Chapter 4: An Arrow To A Weak Heart

As Kel brushed her teeth the next morning and hobbled around her room getting ready for the day, she started to wonder more about where Jump had gotten off to. He hadn't returned the night before and the sparrows had been the only ones to demand their breakfast this morning. Kel washed her face and pulled her hair up into a loose bun at the back of her head, tying it with a ribbon. Since her two years at New Hope, she had let it grow out to past her shoulders. It started to be more of a bother lately and Kel was just thinking about cutting it once again when Jump finally made a reappearance.

"Morning, Kel," Cora greeted as she pushed open the door after knocking. Kel smiled at her niece, relieved that it wasn't Hattie or Lorraine. Kel wasn't quite sure she was ready to get an earful about the handsome captain who had arrived the previous night. Before Cora had even crossed the threshold, Jump had slid into the room from behind her legs. The dog's tail was raised high as he trotted over to his bowl where Kel had already placed food for him.

"Morning Cora," Kel said, putting her hands on her hips as she stared down at her dog with suspicion. "What are you so happy about?" The dog only replied with a switch of his crooked tail as he proceeded to inhale most of the meat the kitchen had prepared for him.

"He was exceedingly chummy with the captain last night." Kel's heart skipped a beat and her face drained a bit. She sent a glare at her traitor of a dog. Leave it to Jump to still recognize the man whose heart she'd broken. "Domitan didn't seem to mind," Cora quickly assured, taking Kel's annoyed look as worry that her dog was bothering the captain.

Shaking her head, Kel turned to Cora to give a reassuring smile before mumbling at Jump, "I bet he didn't have any of those jerky treats he used to carry, did he?"

Cora didn't get the chance to look confused or even question her aunt about the strange statement because suddenly the door to Kel's room had crashed open and they were graced with the presence of Lorrie and Hattie. The two weren't even out of the hallway, but they were already relaying every detail from the night before.

"Oh, aunt Kel! Domitan has the most blue eyes I have ever seen!" Kel sighed. I know, she thought. Kel didn't need to be reminded. "And he is certainly is the most handsome member of the Own."

"You have hardly seen every member of the Own," Cora reminded, but Hattie ignored her.

Lorraine sunk down onto the bed next to Cora, who had already tuned out the conversation as she fed the sparrows dried fruit from the purse hanging from her sash. "He's also extremely kind," Lorraine pointed out. If Kel weren't worried more about keeping herself breathing, she would have been proud that at least Lorraine wasn't completely superficial. "And very funny! Do you remember the stories he and Arthur told us about the pranks they had pulled during their time in the Own?"

Kel couldn't help but snort causing all three girls to look at her with eyebrows raised. If only they knew, Kel thought. Kel had quite a few stories of Dom's pranks that would have made the girls' faces red with shock. She was certain Dom and Arthur had only informed the guests of their more tame pranks.

"He was certainly nice," Cora said slowly, interrupting Hattie's speech on the height of Dom's cheekbones. "And yes, anyone who is a friend of Arthur is a friend of mine, but he was a little too overly flirtatious for my taste."

Well, at least he hasn't changed much. Kel sighed, trying to busy herself with straightening her clothes press.

"You're just jealous!" Hattie's voice was scandalized. "Because he talked to me more at dinner."

The look Cora gave Hattie clearly begged to differ. "Now what a ridiculous thing to say. In case you've forgotten, Hatalie, I'm going to be married in less than a week. Besides, he only talked to you most of the night because you were practically throwing yourself at the poor man."

Sensing this wasn't going to end well and thanking Mithros that she had been away from Mindelan for most of these girls' adolescent years, Kel limped in between them after taking her practice glaive from where it was laid against the wall. "You know, these things are much better sorted out in the practice courts. Perhaps it would be a good out lit for all of your excess energy, Hattie."

Hattie's face was surprised and slightly indignant. Lorraine looked surprised with a hint of hidden curiosity and Cora was openly excited.

"Grandmama let me practice with her and the ladies at court last winter." Her eyes were hopeful when they met Kel's. "I was never very good at it, but perhaps you could remind me?"

"But aunt Kel! What about your ankle? Have you even had it checked by a healer yet?" Lorraine's pretty face was pure worry as she watched Kel shift her weight onto her bad foot. Years of training her face not to show emotion kept her from letting out a wince. It hurt, but she still had felt worse and continued to practice. At least the swelling had gone down since the day before.

"I'll live, Lorraine, don't worry. So what do you say?"

Hattie instantly shook her head and mumbled something about having gloves to mend. The brunette didn't even wait to hear her sister or cousin's replies before the door was shutting behind her. Lorraine agreed to watch, proving Kel's theory that the girl was curious. For what wouldn't be the last time Kel assumed, the lady knight thought of what a pity it was that these fiery girls hadn't been taught anything useful.

"I'll go and collect the practice glaive her highness had made for me!"

Cora rushed off in a flurry of excitement to her rooms and Kel made her way down to the practice area that was used by Whitley guards for keeping up with their training. Lorraine helped her limp down the steps and let Kel lean against her shoulder. It was good that the younger girl was so tall.

"Have Hattie and Cora always gotten along so well?"

Lorraine snorted at the sarcasm in Kel's voice. The sound of her laugh surprised Kel a bit as she looked over at the blonde who smiled back sheepishly before explaining, "Their personalities are so different…Their tempers have never been quite in unison and they could both win medals when it comes to pressing on the other's nerves. They've been that way since they were toddlers, aunt Kel. Constantly fighting, you know." The girl paused, helping Kel step over the offending root that had caused all the trouble to begin with. "I shall miss Cora's company at home, but I look forward to things being quieter."

It was hard to blame her. From what Kel had heard, Inness and Conal had gone through a faze of constant feuding, but thankfully she had been either too little to remember or away in the Islands. After dealing with constant years of it as Lorraine had, Kel could understand how it could get tiring.

Kel was rolling up the sleeves of her shirt, she'd refused to wear a dress today although the thought of letting Dom see her in a dress had crossed her mind, when Cora came jogging over to their little enclosure. Cora was out of breath, but she had her practice glaive in hand and she had changed into cotton practice gear. Kel smiled proudly. Her niece must have taken her training seriously with the Queen and Yamani ladies. With a grandmother like Ilane, however, Kel shouldn't really have been surprised.

"Ready to see what you remember?" Cora nodded and Kel took her own glaive from Lorraine with a nod of thanks as their bystander took up a post on the fence. The blonde girl was surprisingly nimble even in her turquoise gown as she hoisted herself up onto the top rail. "Do you remember any of the pattern dances?"

The pair, aunt and niece, went through several pattern dances. They were beginner ones as Cora didn't remember much and Kel stopped every so often to correct her grip. The younger woman did not complain to the corrections as Kel did not criticize her and Cora was earnestly interested in learning. Both had worked up a sweat once the first hour was gone, and Kel refused to admit it, but her ankle was starting to become more sore the more she moved. Cora, however, was not willing to quit as of yet. Kel, going easy on her and avoiding her niece's vulnerable fingers, finally agreed to spar against her for a short time.

Their practice session was serving two vital uses in Kel's eyes. For one, it would not do for Kel to get lazy during her vacation. This morning when she woke up, she had resumed her schedule as usual, unchanged with few exceptions since her page years. She woke up at dawn and started with her strengthening exercises to keep her muscles in shape. This glaive practice with her niece provided good timing to keep up on her weapons, however. Perhaps she could convince a few of the guards or her brother to spar against her with a sword at some point. Besides, Kel thought as she watched the concentration on Cora's face, even though it had only been a week since she'd left New Hope, she missed her daily weapons lessons with the children there.

Secondly, since Kel had woken up this morning it had been extremely hard to keep her mind off the fact that he was within a few hundred yards of her at this very moment. Her first idea had been to stay hulled up in her room all day, but she had grown weary of reading and entertaining her birds. Every few seconds her mind would wonder off to the inevitable and after Hattie's visit, her nerves had just gotten worse. Although she had suggested practice as an out lit for Hattie's energy, Kel knew she had really suggested it as an out lit for her own. Simply the thought of encountering him again after all these years left her shaky. With her glaive in her hand, at least, she would hopefully get a few moments away from where her mind wanted to drift.

The two were caught up in a particularly complicated dance and neither noticed that a bell had already wrung for lunch. Nor did either notice that their audience had increased from one to four. It was only when the two had stopped to catch their breath that anyone in the group by the fence finally spoke.

"You don't give yourself credit, darling, when you say you could barely hold the thing." Even with her back to the group, Kel could recognize Arthur's voice from the tenderness in it and also from the look she saw on Cora's face as she heard the compliment. The girl's face lit up and a faint blush reddened her already flushed cheeks even more.

"My aunt has been a wonderful tutor this morning. She has helped me greatly improve my grip and stance."

Kel wiped the sweat of her brow as she heard Hattie's voice. "My grandmother tried to convince me to train with that…thing, but I said, whatever will I need it for?"

Kel didn't have the chance to feel anger at her niece's words. Instead her entire body and mind went numb as the voice that replied sent shock waves up her spine. "That's a pity. I've seen those weapons used many times in battle and they're quite something. But perhaps a dainty lady like you will not have use for such a thing. It might roughen your hands."

Hattie's musical laugh merely fell on Kel's deaf ears. The ability to move had deserted her. Perhaps it had gone to join her ability to breath and think as both had failed her as well. If it hadn't been for Cora who had gently pulled Kel around by the elbow and towards the fence, Kel would have still been rooted to the spot until she'd gotten up the strength to run for the hills.

And there he was. Unlike the crushes she had had in her younger years that had faded over time, Dom still had the same effect on her as he always had. Kel could feel his eyes on her, but she was not brave enough to tear hers from Arthur as he talked to his betrothed about something Kel could not hear, but pretended to listen to. Even without having her eyes directly on him, Kel could see he had barely changed. There were a few new creases around his normally laughing eyes and smiling lips. His hair was still dark and his skin was still tanned from too much time outside in the sun. Dom's clothes were for comfort but fell on him as they always did, perfectly. It was one of the only words Kel could ever find to describe Dom: perfect. Jump's paws were placed on the fence and his small face seemed to be smiling as the big human male he remembered scratched him behind the ears.

Traitor, Kel thought, fighting the urge to glare at her dog.

To Kel's extreme dismay, Hattie's arm was tucked through Dom's. Her brown haired niece was saying something to the captain and Dom seemed rapt with attention, but when Arthur finally started an introduction blue eyes turned right back around to look at Kel whose eyes were still trained on the fence post.

"Oh, forgive my rudeness. Dom, this is Cora's aunt Keladry of Mindelan."

"Lady Knight." Dom's voice was quiet and emotionless as Kel watched him bow his dark head.

"Captain." Kel was surprised at the steadiness of her own voice. She had expected a high-pitched screech, but instead her voice was even and polite. "I never got the chance to personally congratulate you on your promotion. I know your cousin is very proud, but the rest of your family must be as well."

"Milady is too kind."

Kel felt like sighing. He still hadn't forgiven her. When she was finally ready to see his blue eyes again, it was his turn to avoid eye contact. What did you expect? Was she really surprised by his treatment? Of course he would be cool and aloof. However, as much as Kel knew she deserved his anger, she still found herself wishing that she could joke with him and ask him about how his men were doing. Her mind soon reminded her of what else she missed about her past relationship with him and that all of that familiarity and closeness was gone between them forever. She might as well get used to it.

"I wasn't aware that you two were acquainted," Arthur said, his eyes filled with a sort of question but his lips turned up in amusement.

Kel didn't have to answer as Dom spoke first. "Lady Keladry rode with third company many times during her years as a squire to milord Raoul."

The rest of the group turned to Kel.

"You didn't mention anything the other night," Lorraine accused gently.

Voice failing her once more, Kel merely shrugged. It was Hattie who came to her rescue, taking ownership of Dom's attention once more as she announced she had waited far too long for them and that Dom should escort her to midday meal before she fainted.

Kel let herself fall behind the others on their way back towards the manor. She let Lorraine take her glaive as her and Cora rushed off to put them away so the others could go straight to eat. As they walked, Kel kept her head down. She told herself she wanted to watch out for more stray routes, but in reality, the site of Dom laughing at whatever clever thing Hattie said was an arrow to her already weak heart.