Disclaimer: Everything you recognise belongs to Tamora Pierce, except for the song which is 'If that's what it takes' by Bon Jovi.
A/N: Meep. I'm sorry this chapter took so long, but I was sent down to London for tests on my head (yeah, applying for a top-class nuthouse *snickers*). Anyway, I'm not sure whether I like it or not, but happily, it's not up to me. Thank you all for the reviews, you are my constant inspiration.
Vilranda: Well I know I'm crazy, I'm just glad you realised it too!
Lady Sandrilene: Thank you for the constructive crit, it has been duly noted *grins* but this was really only meant to be a little one-shot ficlet for writing romance (something that I'm truly horrendous at) so it wasn't going to be all that developed characteristically anyway. Unfortunately, reviews turned it into a planned epic, so I will try and slow it down a bit in future.
Captured Dreamer: Fluff scares me too. I'm an angst writer dammit!
Dragonlady: Your wish is my command! Though, I notice that it's quite long, so when I have a bit of time out from homework & exams, I will read it through and write you a long review. Kay? *grins*
Cami: *hides under bed* I've sunk to writing 'cute' chapters. Woe is me! Incidentally, this chapter is in your honour, for Neal's 'unwholesome' thoughts (not that I've expanded on them of course, but you may at your leisure! *giggles*).
Jazzie: I'm not allowed caffeine on my tablets at the moment so I know exactly how you feel *spasms* I hope this makes up for it a little bit!
Min: I don't think I've ever blushed so much in my life (errr…with the exception of reading Cami's uber-fic in the school library with random teachers peering over my shoulder *cringes*). Thank you so much.
Unbreakable Oaths
Neal opened one eye cautiously - he appeared to be lying in bed, but as he tilted his head upwards, he caught sight of a dresser on which a large collection of Yamani cats was arranged. Kel? What was he doing in Kel's room? More importantly, what was he doing in her bed? Heat flooded Neal's body at the thought. Just what exactly had happened?
Turning over, he caught sight of the object of his current dilemma - Kel was curled up in the corner armchair, the dress she had been wearing to supper rumpled around her sleeping form.
He grinned, propping his head up on his arm to watch her. Kel looked different when she was asleep - unguarded, vulnerable, like she needed protecting. It was a surreal experience, and against his will, Neal imagined that he could quite happily watch her for hours.
I played the part of a broken heart,
I played that part so lonely and so well
Luckily for the part of Neal that maintained falling for his best friend was a very bad idea, Kel stirred at that moment.
"This may be a stupid question, but why am I lying in your bed?" Neal drawled after giving her a chance to wake up properly. "And what happened after Cleon…?" his voice trailed off as realisation struck. He groaned and fell back onto the pillows - Kel would be extremely angry with him right about now.
Thought that love belonged to someone else, not me and you
"Your father arrived shortly after you passed out," Kel's voice, like her face, gave no indication of her mood, and not for the first time, Neal cursed the Yamanis that had taught her.
I know that you've been shattered,
You've been bruised
"Did he ask what happened?" Neal asked nervously, biting his lip as white-hot bolts of pain shot through his body, protesting at his attempt to sit up.
"He didn't need to - Cleon and Ermelian had already been to the Infirmary. Unfortunately, the way Ermelian told it, you had been trying to kill her betrothed." she stared at him, her eyes hard and unforgiving.
We both know what it feels like when you lose
After a while, she broke their contact with a faint sigh, and lowered her head into her hands. When her body began to shake, as if from silent sobs, Neal pulled himself into an unsteady standing position, alarmed. "Kel? Oh Gods…Kel, I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have done it, but he'd upset you. Kel, please…" he knelt down by Kel's chair and rested a tentative hand on her back.
But I'd bet my life on a roll of the dice for you
To his surprise, she looked up at him grinning, her eyes filled with mirth. Neal mock-glared at her, before cuffing her shoulder lightly. "Wench! I thought you were crying!"
I bet you counted all the tears I bet you've cried
Kel shook her head. "If anything, I should be plotting your untimely death. What did you think you were doing, Neal? Did fighting Cleon accomplish anything at all?"
I bet you swore you'd never let love back inside
"Apart from a lot of pain? No, but it made me feel better," she gave him a stern glance, and he ruffled her hair affectionately, ruining her composed demeanour.
Kel pouted. "I can take care of myself, you know,"
"I know," he assured her quietly, suddenly serious, "but you should let someone else do it for you occasionally."
And it's hard for broken hearts to just forget,
But I'm riding blind, I'll lay it all on the line for you
There were, Neal supposed, advantages to having grown up around the male pages, with little female contact save her maid. Unfortunately, one of them was not the knowledge to realise when someone was flirting with her. He regretted having spoken at all when Kel's expression became a frown. "What is that supposed to mean?" she demanded.
It means that other people care about you, clueless girl. He thought resignedly.
If that's what it takes, that's what I'd do
If we take the time to do it right, I know we'll pull through
It didn't occur to Neal that he had spoken aloud until he looked back at Kel who was staring as if he had gone mad. "I think Cleon must have hit you harder than I thought," she said slowly, as if unsure of the truth of her own statement.
"Probably. Isn't it glorious?" he replied cheerfully, willing away a blush before Kel became even more suspicious.
If it took all my life, I'd prove it to you
"If you say so, Neal," she muttered, still watching him warily as she rose, trying in vain to straighten out her skirts. Neal watched, fascinated. It was rare that Kel ever let her guard down enough to perform an action so feminine, though she did wear a dress to supper each night. This, he knew, was to remind them that Keladry Mindelan was a girl, not the boy with breasts. Not that Neal could ever forget of course.
Looking away quickly, he hauled himself into Kel's vacated chair and closed his eyes. Kel didn't seem to realise the full extent of her actions. The mere wearing of a dress further aggravated the conservatives by compounding the fact that Tortall was, to them, failing in it's duties. Soon they would have a second Lady Knight, and more would be to follow. He grinned to himself - Kel, his friend, had accomplished what even Lady Alanna had never done. She had proved that it was possible for girls to fight for the realm, even if they were not a tool of the Gods, or even possessed of the most basic of Gifts.
If that's what it takes, that's what I'd do
A quiet cough roused him from his reverie; Kel, her hands laced before her, was looking meaningfully at him. "Wha?" Neal mumbled, shaking his head as if the action would disperse the rather unwholesome thoughts that his mind was now providing him with. It didn't help.
"What Lady Kel means, though she is too polite to say so, is that she wishes for you to leave now, Sir Neal." said an amused yet business-like voice from the doorway. Kel whipped around, and Neal found himself wondering if he could react that fast. Stop thinking about her! He commanded his own mind, as if it would aid matters. In fact, it made him feel rather foolish.
"Lalasa! I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow," Kel ran over and hugged her one-time maid with an uncommon exuberance that he had seen only a handful of times. Has she ever greeted me like that? Neal tried to remember, before pushing the question away. If this was what lo…infatuation made him into, then he'd rather become a priest. Eventually, he stood and left the room, clasping Kel's shoulder as he went, even though the touch burned him.
As it happened, he could not recall a single incident when Kel had shown him as much warmth as she did Lalasa. Was it because she had a façade to maintain, or was it because she thought of him as nothing beyond a friend?
If that's what it takes...
As he threw open the door to his room, Neal was greeted with the singularly most terrifying sight of his life: a bloody and lifeless corpse, host to what his fevered imagination believed, a thousand knives. Her once beautiful dress of jade velvet was tattered and crimson stained, wrapped around the slender body like a shroud; eyes wider in death than they could have ever been in life, as a hideous parody of wakening.
Neal never even heard the scream that was his own.
*cackles* The evil authoress implores that you review, for the sake of her nameless victim…