When Neal Gets Bored

Chapter Seven: Do They Know?

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to all my patient readers. I'm sorry you had to wait so long and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Neal comes up with an elaborate plot to hook up Kel and Dom. What he doesn't know won't hurt him though: Kel and Dom are already together and are concealing it from him!

Kel was genuinely and completely confused. The moment Dom had arrived at New Hope everyone had started making hints about a relationship between them. Fanche had even said something, which was surprising.

How had they found out? Fortunately no one except some of the third company saw us kissing at dinner when he came… that elbow fight was Providence! But how then? Had Wolset blabbed? Kel was pretty sure he had, until Dom had assured her with kisses that Wolset liked knowing something that no one else knew. Kel had kept quiet about it after that, but she wouldn't mind being consoled like that again!

The warm tingly feeling she always felt at the thought of Dom returned and the next several moments were spent rejoicing in their relationship. The best part of it really, was that no one knew besides Raoul and Wolset (who'd walked in on them). She imagined that several of the members of the Third Company guessed though. No one guessed that they were actually engaged though!

Another thing: what was Neal's problem? When she had gone in to see him that one day, he had been moping, and since then, he had been on a rampage! As to what kind of rampage he was on, she had absolutely no idea. It was really most puzzling!

It's almost like he's gone mildly insane!

"Kel, are you in there?" Dom asked, knocking on her door, halting her thought process and analysis of Neal's actions in the last couple of days.

"Come in," she called, her heart rate speeding up.

He came in and shut the door before sweeping her up in his arms and kissing her thoroughly. "I love being able to do that anytime I want," he said into her hair. She laughed.

"Soon we won't have to hide our engagement anymore…" The thought made both smile and they were agreeably engaged for the next little while until they paused to catch their breath.

"Let's go for a walk," she suggested, "I have to drop something off in the infirmary on the way, but then we can go check out the new herb garden some of them are working on."

"Allright," Dom agreed, falling in line next to her, "What do you need to drop off?"

"Neal's stocks of bruise balm are low and I just got a new batch from Lady Alanna that was more than I asked for. I'm hoping to surprise Neal." In reality she just really wanted to snoop around the infirmary and figure out what Neal was up to.

Dom gave her a look as if he didn't quite believe what she was saying to him, but they arrived at the infirmary door and she swept in past him, giving him a mysterious look, and startling a very suspicious looking Neal and Loey from their seats. They both began to stammer out what a nice day it was and how lovely it was for Kel to come check on them. Loey was, according to Neal, his new apprentice, although what she was apprenticing in was a little unclear. Poetry? Healing? (Loey didn't have any of the Gift as far as Kel knew…) Being ridiculous? Not for the first time that day, Kel found herself wondering what the heck was going on.

Her train of thought, however, was interrupted when Dom nonchalantly walked into the infirmary and put his arm around Kel's shoulders. Loey and Neal's expressions were fascinating to watch: whereas Loey smirked, Neal's mouth dropped open before he shut it with a loud snap when Loey elbowed him.

"Hey, what was that for?" he demanded of Loey.

Loey just smirked and seemed to be communicating with Neal somehow using some sort of eye language that required frequent looks in her and Dom's directions. It was all very strange. She stood there for three minutes waiting for one of them to talk to her until, frustrated, she stamped her foot and handed Neal the bruise balm before turning on her heel and dragging Dom out the door. She really didn't want to think about Neal anymore. He was just too annoying, and besides, she had more important things to attend to. Important things like walking with Dom in the gardens. A huge grin broke out on her face. What a lovely day it was for a pleasant walk in the gardens with her fiancé.

Their pleasant walk in the gardens, however, was interrupted the minute they set foot on the path by Wolset who greeted them with the words "Dommie dear darling" and a sly wink at Kel. He was gone before either could say anything, but they soon found out the rest of what appeared to be a poem extolling Dom's virtues from a wandering newer member of the third company who appeared to take great delight in extolling the wonderfulness of Dom through the 17 verses that made up what appeared to be the newest biggest hit of a poem.

They sat down on the bench after escaping the young poetry declaimer, and Dom buried his head in his hands. Kel didn't blame him… the poem was bad enough but they kept looking at her like she was the one who had written it!

AS IF!

She, Keladry of Mindelan and New Hope would never stoop to call her fiancé 'Dommie'. It was purely demeaning. She might call him handsome, for surely he was that… grinning, she kissed him before having an idea.

"Hey Dom?"

"Yes love?" he reached for her again, but she pulled away, knowing that if she succumbed to the kiss that would be the end of all reason for at least another 30 minutes.

"That poetry sounded an awful lot like Neal's…"

"Oh?" Dom suddenly sat up straight on the bench with an evil smile on his face.

"Oh, yes…"