"Oh come one, I wasn't that stupid." Neal insisted before taking a huge gulp of cider. "As I remember dearest cousin, you had your fair share of humiliation." A large group had made an appearance at the ball then gathered in a room connected to the ballroom to talk and relax.
"I have reason to believe that you were that stupid." Kel proclaimed with twinkle of enjoyment in her hazel eyes. "You were still pretty dimwitted in our page years."
"Oh gods, do you remember his endless droning about random girls?" Faleron exclaimed, laughter filling his voice as he remembered the torture of Neal's monologues as a page. "Her hair shines with the light of a thousand-"
Faleron was rudely cut of by Neal smacking him on the back of the head. Faleron just rubbed the back of his head and grinned at Neal's mumbles.
"It's okay, Meathead. I was pretty dimwitted, as our lovely Keladry put it, when I first joined the King's Own." Dom said reassuringly, taking notice of the look the Lady Knight sent his way with satisfaction. "I still remember my first assignment. I completely ruined the tracks left by the bandit's horses and we wandered around aimlessly for days before the gods intervened and let us stumble into their camp."
Kel heard some of the men from the King's Own laughing. It seems weird that Dom fumbled. It's hard to imagine him being confused or unsure of himself.
At this, members of their group started recounting their mistakes made early in life. Quasim had interrupted an important tribal meeting on accident after tripping over a tent rope causing the whole tent to collapse on the shaman and his guests. Merric had ruined his mother's favorite dress by thinking it was a towel and mopping up ink that he had spilt. Yuki admitted to hitting an important visiting noble on the head when she thought he was one of her brothers.
"Well, I for one wish to have the last dance of the evening with my Blossom." Neal said standing up to offer his arm to Yuki who took it and made their way over to the door with most of the others following suit. Kel stayed seated and watched as her friends asked ladies to dance.
"Well, Lady Knight, shall we grace the ball with our presences on the dance floor?" Dom asked holding out his arm for Kel to take.
"We shall, Sergeant." Kel replied with a smile as she placed her hand on his arm and rolled her eyes at his vanity.
That evening more than one court lady went to bed with jealous thoughts directed at the second Lady Knight. Dom never looked at me like that.
A/N Okay, I am particulary pleasedwith this chapter. I am aware of how short it is, but I liked ending it there. Oh! And in response to littlefreeeagle, thanks! I did that on purpose because I always got the idea that while Kel could keep up with all the boys and enjoyed being a knight, she was still a girl who liked to feel feminine when it was suitable.