A/N: Hey guys! I'm baaaaack!!! Didja miss me? Well….seeing as I've only been gone a week without updating…I suppose….it could have been worse…right? Right? *looks shamefacedly at her audience* Oh dear. I'm sorry. I had school…bad excuse, I know…but…its true…I had no time to write a new chapter. Please forgive me? Maybe the fact that I've finally updated and you have a new chapter to read will redeem myself in your eyes. ^__^ Right?

Alright. Down to business: not only have I got yet another chapter of IMFAI up the humble penguin asks you to kindly read my other work of insanity, (which, incidentally, is the reason why I didn't get this chapter out sooner) called Harry Potter and the Twilight Zone. It's a cross-over between Harry Potter and Tamora Pierce, involving only the characters, not the setting. Just do me a huge favor and read it and tell me if it's worth continuing, ok? Thanks muchly. Oh yeah, and thank you soooo much for all the reviews! I was hoping for maybe eight…or nine…but fourteen….wow. I feel so loved!

…and now….on with the show!

Disclaimer: as usual, I own nothing. The only character imagined up by this humble penguin is Darryn…everybody else belongs to the wonderful, creative, Tamora Pierce….so don't sue me and deprive the poor penguin of her igloo, which is all she owns, ok? ^__^

A/N: oh yeah, one more thing, before I forget and confuse you all horribly…the formatting is the same as the last chapter…italics are Kel's diary, bold is flashbacks, bold italics are Kel's thoughts within a flashback, and regular print is…well…what it looks like…regular. Enjoy!

May 8, 461

Hmmmmm. This Darryn fellow certainly seems interesting. I kept running into him all day.

The day dawned bright and sunny. A perfect day for getting my archery skills back, Kel thought on her way back from a very early breakfast. She changed quickly into comfortable clothes and headed to the outdoor practice courts. Selecting a bow, she strung it, and hopped toward one of the targets, limbering up and getting ready to shot. To her immense surprise, there was already someone there. In the shadows at the far end of the practice courts, a tall man shot arrow after arrow straight to the center of the target. With an air of satisfaction, he walked to collect his arrows and exited the court, leaving Kel with her jaw hanging in shock.

Was that…Darryn? How strange. What happened to the quiet, composed stranger from dinner last night? Well...he was still quiet…he didn't even say hello to me…but then, maybe he didn't see me. And…he was certainly composed…I suppose…so confident. I haven't seen someone that good at archery in a while. And he didn't seem to put any effort into it at all. How odd.

Still thinking about the mysterious blonde man, Kel swung her bow up and let her first arrow fly, then another and another till her quiver was empty. Startled when no arrow met her seeking hand, she looked down and realized that she had already used up all of her arrows. Sighing, she walked to the target to retrieve them and grimaced. Not one of her arrows had pierced the center. Frustrated, she yanked the offending shafts from the ring and marched back to her bow. Banishing all thoughts off Darryn from her mind, she raised the bow again and gritted her teeth.

This time, concentrate, Kel! she ordered herself, and loosed the arrow again.

An hour later, she trudged up the hill to the Palace, satisfied at last with her performance. Its amazing what two short weeks of no fighting can do to your skills. She thought pensively. Or maybe it was just my lack of concentration. After all, I'm not really sore or anything…

After I got in from practicing my archery, I visited with Neal and Yuki, passing Darryn in the hallway on the way there. We got caught up on all that has happened since Neal left New Hope. Then, we all went to the practice courts where Yuki and I started teaching Tobe how to use a glaive. Neal just sat and watched and smiled smugly at us until Yuki got fed up with him and challenged him to a sparring match. The look on his face was priceless. His smirk vanished and he announced that he'd just remembered that he'd promised to go and see his father. Neal nearly ran, he walked so fast out the door. It was a long time before the three of us had calmed down enough to continue with our practice.

After I had a quick bite for lunch, I decided to go down into the city to visit Lalasa. It was such a nice day that I resolved not to ride Peachblossom. So, I slipped out the gates and walked. My day was going really well, and then I had to go and bump into him…

Kel walked through the city toward Lalasa's with a bounce in her step. Suddenly, she spotted the same tall blonde figure from the archery court that morning strolling toward her. He smiled and introduced himself as Darryn of Tyra. Kel smiled politely and bowed back at him, saying that it was good to meet him but she had an appointment and had to go. Bowing again, she walked quickly on toward Lalasa's. Darryn was puzzled by this reaction, but waved it away and continued up the hill to the Palace.

There is something seriously wrong with me. I'm so tired of being lonely, but whenever I'm around guys, even guys that I've known for a long time, who I like and respect, the wall goes up and I get all defensive. They have hurt me before and I'm not about to give them a second chance. So I hide behind my Yamani mask and turn to stone whenever I'm around them…especially ones that I'm attracted to…

Kel stared at the page she had just finished while silent, bitter tears streaked down her face.

Sometimes I really hate myself.

A/N: *sigh* well…that's chapter five done. Sorry it's so short. I'm trying to make them longer…really I am….its just….when I write them out in my note book…they're five and six or even seven pages long…and then I type them and suddenly they're only two and a half or three if I'm really lucky.

That was depressing. I really hate to make her sound so…depressed…but she is. I'm sorry. Could you tell…I was listening to Les Miserables while I was writing this…and that was a pretty depressing story itself! Oh well…tell me what you thought of this part….and please do read my other sad attempt at a story. ^__^ Review!!!!

~ Erm the Penguin ~