Disclaimer: N.W.W.I.P.T.W.M.W.I.I? T.K.I.S, I.D.O, M.L.D

Yay! I finally wrote enough chapters so that in the chapter dropdown menu, it has a pretty little scroll bar! -cheers-

This might very well be the last chapter, and then I'll write a pretty authors note, and then that's it. I haven't started writing at the time of this note, so I'm not sure. It's shaping up so that this is the last though. I hope everyone enjoyed! I'll save my weeping and bemoaning for the authors note, I think, and get on with the reviews, which I have gotten over sixty of, by the way.

Wizard116: Not 'poor Lan' for too long more, I assure you. If I have my way, there shall be a large love fest at the end. 'Course, there may not be sequels, I'm not positive. There probably will be, though.

Breezefire: Lol, thanks. I update too fast? -Herald pretends to be offended- As to why it has to end, well, firstly, I have another story that I want to start after this one is done, and secondly, I feel like there were a lot of things I could have done better with this story, so I'd like to finish this as best as I can and try again. As far as sequels go, it'll probably be one one-shot with Risa, and maybe a story about Meral if I manage to think of a workable plot. Besides, after the plot is resolved, it'd only be me rambling on about Kel running around the Collegium. I'll probably end up with a few nice one shots about the further adventures of Meral, Kel and Risa in the end. Yeah, or something like that.

Tenshi: She will soon, don't worry.

Lurks in Shadows: Yes, yes, never fear, the update has arrived

PrettyKittyOreo: Yes, you WILL have to read my next story –evil laugh- Lol. Yeah, well, like I said, no promises, but maybe a sequel.

There. Once again, thank you for all the wonderful, wonderful reviewage and commenting and suchlike. I really, really, really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart and soul.

Now, let's move on to the chapter. –Sniff- I can't believe I'm saying this for the last time. Well, there will be other stories, but this was my first, and so, so special to me. Anyway, WAY too much weepiness, so, ON TO THE STORY, one last time!

Chapter 13: Bondings

Kel drummed her fingers on the head of her small cot in Healers. She had asked to see the Healer in charge of her case to see if she could spring herself free from the House of Healing. Lovely as it was, the Healer had said she could be out by today, and Kel had no desire to linger any longer than she had to.

Presently, the door opened and the Healer walked in. Her mouth creased in a pleasant smile when she saw Kel sitting up. Without Kel even opening her mouth, the Healer knew what she was about.

"Ready to be up and out of here, I see?" She asked, still smiling.

"Oh YES!" Kel exclaimed. She was not used to being long abed, and she was ready to commit anything short of murder to escape from her captivity.

"Let me just check you over one more time." The Healer's eyes glazed over slightly as she deep probed to check on Kel's head injury. "Looks good to me. I'd say you're ready to be free of us."

The Healer smiled at Kel's thinly concealed glee, then sobered.

"Youngling, remember what I told you, alright? Whoever they are, find them, or it will drive one of you mad." She said. 'And it will probably be the hoofed half.'

She added silently to herself.

"Yes, I will." Kel said uncomfortably. The whole notion of her being Lifebonded to some stranger somewhere gave her the chills. She stood up to walk out the door as fast as she could when she realized something.

"What did you do with my clothes?" She asked the Healer.

"Oh, sent them back to the Collegium to be mended, I believe."

"Well what am I supposed to wear? I can hardly go out like this!" Kel said, gesturing to the green nightgown that the Healers had loaned her.

"Well," Kel sighed to herself. "What's the point in having an odd Gift if it never does me any good?"

Kel envisioned her room, exactly as it would be that moment, a pile of newly mended Grays on her bed to replace the ones that she had put out in the laundry that week. She concentrated very hard on how much she wanted those clothes.

The Healer, knowing better than to interrupt someone who was obviously in a trance and using a Gift, sat silently on the side of the bed, waiting to see what would happen.

Presently, a set of student Grays could be seen winging its way across the Collegium grounds, still perfectly folded. The Trainees it passed showed no signs of alarm, since they were used to Kel's Gift. Indeed, some of them were smiling, assuming that Kel being strong enough to throw bundles of clothing around meant that she was nearly recovered.

The Healer saw the bundle coming towards the room, and, since Kel appeared to have neglected to do so, she had the presence of mind to open the window an instant before the clothes would have collided with it.

Kel smiled at her, looking a bit pale from the exertion so soon after being injured, but otherwise quite all right. She stood up, gesturing towards the door as politely as she could. "Thanks for taking care of me and all. I really appreciate it."

Being a Healer as long as she had, the Healer was quite adept at reading body language and cues. She took the hint and left, wishing Kel well.

As soon as Kel heard her footsteps recede down the hallway, she quickly dressed and left Healers as fast as was humanly possible.

She ran back to her room to collect her books. The Healer had said that there was no good reason why Kel couldn't resume her classes right away, and she didn't want to miss too much.

:Heyla, Lan!: She Sent, reaching out for the familiar contact.

:Chosen, you're better! Feeling good?: Even through his outward happiness, Kel could feel something like despair rippling down their bond.

:Yup, all better, dearest!: She said reassuringly, in case Lan's sadness was only worry for her well-being.

Suddenly, though, before she could inquire further, a wave of tiredness washed over her, leaving in its wake complete lethargy.

'Probably the injury combined with Gift usage.' Kel thought to herself. 'I'll just lie down and rest for a minute, and then I'll go to class.'

Kel flopped backwards onto her bed, still fully clothed. Her eyes felt heavier that all the Companions in the Field combined. She would just close them for a minute, she decided, and then she would surely go to her classes.

A few minutes later, or so it seemed to Kel, she opened her eyes to the sound of the waking bell ringing loudly through her head. Kel woke up swiftly and looked around. Yes, it was indeed morning. A gutter obscenity rose to the top of Kel's mind. At the same time, hunger rose to the top of her stomach. Hunger won out. Kel threw off her clothes, put on a robe and headed for a bath.

On her way downstairs, Kel pondered what the Healer had said to her. It did not occur to her to doubt it. A Healer would not lie about something like that, concerning something she had Seen with her powers. That was an absurd concept.

Kel had been to Healers before, most notably for that stomach virus she had picked up just before coming to the Collegium, and they had never mentioned anything about a Lifebond, even the Gifted ones.

'Hmm.' Kel thought to herself. 'Just before coming to the Collegium. It must be someone here, then. Who have I met?'

Kel began to combine a mental list of all the people she was close enough to at the Collegium that a Lifebond would be a possibility. Meral, Risa, Lan and Tera. She had many friends, of course, but those were the closest.

One thing Kel knew for sure was that she wasn't shaych. Not that she had a problem with people who were, but she had never had a feeling like that towards another female. That left Lan and Meral.

'Could you even BE Lifebonded to your Companion?' Kel thought. She had never heard of that happening. Could it be Meral, then? Kel had been sure that she liked Meral as only a friend. She had never had so much as a twinge of jealousy towards Risa for her on again, off again relationship with Meral.

A Lifebond with Meral seemed as unlikely as any of the other possibilities, but Kel supposed it was one of the only possibilities left.

As soon as Kel got to breakfast, she stood on her tiptoes until she spotted the flash of dark blue that always meant Meral to her. She focused on him.

:Meral, love?:

:Kel, you're back!: He showered her with his affection through their link.

:Yup, back and whole!: Kel said with a mental smile, before turning serious. :Meral, can you meet me out in the hallway? I want to talk to you alone.:

Kel could feel confusion radiating from Meral like a visible cloud, but after all these moons, he had learned to trust her, so he agreed.

Shortly after, they were together in an empty hallway. Wasting no time, Kel immediately informed Meral of everything the Healer had said to her.

"You're the only male I know that well, but for Lan. I didn't think it a possibility, but I'm just not sure." Kel ended helplessly.

"Well, let's figure it out." Meral said, logical as always. Suddenly, he grabbed her by the hands and pressed his lips softly to hers.

"What did you feel?" He asked her.

"Umm. Shock, surprise, it was a little nice, I guess." Kel admitted blushing.

"Nothing special, like, oh, I don't know, love?"

"Only as a friend."

"Then you have your answer, Kel. It isn't me."

"Well who IS it? Now that I know that there IS someone, I think I'll go mad if I don't find out who!"

"Are you sure you aren't shaych? Nobody here would mind if you were, and it would give you a lot more possibilities."

"No! Of everything I know for sure, one of the surest is that I am most definitely not shaych."

"Who else is there, then?" Meral asked.

"The only other person here I have ever felt connected to is Lan, but that can't be. Heralds can't be Lifebonded to their Companions, can they?"

Meral considered this for a while. "It does not happen usually, but there have been cases. One case, to be precise. Herald Lavan Firestorm and his Companion Kalira."

At the sound of those names, Kel felt an electric shock race through her that she could not quite identify. She attributed it to being so close to the answer.

"So you think it could be Lan, then?" The more Kel thought about it, the more sense it seemed to make. "That would explain why he got so angry when he thought I was in love with you, and when we kissed the first time. Why he was so sad when I didn't react right off to the Healer saying that I was Lifebonded. Heckfire! That would explain why he fainted when I got knocked out the other day! Meral, you're a genius!"

"So you think that's it, then?"

"It could be. I'll have to talk to Lan after classes, see what he says."

"Go now, loveling. I'll tell our teacher you still felt a bit sick."

"I don't know, Meral, I've missed a lot already."

"I'll lend you my notes." Meral bribed. He was one of the best note takers Kel knew, and she was always begging to borrow his notes for tests and such.

"Oh alright, then! Thanks, dear." Kel's desire to see the mystery solved won out over her need to go to class, and she raced off to the Field without stopping for breakfast. As soon as she got there, she spotted Lan, waiting as though he had been expecting her to show up.

:Morning, love.: She said, hugging him tightly. :Can we talk somewhere?:

:Sure, Chosen.: Lan said, without any hint of surprise. He took her to a grove, almost like an island in its seclusion.

:Lan, there's something I have to ask you. Are we, I mean, could we be, I mean, I think there's a chance that.: Kel floundered for the right words and finally gave up. She opened her mind completely to Laran and allowed him to read everything that she had learned over the past few days.

:Lan, tell me the truth. Are we Lifebonded?:

:Yes, we are.: Lan said simply.

"What? How could you keep this from me all year?" Kel yelled, amazed at his calm affirmation. Of all the things he could have said, she hadn't expected that one.

:I couldn't tell you. Those are the rules. You had to figure it out.:

Kel ignored that cryptic comment, as the true meaning of being Lifebonded to a being shaped like a horse was finally kicking in.

:You mean I can never, you know?: Kel said, blushing but needing to know.

:No, Chosen. Well, you could, but it would probably never mean more to you than the pleasures of the moment, and even those would not be that satisfying.:

"I hate you, horse! How could you do this to me?" Kel screamed, really meaning the old joke. "I could have had it all! A husband, children, a happily ever after, all except for you!"

Kel had to admit to herself that she had never really wanted those things, but to realize that they were forever out of her reach was immeasurably depressing.

Suddenly, all of Kel's years of always being the odd one out, never being like her friends and playmates, never really having anyone, caused her barriers to come tumbling down. She collapsed sobbing into Lan's soft flank.

He nuzzled her gently and with the utmost love. :But, my Chosen, you will always have me. I love you, and I will never leave you.:

He looked into her eyes, and it was like the moment of her Choosing all over again. She dropped the last of her barriers, merging with Lan in an ecstatic meld of sharing and togetherness. Now, truly, there would never again be alone-ness for either of them.

:Yes.: Kel Spoke, answering Lan's love with all of her soul. :I will always have you.: