Thank you to all that reviewed. I am just wondering, though. Why do I have almost 2,500 hits but only 42 reviews. Please review! Once again, sorry that Kel was so OOC last chapter.

Hopefully this one has more action in it.

I am not Tamora Pierce and I don't own anything except the plot.

"What did you want to talk about," Kel asked, playing dumb. She had a slight suspicion that she knew what Yuki wanted but she didn't want to encourage her.

"What is going on between you and Dom?" Yuki asked bluntly. When Kel pulled on her Yamani mask and denied knowing what she was talking about, Yuki continued.

"I am not blind, you know. Something has changed between you and him since Lalasa and I talked to you about it. What happened?"

Kel was thrown off guard by Yuki's statement. Her friend had always been quietly calculating. She was a joy to be around but she was still a Yamani through and through.

Maybe Neal really was rubbing off on her. She couldn't come up with an appropriate lie and realized that she didn't want to.

Kel made Yuki promise not to tell anybody, especially not Neal. When she promised, Kel relaxed. She knew Yuki would never break a promise.

By the time Kel got through with her story, Yuki was grinning.

"You are in love, Keli," Yuki said simply, using her nickname for Kel from when they were younger.

Kel actually laughed at that. "No, I'm not. It's just lust, pure and simple. I haven't been with him long enough to fall in love with him."

"Who are you trying to convince?" Yuki asked.

Kel looked up startled. "I know this," she replied. "I was just telling you so that you wouldn't expect anything to come out of it. I spent so long working for my shield and I am not ready to settle down yet. Besides, Dom can't get married and remain in the Own."

Yuki stood up and nodded to Kel. "Anything that you say. I'm just wondering, though, Why are you thinking about marriage if it is just simple lust."

With that, she walked out of Kel's rooms, shutting the door behind her, leaving Kel to her thoughts.

Why was she thinking about marriage? They had been through a lot together, and had known each other for 5 years, but there was so much that she still didn't know about him. How could she be in love with him?

Kel spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in her rooms, thinking. She would randomly pace or change rooms, but she couldn't shut off her brain. Now she knew how Neal felt.

"I missed you at dinner," Dom said, letting himself into her rooms. "Yuki said that you would probably still be in here. What are you thinking about that is so important that you would miss dinner?"

Kel smiled and shook her head, grabbing the food Dom had brought for her. They sat in a companionable silence; Kel eating and Dom watching her eat.

"What?" she asked when she noticed him staring at her.

"Nothing. I was just awed by your beauty."

Kel laughed at his comment."The Players definitely lost what could be their greatest actors when you and Neal decided to fight for Tortall."

Dom winked at her. "Whatever you say."

Kel decided to let his remark go. They spoke of unserious matters for the rest of the time he was there. It was late when he stood up to leave. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back to her.

"Don't go," she whispered. "Stay with me again tonight."

She expected a joking comment about leaving his men alone too much, but Dom just grinned and kissed. She led him over to the bed and followed him down.


She was drifting off to sleep shortly after the midnight bell when she remembered the tea Neal had one of the mages make for her. She stood up, telling Dom that she would be right back, and went to make the tea.

She crawled back into his arms twenty minutes later and promptly went to sleep.

Dom woke a few hours later to something scratching his face painfully. When he opened his eyes, he saw Kel's sparrows. Half of the flock seemed to be attacking him, at least. When he sat up, they cleared off of him.

"What in Mithros's name?" Dom was cut short by Jump's bark. He rolled over and saw Kel convulsing next to him. Dom was awake instantly. He tried to wake her before checking her pulse.

He picked her up, noticing that she thankfully still had on his tunic and strode out of Kel's room as fast as his half-awake legs could go.

He ran to Neal's rooms, silently cursing every god he could think of. He was terrified for Kel and couldn't help but blame himself.

Yuki opened the door silently. She noticed Kel and paled, running back inside to get her husband.

Neal came to the door, bleary eyed and annoyed at being woken before dawn, especially by his cousin. He saw Kel convulsing and woke up fully. He didn't even notice that she was wearing Dom's tunic.

They carried Kel to the infirmary with a growing sense of déjà vu.

Neal began barking out orders, jerking the mage on duty awake. As Neal and the mage checked on Kel, Dom snuck out of the infirmary.

He was surprised that Meathead hadn't made some sarcastic observation about Kel wearing Dom's tunic, but he figured it was just a matter of time.

Dom returned to the barracks to change.

He knew that there would be a huge crowd around Kel the moment that news got out that she was in the infirmary again and he didn't need to give them more proof about his and Kel's relationship than they would already have.

Dom snuck in and out of the Own's barracks unnoticed and decided what to do next. His heart told him to return to Kel's side but he knew he would be in the way.

His head told him to return to his bed and sleep so that he could learn of Kel's condition with everyone else, but he didn't want to do that either. He knew what people would say when gossip leaked about Dom bringing Kel to the infirmary in the middle of the night and he knew he should be worried about it, but he wasn't/

He no longer cared if people knew they were sleeping together. He had been worried about ruining both of their reputations all day but that seemed childish now.

His gut told him to go to Raoul and that is what he did. He felt that the Knight Commander should know where Kel was.

Raoul answered his door not long after Dom knocked, expecting to be called to duty. Instead he saw his sergeant standing there looking sheepish.

He mumbled something and Raoul strained to hear what he said, still half asleep.

"What was that?" Raoul asked growing annoyed. "Why are you waking me up before dawn if we don't have a mission?"

Dom had thought going to Raoul would be the right thing to do, but all he could think about once he was there was that Raoul was going to kill when he put two and two together.

Raoul grew frustrated and began to shut the door when Dom blurted out,"Kel is in the infirmary again. I think she was poisoned. I thought you might want to know."

Raoul swore as he ran back into his rooms to change. Buri had heard the announcement and was already getting dressed. Buri promised to go get Alanna as Raoul and Dom hurried back to the infirmary.

About half-way there, Raoul stopped suddenly and turned on Dom.

"You slept with Kel?! Already?!" Raoul was outraged. His slow brain had just made the connection between Kel being taken to the infirmary at night and Dom being the one to tell him.

Dom looked down sheepishly. "Yes," he admitted. "But could you not skin me alive yet. Kel is still sick, no matter how I am involved."

Raoul glowered at his sergeant before turning and continuing to run to the infirmary.

When they arrived, they were denied admittance to see Kel.

"What?" roared Raoul. "I must have heard wrong."

The young mage, just out of school, quietly repeated himself. He was shaking in fear of the knight but the senior mage had ordered him to keep out any visitors.

Dom was outraged as well but he knew Neal was right. He pulled his Knight Commander away from the cowering mage and they waited in the hallway.

Alanna and Buri showed up, Alanna cursing colorfully the entire way.

Yuki arrived and told them that she had sent a messenger to go get Kel's parents. She asked if there was any news yet and grew quiet when they told her that there wasn't.

Buri noticed that her husband looked like he wanted to punch something so she tried to take the attention off of the lack of news.

"What happened, Dom?" Buri asked, drawing everyone's attention.

Alanna knew that Dom and Kel were involved and she immediately jerked to attention. She could guess why he had been the one to sound the alarm.

"Without graphic details, please," Raoul muttered, turning red.

Alanna grinned at her big friend, wondering how much he knew.

Dom told them about the day before, keeping the story PG.

"We could get Daine to ask the animals what they saw," Alanna interjected when Dom finished his shortened version.

Raoul immediately discounted the idea. He didn't think they saw anything except that Kel was in trouble.

"I actually don't think there was anything to see," replied Dom. "She wasn't bleeding or physically hurt. She was just convulsing and wouldn't wake up."

Dom had an idea and immediately sprinted to Kel's rooms leaving behind four puzzled adults.

He came back about four minutes later carrying the bag of leaves that he had seen Kel make her tea from earlier that night. He handed it to Alanna.

"Could it be poisoned?" Dom asked, not even breathing hard from his run. "Neal gave her that to help her heal faster and it was the only thing she ate that I didn't have any of."

"When did she drink it?" Alanna asked. She inspected it with her magic.

"Maybe two or three hours ago," Dom admitted sheepishly.

Raoul grew redder and began to mutter to himself. He didn't even want to think about what Kel and Dom were doing past midnight.

Alanna ignored Raoul. "The time frame would fit," she agreed.

She hissed under her breath and quickly redrew her hand.

"That is seriously poisoned. I was expecting a natural poison or something that wouldn't raise suspicion, but this is a powerful spell."

"Between her lessons, her time as my squire, and Neal, Kel knows most herbs by taste. They would have had a hard time getting her to drink something poisonous without her knowledge," Raoul said. No one could miss the pride that filled his voice.


Alanna stalked over to the infirmary and growled at the mage when he tried to keep her from entering the ward.

She physically moved him out of the way and threw the doors open with her magic.

Neal didn't even notice all of the commotion going on outside. He was too focused on his friend. He had given her a physical inspection and ruled out physical violence.

Neal suspected poison but couldn't find any in her system. He used his magic to search her entire system, finding no trace of any herbs except those in the tea he had given her.

Neal began to run out of ideas when Alanna forced her way in to the ward. He didn't notice her until she was right next to him.

He felt her magic fill Kel and was astonished as she went into Kel's head. He didn't know of any poison that would affect her brain.

He started to voice his opinion when Alanna shoved the tea at him.

"Somebody spelled some serious poison into that tea. I want to know who created it and who had access to the plants used in there. Now," she growled.

Neal checked the roster and found nothing helpful. Hugo of Fenrigh had been scheduled to work the day before, but Neal knew that he wasn't the mage that he had ordered to make the tea.

He had been friends with Hugo's older brother at the University and knew Hugo by sight. The mage he had asked to make the tea was young, blonde, and a woman.

He told Alanna what he had found and then rushed out. He was instantly mobbed by friends. Kel's parents had arrived and were looking disturbingly calm. He knew it was just from living in the Yamani Islands but it still unnerved him.

Everyone else was looking panicked. Alanna had not looked well when she rushed into the infirmary with the tea.

He quieted them down and told them that he had no news. He sent Dom to go to Hugo's rooms.

His cousin knew the palace as well as he did and looked as though he needed a distraction.

Just as Dom was leaving, Duke Baird rounded the corner. Dom greeted him with a relieved "Uncle" before continuing on hi mission.

The king had sent for Neal's father to return the day after Kel had gotten attacked. Duke Baird had already been on his way back to Corus when the messenger found him.

He had arrived late the night before and gone to bed. He figured he would see his son the next morning and check up on Kel but he didn't realize how early it would happen.

Neal was relieved to see his father. He would never admit it to anyone but he had missed his father. Duke Baird always made him feel safer. His father always had an uncanny ability of knowing exactly when he was needed.


Neal rushed him into the infirmary to help Alanna. The three worked on Kel for hours. The sun was well in the sky when they declared Kel safe.

The Duke was voted to be the one to tell everyone what had happened and he quietly accepted it. He wondered why Neal and Alanna were so reluctant to talk to Kel's friends and family.

Duke Baird found out why when he opened the door. He was met with a large crowd of worried, nervous, and angry friends.

During the hours that Kel had been in there, people had left to find everyone else that they thought should be there. Over the course of a few hours, more than 30 people had assembled out of the infirmary.

Buri and Raoul were still there as were Alanna, Dom, Yuki, and Ilane and Piers of Mindelan.

Shinko was there with Roald who had arrived back at the palace with Duke Baird. Dom's squad and Aiden's squad were there as were various other members of Third Company. They all knew Kel from her time as Raoul's squire.

Faleron of King's Reach and Owen of Jesslaw, two of Kel's friend from when they were pages, were there. They had been traveling with the prince and Duke Baird.

Daine was there as well. She wasn't needed as much in the north anymore and had been given, or rather ordered to take, a vacation.

He quieted everyone down and asked Dom where Hugo was. His son had told him what they had discovered as they worked on Kel.

Dom shifted under everyone's gazes and replied to his uncle. "He is asleep. He overused himself healing someone a few days back and asked someone else to take over his shift."

Neal started to interrupt him but Dom cut him off.

"Yes, I did ask who he asked to take over his shift. He had asked Jasson of Darroch but he was busy. The other mage promised to find someone to take over his shift. I went to Jasson's rooms and he said someone else volunteered for him. He doesn't know who just that she was young and blonde."

Neal sniffed haughtily and went to his wife.

Duke Bair told everyone what they had found. He was interrupted many times and was growing slightly irritated with the group. He could see why the other two mages had let him tell everyone.

"She is unconscious and will remain so for days to come. I don't know when she will wake up. That all depends on Kel," Duke Baird finished.

He left to return to his rooms as the crowd erupted in anger. He left his son to sort it out.

Tell me what you think. Please!!! I will try to updat soon.