Redemption

Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce owns PotS. Anything you recognize is hers, anything you don't recognize is mine.

A/N: This is for my friend A.C., who wanted to know what Kel was doing all this time. There are four chapters (thus the title) about Kel, but I'll get back to Joren as soon as I can. Enjoy!

"Sir, think of the rest of us," Dom said pleadingly. "There's the Midwinter parties, and not all mothers look down their noses at younger sons -"

"At least, not younger sons with money," quipped Lerant, his nose buried in his cider.

-- Tamora Pierce, Squire

Four Seasons: Winter, 463 H.E.

Fort Mastiff, Northeastern Tortall

Dom shook snowflakes from his dark hair and stomped his feet against the cold. Kel yanked open the door to her private quarters and pulled him into the room before he had a chance to knock. She closed the door behind him, turned and gave him a big hug. After he hung his cloak on a peg by the hearth, Dom sat down next to Kel on her bed and placed a medium-sized package and two smaller wrapped bundles on her lap. "Midwinter's luck, Kel."

"What are you talking about, Dom? Midwinter is still weeks away from now." Kel said as she twisted her upper body to face him, her expression filled with confusion.

"Yes, well, I'm here now and so are you. There's no telling when we'll see each other again - certainly not at Midwinter. You'll be here, of course, and I'll be at the palace. We leave for Corus in the morning, so I decided to give you your gifts tonight."

Third Company of the King's Own was passing through Fort Mastiff as they escorted King Jonathan back to Corus. The King and General Vanget had been visiting the soldiers at the northern army forts, inspecting their morale and physical conditions. Now that there was an uneasy peace between Tortall and Scanra, there had been many discussions at the King's court about how and when to reduce the number of knights and soldiers on the border without appearing weak and vulnerable to the Scanrans. Most of the nobles wanted as many of their knights and soldiers as possible to return to their home fiefs. Many knights - and noble ladies - were looking forward to a 'proper' Midwinter's celebration at the palace this year. Kel had volunteered to stay behind at the fort to allow some of her friends to enjoy the festivities they had not had since the war began.

"But ... but I don't have a gift for you, yet." Kel sputtered. "This isn't right!"

Dom leaned in and brushed a stray hair away from Kel's dreamy hazel eyes. Then he kissed Kel gently on her lips. The kiss deepened as she returned his passion. "There!" Dom said, as he pulled away, his voice now husky. "That's the perfect gift for me. Now you can open these!"

Kel swatted him playfully, and then she unwrapped the package. She inhaled sharply when she pulled the framed picture away from the cloth that bound it. It was a detailed charcoal sketch of a lady knight, dressed in old-fashioned metal armor, standing with her hand on the hilt of her sword. She held her helmet in her other hand. Her braided black hair hung over her shoulder and was bound with what looked like some sort of metal-studded leather fastener. Kel looked up at Dom with an expression of wonder and surprise.

"So ... do you like it?" Dom asked.

"I love it! Where did you find such a thing? I've never seen anything like it. Who is she?"

Dom grinned at Kel and stood up. "Her name is Lady Gwyneth of Virelle." He started using his hands dramatically to tell the story. "She was a first century knight and she fought in the Battle of Three Rivers - and she raised five children. Some historians think the sketch might have been done sometime after the birth of her fifth child because of the five stars you can see drawn across her breastplate. Her family deserted their fief sometime during the second century, but no one knows why or where they disappeared to. Her former lands are now part of the University property. It's all very mysterious, but my scholarly cousin assured me that this is quite authentic. Neal researched through some of the oldest scrolls in the palace for this information. What do you think?"

"Neal helped you find this? Oh, Dom, it's the best present anyone ever gave me!" Kel gushed.

"Hush!" said Dom, still being very dramatic. "You'd better not let the Lioness hear you say that. Better yet, don't even let her see the sketch - she'll want to know why her former squire didn't find one for her, too. Then Neal will be in big trouble. Although ... on second thought, maybe you should show it to her. I'd love to see Sir Meathead explain his way out of that one."

Kel shook her head in amazement. "There's so little proof to show people that women have fought for Tortall since its beginnings. I definitely want my nieces and nephews to see this sketch. It's ... it's wonderful!"

Dom beamed with his success. "Go ahead - open the other gifts now."

Kel tore into one of the bundles. "Oh! I needed these!" exclaimed Kel, as she held up a pair of fur-lined leather work gloves.

Dom smiled again as he remembered the prank that had resulted in a previous pair of Kel's gloves being burnt to uselessness. Wolset must have apologized a hundred times for 'borrowing' her gloves to place hot coals under Dom's boots to give him a 'hot foot' one morning. The fun-loving corporal had tried to frame Kel for the prank by leaving her gloves next to the boots. Unfortunately, the gloves continued to smolder and the smoke drove everyone from the tent. No one was happy that day and Dom ended up lending Kel his gloves when he went back south. Now, Dom watched as Kel got up from the bed and opened her trunk. After a moment of rummaging through her belongings, she found what she was looking for and ceremoniously returned Dom's own gloves to him.

"Two down, one more to go. Be careful with this one," warned Dom, his sapphire eyes sparkling in the candlelight.

When Kel sat down and opened the last bundle, a strange leather object fell out of the wrapping and clanked onto the floor. She jumped at the heaviness of it as its sharp metal points barely missed her foot. She exclaimed, "What in the Goddess' name is that?"

Dom gingerly picked up the object and held it out to Kel in the palm of his hand.

"Look at the sketch again," urged Dom. "Then you might recognize what this is."

Kel picked up the sketch and studied it carefully. Her eyes grew wide as she saw that the object in Dom's hand and Lady Gwyneth's hair fastener were nearly identical. She looked up at Dom and whispered, "Is this the same as ...?"

Dom nodded. "It is! Apparently, many lady knights did not cut their hair short - as you and Sir Alanna have done - so they wore these kinds of fasteners on their braids, or woven into their hair to keep their opponent's hands away from their pretty little heads. I know I would think twice before trying to pull on someone's braid if it had all these spikes wrapped around it."

"But how did you find ...?"

"Actually a friend of Lalasa's - a very talented jewelry maker named Willa - designed this hair fastener by studying the sketch and then she recreated the piece from scratch. Willa's father is a tanner so she's worked around leather most of her life anyway," Dom smiled the smile of someone who is quite proud of himself. "I predict these sharp little accessories will become very popular again, as soon as all the other lady knights see you wearing yours."

Kel giggled and smiled back at him, but then she looked puzzled.

"It's wonderful, too - and so unique - but my hair isn't long enough to put your gift to good use."

"Yet - it's not long enough yet," Dom said carefully. "I was wondering if ... if you would consider growing out your hair. Don't jump to conclusions - I truly love you exactly the way you are, short hair and all. In fact, you're perfect!" He quickly added. "It's just that ... when I first saw the sketch of Lady Gwyneth, I had a sort of ... vision ...yes, a vision of what you would look like with hair as long as hers. And I think the hair fastener is, well, as exciting as it is dangerous."

Kel noticed that Dom was blushing and then she realized he was telling her that his vision of her with longer hair made his blood run hot. She knew she was blushing now, too. Kel hadn't had long hair since before she was a page; she wasn't sure she could handle it anymore, but after seeing the look in Dom's eyes, she was willing to give it a try. She stood up and wrapped her arms around Dom's neck and kissed his lips.

"I love all my presents - they're marvelous! I'll hang the sketch on my office wall for all to see - even the Lioness. I'll definitely wear my new gloves tomorrow. And I do want to wear this hair fastener, especially since you had it made just for me - especially because it's so dangerous and exciting." Kel chewed on her lower lip for a moment, took a breath and then looked into Dom's shining eyes. "So, I've decided to let my hair grow out - if that's what you really want. It may take a while, but longer locks will be my true Midwinter's gift to you."

Dom spun Kel around in his embrace, kissing her deeply. She kissed him back and hugged him tighter. Then he pulled her down onto the bed with him, and blew out the candles.

A/N: This was also for all you Kel/Dom shippers. I can't promise you this will go well, because I'm headed in the direction of Kel/Joren. Just fair warning, but I hope you enjoy it while you can. Please R&R. Thanks!