Gosh, I keep writing such long chapters. Sorry? I did break up this chapter up and even then its 12 pages long!
In this chapter, we have a small peak at Richard's jealousy of Karras and upset that Kori was engaged to him, more to come with that later, but mostly things are good between Richard and Kori. But here you find that (oh no!) Babs is being poorly behaved again!
Chapter 36
Thursday at Devon, Part 1
Richard woke up early to get over to the show. Even though he wasn't moving into the hotel officially, he had packed an overnight bag so he could get over to the horse show very early that morning. He slipped out of bed without waking Kori. She was sleeping so peacefully. He on the other hand had a difficult night. The thought of Kori as another man's fiancée invaded his dreams. Not only that, but that Karras had treated her poorly and she didn't deserve that. He wondered if he'd be civil if he ever met the guy.
Richard was showered and changed by 6:40 AM and considered just leaving a note when he realized that would most likely really upset her. He sat on the bed and looked at her lovely face. They were becoming so close, and she was nearly completely his now in mind, soul and heart – the body part of the equation seemed almost trivial. Things were happening so fast but he knew he soon would want to give her a token of his affection, of his commitment.
He gave her a kiss on the cheek and he was surprised when she reached up and wrapped her arms around him.
"Oh, you are dressed already Richard," she sounded a bit disappointed as her eyes blinked open.
"I've got to get over to the show, we have all the breeding classes today for the young horses, and they start at 8," he replied.
There wasn't a coldness in his tone but he seemed so distant.
Kori forced a smile, "I will see you over there then. When should I get there?"
"Anytime." His tone still indicating his emotional distance although his words were not that much different than they had been, "I'm sorry but I might be tied up. Do you need Babs' and Selina's numbers? Maybe you can arrange some time in the box with them although I'm sure they will get there at some point."
"I'll go over to watch the classes shortly," her impulse was to act indifferently but thought better of it, "I have enjoyed watching and have plenty to learn. Please call me if you need me for anything. And take my car to the show so you will get there faster, I am happy to walk."
Richard's face and tone softened a bit. She was so generous and had such a wonderful affect on him. "Thank you, I will take the car if you sure you don't need it. I'll definitely call if I need you and probably if I don't. I'll try to stop by the box later too. I love you Kori."
Kori smiled widely, pleased he was coming around, his distant tone gone, "I love you too Richard, and good luck today! I will be doing the rooting for all of Dark Night's horses!"
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Kori quickly showered and dressed after Richard left. She felt a slight pull in her gut that Richard was slipping away a bit. The temptation of going after him and clinging on tight to him was great, as it had been on the night he had walked out on her, but just as she had the other night, she resisted the urge.
She walked over the the show having decided to get breakfast at the show grounds. She was surprised by the amount of people there that early. There was quite already a traffic back up with a line of truck and trailers, most of them two horse trailers of the local exhibitors competing in to the breeding classes.
Breeding classes were competition judged solely on the animal itself. The horses were exhibited 'in-hand', lead by a handler and shown only at the walk and trot. The horses were evaluated and scored for their conformation (how they are built), their 'way of going' (how they move), and to a lesser extent their behavior. Their 'turnout' – how well they have been groomed and braided – comes into play but at this level of competition, excellent turnout is expected as a minimum.
Kori picked up a copy of the show catalog along with the book, A Week Down at Devon about the show, and her breakfast. She made it over to the box to find Bruce Wayne himself there, looking almost tired and holding a tall Styrofoam cup of black coffee. Kori noticed this of course, he always looked so perfect.
He gave her a warm smile, "Good morning Koriand'r"
"Good morning Mr. Wayne,"
"Kori, please call me Bruce."
"Of course, Bruce."
"I didn't expect to see you this morning. It isn't the most exciting competition," he said.
"That is fine. I just wanted to be here," she stopped before she said anything further.
"Well, it is way too early in the morning for me, but we have a lot of horses competing and how they do here will effect their careers and whether or not we'll be selling them,"
Kori smiled, and then wondered why they would sell any of their horses but thought she would ask Richard that question. She looked out into the ring to see 12 young horses lined up in a row only in bridles with their well dressed handlers in front of them.
"Bruce, could you please explain to me about this type competition?"
"Sure Kori," he replied and went on to explain about the breeding classes.
The first set of classes were divided by age and sex as well as the aspects of their breeding. At Devon (as number of other Pennsylvania shows for that matter), for each age, from age 1 through age 3, there were a total of six classes, divided as follows: Thoroughbred filly (female), Thoroughbred colt or gelding (male intact or castrated), Non-thoroughbred filly, Non-thoroughbred colt or gelding, Pennsylvania bred filly, and Pennsylvania bred colt or gelding. After those winners were picked, there was a competition between the winning fillies, one of the winning colts and geldings and then an overall winner between the best filly and colt was decided. After all three ages were decided, a best overall filly, colt or gelding, Thoroughbred, Non-thoroughbred, and Pennsylvania bred were chosen along with the best young horse overall.
"Bruce, are thoroughbreds pure bred horses?"
"No Kori, they are horses registered as the breed Thoroughbred and registered to the Jockey Club. They are of the same lineage as the horses that race in races like the Kentucky Derby," he replied.
Kori nodded, recognizing what he meant.
"Our horses are only entered in the non-thoroughbred classes because they are not purebred thoroughbred and our horses are bred and born in Virginia, not Pennsylvania."
"What breed are your horses?" Kori asked.
"Well, they are mostly Dutch Warmbloods because nearly all of them are sons and daughters of Nightwatch who is a Dutch Warmblood that we imported from Germany a few years ago," he explained.
The non-thoroughbred fillies entered the ring. There were 17 of them.
"Here we go Kori. We have two in this class, Night Storm and Night Song. Here, let me show you in your catalog," Kori handed him the show catalog and he flipped to the page with the class listing, "Here they are, #1299 Nightstorm and #1305 Nightsong."
Kori looked down the page and saw the listings:
#1299 Nightstorm......Nightwatch x Storm Chaser........owned by Bruce Wayne and Dark Night Farm
#1305 Nightsong.......Nightwatch x Song of Silence.....owned by Bruce Wayne and Dark Night Farm
Bruce and Kori watched the conduction of the class. The horses inspected individually by a man in a suit with a clipboard who Bruce explained to Kori was the horse show judge. The judge then had the horses walked and trotted individually. Soon after, they were lined up and the judge pulled nine horses out of line and had them line up head to tail, excusing the others. Night Storm was pulled first and Night Song was pulled third. The judge walked around the horses again and moved Night Song into the second slot.
The announcer came on and announced the ribbon winners, "And in class 382 Non-thoroughbred yearling fillies, first prize and the blue ribbon goes to Night Storm owned and bred by Bruce Wayne and Dark Night Farm, and in second place and the red ribbon goes to Night Song owned and bred by Bruce Wayne and Dark Night Farm, and in third place..."
Bruce sat stoically as Kori clapped happily, "that is wonderful Bruce!"
Bruce had to chuckle at his son's girlfriend's exuberance, "yes it is Kori."
They sat and continued to watch as their only entry in the yearling Non-thoroughbred colts and geldings, a black horse named Nightflight won his class. Later on, in the classes for 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds every single Dark Night Farm horse pinned in the top 4. Including the yearling classes, 12 horses in all were shown and had done well. Bruce muttered something about having to hold on to all of them.
Kori recognized the colt Nightwing that Dick had told her had bucked him off a couple days before their coffee date. The 3-year-old had won his class as well.
Just then, Dick came to the box. He hadn't really expected her to be there and was very happy she was there. Kori was so happy to see him as well, his distant tone earlier had concerned her.
Dick smiled warmly, "Hi Bruce, hi Kori," he leaned over and gave her a rather lingering kiss on the lips and Bruce shook his head, amused.
"I'll leave you two alone, I'm going to grab some more coffee. Dick, Kori, can I bring you back any?"
"I am fine, thank you Bruce," Kori said.
"Large and black please. Thanks Bruce."
"Be good," Bruce said in faux admonishment as he walked down the grandstand stairs.
Dick took Kori's hand and interlaced his fingers with hers. His other hand gently caressed her forearm. He felt the sudden urge to be close. "Hi," he said with the goofy lopsided grin she had only caught sight of a couple of times.
"Greetings," she said actually trying to give him a enticing smile.
"I really want to kiss you, but its probably not appropriate,"
"Probably not," she replied not allowing her smile to fade.
Richard considered how many people were around them. Things were crowded by the ring's railing and in the warm up arenas and the barns because of the sheer number of classes and exhibitors. But the grandstand was nearly empty. Not that he was sure if a crowd around them would stop him at the moment, he leaned over and kissed her.
Kori was surprised when not only did the kiss linger, but when he licked her lip to asked for entrance. She smiled as she opened her mouth to allow him in and she heard him groan as he did so. Things certainly didn't get too heated but it was extremely pleasant.
Kori thought she heard the click of the shutter but it wasn't until the young female photographer came up to the box, "Excuse me, I'm Amy Draco from the Suburban... oh I know you guys, I took your picture at the ball! Never mind, I've got your names Miss Anders, Dr. Grayson thank you for letting me get the shot!"
Richard laughed and Kori blushed furiously, "I do not remember giving her permission to take our picture," Kori said.
"Kori, she doesn't need permission. Bruce is gonna love it when its printed," he added sarcastically.
"Perhaps they will not print it."
"No, they will Kori. You are so beautiful, haven't you seen all the times your picture has been taken this week."
Kori blushed again, "No, not really."
"Well, you have been photographed repeatedly, not that I can blame them. You're so photogenic, no one can resist."
"Richard, stop-"
"Its true Kori!"
"If you say so..."
"I know so," he replied.
"But they are taking pictures of you as well," retorted playfully.
"Yeah, I noticed that."
"I think they are only taking my picture because they are taking yours."
"Not true, Kori."
"It is true!"
Just then Bruce returned, "You two aren't arguing are you? I only left for a few minutes," he teased.
"No, its just Kori won't believe me that the photographers are taking lots of pictures of her," Dick explained.
"Kori, I agree with Dick, they have been. But at least we haven't had to worry about the paparazzi."
"The paparazzi?!" Kori said more than a bit shocked.
"You get used to it," Richard said casually.
"I do not think I will," she said softly.
Bruce tried to reassure her, "Kori, its only a few times a year, and usually only at Wayne Foundation events. Aren't you used to it from being a princess?"
Kori tried not to gasp, she really didn't like the reference to her royal status, but Bruce immediately realized he said something he shouldn't have.
He said in Tamaranian, "My apologies Koriand'r. Dick told me that you do not refer to yourself as the princess anymore but it honestly slipped my mind."
Kori replied in Tamaranian, "Apology accepted. Richard told me that he explained to you the nature of my last few days in Tamaran and I am sure you can understand why it holds painful memories to me. Painful memories that I had for the most part repressed until a few days ago."
Bruce continued with sincerity, "Kori, if there is anything you need, do not hesitate to ask. I have a good friend who is a clinical psychologist, Dr. Chase Meridian. She is very skilled in helping people work through traumatic events, perhaps she could help you."
"That's a great idea Bruce," Richard said also in Tamaranian. "Kori, she helped me a lot when I was working through your 'death'. I think its its okay with you, I'll go talk to her now that we know the truth."
"Of course it is fine with me Richard. I was going to call someone I worked with when I lived up here but perhaps this Dr. Meridian will be a good choice."
"Not to tell you two what to do, you both are health professionals, but maybe some joint sessions would help," Bruce said.
"I'm all for that, how about you Kori?"
"Absolutely," Kori replied. She was surprised that Richard would be so open to therapy. She also liked the idea of couples work, she had seen it work wonders for her own patients. Kori was also happy this discussion had been in Tamaranian for the sake of their privacy.
The classes continued and the Dark Night Farm horses did well. In Get of Sire, a competition that has exhibitors show a number of young horses with the same father, Nightwatch's get not surprisingly won as they had dominated the 1 to 3 year old classes. In the overall winners, another of his progeny, a two year old filly named Nights on Broadway was awarded Best Young Horse. Bruce, Richard and Kori made their way to the ring to have their picture taken with the lovely young horse.
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Bruce and Richard went back to the barn to make sure that everything was set for the Young Hunter under Saddle classes for horses 5 years old and under and also to check on Nightwatch who would be competing in the Grand Prix that night.
Soon after, Babs and Selina made their way to the box.
"Hi Kori," Babs and Selina said essentially in unison.
"Babs, Selina its so good to see you," Kori said genuinely.
"How are things?" Babs asked.
"The Dark Night Farm is doing extremely well today," Kori responded.
"That's great! Are Bruce and Dick down by the rail?" Babs said.
"I believe they are there or back at the barns."
"So Kori, now that we're alone, do you want to talk about the other night?" Babs said.
"Kori, you don't have to," Selina added.
"Wait, Selina – you know what happened?" Babs asked her friend.
"Its fine. I will talk to you about it," Kori said.
"Its actually romantic," Selina added.
"Romantic? Dick looked really upset on Tuesday, how could it have been romantic?" Babs said.
"Well, it is that Richard and I had met a long time ago in Tamaran," Kori started
"Really?" Babs said, very surprised.
"I was 13 and Richard was 15. We liked each other and we gave each other our first kisses."
"Told you it was romantic," Selina said, "They've found each other again!"
Babs felt a twinge of jealousy. She really liked Kori, but Babs had not completely given up designs on her ex-boyfriend. "Wow. But why did he come to the party upset the other night?"
"Well here is where it gets complicated. Neither Richard nor I realized that we knew each other before. I knew him his old nickname Robin and he knew me by my the name my mother called me, Starfire. Richard he had thought I was killed in one of the bombings and because of the bombings, I had repressed memories of the last few months I was in my homeland of Tamaran. I remembered finally on Tuesday night."
"Why would Dick think you were dead?" Babs asked, having hung on her every word.
Kori realized that she had to divulge her royal status. Obviously, Selina already knew it. "Selina, can you explain it to Babs? I am having trouble finding the right words," Kori said. This was half-true, it was also just exhausting for Kori to explain.
"Babs, Kori is the princess of Tamaran. Her parents and brother were killed in the bombings and Bruce had been told Kori had been killed as well and told Dick. Kori doesn't like to tell people that she is royalty so that's why Dick didn't realize it when he met her a couple months ago here."
"Also, I did not know Richard was Ambassador Wayne's son. I knew he was an American and the son of a diplomat but that was all," Kori added.
"That is quite a story," Babs said, still trying to hide her jealousy. That additional connection between Dick and Kori gave them a history. Although she was torn because she really did think Kori and Dick were good for each other, it was her history with Dick that she had hoped might help her in the future to win him back. "Kori, what is it like to be a princess?"
"Babs! I said Kori does not tell people she's royalty, you have to respect that!" Selina admonished.
"I'm sorry Kori, it just sounds like fun."
"Babs, I know you mean it as a complement but it was our royal status that got my family killed and I do not like to acknowledge it."
After that, the women's conversation continued on much more neutral subjects. Shortly, Amy the photographer came by and took the three women's picture. She did check with them to verify Selina and Babs' names.
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Later on, Babs got up to walk around a bit as her back was bothering her and she was trying to cut back on the Percocet. Selina and Kori decided to stay in the box and watch.
Babs poked around the shops for awhile and her back was still bothering her so she took 3 Percocet and chewed them so she'd get relief faster. I'm running low, I hope Red will write me another prescription.
A short time later, down by the committee stand, Babs ran into Amy Draco, the photographer.
"Excuse me, Amy," Babs said to the cute brunette in her 20's.
"Yes. Oh, hi, its Barbara Gordon, right?"
"Yes it is. Listen, Amy, you didn't here this from me but my friend Kori Anders, you know the other redhead whose picture you took?"
"Yes, I know who Miss Anders is."
"Well, its actually Dr. Anders, she has a PhD but also, and again you didn't here this from me, but Kori Anders is actually the Princess of Tamaran."
"She is?"
"I'm sure its good for your story. Now again, you didn't here it from me - it does embarrasses her a little but deep down she doesn't mind people knowing. I mean, if you were a princess from even a little country like Tamaran, wouldn't you want everyone to know?"
"Well, I'll do some research so I can tell people that's were I got the information."
"Her parents the King and Queen and her brother were all killed in the early 90's."
"I see. Thanks for the tip Miss Gordon. The readers are going to love it! Oh, and to think she dates that gorgeous philanthropist Dr. Dick Grayson! That's quite a story!"
Babs heart pounded a bit. Amy doesn't know the half of it, but at least reporters protect their sources. She rationalized that either Kori wouldn't mind but if she did, it was a little bit of stress that might just affect her relationship with Dick and the more Babs thought about it, the more she wanted him back. She figured she was safe though, that it wouldn't be traced back to her, its not like she told her about Dick and Kori's childhood together.
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Babs returned to the box. With her sunglasses on, no one could see that her pupils were constricted, but in bright sunshine, it would be hard to tell anyway. She was boisterous, but Kori and Selina didn't think much of it – Babs was often boisterous.
A large group of horses came into the ring, this time with riders.
"Oh, the young hunters! I wonder if Dick is riding this year," Babs said rather enthusiastically.
"I don't think so Babs, not as of this morning," Selina added.
Kori felt slightly upset, would Richard ride in the competition without telling her?
As it turned out, Nightwing's regular rider Joy was over extended with all the rides she had that day and was also feeling the heat, so Dick was needed to ride his young horse. With only seconds to spare, he ran back to the apartment to grab his tall boots, ratcatcher shirt, buff show britches and navy hunt coat.
He decided to forgo his velvet hunt cap in favor of his GPA helmet as Buster, as the horse is known around the barn, had bucked him off not long ago. He thought that he had to remember to thank Kori again for letting him use her car so much, it certainly came in handy that day.
Time was still tight and Dick did realize Kori didn't know he was riding and hoped she was there to see him. He thought of calling her but if he caught her at the hotel it would be too late for her to get back to the show in time.
He easily mounted the horse from the ground without assistance, his nearly 6 foot height and muscular but trim build easily carried by the 16.3 hand warmblood. He rode into the arena with the other 48 competitors for the Young Hunters class. And this was just one of the three sections in the class. It seemed everyone with a decent or not so decent horse came out for this class as it was an open competition without any prerequisites or any limit to the number of competitors.
Kori recognized Richard first as would be expected. She thought he looked fantastic in his riding clothes, sitting tall on the lovely black horse.
"See, Dick is riding," Babs said somewhat triumphantly.
Selina placed her hand on Kori's arm to comfort her as she shifted in her seat, starting to twist her fingers nervously and added quickly, "Something must have happened to the rider, he wasn't supposed to ride."
Kori smiled at her gratefully and turned her attention to the ring. The ringmaster lined the horses up and then sent 1/3 of them to the rail. He quickly gave the hand singles as the announcer echoed for them to walk, trot, canter, then reverse and walk, trot and canter in the other direction. The just then selected his top 8 who returned to the like as the others were excused.
Richard and Buster were in the second of the group. Nightwing went flawlessly and Richard could not suppress a large smirk when the judge called out his name first in the group that were supposed to stay in the ring. Richard gave the horse a big pat and the three women applauded, Babs blowing a loud whistle for good measure.
After the top eight were chosen in the final group, the 24 remaining horse returned to the rail. Again, they went through the walk, trot and canter in each direction, with the judge mixing it up a bit by having the horses transition from and trot to the canter and the canter to the walk rather than returning to the walk as is normally done. A number of horses had difficulty with these transitions but Buster was not one of them.
The horses were lined up again and an agonizing two minutes went by before the announcer came on that, "the class has been won by #1313, Nightwing, owned by Bruce Wayne and Dr. Dick Grayson of Dark Night Farms and ridden by Dr. Dick Grayson."
Needless to say, Kori, Babs and Selina were very excited and clapped and cheered loudly along with many others.
"Lets go find them," Babs said enthusiastically, already walking out of the box.
Selina gave Kori a smile and squeezed her hand. Selina was concerned that Babs may try to congratulate Dick before Kori got there, but found it tough to keep up with her. Kori tried to put on a brave face but her shoulders were slumped a bit. She was happy for him but would have liked for him to have told her she was riding. She wanted to believe that Selina was right, that it was a last minute change.
Luckily for Kori and her self esteem, even though Babs had reached Dick first, he saw Kori 30 or so feet away. He brushed by Babs only thanking her for congratulating him and avoiding her hug. When he got to Kori and lifted her up and spun her around.
Kori squealed happily, she hadn't expected that reaction or the searing kiss that followed.
"Stop it you two!" Bruce called out.
"That was wonderful," Kori breathed after Richard placed her back on the ground.
"The kiss or my ride," he replied with a wink.
"Both," she replied.
The celebration could not continue too long as the winners of each of the three sections would compete for the overall winner, the Best Young Hunter.
Bruce, Selina, Babs and Kori returned to the box to watch the three winners compete for the top award. The class was excruciatingly long for having only three competitors, the judge having the ringmaster put the horses through every imaginable transition. Buster appeared to have gone flawlessly, but Bruce had explained his concern that Buster was only 3 years old and the others in the class were 5 year-olds. So when the announcer came over the PA announcing that Nightwing had won, it was even more exciting.
The patrons of Bruce Wayne's box got to take a walk to the ring as they had a few times that week to go into the winner's circle, but this time Dick Grayson was mounted on his horse.
"Alright everyone," Bruce said, "let's get changed and meet back about 7 or 7:30 for dinner before the Grand Prix. See you then."
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Richard and Kori had gone back to the hotel at got there about 5:45 PM. Richard had thought ahead and taken his clothes for the evening session from the apartment and left them in the car. Kori noticed this and smiled, perfectly happy they would be getting ready together.
Even though she had taken one that morning, Kori took a quick shower before changing into her dress. As she came out in just a towel, something she had done deliberately, Richard's breath hitched. He loved the look of her bare shoulders. He was already dirty and sweaty from riding, but now he'd need an even longer shower.
When Dick came out of the shower, Kori was dressed in a black sleeveless silk dress with royal blue trim, which were the barn's colors, and was still drying her hair. Now it was her turn to appreciate what she saw before her – Richard in just his boxers. She continued to dry her hair, catching glimpses of his reflection in the mirror and as he dressed, she wished he hadn't remembered to bring his boxers into the bathroom with him.
Richard noticed that Kori hadn't been able or just hadn't bothered to zip up her dress, giving him a glimpse of the strap of a black lace bra. He wondered if her panties matched. The thought of Kori in black underwear was exciting. To get his mind away from that arousing thought, he started to go through the mnemonics to name the cranial nerves but that was no help at all*, so he moved on to the names of common anaerobic bacteria and then to the square root tables.
After he was dressed, Kori called Richard over to help with the zipper. It was everything for him to zip her up, wanting to take the dress the rest of the way off. He wished he had gotten her a necklace or some other token of his affectionto give her. Of course he wasn't expecting them to become so close. Before the trip, he thought there was an outside chance they would make love by the end of the trip, but hadn't imagined that he would be thinking about marrying her. As far as making love went, he now knew they would wait until they were married, that is if they got married. He realized that was likely and he was couldn't believe he was fine with it.
Such a warm feeling hit him when he thought of them together forever and he couldn't help himself as he leaned over and planted some soft kisses on her right shoulder, as his eyes were locked on her eyes reflecting in the mirror. Her eyes flashed before they clouded over a bit in desire and Richard kept his eyes locked on hers as he kissed her cheek and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned back into him. Emboldened, he started to kiss closer to her ear and then behind it. Kori's eyes fluttered closed – she couldn't trust herself if she watched him as he made her feel so good. He spun her around and kissed her lips softly at first, but soon the kiss grew passionate.
Finally they broke for air, "We better get going," he said softly into her ear.
She shivered and could barely respond, but finally managed, "it is for the best."
"I love you, Kori,"
"I love you Richard."
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Next up: The Grand Prix!
Please review!
* the cranial nerves are most easily remembered by the following :
Oh Oh Oh To Touch And Feel A Girl's Vagina Ah Heaven
(there's a bunch of them, almost all dirty, and that's the one we learned at Penn.)
The cranial nerves are:
I-Olfactory nerve,
II-Optic nerve,
III-Oculomotor nerve,
IV-Trochlear nerve,
V-Trigeminal nerve,
VI-Abducens nerve,
VII-Facial nerve,
VIII-Vestibulocochlear nerve/Auditory nerve,
IX-Glossopharyngeal nerve,
X-Vagus nerve,
XI-Accessory nerve/Spinal accessory nerve and
XII-Hypoglossal nerve.