I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry that this is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo late. But I only just got back from holiday. I know I said it would only be three weeks but Dad decided he liked being on holidays so much that we stayed for a little longer! How cool is that? Everyone back home was like "hey katie, umm…where are you" in the millions of e-mails I kept getting, it was crazy. But so much fun. See we were traveling round Europe and then we were like "what the heck lets just go to America as well."

And we are actually thinking of moving to Europe as well, probably Switzerland! It means leaving my friends but dad promised that if we do move we'll spend all our holidays back in Australia (unless we're traveling to other places!) So my life has been a little whacked and that is why I haven't posted recently. But yeah sorry and I know this chapter probably isn't quite up to standard so just ignore bits that are really bad.

Wow I still can't believe I could be moving! But on with the story!

Disclaimer: Don't own it; though I wish I could especially Neal, he just has to be the love of my life!

Anyway enjoy!

Last Time:

Just then Kel and Yuki returned to the mess hall. With them was another person; a man who looked Yamani. Dom bristled slightly when he saw how Kel was laughing and talking with the man. It seemed she could barely keep her eyes off him!

A New Man

Kel wondered why she was being called out of dinner with Yuki. If there was an attack on New Hope the alarms would sound, and if there was something unusual to be seen then why would they need Yuki?

"Here we are Commander and Lady." The watchman had led them to the stables. He gave them a short bow and returned to his post.

The stable was lit with lamps and the two women could just see a figure moving around in one of the end stalls.

"Hello?" Kel called out. The figure stopped its movements and beckoned to them. Kel looked at Yuki and moved into the stables. She didn't think Yuki seemed that surprised or curious as to whom it was and decided that the person might be the one Yuki had kept secret for so long. More intrigued she walked faster.

When she arrived, the person, a man, had his back to her and she watched his movements for a second before greeting him. He was a Yamani and he seemed to have a contained kind of strength and he moved with precision.

Her study was interrupted when the man turned. Kel gasped as she saw his face.

"Jei!" There standing in front of her was one of her oldest friends from the islands. His name was Jeimizu and the last time she'd seen him he'd been training as a Shang warrior. She'd lost all contact with him when she moved to Tortall even though her friendship with him was one of the strongest she'd ever had. He was like her Yamani version of Neal as a child.

He opened his arms to her smiling through his mask and greeting her too. She hugged him hard as he spoke.

"Keladry! You made it! I always knew you could succeed. It's so good to see you after all these years. Last time I saw you, you were a little girl going off to be a page and now here you are as a lady and a knight."

"And there you are! You were training when I left, did you make it? Are you Shang? What have you been doing all this time?"

"Kel," Yuki spoke, "I think you should let Jei have some rest and food before you begin quizzing him and then you two can catch up all you want."

"Of course, sorry Jei. And Yuki thank you, I never guessed the surprise would be this good! Come on Jei, I'll show you to the mess so you can get some food."

They walked to the hall and Jei told Kel about some of his more amusing escapades during training. He'd just told one as they entered the hall and Kel couldn't stop laughing.

"Okay," she said when she was in control of her voice, "over there is the food and plates and they-" she pointed "are the refugees, the Own, the other Yamanis, and some of the soldiers. You can come and sit with me here-" pointing at an empty table, "so that we can catch-up."

She sat down at the table, not hungry anymore, and waited for Jei to make his choices. When he returned he looked surprised.

"I didn't think you'd have so many Yamani delicacies here."

"Yokami is here. You must remember her? Yes the one who cooks amazingly! Well as she is Yuki's sister she came for the wedding too."

"That explains it." He sat down opposite Kel and she watched him eat, waiting impatiently for him to stop so she could ask him all sorts of questions.

As soon as he put down his chopsticks she spoke: "Now tell me everything, I mean it everything."

Jei laughed and started talking about his life since she had left. He told her about training with the Shang masters, his naming ceremony and where he'd been traveling since gaining his Shang name.

"So you've been to Tyra, Carthak, the Copper Isles and Tusaine? Wouldn't that be a little dangerous?"

"Well yes, but not for a Shang traveling alone."

By this time the mess hall had emptied and they were sitting alone except for the villagers on clean-up duty. Kel looked around hoping Dom had lingered behind but she saw no one.

"I'd better show you to your rooms and then tomorrow I'll give you a tour of the place and detail about my life since leaving."

"I can't wait." He replied and they left together.

The next morning Kel was up at her usual time. She'd just started a pattern dance when she heard a voice, "You want an opponent?" It was Jei with his own glaive. She nodded, shaking her arms at the same time to loosen the muscles. Then she settled into the ready position waiting for an opportunity to attack.

Like all Yamanis she had been trained to read the small movements of the muscles so that she knew what her opponent would do even before they attacked. But that didn't help her in this case as Yamanis were also taught to mask their own muscle movements. This meant that neither Jei nor she could predict what was going to happen though as Jei had had more training he was at the advantage.

Suddenly movement came in the form of a sweeping sidestroke by Jei, swiftly countered by a move of her glaive. From there the spar turned into a blur of the two figures. Kel could hear her breath coming heavier and faster as they went on along with the hard breathing of Jei and the clash of the glaives. Kel began to feel amazed. She was holding her own against a Shang who had trained for years and it wasn't even that hard!

Well that was what she was thinking until Jei twisted his glaive into a position she had never seen before and flipped her glaive gracefully to the other side of her clearing. The glaive landed standing up like a sentinel on duty, point buried deep in the ground. There was a slight pause as Kel stared at it before sound broke out from all around. It seemed that during their spar a crowd had gathered avidly watching every move the fighters made. Jei's last trick had caused a collective intake then quick exhalation of air and now they were clapping as though they had just watched a troupe of the very best players.

Kel blushed while Jei bowed and smiled welcoming the cheers, seeming more like a Tortallan than a Yamani. Looking round the assembled crowd Kel spotted Dom slightly apart from the rest and not looking nearly as happy or impressed. In fact he looked as though he was rather upset.

Dom continued to watch Kel and the strange man. He saw her pointing out all the different groups. When she showed the man the Own Dom tried to catch her eye but she didn't seem to notice. Oh well, he thought, she'd come over anyway to finish her meal, maybe then he could find out who the intruder was and how he was connected to Kel.

He waited as she showed him where to get food and was shocked when instead of coming to sit back next to him she went to the only empty table and settled there. Dom saw Yuki return to Neal's side and decided to ask her what was happening.

"Yuki, who is that man with Kel?"

"His name is Jei and he and Kel were good friends in the Islands before she left. They haven't seen each other for years but I think they did write to each other sometimes. They were really close, inseparable."

Out of the corner of his eye Dom saw Jei sit opposite Kel. She watched him intently as he ate as though she couldn't wait to speak to him. Dom couldn't help feeling angry and jealous towards this strange man who had suddenly entered Kel's life again and was now attracting all her attention.

Soon though everyone began finishing their meals and leaving. Dom found he was alone at the table, only he, Kel and the man were left in the hall. He stood, hoping that it might catch her attention, and walked right past her table in her full view. Still nothing. Sighing defeat he left the hall and headed back to his rooms.

Later in bed his thoughts were a whirl. Only that afternoon he had declared his love for Kel and she for him, they had kissed! They were together at last, something Dom had waited for a long time. So who was this Yamani man who could just waltz in and take all her attention and capture all her smiles? What had Yuki said about them? That they were inseparable? Maybe there was something between them? But then why would Kel have told him she loved him?

He groaned, it was too complicated, what he really needed was some sleep to clear his brain. He rolled over and blew out the candle before settling down.

The next morning he woke up later than usual feeling no more rested than he had been before sleeping. He slithered out of bed and dressed in a hurry hoping he wasn't too late for the morning meal.

As he was walking to the mess hall he saw a large crowd gathered near the place Kel usually did her glaive practice. His immediate thought was worry. Was there something wrong with Kel? He spotted Neal amongst the mass of people.

"Oi Meathead what's all the commotion?"

"Well Kel and that Yamani man Jei are sparring. It's amazing Dom, I don't think I've ever seen anything so fast or intricate."

Through a gap in the heads in front of him Dom saw the couple, each with intense looks of concentration upon their faces. Slowly Dom moved through the crowd and stood a little apart to gain a better view.

Jealousy pretty much summed up his feelings as he watched the two spar. They looked so at peace and comfortable and this Jei guy was taking up all Kel's attention. Wasn't that supposed to be him since they had confessed their feelings just yesterday? He was meant to get the most possible attention from her but here she was completely focused on a guy who she had been really close to and she got along really well with.

He frowned a little as he watched hoping that for even a brief instant Kel might see him. Eventually the fight finished and as she was bowing she looked his way, but he didn't want to talk to her right then, he was too confused, so he left for the mess hall to get his food.

By doing that he didn't notice the way Kel's eyes followed his back until he was out of sight. One person, however, did.

Okay once again sorry for the delay, but hopefully now that you know why you won't be so angry!

A review would be appreciated if you can (it's really not that hard) so please (makes puppy-dog eyes)…