cursed nobles," he spat, and Yvenne shook her head.

"Lady Keladry's a noble."

"She's a 'ception," he muttered gruffly. "Asides, I always said women had more heads to 'em than men. She cares 'bout the people."

"Just try to stay out of trouble," Yvenne teased.

"Trouble? Me?" he questioned innocently as she moved on. The images were plaguing her though, and she was finding it harder to force a laugh.

Next, she went to William who was willowy and quick, perfect for the job, "Will."

"Yvenne."

"My Lady asked me to ask you to scower the fields for any salvageable food. Could you take a few of your boys out and make that happen?"

"Whatever My Lady wishes," he bowed from his saddle, which made Yvenne wonder which Lady he was referring to. Before she could ask, he'd headed off to round up his remaining scouts.

Lastly, she headed to the back of the file where she was sure she'd find Tobe. Indeed, there he was, mounted on top of a very ornery looking bay gelding that contrasted greatly to Argilla's light gray coat, "Tobe?" she used the name hesitantly, but he looked up all the same.

"My Lady," he murmured, letting his eyes wander down her slim muscular frame.

She blushed slightly, though two years her junior he was extremely good looking. He'd grown to be as tall as Dom with a deeper chest but nimble fingers and secretive, mysterious eyes, "Uh…" she forced herself to think of Aiden; her blood cooled, and she was able to think again, "Lady Keladry sent me. She wants you to round up all the livestock you can. I have Jeff and his men working on fences now, so…"

"Sure, be glad to help," he responded. "But I'd like to speak with you later tonight if possible."

"Uh…okay…"

"I'll find you."

"You always do," she answered, turning Argilla and heading back to her knight master.

Her fingers trailed the mud-soaked doll as she stood and looked around. New fences were going up all around her, wounded were being carried to hospitals, but more dead were being added to the pyres than wounded were being saved. The little girl to whom the doll Kel now carried was among them.

"You can't save everyone," Dom said quietly from behind her.

"But I could have saved more," she whispered "We could have sent scouts out, or you could have taken a squad. Yvenne handled most of them with just her and fourteen other men."

"Stop it," Dom ordered roughly. "Just stop. You didn't know how many there were; you couldn't endanger your own men. You did the right thing."

"I…" she stopped, "You're right."

"Of course I am I'm-"

"Always right," Kel finished his sentence, and they both laughed, however weakly.

"Exactly."

Kel decided to end the awkward silence before it began, "I'm going to go see my squire at the hospital, see if I can make some use of myself."

"Sounds good, just stay away from the fences; you might manage to nail your hand to one," he joked, and she glared and headed off. His laughter tingled on her skin, so she had to listen to the crackling of the fire in her mind.

She looked up from stitching a wound and nodded to Kel who nodded back before they both got to work. No one bothered Kel with wanting to help anymore. She was their commander, but she refused to supervise men who knew what they were doing.

Yvenne stood and washed her hands off in already bloody water before she moved to the next patient. Her eyes came in and out of focus as the visions came.

The boy in front of her was now a handsome twenty-seven with a small plot of land and a wife and children.

Kel's gentle hand on her shoulder awoke her, "What did you see?"

"He was twenty-seven," Yvenne replied, "he'll live."

Kel nodded and bent down to examine a nasty cut on the boy's right forearm that was green with infection, "He might have to lose this."

Yvenne shook her head, "No, it's gonna be fine."

Kel's eyes lit up as she turned to look at her squire, "We have a tradition, Alanna and I," she started to tell Yvenne, "women warriors always shift the fates. Wanna try your hand?"

Yvenne understood what she meant and nodded. She prepared herself for visions of death only by telling herself the vision would change the quicker she moved. If she could tell the Mages and surgeons exactly what needed done, more could be spared. She rose and headed to the next. The vision gripped her almost immediately.

A shock from the Healing gripped his heart, and his body joined his wife's on the pyres.

She touched James' arm when he bent to Heal the man and shook her head once. He understood and moved on. Maybe the man would be spared, maybe not. She continued, instructing amputations and Healings, gentle deaths and offering kind words. When the visions stopped coming because of her own weariness, she drew her crystal from her pouch and began to drain her Gift.

Late into the night, Kel wrenched the crystal from her hand, "You've seen to almost everyone, and we have no one to Read you. Get to bed; you've saved enough lives for one day."

Yvenne wanted to protest but found that she couldn't and retired. Kel refused to return her crystal – just in case, so Yvenne trudged to bed wearily without it.

Two hours of blissful sleep later, someone shaking her pulled her from her dreamless sleep. She looked around and caught a man's features. Before she could put her knife to his throat, he had it against hers, "Hello to you too."

"Tobe," she sighed as he returned her knife. "You scared me. Where's Lady Keladry?" she knew for a fact he would have woken Kel, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Still at the hospital, but they've no doubt put her in a bed by now," he responded.

"Oh, so, what did you want to talk to me about?" she tried to see his eyes in the dark but couldn't make them out.

"Come with me," he helped her up and led her out into the night. A few fires were still burning, but everyone for the most part had gone in for the night. They walked in silence for awhile until he found his words, "You've abandoned the Rogue."

"What?" Yvenne demanded angrily.

"You swore allegiance but have forgotten your words."

"What do you know about my thoughts?"

"More than you do probably," he countered coolly. "I know your parents want to restore your titles. So you would give up your shield, your past. When is the last time you went to see Rispah, or His Majesty?"

Yvenne couldn't contest that. It had been a long while since she'd been to the Dancing Dove, and she'd promised she'd never forget them, "I haven't," she thought out loud. "I haven't forgotten them, but now I don't need them as much. I have my place now, by Lady Keladry's side."

"By Sir Aiden's side you mean; you've abandoned them because you don't need them anymore. You don't abandon your family when you leave home because you don't need them anymore."

"You're right about not going to see grandmother, but this has nothing to do with Aiden. He doesn't need to be anymore tangled up with me or the Rogue. He's already in deeper than he knows."

"He's engaged to the heir of Coltsbrook and Amherst," Tobe told her bitterly.

"I know," Yvenne lowered her head.

"I also know who she is," he continued, and her head shot up.

"So now what this is really about comes out."

"Do you plan to abandon your shield for marriage? Just put the Rogue and your dreams behind you for a husband and children?" he questioned bitingly, and Yvenne resented it.

"My shield is all that I care about, but part of my oaths are for my own people. Not the nobles, the common folk," she looked around her, still smelling charred flesh in the air. "I don't want to see my own fief end up like this when I could prevent that. All that aside, I owe my life to the Rogue and will spend the rest of my life repaying that debt. His Majesty knows that, but he knows too that my shield is first and foremost, even to my heart," while she explained it to Tobe she realized she'd made her decision. Her shield was first and foremost. She'd meet with him to refuse him and that was all.

Tobe smiled approvingly, "I knew you were too smart for that," he winked and walked back into the darkness. So, Yvenne pondered as he disappeared, His Majesty still has tabs on me. She smiled happily, glad to be remembered, and headed back to her own bed, shrugging off her heavy decision. Either way she would regret, but this way she would be doing what was good for her and all women in Tortall. She still had more tests to pass.

For the next ten days they worked hard to repair the village, but the men grew restless and weary, "Patience," her knight master promised her. "Patience."

So they stayed patient for another three days until a Captain of the Lord of Stone Mountain's guard came to present himself to Lady Keladry and Captain Domitan.

"The Lord of Stone Mountain requests you leave his land."

"What? With no introduction?" Dom joked, and the man glowered.

"Unless you have other reasons for being here, your presence is no longer wanted."

"We were just passing through and saw your people were starving. The Lord of Stone Mountain didn't seem to mind when we were doing his repairs for him!" Dom shouted heatedly.

"If you don't remove yourselves I'll be forced to take action," the Captain warned.

"Yvenne!" Jeff galloped to her, followed quickly by Tobe and William.

"There's at least 100 men surrounding us on all sides," Will reported quickly.

"We were just lookin' at the manor, nothin' funny," Jeff assured her. "And we sees men all around the camp."

Yvenne's eyes darted to Kel who was already thanking the Goddess for thieves and making plans, "Seize him," she ordered, and the three men grabbed the captain while Tobe called his horse.

"Why, this is grounds for a-" the man spluttered.

"Your master has a warrant against his name for treason; I suggest you quiet," Kel instructed darkly, and he took her advice – quickly.

"Dom, how many men do we have?"

He thought quickly, "We needed a guard, not an army, seventy-five, tops, not including Mages."

"We've fought with worse odds," Kel really wanted to know where the Lord of Stone Mountain had gotten so many men. By law, he wasn't allowed over seventy-five, a royal guard and bandit patrol, but she didn't doubt their numbers. Thieves generally estimated down if anything.

"Will, go and see if there are any back roads," Yvenne instructed, and Kel's eyes shot toward her. She saw her squire was fingering her crystal gently.

"Where did you…" Kel started, then stopped.

"I grew up with thieves, remember?" Yvenne grinned and returned her stone to her knight master. "We'll be able to get the injured out the road he comes back with."

Kel thanked her and looked back to Dom, "Have the men circle up with shields and bows. They'll try to pick us off with long bows first. We can't let that happen."

Dom agreed but this time sent Tobe out to give the orders to the nearest officer.

"We should take a mounted squad out to chase them inward. Yvenne, do you think we could get fifteen men on horses out that path?" Dom turned to Yvenne.

"I don't know I just know it's there," she answered, but fortunately for them, Will was back with news of a path, and Dom was able to re-ask his question.

"We could if they were swift, and the Mages silenced their hooves," he responded.

"Five mages!" Kel called, and the five strongest Mages hurried to her side. She left Yvenne in charge of explaining, since Yvenne seemed to know a spell that would work. When she'd finished, they hurried off to do as she'd instructed.

"We need at least four more Mages to go with them, to make sparks and flames and spook them," Kel thought out loud. "Any suggestions?"

Yvenne was slightly startled, but she thought quickly, "I'd leave James and George in the camp for healing, and Adriana too, she's decent. That leaves…" she bit her lip then nodded, "I'd send Elizabeth to the east because she's good with illusions, and the sun will be in her favor that way. To the north, I'd put Tyler because he's good with flashes and sparks and that's most visible. To the west, I'd go with Jake because he's versatile and there's most challenge there. South, I'd put Jessica because she's excellent with noises and the foliage will make it easy."

Kel smiled approvingly, and Yvenne realized she'd just been tested, "Make it happen."

Yvenne nodded and galloped off to speak with the four Mages.

"As for you and I, we get ready to fight," Kel turned to Dom, and he nodded and they headed to the center of the camp. William and Jeoffrey followed with their new prisoner.