Work Text:
September, 460
Neal's hands actually shook as he handed off his horse just inside the Steadfast gate. Kel didn't think he even heard her suggestion that his finacée might prefer him to clean up before he tracked her down. (Though for all she knew, Yuki could be in just as bad shape.)
Kel exchanged glad shouts and backslaps with Owen, her year-mates and riders from the King's Own, as well as more decorous greetings with the likes of Duke Baird and Lady Knight Alanna. She didn't think she gripped Dom's arm any differently than the others, though she perhaps enjoyed his smile for just a breath longer. She was sure her giddiness was just part of the generally festive mood -- even the routine business of reporting to Lord Wyldon felt oddly lighthearted.
The commanders had reluctantly deemed the border sufficiently secure for a quiet, brief visit from the king and queen, who would not hear of missing Raoul and Buri's wedding. The king greeted Kel politely, and thanked her for her service in a sincere and pointedly unspecific way.
It was the most relaxed Kel could remember feeling since summer breaks during her page years. The evenings were cheerful and informal. The music was high-spirited and eclectic, featuring whatever soldiers and riders from across the realm wanted to share with their comrades -- reels from the south, pipe jigs from the coast.
She found herself partnered with Dom, as they good-naturedly failed to master a lightning-fast Bazir step. After a few accidental elbowings and foot-stompings, he pulled her aside, "Kel, we have to stop! One of us is going to smash a nose or black an eye. We'd have to ask Neal or my uncle for help, and we'd never live it down."
"We could wait till morning and claim a sparring injury," she laughed, following him to perch on a table.
"Or we could just talk, since we don't see each other much these days," he counter-offered. "Rumor has it you're the one who gets credit for this wedding. Is that true?"
"To be fair, my suggestion was that my lord take Buri to dinner so he could avoid being married off," Kel answered. Dom's warm laugh made her feel like the most entertaining person in Steadfast. "I was as surprised as anyone by how it turned out. I thought they were best friends the way Neal and I are best friends."
"And I thought they were just excellent fellow commanders," Dom replied. "Shows how much any of us know, including them, apparently."
Kel smiled, then gestured to the lively room. "I do wonder, though -- why do all this? Not that I mind seeing everyone, of course! But they both hate parties. They could have just kept on as they were, and no one would have said a word."
"You could ask them, you know. Either one would tell you." Dom looked thoughtful. "But since it's me you're asking -- I can see the appeal of sharing their happiness with all of us. I, for one, will always treasure the sight of my lord shedding happy tears." Even his wistful smile is devastating, Kel thought.
"You're a secret romantic," she teased. "You'd want to be married one day?"
"Maybe one day," he said, a trace of the smile remaining. "Not like my parents, though. They get along, but they only married out of duty to their families." Kel thought of Cleon, and hoped his children would never say the same of him.
"And I'm not like Neal, either, to pine after my love with poetry," he chuckled. "But my lord and Commander Buri, well, they make sense to me."
Kel felt a thrill at the idea of what Dom might want. But was "my love" that he referred to just a hypothetical idea, or an actual person? Blast it, Kel, she scolded herself, you're as bad as Neal, with the pining. This crush will pass, just as the others have.
A slightly drunk Owen bounded up to them and interrupted her thought-spiral by grabbing handfuls of their tunics in his enthusiasm. "Dom! Kel! The Lionness is tipsy and she and the king are telling stories on Lord Raoul -- you do not want to miss this!"
As the week went on, festivities wound down and the war councils started up, an inevitability with so much of Tortall's leadership in one spot. Kel missed listening in on everything as Lord Raoul's shadow. Owen, as always, shared what he heard.
But it was Tobe who discovered which squad from the King's Own would be assigned to New Hope for the winter -- his eavesdropping skills were almost uncanny enough to be a Gift. Her wide grin was wide, but only because she loved seeing Tobe bounce with excitement over a whole winter with Dom.
As expected, Neal moped all the way back to New Hope, but even that couldn't weigh down Kel's light spirit and full heart.