Roald only took a few steps into the lady knight's room. He knew that what he was about to say would be painful, and there was no need to seem cruel by taking a seat at Kel's side and holding her hands as he broke the news.

He couldn't help but notice their linked hands, and Neal's warning weighed heavily in his mind. "If you cannot afford the risk of discovery, I will claim the child as my own and you will never see him."

At the time, Roald had only taken the words at face value, a threat that would protect Kel, mentally and emotionally, no matter the cost. It was only as he sat at her bedside, those twenty-two words echoing unendingly, that Roald heard the truth.

Neal was in love with Kel.

He probably had been a long time. Neal was fifteen when Kel arrived at the palace to begin training. The man was her sponsor and closest friend. She trusted him above all others.

Faced with that revelation, Roald could remember countless instances where Neal's green gaze had been focused on Kel. And where he once saw brotherly affection and comradery, he saw love that had been hidden away. Neal had acted nothing more than a friend and brother because that was what Kel needed from him, not the complicated mess that was love.

If Roald was honest, his fear that Neal would follow through was a driving force behind his decision to send his love away from the palace. Despite his most fervent wishes, there was simply no way he could be there for her throughout her pregnancy like a normal father, and Roald most definitely did not want Neal to take his place. Not when he knew the other man felt more for Kel than he showed.

In that vein, he owed Keladry and apology. Roald owed her a lot. He wondered if there would ever be a day where he did right by Keladry of Mindelan.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been here with you, Kel," he said sincerely. And he truly was. There was nowhere else the King would rather be.

Her response was calm. Neither her expression nor her voice betrayed the sense of utter sereneness she gave off. "I understand. You have more important duties. Besides, I don't need you to sit by my bed and whisper sweet nothings in my ear. I can take care of myself."

Roald almost flinched, completely missing the dark look their older friend shot him at Kel's last line. He knew she didn't mean it as an accusation, that he had once more chosen his kingdom and his crown over her, but it felt like one nonetheless. Unconsciously, his hands twisted before him.

"Kel, I wish to send you to Blue Harbor for a year. As you might remember, there are several merfolk colonies there. Currently, there have been disputes between the merfolk and the fishermen which Lord Deirdry has been unable to resolve. Diane is in Sinthya, or I would send her, but you have had some experience with Immortals, so you should be capable of reaching a compromise both parties will find acceptable."

The brunette stared at him throughout his explanation, the carefully neutral mask she wore never changed. The mission was a fake and everyone in the room knew it. There was no conflict between the citizens of Blue Harbor and the aquatic Immortals. They had been on good terms with the merfolk during the Royal Progess and that relationship hadn't changed since then.

Roald had carefully constructed the assignment so that Kel would be able to focus on just herself and the baby. Blue Harbor, one of the largest port cities in Tortall, was right on the Emerald Ocean and an excellent place to relax.

"Why do you want me to go, Roald? It's too early for Shinko and I to disappear from Court." Of course she had seen right through him. Kel could be rather dense when it came to emotions, but she was scarily brilliant when it came to planning, and packing her off to Blue Harbor wasn't supposed to happen for another two months at least.

Knowing that the truth, that he was concerned hiding a secret of such magnitude in the heart of Tortall was causing her an unhealthy amount of stress, would not be well received, Roald recalled an encounter he had had with one of the lords on his council.

"There are rumors that the child the Lady Knight carries is yours, Your Majesty," Lord Antony of Hannalof commented.

Roald failed to mask the shock on his face fast enough. It had only been two weeks, but Kel's condition was all anyone, servants, nobles, and pages alike, could talk about. Several conservatives claimed it was divine proof that women were not meant to be knights. The first Lady Knight they had rightfully acknowledged, and it had not been even three years after she was knighted and she was already with child. She must not have taken knighthood very seriously, they sniffed.

"I did not believe it to be true. By Mithros!" exclaimed Lord Antony.

"It is not," Roald ground out, hoping his tone came across as outrage and not denial. He wanted to sound offended, not guilty. "I have not betrayed my wife, the Queen."

Which was one hundred percent true. They had concocted this plan together, after she had returned to their chambers crying that Duke Baird had indeed pronounced her unable to bear children. It had been Shinko's plan at first, but she had convinced Roald of its necessity and he had followed through with her knowledge, consent, and encouragement.

Lord Antony blanched, his dark hair making his skin look more sallow than normal. "Your Majesty! I did not mean to suggest—"

"I would suggest you say no more, Lord Antony," the King cut across rigidly. The other man had bowed and scraped, apologizing profusely and promising to talk to those that believed the rumors to be true.

But the damage had been done. If rumors were already circulating the palace it was too late, really, to send Kel away. Doing so wouldn't quell them, but maybe it would make people doubt how much truth they held.

Roald hoped it would work a little like reverse psychology. Since the King would never send away the woman that carried his heir, illegitimate or otherwise, Kel's baby could not possibly be his.

"There are some who suspect the truth of the matter," Roald began cautiously, choosing his words with great care, "and seek to use that knowledge to dishonor you."

"To make me look like a slut," she said bluntly. Usually, he appreciated Kel's frankness, but this time it only served to fray his already frazzled nerves.

"Yes," he snapped, his tone more irritated than necessary. He regretted it instantly when Kel withdrew even further into herself, Yamani mask coming out in full. Of the four people involved in this deception (he was including Neal amongst their number because the older knight knew the babe was his and despite his threat had not shattered their scheme), Kel was the most innocent. She certainly didn't deserve to have his frustration directed at her.

"This would have happened eventually," he pointed out wearily. "At some point in the next two months you would have needed an excuse to leave Corus. Perhaps it is better that we do it now, before you become too entrenched in your position as a teacher."

"Right," agreed Kel hollowly. "When do I leave?"

"Tomorrow."

The sooner the better. It had only been two weeks since Duke Baird had confirmed Kel was pregnant and he had a palace full of servants and noblemen willing to believe that her child was his. Roald didn't want to know how several dozen people had reached that conclusion. His and Kel's relationship when they were both squires was his best kept secret. Cleon was the only other person she had been with and he was contently married to Ermelian of Aminar.

He knew there were two possibilities; either someone knew of his past dalliance with Kel, or worse, of his and Shinko's arrangement with the female knight.

Roald left quickly. There was no sense in hovering where he was clearly unwelcome. He imagined that Neal had been preparing to punch him a second time and that it was only Kel's immovable grip on his hand that prevented him from doing so.

He simply prayed to Mithros that Kel would not hate him for his decision. It was best for the both of them if she had the baby far away from the palace, and Blue Harbor, being one of the northern most fiefs, was as far away from Corus he could send her without crossing the Scanran border.

The second the door had closed behind her former flame, Kel threw herself into Neal's arms, sobbing wordlessly.

"It's not fair," she said hoarsely, after her tears had run dry.

"I know," Neal agreed. "I know. But maybe this is just what you need. You don't like being cooped up indoors," he gently teased, pleased to hear that it garnered a laugh. "A trip to Blue Harbor will do you good."

Her laughter subsided. "I wished he had consulted to me. Should I not get a say?"

Kel looked devastated. Neal felt his heart clench at the sight. His friend had worked twice as hard as any one of the boys in her year to earn her shield, yet Roald was treating her like a Court lady, making decisions for her.

He wanted to scream at Roald. It didn't matter that he had the power to order Kel to perform missions as the King. Roald wasn't sending Kel, a knight of his realm, to Blue Harbor. The whole assignment was a pretense to hide Kel where she could have the baby unnoticed.

"This will be good for you," he repeated. This time the words were a promise and not conciliatory.

"Don't make promises you cannot keep," Kel warned, voice dripping with undisguised bitterness.

"I'm not," swore Neal. "I'll be with you every step of the way. It'll be winter in Blue Harbor soon, and I'm sure they'll be very grateful to have a healer such as myself on hand when that infernal cold starts setting in."

Brown eyes glistened. "Thank you."

"What are friends for?"

Kel sat astride her large roan gelding. She was adamant. She would leave on Peachblossom or not at all. A carriage was not necessary. It was petty, but to her it meant that she was leaving on her own terms.

Not to mention that she wanted to ride while she was able, because the second her body began to swell, Neal would have her banned from the stables.

She swore to the healer that they would take the journey slow and that she would be extra cautious. Of what, she didn't know, but it soothed Neal to hear her promise and it wasn't anything she wouldn't have done anyway.

It was with a heavy heart that she commanded Peachblossom into a trot. Everything was changing so quickly. Just as she was settling into her routine and beginning to enjoy the life she had established at the palace, Roald had dismissed her.

Kel wasn't sure how many more upheavals she could stand.