AN: Sorry this took me longer than I expected, I was going to write, and hopefully post this chapter on Friday, but I had an emotional breakdown over an off hand comment made by a friend regarding grandparents (my grandfather just passed away no more than a month and a half ago, and I'm to visit my grandmother within this upcoming week). So, without further ado, here is the next chapter of Out of the Pot and into the Fire! (All characters and places you recognize belong to TP!)
Kel had returned to her rooms with all intent to perform some practice dances. Instead when she entered her new quarters, she found that Lalasa had moved her remaining belongings into the room and was waiting for one final fitting on some clothes she had finished making.
"My lady! I hope you don't mind that I finished moving your things, I know I am no longer your maid, but I am still your friend!"
Kel smiled at the older woman, too preoccupied to correct her former maid. "It's alright Lalasa, I'm actually glad that you are here, I needed some help picking out which of the new gowns you gave me to wear tonight."
"Tonight my lady? I haven't heard of any events, so who has asked you to dinner?" At Kel's blush and refusal to answer, Lalasa just smiled and assured her former mistress, "Don't worry, I know which one your sergeant would like."
Kel's mouth dropped open how was it that Lalasa always knew? She also began to regret asking for help, because now she would not be able to escape early. And now she would be forced to get a full makeover before her date. She sighed as she sat on her bed and allowed Lalasa to work her magic.
Wolset was sitting outside of the Owns barracks when a whistling Dom walked to the door. "So I see the sergeant has a date, that's the only thing that would make ya whistle like that! So tell me Dom, which court lady has the honor to 'dine' with ya tonight?" Wolset asked while wiggling his eyebrows.
Dom just scowled as he continued to his room to get ready for his evening, and continued to ignore Wolset as the older man followed him.
"So, she's not a court lady, could she possibly be one o' the warrior women we seem to have so many of? It must be, if you're not braggin' o' her beauty, or her husband." Wolset laughed but then quickly frowned. He remembered seeing Dom and Kel talking at lunch and couldn't help but wonder if it was more than it had appeared to be. "So, what were you an' Lady Kel talkin' about after lunch? Ya sure did seem embarrassed if I do say so myself." Wolset asked casually.
Dom froze; he did not want Wolset finding out that he had a date with Kel. He thought for a moment before replying, "We were discussing matters of people settling down and starting a family." Dom cringed when he saw Wolset's eyes light up as he realized that it was Kel his sergeant was taking out. "Neal and Yuki are having a baby you see, I overheard Kel and Yuki talk about it during lunch, and it gave me quite the shock! I told Kel how now my own mother would want me to settle down." He shrugged trying not to show Wolset how much more they talked of. But by the look of his continued smile, Dom knew it was too late.
Wolset just nodded his head, "I see, well don't let me stop ya from gettin' ready for your date." And he left with a plan forming in his mind; after all, it had been too long since the squad had played a prank on their leader.
As Kel had known, Lalasa would not allow her to escape. First her former maid had her try the new clothes she had brought for a final fitting, pulling and tugging until she was satisfied. Once that was done, she had Kel bathe in her own chambers, to insure she did not sneak off on the way back from the female bath house. Once Kel was finished, Lalasa put her into a beautiful forest green gown that actually gave her a more feminine figure, and was modest enough that she felt comfortable. She had even designed a special belt that insured she could still carry her sword and dagger without marring the effect of a lovely court lady.
Lalasa had even managed to pull Kel's short hair up and applied the lightest amount of face paint to help highlight her features. "There my…Kel." Lalasa changed what she was about to say at the glare from Kel. She still found it difficult to address Kel by her first name, even if she had not been her maid for several years. Kel smiled gratefully at the woman and was about to thank her when there was a knock on the door.
Opening the door, Kel found Dom waiting for her on the other side, looking extremely handsome in his civilian clothes. He had decided not to go out as a sergeant of the Own, but a noble man taking his lady out for a nice dinner. "Kel, you look so…different than any other time I've seen you all dressed up. It suits you."
With a bow and a crooked smile Dom offered Kel his arm and escorted her from the palace, leaving Lalasa to finish her business at the palace. Unknown to the departing couple, men were hidden within the shadows of the hall watching their sergeant leave with their Lady Knight.
The couple took their time, happy to find a moment where they had no pressing mission, or rowdy men they had to keep an eye on.
Dom lead Kel to a nice restaurant which she had never gone, and it seemed, Dom frequently ate at when in town, but, surprisingly, never with female company. This shocked Kel, she knew that Dom was a flirt, and couldn't help but wonder why he never brought one of his conquests here. The restaurant was small and quite, the perfect place for a couple to enjoy some time together.
Once they had ordered their food, Kel could no longer hold back her questions. "So Dom, I am surprised that with how well these people seem to know you, they seemed shocked to see you had female company. What with your history, I would have thought you would escort me to one of your usual places." She raised her eyebrow and watched as Dom thought out his answer, not the least bit embarrassed that she knew of his past flings.
"Well Kel, the thing is none of those other ladies were women who I had already known for years. I, like others in the Own, have seen you grow up into the wonderful, deadly woman that you are. I felt, that seeing as this is not one of my 'flings' but something more special, I wished to share one of my own special places that not even my men know of. I wanted to show you," here he paused as he blushed. "I wanted to show you that I view you as more than a simple conquest, a fling, which has no meaning in my life. We have fought together for so many years, that I wished to enjoy an evening as Keladry of Mindelan and Domitan of Masbolle, not Lady Knight and Sergeant." He was looking at his hands as he finished, so he did not see the blushing face and shining eyes that were looking at him with wonder.
Dom had just made it very clear that he liked her for herself and that he wanted something special with her that he had never had with another woman.
Kel reached across the table and took Dom's larger hand in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm glad you decided to bring me here. I think I would have felt…" here Kel stopped, not knowing what words to say. "Dom, I guess, what I really mean is, thank you, you…" Once again Kel stopped this time lost within Dom's sapphire eyes.
The air seemed to be charged, like lightning was about to strike as they continued to stare into each other's eyes. Just as they both seemed to be leaning in, their food arrived, breaking the moment and tension within the air.
Once their server left, they broke into a long and hearty laugh. Once they settled down, they dug into their food, still sneaking glances at each other wondering what had just happened.
As the men from Dom's squad watched the couple leave, Wolset couldn't help but smile. He tapped all the men on the shoulder and set out his hand for the coins he just won, seeing as none of the others believed that Dom and Kel would be off on a date. All grumbling, they handed over their coins and filed out of the hall, they had work to do before the happy couple returned, which they hoped would not be for some time. After all, there was a serious prank to be pulled, and all wonderful pranks took time to be set up to perfection.
"Stick a fork in me and proclaim me done! I can't eat another bite!" Dom exclaimed after he had finished the last bite of the desert he and Kel had shared. Kel giggled. As they had eaten their meal, Dom and Kel had become comfortable in each other's presence again after that odd moment before their food had come. They seemed to have come to some sort of unspoken agreement with regards to their feelings. As it was, during the whole meal, they always were touching, either holding hands when their plates were being cleared away, or waiting for their next course, or while eating they seemed to find each other's legs to hook together.
Now that the check had been paid, Dom wouldn't allow Kel to help pay, they were outside once again, and Dom had placed his arm around her waist.
Kel smiled up at Dom, "So master planner, what did you have in mind next?"
Dom just grabbed Kel's hand and led her through the streets until he found what he was looking for. A sign outside stated "The Great Tales of Old and New!" but before Kel could read what was being performed for the night; Dom had paid the entrance fee and lead Kel to some open seats.
"I heard that this is supposed to be a good theater." Dom whispered into her ear, making Kel shiver.
The play turned out to be an old legend, one in which a guardswoman, her partner, a lady knight and a powerful mage were tracking down kidnappers who had taken the young prince.
They watched in awe as the group encountered trap after trap, the eventual love story between the guardswoman and the mage, the unsuspecting betrayal of the partner, and the happy reunion between the young prince and the queen. The mages had done a wonderful job of bringing the scenery around the players to life that Kel and Dom were left speechless.
After leaving the theater, they discussed the story. "I feel that those two must have had some wonderful heirs, I wonder if there are any living today from that line, I'm sure that they are some of the most loyal subjects." Kel mused.
Dom smiled "If you remember correctly my dear, the guardswoman's name was Cooper; it is possible that she is a great ancestor of our very own George Cooper, the Lioness' husband. I know it may be a long shot, but you never know."
They continued with their conversation covering random possibilities as they made their way up to the palace.
Wolset and the other men within Dom's squad snuck out of the room they were currently pranking, glad that their sergeant seemed to be taking his time with Lady Kel on their date. Well, all of them hoped he was being a gentleman with her; else he would have to answer to them. As the last man filed out of the room, they closed the door and took their parcels to one of the old storage rooms that nobody used anymore. Their work done, they then went back down to the Owns barracks to await their sergeant's return.
Dom had been a true gentleman. He had walked Kel back to her rooms in the palace and kissed her hand goodnight before walking towards his own quarters in the Owns barracks.
Kel sighed. It had been a wonderful night, and although things had changed between them, Dom still had not kissed her. They had agreed to go on another date before they said goodnight, but when they would have time, neither of them knew.
Kel decided she had stood at the closed door day dreaming long enough, so she went to go wash off the face paint and get dressed for sleep.
Dom whistled as he walked towards the barracks. He hadn't wanted to scare Kel away with a goodnight kiss; there was no way of knowing how passionate it would have gotten, so he had settled for kissing her hand. God, he was an idiot! He should have just put himself out of his misery and given her the kiss he had wanted to give her since their almost kiss in the restaurant.
He was lost in his own thoughts; it surprised him when he heard his name called. Looking over his shoulder, he realized that he had walked right past his squad.
Walking back to them, he couldn't help but feel like they were trying to look through him and find out the secrets from his date.
"So sergeant, did Lady Kel enjoy the date ya took her on?" Wolset inquired casually.
"Yep, she sure seemed to, what with the private dinner and the play! We actually…" then Dom stopped short, realizing that his men knew who he had taking out now, there was no denying it. His men laughed at his shocked face.
"Don't worry sergeant; we won't mind as long as ya take good care o' her, after all, she'll probably do more harm to ya than all o' the Own can!" And the men laughed as they waved Dom off to bed, they wanted to be ready to run once he saw what was waiting for him.
Shaking his head at his men's antics, Dom left to go change in his room and dream of what it would be like to kiss his lady.
Whistling, Dom entered his room and changed into his night shirt, completely lost in his thoughts that he failed to notice the changes done in his absence. It wasn't until he had reached his bed and found it missing, that Dom woke up from his day dreams to look around confused. That's when he noticed it. All of his furniture was hanging upside down from the ceiling of his room, he let out a roar as he ran back to strangle his men.
When he walked outside, he saw no trace of the men who had been there just moments before, but before he could return to the barracks, he heard the door close and lock. He spun around and realized that he was now locked out of the barracks for the night, and he only wore his night shirt. Cursing, he headed inside the palace to visit his cousin and beg for a place to stay the night.
Kel had been day dreaming as she carefully pulled down her hair and washed off all the face paint. But now, she had a problem. She had been so happy thinking about her date with Dom that she hadn't paid much attention to the dress Lalasa had put her in. But now, she realized that she had no way of undoing the laces on the back to slip out of it.
She was debating on whom she could go ask for help when there was a knock on the door. Thankfully thinking that it was Lalasa coming to help her, Kel rushed to the door and threw it open saying "I'm so glad you came back! I really need some help with this dress! I hadn't noticed…" Then she stopped noticing that she had just said all of this to Dom who was looking just as embarrassed, but with an evil smirk on his face. She blushed as she realized how it must have sounded, and what was implied.
"So, does my lady require some help? I do believe that I am very good at undoing the laces on a lady's dress! It seems that your brave hero came just in time!" Dom said with a bow and a wink.
Kel blushed some more and allowed him to come in, "I thought you were Lalasa, she helped me get ready." She quickly looked away. "Dom, you…you're in nothing more than a night shirt!"
It was Dom's turn to blush. "Yes…I had hoped to beg a spot in Meathead's suite, but upon reaching his door, I realized they might not want any interruptions, what with the giggles and moans I heard. So, I was hoping, I could sleep here?"
At Kel's raised eyebrow he back tracked. "Kel, I mean, the men, they locked me out of the barracks, and I had nowhere else to go, I was hoping I could sleep here in your sitting room, not with you with you. I mean, I really do wish to share…" Dom quickly shut up as he realized in horror what he was about to say.
Kel just laughed; relieved to find that he was now regretting his words as much as she did when she first opened the door.
"I'll tell you what sergeant, if you help me, I will help you." She turned her back to Dom and asked, "Could you possibly help me with this, and then we shall figure out your sleeping arrangement."
Dom went to help Kel, having to remind himself that this was nothing more than him being a friend. And when he was done, Kel left and changed, coming back in her own night clothes and deep in thought.
"We could set up a bed for you in here, I'm sure you could find a comfortable spot somewhere," she smiled apologetically. "I'm new to these rooms, so I don't know where everything is, or where the most comfortable place to set up a spare bed is."
Dom just shook his head, "Anywhere is fine."
Quickly locating extra blankets and setting up a makeshift bed, they said goodnight and went to sleep. Each realizing the person they wanted the most were just in the next room.