What Would Kel Do

Thirteenth Installment: Acting

This chapter is dedicated to Iggy's GF. It was a wonderful idea and I hope you like the chapter.

What Kel would do in certain scenarios- email me the situations if you can think of any or submit them in a review. Previously: Cleon walks in on Kel. This time: Neal is suggestive to Daine within Numair's earshot…

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Where on earth had Neal run off to? Kel wanted to know. How she wanted to tell him who her new knightmaster was! She strolled the halls, bursting with joy at the knowledge that she and she alone was the Giantkiller's new squire. She would be the one going riding with the third company of the king's own off to all the adventures. Finally she was a real squire! And about time- she had begun to think that she would never be chosen.

Kel shook her head a little at her joy- she could barely keep the smile off her face and wasn't sure she wanted it gone. Four years back in the Tortallian court had removed some of her Yamani reserve, although she could still be the 'lump' if she needed to be. Only one thing, or rather, person was now needed to make her happiness complete.

Neal.

Where was the boy anyways? He'd been missing all morning and she wanted to tell him her news before he went to talk to his father later that day. She tried to think back to what they'd been doing that morning before she went jousting and Lord Raoul had asked her to be his squire. Neal had been playing with Jump and bemoaning that he never got to see Daine anymore because Numair was such an 'old frump'. Then she had sent him to Daine's to let Jump have a checkup.

That was it! Of course, how on earth had she forgotten? A true Yamani never forgot anything. Well, she had been a little preoccupied after Raoul had asked her to be his squire…

The last thought set Kel off into another short bout of smiling broadly, before she called herself to attention once more and set off down the hall to find Neal. She had to tell him before she began packing- after all that was what friends did! Friends, hmmm? Asked her little rogue voice, Wouldn't you like it to be more than that? Kel promptly told the voice to shut up and began making her way to the floor in which Daine resided.

She climbed the last of the stairs with ease, remembering fondly the first time Neal had brought her to Daine. How little she'd been then! And there were many fewer people on the level back then- now more sounds came from behind the doors on either side of the hallway. It had also gotten substantially noisier, and there appeared to be a couple making quite some noise at the end of the hall.

She couldn't see who they were from the angle that she stood at, but they were talking quite loudly.

"Are you flirting with me?" came a loud angry feminine voice. The voice sounded very familiar to Kel but she couldn't quite place it.

"So what if I was?" came the male voice defiantly, "I've fancied you for years!"

Ye gods, Kel swore to herself… no! It couldn't be Neal, could it? She told herself the thought was ridiculous, but upon turning the corner, she saw the evidence which was unavoidable. It most definitely was Neal and Daine.

What on earth was she supposed to do? Kel shook her head at Neal's stupidity. How had that particular conversation started? She wasn't really sure she wanted to know… Neal had probably started spurting off bad poetry at Daine. No wonder Neal had been turned down!

Turning at the sound of footsteps, Kel saw Numair approaching with Owen a little a head of him. Oh gods, she thought, and watched as Numair slowly comprehended the situation his fiancée was involved in.

"Kel," came Owen's whisper, "this is all jolly funny, but you have to do something!"

Kel nodded. Neal could be hurt!

"But what?" she asked, afraid to show herself. It wasn't normal for her to turn to Owen for help in a situation, but Owen had sisters, so maybe he would know how to handle such a situation. She couldn't just let this go on.

Owen shrugged. He didn't appear to have too many ideas. "Pretend you're Neal's lover?" he asked jokingly, not expecting her to accept the idea.

Kel blanched, but then as she thought through it, she found herself liking the idea. She could show her feelings to Neal and he would think she was acting. Nothing would be ruined in the slightest. The Yamani approach would be to walk away, but Kel couldn't just stand by and let her best friend be killed. Besides, she was a Tortallian squire now!

Kel stepped forward into the light and Daine and Neal slowly looked away from their fight towards her.

"How could you?" Kel's face adopted a look of distaste and fury, as well as one of betrayal. The words had slipped out before she knew what she was about, but it was too late to go back now.

"How could I what?" Neal wanted to know, surprised at his normally calm friend's demeanor.

"Lie to me, that's what!" Kel shouted, now pretending to be even more furious. She took three long steps towards the pair and pulled them apart, letting Daine practically fall to the floor.

"Wh- what?" Neal stammered, unsure what exactly was going on.

"You say you love me, and then you go off and flirt with some other woman?" Kel demanded, rather enjoying herself now, once she was started. There was a certain sense of power that came with displaying feelings that were not her own, much like the sense of power she felt while donning her Yamani mask.

A slow comprehension dawned on Neal's face, and suddenly he was shriveling in terror. "I promise I won't do it again, my love," he said, back against the wall which she had pushed him up against.

My love… he had said. Kel savored the words before reminding herself that they did not mean anything. She pushed him harder against the wall, her face in his face, scowling furiously, but there was a little twinkle in her eye to let Neal know she was just kidding.

There was no such twinkle in Neal's eyes however. "How shall I ever repay you, my love?" he spoke again, his voice husky against her ear.

Kel could not speak. He was simply too close- she could not control the desire she had felt for months from springing to the surface…. And then…they were kissing like there was no tomorrow. Forgotten in the distance stood Daine, Numair, and Owen, staring agog at the spectacle. Dimly, out of the corner of her eye, Kel saw Daine and Numair retreat back into their rooms.

Suddenly Owen was right in their faces. "Show's over!" he said, "and if that wasn't the jolliest thing- you two are brilliant actors, and…" Owen trailed off when Neal shoved him with his free arm.

Neal and Kel weren't acting anymore.

I hope you all enjoyed this installment and many thanks to those who reviewed last time. If you were one of the first reviewers for that installment, I suggest you go back and re-read it as I changed it a little bit due to OOCness. Again, if you have any suggestions for future installments, do not hesitate to leave them in a review, and even if you can't think of anything for a future episode, I sincerely hope you will take the time to tell me what you think, even if it's only a one worder.

That being said, 200th reviewer gets cyber cookies AND cyber milk. So start REVIEWING!

Lady Mage