A/N: Ok, first, this is JK Mafia - I changed my pen name. And only a year later, the next chapter of this story. More on that at the end...

Lady Yukimi noh Daiomoru sat perfectly poised in an ornate wooden chair looking out the window of her room into the garden outside. It was beautiful, still and silent in the pale afternoon light, the sun weakly shining down on the glittering white masses, everything covered by a heavy snowfall the night before. There was a peace and serenity here that reminded her almost painfully of the great still pools of the palace of her home where at any time people could be found, enjoying the solitude. There was no life, no movement, nothing except peace and snow and cold light. Utterly beautiful. Normally she would have loved it; but today, she could not fully appreciate it.

Outside a few flakes began to fall, floating down in their lazy descent to caress the already existing piles of snow, disappearing among the mountains of white. She watched, following them down from the pale grey sky. It was so calm, so silent. She longed to quiet her mind and open herself to the tranquility the scene offered. But despite her best efforts she could not; the anxiety would not allow itself to be pushed away.

Turning from the scene quickly, she padded over to the fire where a pot of water was boiling. Perhaps some tea would soothe her nerves.

She resumed her seat by the window, cradling the steaming cup in her palms against the chill. As its warmth seeped into her, she couldn't help but relax a little. Tea was always one of her favorite things, its familiarity comforting in the face of all else. She inhaled deeply, and was immediately saddened. It smelled like home.

It was not that she didn't like Tortall. It was a beautiful country and its people had such a vibrancy; a love for life, that she appreciated. And seeing all the new sights and learning its new culture was exciting. Normally she was very glad that she had been chosen to accompany the Princess. It was just that there were times when she couldn't help but miss her beloved homeland. Everything was just so different in Tortall. While everyone was kind and very polite, it was still difficult to adjust to the blatant displays of emotion Tortallians took for granted. It was embarrassing and she would stumble, and they would smile, but she could tell that they couldn't understand her in a way, couldn't help but feel awkward around her. And on these occasions, she longed for her own people.

There were exceptions, of course, Lady Kel especially. Kel was the best friend anyone could have, and Yuki knew she could rely on her.

And there was Neal. Dear Neal who had so much enthusiasm, so much passion that it was enough for the both of them. Sweet, caring Neal around whom she could begin to show herself because the trust was so unshakably there. Tender Neal, who she had fallen so deeply in love with despite, or perhaps because of, his odd quirks. She smiled ever so slightly at the thought.

Neal was the one who made her love Tortall, who made her want to stay forever. He kept the homesickness at bay. For the most part, all she had to do was think of him and the sadness and longing would recede. Except today, thinking of Neal was not helping in the least. Today Neal was the source of her anxiety.

It had been three days; three long days since she had last seen him when he'd fallen asleep while she waited for him. She'd grown used to his constant presence, squiring her about the palace and the city. He had seemed like he wanted to spend every moment with her while they were together at the palace, but somehow that had changed.

She tried not to worry. Surely he was just busy; he had that project now that he was so enthused about. Neal was nothing if not passionate. And everyone got distracted from time to time.

But still, the worry crept in around the edges. What if Neal was tiring of her? No, she cut herself off firmly. Neal loved her; he'd told her so. And as passionate and romantic as he might be, Neal would never lie, not about something like that.

This tea was not helping in the least. She felt the need to move, to act, anything to shake off this restless tension. Perhaps some exercise would do her good. What she needed was a good challenge, something to take her mind off her worries. Perhaps she would try that Tortallian bow the Princess was going on about yesterday.

---

A short while later found Yuki facing the targets of the archery range, bow in hand. She'd seen many people do this, so it shouldn't be too hard. She checked her grip. It felt very odd to hold the string with different fingers. After a moment, she raised the bow, drawing the string tight.

The posture felt awkward and wrong, but she fired anyways. The arrow missed the target completely and Yuki frowned faintly, for her a sign of great displeasure. She tried again, focusing harder. The arrow still went wide. The third and fourth arrows made it onto the straw dummy, but none within the colored rings. Well, this was no good; she was even more frustrated than before! She raised the bow, preparing to fire a fifth arrow. And if this didn't work, things were going to get ugly.

"Hold, m'lady!" a man's voice cried from behind her. She paused mid-draw and, after removing the arrow,let the bow fall to her side, turning slowly to face the interloper. If this was some problem, gods help her...

She was greeted by a familiar smiling face. "Sergeant Domitian," she greeted him cordially with a small bow, confused by his presence. Why was Neal's cousin here?

"M'lady," he returned with a bow of his own. "I was just passing through and I happened to notice you seemed to be having a bit of trouble."

"It is quite frustrating. What I'm used to is very different," she said politely.

He nodded. "If you'd like some help, I'm free for a bit," he offered.

"That's very kind of you, Sergeant," she said.

"Please, call me Dom." He grinned. "After all, we're about to be family."

She gave him a slight smile, something she was getting more comfortable with. "Then thank you, Dom. Any help would be greatly appreciated."

"Any time, m'lady." He studied the range critically for a moment. "How about you go and stand like you're about to fire? Then I can see what's giving you problems."

She did as he requested, replacing the arrow she'd removed, then assumed her stance. Dom came up beside her, and examined her posture.

"Try putting your feet parallel to each other, yes like that," he directed. "Now lower your elbow some. That'll help. Wait, not that much...yes, right there."

He paused for a moment to look again, seeking anything else that might be helpful.

"Make sure it's just the tip of your fingers pulling the string. Yamani archers use different fingers, don't they?" He asked.

"Yes, it's the thumb and forefinger," she answered, checking her grip.

"You'll have to show me sometime. Right, now that looks good," he said, giving her a last once over. "Fire when you're ready."

She took a deep breath, carefully aimed, and released.

The arrow flew straight, hitting the target just between the two center-most rings.

"Much better!" she exclaimed.

Dom grinned. "Now try again. See if you can remember what it feels like," he said stepping back to give her more room.

She picked up a new arrow and drew, carefully checking her stance before releasing. The arrow hit almost dead center, and Dom cheered.

"Well done, m'lady!" he cried. "Just a little more practice and soon you'll be outshooting the King's archers!"

She almost giggled, covering her mouth to hide the expression out of habit. It was nearly impossible to not relax around her fiancé's charming cousin. "Thank you so much for your help."

"It was my pleasure," he replied with a smile. He looked at her for a moment, before bowing. "Would you care to accompany me to dinner, m'lady?" he asked formally, offering his arm. "If you're to be my cousin, we should get to know each other some, don't you think?" He ruined his impeccable image with a devious smirk. "After all, Kel and I must recruit you to the glorious cult of meathead torture."

She hesitated only a moment, before taking his arm. "I'd like that," she answered warmly.

He escorted her to the storage shed where she stowed the bow and arrows, then led her away to the mess-hall, regaling her with funny stories about Neal's younger years.

After a lull, she spoke hesitantly. "Have you seen Neal much lately?" she asked, leading into the questions that were very much on her mind.

He shrugged. "I saw him, oh, a few days ago. He's busy with his latest mad project. I'm sure he's talked your ear off about that."

She hesitated a little, Dom noticed and frowned. "He hasn't forgotten to come see you, has he?" he asked. Taking the look on her face as confirmation, he sighed. "Oh Neal, what shall we do with him?" He shook his head. "He should know better than to abandon a beautiful lady like yourself."

"It...isn't me is it?" she asked almost fearfully, then quickly looked away, surprised by her admission of worry.

"What? No, of course not. Neal is just...Neal. He has a terrible tendency to get caught up in his grand projects and forget anything, and everyone, else exists in the world. He'll even forget to eat, and knowing Neal, that should tell you something right there. I love him dearly, but there's a reason we call him meathead," Dom said, affectionately exasperated.

He stopped and looked at her seriously. "Neal loves you, Lady Yuki. I'm sure of it. As fickle as he can sometimes be, I've never seen him fall for a girl like he has for you." He said gravely. "So I wouldn't worry too much. I'll go find him later and knock some sense into him for you, alright?"

She nodded and gave him a tentative smile. "Thank you, I just..."

He nodded. "Neal isn't always the easiest person to deal with, but don't worry. His projects may take a bit of getting used to, but once you learn how to deal with it, it can be quite funny to watch. Like, this one time, when I visited Neal when he was still at the university. You wouldn't believe..."

Yuki listened, amused, to the tale, feeling much better about the whole situation. Neal was lucky to have such a kind cousin. And she was lucky to be gaining this man as family.

Neal had his quirks, and she'd known that from the beginning. But she loved him anyways, and he loved her, and really, that was all that mattered.

----

A/N: Ok, first I'd just like to say I am sooo sorry for not updating for such a long time. Everyone probably thought I'd abandoned this story, so thank you to everyone who's still reading this. I haven't abandoned it, I just got a bit distracted for a while. I got unsure with where I was going with it, and then got caught up in another fandom, and then was dealing with major family/medical issues, but I iz back now, and I will be finishing this story. Updates probably won't be really fast, but I'm trying for at least once a month, as I'm writing many other things at the same time.

So thank you to the people who are still sticking with me on this story. I realise this chapter was a bit of a deviation from the plot line of Neal's pov, but Yuki is going to become a bigger character. Do hope you liked it.

And a huge thank you to my glorious beta X-Nerd who is awesomely fantastic and came right back on board with me for this story ^_^

And I loveth the reviews! (hinthint)

For anyone who's interested, I'm on LJ now too arithilim . livejournal . com . All my stories are archived there too, and I do post status updates every now and then. I loveth new friends :p And btw, has anyone else heard about Dreamwidth? I'm so impatiently waiting for an invite code on the 30th.