It wasn't until after that evening's meal - fortunately, no feast had been planned for that evening - that a maid fetched Kel, Neal, and Yuki to the Council chamber once again. A chair had been placed against the wall opposite the door, in which Quinden was seated, scowling, flanked by two of the King's guardsmen. Numair and Sato sat opposite the King, both looking rather tired and strained, while the others filed in and took seats around the round oak table. They were joined this time by Daine, who gave Kel a friendly grin as she took her seat, and the King's prime minister, Gareth the Younger, his face serious.

"They only just finished working out the spells on the sheet," Raoul told Kel, sitting down beside her. "How's the knee?"

"Not worth all the fuss," Kel said, half-glaring at Neal, who shrugged.

"I didn't tell him!"

Raoul patted her on the shoulder. "Sorry I missed the fight. Alanna told me it was worth the watch."

Before she could respond, King Jonathan rapped on the table to call them to order. "Numair, Sato, what have you discovered?"

Sato stood, and bowed formally to the King. "Your Majesty, the spell is Tyran, as we suspected. We have been able to isolate the spell's signature, so that we could follow the path along which the object had been carried. With the aid of Veralidaine we were able to track it some way out of the palace. However, in the snow, the trail was lost several streets away. We believe, however, that the mage must still be in Corus. It is unlikely that they are aware that their plan has been discovered - although if this one" - she gestured to Quinden - "does not return to them for the next object, they will soon guess."

King Jonathan nodded. "Thank you for your efforts." He turned to Quinden, his expression hardening. "Then you will tell us who we are hunting for."

Quinden glared at the King. "I will tell you nothing."

"You are a traitor to Tortall," the King said, his voice soft and dangerous. "Take this opportunity to redeem yourself, and perhaps you may escape execution."

Quinden let out a short bark of a laugh. "You are the traitor, to all that Tortall has always stood for - you and your half-breed son!"

Kel could see the anger on the King's face, and was both surprised and impressed by how well he held it in - his control was almost Yamani, she thought approvingly. He turned back to the group gathered at the table. "Are we agreed that extraordinary measures may be taken, to ensure the safety of Tortall?" he asked, eyes resting first on Alanna, and then on Gareth. The Lioness looked troubled, but nodded, as did Gareth. King Jonathan gave a short nod in return, and turned back to Quinden. "You will be subjected to a truth spell. I give you one last chance to speak without it."

"A truth spell will do nothing if I refuse to speak," Quinden said stubbornly, although Kel could see the uncertainty on his face.

"I think you will find that it will," the King said, calmly, his tone hard, and let loose the blue fire of his magic. Quinden stiffened and groaned as it engulfed him. "Now, tell me, who are you working for?"

Quinden spluttered, clearly trying to resist the spell, but to no avail. "Senator Ballas," he gasped.

"The Tyran finance minister," Queen Thayet said. "But what could Tyra possibly hope to gain by an attack on Tortall?"

Quinden responded to the question, seemingly unable to stop himself. "If Tortall turns barren, Tyra will become rich, supplying them with food."

The King's tone turned harder. Kel realized that he was trying to prevent himself from bellowing. "And what do you, a knight of Tortall, stand to gain from this?"

Quinden stared at the King, hatred in his eyes. "Marti's Hill is on the Tyran border. It will be unaffected. The rot will be spread when the Prince and Princess begin their Progress, in the spring." Shinko and Roald glanced at each other, Shinko's eyes wide and Roald's face pale with horror. Quinden continued. "I will marry the senator's daughter, and be granted land in Tyra. Marti's Hill will become a grand fief."

The King looked at the blond knight with disgust. "So you serve your own greed over your promises to the realm, and to your sovereign. You deserve the fate that will befall you now. Tell us where we may find the mage, so we can end your treacherous plot for good."

Quinden was pale now, slumped back in his seat, the mutinous look fading from his face. It seemed as if he had finally realized what he had done. "His name is Andreadis. Kristof Andreadis. He's staying at an inn near the harbour. The Red Lion."

The King looked up, at Raoul. "Take a squad of the Own," he commanded. "Numair, go with him. Bring in the mage, as quickly as you can." He turned back to the guards, still stood sharply to attention either side of Quinden's slumped form. "Take him back to his cell. He can wait for his trial."

Kel watched as her yearmate was led away. After he had left, she glanced at Neal. His face was pale, lacking his usual cynical glint. He caught her eye, and shook his head sadly. Yuki looked at them both and gave them a small smile. Kel knew that they all shared the same thought. I never imagined it would be one of us.

It took the capture of the mage, in the early hours of the morning, and the realization that Shinko and Tortall were, for now, safe again, for Kel's mood to lift. By the next evening's feast, when Owen greeted her with a grin and Neal with a sarcastic remark, she felt a pang of happiness to be with her friends that she hadn't felt properly in days. The room was abuzz with gossip about the thwarted threat to the Princess - it seemed that the news had leaked. Kel ignored it, and relaxed into conversation and jokes with her friends. Still, after dinner, the sound of her name being called out by the King made her jump, and feel uncomfortably like another unpleasant surprise was coming her way. At Yuki's gesturing, she stood awkwardly, feeling the eyes of the room on her as she walked to the King's table and bowed deeply.

"Lady Knight Keladry," King Jonathan said formally, standing to greet her, along with Queen Thayet. "We wish to recognize, and thank you for, your service to Tortall. You fought for Us for three years in the Scanran War, commanding at New Hope. Since your return to Corus, you have once again done your utmost to protect Our royal heirs, and to prevent disaster befalling the Realm."

Kel felt a blush rise in her cheeks, and struggled to force it away. "Thank you, sire, but I was just doing what I needed to, as a knight of the realm."

The King, however, had not finished, and ignored her. "You have been given the title Protector by others," he continued, and Kel heard the murmurs and whispers in the hall increase. She knew where he had heard the title - the Chamber had repeated its name for her when she had entered with the King and Roald - but the only others who had ever heard that name were Merric, Owen, and Neal, who had gone with her to Rathaussak. I had hoped not to have to be reminded of that silly title, she thought, embarrassed.

"I hereby name you Protector of the Realm," the King went on, and Kel thought her face could not get any redder. The hall erupted in cheers, and Kel stammered out her thanks, bowed again, and hurriedly took her seat, wanting nothing more than to sink into the floor. Fortunately, the King had other thanks and honours to bestow, this being the last night of the Midwinter festivities, and so the attention of most of the room was soon on others, among them the Yamani mage, Sato.

Neal and Owen, however, paid that no attention.

"How jolly, Kel!" Owen said, his cheeks pink with pleasure for her.

"A Protector and a Lioness!" Neal drawled teasingly. "Our future lady knights have a lot to live up to!"

Kel went to elbow him in the ribs, but the last bit made her stop. "Wait, what? Future lady knights?"

"Didn't you know?" Owen said. "Two girls are pages now. Have been for a while, actually - since just before my knighting."

"No, I didn't know!" Kel replied. "Two of them? Are you sure?"

Owen nodded, and Kel let a pleased grin spread across her face. Two female pages! Who would be female squires, and female knights! She raised her cup of juice to Owen and Neal.

"For two female pages, you can give me whatever silly names you want," she said, feeling suddenly giddy.

"I'll hold you to that," Neal threatened with a grin.

The next day held one last surprise for Kel. She had gone to her parents' house for the day, taking along Tobe, hoping to have a nice, ordinary time with her family after the drama of the past few days. That evening, as she returned to the palace, she decided to stop in to the stables to give Peachblossom and Hoshi some attention.

"Hello, boy," she said softly, letting Peachblossom give her an affectionate nip. She dug in her pocket for an apple for him, leaning over to give one to Hoshi as well.

"A little bird told me I might find you here."

Raoul leaned on the gate of Hoshi's stall. Beside him, Nari fluttered down and landed on the gate.

Kel quirked an eyebrow at him. "Oh, I see," she said, amused. "An actual little bird."

Nari chirped, and Kel pulled out a paper package from a pouch in her belt, tipping out some raisins into her hand for the sparrows.

Raoul grinned at her. "Protector of the Realm, eh?" he said, with a glint in his eye. "Quite a title!"

Kel groaned. "Don't remind me," she said. "Can we just forget about it? I'd much rather just be Kel."

"Want to get as far away from Corus as possible now?" Raoul joked.

Kel laughed. "I'd rather be fighting Scanrans," she said, only half joking.

"Well, how about if I told you that you're now Commander of the King's Own in the North?" Raoul asked, still grinning.

Kel stared at him. "I'd say you were drunk," she replied without thinking, then shut her mouth, and opened it again. "And there is no 'King's Own in the North.'"

"There is now," Raoul said. "Three companies. And they're under your overall command. You'll take one of them most of the time, of course, like I take the First."

Kel forgot all her Yamani training, and gaped at him. "Wait, what? You're actually serious."

"Of course I am," Raoul replied. "We need your command skills, Kel. Since the war ended, I've been saying that the border is still too big to properly secure without an increased mobile presence from the Own and the Riders - and the King has finally agreed with me. So we're creating three new companies of the Own. I'll still be in command of the Own as a whole, and you'll officially answer to me, but to be honest, most of the time it'll be up to you."

Kel was at a loss for words. "But I've barely been a knight for three years!"

Raoul looked serious for a moment. "And in that time you've fought a war, commanded a fort, and protected Tortall from dangerous magery besides," he said. "It won't be easy, but you're the only person I trust to be able to do what needs to be done, and command well at the same time. You know how to take tough decisions, Kel. People respect your authority. And you keep a cool head under pressure."

Kel barely knew how to respond to the litany of praise from her former knight master. "Thank you," she said, ducking her head as her cheeks reddened. "Then... I accept."

Raoul grinned again. "Excellent! You'll have Owen and Merric under you as commanders of the Fifth and Sixth, by the way. The Fourth'll be yours. Oh, and New Hope will make an excellent base for your command. We're sending Neal back with you, too, as secondary commander of the fort and chief healer for your companies."

As the shock wore off, Kel felt excitement, mingled with anticipation, begin to bubble inside her. To be commander of three companies of the King's Own! Never had she imagined she would be granted such a position - even after Rathaussak. To have her friends with her, people she would trust her life to after three years together, and to return to the Northern borders and New Hope, a place that felt like home - it was a dream of the best kind. "Have you told them yet? Owen and Merric and Neal?"

Raoul grinned. "I thought we could go and do that together, Lady Knight Commander," he said, gesturing towards the stable door.

Kel mock-glared at him. "Enough with the titles!"

As they walked through the yard towards the palace doors, Raoul gave Kel more details of the work ahead of her. "... I've given you thirty men from each of my companies, so we'll both have to do some serious recruiting," he told her. "But you'll need to promote sergeants, too, as soon as you can." He paused, and grinned.

"What?" Kel said, curiously.

"You'll have one already, though," Raoul said. "Dom volunteered to join your company."

Kel felt her stomach flip-flop, remembering Dom's smile. The future looked bright - maybe in more ways than one.