Disclaimer: All characters and places recognized belong to Tamora Pierce.

AN: Sorry for the long delay between chapters, but between a funeral, going back up to school, and getting my apartment in order there has been very little time.

Kel began to stir with a groan. Her mouth was dry, her head was pounding, and she was afraid to open her eyes. Instead she just buried her head deeper into the warm chest under her. "I'm going to kill Wolset after he tells me what he gave me. Also remind me to never party with the Own again." Kel croaked out.

"Will ye at least let me see a healer a'fore ye kill me Commander?" the chest under her rumbled with the words.

Kel sat up and cursed as the world spun around her, she groaned. Looking down she saw that she had in fact been using Wolset as a pillow; she frowned as she took in the sight of other men of the Own lying around her, looking like they slept where they fell the night before.

Before she could locate Dom the door flew open with a bang causing all but the heavy sleepers to jerk upright and groan as they reached up to feel their throbbing heads. The intruder laughed at the men and one woman who were trying to disentangle themselves from each other.

"I come with a healer my darlings, no need to fear. Now, I think someone should untie Captain Domitan," Raoul clapped his hands causing more groans from the people in the room.

Kel looked over to were several men were trying to untie Dom from a chair; she staggered over and looked at the elaborate knots that held him to his chair. The men gave up their attempts and went to reach for their belt knives when Kel stopped them. She giggled as she pulled on a small piece of the rope and they fell away.

Dom stood with a groan, stretching stiff muscles. "I am never letting you tie me up like that again." He told Kel, wincing as he tried to put his hands to his head.

Kel looked at him like he had lost his mind. "I did that?" she asked him. At his nod, she frowned, "I don't recall much of what happened."

Raoul who had heard her remark handed them each a cup and patted her on the back, "I would suggest you take it easy next time Commander." His voice was gentle with a hint of his teasing. "I will happily fill you in on some of what I know."

As Kel and Dom sipped at the hangover cure Raoul filled them in, along with a few of the other men who had somehow managed to remain relatively sober.

It seemed that the party had continued past the time that Raoul and Buri had retired. Wolset had managed to slip Kel some cider that she had never had. It had such a high alcohol content and was sweet enough that she never realized she was getting drunk. It was then that she had told an inquiring Wolset and Qasim, who had not been drinking as much as the others that not only had she and Dom been secretly betrothed for the last six months, but they had gotten married the day that the law changed, March 17th, a week and a half previous.

At that point in their telling, a loud clutter made them halt as they all looked over at a gapping Neal. His face was turning purple and he kept opening his mouth like a fish out of water, but all that come out were chocking noises. Finally he spat "Married! My best friend and cousin married and didn't think to tell me?" His eyes grew wide as something else occurred to him.

"You bastard!" Raoul who could tell that all hell was about to break lose stepped between the purple Neal and quickly paling Dom. "You told me on the day, the very day that Ari was born that you, and I quote, 'didn't want to pressure Kel into walking away from you' or something like that. And now I find out that you lied to me!"

Neal turned accusing eyes to Kel, "And you, I thought we were best friends." Neal's voice began to break, "I should have known Keladry. Why?" He looked into Kel's eyes, beseeching her to tell him what he wanted to know.

"Neal…" Dom began but Neal shot him a glare that shut him up.

"I don't want to hear your voice right now cousin." Neal told him rather coldly. "I asked your precious wife. Depending on what she tells me, then I might, I just might be willing to listen to what you have to tell me." Neal looked back at Kel.

Kel felt her heart sink a little; she had never seen Neal this angry towards Dom, towards her even. "It was my idea." She started, her voice small, "We had no knowledge that the law was changing." She looked at Raoul. "My lord, he told Dom that he was granted special permission to ask for my hand and remain in the Own until our marriage."

Kel looked down at her hands. When she looked up at Neal she felt the tears in her eyes, but quickly blinked them away. "You know how I feel about special treatment Nealan." She looked away, "Even if it is for my wellbeing, or happiness, or however they try to spin it. I can't stand the thought of what people think when I receive special treatment and that is why I have accomplished what I have." She felt Dom's arms around her and buried her face in his chest, letting herself relax into his hold for a moment.

She looked back up at Neal, she saw his look of understanding, but he was still hurt. She continued, "When he asked me, he assured me of my Lord's view and blessing. I didn't even hesitate. But, when we were about to leave and tell his family, it hit me. I was once again receiving special treatment. If Dom had been wishing to marry a barmaid, or even one of the princesses, he would have to leave the Own as soon as he asked, and yet, here we were, betrothed, about to report back to Raoul for duty."

She looked up at Dom, "I did break his heart when I stopped and told him that we couldn't." She looked back at Neal her eyes pleading with her best friend.

"Kel…I" Neal began but she shook her head, stopping him.

"It took everything I had to convince her that this is what I wanted; even if it meant that as soon as we rode back into camp I gave Raoul my resignation." Dom spoke up, and to Kel's relief she saw Neal's eyes soften when he looked at his cousin.

"Before we walked out of that garden, the ring was off my finger and attached to my necklace. We swore that we would talk to Raoul and that from that moment forward, no matter what, we would know in our hearts we were betrothed, but we would tell everyone that I had turned him down." She looked up at Raoul, "I've already told you Sir that I didn't doubt Dom told the truth, just that I wouldn't feel right knowing we were officially betrothed and, in essence, breaking the law permissibly."

"So, how did…" Neal swallowed hard, looking at Dom trying to make amends with his cousin, "How did you end up married to my best friend?"

Dom gave a small chuckle, "When we rode into camp first thing Raoul did was pull us aside and asked how it went. When I shook my head, he lost his temper. Started to rant and rave at how could I not ask my girl for her hand when he had made so many attempts to make it happen. He had sent us to Masbolle twice. He had begun to petition the kingdom to change the law so that, hopefully, by the time we married the change would be in effect. That he rode all the way out there with the hopes of finding us betrothed that he didn't mind the king's wrath at him leaving official proceedings to change said law."

Kel gave a soft smile, "I stunned him when I told him I said yes." Neal returned her smile. "But when I told him that I wouldn't feel right with the betrothal, he made us a deal. He would tell no one, not even Buri that we were betrothed, that as soon as the law became void, he would stand witness to our marriage, the sole witness. And then, once I became the knight commander and the law that was in its final stages of being changed, or changed, he would happily watch as we became betrothed 'legally' in front of all our friends. Stand next to us as we wed with all our friends and family present.

"You would have been present when Dom asked for my hand a month from now. You would have stood next to Dom as his best man when we married in a year. And you never would have known about any of this if it hadn't been for the fact that Sergeant Wolset got me drunk and me having loose lips." Kel glared at Wolset who had the grace to look down.

"But how could you even think you could hide something like this, not just from me, but all of your friends and family? That we would never know or find out? You two honestly thought that once you publically became betrothed and then married that your first secret marriage would never come out? Never once be slipped into a conversation sober or drunk? I thought that you had more sense than that Keladry!" Neal turned around and threw one of the mugs that littered the room towards the wall, his temper once again flaring up.

Kel looked down willing herself not to cry. "I'm sorry…we're sorry Neal. No we never did think of that. For once, I was enjoying having special treatment. Being the first to utilized the change in the law, it was something I was willing to do as this" she gestured between her and Dom, "is something that I had dreamed about but never thought it would actually happen."

"Neal please. We never actually planned on getting married without our friends and families; we did plan on revealing our betrothal once Kel took command. The king even told us that Raoul had informed him of the situation we were in, that he would make this one exception and allow me to stay in the Own while betrothed. What I don't think any of us counted on was the law regarding marriage to be changed so quickly. We jumped at the chance as soon as it appeared."

Kel decided to look up at Neal again, "What would you have done if you and Yuki were in our place?" She watched as several emotions passed over his face before his shoulders sagged.

Neal went up to Kel and Dom and gave them a hug before pulling back, "I understand. I really do, but I am still hurt." He chuckled, "You are lucky that my Lord gave you your hangover cure, else I would withhold it from you both." He gave a stern look at the wedded couple in front of him and pointed threateningly at them. "And I swear to Mithros that if you lie or hide a pregnancy from me, there will be no forgiveness."

Kel couldn't keep a blush from her face, "NO! I'm not pregnant, and I'll make sure you are one of the first to know."

Neal chuckled and teased with a small pout, "Not the first?" But he waved her off before she could answer, "Now, if we may, I would like to hear more about last night." He forced a smile trying to calm his raging emotions, or that's how it looked to Kel.

The men who had watched the drama unfold began to once again tell their tales of the party that had gone on in honor of their commander's and captain's marriage.

The men, who were all of Dom's former squad, and Qasim, had showed mixed emotions over this news. It had all quickly passed into a need to further celebrate as most of them were too drunk to remain angry at the couple. The men had somehow managed to get an unhappy Raoul and Buri to join them in the festivities. All other members they may have tried to get to join them were already busy with female company or fast asleep and did not wish to know why they were being rudely interrupted and opted to stay in their beds.

As all the men reassembled in Dom's quarters, they broke into more drinks toasting the happy drunk couple and began to give raunchy advice to them. Somehow during the advice giving, they decided that the men wished to dance with the bride and that their captain needed to sit back and relax. They had just been about to tie Dom to his chair when a drunken Kel had stopped them and took the rope and began to tie him to the chair in what she told the men was true Yamani style.

By that point all the men with the exception of Raoul were drunk out of their minds and having begun to pass Kel around quickly began to fall and stumble. The party ended, according to Raoul with everyone falling and tripping over each other and him being unable to untie Dom, who protested himself being freed, so he left everyone where they fell with the promise of returning in the morning with a healer.

The room remained quiet until Wolset spoke up "Ye know I am a little wounded Captain. I knew ye would eventually marry Lady Kel, but I had me hopes of celebrating at a weddin'." There were several other mutters of agreement among the men who had all remained waiting for Neal's potion to work.

Kel and Dom shared a look before Kel gave a small nod and turned to hold each man's eye to convey just how serious she was. "None of you are to tell of the marriage between Captain Domitan and I to anyone." She held Neal's eye the longest and when he went to protest she barely shook her head. "That means you don't let it slip while drunk. If I hear that any one of you let it slip, I shall make Raoul's worst punishment seem like child's play."

"But Kel, I'm not part of the Own; I don't have to follow your orders!" Neal protested, "I need to share this with my Yamani blossom, if I don't I fear what she'll do to me." Neal shuddered causing the men in the room to chuckle until they caught sight of Kel.

"You should fear what I can do to you Sir Nealan." She held up her hand when he went to protest, "Do you not remember all those poems and horrid songs you attempted to write for ladies of the court?" Neal began to pale. "I still have them, those you never collected, and I am sure my dear husband has more." Kel looked at her nails as she waited for Neal's response.

"And I can always remove you as being my best man for our wedding ceremony." Dom added causing Neal to throw his hands up.

"We are to tell people that last night you witnessed Domitan proposing, that gives reason behind our prolonged celebration." She looked at all the men before turning to leave. However before she could go more than two steps she felt strong arms grab her around her waist and pull her back.

"I think you forgot something sweets." Dom whispered in her ear while unclasping the chain that held her antipregnancy charm. Removing the necklace, Dom quickly slipped off one of the two rings it held before putting it back in place. Turning her around and dropping on one knee. "My darling Keladry, do you agree to marry me?" Dom asked simply while winking at her as he slipped the engagement ring upon her finger.

She smiled down at Dom saying a quick "Yes." As the men sent up a cheer and fell to laughing at the couple before them.

As Kel walked into her new office she felt a headache begin to grow. She knew that it had nothing to do with her hangover which had already started to ebb away and everything to do with the mountains of paperwork that already stood on top of her desk.

She sighed before she sat down and began to organize: first, third, third, second, first…the sorting continued until she had everything into three neat piles before her. "I don't recall Raoul ever having this much paperwork." Kel grumbled to herself as she once again began to sort out resignations from notifications of betrothals in each pile. She was interrupted from her sorting six times as more men came in to submit forms.

Kel didn't bother to look up when she heard yet another knock on her door, "Put your form in the correct pile." She pointed to each in turn "First, Second, and Third. I will review them as quickly as possible." She was startled when instead of papers being placed in front of her; she saw a steaming cup of tea. She looked up into Dom's smiling eyes.

"I thought you could use some willow bark tea." He nodded at the papers in front of her, "I see that I was correct in my thinking?"

Kel eagerly took a sip and sighed as she felt the herbs go to work immediately. "Thanks Dom." She was gently caressing his hand when they heard a throat being cleared from her doorway. Looking up she saw the other two captains.

"I see Domitan is already here." Ulliver of Linden, the Captain of Second stated as he took a seat across from Kel grinning, "Although I don't think it was a business call. May I offer my congratulations on your betrothal?" He shook hands with both Kel and Dom.

"Yes, congratulations, now may we please get down to business?" Everett Goshorn, the Captain of First sniffed. "Maybe we can begin as Captain Domitan runs and gathers his paperwork. This is a business meeting not a lover's tea."

Dom flashed him a smile, "No need to run, I brought it with me. I just thought it would be better to have our Commander headache free, I don't think you would like to see her claws." Dom shuttered for effect and Kel glared at him.

"Now, I assume you are all here because of these?" Kel waved her hand around her desk indicating the piles which had grown a little higher. At their nods Kel began. "Let's look through the resignations first." Kel was overall relieved that only six men from First, three from Second and no men from Third had resigned.

They briefly discussed recruiting and potential candidates, even though no one resigned from Third they still had two openings, Second had three more and First ten. Kel couldn't help but be thankful that First was the first company she was riding with as there must be something wrong if they had sixteen openings.

Next they moved on to the men who had become betrothed since they ceremony ended yesterday. All the men in question had long time sweethearts.

As the meeting was finishing up Raoul bound into the room whistling, "Sorry I'm late, is everything taken care of?" His eyes twinkled with mischief.

"Let me guess, something came up with your darling wife? And seeing as you are acting second and letting me get a feel you wished for me to handle this on my own?" Kel asked him, raising an eyebrow trying to mimic Raoul's famous expression.

"Well frankly my dear, I'm hurt to think you cannot do this without my help, I knew you would have no problems. And I might not have been occupied with my wife had some drunken men left us alone instead of dragging us to a betrothal party in the wee hours of the night."