Title: Trust Betrayed

Author: jessalae

Disclaimer: Everything that you recognize belongs to Tamora Pierce. Aludra belongs to me.

-o-o-O-o-o-

"High! Middle! Low! High! Middle! Low! Put some effort into it! You strike like a bunch of kittens!" Sergeant Ezeko roared at the column of pages, stalking up and down their ranks. "Stop flinching! If your fingers were where they were supposed to be, you wouldn't have gotten hit." Kel roamed the line in a significantly quieter manner, stopping here and there to correct a stance or a grip.

"Here, you, you're standing the wrong way," she instructed the boy at the end of the row. "This foot needs to point that way – no, that way. Look at my feet." She settled into the correct position with ease. "Stay that way the whole time, and stop moving around. Much better!" The boy nodded as she stepped back, biting his lip in concentration as he tried to keep his eyes both on his feet and his partner's staff.

Kel sighed as she resumed her slow stroll along the string of pages. There hadn't been any new female pages since the last one had gone home. Kel had mixed feelings about this fact; on the one hand she was disappointed that no one had made it, but if there had been a girl among this group she certainly wouldn't have been able to work with them. Padraig HaMinch was in many ways more lenient than Lord Wyldon had been, but gossipy conservatives still abounded, making it very unwise for Kel to show an interest in any of the pages. Kel chuckled softly as she thought of Wyldon, lovingly termed "the Stump" by Neal. She was sure he wouldn't have approved of her getting within ten feet of his charges.

/Speaking of Neal/ Kel speculated/I wonder if he would have any idea what his sister meant? I mean, she said they weren't close, but he must at least have an inkling./ She shook herself out of her reverie to swoop down on a page who was swinging his staff as though he thought it were a musician's baton. "Hold it! Put your hands here– yes, like that, and move up, then down. That's right. Up, then down. Keep holding it just like that."

"But it doesn't feel right," the boy protested.

"And it won't unless you make it feel right. It'll get better with practice, I promise." She ignored his further grumblings and kept moving.

/Yes, I should speak to Neal/ she decided. /He should at least be able to tell me if it was Dom she meant. I'll visit him after lunch./

-o-O-o-

Neal had just returned from a very nice lunch and was still enjoying the feeling of fullness when a knock on his door interrupted his relaxation. Wondering who it could be, he lugged himself out of his chair and opened the door.

The good feelings dissipated completely when he saw who it was.

"Hi, Neal. Can I come in?" Kel asked.

"Well, I– I mean, sure– well– yes," Neal sighed, moving to let her in. His brain was whirring ten miles a minute. /Does she know? Why would she be here for any other reason? No, no, she's your friend, stupid! She has a right to visit you! Besides, would she even come here if she did know? She would probably want to stay away from me. I can't tell her! But I have to. Mithros, this is awful/

"I ran into your sister the other day," Kel remarked as she sat herself down on a chair.

/Sister? Aludra? Oh, Gods, she knows/ "S-s-sister? What sister?" Neal laughed shakily.

"Well, she said she was your sister. She had the same nose, too. What was her name? Alira? Aldura?"

"Aludra," said Neal resignedly.

"So she is your sister. Why didn't you tell me you had a sister?"

"We never got along very well," Neal shrugged. "She was always playing pranks on me, and Mother always believed her. She's a very good liar, you know," he added hopefully.

"She gave me some very strange advice," said Kel thoughtfully. "Something like, 'people might not think of you the way you thought they thought of you.' Very cryptic."

Neal nearly shouted in relief. /She didn't tell! Thank all the Gods/ "So why are you here?"

"Well, I thought you might know what she meant. I think she was talking about Dom."

/Yes! Yes yes yes/ "Maybe. I don't know, I don't talk to her much. You probably aren't going to get a straight answer out of her. It would be better to go talk to Dom."

"I don't know," Kel said uncertainly. "It would be kind of awkward, don't you think? I mean, he did cheat on me."

"I know. I'm not about to forget what happened, Kel." Neal glared fiercely at the floor before flashing Kel a dazzling smile. "But that's his problem, right? His fault! Besides, I can think of much more awkward situations."

"More awkward?"

"Oh, yes." Neal raised his eyebrows. "Much more awkward." /This conversation, for instance…/

"Whatever you say," Kel sighed. "I guess I'd better go talk to him then. Of course, if I had a little backup, this would be so much easier." She glanced at him slyly.

Neal feigned ignorance. "Why, whatever do you mean?"

"Oh, don't play dumb. I need your help."

"But dumb suits me so well!" Neal batted his eyelashes at Kel melodramatically, ducking to avoid her halfhearted swipe at his head. "Sorry, can't help you this time, Kel. Ask Lalasa. Or Cleon. Or Roald! He seems good at this boy-girl interaction stuff. I could never get the hang of it. My friends are generally of the masculine persuasion, you see."

This time Kel's slap was not so halfhearted, and Neal's reflexes didn't prove so adept.

"Ow! I said generally! Generally my friends are boys! You're among the exceptions!"

"I don't appreciate being called an 'exception,'" Kel sniffed. "Men!" She tossed her head dramatically and flounced from the room. Neal watched her leave, his expression caught between relief and hopelessness.

/Well, at least she's on the wrong track now. Of course, that'll make it even harder to tell her…/

-o-O-o-

"Dom?" Kel tapped on his door. "Are you there?"

"It's open!" he yelled. Kel tentatively poked her head inside to see him bent over a trunk, trying to sort through the mountain of clothes inside it. He looked over and smiled when he saw her. "Hello, Kel. Care to give me a hand?"

"Sure," she said, approaching to sit on the floor next to him. "What is all this for?" She lifted the first thing she saw off of the pile. "And since when do you wear petticoats?"

"That's not mine!" he exclaimed defensively.

"Well I should hope not," Kel laughed, throwing the lacy garment at his head.

"Ack!" Dom clawed the skirt off his head and threw it onto the floor. "It belongs to my lovely cousin."

"What, Neal!" she gasped. "I always knew he was strange, but this seems to be going a bit far…"

"No! His sister. I don't know if you've met her; she's here for the ball, but she didn't have room in her quarters for all her trunks. I'm bringing her the things she needs."

"The noble Dom, reduced to a pack animal?" Kel joked. Dom threw something pink and lacy at her; she picked it off of her shoulder with disgust. "That thing can't be comfortable; wouldn't it itch?" She rolled her eyes. "Girls are so silly."

Dom looked at her strangely. "Right…"

"Actually, I've met Aludra. I wanted to talk to you about her."

"Oh?" Dom looked up from the dress he was currently folding.

"Yeah. I bumped into her in the hall the other day, and she gave me a very strange piece of advice," Kel glanced at him surreptitiously, trying to see how he reacted. "Something like, 'people might not think of you the way you thought they thought of you.' Do you know what she might have been talking about?"

Dom's frown seemed sincerely confused. "No, actually. I don't really know her all that well. You might try asking Neal, though."

"I did. He pointed me to you." She took a deep breath. "Is it… is it maybe possible that she thinks you're still in love with me?"

Dom blinked. "Me? In love with you?"

"Well, I don't know– it certainly isn't the way I've thought of you, considering everything that's happened, so she has a point if it's true… I mean…"

"I know," Dom nodded. "But it's not true. You're just a good friend to me now, Kel."

"Good," Kel sighed. "Because you're just a friend to me, too."

"Which isn't to say I wouldn't like to see you wearing something like this," he added, grinning wickedly and holding up a tiny, red silk nightdress. Kel lunged and managed to graze his head with her knuckles, though the blow was softened by the skimpy piece of cloth he had thrown toward her.

"Neal will propose to Merric before I wear anything like that," she spat indignantly.

"I'll remember that," Dom grinned. Kel glared at him and threw another scandalously small dress at him. He swatted it away and reached into the trunk again. Kel dived and grabbed a fistful of satin, pulling it over his head and effectively blinding him. For a few frenzied moments the air was filled with flying undergarments; then the door banged open.

"Wha–?" Aludra stopped in her tracks. A silk shift fluttered down to settle on top of her head. She tore it off in a rage. "What are you doing with my clothes!" she screamed.

Dom recovered first. "Just unpacking for you, Aludra." His eyes met Kel's and they both burst into hysterical fits of laughter.

"You two– my– I–" Aludra's face was slowly turning purple. "Idiots!" she shrieked, slamming the door.

Kel finally caught her breath. "Did you see the look on her face?" she gasped.

"Gods!" Dom laughed. "She's never going to speak to me again!"

"She'll have to; she forgot her underwear!" Kel stood and started collecting Aludra's clothes, still grinning.

Dom joined her. "I still think you should talk to Neal again," he remarked. "He's bound to know more. In fact, if anyone was in love with you, it would be him."

Kel stopped and frowned at him. "Neal, in love with me?"

"It's possible," he shrugged. "I mean, he spends enough time with you. It would be easy for love to grow."

"I suppose so…" she sighed and deposited the last of Aludra's things back in the trunk. "Thanks for talking to me, anyway."

"Nice talking to you," he said, getting up to walk her to the door. "Feel free to stop by any time, though I can't promise it'll be as amusing as all this."

Kel smiled at him and stepped out.

/Well/ she thought/This is an interesting development. Is Neal in love with me? I can't very well ask him…/

/I'll wait and see if he says anything, I suppose./

-o-o-O-o-o-

A/N: Finally, finally, finally I found some way to finish this chapter. Finally. Next one coming… I don't know when. Your ideas are appreciated, as always.

-- jessalae