Sir Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau, the King's Champion, growled angrily as she swung her sword above her head in a beautiful arc, bringing it crashing down into her opponent's sword. Suddenly, she dropped the sword, rushed from the room, and into the closest privy. A wave of nausea had hit her each morning for the past week, just as it had then. Her instincts and Gift told her something she didn't really know what to think of: she was pregnant—two months and eight days pregnant, to be exact. Cursing loudly, she screeched, "Get me George!"
In an instant, her husband of three years, George Cooper of Pirate's Swoop, former King of the Rogue, stood beside her. "Alanna," he whispered, putting his arms around her. "What is it?" He felt his heart rise, hope bubbling up in him as she spoke. "I-I'm… I'm pregnant," she murmured into his shoulder. "What if…what if I'm not a good mother? What if I get killed in a war and can't raise our baby? What if —"
"What if you just calm down, lass? Stress isn't going to help the little one! We'll just take this one thing at a time!"
Four months later, Alanna relaxed against a tree, her hand resting on her swollen abdomen. "So, even a child cannot slow the great Lioness," Raoul, a friend of Alanna's from her training days, said. With a grin, the Lioness retorted, "Never!"
"So, Sir Alanna, what are you and George going to name the little one?"
"Thom—for my brother—if it's a boy; Eleni if it's a girl."
"And to think, we're stuck at an inn, on a mission, and you could have that child any day," George grumbled as the sun set. He cast an anxious glance at his wife, who was glaring back at him, her violet eyes narrowed. "Your point is?"
Suddenly she gasped; George was at her side in an instant. "George…I-I'm having the baby!" she squeaked as contractions made their appearance.
Four long hours later, George handed Alanna a little baby, wrapped in his shirt. "He's got your hair," he whispered to his wife, kissing her sweat-soaked hair. She grinned weakly, turning to the fiery-haired bundle as it blinked up at her, its eyes bright. "Hello, little Thom." She kissed his forehead, and his little hand touched her cheek.
I do not own Alanna, George, Raoul, Thom, or any other names mentioned. They belong to Tamora Pierce, author of the Song of the Lioness and Immortals books on which this is based.