Kel sat in her office, hands on her head. Now she'd done it. They were going to take New Hope away from her. What's worse, they were probably going to give it to some fat, blue-blooded—and probably lily livered—noble who'd use these folk like cattle. 'Lily livered?' Kel repeated to herself. 'Since when did I start thinking like George Cooper?'
There was a knock on her door, and Dom walked in, concerned. "Rough day?" He asked.
"Rough year. But I don't want it to end like this." Kel replied grimly.
"Agreed. I'm going back to Steadfast, Lord Raoul will know how to fix this. Buri might kill me for interrupting their honeymoon…but, anything for you…" he trailed off jokingly. Then he noticed Kel's eyes. They were glimmering faintly with unshed tears. The smile fell off his face quickly. "Kel, I'm sorry. You'll get through this, you always do."
She took a deep, steadying breath. "It's everyone else I'm worried about. Haven't these people been through enough? What will happen to the children without parents? Who will look out for them? Thank gods, I can take Tobe with me, but Loesia, Meeche, Irnai—a noble isn't going to care about them."
"Hush." Dom walked over and gathered Kel into his arms. She didn't resist. "You can't worry about what hasn't happened yet. You've trained these people to look out for themselves—even the littlest one like Meeche. Folk will step up and take care of the sprites without parents. And you don't know who the noble is. Maybe it'll be someone decent." He stroked the back of head reassuringly. "I won't let them do this to you," he whispered, almost too softy for her to hear.
But she did hear it, and was grateful to have Dom in her life. It was time she let him know that. She looked up at him. Slowly, she raised her head until their noses were level. Then, tenderly, she tilted her head and planted a soft kiss on his lips.
Her body lit up like a mage's fire as he kissed her back.
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Dom rode rapidly back to Steadfast. When he arrived, he wasted no time with pleasantries. "They're taking New Hope away from Kel." He informed his commander. Raoul stared at Dom as if he'd just spoken Gallan. The Knight Commander put away the bow he'd been practicing with.
"Lord Wyldon sent a letter?" Raoul asked finally.
"No, not Wyldon. She received a letter from the Crown, saying someone was coming to inspect the camp. The inspector let it slip that there are plans in motion for the land and fort to be converted into a fiefdom. He also implied Kel would no longer be in charge."
Raoul stroked his beard, thinking. "It's the next logical step, to convert the land into a fief. Kel should've known that. I'm sure Wyldon told her."
Dom raised an eyebrow. Raoul cursed softly and added, "Maybe not. I'll send a courier to Jonathan and Wyldon; see if we can't stop this before it goes too far."
"I'll bring the news back then." Dom stayed only long enough to change horses. He had a fort to rebuild, and a lady knight waiting for him to return.
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Daisuke watched Kel as she paced restlessly across the camp. He wondered if she was anxiously awaiting Dom, or the news Dom would be carrying. Perhaps both.
Over the past few days, Daisuke had noticed what her presence at the fort had done to these people. Unlike many other peasants, they worked with pride. They held themselves with an air of dignity. Kel had given that to them, simply by treating them as human beings. The ronin was impressed with Kel's 'presence of command' as the Yamani called it. She was a teacher as well as a leader. It was a pity the Tortallian crown didn't seem to see that.
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On the road, Dom noticed a large riding party ahead. Eight mounted men, all armed. Too small for raiders, but big enough to cause problems if they wished. Stealthily, he led his horse off the path before they noticed him. They had almost reached the Greenwoods River, Merric's scouting parties sometimes came out this far. Dom headed to the nearest outpost.
A farmer named Ammon was on duty, along with one of New Hope's cats. Dom let out the birdcall for "friend" before coming into view.
"We've got trouble coming. Eight mounted men, all with swords and shields." Dom said crisply.
Ammon's eyes went wide. "Any idea who they are?"
"None. I saw them from far off, I can only tell you is they're too wealthy to be from around here."
Ammon snorted. "Hell of a distinction."
Dom shrugged apologetically. "They're coming. Look."
The cat meowed questioningly. "Go tell the lads at camp we need a little help, there's a good girl." Ammon purred. The cat wound herself around his legs once and scampered off.
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Merric and his men stood waiting at the crossing, everyone had their bows out and ready. Dom stood among them, with his own crossbow loaded. As the party of eight came into view, Merric called out, "what brings you here, strangers?"
One of the men in the party shouted back, "Our lord has come to survey his land."
A refugee responded by pulling back his bow a little farther. Merric gestured for his men to stand down. "I recognize their crests. These are Tirrsmont men."
Dom frowned. He knew that fief, but he couldn't place it.
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When they arrived back at New Hope's gates, Dom remembered where he's heard the name. Tirrsmont had burned last year, and Haven had taken almost a hundred or their refugees.
Kel stood just inside the gates, arms locked behind her back. Her gaze rested on Dom. "You brought back more than I bargained for." She said wryly.
Dom threw up his arms defensively. "It wasn't me!" He walked past her, brushing her shoulder. As he passed her muttered, "I need to talk to you later, privately." Kel nodded imperceptibly and moved forward to meet her unexpected guests.
Merric introduced them. "The younger lord Ackerley of Tirrsmont, this is our knight commander, Lady Keladry of Mindelan." The Tirrsmont lord dismounted and bowed deeply.
Kel blinked. Ackerley was stunning. He stood a full head taller than she did, with imperial shoulders and a jaw line that a lesser god might envy. Ackerley's curled hair was the darkest black, and it was offset by his fair skin. His large brown eyes had flecks of gold and orange, they glinted in the fading sunlight. His nose was straight and aristocratic; it hovered above a full set of dark lips. He must have been in his late twenties.
Kel swallowed hard. This man would've made Joren look like a street beggar. He took the hand she offered him and kissed it, breaking the spell. Kel raised her eyebrow at him suspiciously. Men who treated her delicately usually did so because they believed she was inferior.
Ackerley bowed again. "I thank you for holding these lands in my stead. I was away at court during the war, serving the king on his war council."
Too easy. He spoke with an air of overstated confidence. Kel's teeth locked as she remembered the 86 Tirrsmont refugees she's taken in last year. This man had ignored his commitment to his people. He'd left Meech and Gydo to fend for themselves against the Nothing Man. Even if he were as gorgeous as Mithros, Kel would still hate him. But she wouldn't act like it.
"I am sorry that no one told me these lands were yours." She said amiably, as though the mix up was as simple as a clerk's spelling error.
"They will be mine." Ackerley of Tirrsmont amended, frowning. "I played a considerable role in the war you know, so the king has seen fit to reward me with even more land, in place of what my family lost."
Daisuke had been listening to the conversation for several minutes now, and he could see the tension around Kel's eyes that only a Yamani raised person would notice. If he read Kel correctly, she wanted to smack Tirrsmont across his handsome face, hard. The ronin sighed, and absently wondered if Ackerley would last as long as the inspector. Daisuke doubted it.
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Kel saw to it that the Tirrsmont party was settled in the newest New Hope barracks, although it was far beneath a noble's standards. But she'd be damned if she'd give up her quarters to accommodate that filth. Dom was waiting for her in her office, and she felt a little shy after their last meeting there.
"What did Lord Raoul have to say?" She asked immediately, staying in her business mode.
"The land is bound to become a fief, especially when we're so close to winning the war. No one told him about the inspections, and he's sending men to Wyldon and the crown to try and stop whatever puffy-faced, velvet clothed smear happens to find himself worthy."
Kel nodded in relief. "It's the most we can do right now, short of turning Tirrsmont out on his heel—which I can't afford to do, since I've already committed treason once this year."
"You had your reasons." Dom argued. "Valid ones. Just like now." He studied her for a moment, trying to gauge if it was an appropriate time for something else. Her face revealed nothing, so he took a shot in the dark. "Kel, there's something else we need to talk about. Back before the raid, before the inspections, Tobe told me he was worried about you. He overheard your conversation with the Lioness about sweethearts."
She blushed. Dom plowed on, "He says you don't have time, what with all your work at New Hope, and I agree." He saw a flicker of pain, followed by relief at his understanding. "But look, Kel, that doesn't mean I'm just going to give up on…'us' if there is, in fact, an 'us."
'You're babbling,' a cool part of Dom's mind noted. He kept talking anyway. "I can't just leave the own either. Steps have to be taken, and--"
"I can wait, I have to." Kel squeezed his arm reassuringly. "Once things settle down here, once the fort is" she hesitated, "secure, then we can try to be proper sweethearts"
'and not the kind that goes on moonlight walks through a battle fort' a wicked little voice inside her added.
