Chapter 1
Dom awoke in the middle of the night and lay staring at the ceiling of his tent for a few minutes before he remembered where he was.
His squad, his cousin Sir Nealan of Queenscove and Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan and her servant were encamped for the night in a small clearing off to the side of the Great Road North. They had left New Hope in Merric's capable hands and were travelling to the palace for crown prince and princess Roald and Shinkokami's royal wedding. Lord Raoul and the rest of third company had left Fort Steadfast several days ago, no doubt due in no small part to his eagerness to see Buri, his betrothed, again. Dom chuckled at the thought of the short, stocky K'mir who had once been Queen Thayet's self-appointed bodyguard. Raoul was at least twice her size!
Still chuckling and now wide awake, Dom gave up on sleep and crawled for his tent, to find the campfire still crackling merrily in the middle of the clearing. A familiar figure sat hunched near the fire, but from her trembling form came wracking sobs.
"Kel," he called softly. She turned towards him, hastily wiping away tears, and gave him a weak smile, but turned towards the fire again. He sat down beside her and they stared at the flames in silence for a few minutes.
"I killed them, you know," she said abruptly. "Zamiel, Snalren the carpenter, Einur. If I hadn't left Haven they'd all still be alive."
Knowing that she wouldn't believe him if he tried to convince her otherwise, Dom sat silently with her while she poured out all the pain and guilt she had kept bottled inside for the past two months. Finally she stopped, and he pulled her into a hug.the lady knight leaned into his warm, comforting shoulder, and more tears began coursing down her cheeks, but this time the were tears of relief, as if all of the poison had been washed away.
**Mithros, she's beautiful** the thoughts sprang, unbidden, to his mind, and his hand rose of its own accord and brushed the eyelash from her cheek.
"Make a wish," he said softly, showing her the eyelash. She giggled and looked up at him. Suddenly, he became very conscious of everywhere they touched, form his arm around her shoulders to her hand still on his chest. His eyes lit up, the heat and excitement reflecting in hers for a moment before she stood up, confused.
"Would you like a drink? I'm getting one anyway. It's warm tonight, don't you think?" she chattered, retrieving a flask.
Not looking where she was going, Kel tripped and fell forward. Out of reflex, Dom tried to catch her but he wasn't quick enough and they both tumbled to the ground. Dom yelped as his hand fell onto the hot coals and he quickly withdrew it to inspect the damage.
"Are you Okay?" Kel asked anxiously.
"I'm fine. No harm done." He announced stoically.
"Oh, stop playing the brave soldier. Let me look." She examined the burns in the firelight, trying to gauge the extent of the damage.
Dom savoured the feel of her light touch and her hand on his wrist. Closing his eyes, he relaxed and let the warmth from her hand flow through him, arousing him. Realizing this, he felt his face flush. He didn't react this way when a court lady or any other female touched him, so why was Kel any different? He shook his head, confused, and returned his attention to Kel. She didn't seem to have noticed anything, and was still bent over his hand.
"These look pretty bad," she murmured. "You'll probably have some nice scars to impress the ladies with." She looked up and grinned.
His heart skipped a beat. Suddenly he knew with all certainty that there was only one lady he wanted to impress and she had had seen enough scars to last her a lifetime.
Startled out of his thoughts, he realized Kel had been talking to him. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
She looked at him strangely for a moment. Ahe could have sworn he saw something very like longing or hope in her eyes, but then the look was gone.
"I have a healing balm for burns," she repeated. "It's in my tent."
He followed her to a small, one-man tent on the edge of the clearing closest to where the horses were picketed. Shivering, he stood waiting in the cool night air while she crawled in. After a moment she poked her head out of the tent flap.
"Are you crazy? You'll catch you death out there!" she exclaimed. "Are you coming in?"
"Yes mother." He replied with a dry chuckle, but he hurried to comply. Seated in a corner of the tent, he immediately noticed that it was much bigger than it looked for the outside. It was also several degrees warmer than outside, for which he was grateful. Her sleeping bag was neatly laid out on a ground sheet, as though it hadn't been used.
"Haven't you slept at all tonight?" he asked rebukingly.
"I couldn't." she paused in her search to answer. Rummaging through her travel pack, she exclaimed and turned triumphantly, holding a small container. "Here it is! I knew I'd packed it somewhere." Kel showed him the clear balm. "Here, give me your hand." She began, gently but firmly, to rub the balm into the burns on the back of his hand and fingers.
"Where did you get this stuff from?" he asked her curiously. It was already starting to relieve the burning pain.
"It was a present from. a friend." He noticed that she carefully avoided mentioning a name. "It's also great for cuts and bruises, so I use it a lot- "
"Shh!" he interrupted her. A moment later, a pair of footsteps and quiet voices passed the tent.
"I forgot about sentry change," he whispered. "I'd better not let them see me coming out of your tent."
"Why? It's not as if we're doing anything." Kel said.
"Yeah, but they wouldn't know that," he explained.
"Oh." She blushed, realizing the implication of his words. "But it won't take long, will it? For the sentry to change, I mean?"
"Probably about fifteen minutes. It'll take a while for the last group to settle down again. Some of them will probably want to sit by the fire."
"Well stay in here with me then." Kel told him. "I don't bite."
The burning excitement in Dom's eyes made her blush and avert her eyes from his gaze. Realizing that she hadn't yet finished with the balm, she applied herself to her task.
Dom, looking down at Kel as her cool touch soothed his pain, became increasingly aroused. He could feel the heat rushing through his veins.
**Whoah, Dom, calm down,** he thought, struggling for control. **You don't want to scare her again. Just stick with what you have. Think about something else. Something cold!** He closed his eyes, and gradually began to settle. But his efforts to calm down, and the warmth in the tent, combined with the soothing feel of the balm were starting to make him very sleepy.
"There, good as new," Kel said, turning back to her travel pack. "I'll just find something to bandage it with." But when she turned around, he was already sound asleep, stretched out on the ground sheet beside her sleeping bag. He looked so peaceful. She didn't have the heart to wake him, so she readied herself for bed, then crawled beneath the covers of her sleeping bag, thinking to catch a few hours sleep. But sleep evaded her again. And she was fairly sure it had less to do with guilt and more to do with the close proximity of a certain handsome, blue-eyed sergeant.
She turned over to face him, and propped herself on her elbow. She studied his sleeping features. He certainly was nice to look at. But then, Dom was just nice full stop. He was the kind of person who would always lend a shoulder to cry on, like he had tonight, and in the last few months, they had fast become very good friends. She would have like to have been more but since Dom hadn't given any sign that the feeling was mutual.**And why would he?** she thought, **He could have any court lady he wanted, so why would he settle for me? I'll just stick with what we have. Why ruin a great friendship?**
But still. there had been the way he had looked at her. For a moment she was sure.
Sighing, Kel blew out the candle that lit the tent. "Sweet dreams Dom," she whispered.
Authors Note: ok, ppl that was my first ever attempt at a kel/dom fic, so please r/r and tell me what you think of it. Tell me if they were too OOC or if it was too fluffy. Should I write more?
Dom awoke in the middle of the night and lay staring at the ceiling of his tent for a few minutes before he remembered where he was.
His squad, his cousin Sir Nealan of Queenscove and Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan and her servant were encamped for the night in a small clearing off to the side of the Great Road North. They had left New Hope in Merric's capable hands and were travelling to the palace for crown prince and princess Roald and Shinkokami's royal wedding. Lord Raoul and the rest of third company had left Fort Steadfast several days ago, no doubt due in no small part to his eagerness to see Buri, his betrothed, again. Dom chuckled at the thought of the short, stocky K'mir who had once been Queen Thayet's self-appointed bodyguard. Raoul was at least twice her size!
Still chuckling and now wide awake, Dom gave up on sleep and crawled for his tent, to find the campfire still crackling merrily in the middle of the clearing. A familiar figure sat hunched near the fire, but from her trembling form came wracking sobs.
"Kel," he called softly. She turned towards him, hastily wiping away tears, and gave him a weak smile, but turned towards the fire again. He sat down beside her and they stared at the flames in silence for a few minutes.
"I killed them, you know," she said abruptly. "Zamiel, Snalren the carpenter, Einur. If I hadn't left Haven they'd all still be alive."
Knowing that she wouldn't believe him if he tried to convince her otherwise, Dom sat silently with her while she poured out all the pain and guilt she had kept bottled inside for the past two months. Finally she stopped, and he pulled her into a hug.the lady knight leaned into his warm, comforting shoulder, and more tears began coursing down her cheeks, but this time the were tears of relief, as if all of the poison had been washed away.
**Mithros, she's beautiful** the thoughts sprang, unbidden, to his mind, and his hand rose of its own accord and brushed the eyelash from her cheek.
"Make a wish," he said softly, showing her the eyelash. She giggled and looked up at him. Suddenly, he became very conscious of everywhere they touched, form his arm around her shoulders to her hand still on his chest. His eyes lit up, the heat and excitement reflecting in hers for a moment before she stood up, confused.
"Would you like a drink? I'm getting one anyway. It's warm tonight, don't you think?" she chattered, retrieving a flask.
Not looking where she was going, Kel tripped and fell forward. Out of reflex, Dom tried to catch her but he wasn't quick enough and they both tumbled to the ground. Dom yelped as his hand fell onto the hot coals and he quickly withdrew it to inspect the damage.
"Are you Okay?" Kel asked anxiously.
"I'm fine. No harm done." He announced stoically.
"Oh, stop playing the brave soldier. Let me look." She examined the burns in the firelight, trying to gauge the extent of the damage.
Dom savoured the feel of her light touch and her hand on his wrist. Closing his eyes, he relaxed and let the warmth from her hand flow through him, arousing him. Realizing this, he felt his face flush. He didn't react this way when a court lady or any other female touched him, so why was Kel any different? He shook his head, confused, and returned his attention to Kel. She didn't seem to have noticed anything, and was still bent over his hand.
"These look pretty bad," she murmured. "You'll probably have some nice scars to impress the ladies with." She looked up and grinned.
His heart skipped a beat. Suddenly he knew with all certainty that there was only one lady he wanted to impress and she had had seen enough scars to last her a lifetime.
Startled out of his thoughts, he realized Kel had been talking to him. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
She looked at him strangely for a moment. Ahe could have sworn he saw something very like longing or hope in her eyes, but then the look was gone.
"I have a healing balm for burns," she repeated. "It's in my tent."
He followed her to a small, one-man tent on the edge of the clearing closest to where the horses were picketed. Shivering, he stood waiting in the cool night air while she crawled in. After a moment she poked her head out of the tent flap.
"Are you crazy? You'll catch you death out there!" she exclaimed. "Are you coming in?"
"Yes mother." He replied with a dry chuckle, but he hurried to comply. Seated in a corner of the tent, he immediately noticed that it was much bigger than it looked for the outside. It was also several degrees warmer than outside, for which he was grateful. Her sleeping bag was neatly laid out on a ground sheet, as though it hadn't been used.
"Haven't you slept at all tonight?" he asked rebukingly.
"I couldn't." she paused in her search to answer. Rummaging through her travel pack, she exclaimed and turned triumphantly, holding a small container. "Here it is! I knew I'd packed it somewhere." Kel showed him the clear balm. "Here, give me your hand." She began, gently but firmly, to rub the balm into the burns on the back of his hand and fingers.
"Where did you get this stuff from?" he asked her curiously. It was already starting to relieve the burning pain.
"It was a present from. a friend." He noticed that she carefully avoided mentioning a name. "It's also great for cuts and bruises, so I use it a lot- "
"Shh!" he interrupted her. A moment later, a pair of footsteps and quiet voices passed the tent.
"I forgot about sentry change," he whispered. "I'd better not let them see me coming out of your tent."
"Why? It's not as if we're doing anything." Kel said.
"Yeah, but they wouldn't know that," he explained.
"Oh." She blushed, realizing the implication of his words. "But it won't take long, will it? For the sentry to change, I mean?"
"Probably about fifteen minutes. It'll take a while for the last group to settle down again. Some of them will probably want to sit by the fire."
"Well stay in here with me then." Kel told him. "I don't bite."
The burning excitement in Dom's eyes made her blush and avert her eyes from his gaze. Realizing that she hadn't yet finished with the balm, she applied herself to her task.
Dom, looking down at Kel as her cool touch soothed his pain, became increasingly aroused. He could feel the heat rushing through his veins.
**Whoah, Dom, calm down,** he thought, struggling for control. **You don't want to scare her again. Just stick with what you have. Think about something else. Something cold!** He closed his eyes, and gradually began to settle. But his efforts to calm down, and the warmth in the tent, combined with the soothing feel of the balm were starting to make him very sleepy.
"There, good as new," Kel said, turning back to her travel pack. "I'll just find something to bandage it with." But when she turned around, he was already sound asleep, stretched out on the ground sheet beside her sleeping bag. He looked so peaceful. She didn't have the heart to wake him, so she readied herself for bed, then crawled beneath the covers of her sleeping bag, thinking to catch a few hours sleep. But sleep evaded her again. And she was fairly sure it had less to do with guilt and more to do with the close proximity of a certain handsome, blue-eyed sergeant.
She turned over to face him, and propped herself on her elbow. She studied his sleeping features. He certainly was nice to look at. But then, Dom was just nice full stop. He was the kind of person who would always lend a shoulder to cry on, like he had tonight, and in the last few months, they had fast become very good friends. She would have like to have been more but since Dom hadn't given any sign that the feeling was mutual.**And why would he?** she thought, **He could have any court lady he wanted, so why would he settle for me? I'll just stick with what we have. Why ruin a great friendship?**
But still. there had been the way he had looked at her. For a moment she was sure.
Sighing, Kel blew out the candle that lit the tent. "Sweet dreams Dom," she whispered.
Authors Note: ok, ppl that was my first ever attempt at a kel/dom fic, so please r/r and tell me what you think of it. Tell me if they were too OOC or if it was too fluffy. Should I write more?