Hey Everyone:

Don't worry, Loey's not dead! OMG 22 reviews for Chapter 6! You guys rock! Or maybe I should just keep with the scares about characters getting killed off, it seems to work evil grin. I hope you all like this chapter.

Thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers, I feel so loved:

Madame-S-Butterfly: Aah, thanks for that, I get it now. Naughty commas! Thanks for your review :)

Tsuki Hoshi Hikari: So happy you love it! Thanks :)

Phoenix Fanatic: Thank you very much!

LandUnderWave: Yay, I wrote a fantastic chapter :) Thanks

Dark Unicorn Lurking: Neal is smart, I think...he's just very good at hiding it :) And don't worry, Loey's fine! Thanks heaps ;)

Anna Mo: Thanks for reviewing; I'm glad I'm funny :)

Sydelle Rein: Nothing like a little corset cutting to lighten the mood, huh? Thanks for reviewing!

Dark.Angel.of.Tortal-007: Thanks for reviewing ;)

opalshine: Don't worry, I never said Loey's dead! Just captured for information, but she gets rescued! Thanks heaps for your review!

AmethystNox: Gydo's dead, but Loey is alive and breathing, promise! Thanks for reviewing :)

HappeeGoLuckee: Loey was captured for information, but she gets rescued!

anonymous: Thanks for reviewing!

Dances With Waves: I've always considered the Yamani Islands to be based on Japan, so it seemed to fit ;) Thanks for reviewing!

Lela-of-Bast: Thanks! I agree, and I try to keep Midwinter Luck as realistic but fun as possible. In the end Kel is a warrior, and balls and guys don't change that :)

meganidge: WHAT is a whanau? That kept me occupied for ages, I even looked it up in the dictionary, hehe I'm a sad. I liked the corset bit too! Thanks for reviewing :)

Spy In Training: Yeah she would have slit her dress (that's how she ruined it) but I don't think it would have actually come off or anything :) Thanks for reviewing!

Jamie lynn: Thanks for your review!

Drop Your Oboe: Aah, I live for irony. One's just got to kill the evil Scanran, ball dress and heels or no :) Thanks heaps!

craazyladyy: Interesting point! I wonder if it would be the same though, because Alanna only created the illusion of Kel's hair/eye colour, rather then actually physically changing it like she would have tried to for her height? Thanks for reviewing!

SarahE7191: I've actually memorised the 'E7191' bit by now, cool huh? I think it was my favourite chapter too, though I'm still a bit partial to Chapter 3. And Loey's not dead, don't worry! Thanks!

TamoraPiercesbookslover77: Thanks for reviewing!

wings of a dragon fly: I don't think Kel's clumsy or anything, so with a bit of practice before the ball I reckon she could have pulled off high heels...Thanks for reviewing!

Meep: Cookie sounds good! Yum, I can taste it now...chocolate chips...:)

StarryEmeraldNights

Chapter 7

Last Chapter:

'Kel!' someone yelled.

Kel looked up and saw a sword sailing through the air towards her. It was Dom's.

She caught it deftly by the hilt, and without further thought swung it straight through the Scanran's neck. He collapsed, instantly dead.

Kel struggled to keep standing, leaning on Dom's sword for support. She could barely breathe. The crowd dispersed in horror at the corpse, leaving Dom able to finally fight his way through. He caught her as she almost collapsed, and held her steady.

Kel gasped out 'Can I borrow your knife?'

Bemused, Dom gave it to her. Kel promptly cut the lacings of her corset, ruining a beautiful dress.

The entire court roared with laughter when they saw what she was doing.

'Couldn't breathe' explained Kel 'I hate corsets.'

'Lady Kel!'

Kel looked up, and to her delight and relief, saw Loey running towards her.

'I'm so sorry,' Loey gasped, seeing the Scanran's corpse being moved away by the Palace Guard. 'I was so scared, and I tried to fight him, but he won and they put a truth spell on me. I couldn't do anything!'

Kel put her arm around the younger girl's shoulders. 'Don't worry, Loey. It's over now; it's not your fault.'

Dom interrupted at that point, having listened to their conversation. 'Loesia,' he began 'You said they put. There's only one dead man.'

Loey nodded vigorously. 'One of them was caught in Lady Kel's room, Sergeant, by the Royal Guard. The guard killed the third man when they rescued me.' Loey's face suddenly took on a wolfish grin. 'You should have seen the face on the Scanran when they forced me to say you were at the ball. He was ready to kill, that spymaster fellow's really smart.'

George chose that moment to appear. He was wearing a dress tunic, having attended the ball himself. 'Excellent work, Keladry. Loved the bit with your heel, always knew you were creative. I must say though, the charm in this ball - its rather gone out of it, hasn't it?'

He slapped Kel and Dom's shoulders in a friendly manner and strolled off, whistling a tune.

'Mad,' said Loey 'I don't know why the Lioness married him, he's really bonkers.'

Kel and Dom exchanged laughing glances. The things people said when they didn't know.

'I tend to agree with George, Lady Knight,' Dom said, offering Kel his arm 'Care to leave?'

'Sure,' Kel told him, and they said goodbye to Loey and headed out the door.

The walk back to Kel's rooms was lighthearted and fun. Kel momentarily forgot about her ruined dress stained with Scanran blood, and the fact that she still carried Dom's sword in her hand.

They reached her door as Dom said, reaching down to kiss her 'Well, it's been just two days but already this has been the best Midwinter ever.'

'Yes,' Kel told him, a small smile playing on her face 'Just my luck, you seem to be conveniently popping up pretty much everywhere.'

Dom grinned. 'I try. Goodnight, Kel.'

'Goodnight Dom,' Kel told him, and reached up (though not too far) to kiss him again before she went inside her rooms.

It was only several minutes later that Kel realised that she still had Dom's sword in her hand. Surely he would have noticed that? She thought. Either he didn't, or he's thinking that your having his sword would be an excellent excuse to come by early tomorrow as well.

Kel grinned as she changed out of her dress, only to get a painful reminder of the gash in her thigh. Oops, it mustn't be as bad as I had initially thought. Sure enough it was a very shallow but long gash, and the blood had clotted completely.

Kel cleaned it and bandaged it thoroughly just to be sure, shaking her head. What do you know, an easy injury. Midwinter just keeps getting better and better.

Kel woke at dawn as usual and headed down to the practice courts. Yuki, Shinko, Lady Haname and Queen Thayet were there but Ilane was missing. Shinko ran over to hug her as Kel appeared.

'Kel, I watched you last night that was nothing short of beautiful the way you used your shukushen! I've written to my brother, the prince, and I think he might instate you into the Order.'

Kel openly gasped. 'Shinko, he couldn't possibly!' The Order was reserved for the greatest Yamani warriors of all time. Any member was instantly revered by every living Yamani.

Shinko's eyes twinkled at Kel's shock. 'I think he might. By the way, Lady Ilane says to apologise to you, but Sir Anders' daughter Jascanna is sick so she had to leave for Mindelan very early this morning. She also said to tell you that all the family would be home for Midwinter's End, and that if you didn't make it she would be most disappointed-' Shinko stooped short her chatter as she realised a random fact '-Kel, why are you carrying a glaive and wearing TWO swords on your belt? Surely there aren't any more crazy Scanran assassins to kill or something?'

Kel smiled. 'The second sword is Dom's, actually. I forgot to give it back to him last night.'

'Really?' Yuki asked slyly, eavesdropping 'Too busy walking to your rooms to think about it?'

Kel blushed only slightly as they began to warm up.

Half a bell later Kel and Yuki were in the middle of a well-matched fight. Yuki had many more years of experience with the Yamani weapon, but Kel had strength and stamina. The glaives whirled so fast they seemed to be as light as air, the spear-like tips shining off of the first rays of sunlight.

Thayet, Shinko and Haname stopped to watch. The only sound was the clang of the spearheads and the metal rings jangling at the top of the wooden staff. Kel spun around, her glaive level to thrust, when someone's hand grabbed Yuki's moving staff.

Accompanying the hand was a drawling voice 'Say, that looks pretty, can I try?'

Kel stopped short and let her glaive fall, waiting for Yuki to handle this one. And handle it she did.

'Nealan, how many times have I told you not to play with sharp objects?' Yuki snapped open her fan and prodded her husband in the chest with the blunt end 'I can't let you do your own thing for half a bell without you attempting to lose either your hand or your head!'

Yuki snapped her fan back together and walked off. Neal stood there, cowering. 'But it looked so pretty!'

Yuki's response was to flick the fan open again and toss it over her head. It landed point down in the dirt, two inches from Neal's big left toe. He squealed like a pig and ran away.

Kel was in tears of mirth by this time, and finally abandoning all pretences she started laughing out loud. She realised that someone else was laughing at Neal's expense behind her, so she spun on her heel to come face to face with Dom.

'Who would've thought,' Dom said 'Neal found someone who's actually breaking him to bridle.'

Kel grinned and unbuckled Dom's sword from her belt, offering the hilt to him. 'I think you might want this back.'

'Thanks,' he said, and put his sword back into its previously empty sheath.

'Lady Kel!'

Kel turned, knowing exactly who it was.

'Commander Buri said you practice in the mornings, and I still remember what you showed me at Haven, and I thought maybe if you don't mind…' The girl trailed off, unsure.

'Of course I'll teach you, Loey,' Kel told her kindly, even though she was quite tired 'Pick up Yuki's glaive and get into position.'

Loey swung the glaive up to guard, and didn't complain about the weight even though it was much heavier then the Haven spears.

Loey lunged; Kel parried her blow with ease. Kel gave her a few more shots for a warm-up, then thrusted her glaive straight between Loey's arm and body. 'Keep up your defence,' she told the younger girl 'That was way too easy.'

Loey changed her stance to leave less room between her glaive and body, and parried Kel's next thrust. 'Much better,' Kel told her 'Now try spinning and keeping up your defence.'

Loey spun and nearly fell over in the process.

Kel smiled and lowered her weapon. 'Try again, but put all your weight on either your leading heel or your leading toe, not both. Then you won't over balance.'

Loey spun again; and she thrusted her weapon well at the end of the spin but Kel still blocked her easily. By this time a decent crowd had appeared, holding off their practice to watch.

A few minutes later someone yelled from the sidelines. 'Lady Knight, you can fight with a glaive but what about a sword?' It was in jest, and Loey shook her head, glaive was hard enough even if Lady Kel had been practicing all morning. Instead, Dom walked up.

'Fence, Kel? I have the advantage, but I think I'm going to need it.'

'Deal,' Kel told him, and they moved out into the centre of the court. Lerant saw a good opportunity to make a little extra cash, and everyone started placing bets.

They swung up to guard, but neither of them made a move. Eventually Kel rolled her eyes and broke off, swinging low. Dom met it easily, so Kel cut to the side. Dom twisted away and attacked himself. This continued for many more minutes, the upper hand constantly changing over from one to the other.

Finally, wanting to end it and knowing she could aim well, Kel cut into the very top of Dom's blade from the side, barely a centimetre from his fingers. Dom yelped, thinking for a moment that Kel was trying to cut off his hand, which gave Kel the split second advantage she had hoped for. Her sword twisted up and touched his neck.

'You cheated!' Dom accused in a friendly voice.

'You freaked out!' Kel countered 'What did you think, that my aim was so poor I'd cut off your hand?'

Dom literally glowed. 'No…hey, I think you just insulted me, and I demand payment.'

Kel laughed and countered him again. 'I don't know, you're going to have to be more specific.'

Dom grinned evilly. 'Okay. Kiss me. Right here, right now.'

Kel could tell he honestly didn't expect her too, but she was in a good mood.

She closed the distance in one step and kissed him straight. Dom recovered quickly, and they kept at it long enough for a few wolf whistles and a call of 'Get a room, you two! People are actually trying to practice here!'

That afternoon Kel, Dom, Yuki and Neal went for a walk in the city. It was teeming with stalls and people because of the Midwinter Festival, and everyone was in a lively mood. Yuki had temporarily forgiven Neal ('It's your own stupid fault if you get your hand cut off anyway.')

As they were strolling down the laneway Yuki prodded Kel. 'Isn't that the girl from Haven, what's her name, Louise?'

Sure enough, Kel saw Loey down a shadowy lane way…kissing Tobe.

Kel made a big effort not to burst out laughing for some reason. Oh well, she figured. I did the same thing at their age…and this morning.

Review! I have the next chapter ready but I need reviews first evilly grins again :)

StarryEmeraldNights