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Chapter Three

Packing

"You did what?" King Jonathan of Conté's voice bounced of the walls as he looked at his old friend in a mixture of disbelief and anger. Raoul shifted uncomfortably. He was suddenly extremely glad he had requested a private audience with Jon. He had known there would be anger at Alanna's plan – that was what he had been careful to call it the whole explanation through. There was no need for Jon to know that they were equal partners. If Jonathan was going to explode Alanna would have to take the blame for this one.

"Now Jon, it sounds worse than it is." Raoul tried to explain but the King was having none of it.

"Worse than it is? Raoul, you two have gone behind my back to create some far fetched scheme so that you can put your matchmaking skills to test! Why couldn't you leave the situation as it was?"

Raoul felt like a small child being scolded by an angry parent. "She was miserable Jon, what else could we – I mean Alanna – do?"

"Let her fix her problems herself!"

Raoul felt a sudden burst of anger, something that happened as rarely as Alanna keeping her opinions to herself. "And what would that have helped? She needs a push in the right direction, just as I did, just as you yourself did Jonathan. She's the first true female knight and fixing the problem herself is not as easy as you might think it is. She's not Alanna, Jon. She'll rather suffer in silence than simply march whichever way she pleases." He paused for a second. "Don't tell Alanna I said that."

Jon sighed and closed his eyes, his finger slowly massaging his temple. "Why Sergeant Domitan?"

Raoul grinned. "Believe me, he's the right one. Or rather believe Alanna. She's the one that's made Kel her secret project. You should consider sending her off to battle; she appears to have too much free time on her hands."

Jon scowled further. "She's only been here for a week."

"As I said, far too much time." Raoul personally did't believe his own words. He was sure Alanna would've put her plan into action even had she only been here for one day. Kel was almost like a second daughter to Alanna, heck she was like his own daughter too. If this was a way to make her happy then he was going to make sure that they went through with it. "Please Jon, trust us on this one. There's nothing dangerous about the plan and Kel needs a break after what she did to that mage."

Jonathan sighed loudly, a sure sign that he was warming to the idea. "What about the fact that the sergeant's in the Own? You know that means that he's not allowed to be married?"

"Grant him a royal pardon." Raoul suggested. "Or I'll fire him for some truly absurd reason, either way Jon, please just give it a chance."

Jon rubbed his temple once more but Raoul could see that the battle had been won. "Very well, I can't see how it can hurt. Just remember I'm doing this as a favour to you and I expect you to return the favour sometime."

"More social events?"

Jon grinned. "More social events." Slowly Jon turned and made his way to the door. "I better get on with that royal pardon, Alanna hates being wrong. I can't see her taking the chance if she though her plan would fail." He left without seeing the smile of triumph on the Knight Commander's lips.

Kel rotated from side to side in front of the large mirror, her mouth pulled into a tight scowl as she studied her garments. Gone was the beautiful gown that she had worn for the wedding replaced by a well worn simple coarse dress that most commoners in villages wore. She had no idea how but Alanna had managed to scrape together an entire wardrobe of clothing for her to wear during her mission. They were all well worn and made of rough material, exactly what was needed. That wasn't the problem. The problem was – Kel rotated once more – she simply didn't look like a commoner! She looked too much like a knight to suit the role! She was too muscled from her training and just looked too healthy!

Alanna didn't share her views. "We will just rub in some mud and it'll be fine. Leave your hair like that; it suits your alibi better."

Kel fingered her shoulder length hair. She had left it to grow the last while and had planned to chop it short after the wedding but Alanna was probably right. The longer hair would help her blend into the role she was going to portray. Still she could't see how she was going to fool anyone with her disguise.

With one last sceptical glance in the mirror she turned to see Alanna stuffing all her new garments into a cloth bag that was several sizes too small. "We should tie some rope around it to ensure it doesn't break," Alanna suggested as she sat on the bag in hope of fitting everything inside. Kel, who was standing on the opposite side of the room, could see the seams straining and agreed a hundred percent. With one last shove Alanna managed to secure the bag shut. "There we go." A load groan behind her signalled the first seam giving way. She pretended not to her it. "That's one less thing to worry about." She gave the bag a friendly pat and was rewarded by three more seams ripping.

The room was swallowed in silence as the two women watched the bag slowly give way to allow pieces of material to poke through.

"Finished?" Alanna snapped at the bag. Its answer was to give away entirely.

There was no way Kel could let this pass without laughing. After glaring at the offending article Alanna joined her.

That was how Dom found them, standing in the middle of the room laughing at a broken bag. He was still dressed in his wedding attire signalling that he had come straight from Neal and Yuki's party.

"I must be missing something," he commented staring at the bag in confusion. "Is that a new way of packing?"

Kel shook her head. "Alanna was over enthusiastic."

Dom wasn't comfortable enough around the Lioness yet to comment as he usually would. "Shall I find you another bag, dear wife?" he asked Kel instead.

"Don't bother," Alanna interrupted. "I have to find Raoul anyway. Stay here with Kel, I'll be back in a minute." She exited the room, closing the door behind her with a snap.

Dom shook his head as his gaze left the closed door to return to Kel. "If my Lord has any brains he would be hiding somewhere she will never find him."

"She'll find him." Kel assured his. "I am surprised she didn't drag him with to help with the packing."

Dom smirked. "Yes, it looks like you two needed the extra help." He studied Kel's dress suspiciously. "You know, I can swear that dress had been a beautiful gown a mere hour earlier."

"It changed back at midnight," Kel retorted easily. It felt strange how comfortable it felt bantering with Dom, even easier than it was with Neal. She felt no fear of offending him or saying something that would make him think less of her. They had known each other since Kel had been a squire and she had never felt angry at him, which she had to admit was a rare deed indeed. She had lost count how many times she had lost her temper with Neal, usually over silly deeds that she had forgotten by the following day, but not Dom. He was too easy going, too charming to stay mad at, and usually too smart to do something stupid. As much as Kel wanted to simply enjoy the moment, she had to stop and take account of what they had agreed to. "Dom," her voice was suddenly soft and unsure, "are we doing the right thing here?"

"With the mission?"

She nodded. "Yes. Are we sure that this is the smart option? That we'll be safe in enemy territory while on the hunt for a mage that can create machines that kill with no difficulty or remorse? What if we get hurt? What if we get caught? What if…"

"What if we succeed?" Dom interrupted her. "What if we find this mage and bring him down to ensure that no one else will ever be harmed by those machines again? We can do this Kel, there's no one like you and you have enough skill and enough heart to do this. You truly are the 'Protector of the Small'," Kel scowled at the name. She had never really liked the name and was not going to warm up to it anytime soon. She was Kel, plain simple Kel, and she didn't really want a name to make her a legend. She wasn't one. She had simply done what she had thought best and been lucky enough to survive. If only she could get others to see it like that as well. Dom looked down at her, his expression serious. "You may not be my true wife Kel, but this I can promise you, for the duration of the mission you are the most important person in my life. If anyone tries to get anywhere near you they'll have to get through me first, alright? You'll be safe, never fear that. And as for the getting caught part," he paused to take her hands in his and slowly pull her to him until she was settled in his arms. "We'll work on that. I think I can copy Neal's love sick expression. All I need to do is stare off into the distance with my mouth wide open and drool."

"And write really bad poetry." Kel added as she rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. She was unable to stop herself; it just seemed like the natural thing to do. She could feel Dom's chest vibrate as he chuckled.

"I got it. 'My dear flower bud, I love you as a cow does its cud, even when you are covered in mud, if you are gone my tears will cause a flood'."

Kel didn't even open her eyes but smiled at his words. "Yes, I think that'll do."

He sighed dramatically. "The things one does for your wife." He didn't sound too worried as he playfully twirled one strand of Kel's brown hair. "I like it this way; you should keep it a bit longer."

"I am. Alanna said it would help me look a bit more like someone's wife."

"Says the one who pretended to be a man for eight years," she heard him mutter. She ignored him and would have been content to stand there in his embrace for a few more peaceful minutes had she not heard two bickering voices coming down the hall. Instead she was forced to pull out of Dom's arms and open the door to reveal Alanna and Raoul. Alanna was holding two big cloth bags. She tossed one at Dom who caught it with ease.

"Everything's ready, we leave in the morning. Raoul will show you what to pack." She didn't even give Dom chance to reply, just marched into the room and practically shove him out the door. Before she could close the door Kel's dog Jump entered, his crooked tail wagging as he looked up at his mistress.

Kel's gaze went from the dog to Alanna, who was now shoving the cloths into the second bag with a vengeance, before returning to the dog once more. "You may have chosen the worst option," she warned him before going to help Alanna.

Hope you liked it! Please remember to review so I can know what you think!

Hopefully in the next chapter the mission will begin and the true charade will start!