A/N - Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Much appreciated. Especially:

Bluebell of Mindelan: Thanks for reading my stories. I'd like to read yours, but I haven't read the Magic Circle books.

Cami of Queenscove - Thank you so much! I totally forgot that Kel was only 10. I will definitely do something to fix that before any romance happens.

Keita - Thanks for the reviews! No, I don't hold your sniper remarks against you; they seem to have the whole nations' attention.

Lady Arabian Knight - Love the enthusiasm!

Thanks also to Hshuler888, The Dark Lady Adrienne, Free2Bme, Serenity, Squire Kali, Brightnight and Sunny. Glad you like it!

And now, to the story. Is Joren a year older than Kel or 2? It's 2 isn't it? I'll go check. Ok, if he was in his 3rd year when Kel started, he's 2 years older. Right? Well, tell me in you're reviews. For now, he's a squire and she's in her 4th year, for the sake of the story.

Ch.3

Kel sighed and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Joren should be doing this, not me, she thought as she cleaned the twentieth piece of armor. He was the one who had sent her on some wild goose chase errand, knowing she would be late for class. And you stupidly agreed! She reminded herself. As soon as the roads had thawed though, he would be away with his knight master again. Joren was now a squire, and she a 4th year page. How have I made it this far? She wondered. Joren had not seen fit to lay off the hazing, even after she was no longer a 1st year.

Of course, she hadn't put up with it without a fight, and the skirmishes became fewer and fewer, until Joren had finally left with his knight-master. But now he was back for Midwinter, his master unable to return north to the Scanran border until the roads cleared. She relished the time when he would be gone, unable to taunt and terrorize her a thousand miles away. She smiled to herself. And she had friends now. She was surprised to find that Joren was not the only person who would keep company with her. Several of the other pages invited her to join their study group. Neal of Queenscove, for one, proved to be an invaluable asset. Of course, they didn't know of Joren's continuing malice toward her. She supposed it was her damned pride that kept her from confessing her torment.

Pausing, she thought about Joren. Thinking back three years, she recalled the night she had asked Joren why he treated her the way he did, why he was so hateful. She could see clear as day the regretful look in his eyes as he watched a painful memory unfold in his mind. Even then, she had longed to know what he was seeing, to help him deal with it. Just when she thought she had broken through, he pulled away and distanced himself from her. Never again had she come so close to figuring out the boy who made her life miserable, and getting him to open up. But then, she had never asked him the same question. She'd worry about Joren later.

"Keladry!" a young male voice called. Then again, maybe not. Kel turned to see Joren, handsome as ever in his knight master's colors, striding toward her.

Kel sighed quietly. "What can I do for you, Squire Joren?" she asked politely.

"Look, Keladry…" How to say this? How could he possibly admit to her that he was truly sorry for the way he had treated her? How he admired he endurance through all the crap he had done to her? How his father had raised him to believe women were lesser than men? And that her questions had continually returned to haunt him on his bad days for three years?

"What, Joren?" she asked.

Joren recognized the look of weary resignation in her eyes. She wanted him to leave her alone. She would never understand, let alone believe him, if he told her the truth. No, better to keep his mouth shut. "Forget it. Enjoy your punishment work. You really should learn to be prompt to class," he sneered. A stab of remorse struck him as painfully as any dagger as he turned and quickly strode out of the room. The remorse was rapidly shoved away and replaced with assurances that he didn't have to explain himself to any stupid, feeble girl. So what, he'd treated her unfairly? She'd survived! She shouldn't have been here anyway! Even to Joren, these justifications were weak, no matter how he tried to believe them.

Kel! Oh, Gods Kel! The sky darkened to gray and the ground of the battlefield seemed to Joren completely covered with blood. He stood; paralyzed, watching the wild-eyed, insane enemy descend on the young woman. He could feel his feet under him moving, yet his body seemed unable to reach her. Even as he cried out a warning, he knew it was futile. The enemy's dull axe split into his defenseless victim. Suddenly, too late, Joren found himself able to near Kel. She lay lying on the soiled grass, her face and body a mess of blood and bone. He cradled her to him, two words echoing in his mind. Too late. Too late. Too late.

Joren gasped and sprung up in his bed. His sheets clung to his sweaty body, and the stillness of the air in the room seemed to choke him. Breathing hard, the images of his dream lingered in his mind. Kel's decapitated body, his own inability to save her, and most cruelly, the final thoughts. Too late. Surely, it had meant nothing? It could not be too late to salvage his relationship with Kel and admit the truth? Tomorrow, he decided tomorrow he would tell her. Absolutely. This time, he slept peacefully.

A/N - Short I know. Hehehehe. I already know what's going to happen next for once! And it's going to be good, I promise. Review if you want more!!! Otherwise, I might have to keep the next plot twist to myself.