"Please, Dom, I have to go." She said, pushing him away.
Dom looked at her. "Why, Kel? What makes you think that is the answer?
She sighed. "Because I cannot stay here without ruining everything. I must go."
She ran out the door and away from Dom forever. She ran all the way down to the stables. Now that Dom knew, she had to leave. Fast.
"Let's go." She said, mounting Hoshi quickly. "Ride swiftly."
They rode out of the city towards the western Ocean. They did not slow until they were past the Olorun. After that, they slowed back to a walk.
They rode far that first day. They camped beside a small brook, a tributary of the Olorun, down the road towards the western sea.
"Set up the tents in a secluded spot." Kel said to Zonta. "I am going to collect firewood."
She walked back a bit on the road towards a dead tree they had passed only moments earlier. The ground was soft and damp here, covered in moss. The trees grew thick and green with the water of the Olorun. It was quiet.
Kel set about breaking off twigs and sawing the trunk of the tree. As she was sawing, she heard galloping hooves behind her. She stood up and listened carefully. "One horse." She muttered.
She went back to what she was doing, ignoring the hoof beats.
"Kel!" Dom cried, out of breath. "Please, explain this to me!"
Kel stayed turned away from him and finished sawing through the trunk of the tree. She then turned and faced him. "Go home, Dom." She said, shaking her head. "That is all I'm trying to do."
She turned away from him again and walked towards her campsite. She had to leave, she had to. Nothing could convince her otherwise. There was no answer other than leaving. Why could he not understand that?
"If you are going home," Dom said quietly, "you would not be walking away from me."
Kel kept walking. She closed her eyes tightly. She had to keep going; she wouldn't look back. She couldn't.
"You're not going home, Kel. You're leaving again, and I haven't even seen you."
He turned his horse and walked slowly away from Kel.
"Dom, wait!" She said, not able to contain herself any longer. She dropped her bundle and ran over to him. "Dom, would you like to stay the night?" What was she going to say when she had called out his name? It was certainly not that. "Our campsite is small, but you won't have anything otherwise. You are too far from home."
Dom looked down from his horse.
"No, Kel." He said. "I don't want to spend the night." He shook his head sadly and looked at her for a moment. "You died, Kel." He said, turning away from her, "I just wouldn't admit it to myself until now."
He rode away, leaving Kel standing, staring at the spot where he had just been resting. Her arms were scratched with long, thin scrapes from the deadwood. Her brain was frazzled; she was unable to think clearly. Her eyes slid in and out of focus; her ears heard strange things.
"Just go back." Zonta's voice carried over o Kel. "You don't have to explain yourself, as I know that is what worries you. Just take off your charm and go back."
Kel shook her head. "I can't Zonta. It's called treason. I would be banished from the kingdom anyway."
Zonta stepped forward into the light. "But your friends would gladly go with you. You wouldn't be alone."
"I have you." Kel said.
Zonta shook her head. "No you don't." She said sadly. "I'm not going with you, I'm sorry. I understand I am still in your service, and I understand that you will be disappointed in me, but I must do what I must. This is where I am meant to be. I can't accompany you home, Kel."
Kel nodded numbly. "I want to go back." She said. "But what would I tell them?"
Zonta shrugged. "Tell them you made a mistake. You thought you were doing the right thing, it turned out not to be the best, but no one got hurt but yourself. That is all it will take."
Kel looked up. "Zonta..."
Zonta put her hand on Kel's shoulder. "I will pack up and leave in the morning."
Kel smiled. "How can I thank you, Zonta?" She asked.
Zonta rolled her eyes. "By getting off of your behind and catching up with your husband before it is too dark to see him!"
Kel mounted Hoshi and rode at a gallop towards Corus. She was going home. She was going home as herself, and people would know who she was. She would be with her friends, they would recognize her. She would have no secrets.
She pulled her charm over her head as she rode. She held it in her hand. A small satchel of herbs, with a small iron pebble in the middle. That was all that it took to deceive the people she loved. Not anymore, she thought. She leaned forward and ripped Hoshi's charm off as well and held them both in her hand. In one twist of the body, Kel threw the two charms into the brook, where they disappeared under the tiny waves.
She had no more use for such things.
She caught sight of Dom further down the road.
"Please, wait!" She called out to him.
He slowed his horse to a stop and looked behind him. "What on earth?" He muttered, seeing Kel, the real Kel, galloping towards him.
Kel jumped off of Hoshi before she had even stopped moving. Dom was already off when she got there. "Kel, what are you doing?" He asked.
Kel didn't say anything, she just threw herself at Dom and hugged him as tightly as she could. "I'm sorry, Dom!" She said, crying. "I don't know what I did to myself, I don't know!"
Dom held her. "Hush," he said quietly. "Calm down, Kel."
They sat down on the grass at the edge of the road. Kel lay down, still holding onto Dom. He touched her face, wiping away her now receding tears. "We can't stay out here all night. The dew will be unbearable."
Kel didn't say anything.
Dom smiled. "One moment." He said. He stood up and unsaddled both of the horses, hanging the saddles on a sturdy branch. Kel took off her cloak, and when Dom came back to their grassy bed, she draped it over both of them. She lay down with her head on Dom's chest.
"For so long," she whispered to herself, "I've wanted to do this. And now I can." She tilted her head up and kissed him.
She then lay her head back where it was and fell asleep.
Kel woke up shivering in the morning. She was freezing cold, she could see her breath, and the cloak covering her was damp. She shivered and pulled closer to Dom.
He opened one eye. "I told you it would be miserable." He said.
Kel sighed. "I know, I was just very comfortable last night."
Dom wrapped his arm around her. "We should be going soon." He said. "We have a long way to ride, and a lot to do."
Kel looked at him. "Give me some time, Dom." She said. "I'm scared, alright?"
Dom kissed her forehead and hugged her. "I know." He smiled. "And I know how hard it was for you to come back. I wanted to thank you, Kel." He said seriously. "Thank you for coming back."
Kel grinned. "Thank you for taking me." She said. She sat up, holding the cloak up to her chin.
"Hey!" Dom cried, curling into a ball. "It's cold."
Kel rolled her eyes. "Let's go home, Dom."
They looked at each other for a moment. Home. Kel wanted it more than anything. Not just Corus, it didn't matter where it was. She wanted to wake up beside Dom in the morning. She wanted to kiss him goodnight. She wanted to speak to him, to tell him things she was always nervous to say to anyone else. She wanted him to understand her.
She wanted her friends to know who she was, she wanted to share memories with them. She wanted to make new ones.
Dom grinned at her. "They'll be happy to see you." He said.
Kel just smiled and put Hoshi's saddle on the horse. They rode back to the city slowly, much slower than they had the day before. It was dark when they made it back to the palace.
"It's late." Dom said. "Maybe we should tell everyone in the morning."
Kel nodded. She looked up at the great palace, and her heart beat faster. It scared her, knowing that behind those walls were the people who would make the decision on whether she would live or die. There was nothing for her outside of Tortall now; but staying in the kingdom against her sentence would mean death. She could do nothing but hope and pray to the goddess that the jury would show mercy.
"Let's do it in the morning." She said, nodding.
They left their horses in the stables and walked back up to their rooms. Kel paused at the door and looked around. She had not been in here since the day that she left.
She let out a slow breath when she looked around. Everything looked exactly the same.
"Dom..." she said quietly.
He smiled weakly. "I didn't know what to do with it all. And I thought that if you ever came back, you would want it."
Kel smiled and stepped further into the room. She walked over to the desk where her lucky Yamani cats sat. every one of them was there. Her glaive lay against the wall, she could see dresses still hanging in the corner of the closet, and there were sparrows sitting on the windowsill.
Kel laughed in disbelief. "I couldn't just let them go hungry!" Dom said defensively. "But I must say, I don't think there are many here that will remember you."
Kel just stood there, still taking it all in.
"You know," Dom said, throwing a pillow at her, "this is your room. You don't have to stand there."
Kel grinned. "Fine then. I will sleep here."
She collapsed onto the bed.
-----
Dom was awoken the next morning by a sharp knocking on the door. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" He mumbled as the knocking continued. When he opened the door a crack, a very angry Neal was standing there, with his daughter Andrea hanging off of his arm.
"Mithros, Dom! Where were you?" He cried.
Dom shrugged, yawning. "I went for a ride and went to far, so I had to stay out. I got back yesterday."
Neal frowned. "You could have told someone where you were going."
Dom shrugged again. "Didn't think of it." He said. "Is there something I can do for you, or can I go back to bed?"
Neal frowned. "Did you know that this one," he lifted Andrea's arm into the air, "wants to become a knight? I just found out this morning! It seems her mother has known for weeks! My daughter! A knight!"
Dom was about to open his mouth when he heard the door open wider behind him. He turned around. Kel was standing there with her arms crossed, looking at Neal.
"And what's wrong with her becoming a knight?" she said fiercely.
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Ha! I loved that ending! I was afraid that I couldn't do it, because Yuki mentioned it before, but I checked, and she never said Neal knew... ha! I just thought it was so perfect.
Lady Crystaline of Jewel Cove: glad you think so!
Dreamerdoll: thank you so much! Wow... so much enthusiasm in so many words...
Goddess Usagi: so sad... wah! But so happy! Yay!
Lady of Masbolle: It's good to hear that...sometimes I just feel like talking and I ramble a lot, but other times (like today) I just don't know what to say for most people...urgh. Anyway, what Kel meant by the 'I was dead' thing was that she was not Kel any more. I thought it fit so perfectly, even though it was tres cheesy. No, she was not dead dead or dead without him, she was just not herself; Kel was dead, she was Ahndraya... does that make sense?
Laelai: glad you thought so... I was afraid they would just be cheesy.
Mage Light: are you really? Score! That is what I was hoping for! Don't worry, I think Ahndraya is dead and gone, at least for now.
Wake-Robin: OMG. Like, totally sweet.
Lady Crystaline of Jewel Cove: Of course!
Pinky: don't worry, people! She is not going back there!
Alannalovingwriter: thanks, I'm glad to hear it!
Evilloveberry08: thanks!
Well, that's it for today... I hope all you Canadians out there had a great Thanksgiving (Americans, you've got to wait another month, mwa!). I know I did, and I am still enjoying it until tomorrow! Mmm... turkey... yeah... anyway, review everybody, the numbers are a little low! It's only about 7 reviews per chapter... that is weak!
I have decided that everyone needs to listen to better music. I am now putting a recommended listening every time, because I am incredibly bored! (I don't know if anyone noticed, but my chapters are now all song titles... my great respect to anyone who an figure out the group!)
The best song ever right now: Good Rats; by Dropkick Murphys. It is so entertaining; a song about a bunch of rats getting into a brewery, getting drunk, and drowning in a vat of beer. Joyous!
"The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face."
-unolimbo