A/N- Hello everyone! I'm back with a new chapter (I know, fast updating compared to last time!).Well, I figured
after my recent, er, hiatus, I owed it to you. Enjoy! Ah, how nice to be able to go on the Internet again… Oh, and just
a reminder- this is kind of like an alternate universe in the sense that men in the Own can marry. And I changed my
mind- Dom's parents are going to be in this story, if only briefly. Enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer- No, unfortunately I do not own any of the characters in this story (other than Suha and Meerie Rakami,
and Orienne and Keon). They are the property of the wonderful Tamora Pierce. The plot, however, is all from my
very own mind.
Loving My Best Friend
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Previously:
He walked back over to his window and climbed through it. As I lifted my leg up to climb in after him, he stopped me. "You're not getting in this way."
"Well then how am I supposed to get in?!"
Raoul shrugged. "I don't know. Why don't you try your friend in the window next to this?" And with that, he slammed his shutters closed.
0O0O0O0O0O0
Chapter 7:
Family-Size It!
I awoke that morning (still in the courtyard) to someone shaking me. Blearily, I made out Dom's face, which held a huge grin. "Was the little Meathead sleepwalking?" he asked in a voice you might use to talk to a small baby.
Moodily, I got to my feet and replied, "No. I went to see Lord Raoul and was thrown out a window."
"Lord Raoul threw you out a window?"
I scowled. "Not him. Someone else. He wouldn't let me back in though, so I had to sleep out here."
Dom raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you just come in through my rooms?"
I'd forgotten that this was where some of the Own, including my cousin, lived. I made a face. "Never mind that. What do you want?"
"I don't want anything. In case you've forgotten, you spent the night in the courtyard, and when I looked outside this morning and saw you out here, I just had to know why." He walked back over to his window and called, "Let's get something to eat. I'm so hungry I could eat a Stormwing." He made a face at the thought. "Well, maybe not that hungry."
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I met a very worried Yuki in the mess hall. After I had explained where I had been the whole night and put some food in front of her, she calmed down.
Kel, who was sitting across the table from Yuki and I, spoke up, "Dom and I have been talking and we decided that we need to have a dinner for our friends and families so that everyone can become comfortable with each other. We were wondering if you both wanted to come."
I smiled. "Of course we'll come." Then I turned to Dom. "Are your parents coming? I haven't seen Aunt Orienne and Uncle Keon in ages."
My cousin grinned. He hadn't seen his parents for nearly as long as I had. "Yes, they are. I received their reply yesterday. They said they'd get here around mid-afternoon today."
"We're going to eat at The Jugged Hare," Kel said, "It's the only place I can think of to eat at other than the palace. So long as they don't run out of food."
I laughed, choking on my breakfast, and replied thickly through a mouthful of food, "I don't think so, Kel. The Jugged Hare run out of food? That'd be the day."
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"So, is it 'the day' yet, Meathead?" Dom inquired, eyebrows raised. We were all sitting in The Jugged Hare, where the serving girl had just informed us that they were having a shortage on food.
"What are we going to do?" Kel asked from her place between Dom and Lady Alanna. "I don't know about everyone else, but I'm hungry."
Alanna stood up, her chair scraping against the floor, and headed towards the kitchen, muttering, "I have an idea." A blast of purple light sprayed out of the cracks around the door, and Alanna pushed it open, followed closely by groups of men, all carrying what appeared to be giant grains of rice. They put the rice, which came in small, medium, and large sizes, on the table and went back into the kitchen. Everyone stared at it. Someone snorted and said, "It's family sized!"
"How do we, er, eat it?" I asked, poking the giant grain in front of me with my fork.
Raoul whispered something to Buri, who in turn whispered back to him. He glared at her. "I'm not going to say that!" Buri gave him a pleading look, and he frowned. "Oh, fine." He stood up and drew his sword, yelling, "NEVER FEAR, RAOUL IS HERE!!!" and he started to hack at the rice in front of him with his sword.
For a moment all was silent except for Raoul's blade cutting into the rice. And then, almost simultaneously, all the chairs in The Jugged Hare scraped the floor as we all stood up, swords, daggers, and shukusens in hand, and started to slash at the pieces of rice, sending chunks of it flying through the air. When the rice was reduced to more manageable pieces, everyone settled down into their chairs for to enjoy the meal. Leaning across the table to pick a piece of rice out of Kel's hair, I exclaimed, "That was more fun than I've had in a long time! We should do it again some time!"
Uncle Keon chuckled. "Very right, Neal. Now Kel, you must tel-"
At that moment, a member of the Own burst through the door. "Lord Raoul!" he panted. Raoul had already reached the man before he even had a chance to finish speaking. The man whispered in Raoul's ear. He nodded curtly, his expression grim. "Thank you. I'll be over in a moment." As the man hurried out of the building, Raoul walked back over to our table. "Everyone," he began, his voice clear despite the look on his face, "I have some bad news. Northwatch Fortress has been attacked. The king also wants Kel, Neal, and Alanna to travel with Third Company and myself to Northwatch and see what we can do to help." He straightened. "Let's go. We leave as soon as possible."
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A/N- As soon as this is posted, I'm going to start to work on chapter 8, so hopefully that will be up in a short while.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Oh, and the line "Never fear, Raoul is here!" is the property of BrittyWeasley. Have
to give credit where credit is due, right?