Let me start out by saying I AM SO SORRY!  I didn't mean to not update for so long!  I feel bad.  Do you even remember this story?

  This might jog your memory:

 Kel Dom Pies Fly Smack!  Whack!  Run!  Ouch!  Flashback What now? Cleon Ermelian Hee Dom Note to self.  I don't know if that'll help at all.

  You know, I didn't want to have them go to the city to shop, but I couldn't see a way around it.  And you thought you were finally free of this girl's psychotic story, not quite yet.



  Chapter Six: The Slammer

  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Neal carefully stuck his head into Kel's rooms.  Kel was hiding behind the door, in the corner.  She didn't exactly want company, even Neal or Dom's.  Tomorrow afternoon she had to leave for New Hope.  The wedding was over and the royal couple had just finished celebrating yesterday.  Today was going to be spent relaxing.  Alone.

  Neal hadn't received her memo, though Dom seemed to have gotten the message. He was valiantly trying to drag Neal away.  No such luck, Neal was determined to fit in some time to converse with his best friends.

  Kel heaved a sigh and immediately regretted it.  Neal spun around flew over to her.

"  Hey Kel, how are you?"

  Dom came in directly behind his cousin and leaned against the wall.  "Do you want to go to the city with us?"

"  She has to come.  Lord Raoul told me to make sure she spent part of the money on herself.  He even reminded me a few days ago."

  Kel groaned.  That man was persistent!  "Don't you want to spend your last day here with Yuki?"  She asked hopefully, trying to deter him from the original subject.

"  Ah.  That's where my genius comes into play.  Yuki is coming with us.  So is Dom."  He reminded Kel of Owen for a split second, which scared her more than she thought it would.

  Neal held out a lumpy bag and jingled it in front of her face.  Kel recognized it as the bag she had put her money in. "You don't get this unless you come with us."  Dom teased from over Neal's shoulder.

  There was nothing left that she could do.  It went too high on the ladder for her to ignore, and it was probably better to just get it over with now.

"  Fine, but we aren't spending all day."

  They didn't seem to agree.  After Yuki joined them, she also thought that Kel needed to spend something on herself, she took them to the streets of Corus.

  After hours Yuki leading them down the streets like good little children, Kel still hadn't found anything worth her money.  Neal didn't seem to mind being Yuki's personal servant, but it was killing Kel and Dom.

"  Oh, look, that's pretty.  I'm sure you'd like it Kel."  Dom said.  He was pointing at a scarf on the other side of the street, not caring that his fake voice sounded just that.  "Let's go look at it."

"  Of course."  She said, catching on eagerly, "Let's go.  Now."

  Yuki was one of Kel's dearest friends, but set her loose in the city streets and she was like a rat on cheese.  Feeling incredibly pleased with Dom for extracting them from the clutches of a mad woman, she didn't realize he had actually led her to the scarf.

"  Why are we here?"  She asked, looking disdainfully at the brightly colored silk.

  Dom gave her a look.

"  Oh, right."  Unless she wanted to be pulled around for many more hours of shopping with Yuki, she had better buy the scarf.

  Picking up the least ugly one, she grinned.  "Now I don't have to buy Yuki's Midwinter present anymore."

  Dom shook his head.  "Come on, let's pay for it, and then conveniently get lost."

  He once again led the way until they were standing in front of a small man and his very large companions.

  We'd like to buy this scarf, Sir."  Dom told the smaller man.

"  O' course."  He replied, taking the money Dom gave him. "Would ya do me a favor an' follow me, Sir, Miss."

  They nodded and followed him into a building.

  Kel looked at the sack Dom had taken the money from, it was the one Neal had been carrying with all her spending money in.

"  How'd you get that bag from Neal."  She asked him.

"  Meathead introduced me to a very interesting person awhile back; the Lioness's husband."

  Kel gave him an odd look.  "As Alanna's squire, wouldn't Baron George teach Neal how to stop pickpockets?"

  Dom smiled.  "Yes, but he taught me better because I wasn't constantly causing chaos in his household."

  The two men who were leading them to whatever help the little man needed stopped abruptly.  Then without warning, caught the two warriors off guard and managed to stuff them in a cell.  Kel had been so preoccupied talking to Dom, that she hadn't noticed they were in the city's jail.

"  What's going on?"  She demanded.

"  Like ya don' know."  The small man growled and held up the coins Dom had given him. "These be counterfeit.  Nobles think they can get away with anything, well not w' me, ya can't."  Then he and his two thugs left.

  Kel took a moment to study her surroundings.  They were the only ones on this level, and their room was furnished with two long benches. She tested the bars on the door, just to make sure, but she wasn't surprised when they didn't break off.

"  Lord Raoul:  I'll kill him.  Neal too," Dom announced suddenly.  At her questioning noise, he explained.  "He gave the fake money to Neal, and told him to make you shop with it.  Then he would probably disappear before you paid and you would be arrested.  I knew my lord wouldn't give up so easily."

  Kel was secretly impressed at his deduction, which was without a doubt true.  She wondered if maybe he had anything to do with it.  She shook her head.  If he did, he wouldn't be here right now, unless he wanted to.  And he had no reason to want to be stuck in an oversized box for an undefined amount of time.  She gave a defeated sigh.  "And now we're both stuck, for who knows how long, with nothing to do."

  She sat down on her bench, and Dom looked around the room.

"  Okay," he said, "I spy..."



 Three hours later found Kel sleeping restlessly on the hard piece of wood.  Knowing that in the morning-if she ever got out of this place- she would be riding all day and needed her rest, didn't make it any easier to sleep.  It was almost dusk outside, but the windows still let in enough light to see Dom carving his name on the wall with a sharp dagger.  He glanced over at her and saw her watching him.

"  How many days do you think we've been here, Kel?"  He asked seriously.

  She rolled her eyes and gave a rare retort.  "I'm not sure," she started dryly, "but you're not making it go any faster."  That wasn't true at all.  She was secretly glad he was here and wouldn't trade him for anyone else, but two hours of playing 'I spy' with anyone would make her irritable.

"  Ouch."

  She went back to sleep, only to be woken up an hour later.

"  Kel?"  Dom knelt down beside the bench she was lying on.

She opened one eye at him and then closed it again.  "What?"

"  Can I kiss you?"

  She nodded, still half asleep and not hearing what he had said.  He kissed her gently and softly, and she found herself kissing back as if she had expected it all along.  Then he pulled away to his previous position, and she realized what he had just done.

  She snapped into a sitting position, completely baffled.  Deciding to say something, anything, she opened her mouth, and then frowned.  She didn't have any idea what to say.

  He broke the silence.  "Can I kiss you again?"

"  May I."  She automatically corrected.

  He frowned.  "May you what?"

"  Kiss you again."  She answered.

  He raised an eyebrow slowly.  "Yes."

"  Yes what?"  This was getting confusing.

  He gave her an exasperated look.  "You can kiss me again."

"  I didn't kiss you."  She protested.  "You kissed me."

"  But you asked if you could kiss me."  He insisted.

"  No, you asked me"

" Yes, but then you asked me if you could kiss me."

"  No, I was correcting your grammar."  She explained.

"  Oh," He said.  "Well, then may I?"

  She felt like crying, this was too much.  It was too late and she had no idea what was going on except he had kissed her.  "What?"

  Frustrated, he took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes.  "Keladry of Mindelan.  May I kiss you again?"  He spelt it out as he would to a little kid.

  His nearness (and maybe the freshly painted wall) was making her dizzy and it was all she could do to nod before he kissed her again.

  She broke away and glared at him.  "You were in on this too!"

  He grinned.  She had found his motive.







  It's done.  *Sob*, my little baby is all grown up!  *SOB SOB SOB*

  Now what am I going to do.  Oh wait, I know, I can devote my time to writing another K/D fic.  Ah, the possibilities.