A/N: I'm so sorry for the long wait for this chapter!! I have been without the internet since I posted the first chapter! I was going insane! So here it is finally, thanks for the reviews so far.

Chapter Two: Conversations Over Chess

"Check mate."

"What? How did that happen?"

"Um, with skill."

"Shut it, Meathead. I thought I had it all planned out."

"Well, apparently not, my dear cousin. And I believe you now owe me some coins."

"Yeah, yeah," said Dom reluctantly, digging into his belt purse. "But I never saw that coming. I thought I had you."

"Well, your mind must have been elsewhere I'm afraid. May I inquire as to where?" Neal asked, as Dom dumped the coins into his outstretched hand.

They had continued to play chess nightly ever since Midwinter. The ordeals were over, and soon Progress would resume. Dom and the rest of Third Company would be leaving early to scout ahead and the two cousins were vying to depart with the bigger purse. But seeing as this night was going, it seemed as though Neal would be the victor.

"I don't know," Dom replied, "My thoughts are just all scrambled I guess."

"And that's different than usual?" joked Neal.

Dom rolled his eyes and threw a chess piece at his head.

"Hey, these are antique pieces!" teased Neal. But Dom ignored him.

"This Midwinter has been so…different. What with two lives ruined in the chamber, Scanra threatening our borders, Wyldon resigning-"

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Neal interrupted. "I say good riddance to the Stump."

Dom again rolled his eyes as Neal reset the chess board. "Don't you see that he did it because never before have there been two failures in one year? He felt that it was his fault."

"Yeah," sighed Neal understandably, "I know that. But that still doesn't mean I have to like the man."

Dom chuckled quietly at the tone of Neal's voice. He never had to train under Wyldon of Cavall like his cousin, but he knew he was strict. Of course, Neal also couldn't keep his opinions to himself either- as Kel had pointed out a little while ago.

As the two cousins began to play a new game in concentrated silence, Dom's thoughts drifted to Kel. That was something else that was different this Midwinter. He couldn't get Kel off his mind and he wasn't sure why.

He kept telling himself that it was because many of the events of this Midwinter naturally would remind him of her. Through his cousin, he knew of the constant fighting that had happened between Joren and his cronies and Kel. Not to mention when Joren had tried to make it so that Kel missed her page examinations. When Joren was killed in the chamber, Dom couldn't help but think he had deserved what he had gotten. He had also overheard Raoul recounting how Joren's family had burst into Kel's room the night he had died.

When news of Wyldon's resignation leaked out, he knew Kel was upset, and was curious as to why. Hadn't he worked her harder than most boys? Hadn't he agreed to put her on probation? Yet, she was still disheartened to hear of his resignation, and he heard from Neal that she had even gotten Wyldon to take on Owen as his squire.

And despite all of this and much more, she still prevailed. She completely amazed him and continued to do so.

However, though these thoughts did occur to him, other thoughts seemed to sneak into his mind that he couldn't explain. For example, for Midwinter he had racked his brains trying to think of something that she would like, but he couldn't come up with a thing. In the end, he ended up giving her a simple gift, one that she probably had stuffed in the bottom of her trunk. However that was not the thought that bothered him.

What bothered him was that he was so intent on finding the perfect gift for her. Last Midwinter he hadn't thought much about it, just given her what he knew others liked, but this year was different. Suddenly buying a gift for her had become his goal during their stay in Corus. Nothing was good enough or seemed to be what he was looking for. But why was it such a big deal for him? Kel was just his friend that he enjoyed being around like all the others.

But then again, she still stood out, and it wasn't because she was the only girl in the Own. She was different than any girl he had ever met; so determined, yet so caring. Dom often thought she was too serious, but when she laughed, she seemed so happy and carefree, as if all her troubles were washed away. Lately, that was his other, lasting goal- to make Kel smile. He felt so good when he succeeded.

"Check mate- again."

Dom snapped out of his thoughts and blinked at the chess board in front of him. He had lost again. "That's impossible."

Neal shrugged, "Do you want to just pay me what you're going end up paying me for winning the next game, or do you actually want to play?"

"I am playing."

"Horribly," replied Neal as Dom's coins once again clinked into his palm.

Determinedly, Dom set his thoughts on the next game. Halfway through, he was still succeeding in playing a decent game when Neal said out-of-the-blue, "You know what, I'm glad our society is moving away from arranged marriages."

In the middle of moving one of his chess pieces, Dom stopped in mid-action. Then he looked at his cousin strangely, "Where in the Realm of the Gods did that come from, Neal?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, "I was just thinking about the Progress and all, how it's to celebrate Roald and Shinkokami's upcoming marriage…"

Dom now understood where his crazy cousin was coming from.

"I mean, arranged marriages are just like a business deal. What happened to romance?" Neal moved one of his pieces as he talked.

Chuckling, Dom replied, "Our grandparents had an arranged marriage, and they seemed happy enough- when they weren't squabbling of course."

"Yeah and when weren't they squabbling?" joked Neal. Both young men laughed at the memories.

Then a couple of moves later, Neal said, "Thank goodness for Kel."

"Kel?" Dom asked, not connecting why what they had just been talking about connected to Kel.

For a moment Neal looked up at his older cousin, already concentrated back on the chess board. Then he said, "Oh, I was just thinking about how she got Roald and Shinkokami together. It was genius. They actually really like each other now."

Dom laughed, "There are rumors going around the Own that she got Raoul and Buri together at last. We've been trying for years, and she does it in one Midwinter."

"Raoul and Buri are together?"

"Yeah, haven't you heard it buzzing around?" Dom chuckled, concentrating on his next move, "I'm surprised. As usual the word has leaked out, though they're trying to keep it a secret."

"You mean like Kel and Cleon?" said Neal, chuckling as well.

Dom, previously entranced by figuring out his next move, jerked his head up. "What did you say?"

Too occupied with the chess game to notice his cousin's reaction, Neal replied disinterestedly, "Oh, you know, they're trying to keep their relationship a "secret", but of course it's so plainly obvious. If you're a friend of either of theirs you would have to be as dumb as a post not to have noticed."

Dom did not like to think he resembled a post. Yet, if it was so plainly obvious, how come he didn't notice? Well, thinking back, he did sometimes suspect there might have been something going on between the two. The night Cleon was knighted, he and Kel had mysteriously disappeared around the same time from Raoul's small get-together. Dom was probably one of the few that had even noticed. Now his past suspicions were confirmed.

A few more minutes of silence passed by before Dom asked casually, "So…how long have they been together?"

"Huh?" Neal was resting his head on his hands in deep concentration. Dom repeated his question.

"Oh, I don't know. Almost a year maybe? I think Cleon might've kissed her first last Midwinter. Must've been a shock for Kel." Then Neal chuckled, "I'm surprised she didn't kill him. The dolt probably gave her no warning."

"How do you know that?" asked Dom. They had been together that long already?

Neal shrugged, "I don't know. I'm just guessing because she avoided him after that like I avoid the Lioness in the morning."

"Why did she avoid him? Doesn't she like him?"

Neal sat back in his chair and sighed, "I really don't know, Dom. You're asking me to think like Kel, a person who goes to the Stump and actually doesn't want him to resign. A woman's mind is a scary place, Sergeant Dom! And I would say Kel's is more complex than most, including my own."

Laughing, Dom mocked, "Yeah, because she's actually more intelligent than you think you are." Neal huffed, while Dom continued, "But really Meathead, why do you think she avoided him so much?"

"Maybe she had onions for supper. I don't know, ask her if you're so curious! It doesn't really matter, they both seem to like each other now, so who cares! Now let's stop the chatter and get back to our game here, I have some money to win."

They lapsed back into concentrated silence.

Neal was contemplating where to move one of his pawns while his cousin was thinking:

Then why do I seem to care so much?

A/N: There it is, I hope you enjoyed it. I'll post the next chapter in a few days since I wasn't able to post this one for so long. Hmmm…why does Dom care so much?? I think it's plainly obvious to us!! :D