The next night Kel was wandering through the courtyard again, looking for the bush that concealed Neal. Or at least she looked for the bush that would conceal Neal, for he was probably late again. She glanced around to make sure that no one else was watching before darting into the bushes where Neal had told her to meet him.
"Ouch! Kel, you're on my foot."
Kel giggled and responded, "Sorry Neal." She tried to brush a branch out of her face, but ended up hitting something warm with her elbow.
"That was my ribs!" Neal complained. Kel giggled even harder than before.
"Well Mr. Smarty-Pants, I guess that the inside of a bush is not the best place to spend your time," Kel retaliated, "I was all for hiding in the abandoned shed over there, but you were too afraid of all the mice in it."
"Mice can be dangerous, you know," Neal defended.
"If you're a grasshopper." Kel snorted. "I however, am perfectly confident that I am bigger than a mouse, and therefore I am not afraid."
"Kel, perhaps we should be quiet. I don't believe that the Talking Shrub is the most common plant in Tortall."
Kel smiled and moved towards Neal. "I agree," she said, placing her arms on Neal's shoulders, "This is the perfect time to be quiet."
Neal smiled in response and lowered his face to hers. His lips brushed against hers, and a tingling sensation ran down Kel's spine. She found herself pulling Neal closer, deepening the kiss. His lips felt warm and full of passion as they enveloped hers. Her head was spinning and she felt as if she was falling. By the time she realized that she was falling, and that it was not just a sensation of passion, she had braced herself to hit the ground. However, it was not the cold and hard ground that she hit, but Neal's strong arms. He pulled Kel to her feet, welcoming her back with a kiss, which was well received.
The couple was enjoying themselves so entirely that they did not hear the scuffle of footsteps behind them. "Kel? Is that you?" the sound of Owen's incredulous voice behind them caused Neal and Kel to jump apart. "Wow Kel, I never would have thought…" Owen's voice trailed off out of astonishment.
"Neal!" Kel whispered, "What are we going to do? We can't have Owen knowing."
"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of this," Neal responded. Kel instantly felt bad for Owen, knowing what Neal had in mind. Neal, having the powers of a mage, was able to knock Owen out. "Now when he wakes up he'll just assume this all was a dream. Problem solved."
"Not quite Neal. If he wakes up here, he'll know something's up. We have to get him into bed. Can't you magic him there?"
"Umm…I probably could have, but that was before I used all my magic to knock him out. We're going to have to drag him." At this, Kel grimaced out of disgust. "Hey Kel," Neal joked, "At least he weighs less than you!" Kel promptly smacked Neal for this remark.
"Let's just start carrying him, Neal. I want to get to bed." As Neal went to pick up Owen's head, Kel told him, "I'll carry his head. Knowing you, you'll drop him, and then we'll have even a bigger problem on our hands."
As Kel and Neal were carrying Owen inside, Neal remarked, "So you don't want to spend the entire night with me? What does your bed have that mine doesn't? Or if you prefer, I could come to you."
Kel smacked Neal for this as well, who began to rub his arm. "Why are you so violent all the time? That hurt," he complained. But Neal leaned over to Kel, touched his lips to hers once more and then whispered into her ear, "And that's okay." He gave Kel one last smile and slipped away. Kel wandered towards her room, dreaming about the days where she and Neal would no longer have to sneak around.
A/N: This is slightly shorter than normal, but I think it kind of speaks for itself ;) All that's remaining is the epilogue, so we're almost done here! (Although the epilogue might take a bit of time because I don't completely know what I want to do with it- it needs to be special.)
I extend my extreme thanks to all of my readers and those who hae supported me through this story- one of my first- by reviewing. Please review! We're almost there, guys!