Chapter Three
One Year Later…
Kel woke up to a fitful sleep to find the spot beside her on the bed vacant. She wondered where Faleron has gone to so early in the morning, but didn't care enough to find out. In fact, she didn't recall him slipping in bed last night at all. Kel shrugged. He must have been up all night. Poor guy, he never gets any sleep anymore. She thought, getting up and yawning. She sleepily trudged over to her vanity table and inspected herself in front of the mirror. Kel grabbed a brush and pulled it through her hair while looking at her reflection. She looked reasonably well, though there were some heavy bags under her eyes. Her eyes were now more brown than green from the lack of going outdoors, but it wasn't that bad. Her hair, which had always grown considerably fast, was now down past her elbow and a dusty brown color. She usually wore it pinned up high on the top of her head. Kel's cheeks were hollow from the weight she lost and body was like a stick, but looking like you were anorexic was the trend in court these days. Kel reached for the face powder and thoroughly applied it, especially on the dark regions under her eyes. Then she put rouge on her lips and cheeks, to feign a healthy look, and then put all her make-up back away. Kel slowly got dressed, it being a bit hard to bit on her corset by herself since her maid was on her vacation. Then, she pulled on her long, clingy brown dress and matching brown slippers and headed downstairs.
The maid she passed by immediately stopped her work and curtseyed with a, "Good morning, Lady Kel."
Kel winced at the name no one called her anymore, "Please, its Keladry now." She gently corrected her. Any other noble would have gotten offended and probably have whipped the maid, but Kel was still too nice from her earlier knight days. Kel winced again. She tried not to think of her knight days. They were her darkest days, they were days where she actually thought that she could pretend to be a man and get away with it. Who would want that? Kel would much rather sleep in her own large chambers than on the hard ground during a storm. And why risk your life saving people when they'd be much more pleased if you'd just give them money? There was nothing good about being a knight. There was nothing rewarding being a knight. And, there was nothing she missed about being a knight. Kel frowned as she realized that there was one thing she missed about knighthood. Actually one person, that is. She quickly shook that thought out of her head because it interfered with the "No thinking about Dom" restriction she had placed on herself ever since her wedding with Faleron… Oh, how dreadful it was! Everyone else was happy during that day, but not Kel…
Kel sighed as she looked at herself in the full-length mirror. Her beautiful wedding dress fit like a charm and was absolutely gorgeous, but she didn't like it. It reminded her of the wedding that was to take place in ten minutes. She dreaded it. Kel would have to lie in front of a hundred people by saying that she loved Faleron and would never leave him, etc, etc. And the kiss at the end! That was the part she dreaded most! She and Faleron had never kissed before so how could they now, in front of everyone? "Mom!" She cried, losing her courage, "I can't do this anymore!"
Ilane, who was smoothing out invisible wrinkles in Kel's dress, stopped and smiled at her daughter, "It's just nerves, Kel. I went through the same thing when I married your father."
"Really?"
"Yep, and look how happy we are now."
That gave Kel a little encouragement, but not a lot, "Well, did you…" She hesitated, "Did you loved Father on your wedding day?"
Ilane frowned at the question, "No. It takes longer than that for love to happen. Kel, is that what you're worried about? Not loving Faleron? It's alright; you'll love your husband in time. Love doesn't happen overnight."
That helped Kel's nerves a lot, "Thanks, Mom," She said, going to give her mother a hug. They were locked in a deep embrace when Neal barged in looking nervous.
"Come on, Kel!" He exclaimed, "We've been waiting for five minutes for the bride to come out!"
"Well, then, why didn't anyone tell me earlier? I thought I still had ten minutes. Get back to your position as best man, Neal, I've gotta get married!"
"Okay," Neal agreed, hurrying back.
Inhaling deeply, Kel gathered her flowers and stepped outside with her father, Piers, on her arm."Ready?" He whispered to his daughter.
Kel couldn't speak in fear that she may barf, but simply nodded her head. On they went, stepping in time to the music. Since the music was going so slow, they weren't going to get there for a while and that left time for Kel to glance around in the crowd of people, all of them staring at her. There was Owen, Merric, Wyldon (Kel wondered vaguely who invited him, because it definitely wasn't her), Cleon, Duke Baird, Roald with his parents Jon and Thayet, Alanna, George, Raoul, Buri, her brothers and sisters and countless others. Finally, they were less than ten feet away from Faleron, who was anxiously waiting. Kel glanced behind her once more to catch a pair of blue eyes. Kel twitched involuntarily as she realized that Dom was also here. Kel quickly reverted her eyes back to Faleron as they were now right in front of him. Kissing her, hand, Piers disappeared off into the aisles.
The priest in front of them cleared his throat loudly and the ceremony went on.
A while later, Kel couldn't remember whether it was ten minutes or ten hours, the priest stopped to look at Faleron. The almost wedded couple had already gotten their rings so the last, and most dreaded part was coming.
"Do you, Faleron of King's Reach, accept Keladry as your wife?" He asked.
Faleron nodded, his face shining with happiness, "I do."
"And do you, Keladry of Mindelan, accept Faleron as your husband?"
Kel paused, looking behind her to see Dom again. His usually soft features were hard, as if he were carved in stone and he seemed to be glaring, unlike the others who were crying. Heck, even Ilane was crying! But Dom seemed upset. Seeing her look at him, Dom tried to give a smile toward her, but failed. He nodded his head, signaling that Kel should get on with it.
But, Kel didn't want to. She wanted to do what only happened in fairy tales and run away from her own wedding to a nasty man who didn't love her to be swooped by her true love to live happily ever after. But what if that nasty man was actually nice and sweet who loved her? What if she ran off but wasn't met by her true love? She could not risk it. And after all the hard work everyone put into this wedding, the least she could do is get married.
The priest coughed and Kel was returned to reality. Faleron seemed so nervous, his hand clenched tightly into a fist. Kel looked back to where Dom was. "I do," She finally said, her eyes shining with tears. Sorry, Dom… She thought before she kissed Faleron…
"Lady Keladry? Lady Keladry?" Someone called, snapping Kel back into the present.
"Oh, sorry," Kel apologized, blinking away the tears that had almost formed, "What is it?"
The kitchen maid curtseyed, "Lord Faleron is waiting for you in the dining room," She explained. "Oh, and Lady Hythera is with him as well."
Kel nodded, not really even registering what she had said. Lady Hythera visited them a lot lately, so it was nothing out of the ordinary that she was here this morning. Kel picked up her skirts and walked at a brisk pace (no she didn't run. Ladies never ran) to the dining room. There, she dropped into a curtsey, perfected over months. "Good Morning, Lady Hythera, Lord Faleron." She greeted, seeing the two already eating. Hythera quickly got up and curtseyed back while Faleron gave a casual bow.
"Good morning," Faleron and Hythera chimed together, then smiled at that.
Kel inspected the two in front of her while piling her plate with food. Hythera was as stunning as ever with her lush blonde curls and bright blue eyes. She was shapely and fair skinned and her blue dress fit nicely. Faleron sat next to Hythera, handsome as ever. Kel took her place across from Faleron once her plate was filled and observed him. His dark eyes were bright and he looked refreshed, even though he had no sleep last night. Kel was jealous of how he could sometimes get no sleep and still look as good as new. That could never happen to her. Sighing, Kel gazed at Faleron. He had dark hair, but Kel suddenly wished that it was darker and messier. He had nice brown eyes, but Kel wished they were blue and full of mischief. Faleron was pale, but Kel wished he were tanner. Faleron was well-behaved and always under control, but Kel wished he would play a prank on her. Kel gasped as she realized that she wanted her husband to be exactly like Dom. Could it be that she was still in love with…? No thinking of Dom! It's against the rules! She quickly reminded herself and attempted to start a conversation with her husband and Hythera to get her mind off him.
"So, what's going on?" She asked, taking a bite of cold vegetables.
Faleron looked at Hythera before saying, "Oh, I'll be at the Northern Border soon," Kel's heart skipped a beat as she remembered that she was almost placed there a year ago.
"For how long?" She asked casually.
"Er, probably until after the beginning of next year." He said.
It was the beginning of December currently, "Oh, but then we'll miss Midwinter." Kel said with a feigned frown because in reality, she didn't really care.
"No, actually, since last year we had our wedding on the Midwinter banquet and missed it, Roald has actually convinced his father to force me to go this year. However, since I'm going to patrol the border, you have to go in my place."
Kel swallowed her bite of food slowly, "Oh, really?" She said, suddenly nervous. She hadn't seen many of her old friends since her marriage to Faleron and she didn't want to see them either. None of them approved of her giving up her shield.
Hythera seemed to be able to sense Kel's nervousness, "Don't worry, Keladry, I'll be going to the banquet as well. We can pick out dresses together!"
Kel smiled in spite of herself. But pretty dresses couldn't hide her identity. If only it was a masquerade ball. "Yes, that'd be nice." She lied, still worried about the banquet…
The next chapter is going to show you all where Dom is and how he's doing currently. Then it's the ball. I've decided not to make this story very long. Ten chapters maximum. Six chapters minimum. Anyways, review and you may get another update this quick!