Chapter Thirty One

Selethen didn't know exactly how he had gotten into this situation, but he certainly wasn't going to complain about it.

Nel was leaning her back against his chest with his arms wrapped around her, his chin gently resting on her shoulder while she traced light patterns on the back of his hand, seemingly unaware she was even doing it, while the two of them traded question after question. And, even better, she hadn't stuttered in ages, showing just how comfortable she was right now.

Selethen just smiled to himself, more than happy and content with the turn the day had taken. After the rocky start to their conversation, it was almost a miracle that they were both so relaxed. Especially after his accidental confession earlier, which had surprised him more than her. But he couldn't' deny how true it was, he did care about her. Maybe he wasn't in love with her as Zahra had claimed, but he certainly felt something at this point. Then again, what did he know? He'd never been in love before and he didn't want to think about what that meant right now. He just wanted to enjoy the moment before life got in the way again.

"Tell me something you're bad at." Nel said, her soft voice pulling him out of his musings.

He snorted, "Cooking. I can't cook to save my life."

"Really?"

"I can make a pot of kafay, but everything else just ends up burning."

Nel giggled, "I guess it's a good thing you didn't make breakfast then."

"Very." he agreed, "What about you?"

"I'm passable." she answered, "But Will is much better, and Gilan makes surprisingly good biscuits."

"I wouldn't have thought of either of them as cooks," he murmured.

"Rangers take a course on it during their apprenticeship. They have to, seeing as most of them live alone and have to feed themselves." she explained, "It's rare for a Ranger to have a family. Not because they don't want one, but because most people are too scared of Rangers to get very close to them."

"That seems lonely."

"It is." She agreed, "That's why Rangers are such a close knit group. The Rangers are each other's family, sometimes the only family they have, the only people they can ever get close to."

"What about you?" he asked, laying his cheek on her shoulder so he could look at her better, "I doubt you had that problem in Araluen."

Nel frowned, looking sad, "In a way. I was able to make some close friends, like Cassandra and Malcolm, but they were the only ones outside my family that I truly got close to. Most people think Rangers are some form of sorcerer, which meant that in their eyes, I also used magic. Many used to think I was some sort of w-witch."

"A witch?" Selethen practically scoffed in disbelief.

She chuckled nervously, "It seems kind of funny now, but it's true. The rumors got worse after I went to study with Malcolm. He's still referred to as Malkallam by most of Araluen."

"I'm sorry to hear that." he whispered.

"It's not your fault." she said, attempting to be very nonchalant about it, but he could tell that she was just trying to downplay it for his sake, "I've heard far worse my entire life. I've gotten used to it."

Selethen pressed his lips together tightly, trying not to burst out and say something he'd regret. This helped make more sense as to why she automatically thought people hated her, but hearing that she'd gotten used to cruel comments her entire life wasn't a pleasant feeling.

However, it was obvious that she didn't like talking about it, so he scrambled around for another topic, "Did you always want to be a doctor?"

Nel actually turned away, cheeks tinged pink in embarrassment, "No."

"You didn't?" He was surprised.

She groaned, "No, I didn't. Until I was around nine years old I wanted to be…well, I wanted to be a…"

She whispered the last part, voice trailing off until he couldn't hear it, "What was that?"

"A dancing jongleur." Nel admitted with another groan, "I wanted to be a dancing jongleur. At least one came to Redmont every year and I thought it was the most exciting thing in the world. I am the worst singer to ever live, and you've seen me dance, so you can tell exactly how realistic that was."

The Wakir was already laughing, picturing Nel in a crowded tavern, doing a jig for money.

"It's not that funny!" she yelled, trying to stifle her own giggles.

"Yes, yes it is!" he got out between breathless laughs.

"Shut up! I bet your childhood dream was just as ridiculous!"

"Certainly more realistic." he joked, ignoring the playful swat she gave his arm.

"Then what was it, if you're so confident?"

"I simply wanted to be the first person to pass the Impassable Desert to the south." he informed her rather smugly.

"And that's more realistic than my being a dancing jongleur?!" she gaped at him in disbelief.

"Should think that was obvious," he said with a perfectly straight face.

She turned away in a huff, "You're impossible."

Selethen just laughed again before asking, "So what changed? Why did you decide to become a healer instead?"

Nel took a deep breath, relaxing against him again, "Well, it was before my father took on Gilan as an apprentice. Occasionally Dad had to go on jobs that lasted for a few days. Sometimes he took me with him, but when he thought it was too dangerous, he left me with Lady Pauline or Baron Arald and Lady Sandra. He had this one job that lasted about a week and I stayed up at the castle. I don't remember why exactly, but everyone was busy one day and couldn't watch me, so I was left with the lead physician.

"I must've watched him all day, helping whoever came to him. He had an answer for everything. I just remember thinking how amazing it was that he could take something so broken and then fix it. After that, the only thing I cared about was studying medicine."

"Very ambitious for a nine year old."

"I didn't care."

"Something tells me that statement applies to most of your family." he chuckled.

"Probably." she grinned, "And you? Did you always want to be a Wakir?"

"Honestly? No. I was content to live the rest of my life as a simple soldier, but when Atanyan appointed me…I couldn't refuse."

"Do you enjoy it?" she asked.

"There are days that the politics drive me nuts and knowing how the other leaders run their regions just infuriates me," he answered truthfully, holding her a little tighter for a moment at the thought of the bribes the others had openly taken, "But at the end of the day, I feel like I've accomplished something. Like I've worked my absolute hardest to help my people. That is a surprisingly addicting feeling."

"At least it's a good addiction." she mused.

"Very true." he agreed, closing his eyes. "First memory?"

"My dad wrapping me up in his cloak before carrying me to bed. He did that a lot when I was little, especially if I had a bad dream. Yours?"

"Sitting on the counter while my mom made breakfast. She tried giving me some fruit and instead, I threw a tantrum and spilled the bag of kafay beans all over the floor."

Nel laughed, "So you've always been troublesome?"

He responded by poking her side quickly, making her squeal.

"You were saying?"

"You're proving my point." she muttered, "What about vacations? Have you ever taken one, traveled anywhere?"

"I've traveled, but the closest thing I had to a vacation was going to Araluen."

"You considered your wedding to be a vacation?"

He shrugged a little, "I had meetings to help with and our marriage and treaty, of course, but overall, there wasn't much work for me to do specifically. Most days that we weren't planning the wedding, I spent relaxing or sparring with Aloom."

"Hmm."

"How about you?"

"I've never left Araluen until I came here." Nel told him, "Before I left to study with Malcolm in the Grimsdell, I had lived my entire life in Redmont. I guess the Ranger Gatherings were kind of like a vacation for me when I was younger."

"Ranger Gatherings?" he asked.

Nel nodded, "Once a year all the Rangers meet to update everyone, help test the apprentices, go over new assignments."

"We have a similar meeting for the Wakirs and Wakils in the spring." Selethen said, "To go over new laws or any changes, issues we may need help with."

"I think most places do. I wasn't technically part of the Corps, but Uncle Crowley never said I couldn't come to the Gatherings, so Dad always brought me. I enjoyed seeing everyone though. Like I said before, the Rangers are like a giant family, so it was more like a reunion for me than anything."

"It sounds like fun."

"It was." she smiled at the memory. "So, how did you meet Aloom?"

Selethen chuckled as he remembered it, "Aloom's father was my dad's commander in the army. One day I decided that I was old enough to join the army, so I followed him to the sparring grounds. Everyone spotted me right away, but Aloom's father just laughed. Said if I was that eager, then I could stay and watch. Sat me right next to his son and told us both to take notes."

"Did you?"

"Of course not." he scoffed, "We were seven. We were far too busy playing with the shields and wooden swords we found. We've been best friends ever since."

"That's sweet."

"And a headache for our mothers. We got into a lot of trouble."

"Of course you did." Nel rolled her eyes.

Selethen just smiled proudly.

Nel looked around the room at the still unpacked boxes and sighed, "We should probably get going."

"Or we could stay," he suggested. At Nel's puzzled look, he shrugged, "Why not?"

"Don't you have work to do?"

He shook his head, "With all the extra hours I've been putting in lately, staying so late, I don't think anyone would care if I took today off."

"A-Are you sure though?"

"Yes, I am." he insisted, liking the idea more as it grew in his mind, "We both just agreed that we need to make more of an effort, so why not start now? Let's spend the day together, get to know each other better."

"Th-The entire day?" her eyes grew wide.

"Unless you don't want to?" Selethen asked, suddenly nervous.

"I-I'd love to, b-but-"

"But what?"

"W-Well, it's just, I guess I never pictured you suggesting something like this. I'm…surprised." she mumbled.

"Doesn't that prove my point exactly?"

"I guess." she whispered.

"Don't sound too excited." he smirked.

"I am!" she assured him hurriedly. He almost laughed at how quickly her head snapped up to say that. "I would love to spend the day with you, I mean it!"

"Are you sure?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, "Because if you don't want to, if you'd rather focus on your work today, that's fine. At this point I'm kind of getting used to it."

"Of course I'm sure, I-wait, getting used to it?" Nel tilted her head, trying to work out what he meant.

He shrugged, "Well, up until today, every other time we've been alone together, any time I really came near you, you looked like you wanted to run away, like you didn't really want me around."

Selethen had to make the conscious effort to not hold her even tighter out of nervousness. His heart was beating faster than he could ever remember. Hopefully the panic wasn't showing on his face.

Nel didn't seem to notice, her bright blue eyes focused completely on him, "I-I didn't want to run away."

"You…didn't?" he asked, breath catching in his throat.

She shook her head gently and Selethen found his gaze dropping to her lips again, looking pink and soft, "I m-maybe nervous or self-conscious. I'm not always sure how to act around you, wh-what to say or what to do, but I've never wanted to run away from you."

"Even after I yelled at you?"

"I just wanted time alone." she told him, "Th-That's entirely different."

Selethen took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, but failing miserably. His hands were shaking slightly and he prayed that she hadn't noticed, the words he wanted to say just stuck in his throat.

"Wh-What is it?" she asked, obviously seeing him hesitating.

"Nellie," his voice was barely above a whisper, "Would it be alright…if I kissed you right now?"

He could see her eyes go wide again and she gulped anxiously, but nodded her head minutely, whispering, "Yeah."

His heart rate spiked even more, if that was even possible, and it felt like it had jumped straight to his throat. His hand was still shaking slightly as he brought it up, mimicking the movement he'd made on their wedding day, and grabbing her chin to gently bring her lips up to his.

Unlike their wedding day, this wasn't a short, sweet brushing of their lips. This was a proper kiss, with neither participant shying away. Just like before, time seemed to stop and revolve around that single moment, his head swimming as he drank in the sensation of finally, properly, kissing her, of her mouth moving in time against his, and every part of her flooding his senses. It was only the need to breathe that broke them apart a few moments later, their foreheads resting against each other's while they caught their breath.

"That was-" she began.

"Well worth the interruptions." he finished.

"Yes." she agreed with a wide smile.

Selethen smiled back before pulling her in for another, firmer kiss.

Nellie was only too happy to respond.

The still unpacked boxes lay on the ground around them, completely forgotten.

Nel knew that she was smiling like an idiot, but she couldn't stop. She couldn't remember ever feeling so happy, still feeling a tingle in her fingers from when Selethen had kissed her.

It was the last thing that she had ever thought would happen that day, but in Nel's mind it had been perfect. And, judging from the smile on his face whenever she looked at him, Selethen felt the same way.

The two were still exchanging grins as they finally got ready for the day and sat down to breakfast, although it was more like a late lunch at this point.

Halfway through the meal, there was knocking at the door. Selethen rolled his eyes goodnaturedly and answered it.

"Aloom!" he burst out in surprise.

"You're back already?" Nel stood immediately, rushing over to hug him.

Aloom returned it, smiling at both of them, "Umar was already on his way to Al Shabah. We got lucky and ran into him not too far from the city. He was hoping to meet with you regarding the Temujai."

Selethen nodded knowingly, "I last sent word to him before I left for Araluen. He's probably curious as to what happened there. What did he say about the Tualaghi?"

"They've been raiding his tribe more than usual lately. He's very concerned. He was traveling here with all of his soldiers, which is promising. They're outside town, but Umar and his lieutenants are downstairs waiting for you." Aloom answered.

"Let's not keep him waiting then." Selethen nodded, glancing at Nel, "Sorry to cancel our plans today."

"This is more important."

Aloom held the door open for them and together the three of them made their way downstairs. Making their way around the pillars in the entrance hall, Nel saw a small group of people waiting in the center of the room.

"Seley el'then!" a man at the front greeted them instantly, spreading his arms out. He was much shorter than Selethen, with darker skin and a very large nose that looked like it had been broken at least once.

"Umar." Selethen smiled, meeting him in a hug, "It's been too long my friend. Tell me, how is Cielema?"

"Very upset that she couldn't come with me." Umar joked, "She loves the rare visits to the city."

"Well, you are always welcome." Selethen told him before gesturing to Nellie, "Allow me to introduce you to my wife, Aranel."

"You can just call me Nellie," she held out her hand for a handshake, but Umar pushed it away, bringing her in for a quick hug as well.

"It's nice to meet you Nellie. Now, I have to ask, what horrible thing have you done that got you punished to spending your life with this overgrown child?" he jerked his head towards the Wakir, his smile only growing.

"Hey!" he protested over Nel's laughter.

"Well I'd heard you'd gotten married and just assumed you'd found some deaf, blind, and sickly old cow to finally put up with you," Umar shrugged, but couldn't keep the smirk off his face, "But when you introduced this beautiful young lady as your wife the only thing that made sense was that she must be being punished for something."

"At least I didn't have to trick Nel into marrying me," Selethen shot back, "I believe that you rigged some bet against Cielema, isn't that right?"

"And I have no regrets. Her cooking has healed my guilt." Umar said proudly.

Selethen snorted, "It's good to see you again Umar."

"You as well Seley el'then, though I wish it was under better circumstances."

"Me too, but I can't thank you enough for coming. Why don't we discuss everything over dinner tonight?" he suggested.

"That sounds good to me. Thank you."

Umar nodded and they said their goodbyes, Nel and Selethen walking back upstairs.

"Well, he's certainly a character." Nel joked.

"Umar's always been very friendly. I don't know anyone outside the Tualaghi that he hasn't gotten along with." he told her.

"Do you think he'll turn down an alliance?"

Selethen shook his head immediately, "He wants to disband the Tualaghi as much as anyone and with a possible invasion from the Temujai in the future, he won't risk fighting both of them at once. We'll discuss it tonight, iron out the details tomorrow, and probably leave the day after that."

The door to their living room shut behind them with a quiet 'click'.

"Can I come along?"

"No, absolutely not." he said firmly, "You are staying here."

Nel sighed, "You'll need a doctor with you. Men are going to be hurt, no matter what. I can help."

"I'll take Maajid and some others from the hospital, like normal." he crossed his arms and looked down at her.

Nel refused to shy away though, "This is what I'm good at. This is what I've trained for. Let me help, please."

Selethen shook his head. "I can't risk it. It's too dangerous. I need you here, where I know you'll be safe."

"Selethen, I can't hide from danger my whole life!"

"That doesn't mean that you have to go looking for it!"

"So I'm just supposed to sit here and hope you come back alive?" she huffed, "No, I need to be there, where I can actually help!"

"You're not going!" he yelled.

"Yes, I am! I can help!"

"No, I can't let you! I need you here, I need you safe, can't you understand that?!" he roared, stepping forward. Nel stumbled back until she was pressed against the wall and he grabbed her arms, holding her there. "I swore to keep you safe and that's what I'm going to do! I'm not going to let you go waltzing into a guaranteed battle or even sit on the sidelines and wait for the injured!"

"Selethen, I-"

"No! Just stop, please! For once will you please just listen?!"

"I've been on a battlefield before. I've helped the wounded in wars, performed field surgery, all of it." she whispered, "You'll be there and I know you'll make sure I'm as safe as possible, but I need to help."

"I can't let you, not with this." His voice dropped to a whisper, almost pleading, "You don't understand. The Tualaghi…whatever you think they're like, they are so much worse. If we lose this battle, if they find you, it won't be good habibi. If you're lucky, they'll sell you as a slave, if you're lucky. They usually torture their prisoners, or worse. I've seen what they can do and I can't risk that happening to you, I can't let you get hurt, I can't."

He lay his head on hers and let out a shuddering breath, "I know you want to help and one day, I promise, you will, but not here. Not right now. Not this battle. Please."

"This is that important to you?" she barely breathed the words.

He nodded, eyes clenched tightly.

"Ok then. I'll stay." she said.

His eyes flew back open, staring at her in a mix of shock and hope, "You will?"

"On one condition." she said.

"Anything."

"You come back safe."

"Done."

He smiled, relaxing. Leaning down, he kissed her as if in relief, his lips practically devouring hers. Nel smiled back as he did so before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him back.

Professor: Hi everyone!
So, I know that I've posted a lot lately in the last week or so, but that was because I really wanted this chapter to be posted today.
Today is actually my birthday and this chapter was kind of like my birthday gift to myself. I really wanted their first REAL kiss (not that their kiss at their wedding wasn't a real kiss, but you know what I mean. The first kiss they weren't forced to have.) to be on my birthday!

But I was also running out of time at the library when I was typing this, so I didn't have time to properly edit it like I normally do. If you notice any typos or mistakes, I'm really sorry. Just let me know and I'll come back to fix it!