They'd been in a lot of fights with the Scranan before, but this time Kel was hurt badly. Neal had been up on the battlements and had seen her fall. He immediately surrounded her with a magic shield, to keep the horses hooves from crushing her, and had stayed there until the fight ended a few minutes later. When Owen and Merric carried her in they brought her right to Neal. "She's unconscious, but she's doing okay." Merric said. Owen piped in. "And she isn't even hurt by the horses or stray swords. Peachblossom and you were keeping her safe." They left to fend the dead from Stormwings and left Neal alone with Kel. He set to work, fixing the worst wounds first, checking her stomach and legs for bleeding.

Even after a battle, she was beautiful. Her skin, unlike the court ladies, was dark brown from years of working in the sun and outside. Her hands were rough and callused, and her nails were torn and ragged. There was blood on her clothes and her hair stuck out from her head funny from all the sweat. But despite all of that, she still seemed beautiful to Neal. Not a physical beauty, but something that glowed from her heart.

He loved how she so effortlessly loved everyone. She helped all of the boys survive math, and she had gone up Balor's Needle to rescue Lalasa. Over the past eight years, she had proved her worth time and again, and every time, Neal felt a surge of pride for his friend, for everything she had done. He was just finishing up the work when Lalasa came in.

Pale-faced and nervous she hurried to where Kel laid. "Is she all right?" she asked. Neal nodded. "She should wake up in about 10 minutes. She'll be monstrously hungry when she wakes up. Can you get her some food?" Lalasa nodded and was gone quickly. Neal sat in the chair next to the bed. He stroked her hair gently, tracing the lines of her face. "You scared me Kel. I almost lost you out there. I would miss you very much if you left. I had a crush on you, your first year. I didn't think you liked me. I thought you like Roald. All girls do. So I just ignored the feeling for forever. But I still like you, maybe even love you."

Kel's eyes snapped open and she stared wide-eyed at him. "Are you okay?" Neal asked. Kel smiled a little. "I was having the craziest dream. You said you loved me." Neal looked down. "Oh, uh that wasn't a dream." He muttered. Kel looked closely at him "What?" He looked up. "It wasn't a dream. I said it just now. I really do love you." Kel smiled suddenly. "Really?" He nodded. "Honest. I do." Kel sat up and leaned forward, grabbing his hand. "She pulled him over and kissed him square on the mouth. "I love you too." She said sincerely. Neal smiled and clambered up next to her to hold her. "So what do we do now?" she asked curiously. He kissed her forehead. "You can fall back asleep. I am going to sit right here and enjoy holding you."