A/N: Um hello there.. I'm.. back? I guess? It's been forever, I know, but I do have a good excuse and I apologize for being gone for so long. It's just that I moved to Florida and got a job at Disney World and that's kept me hopping 24/7 for the last two years. Last night, however, I had this little idea niggling at me and at first it was going to just be a drabble but it morphed into more of a one-shot and took a new direction I didn't expect from it. So, without further ado, Knee Deep.

She found him standing knee deep in snow, a quiver over one shoulder and a target peppered with arrows in the yard in front of him. Frowning confusedly, Kel made her way through the cold, wet snow to stand next to him.

"Neal, what in the world are you doing?" She asked, watching as he drew an arrow back and loosed: slightly to the left of the bullseye. His cheeks were flushed, she noticed, eyes a bit crazed. But, that was Neal.

"Hiding." He replied in that annoying drawl that made her want to hit him, his eyes skittering sideways to study her face for the briefest of moments before another arrow was on his bow and loosed. He was way off.

She sighed and tucked her hands into her coat pockets, admiring the empty training yard sparkling with fresh snow. "Who are you hiding from?" She asked patiently, watching her fellow squire wade through the snow to collect the arrows from the target, shoving them by the handful into his quiver.

As he waded back he shrugged, turning to sight, draw, loose.

"Nealan of Queenscove!" The call came from quite a ways away and all she could do was take the quiver and bow as he dropped onto his stomach in the clearing of snow, rolling so he wasn't visible from the direction the call came from.

All Kel could do was stare confusedly at him, until the call came again from directly behind her and she turned. Snapping violet met dreamer's hazel as Alanna the Lioness stood bundled up in what looked to Kel to be at least six layers of clothing, only the tiny round of her face visible.

"Ah, Squire Keladry." She called across the field, eyes sweeping around the seemingly empty field before settling again on Kel. "Have you seen my squire? He's not in his room."

Kel prayed her blank face would stay put as she bowed to the Lioness before shaking her head. "No, Lady Knight, I haven't seen him since lunch." Gods curse Nealan of Queenscove, she thought, he was a terrible friend and she couldn't believe she was lying to her hero. For the tall, green eyed, lanky healer-player of a best friend, no less.

With a frown Alanna nodded, eyes sweeping once again across the training yard before she smiled half-heartedly at Kel. "If you see the insufferable dolt, tell him I'm looking for him. Thank you Squire Keladry, Midwinter's Luck." She turned and walked away, heading for the warmth of the palace.

Kel turned on her heel and dropped the bow and quiver into the snow as Neal unfolded himself from where he lay in the snow, smiling. "Thanks." he said with a cheeky grin, brushing snow off of his clothes and using his gift to warm his bright red nose.

Kel just stared at him, not quite understanding why exactly her friend was lying to his knight-mistress."What-"

He cut her off with a wave of his hand, moving to scoop up the bow and quiver from where Kel had dropped them. "She doesn't like the snow." He said with a cheerful, lopsided grin to his best friend. "I like to hide in the snow when she wants to torture me. Tonight she was planning a comprehensive study of herbs and poultices. Again."

He started towards the shed that held the archery stuff, and she followed him, still staring at the back of his head. As he put everything away, placing bow and quiver in proper spots, furling the bow string to put in the drawer, he chattered about how much Alanna hated the snow.

As he turned to leave the shed, wading through the snow towards the palace she made a command decision and launched herself at his back, a handful of snow coming up and around to be shoved down the front of his heavy winter coat. He yelped, heading face first into a drift of fresh powder, Kel landing next to him.

Desperately, they scrambled for handfuls of snow to shove down the backs of coats, into faces and ears and up sleeves, shouts and yelps coming from both squires, peals of laughter ringing from their lips as they tussled in the snow. It was the combination of fatigue, icy fingertips and sopping clothes that pulled Neal away first. He stood and reached out to pull Kel to her feet, both squires still cheerful. He offered her an arm, which she took, and placed his free hand on the one looped through his, sending a pulse of emerald magic through her arm to warm fingertips, toes and the nose all bitten by the snow.

She didn't comment, walking contentedly beside her friend as they made their way into the palace. Shedding outer layers, they talked quietly, bundling wet outer layers to be taken for cleaning and talking quietly. They were on their way to first Kel's then Neal's rooms when a sharp voice stopped both in their tracks.

"Oh, excellent, Squire Keladry." Alanna drawled, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, a big dark Roul next to her, eyes amused. "You've found my wayward squire and brought him to me."

Neal took a deep breath, shoved his pile of clothes and a handkerchief into her hands and bowed to his knight-mistress who grabbed him by his ear and started to tow him away.

"Wait, what's the handkerchief for?" Kel called after them, watching Neal hunched over as Alanna lead him away.

"Wear it over your heart, fair Kel, in remembrance of my life and of my untimely death." He called back dramatically before yelping at Alanna as she yanked him down a bit more.

Kel turned to look at her knight master, her face confused, his amused. "Interesting friend you've got there." He told Kel, taking half the pile of soggy clothing from her. "I hope Alanna lets him live.. It would be a shame to lose a good knight healer because he tried to hide from her."

She stared at him and then shoved the hanky in her pocket and follow the big knight down the hall.

All she had wanted was to borrow that book about classical battle tactics.

Why did this always happen around Neal?