One afternoon after practice, Lalasa handed Kel an unsealed letter.
"Who's it from?" Kel asked, excitedly.
"Open the letter and see." Kel quickly skimmed to the bottom of the letter. It was from Alanna! The letter described how Alanna was doing, and asked Kel for a reply. "Just give the letter to Lasala, and she will be sure to give it back to me," Alanna had written. Kel got busy writing very quickly:
Dear Alanna,
Thank you so much for writing! I enjoyed finally meeting you and finding out why you hadn't talked to me before.
I've been having some guy problems, and I wonder if you would help. First, there's Neal. I've liked him for a long time. The day I saw you, when I got back, Cleon came over with something he'd made for my dog, Jump. We ended up talking, and then kissing. That's when I realized how cute and nice he is, and that I like him. Just then, Neal appeared in the doorway, explained that he figured out everything about you and Jon, and suspected that I wanted the same with Cleon. Then he explained that he always pictured himself with me, and left. I tried to follow, but Cleon held me back. I told Cleon to leave. I've been avoiding both of them, and I don't know what to do!
Sincerely,
Keladry
Kel folded up her letter and handed it to Lalasa. "I'll be back later, Kel" she said, and took Kel's letter and left the room.
Kel waited weeks for a reply from Alanna. She was finding it hard not to talk to Cleon and Neal, for they were her friends. She wondered what was taking the Lioness so long in writing back. One morning after breakfast, there was a sharp knock at her door.
"Come in," she said.
In came Lord Wydlon, her training master. In his hands he held a letter, It was not the one she had sent, but it looked similar to the first one she had received from Alanna. "I found this in the possession of your maid." Kel could now see that Lalasa was standing behind him, her eyes wide.
"I'm sorry Kel!" Lalasa exclaimed. "But I had to tell!"
"If people find out about this, Keladry, they will think Alanna magiced you so that you would succeed," said Lord Wyldon.
"Neal was with us the whole time! He has the Gift! He would know if she put any magic on me!"
Lord Wyldon thought for a moment. "Hmm. I suppose you may be right. But to be on the safe side, it would be best if we kept this quiet, and if you and Alanna did not converse via letters or any other means."
Kel sighed. It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but she supposed it was for the best. "Very well," she said. Lord Wyldon nodded, and left with the letter, which Kel had hoped he would let her read. This caused another problem. Lord Wyldon had certainty read the letter, and now knew her whole situation with Neal and Cleon! She collapsed on her bed and sighed. There was another nock at her door. "Come in," Kel muttered.
It was Neal. Kel sat up. Her heart didn't beat any faster, and her stomach didn't do any flip-flops. She didn't know what to think, and put on her Yamani face. The boy sat down next to her.
"Kel, I'm sorry," he said.
"Good," said Kel. "I've been so confused. And I've been avoiding both of you, because I don't know what to do. I don't really know exactly what I want. Damn, Neal. What should I do?"
Neal smiled. No flip-flops, no bells ringing, nothing. It was just Neal. Neal said, "Listen. I have something to say... and if it hurts you any I'm sorry. But I need to tell the truth. Cleon has liked you for a very long time. He told me about it. And, I have to say that I never thought of you the same way he did... or does. When I said what I did, it was because I was startled at what was going on between you and him, something I didn't think was ever going to happen. So I freaked, and tried to stop it the only way I knew how... by saying what I did. So if you thought it was real, I'm sorry. But Cleon, he's for real."
Kel nodded. "Thank you Neal, and I'm sorry I avoided you."
"Well, I'm sorry I got angry."
"Well, I'm sorry... I'm just sorry."
Neal and Kel exchanged a hug. And again, Kel didn't feel any more flip-flops. As they were hugging, Cleon walked into the room.
"Neal!" He exclaimed. "I thought you were... I thought you didn't..."
Neal and Kel moved to complete opposite sides of the bed. "We were only hugging. It doesn't mean anything, honest," Neal said. Kel nodded in agreement. Neal continued, "I just explained to her what had happened and we hugged, showing that we're friends again." Kel nodded again.
Cleon sat down in between them. He turned to Kel and smiled. Her stomach did flip-flops, her heart pounded, and she thought she heard bells ringing off in the distance. "Shall we continue where we left off, my sweet sugar cake?" he asked her.
Kel fell into his arms. "Neal, get out of here!" she exclaimed.