Hello all! Thank you for your all of your reviews of the last chapter. I apologize for taking so long to get this next chapter up. It took me a while to work out exactly how to get everything down on paper. Hopefully I managed to get all the humor and emotion in without coming across as sticky sweet. This is another chapter that might require a latte to keep you from going into sugar overload. I used the song Our Love Is Easy by Melody Gardot as a light inspiration. It's also where the title comes from. I put the words at the bottom. My beta is once more unavailable, so bear with my mistakes. I tried to get as many of them as I could. As always, please let me know what you think! I'm thinking that there's really only one more chapter after this, but I'm still working out the details. I will post it as soon as it's written. Happy just after the 4th!
Layla
We Don't Need A Ring
Dawn was still a few hours off when Dom slipped quietly into the small room, his eyes searching through the darkness to focus on the tumble of shoulder length hair than peaked out from under the blankets. Dom slid the wooden door closed behind him, leaving his boots outside as per the Yamani tradition.
Ignoring the dry tickle of bamboo mats beneath his bare feet, Dom left his belt and tunic in a pile beside the neatly folded stack of items Kel would wear in the morning. With a sigh, he slid under the blankets, propping himself up on his elbow, taking in the sleeping woman at his side. The moonlight detailed the sun's highlights in her hair, made her skin look pale and soft. The even rhythm of her breathing soothed him, gently forcing the last thoughts of midnight watch from his mind, urging him to follow her into sleep.
Until she shifted slightly. Moving her body closer to closer to his warmth left her right wrist open to the moon's spotlight, instantly drawing his attention. Familiar scars were highlighted in the pale light, making his stomach clench and his mind wander to thoughts less innocent than sleep. Shoulders shaking with silent laughter and his head dropped forward in defeat, Dom wondered how it was that he had been so thoroughly and completely seduced by the scarred right wrist of Tortall's youngest Lady Knight.
The vibrations from his laughter quickly drew Kel's attention, prompting one sleepy hazel eye to peer up at him confusion. Seeing the question in her muddled gaze, Dom smirked at her, motioning with his eyes for her look. Pushing up on her arm just enough to follow his prompt, Kel blinked as she focused uncomprehendingly at her arm. After a moment of confusion, her sleep addled brain finally caught up, bringing a blush to her sleep flushed cheeks and a smile to her lips.
Unable to resist her wrist and blush, he pulled her into a kiss, letting her feel just a hint of the desire she'd stirred in him. They both had to be up in a few hours to train with the Prince and their Yamani instructors; now was not the time to enjoy their new found freedom. Pulling gently back from her lips, Dom pressed a soft kiss on her forehead. He settled against the sleeping mat, coaxing her head down to rest on his chest, arms draped loosely around each other.
"I love you," she breathed softly, already returning to sleep.
"I love you, too," he whispered softly, briefly tightening his arms around her as his mind wandered back to the ceremony and celebration that had made them essentially husband and wife.
Exhausted after the earthquake recovery efforts and the Emperor's formal ball, Dom had done little more than explain the Emperor's offer to Kel before yawns and blurry eyes had prompted both to table the discussion in favor of sleep. They had spent the morning training with the Yamani knights, but both were a bit more distracted than normal, their eyes meeting every few minutes over their weapons.
Duty kept them busy until after midday. When they finally found the time to slip away, both were somewhere between ecstatic and terrified. Emotions and romance aside, there were consequences to either decision. Accepting the Emperor's offer would allow them freedom to pursue their relationship with some modicum of honor, but would certainly raise a stir when they returned to Tortall. Both were aware that King Jonathan could chose to enforce the Emperor's gift as a true marriage, thereby forcing Dom to leave the Own. And although doubtful, there could be political ramifications for their families because of their unorthodox union.
Kel had no doubts that the conservatives would treat the arrangement as a pretty wrapper around distasteful behavior. That didn't bother her; the idea that it could bring dishonor to their families did. However, neither wanted to refuse the Emperor his generous offer. Although phrased as an offer complete with decision, it could be interpreted as an insult to not accept his gift. And purely between the two of them, they wanted accept it. It was only the side effects that gave them pause.
After a lengthy discussion about her mother's statement of support, the letter his parents had sent stating the same, and a blush filled conversation about how their desire for the union was based on far more than a yearning to bed one another, they agreed. They would accept the Emperor's offer.
Knowing their decision would affect him, they told Raoul before sending word of their acceptance through Shinkokami. The Knight Commander's grin was a welcome relief, as were his words of support. He stood behind their decision, thrilled that they could continue both their careers and their relationship. Shinko and Roald too made it clear that they would honor their status as that of husband and wife and were very happy for their friends.
The ceremony had been performed the following day, with a formal Yamani celebration immediately after. Standing in his finest formal uniform, Dom counted the ceremony as simultaneously the most exciting and boring event in his life. Performed entirely in the Yamani language, with Kel dressed and face painted to height of Yamani finery, Dom had no idea what was being said about he and the almost unrecognizable woman beside him. Aside from their names and the slightly damp hazel green eyes staring back at him from an ornately painted face, the entire service had been foreign to him, but he'd followed Kel's actions, hands shaking with the knowledge of what the incomprehensible words meant.
The tea ceremony held afterwards had been to honor all of the newly wedded Tortallan and Yamani couples. It was a formal tea service, the women pouring an elegant tea for their men. His eyes focused entirely on his blonde haired wife, Dom had paid little attention to the formally dressed and painted Princess Shinkokammi and Lady Yukimi, both whom held their husbands full attention.
The entire tea ceremony was carefully scripted, and he did his best to follow along, taking comfort in the confusion he saw in Neal's and Prince Roald's eyes. He thought he did quite well. At least until Kel had poured the tea.
Perhaps it was the utterly foreign ceremony or the elaborate kimono and face paint that decorated Kel's face, keeping all but her hands and eyes covered, but when the silk fell away from her arm as she poured tea, Dom's eyes had focused sharply on her familiar scarred wrist and hand. His mind recalled so many of the incidents that had resulted in those scars, brought to mind kisses placed against them, the soft touch of her hands on his face, and the feel of them tangled in his hair.
Never had desire hit him so hard or so fast. It stole his breath away and left him with visibly shaking hands. His gaze had locked with hers, her eyes widening in surprise and her breath catching. Exactly how they got through the remainder of the elaborate ceremony, neither one was entirely sure. But neither wasted anytime in removing themselves to Kel's rooms as soon as decorum allowed.
Dom smiled into the darkness, his arms tightening around Kel's sleeping form, remembering the rest of that evening and night. Upon returning to their rooms, Kel had given him the barest hint of a kiss before leaving his embrace to wash the rice paint makeup off her face. When she returned, still dressed in the silk kimono, the overwhelming fervor that had tormented them gentled enough that they had spent the evening savoring their passion, leisurely acquainting themselves with the other's body, reveling in the new intimacy, laughing and talking as well as loving throughout the night. In particular, Kel had found his explanation about her wrist highly entertaining. And he'd thoroughly enjoyed changing the flush on her cheeks from one of laughter to a blush of fulfilled passion.
There had been no shortage of comments sent their way the following morning, Neal and Third Company showing their approval with jokes and jibes. Dom figured he and Kel had spent more time blushing that day, than in their previous lives combined. And both thought it had been well worth it. Smiling into the night and pressing a kiss into her hair, he whispered 'I love you' into the darkness and let Ganiel draw him into dreams of the woman sleeping him.
Deep within your heart, you know it's plain to see
Like Adam was to Eve, you were made for me
They say the poisoned vine breeds a finer wine
Our love is easy
If you ask me plainly I would glady say
I'd like to have you round just for them rainy days
I like the touch of your hand, the way you make no demands
Our love is easy
Our love is easy
Like water rushing over stone
Oh, our love is easy, like no love I've ever known
Physically speaking we were made to last
Examine all the pieces of our recent past
There's your mouth, a taste
Your hands around my waist
Our love is easy
Every time we meet it's like the first we kissed
Never growing tired of this endless bliss
It's a simple thing, we don't need a ring
Our love is easy
Our love is easy
Like water rushing over stone
Oh, our love is easy, like no love I've ever known
Deep within your heart, you know it's plain to see
Like Adam was to Eve, you were made for me
They say the poisoned vine breeds a finer wine
-- Our Love is Easy by Melody Gardot