"Daine." Alanna called out. The crew of the little ship suddenly had other things to be doing, as they usually did when Alanna sailed. If blooded knights thought The Lady Knight was scary in battle they had never seen a sea sick Lioness.

"Alanna." Daine calmly said as she carefully adjusted the baby she had been rocking to sleep.

"how long until we land?" the lioness demanded.

"another hour and we will be there. Relax." the Lioness went red at the order.

"Alanna, your scarring the poor men half to death. The sailors quake with fear. Calm down. Please the baby just got to sleep." the last sentence was practically begging from the powerful sorcerer.. Alanna took a deep breathe as Numair instructed.. George walked on deck whistling. Happy. He immediately assumed a solemn look as he took in his wife's steely gaze.

"come below with me dear." he put an arm around her and steered her below. Before he disappeared he turned and winked at Numair.

"that's a brave man." Numair said with a straight face to his wife. He smiled at her look. "here let me hold her so you can stretch." he smiled. "besides, we need some bonding time." his look was ecstatic as his daughter was placed in his arms. Daine turned and looked over the ocean. "I'm thinking of going for a swim." she announced. "It's not every day I get a moment."

"fine dear. What as?"

"I'll think of something." Mid dive she changed her body gracefully cutting the water. Numair sat and watched his wife play in the water. He held his daughter close, and watched the shore creep closer. His wife was waiting for him on the beach fully clothed as they got off. A single black crow sat on her shoulder watching as the other's came off. Alanna was off as soon as possible. The second her foot met dry round a smile spread across her face and she sighed deeply.

"Nawat." she greeted the crow with a nod. The city was celebrating. Aly had been a great part of their freedom and the city celebrated with her. Of course the people only knew her as their Queen's closest friend. Not as her Spymaster. The crow flew overheard on the way to the castle. As they entered the grand building he took off to a higher story window.

"Lady Alanna." the queen greeted them. "it's a pleasure." she had a worried cast to her expression. She kept looking over her shoulder.

"how is she?" Alanna asked.

"as much as I've been told everything I fine. The midwifes say we should have a new member of the household before nightfall. Come I will show you your rooms." she led the group through her palace. She had told her people the group where ambassadors. Come to see the kingdom. Alanna dressed as a serving maid with her bright hair tied under a clothe snuck into her daughters' rooms to a chorus of screaming. The baby took one lungful of oxygen and the howls could be heard for miles.

"she has healthy lungs." Alanna commented dryly to her pale daughter on the bed.

"someone go tell Nawat his daughter is healthy." Alanna ordered as she went to her own daughter.

"he is probably doing better than your father the first time we had a child. I was fair sure the help would all quit he was so frightful. Luckily they got him a little drunk and he calmed down enough to handle." she continued on telling her daughter the story of her father and his panic.

"are you ready to hold her?"

Aly held her daughter for the first time wile her proud mother stood looking on. The moment was wrecked only by Nawat bursting through he door. The Lady's who had been trying to keep them out sent sorry looks to Aly and quietly closed the door again. He walked slowly to his wife's side. Aly turned her daughter to look at her father.

"she's beautiful." he stated his voice barely a whisper.

"would you like to hold our daughter?" he formed his arms into a cradle and Aly gently set her daughter in them.

"just like her mother."

"very human." Alanna stated smiling at her family. She took the baby from Nawat who turned to Aly and took his wife in his arms.

"I love you." he whispered in her hair.

"I know."