AN: I started to write this chapter on Thursday, but I was distracted by a rattlesnake in my dog's pen. She is fine, while she is a 16 year old mutt, who seems to be loosing her hearing, she still knows the sound of a rattler and knows to stay ways. I then became distracted with cataloging all 623 movies that my dad and I have in our collection. This chapter has actually been completed since Saturday, but I have been unable until today to edit and upload it, please enjoy!
Disclaimer: All characters and places recognized are from Tamoria Pierces works!
It was well after dawn when Lord Raoul finally called for a halt. The men dismounted, half took the horses for water, while the other half started to prepare breakfast. Before leaving in the early hours of the morning, Raoul had decided that he and his men would make the three week long journey to Pearlmouth instead of taking some of the Owns vessels. He knew that while the journey would be reduced significantly with the use of the boats, the time needed to prepare the vessels for the soldiers and horses would make them arrive around the same time as a force moving across the lands. Besides he had reasoned with himself, half of his men were prone to sea sickness and that would drain them of their energy by the time they arrived.
Raoul had all but forgotten about the prank his men had pulled on Dom and Kel. But as he dismounted, he had to chuckle as he watched the Lady Knight demonstrate to the young sergeant an easier way to dismount and remount a horse while wearing those blasted dresses, he had just seen Dom sliding off the rump of the horse. He could only hope that those two would behave during this mission, not just in regards to the pranking, but also with the boundaries of their budding relationship. He would not wish the renewed slanders that would be directed at Kel if it were known she was courting someone. He also hoped that if the time came in which he had to place Dom under Kel's command that no problems would develop. Finally looking away from the young couple, Raoul sighed as he led Drum to the water.
Kel was happy to have a few moments with Dom, even if she was just helping to teach him mounting and dismounting a horse while wearing dresses. Apparently he did not gain that much practice when he was forced to keep the same dress on for several days.
Shortly after leaving the city, Dom had ridden besides Kel, he had been entertaining her with other stories of the Own that did not include him in a dress. She had watched him stumble while getting down, so she called him over to properly demonstrate. Although she knew she must have looked silly, she spent five minutes just mounting, dismounting, and remounting Hoshi.
After observing Kel, Dom then made a new attempt, not doing as bad as he had earlier, but still without the grace Kel seemed to possess.
Feeling that they had spent long enough making fools of themselves, they finally too their horses to drink from the nearby stream. They knew that they still had fifteen minutes or so before breakfast was done, and because they had spent time dismounting and remounting, almost all the horses were finished drinking. This left Kel and Dom virtually alone.
Fanning out her skirts, Kel sat on the ground to watch Hoshi drink from the stream. She winced when Dom just plopped down beside her. "You know Domitan; you would make a horrible lady, no matter how attractive your men thought you would be." And she then proceeded to demonstrate the proper way of sitting while wearing his skirts. After a moment of copying Kel, Dom just pulled her close to him as she made to get up once more.
"Kel, we really do have something important to discuss. I honestly don't know when we will get this chance again."
Kel looked up at Dom, was he going to ask where their relationship stood? But almost to her disappointment he continued with a different topic.
"As much as I love these one to one lessons by you," he looked down at her with a crooked smile and grabbed her hand. "I think we should start discussing ways to get my men back. Don't get me wrong, I could never thank them enough for forcing you to wear dresses for three weeks, I just can't let them get away with forcing me to wear these blasted things for that long as well."
Kel sighed. He had pretty much made, once again, his feeling clear, but they were mostly focused on payback.
"Yes, I am not happy with what your men did. While it flatters me that you're enjoying the outcome of this prank," here Kel gave him an evil smile, "I must say I am rather glad to not be the only member of the force to be in a dress."
Dom just sent her a glare; this was not quite what he was hoping for. However before he had the chance to say anything, Kel continued.
"I have been thinking, wouldn't it be fun to have these men of yours wishing they could have anything to wear, including these fine dresses?"
Dom looked shocked, he would have expected such a prank to be thought of by, well a man, but here Kel was expressing her willingness to pull it.
He then smiled, "Quite frankly my dear, I'm surprised that you would think of such a thing, after all, it would put you in the awkward position of seeing several naked men! However my dear, I do have to say that that is a wonderful start, but I still don't think it covers half of the payback they deserve!" At this, Dom leaned down and whispered his plans into Kel's ear, not wanting any man who still might be near to hear.
"That's perfect!" Kel hugged Dom. Dom just kept her in his arms, happy just to be holding his lady. Dom pulled away slightly, and turned Kel's face to look up at him, he was just about to lean down when Kel stopped him. Looking hurt, Dom let Kel go and made to leave. Kel grabbed hold of his hand.
"Dom, I really want to kiss you, but, think about it, we're both in dresses, and at any moment, breakfast is going to be done, I don't know about you, but I would rather not have the men coming to look for us."
Seeing her point, Dom stood up and offered her his hand, "You're right. It really would not do for that to happen." Collecting their horses, they returned to the group.
Wolset saw them emerging together from the stream and wolf whistled. "So, what were ye two doin' down by the stream together for so long?"
Smiling with true mirth, Kel just replied "I was teaching Sergeant Blue Eyes here how to properly take care of his skirts. If he had continued the way he was, he would be out of clothes before we reached Persopolis!"
Laughing, the men accepted her reasoning, they had all seen the way Dom had mistreated his last dress. The poor thing had ended up in rags within the first day.
It had not become unusual over the next few days to see the Lady Knight either scolding or demonstrating to Dom. Most of the men just sat back from a distance, laughing at the sight before them; occasionally they would wonder over and watch, especially when Lady Kel was teaching him how to fight in those long skirts.
What the men did not know however was that upon seeing how quickly the men had accepted their white lie about teaching Dom the womanly arts (he did not need any help with flirtation) they used it to their advantage.
It was just two days after their planning by the stream that Kel and Dom used the pretense of teaching Dom how to properly curtsy (it had taken Kel a day to realize that it would not do to have Dom bow when she was curtsying) as a private prank meeting. None of the men even drifted near for fear that the lady would recruit them into learning as well, never mind that they had no skirts on.
Dom had expressed his thought on pulling the first part of the prank on his men before they reached Persopolis. Kel had just slapped him in the back and scowled, making it look as if she was reminding him to keep his back straight as he dipped down.
"No, think about it Domitan, if we pull the prank now, the men will only have to suffer three days, and Raoul would be sure to have us stop at Persopolis to outfit the men. I know of an oasis a little south of the city; we could put our plan into action there."
Dom just looked at Kel in awe, luckily she was demonstrating a perfect curtsy at the time, "You would suffer another two and a half weeks of dresses just to insure they suffer most of that time as well?" Upon Kel's nod (he had just done a passible curtsy as well) Dom whistled. "You sure are braver than I am my lady. I was planning on pulling the prank, regardless of the time, just to remove these blasted dresses from my wardrobe."
Kel smiled as she replied, "But if we were to do that, then our lessons would be at an end, and I would not be able to spend quality time with my sergeant." Kel winked at Dom before she turned around and headed for her tent.
Dom did have to admit that he would have far less time with Kel if they did not have the dresses, but another part of his mind reminded him that maybe if they did not have the dresses, then maybe he would be spending that time kissing Kel instead of talking to her.
Wolset and the other men within Dom's squad released a sigh in which they had not realized they had been holding. It had been a week since they had left the capital. They had anticipated that their leader and the Lady Knight would be angry at the prank pulled on them and would retaliate before they reached Persopolis. But as the city came into view, the men relaxed. The city was here, and with it the last chance for Dom and Kel to buy new clothes as they were only passing through. If they had pulled a big enough prank, they could have stopped the company long enough to give those dresses to the jackals if they wished.
Feeling at ease around the two again, the men dropped the self-made walls with the two leaders and were once again enjoying jokes and teasing the two to no end. In their new found peace, none of the men noticed the evil grins to pass between Kel and Dom, or the occasional wink they would send whenever one of the men commented on their riding through town like "proper court ladies."