Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character or places.
"The Lady Knight will be here tonight!"
"Really?"
"Yes, and you shall make sure to impress her. She is held in very high esteem. She is a supporting beam of this realm. Think of the glory she could bring to any house. You need to court her and give her our name! And you young lady, shall befriend her, be a sister to her"
"But mother..."
"Not a word, she shall bring glory to our house, and we shall work fast, for we are not the only one who would like to be able to call her ours" continued the matchmaking mother. It was true, all around the ballroom, conversation buzzed about the lady knight. Everyone from the haMinch to the Nond to the Masbolles, wanted the Lady knight for their sons.
"The competition for the Lady Knight's attention will be fierce!" said one mother to another.
"I think we may have the advantage, my younger son is married to her sister" replied another mother. She was the very conservative mother of Adalia's husband. Even if the conservative disapproved of the Lady Knight, they couldn't help but be awed of what she accomplished. It was true, without that one knight the war would not have been won so easily, if at all.
"I think however that, us Masbolles, have the greater chance" replied Lady Dominic of Masbolle.
"And why is that mother?" asked Sir Daniel the younger, Dom's older brother.
"Haven't you heard about the 'bet'?" she asked everyone.
"What bet?" asked a matchmaking mother.
"There is a bet going on about Lady Keladry and my youngest Domitan. It is a bet of when they shall start courting. We shall push them a little and make sure we have a Lady Knight Commander in the family. What do you think of Lady Knight Keladry of Masbolle?"
"It is just a bet, there is no proof" replied a matchmaking mother. Lady Dominic just smiled. "And you my dear Danielle shall befriend her, understood?"
"Yes mother" she replied.
In a corner to the ballroom a giant man and a tiny woman sat laughing. "She will endure what I had to endure for over two decades before you saved me from them all, my love" Lord Raoul whispered to his wife, grinning evilly thinking of the discomfort of his ex-squire.
She laughed "I heard she had a date" she whispered.
"It better be Dom" he answered. "And they better start courting. Look at it this way, he'll be her knight in shining armour saving her from the matchmaking mothers"
"You know what would make this priceless?" asked Neal as he joined them with a beautifully clad Yuki.
"What?" asked Buri
"If she fell down the stairs" he answered grinning. Yuki slowly took her fan out "Euh, I mean it wouldn't be funny at all" he corrected himself. Yuki nodded to herself and placed the fan back in her obi.
"I can't believe you Yuki" exclaimed Lady Alanna coming to join them "you actually trained him"
Neal glared at his ex knight-mistress. "When will she come down the stairs on the arm of her date, which has to be Dom?"
"Soon I'm guessing" replied George with a glint in his eye. "I wonder how she'll react!"
"To what?" asked his wife.
He tilted his head back in the direction of the painting of the Lady knight at the New Hope Fight.
"She'll probably stumble and fall" said Neal. He got a glare from his wife and amended "She'll just coolly take it in"
"He's back from the war!"
"He is so handsome! I saw him when he came in; I just fell in love with him!"
"Lady Vivenne is just so lucky that he courted her"
"Did you see his eyes? I feel like I could drown in them!"
"And his shoulder, they always fill hiss tunic the right way! He looks so gorgeous"
"I'm so getting a dance with him!"
"Not if I get there first!"
"Didn't you guys hear? He supposedly about to court the Lady Knight"
Kel's sisters laughed at the other young eligible women. "Of course" they replied laughing.
"Why are you laughing?" asked another court lady.
"Did you ever SEE our sister in law?" asked Orannie. "She is made along the lines of a cow! I doubt the most eligible bachelor at court will fall for a girl with a cow figure!"
"Be nice to your sister in law" said Lady Uline of haMinch, formerly of Hannalof.
"That girl may get many praises and purses and do heroic deeds and be a 'pillar of the realm' but she will not court the most handsome, charming and gorgeous man at court, there is no way" replied Kel's sister, Lady Adalia.
Then the herald yelled over the sound of conversation "The Lady Knight Commander of the King's Owns Lady Keladry of Mindelan and Sergeant Domitan of Masbolle of the King's Own"
Kel's sister could not believe it as her younger sister in law came into view on the arm of the most beautiful man ever. She wasn't even that pretty. Her shoulder were too large and her arms to muscles. "Well, she still looks like a cow" she whispered.
"Well the cow got the handsomest escort' retorted Lady Uline. "But she is a very attractive cow"
"The Lady Knight Commander of the King's Owns Lady Keladry of Mindelan and Sergeant Domitan of Masbolle of the King's Own"
"Yay!" yelped Neal "Kel and Dom are together! I'm going to be rich!"
"You know Neal, people can go to balls as friends!" whispered George.
Neal glared at him "But Kel and Dom are PERFECT for one another!" he said "Just look at them!"
Lady Alanna, George, Lord Raoul, Daine, Numair and Buri watched the young couple walk down the stairs. Neal was right, they were perfect together. She looked radiant in that green dress and he looked handsome as ever. They made the cutest couple.
"See I was right!" said Lady Dominique. "Lady Knight Keladry of Masbolle. Now Dannie, I want you to go befriend her, you shall become a close friend of the Lady Keladry. She shall have even more ties to the Masbolle. Dom is her escort, Neal her best friend and you shall be her best girlfriend! Understood?"
"Yes Mother" replied the young woman, as she walked away towards the young women her own age.
"You know Lady Dominique, this does not necessarily mean that they are together! They could just be good friend" said the Lady of haMinch.
"You are just upset your son is not escorting her! But Lady Dom, I think she may have a point. We shall watch and see. I shall introduce my own son to the Lady Knight and we will see who she shall choose. Hopefully my own offspring" said Lady of Nond.
"I thought your son could not marry because he is in the King's Own?" asked the Lady of Genlith.
"If there is but a slight possibility of them marrying he shall quit the Own!" she said "It is time he settles down! I have been trying to get him to marry since forever. But I will be more forceful if it is for the Lady Knight"
Just then another matchmaking mother joined them. The Lady Drisma of Mindelan, apparently the dragon of the family.
"My Lady Dominique" she said "It seems that my grandchild seems to favour your son"
"Yes, Lady Drisma" replied Dom's mother "I find it a very favourable match"
"So do I!" said Kel's grandmother "I have been looking for a young man for young Keladry for a while now and your son is quite an interesting and favourable match for my granddaughter"
"Well I think that you and I, my Lady, are in agreement for this match" replied Lady Dom.
"Mother?" asked Sir Daniel, Dom's older brother.
"Yes Dan"
"Maybe Dom and the lady Knight are just friends, Dom has escorted on many occasion young court women with no intention of marrying them or even courting them. Sometime escorting someone is just a favour from a friend to a friend. Maybe Dom and Lady Keladry are just friends and are not looking for involvement, or marriage"
"Nonsense, young sir" cut in Lady Drisma "I am Keladry's grandmother, she shall listen to me and if Lady Dominique and I try to arrange a marriage I'm pretty sure they will listen to us."
"Excuse me" cut in Lady Ilane of Mindelan. They all turned towards her "My daughter is not someone to sell to the highest bidder or most honourable family. She choose against a arranged marriage when she decided to become a knight. She does not wish for me or the family to choose her a husband. She has done enough for this family, given us countless amount of money that we should honour her wishes. She and only she will decided who she will spend the rest of her life with and not some gossiping Ladies. It is her choice and her choice only! And Lady Drisma, I thought I made it quite clear that you were not going to try to arrange a marriage for her." With that she walked away toward her husband, who was talking to Lady Hamane.
"Do not mind my daughter-in-law ladies, she will come around eventually once we can find Keladry a match that we cannot resist."
Kel walked out into the ballroom on Dom's arm. The first thing they noticed was Neal doing what appears to be a victory dance, that looked extremely ridiculous. "He thinks he won the bet" whispered Dom. "Ready to give him the shock of his life?"
She grinned up at him. "Of course"
The next thing she saw was some court ladies, her sisters among them. They were making goo-goo eyes at Dom while glaring at Kel. It was clear to her they were jealous of her and the fact that her escort was the most eligible bachelor at court. "They want you so badly" she told him pointing her chin toward the ladies.
He gave her a quick laugh. "Why do your sister seem shocked?" he asked quietly
"Oh, well they told me that I look like a cow, so I guess they are shocked I managed to catch the most gorgeous man at court" she whispered back bitterly.
He looked at her for a second and whispered. "Well they may think you look like a cow, but I like cow-ish girls. They are so much better looking. Cows are very attractive you know!" she laughed a little bit at that "don't listen to them, love. You are the most beautiful girl here and I love you!"
She looked up at him and gave him a smile "Thank you"
Her eyes roamed the room and fell on her grandmama's talking to several matchmaking mothers. "There's my grandmamma, probably trying to arrange my marriage" she said with a frown.
He looked over to where the mothers were standing around and saw the Lady Drisma talking to his mother. "Well apparently, my mother is arranging my wedding as well." He said "she's been telling me to settle down for so long now"
She looked at him with worry in her eyes. "Will you actually be betrothed to someone else?" she asked "Will you leave the own? What about me? Will you leave me? Or would you're parents maybe consider someone like me? A disgrace who isn't a really lady? From a house that is not very rich, nor powerful?"
"Calm down, love" They had reached the bottom of the stairs and the crowd parted before them. "Seeing as your grandmother is talking to my mother there is a fair chance she would like the match. And Mindelan is quite powerful. What with the Yamani alliance and the commander of the King;s Own?" They started walking towards their Majesties. "And my mother wants me to quit"
"But it's your whole life!" she said.
"Well it's not my WHOLE life; I mean you are my life too! and father is a little bit on my side. He said that has long has I was in the Own she was not to arrange a marriage for me, however the moment I left she could arrange something. But father told me that I should find myself a girl I want to marry while being in the Own so I could choose my own bride" he told her.
She smiled up at him, relieved. She turned toward the monarch and stopped dead in her track. Dom, who kept walking was yanked back by their linked arms, and he loved that she was strong enough to pull him back. "What is this?" she asked.
He looked around to see what she was talking about. He emitted a small "Oh" and relied "A painting"
She glared at him. She looked at the painting and asked "Why would they paint me and why would they put it here?"
She didn't realize that the monarch could hear her clearly. She was startled when Queen said "You've become quite an icon, Keladry. This is a painting that gives hope to everyone, from soldiers in the field to young girls who are hoping to become warriors. You will be glad to hear there is four girls in page training as we speak. One is almost a squire"
"People look at this painting and see the hope. They see someone who fight for what she believes in and they see the determination in you. They see that you would do anything to set things right and they are inspired by you" continued the king.
"The commoner love you! They see that you treat them like humans, and equals to yourself. There are se many people talking about going to New Hope to see you" ssaid the beautiful Queen.
"You are a true knight of the realm. We are proud of you and you are one of the greatest hero and commander of Tortall. We salute you" finished King Jonathan. He then bowed down to her. She was shocked. The monarch rarely bowed down, it was such a great honour.
"Thank you, your Majesty" she whispered bowing down.
Dom led her to their table. She was sitting with Daine and Numair. Daine winked at them and looked up. Looking up Kel saw doves. She smiled. It was going to be memorable.
They ate the fancy food while chatting casually,
After the dinner they stood up, and went to go chat with Lord Raoul, Buri and Lady Alanna.
"Hello My Lord" she said.
"Call me Raoul" he said. "So how is your night?" he asked while wiggling his eyebrows at Dom.
Kel laughed. "It's very well! Dom is so entertaining!" she said winking at Dom.
Dom just kept grinning. Then a young man approached them carefully. "Lady Knight?" he asked.
"Yes" she said turning toward him.
"Would you please give me the honour of this dance" he bowed.
She looked at Dom, who just shrugged and agreed to a dance. As he led her toward the dance floor she saw court ladies surround Dom. She then saw him escort a lady to the dance floor.
Matchmaking mothers, young man and even older men all came to talk to her and try to sway her away. She hadn't even seen Dom since she had danced that first dance.
"My dear beautiful lady knight" she heard. She sighed. She had heard so many people say that to her.
She turned to see George holding his hand out. "A dance?" he asked.
She smiled at him "of course". In fact she was relieved. She didn't have to dance with someone who was going to try to court her, or talking to matchmaking mother who were trying to sell the virtues of their sons or ladies who tried to befriend her, most of them having nothing in common with her. She did not want to talk about dresses and such. And she couldn't bring up weapons training or battle strategies to delicately reared ladies.
She started to dance with George. She looked over to see Dom and Daine dancing close to them. She raised an eyebrow at George. He laughed and whispered in her ear "I think you and your date should dance together"
She was a bit nervous now. "Don't worry Keladry everything will be fine!"
"It's just going to be weird, I mean we'll be allowed to be open with our affection. We always hid them. For 10 months now we always hid it. It'll be different" she said.
"You will like it! You'll be able to just kiss him whenever and hold his hand in front of people"
She smiled, thinking about that. The song ended. She saw a man approaching her. She quickly turned towards Dom. "Well date, shall we?" she asked.
He grinned at her and the butterflies in her stomach did somersaults. He gently took her hand in his and laid his other hand on her waist. She slowly dipped her head to his shoulder and they started to sway to the music. Of course, thanks to George, the most romantic love ballad was playing at the moment.
"Look at them!" whispered Neal.
"We are looking, Meathead!" said Lady Alanna. He stared at her
"Since when do YOU call me meathead?" he asked.
She looked at him "Since you act like one" when she saw that he was about to protest she whispered "Shut up and look" They all turned to face the swaying couple. They truly looked perfect together.
Then they suddenly looked up into each others eyes. "This is it!" whispered Raoul.
"Shh" said Buri, Alanna, Yuki, Shinko, Road, Seaver, Faleron, Cleon, Numair, Ilane, Piers, Dominique and plenty of other people.
Dom gently cupped Kel's cheek and bent his head towards her. Everyone was now holding their breath.
When his lips met hers doves started to circled around them while a halo of light, engineered by George, shined on them. It looked like a scene from romance novels.
Then they all cheered. Kel and Dom turned towards them with a smile on their faces. "I'm so happy for you!" yelled most people, while Neal said "Give me my money!"
"Hold up a second Neal!" said Kel "What money?'
"Well...." he said "We sort off had a bet about when you guys were going to start courting... and I won"
"When we started courting?" asked Dom.
"Well yes, and since you guys are obviously now courting I won!"
"Well, I don't think so" replied Kel.
"What do you mean?" asked Neal.
"Well, we sort of knew about the bet" said Dom. Everyone stared at them. "What?" they yelled.
Kel and Dom just smiled at them. Kel then walked over to Lord Wyldon "Congrats on winning the bet" she told him.
"Thank you, Mindelan" he replied.
"Wait, no!" said Neal "The Stu... I mean Lord Wyldon can't win! He said you'd be together since like 9 months ago! And Dom had a lover at New Hope!"
They both looked at Neal. "NOOO! Are you saying that Dom's lover at New Hope was YOUU!?"
"No, it can't be!" he said.
Lady Alanna then covered his mouth with her hand.
"I can't believe you guys kept this secret for so long, but congrats!" she said.
"You sneaky!" said Lord Raoul. He couldn't believe it! 10 months?? Unbelievable.
"No one knew?"
"I knew" said Lord Wyldon. "It was so obvious, the way they look at each other and the way they talk, it's just so obvious"
"I knew" said George "I mean I'm not the spy master for nothing! You know the prank about stealing his clothes? I'm the one who got him his clothes back"
"I knew" said Daine "My animals told me! And all the time you asked me to spy through my animals, well, I just lied a little"
"YOU KNEW?" yelled Alanna.
"Now Lass, you know it's my job, and they didn't want everyone to know and..."
"George"
"Yes?"
"Start Running!" He left the ballroom at a full sprint.
Alanna then let go of Neal and ran after her husband. "No" said Neal "It can't be! I mean no!" Kel and Dom just laughed.
"Denial is the first step Neal"
"No, it can be!"
Kel rolled her eyes. She then yawned. "I don't know about you, but I'm tired" Dom offered her his arm and they left the ball room.
"I can't believe he KISSED her" said Lady Oralie. "She looks like a cow!"
"Well, I'm happy for them!" said Lady Uline.
"But that means he not free anymore" replied one very upset court lady "And didn't you hear they have been courting for 10 months now"
"When shall we schedule the wedding?" asked Lady Drisma
"Soon" replied Lady Dominique.
They spent the night together. For once not scared someone was going to walk in on them, or hear them talk late in the night. They fell asleep after loving each other.
They were rudely awakened by a knock on her door. "My Lady commander! There is an emergency! Third Company is called away! And we can't find Sergeant Dom!"
I hope you guys liked it! Please give me feedback! and sorry i didn't update sooner, i'm blaming finals and organic chemistry... grrr! wish me luck it's tomorrow afternoon!