A/N: Hello everyone! I'm back again with something a little different. Not sure this is going to be more than a one shot or not since I took a break from working on my novel to write it and I do not have more than this written. Also, I do not own any recognizable characters or places mentioned in the story below. All recognizable characters and places belong to the wondrous Tamora Pierce.

Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan frowned up at the sign of the building her friends had given her the address of. The front windows were lit up and shadowed with silhouettes of people moving around inside. Even though it was just an hour after dinner, it was already filled with bodies. Why did her friends have to choose this place to meet? Why couldn't they have stayed up at the palace to drink and talk? Why did they have to pick a chaotic tavern in the heart of Corus?

She locked a sigh away behind her blank mask as she stepped up to the door and pushed her way inside. It took a moment before she heard her name called above the noise of many people talking all at once. She looked for the source and found her friends had somehow gotten a table for all of them, or rather, all of them that could afford to leave the palace.

She eased her way between the throngs of people to squeeze into the only open chair at the table between her best friend Sir Nealan of Queenscove and the dark, handsome Sir Faleron of King's Reach.

"I'm surprised you're wearing a dress," Neal moved his mouth up next to her ear so she could hear him.

Kel rolled her eyes at the comment. She had chosen to wear a simple gown for the evening instead of her normal breeches, shirt, and tunic. It was one of many dresses that her former maid, Lalasa, had made for her when she had returned from the Scanran border several months before. She had been wearing them more and more but it still confused her friends.

"And you did up your hair and face paint. That's a nice touch," he touched at one of the pins that held her mouse brown hair in the simple style Lalasa had taught her.

Along with gowns, she had been learning a bit about face paint and styling her hair. It wasn't that she did either of those things often but she thought it was worth embracing the Lady part of her title just a little. And since her friends had insisted on going out this evening, she had followed the whim to test out her skills.

"Tell me again why we all came down from the palace to meet in the heart of Corus when we all could have just met somewhere within the palace walls? You know, where Roald, Shinko, and Yuki could have all joined us?" She turned the conversation away from her looks.

"Because we never leave the palace," Faleron threw an arm around her shoulders and raised his drink to his cousin Sir Merric of Hollyrose across the table. "It's nice to get out every now and then." Her other friends Sir Seaver of Tasride, Sir Esmond of Nicoline, and Sir Owen of Jesslaw all raised their mugs back.

"Then why so far from the palace?" She asked, shrugging his arm from her shoulders.

"Because Dom recommended it," Neal informed her. "Dom knows all of the best taverns and eating houses in Corus, likely all of Tortall."

"Of course he does," Merric teased. "Where else does he find all of those women?"

"I resent that!" A voice behind Kel startled her, not that it showed. She turned to see Neal's cousin, Sergeant Domitan of Masbolle, out of uniform behind them. "Did these blockheads forget that when a pretty lady is in their presence they are obligated to buy her a drink?" Dom cuffed Neal upside the head and placed a goblet down in front of Kel.

Kel looked at the scarlet liquid inside of the goblet while fighting a blush. It didn't matter that Dom was simply teasing, he still managed to make her heart race. His current status with the women was enjoying flirting while reveling in the glory of being a war hero. She wasn't sure he had moved beyond flirting with any of those women. He hadn't spoken of any conquests in front of her. But rather than focus on what Dom had said, she turned her mind to the scarlet liquid in the goblet.

"Before you berate me about not drinking wine or spirits," Dom stopped her before she could push the words out of her mouth. "I think you should try it. Enjoy a night out. Maybe you'll like it for once."

"Come on, Kel!" Owen raised his mug to her. "Drink up!" His voice was met by her other friends as she lifted the goblet to her lips. She would regret this in the morning. Leaving behind the fact she disliked the loose, carefree feeling she got when drinking, she always got a terrible headache after drinking. To her surprise, the wine was surprisingly good.

"Dom also knows all of the best vintages," Neal told her calmly as she took another drink from the goblet.

"If these sorry excuses for gentlemen continue to fail to treat you properly, you come sit with us," Dom informed her before he went to join several of his men at a table across the tavern.

"As if buying you drinks and flirting with you is the only way to treat you properly," Merric shook his head. "No offense, Kel, but I don't buy Neal drinks and I certainly don't flirt with him, I don't see much of a reason to do it for you."

Kel held in another internal sigh. There was yet another blatant hint that her friends thought of her as another man in the group, even if she did wear a gown and face paint.

"What my cousin meant," Faleron put his arm back around her shoulders to get her attention, "is that you're a friend. None of us have intentions of taking you home and back to bed with us. So we aren't going to flirt and buy you drinks."

"And yet you keep finding excuses to put your arm around her," Esmond nodded to Faleron's arm around her shoulders.

The arm moved from its place and she rolled her eyes. Her friends walked the fine line they had created for themselves of what was acceptably friendly behavior and what was treating her too much like a girl. Often times it was awkward for the men and left her feeling strange.

Her friends settled into comfortable conversation around her while they drank. While they spoke to each other, Kel contemplated the odd sensation of being both one of the men and yet a woman. Since she and Cleon had parted ways, she hadn't exactly been treated like a woman in a nice manner. Usually the only nods to her being a woman were insults hurled for her perceived easiness and her friends acknowledging when they were getting too close to treating her like a female. Perhaps that was why she was drawn to Dom, he didn't shy away from treating her like a woman and didn't act like treating her like a woman was anything wrong.

Maybe that was something she needed thank him for, for simply being a friend that treated her like being a woman wasn't something to be ashamed of. She doubted anything would come of it, but that wasn't the point. The point was to acknowledge a part of their friendship she appreciated.

"Where are you going?" Neal demanded.

Kel realized she had stood up. She reached down to retrieve her goblet and found it was empty. When had that happened? The wine had been surprisingly good. Apparently good enough to drink without realizing it.

"Are we not treating you well enough?" Faleron demanded.

"As well as you always do," Kel rushed to assure him and the others. "I thought I'd talk to Dom and his men for a bit."

"I'll buy you another drink," Neal tried to wave her back into her seat.

"I'm not going over there to get another drink," she informed him. She turned ease out of her place and looked over to Dom's table. His eyes were on her. She started to push her way over to where Dom and his men were rearranging to pull in an extra chair when a hand on her arm stopped her. She expected one of her friends, Neal or Faleron as they had been the closest but when she turned she found herself looking up at a man nearly Sir Raoul's height and size with short golden blonde hair and warm brown eyes.

"Excuse me, Miss," his voice carried just the distance between them. "I've heard several of the men at that table call you 'Kel', and I was wondering if you were Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan."

"I am," Kel tucked away a frown. It was rarely a good thing when she was approached by someone she didn't know. At the palace it was usually an insult or someone testing her strength.

"I knew it!" His mouth split into a warm smile. "My friends told me there was no way that beautiful woman was the Lady Knight no matter how much I believed you were. Can I buy you a drink?" He nodded to a place where taller chairs sat by the counter and a few other men watching them were grinning and laughing with each other.

"You want to buy me a drink?" Kel repeated back to him. That was certainly not where these sorts of conversations went for her and she still wasn't sure where this conversation was actually going.

"I'm sorry, I jumped ahead of myself," the man smacked himself in the head with a large fist and then offered his hand to her. "My name is Kas, Kasen Lander. And you are Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan."

Kel took his hand and let him give it a firm but comfortable squeeze, nothing like the strength testing grips that most men tried on her. It surprised her. When was the last time an introduction hadn't been some way to measure her up? It had been a long time.

"Excuse me, for being forward but I think you are very beautiful, and I'm very interested in hearing about more than just myths about you. May I buy you a drink?" He blushed as he spoke to her and Kel couldn't help but blush a little as well.

"I'm sorry," Kel shook her head trying to understand what was happening. She certainly knew what this appeared to be, but this couldn't be happening to her. Men didn't actually compliment her and offer to buy her drinks, at least men that weren't Dom. And Dom only did it for being Dom. He wasn't interested in her.

"Oh, I was too forward," he frowned and took a step back.

"No," Kel rushed to assure him. "I just don't know how to go about this. I've never had a man compliment me and ask to buy me a drink." The least she could do was be honest about why she was standing there like a stunned doe.

"Never?" Kas asked sounding like he actually believed it to be impossible and then he shook his head. "Well, then, let me be the first." He waved her back to the seats he had indicated earlier. "My Lady," he offered a short bow. She shook her head again still unable to fully grasp what was going on as she followed him to the chair he offered to her. "What drink might I buy you?" He asked when she sat. "Your friend over there bought you a very nice goblet of wine. Is that what you'd prefer?" He was already flagging down the barkeeper.

"I'd prefer cider," Kel informed him. "How long have you been watching me?" How long had he been watching to know that Dom had bought her wine?

"Since you walked into the tavern. I haven't been able to take my eyes off of you," he gave her a charming smile and then turned to the barkeeper to order two mugs of cider.

Kel took that moment to look to where Dom was sitting, hoping he wasn't too upset she hadn't come straight over. He and his men were watching but Dom gave her a wink. When she glanced over at her friends, none of them were paying her any mind. By the time she turned back to Kas he was setting a mug in front of her.

"So what do you do?" She asked. Clearly this man knew enough about her to know at least her occupation and title. She wanted to know something about him.

"I'm a smith," he informed her. "Just a journeyman though. The master of my forge will be thrilled I met a woman that preferred not to drink. Hungover and hammering metal doesn't exactly go over well."

"I suppose it wouldn't," she admitted.

"So tell me about you," Kas turned completely towards her. "All we hear are crazy stories about the Protector of the Small slaying giant men and necromancers to turn the tides of the war."

"I'm sure that story won't go away any time soon," she sighed. She hated that somehow that story had made it to Corus and likely all of Tortall though it was still maintained by the Crown that a mage had done away with the killing devices. The Crown had recognized them, unofficially, by giving them discreet rewards. After that, the names of her companions somehow had made their way into the public though none of them confirmed their involvement.

"You don't like that story?" He asked.

"I just like doing my job and helping people. I don't need to be recognized for it," she stated.

"You are an interesting woman. Most people want at least a little recognition when they help someone." His hands wrapped around his mug, dwarfing it in their size. "Well, we won't talk about that strange story. How about your knight training? Everyone knows the process of being a page, then a squire, and the Ordeal to become a knight but I've never heard more than just the basic steps."

So Kel told stories of her training at the palace as a page and then as a squire in the King's Own in exchange for stories of his apprenticeship until they were stopped by one of the men behind Kas gripping his shoulder to get his attention.

She didn't catch any of the hushed conversation so she looked around for her friends to find they had left their table. When she did locate them, only a few were remaining and had joined Dom at his table. Dom's men seemed to have vanished as well. Looking around a little more she saw the numbers in the tavern had thinned down. A warm hand took hers and she turned back to see Kas smiling at her.

"It's getting late, my fellow smiths are heading home and wanted to know if I planned to continue to sit here and fail at charming you or if I wanted to walk back with them." He brought the hand he held to his lips.

"Are you leaving then?" Kel asked.

"That depends on how bad I have done at getting your attention," he raised an eyebrow at her. "Have I failed miserably at charming you?"

Kel stared at the man for a moment. It had been comfortable talking with him and his large hand still wrapped around hers wasn't unwelcome. He was handsome and his smile was very attractive. But where exactly had he intended this to go? He had asked for conversation and they had been having one.

"You'll have to forgive me," Kel met his eyes. "I'm not sure how you are failing because I don't know what more you intended. I was enjoying talking with you."

"I see," Kas let go of her hand and reached down to grab the sides of her chair. He pulled it closer until Kel's knees were tucked between his. "You said earlier this would be a first for you so perhaps I need to be forward once again," he explained. His rough fingers grazed her cheek as he cupped her face. "I'm going to kiss you," he informed her as he leaned in towards her. Then his lips were against hers.

Kel hadn't been kissed since she and Cleon had parted before the Scanran War when he had gone to defend the border and she had stayed with the Grand Progress. She would have said she had liked kissing before this moment but the gentle way Kas was thoroughly kissing her had her wondering how she had ever enjoyed Cleon abusing her lips with crushing force.

When Kas released her mouth by moving back ever so slightly, she was panting softly and he was grinning. Somewhere in the kissing one hand had found her waist and she felt the warmth of him through her bodice. The other hand was behind her neck, cradling her head. He had yet to remove either of them.

"So am I failing at charming you? Would it be best if I just went home right now to lick my wounds?" He asked, his voice soft.

"I'm certainly charmed," Kel admitted after a moment. "But what are your intentions with me? If your intention is to take me to some private room or to your bed tonight," he stopped her from saying more by kissing her once again.

"You aren't that sort of woman," he informed her as he moved back again. "I'd like to take you to dinner tomorrow. Someplace a little quieter than this," he grinned down at her.

"I'd like that," Kel admitted.

"Then I guess I haven't failed at all." He murmured and shifted the hand around her waist further around her back to tug her just a little closer. "Seventh bell tomorrow. I'll meet you by the palace gates," he pressed his lips against hers again.

They spoke for another few minutes before Kas gave her one last kiss and bid her goodnight. Kel stayed in the seat he had left her in as he left the tavern trying to gather her thoughts on what had happened. A man was actually romantically interested in her. It seemed impossible.

"Copper for your thoughts?" Dom's voice was next to her ear. She blushed and knew she failed to hide it as she turned to face Dom. The others were still at the table. Only he had come to talk to her.

"I'm just trying to wrap my head around whatever that just was," Kel informed Dom as he slipped in Kas' chair.

"That, Dear Keladry, was a man expressing interest in you," Dom flagged the barkeeper. "The Masbolle wine, two goblets."

"I gathered that," she informed him, "but I mean, it doesn't seem real."

"Did he seem not genuine in his interest in you? More interested in getting between your legs?" Dom turned his very blue eyes on her, his face serious. Kel knew all she had to do was say the word and Dom would hunt Kas down and hurt him for even thinking impure thoughts about her if she said it bothered her even slightly.

"No, he seemed very genuinely interested in me. It's just that, it's me. No man has ever," she swallowed hard, "I mean, I'm not the kind of woman men take an interest in."

Dom stared at her for a long moment and then glanced back over to her friends before looking back to her as the barkeeper set two goblets in front of them. "Kel, you are a very attractive woman. I doubt you've had a chance to notice with your training, and the war, and Blayce, and managing a refugee camp. And you've certainly got more going for you than the average woman." His cheeks flushed slightly as he raised the goblet to his lips. "Kas is a good man. I've spoken to him several times before and he was always more interested in weaseling stories about you out of my men and me than whatever we might have been conversing about."

"He's only interested in me because of that story isn't he," Kel sighed. It wasn't a common problem for her but she had noticed she was something of a curiosity now that the legend of the Protector of the Small had been flung to the far corners of the earth.

"No," Dom's hand found hers. "He's been asking for stories since before we went up to the border. I think he's been interested since you were a squire and he saw you the first time. I'm sure every time you've entered the Raven Armory he's made a point to stop his work to see you."

Kel frowned but not because she was unhappy. She was simply trying to think back to the times she had entered the Raven Armory, even recently. Had she noticed Kas at all? No, normally she wasn't alone in her shopping and she was paying mind to whoever she was with or the weapons before her. Her mind went back to the question she had asked Kas when he had mentioned the drink Dom had bought her. How long had he been watching her? Yet, it wasn't disturbing to know he had been paying her mind. She was more disheartened that she hadn't been aware.

"Like I said, if you want my opinion at all, he's a good man. Makes a damn fine sword too," Dom raised the goblet to his lips again and nodded to hers. "It's the same one from before and I doubt it will cause you a headache in the morning since it's only one."

Kel smiled at Dom. She had known for some time that he wasn't truly interested in her but that didn't change he was a wonderful friend to have. She raised her goblet to her lips and caught his smile.

"Dom," Kel turned to look fully at him again. "I don't think I've ever thanked you for treating me like being a woman isn't something insulting. You might be the only person that has ever done that consistently."

"Well, it's not something insulting, and I doubt I'll be alone in that for long with how Kas seemed to be keeping your attention all night," Dom winked at her. "Your friends aren't stupid, exactly, but they haven't done you any favors. If I hadn't held a few of them back tonight they likely would have done another disservice to you as well. When he went in for the kiss I had to remind them you were perfectly capable of taking a man Kas' size down even in a dress should you have not liked what he was doing." Dom glanced back to where her friends were still at the table. "Let's finish this drink and we can walk back up to the palace together. You can tell me all about Kas."

"It seems like you might know more about him than I do. I didn't realize he worked at the Raven Armory," Kel blushed. How much did she actually know about the man pursuing her?

"That, my Dear Keladry, is the beauty of courtship. You get to learn about the other person as you go. When did he request your beautiful company again?" Dom teased.

"Tomorrow evening," Kel smiled into her goblet when Dom grinned.

"He's serious about you then if he won't let you go a whole day," he informed her. "Finish that," he nodded to her goblet and she looked over to see his was already empty. "I'd like to do the honorable thing and walk you home since I am the one that got you down here."

Kel glanced up at Dom and wondered if perhaps he had known Kas would be at the tavern when he had recommended it to Neal. She knew she could ask him but she also knew Dom wouldn't give her that answer. And she found that even if he had been the one to set all of this up, she didn't mind.