PART II: Post Lady Knight, On the road to Raoul and Buri's Wedding
"Are we there yet?"
"No, and I predict it'll be a while longer before we are."
"How much longer? We've been riding forever!"
"No, we've only been a-saddle for twenty minutes."
"Won't Lord Wyldon have a heart attack if we're late?"
"Frankly, I doubt he'd give a basset's behind."
"Well, doesn't it seem like we should be there by now?"
"Yes."
"Well, I know Yuki will- wait, Kel, you said yes!"
Keladry of Mindelan gave a superiorly tolerant look to her fellow knight. "You know, next time I'll bring Merric with me. I don't know why I allow you along for these little jaunts."
"Well, obviously for my scintillating conversation and rugged good looks-"
"Rugged?" glancing at the University dropout, Kel was forced to admit that he did not exactly qualify as eye candy, bookish and smelling of astringent herbs. She could at least blame her crush on puppy love, but poor Yukimi, his fiancée, had no excuse. She smiled wryly.
"-and besides, you messed up the rhythm of our banter with your 'yes', so it must mean something!" Neal leered at her, grasping for a new topic of conversation.
Kel heaved a dramatic sigh of frustration as she tried to hide the fact that it was someone's presence at Steadfast that had her companions trotting to keep up with her. "Hmmmm. Well, yes, I do pine for my lord when we are parted. Oh, how I pine! Watch me pine!" She stuck out her lower lip in a sarcastic gesture, gazing lackadaisically at the sky.
Neal, the poor dear, so wrapped up in his own romance, missed it, "Who is this fellow? Come now, Kel, share! You know it's never gossip until you confide it to your best friend!"
"Why, didn't you know? We tried to keep it quiet, of course, but when one is that ...moved... by passion, so ...frequently... it's hard to keep the secret, but we tried, Wyldon and I." She waited a moment for his explosion.
"Well, Kel, I'm happy you've found somebo- WHAT!!!!?!?!" Neal quickly turned a most gratifying shade of orange, a vein popping out on his forehead. He began shouting cutoff expletives and jerking, spooking his horse.
"Lady Knight, is he bothering you?" One of the escorts, Kel's friend Hercurt, had been listening in and wanted to assist. He calmed Neal's horse even as Kel spoke.
"Yes, thank you. Sir Neal needs to guard the rear of the unit. You can see he's quite distraught, imagining an attack from behind." Neal made a gagging noise but quieted as he was escorted several horses behind Kel by the grinning Hercurt.
She did want to get to Steadfast, but not to see her training master, though conversations with Lord Wyldon almost invariably led to challenges, the fruit of her existence. No, the person she most wished to see was her Domitan of Masbolle, the man she loved. It would have been to awkward to tell Neal, Dom's cousin, about her love, simply because he would wish to return the treatment he'd received before he confessed his feelings to Yuki. His reprisal might be more evil than hers, since she had never given him much of an opening for pranking.
She had only once ever acted on her feelings, and then the whole relationship was a secret, with Cleon of Kennan, a fellow squire, but their passion had very quickly subsided into a fond friendship, a turn of events which sincerely relieved her. From her first meeting with Dom, Kel had formed a close affection for and trust with the affable sergeant. His easygoing wit and charm were ornamented by her strong devotions and verbal stingers, keeping him from overuse of ego, and herself from reckless mistakes. This friendship, though its loss would destroy her, was one she was discontented with simply maintaining. She owed it to herself to be honest about her feelings, just as she owed it to her pride not to chase after him. That was the course of action Neal would encourage, all the while plotting the most ridiculous schemes to join his friend and cousin. Kel was deeply grateful that her teachers in the Yamani Islands had taught her to conceal her feelings and that Neal was so wholly immersed in his love for Yuki.
As they hove into view of Steadfast much later in the day, Kel spied a large blob bobbing from the front gate. Guessing who was astride these horses, she was about to order the party into a gallop when a high-pitched whoop behind her alerted her to her healer's acceleration. Neal's horse shot past Kel, leader of their group, the knight leaning down in his saddle, eyes tearing from the speed at which he traveled. Pulling out her spyglass, the lady knight could see a tiny horse detach from the distant dust cloud, bearing the Yamani betrothed to her beloved. Smiling to herself, she was amazed that she had never seen this coming. The affection of the couple seemed to have no bounds, and she felt a melancholy pang with that thought. She wanted that. She didn't need it, but she had wanted it, him, so deeply, and so long, that nights alone without someone to hold were becoming interminable. Calming her thoughts, she put away her spyglass and prepared to meet the greeting party.
Neal's foolish leap from his saddle left him sore but content in Yuki's arms an hour later when they carried their saddlebags to their temporary quarters. To Kel's pain, no Dom came to greet her and sympathize with her stiff muscles. She couldn't believe that she'd been stupid enough to allow Tobe to visit with his friends at the fort. She could use some help moving again. Kel knew Neal was receiving a massage next door, and only the exhaustion keeping her prone on the floor where she'd fallen in her room after closing the door prevented her from playing chaperone and stealing Yuki for the relief of her own back. Goddess, but it hurt! Even the twittering of her birds provoked a grumbled, "Unless you're dying, I don't give a-"
Her door slammed open, sending an airfall of birds fluttering down to secure locations.
"KEL! THANK MITHROS!"
The voice that normally sent a shiver down her spine only caused her to close her eyes, sure that it was the gods' joke to send the person she most desired when she looked and felt like this. "What do you want?" The question was meant to express her utter disenchantment with her situation, but emerged as somewhat petulant and accusatory.
Dom took it in stride. "You know, your utterly disappointing greeting aside, you are the absolutely most wonderful thing I have seen these past... ummm... how long has it been since I've seen you?"
She experienced the unusual feeling of herself being turned over, a feat that required a fair amount of his strength, thanks to her tireless combat training. She felt herself melt in response to his words, though, even voiced in his rich tenor, they lacked the polish and tact she so desperately wanted at this particularly vulnerable moment. "You are hardly one to be criticizing my greeting when you don't even realize that it was..." She paused, mentally backpedaling so she wouldn't tell him, to the hour, how long they'd been apart. "... over two months."
She couldn't even get a clear look at his face as he bustled around, fetching a crude mug from the necessary, stoking the fire (which, incidentally, gave her quite an advantageous view of his backside), and giving the frantic avians bits of seed from his pocket. 'I suppose he must have gotten that from Qasim,' she thought, trying not to blush from the previous thought. "Is that the best you can do, Kel, light of my life? You poor dear, you must be plumb tuckered!"
She raised an eyebrow at him, "Thank you, Burtie Backwoods!"
He turned and smiled at her, showing a new scar on his face, "I mined that particular gem from one of our new recruits... I take no end of delight in teasing him about his colloquialisms, but I know I can trust you to keep the secret that he's sort of growing on me." He sat down, leaning his back against the bed.
"Of course, we wouldn't want him to think he's superior to Dom the Great-"
"Actually my new appellation is Domitan of the Lethal Good Looks."
This display of ego incited both envy and a firm desire to smack. She resisted, instead deciding on a verbal smack, as Dom was being very nice, supporting her against his chest. "Of course, Domitan of the Lethal Good Looks, slayer of armies, just by allowing them a good look at your pockmarked mug."
"A touch, I fear. And yet it seems the lady is unwilling to allow me mercy! I see her readying for the killing stroke!" He hid his face behind his hands, allowing one dancing eye to peek out at her.
She would not disappoint him today. "We wouldn't want your recruit to think he's superior to Dom the whatsis, because then, someday, he might discover that he's the only one under the delusion of your importance."
Instead of continuing the game, he surprised her by giving her a hug. "Ah, Kel, " was all he said. "Ah, Kel, I'm so glad to see you again."
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The next evening, after a full day spent together, practicing combat, eating, and possibly building slingshots with which to peg each other, the rejuvenated Kel and Dom found themselves convinced by Neal and Yuki to attend the performance of a troupe of second-rate players, visiting the fort despite the dangerous times. Rolling their eyes, they parted to wriggle out of mud-spattered practice clothes and into semi-finery.
Kel wrinkled her nose. She had a choice between dressing sensibly and wearing one of the impractical gowns created by Lalasa. They both sat before her on her bed.
"You should wear the gold 'un, Lady."
Whirling, Kel noticed Tobe curled in the corner, hands over his eyes, to allow her privacy. He must have placed the two outfits for her in his considerate way. "I didn't even notice you were here. And why shouldn't I dress comfortably?"
He sighed. "Lady, you never dress up. An' these player types, I hear, sometimes make fun of the people they play for. So you should be wanting to look your best."
"I don't know." She looked at the gold cream puff creation in front of her. As with all of Lalasa's work, it was fashionable as well as uncommonly beautiful. It was the sort of thing Kel dreamt of wearing, but was afraid to put on.
"Lady, please put it on. I'm forgettin' what sunlight looked like, I've been converin' my eyes for so long."
She did. It truly was humorous how much her servant dictated what she did, especially as she was so much older than he, and a commander to boot! She slipped on the dress, cinching it tight at the sides. "I'm decent." Tobe uncovered his eyes and nodded approvingly.
"See, lady Kel, you look right fine."
Kel walked to the glass in her water closet.
She did look fine, if such a word could be applied to Lalasa's wizardry. The dress actually brought out her coloring and flattered her figure, which her enemies had derogatorily called bovine. With some ribbons and jewelry, her hair and newly exposed décolletage could even be displayed to advantage. Mentally preparing herself for this new dress-up experience, she found reason to pause. Nobody had ever really seen her dressed like this, though. What would they think? Seeing her dressed up like any court wallflower hoping for an advantageous match would make them leap to a conclusion: that she was attracted to one of the gentlemen with her. Wouldn't that be too big of a giveaway? After all, the possibility of Dom discovering her secret and laughing at it as a great joke was far too devastating a thought. She'd already had a taste of that and a glutton for punishment she was not. Well, not in love anyway.
It was decided. "Tobe, cover your eyes again."
"Oh, no! Lady..." But he complied grudgingly.
With Tobe's help, she was dressed in a Mindelan blue tunic of the finest silk, sporting an armband with her shield device upon it, and matching blue pants, also Lalasa's design, flowing and interwoven with silver thread. She thought she looked very regal, if not beautiful.
A knock on her door was followed by these tender words: "Get your primped and painted self out here, Lady Knight, or I swear I'll... ummm... do something that will embarrass us both in front of Neal and Yuki."
Kel's eyebrow raised as she opened the door. "Really? I shudder to think what plebeian mind will conjure. However, now that you're finally ready (Is that kohl on your eyebrows?), we can continue with our evening, my lord!"
Dom's eyes darted left and right in a guilty fashion. "I just wanted to look good for you, Kel! Besides, women always take the longest! It's a rule, a social convention!"
He did look good. Too good, in fact, for her to get more than a fleeting glimpse of him in a gray tunic, long cape, and breeches, adding an air of mystery his friendly face normally lacked, before she had to look away and take up the charade of not caring. "Since when, Sergeant Domitan, have you known me to follow the path of others?"
"Since now. Come on you two! Cease flirting immediately, or we'll sit between you at the play!" Yuki's singsong voice threatened.
Dom and Kel jerked away from each other and delivered a synchronized glare of indignation to Yuki, causing her to bring her fan in front of her mouth and step back.
"Gracious, I was only joking! What's wrong, Dom? You can tease but I can't repay you for the torture of my fiancé?"
"A-"
"No, we haven't time for you to get started again, Dom," interjected Kel. "We have to leave now, or we'll be running to catch the introduction."
They began walking over. Yuki took Kel aside. "Keladry, I am so sorry for offending you two. I know you're like brother and sister, and I'd hate to think that my careless comment would make things difficult for your friendship. Forgive me?"
Kel smiled, all the while thinking that difficulty in their friendship would make her love easier to bear. "Of course. I wasn't really upset. I know Dom and I will always be friends, no matter how ridiculous your imagination becomes!" Yuki giggled, and stepped up to join Neal. Dom and Kel bickered all the way to the stable, where the players had set up, but it was a tad strained, as if they were trying to convince themselves and others of something.
Two excruciating hours later they exited the "theatre". "Oh, that was so romantic, wasn't it my love?"
"Anything that makes you happy makes me love you more, Yukimi!"
"Oh, Neal!" The couple walked dreamily in the direction of the courtyard, deserted at this time of night.
Kel and Dom looked at each other.
Kel blinked.
Dom swallowed.
Kel's eyes began to sparkle mischievously.
Dom cleared his throat.
They both looked to see if Yuki and Neal were gone.
Turning back, the looked more or less seriously at each other
Howling laughter ensued.
Kel could hardly breathe, she was so overwhelmed with hilarity. Tears leaked out of Dom's eyes as his laughter left the manly range, sounding more like a hyena. This made Kel's hiccupy laughs even harder to bear, so she slumped down on a tree stump, flailing her arms, occasionally hitting her thigh. Finally Kel slapped a hand over her mouth in an effort to calm down.
"My stomach really hurts!" Dom squealed between giggles.
"From laughing or from-that- hehe! -quality-performance?" Kel snorted back.
"I don't know!" His voice went up high.
"And who wrote those lines!! HA! 'For, indeed, my prince, I don't know how I shall survive until our wedding day! I want you SO much'!"
Dom whirled his cloak behind him, "'Alas, fair maiden, 'tis I who shall have difficulty until then!' Luckily for me, your lady's maid has taken quite a shine to me!"
"Oh, gods. I didn't catch that subtext." Kel rolled her eyes.
"Oh yes. Pretty little thing was making eyes at him every time she saw him. And you can bet he noticed, too."
"Right." Kel let that sit there a moment. "I'm assuming that wasn't an intended part of the script, then? It wouldn't fit. The story of epic love, the daring swordfights, the evil villain, and the hero has an affair? No. My romantic maiden's heart tells me that's not how you please an audience of wedding guests."
"Romantic maiden's heart?" Dom raised an eyebrow and looked leeringly at her. "Why Keladry! I never suspected you had one! Next thing I know you'll be swooning over some empty-headed courtier, reading romance novels and writing poetry! Romantic maiden's heart, indeed! " At Kel's hurt look, he swiftly backpedaled. "I-I'm sorry. I just thought you didn't want the whole 'romance' thing addressed seriously. Especially after Cleon-"
"That has nothing to do with Cleon. I act as I see fit, Domitan. I am not trying to fit into anyone's mold or idea of what I should be. If I choose to fall in love, then the fact that others have done it before me in most ridiculous ways will not deter me from acting as my heart dictates. I am not only a knight, but-"
"A Lady knight. Forgive me, most valiant of knights. Kel, I'm sorry. I- well, I suppose I'm so used to treating you like one of the Own that I've trained myself not to mention that you're obviously attractive and the man who gets... no, the man whom you choose will find himself envied by all of us."
Kel just blinked at him confusedly. Her skill in the martial arts frequently drew praise, but it was rare when someone, especially a joker like Dom, admired her as a woman. Especially since it was Dom, and she'd just made a bit of a fool of herself, she didn't know what to do. She had no idea how to respond when he talked like that. It wasn't flirting, it was sincerity. She had to get out of there before she betrayed herself. "Ah, I have to go check on Hoshi. Bye!" She dashed off.
"Well, that was curious." Dom scratched the back of his head as he watched the Lady Knight disappear back into the stable. Kel should know that the horses were put out to pasture for the night. Why did she leave all of a sudden? And why wasn't it vaguely amusing to see the Lady Knight, so recently after proclaiming her courage, running away? They'd never talked of love or relationships before, so perhaps it was a sore subject... except she'd said it had nothing to do with Cleon. Why not? He'd been her only love, as far as Dom knew. Yet this had nothing to do with him, and she ran away. So it must have something to do with Dom... perhaps she was afraid of being made to look a fool?
What was it she'd said? 'I am not trying to fit into anyone's mold.' Funny, that was how he'd described his 'lover' to Neal. Casting couldn't have been better for that particular scene, unlike the horrendous theatrical train wreck he'd just witnessed. He couldn't imagine enjoying the show with anyone else, certainly not another woman. Kel had laughed so hard, trying to keep it quiet, that she'd had to muffle her giggles in his shoulder. The shaking of her body, and the mischievous smile on her half-hidden face made following the plot line challenging, but not as hard as maintaining his interested expression so Yuki didn't scold them. At one point he'd moved his arm, and thought about putting it around her shoulder, remembering only at the last moment that such thoughts in Kel's presence must be vetoed. Why though? She was right! He was treating her like a man, instead of treating her like a woman.
"What did I think she was, a mini-Stump?" Of course she wasn't. She was... Kel. Well, surely he could do better than that, "You've only known the girl for years and have blackmail on her from all of Neal's letters!" She was far too serious, hence his great enjoyment in the riffing they exchanged. Who knew such a tough package contained a master grasp of levity? She liked vegetables, she was the most honorable knight he'd met, her mercy could rival that of the Goddess, teaching came so naturally to her that people sought her out without even knowing her for instruction, she was intensely private, even with him.
She was strong, too. Almost too strong, he thought. How could he figure out her secret?
At first there was the thought of asking for help from the other side; namely Yukimi. Yet it seemed better for both his shy Kel and his cherished ego not to involve the wickedly vengeful Yamani, especially since Kel's rarely disclosed emotions were paramount.
Hmmm, Meathead was out, too. It looked like he was on his own. At least she wasn't angry anymore. With any damsel more traditional, her behavior could be interpreted as a tease designed to confuse him. With Kel, it meant that his unflappable friend had lost her composure. But why?
He felt his brain straining to comprehend the mental processes of the female species once again. She was one tough customer. What had he said to send her running for cover in the stables? The realization that Dom thought of her as if she were one of his male chums? Dom's talk of the man she would find one day? Kel was a commander by years of training; she retreated only when the situation was hopeless and/or the situation was too damaging to her side to be safe. This certainly appeared to apply. Yet what was so frightening about Dom of the Lethal Good Looks?
Ummmmm...
Dom thought furiously, evidenced by the (rather adorable, in his opinion) wrinkle between his kohled eyebrows.
Later, people writing of this romance between such fêted warrior heroes would define Dom's revelation as an intervention of the Goddess. The authors involved were female. Such books are not the domain of priests, monks, or nuns.
"Ah HAH!" Dom leapt to his feet, after sitting so hard on his behind that even as his perception of the feminine mystique deepened considerably, his bottom half cried out in agony from the saddle sores he'd developed riding to the wedding to rendez-vous with his buddy Kel. "She's feeling hopeless that she won't ever find an admirer... but why? AH! Because she just realized that I don't see her as a woman! So she believes that everyone will be as dense as I am!" Dom was feeling extremely pleased with himself for his logical deductions. Of course, she should realize, being his friend, that his façade of confidence was just that. He was not the brilliant thinker he pretended to be. Nor was he stupid, but Dom knew there was a reason why his cousin and friend were the knights and he was a warrior under the King's Own. So she should realize that not every swain she met would be as clueless as he.
Of course, anyone courting his friend Kel would find themselves very much under suspicion and inspection until his worthiness was substantiated. Or her worthiness, though Dom thought her reaction to Cleon ruled out that option, much to his relief. There was something frightening, he supposed to his male pride, about Kel being uninterested in his gender.
He wondered if that was normal for a man of his famed abilities and magnetic attraction.
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The next morning brought the beginning of Dom's investigation. He would find the man for Kel, despite the fact that it would keep her from him, since she'd be happier if he could only remedy this blindness in his own gender. Bright and early Dom noted Kel's silent efficiency in pattern dances, her determination in the face of her now-obvious frustration.
She, on the other hand, was being driven mad by his incorrigible attention. The man never stopped watching her! It surprised her that his garrulity unsettled as much as it flattered. He was up to something, of this she was sure. She attempted to distract herself through sedulous attention to her pattern dances.
'What man could be unimpressed by such a show of the martial arts?' Dom thought. She was all water and stone, controlled strength, and he could see her impressive, if slightly more developed than was strictly feminine, muscles flawlessly shifting from pose to stance. He couldn't imagine why the other closed-minded men found her form so repulsive. It was as if she had limitless potential compacted into her medium sized frame, and he defied anyone to find that much kinetic energy unappealing. On the few occasions when he had seen her loose her control she had become a powerhouse of passionate vigor. He figured he would have to find someone incredibly strong-willed for her, otherwise she'd pound the unlucky soul into paste on the practice courts. 'Often,' he thought reflectively, 'real strength involves being able to say 'no' when a pretty woman asks if she can challenge you to a contest of physical stamina and skill.'
"Hail to the camp! You there, Lord of the Lethal Appearance?" Kel called to him teasingly.
He shot her a scowl that he hoped was appropriately pernicious. At her laughter he slapped his hands over his ears, a pained expression replacing the venomous one. He huddled into himself and began consoling his ego, "She didn't mean that. You're a stunning specimen of suavity and sex appeal, you're a stunning specimen of suavity and sex appeal, you're a stunning-"
She punched him in the arm, with light pressure he exaggerated. "You can continue with your mantra later! I have to be ready for the challenges that will come next month!" With a wheedling look she attempted to get his help for the upcoming joust, "You do want me to survive to see your immense beauty in my dotage, don't you?" Dom brightened. "Of course," she spoke with an evil look, "you'll be a lot older then. I suppose your face will have wrinkled... and your eyes degenerated... actually, you'll be at the beginning stages of decomposition..."
Dom mock screamed. "NO! I'll practice with you, just DON'T mention that AWFUL fate! Promise me! And promise me you'll still humor my vanity when I'm a rotting shadow of my present splendor!" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her to emphasize the pressing nature of his apprehension.
At this point several others had joined them in the practice yard, currently laughing at Dom's histrionics and Kel's needling. Kel responded to the audience in a manner unlike her usual discretion. She kissed the miserable-looking Dom tenderly. Of course, it was on the cheek, and in puckish circumstances, but the thrill that went through her brought a true Kel smile to her face. Several people in the audience remarked to themselves how uncommonly pretty she looked before turning to see the young King's Own respond.
He did not disappoint.
With one hand on his chest and the other flung wildly behind him, he looked over his bent elbow at Kel, an animated awestruck look on his face. He held that pose for a minute before swinging to his other side, clasping his hands in front of his heart, and falling on his knees in the dust at the center of the ring. In a strident voice he cried, "Milady has blessed me with a heavenly favor from her ripe cherry lips! I can now die a happy man. But, Alas!" He put his hands on his cheeks in sorrow, "Milady can never be with me! I must now sacrifice myself upon the Altar Of Valor, in a vain attempt to win her affections, though I know she is too... far... above me!" At his last lines he jokingly jerked his head up until he was gazing adoringly at Kel. Abruptly he looked away, his mood changing as he arose and addressed the steadily increasing crowd.
"Who shall give me the opportunity to prove my valor by bravely impaling my person upon his sword?" Shocked chuckles rang out at this critique of the old chivalry.
Kel grinned maliciously, "Allow me, Sir Swain! I shall duel you bravely then offer you the oblivion you seek from your... umm..." she tried to describe her other character.
"Cruel mistress!" Dom stage-whispered. "She's always a 'cruel mistress' in these sorts of plays!"
"Ah, yes, your oh-so-cruel mistress... who kissed you, so now you have to die while failing to prove your prowess at the sword...?" She trailed off uncertainly.
Her partner frowned at her, "We're doing thee-aye-truh," he said the word in what he must have thought was a very urbane manner. "The story must never overshadow the questionable acting of the players!"
At this, most of the crowd laughed, but a portion just muttered uncomfortably, looking behind themselves. Kel and Dom didn't notice, as they continued with their game. Kel reassumed her challenger persona. "Then sir," she pulled off a glove. "I challenge you!" She waved the leather gauntlet mockingly in his face.
He looked at her mock-confusedly. "Actually, most things challenge me. Though I cannot understand what I am supposed to do with this," He smirkingly snatched the glove out of her hand. Kel blushed, then her eyes widened at the sight behind Dom.
"Here, allow me," came a voice that sounded like it came from a slimy sort of person. The glove was removed from Dom's hand.
Dom whirled around; having been completely engrossed in his playacting, he had not expected the entrance of a villain.
The man was medium height with long, rakish locks of hair surrounding a handsome face. Now, however, the face appeared thunderous. Dom only got a fleeting impression since the man's fist, clenched around Kel's flimsy glove, made violent acquaintance with his face.
Completely clocked, Dom dropped heavily to the ground. Calm Kel's eyes widened, and she dropped down next to him, assuring herself that he was only stunned. The watching entourage, which now included Neal and Yuki alternated between aghast concern and excited glee for the real confrontation now occurring.
Keladry of Mindelan's eyes flicked up at her beloved's attacker, warm brown suddenly chilling, dreamy gaze lost in eager intensity. She stood quietly, unnoticed as a threat by the big man, now being congratulated by his sycophants, while removing her other glove.
She slapped him with it.
The red mark spread across his cheek as realization of her intent filled his eyes. The pretty man leered at her disdainfully. "You think to challenge ME, 'Milady'? I am the captain of our troupe!" What he'd obviously assumed she knew was his membership in the atrocious acting troupe of the night before. His grievance was understood, though Kel believed the censure of their ability was well-deserved. She quelled further words of his with a quiet husky tone.
"Let this be a warning to you. Inept as you are at reading subtext, I shall make myself very clear." She stepped closer to him, pressing upon his attention her greater height and superior physical condition. "I have fought creatures out of nightmare and madmen with wizardly powers and faced a room filled with my greatest fears in order to serve the greater good. I place nothing before my oath to my King and the knighthood that I hold. The man you assaulted is a wise and witty defender of the King's Justice. It is not only disrespectful to strike him without proper warning, it also borders on the treasonous. You may win awards, and you may play at being a big man with a sword in your hand. But know this:
"Offstage, I'm the one who choreographs the fight scenes."
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Kel and the Captain faced each other across the six foot space dividing them after retrieving their swords. Kel, in deference to the fact that Rafferty, the player "captain", was not a knight, allowed him to choose the conditions of their duel. He churlishly and foolishly decided there was no need to delay and insisted upon swords, the weapon most commonly used onstage. This was foolish as Dom had the opportunity while both were preparing to watch Rafferty with his sword. The man obviously was unused to the greater heft, though his vainglorious airs would not allow him to admit it, and his abortive thrusts presaged a quick battle in Keladry's favor.
While Dom's poor face had undoubtedly been cruelly abused, he kept his thoughts upon his friend. Well, he took a moment now and then to stew in indignation that he had been struck by a player named Rafferty the Quick but tried to distract himself with reminders of his mission. He was unaccountably touched by her gallant attempt to defend his honor. Keladry of Mindelan was an unstoppable force. The position of her values in her mind were only matched by her determination to defend them.
"Your move, Rafferty the Quick. I only hope you are, or there will be a very disappointed ladies' maid in your company." Kel stood at the ready, her hilt in her hand, scabbard in the dust several feet behind her.
Rafferty bristled, bringing a puce tone to his face. A nasty look accompanied his vicious barb, "And you, girl, will be acknowledged by all as the whore you are. En garde!"
Dom saw red. He would... he would... do nothing. This was Kel's fight, as she proved with her next words.
"Quite an accusation, coming from the pure mouth of a player," she jabbed, vocally and physically with her sword, making the pretty man dodge away as she stalked after him. The libidinous character of actors was common knowledge. "Perhaps soon you'll learn to recognize the difference between a woman of noble blood about to run you through and the poor lady who only lets you run her through to pay for her supper."
Rafferty launched into a flurry of furious strikes, and Kel responded by easily retreating from the lethal weapon, blocking him as he repeatedly tried to behead her.
As he viewed the facility with which Kel handled the explosive man in front of her, Dom once again found himself visited by divine guidance. 'She doesn't need a man!' he realized as Kel locked hilts with the player captain, 'she's completely honorable, she's definitely more intelligent than me, and nobody can better defend her than she herself.' The knight used her superior weight to bend the captain backwards a bit before shoving him away, readying herself for another bout.
"So," came a voice at his ear. "Letting a girl fight your battles doesn't make you feel a bit... small?"
Dom looked over at the actor at his shoulder. He was less attractive than Rafferty, but he still had this gilded look about him, marred by the supercilious sneer on his face. "What, and performing in that miserable excuse for a play last night fills one with masculine virility? I think I'll keep defending you from marauding bandits and unstoppable armies for now. You go on applying face paint and wearing dresses if you like that sort of thing!" Frankly he was impressed he'd sunk to these amateurs' levels so quickly. Ah, well. It was a precious expression on the man's face- he looked like a spoiled child who had been withheld a coveted sweet.
"Why you son of a cuckolded monkey in heat!" Dom took a double-take as another fist headed toward his nose. Mentally he groaned and prepared himself for the pain.
"If you had even a modicum of intelligence, you'd know that was physically impossible," came the beloved face-saving voice of the Meathead. Dom's eyes opened and he beamed at the sight of Neal grabbing the man's elbow, creating another attractive wince on the actor's face.
"You know, Neal, I can see why he's an actor. His expressions are adorable," Dom simpered. Every muscle in the captured actor's body tensed.
Neal blinked at Dom's insouciance. "Dom, knock it off. He's a peasant. You know better." He clearly wondered what had his cousin in such a mood.
"Oh, don't let that stop you. Or this will be over much too quickly," another actor had appeared to try and save the pride of the troupe. Behind him ranged three others, all bulky from moving sets from town to town. "We wanna see what little Blue Blood has to recommend himself, or if he keeps his cow around for that," he motioned to Kel. She was still battling Rafferty the Quick, toying with him, wearing him down to the point where he had to take great gasps, and she pretended not to notice his fatigue.
Silence descended among the distracted spectators as Dom's level of affront became tangible. Moving with flawless efficiency, he punched the offending player in the gut, but held him up so he couldn't cradle his pained organs. Unnoticed around him, the other actors launched at him, prompting Neal and Yuki to hold them off. Dom shook the man, "Cast aspersions upon my manhood all you want, but if all you wanted was to be pummeled, you should have said so. Your unimaginative insults bore me." He threw the actor to the ground.
By now Keladry of Mindelan was tiring of her duel. She felt guilty for challenging a man who hadn't the benefit of knighthood training and was not sworn to the rules of chivalry. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the rest of the troupe trying to attack Neal, Dom and Yuki. Methodically, she entwined her sword with her opponent's, jerking it out of his hand. Pointing both at him, she received his exhausted surrender, bowed to him, and dashed over to the fray.
Yuki was doing quite well for herself, especially given that most of the players were too afraid to strike an obviously noble and fragile lady. Luckily she had her shukusen with her, and actors fell unconscious from her subtle attacks. Dom had just emerged from his tête-à-tête with his truculent actor when Kel and another arrived at their chaotic group.
"HALT! Cease this brawling immediately! Lady Keladry, take Nealan and Domitan to the infirmary, then the three of you are to report to my office for an explanation of this malfeasance! For everyone else, these three will pay for the injuries you can prove they caused. Now disperse!" Lord Wyldon had a cold water effect even on those who hadn't trained under him since childhood.
Breathing heavily and mentally berating herself, Keladry supported the stunned Neal while Yuki held her handkerchief to a small wound on Dom's forehead. Yuki's grumbles and Neal's tired repartees were the only sounds as the group walked the short distance to the first floor room in the fort set aside for healing. It was to both young men's good fortune that the Duke Baird had not yet arrived, so they escaped his lecture, facing only a diminutive blonde who tsk-ed at their story.
"My Lord is not toleratin' such behavior naedays," she said. "Ye'd be wise to take whate'er punishmen' he gi'es without protestin'." Even Dom's charming flirting didn't seem to calm her strict manner. She sent them off a few minutes later, having healed Neal.
Kel walked towards Wyldon's office after leaving the men to the healers. She had never been afraid of discipline. However, normally she was at least convinced that she was right; In this case she did not possess such a luxury. It was with a weighted heart that she knocked on the door of the man whose respect she had fought so hard to win.
"Enter!" His gruff voice gave her little hope of redemption. Eyes as sharp as merciless as a stooping hawk's captured hers. "Mindelan! Good. You came alone. How did this happen, Knight?"
She stood tall and firm, prepared for the dressing-down she knew was imminent. "My apologies, sir. I have brought shame upon myself by taunting the players. When Captain Rafferty responded to my calumnies, I challenged him to a duel. We fought, and my superior training easily bested his dilettante expertise. The others brawled only on my command- I did not want the other players to become involved in my duel. I have not comported myself in a way that befits the honor of a knight. I await my punishment happily and shall not argue no matter the severity. Here is my sword sir." She kneeled ceremoniously, presenting her superior with the leather-wrapped hilt of her weapon.
She didn't see his face, her own lowered in shame, but she heard the heavy sigh before his voice rescued her from the histrionics of her guilty mind. "While your description of your behavior is not cogent with what I have come to expect from my Lady Knight, as in your page days, I have no other recourse but to hold you culpable.
"The behavior of a knight is based upon the rules of chivalry. One cannot become a knight without learning to uphold these rules in all aspects of his life. The Chamber ensures this, as without the ability to place these beliefs above the petty cruelties of others, we would not have survived the experience. You have grown too sure of yourself, Mindelan." He tapped his fingers on the desk a moment. His office was barely furnished, with a fireplace, a map of the immediate area above it, and a gently-used carpet collecting wayward dust on the floor. He opened his mouth to speak her fate, when a knock interrupted him, prompting a scowl onto his severe features. "Enter, now."
Clearly, he had not cheered since the others had last seen him, thought Dom. Of course, this would have been a most unexpected windfall if Lord Wyldon had forgotten a misbehavior, but a man could dream, couldn't he? Looking around, he saw that Neal was standing at attention, face wiped of all expression. Yuki was looking about as mysteriously Yamani as Dom had ever seen her, eyes slitted almost shut, hands demure, stance unthreatening, body stiff with repressed energy. Dom himself stood easily, though respectfully. He knew brawling was undignified and beneath him, but he was allowed to express his opinion. What others felt about his assessment was their own business, and in no way were they justified in an attack on himself, let alone Kel, a lady knight!
It was her position that most incensed him at the moment. She was offering her sword to Wyldon! Kneeling, her head bent in submission! It wasn't difficult to deduce what Kel had intended by coming to Wyldon while they were otherwise engaged. Wyldon confirmed his apprehensions.
"Knight Mindelan, you are hereby sentenced to removal of leave, effective tonight at nine. I shall not deprive your former Knight Master of your presence, divisive though it seems to be. You will depart for Thornfall via the Great North Road, bypassing Corus until you have completed your task. Your mission is to train the residents of Thornfall and the surrounding hamlets of Pejon, Munkelby, and Red Cliffs to combat the small band of robbers infesting the area. The city leaders have been told to expect an authority, you will simply be more than they were expecting. You will behave in a respectful manner, and perhaps exposure to the plight of the commoners will encourage you to be a bit more adamant in their defense."
Dom had to forcibly restrain himself from simultaneously fuming and throwing something. As if Kel was anything but defensive of those under her care! She didn't harm the player captain, though she certainly had the means, and could her actions for Lalasa be forgotten so quickly by the lord? By the tensing of her body, Kel was hurt by the accusation, yet she said nothing.
Then, "I shall endeavor to do yourself and the title Knight honor, milord. May I be excused to prepare myself for my journey?"
Amazingly, Wyldon ignored her. "Masbolle! Queenscove! You are to report to Yerkley in Corus upon your return to muck out the stalls. Be late and risk an extension on the week of duty I already assigned. Now, please escort the Lady Knight to her rooms until the ceremony. I expect you to prepare for some adverse weather, Mindelan." Still, Kel sat where she was. She knew she was being punished, as well as tested to see if she would give on her story. She remained on her knees, though the rough wood had begun to dig splinters into her knees. After all, what sort of pain was Rafferty the Quick enduring at his loss to a woman? It would not matter that she was a knight. She certainly had not behaved as one.
A few minutes passed. "My Lord?" Yuki ventured.
Wyldon looked up from his work. "Lady, you will have to receive punishment elsewhere. I do not punish Noble Women." Kel noticed the dig, turning to stone so she wouldn't feel the pain of his disapproval.
"Indeed, sir. Perhaps if you would dismiss us, I could request such of the Queen." Yuki balanced on the edge of civility. She had always admired Kel.
"Go, then." Wyldon negligently grunted as he returned his attention to his maps. They left.
Kel left that night, immediately following the wedding. She rode through the sunrise, then she and Hoshi bedded down for couple hours of blissful oblivion.
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"She didn't even say goodbye..."
"Dom, you sound like a child. She will be back. It will take more than a gang of robbers to halt her! Remember what I told you about our first year?"
"But... she just left."
"That's what Wyldon wanted her to do. He was pretty close to boiling, or did you miss the steam escaping his ears?"
"And now she's all alone..."
"Are you even listening to yourself?! You know she's my little sister too, but you don't see me bawling like a prima donna!"
"Just her and Hoshi..."
Neal lost control and "gently" rammed Dom's head against the hitching post. "Get in the joust, cousin, and clean up that dross!" Dom let out a small sound of pain, but his eyes came into focus. Neal handed his cousin a shovel and pulled him up, facing a most impressive pile of horse droppings. "Since you insist upon being in a stupor, I'll take bucket duty. Hag's Breasts!"
Pause. Neal began walking away as Dom positioned himself with the shovel to begin digging.
"... She'll be sinking into a mire of depression without us..."
Neal stiffened. "Arg!" He lifted a hand to smack his irritating cousin, only to be smacked himself. He blinked confusedly. "Wha-?"
Dom made eye contact, smirking at the success of his taunt. "Don't curse like that! There are ladies present." He gestured to Peachblossom.
Neal blinked and looked at the affronted horse before letting out a snort. The horse did not appreciate the humor of the situation. Instead, he attempted to express his still less-than-friendly feelings for the related irritants now mucking out the stall next to his.
"OUCH!"
"Pain-pain-pain!"
Satisfied by the beautiful rumpus caused by his actions, the destrier returned to his daydreams of the apples he had yet to bite.
"You okay, Meathead?"
"Fine, fine. As if you really cared. All you've been talking about all afternoon is Kel. You'd think she'd been banished, not punished with an assignment she'd do happily anyway."
"Seriously, Neal, did you see her face? It was like she was... erased. Like there was nothing left..."
"That's Kel, you know that. She's got the best face for gambling I've ever seen. It's a Yamani trait, I think. I never know when Yuki's going to spring something utterly horrendous on me until she smiles that smile that makes me-"
Dom's eyes had widened. "I don't really need to know, chum. I really don't want to, in fact! Goodness' sake, young man, do attempt to keep some sort of propriety!"
"Someday you'll find a girl-" Neal threatened
"I've got Kel!" Dom knew girls!
"A girl who isn't like your sister, lunkhead, and I'll be able to laugh in your face when you're wrapped around her little finger-" Dom stopped listening at this point. It didn't matter since Neal's attention was on his bucket of water and his poetic dreams of his love. This was not the time for such talking! Kel needed him! She needed him to cheer her up! He knew he could too! It was always helpful in such situations to have Neal to knock around, but Dom was also prepared to let her beat the stuffing out of him if it would get her to laugh. Or smile. Or feel even slightly satisfied in her own self-worth. Neal could believe what he wanted, but Dom knew Kel was in serious need of encouragement.
She had taken this too hard. Obviously she always felt the need to behave better than anyone else, so she could prove to Wyldon that she really belonged there. When Dom had spoken to Lord Wyldon that morning, he'd discovered that Kel had not even mentioned that both of them had been insulted most crudely by the players. A man could defend his honor or that of his fellow. Wyldon had lightened their sentence but would do nothing about Kel's since she'd already gone. True, their response had been crude, but they had not been childishly scrapping.
Now nobody was there to keep Kel from the deleterious effects of her own conscience. He should be there! After all, as Neal said, that was what brothers did for their sisters!
Dom paused in his rhythmic shoveling. Sister? Hmm, that didn't quite seem right. Kel wasn't so much a sister to him. He wasn't overly protective of her, like he'd observed brothers to be. He knew she could handle herself, and he saw her as being at his own level of maturity... perhaps higher, the voice of Neal in his head prompted. She was his confidant, his partner in mirth, he her ally in play, her support in strife. She was the woman he respected most, and though he loved her, she wasn't his sister. She was his equal.
Equal in a way Neal would never be, Dom realized, stepping back while his cousin washed the floor he'd just cleared. Keladry of Mindelan was the most phenomenal woman he had ever met, and he hated being parted from her. It was like he was incomplete without her, like she allowed him to reach his full potential. There was also, he reflected amazedly, something... pulling... about her mere presence. Like he got something from being with her that he didn't get from anyone or anything else. And he wanted that. He wanted to be there for her now, but mostly he just wanted to be there with her. He wanted her.
A fog lifted from his brain. All of a sudden, his own thoughts shocked him. He desired Kel! Kel the knight! His crony, his fellow wordsmith, the only woman who could put him in the dirt in combat. Though to be fair, she was the only woman he felt comfortable combating either. At this moment, his mind befuddled him again with scenes of Kel in the past, her attractions highlighted as he'd never seen before- the nervous flirt of her eye, the quirk of a light brow, the playful strength of her hand, the small but definite curve of her bosom, and the enticing smirk of her mouth.
"Gods above preserve me," he panted as he continued to think such things about his best friend as to make his placid cousin challenge him to a death duel.
