Redemption

Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce owns all of PotS. Everything you recognize is hers; everything you don't recognize is mine.

A/N: Remember that 'T' rating? You should not let your little sister read this chapter over your shoulder. Thanks!

"One drop is enough to enable lovers to go on for a long time," instructed the ancient woman, with a sly, toothless smile. "Two drops helps lovers to see each other in the best light, no matter how repulsive they actually may be. Three drops and the lovers see the lover they most want to be with at that time. The illusion only lasts for twelve bells worth of time, so you must plan carefully. Do you understand, my lady?"

Dreams

On the afternoon of the spring equinox, Lady Virryn hosted a banquet to celebrate the official announcement of Joren becoming a knight of the realm. It was not well-attended, but she had not expected many people to come anyway. As winter gave way to spring, heavy rains flooded the rivers and streams, making travel difficult. The roads leading to Stone Mountain were challenging enough in good weather. Most of the invitees sent their congratulations, but they politely declined to attend the celebration. Lady Virryn understood and did not bear any ill will toward her far-flung neighbors. As far as she was concerned, only one guest truly mattered, and that was the lady knight, seated to her left. Lady Virryn had chosen her moment carefully, and was now waiting for her plans to go into action.

Gusty winds had blown away most of the rain clouds and the evening air smelled fresh and clean. Kel walked to the edge of a gravel path. She needed to get some air. Of the few guests who did attend the banquet, Kel only knew Sir Alwin and Lady Celeste and she did not wish to join their conversation about the fine wines available in Tortall. Celeste was blathering on about wines imported from Maren and her brother Alwin was praising recent vintages from the House of Masbolle. Kel knew that Dom's brothers were well-known throughout the land for producing the best Tortallan wines, but hearing Dom's family name only made her sad. As soon as the meal was over, Kel excused herself to go outside.

Joren sat at his place at the opposite end of the table from his mother and Kel. All through the meal he tried not to let his dark mood break through his pleasant facade. He was tired of playing the gracious host to such boorish and stuffy people. It didn't help his mood that the Lady Celeste had declined to share his bed during this visit. While she gladly accepted his gift of a lovely gown from the famous dressmaker Lalasa Isran, she complained that he had been too rough with her during their last tryst. Joren was nearly bursting with pent-up energy and now he felt the wine going to his head. The sooner his guests went away, the better.

Lady Celeste's eyes tightened with jealousy as she slyly watched Joren watching Kel. She knew she was being silly about Joren, but she also knew that Joren's interest in the lady knight was different than it had been. Maybe it had something to do with the beautiful polished stone necklace Lady Virryn had given to Kel in appreciation for the successful delivery of all their new stone to Corus. Celeste thought the tiny stones looked alright against the other woman's sun-tanned skin, but she knew it wouldn't look right against her own milky-white neck. She also knew there was no real competition between her and the lady knight; after all, she was a refined, convent-trained noble lady, whereas Kel was practically ... a man. Celeste giggled at the thought of Joren liking a man, and then continued her argument with her brother, until someone knocked over a goblet of wine which spilled onto her new dress.

Joren didn't see what happened - he was still thinking about how quickly Kel had excused herself from the table and he wished he could do the same. Instead, he was stuck playing nice with all the boring people. Suddenly, Celeste was on her feet, dabbing at a wine stain on her dress. For a moment, Joren thought about how much that dress had cost him, but then he dismissed it from his mind. He had more money than he could ever hope to spend, so it really didn't matter about the dress, except that now Celeste was making a scene and ran crying from the room. His mother gave him an interesting glance, but nodded her head for him to go out after the distraught woman. By the time Joren bid farewell to all his guests, Celeste had disappeared. The hallway was empty, but the door to the outside was open.

Joren walked along the dirt path that led to his favorite grassy hilltop. He knew he would find Celeste there, because she enjoyed the privacy and peacefulness of the place, too. He crunched his boots into the gravel so that she would not be startled by his presence. His felt a familiar tightening below his midsection as he watched the wind whipping her hair all around her head. Her arms were folded across her chest to keep herself warm while the wind pulled at her skirts. He could feel the tension in her tight shoulder and neck muscles when he reached out to gently massage them. She relaxed into him, still looking out over the valley toward the setting sun. The scent of her hair and the warmth of her skin were more intoxicating to him than the wine had been. Slowly, Joren leaned in to nuzzle the area of her neck just under her ear. He knew he had to convince her to go back into the castle; the gusting winds would only become fiercer with the darkness. "Please come back inside. You know the wind only get worse after the sun goes down," he whispered to her and then thought to add, "I promise ... I won't harm you." She turned in his arms to face him and kissed him warmly on his lips. He smiled at her eagerness and quickly led her back to her room.

It was the most physically intense experience Joren had ever had with Celeste, or any other woman for that matter. Celeste let him do things they had never done before and Joren marveled at her strength and stamina. Yesterday she had declared that she would not let him 'abuse' her ever again, but here she was this evening - matching his ardor and coming back for more. Joren started to wonder where his own stamina had come from. He knew he should be worn out, but he just couldn't get enough of Celeste tonight. It was a long time before either of them slept, wrapped peacefully in each others arms. Near dawn, Joren woke up with a pounding headache. He didn't want to disturb Celeste, so he quietly slipped out of her room and went back to his own room to try to sleep some more.

Kel woke up from a dream so marvelous that she had tears in her eyes when she opened them. Dom had come back for her. In her dream, he found her watching the sunset and led her back to her room. They kissed and hugged and did things with each other they had never done before. The intensity of Dom's passion almost scared Kel, but since she knew it was just a fantastic dream, she let all her inhibitions run wild. Dom's sweet kisses and passionate caresses had always thrilled Kel, but this dream-Dom's kisses and caresses were electrifying and explosive. It was the most physically intense experience Kel had ever had with Dom, but it was only a dream. Now that she was awake and knew that Dom was gone, Kel let the tears silently stream down her face.

When Kel finally made herself get out of bed and start her exercises, she noticed two very strange things. First of all, she was still wearing the necklace that Lady Virryn had given her. Its polished stones had been cut to the shape and size of pearls - each one matching the color of Kel's hazel eyes. The stone necklace had become entangled with the delicate chain that held her pregnancy charm. Secondly, she was not wearing a stitch of clothing. Kel figured that she must have wriggled out of her night shirt sometime during her night of wild dreaming, but she couldn't find it anywhere amongst the bed sheets. There were only her dress and undergarments from the previous evening, all carelessly tossed on the floor.

A/N: Please let me know if you liked this chapter. If so, then I'll write more fluff. Thanks for the reviews!