AN: This just came to me last night, at about one in the morning. I wrote it in about twenty minutes, and I love it! Please review and let me know what you think. Oh- and please ignore Tobe's spelling errors. :D

Disclaimer- These characters/settings were not my idea. They belong to the wonderful Tamora Pierce.

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Writing Lessons
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"And then you make a 'L'. That's a long line sitting on top of a short line," Kel said, pulling a stick through the soft dirt. She had come upon Tobe and Loesia giving Meech and some of the other children a writing lesson. She joined them, quite literally minding p's and q's; she couldn't bare to let Meech learn his e's backwards.

"K-e-l," Meech read. "That's how you spell your name, Lady Kel?"

"That's it," she said with a smile.

"How do you spell my sister's name?" the boy asked. Kel showed him the letters G-y-d-o, and then M-e-e-c-h. Meech's eyes widened in awe. "What else can you spell?"

"How about 'Dom'?" Tobe suggested with a grin. The blue-eyed sergeant stood atop the wall; Dom was on watch. Kel kept reminding herself that she and Dom were just friends, but inside she knew they had been dancing around other feelings for some time.

"That one's easy," Kel said, distracting herself. "See, D-o-m. Dom"

Kel showed the children a few other words before the clerk Terrec asked her to come and look over some paperwork.

As she left, she didn't see the mischievous look that Tobe gave Loey. He took Kel's abandoned stick and drew a heart between the words "Kel" and "Dom."

Kel walked by awhile later. The children had vacated their spot, but they'd left plenty more scratches in the dirt.

Dom stood nearby, reading the various children's efforts.

"This is a fascinating little story," he said with a smile. Kel came to his side and Dom pointed down to a long paragraph that was scratched out in Tobe and Loey's handwritings.

Once upon a time there was a lady night. Her name was Lady Kel and she was very pritty. She fot lots of battles and saved a boy named Tobe. One day she fel in lov with a hansome man named Dom. He was a waror to and he was in the own. They got maried and had nine children and lived happly ever after. The end.

Kel kept her face blank as she read. Dom watched amusedly.

"Nine?" Kel said at last. "What do they think I am?" Dom gave a gentle laugh.

"Is that the only part that you find silly?" he asked, shooting her a sideways glance. His gaze felt heavy to Kel, and she turned away, seemingly examining some of the other writing.

"I don't know. The part about me fighting lots of battles and saving a boy named Tobe is pretty realistic," she mumbled. "Now I'm considering many new chores for a boy named Tobe." Dom closed the space between them. His blue eyes were so close that Kel felt like she was drowning in them. She couldn't look away, only stare and listen to what he was saying.

"And the part about falling in love?"

"I- well… I-" Kel began, but she couldn't form a coherent sentence. Dom lowered his head a few inches and gave Kel a soft kiss. Before the lady knight realized what she was doing, she wrapped her arms around Dom's neck and deepened the kiss.

"I'll take it that you'd like to fall in love," Dom said when they came up for air. Kel smiled.

"I think I already have," she said, leaning back in.

Behind a tree, Tobe held up his hand. Loey clapped it in a solid hi-five, for a plan well executed.