Quick A/N: I would like to credit my friend Robynn (defiantarogoddess on tumblr) for burdening me with the idea. She and I are bouncing ideas off of each other, and trying to get a feel for the story. Please let me know what you think! I own no one or nothing in the world of Tamora Pierce.

The morning was only just beginning for some folks, but for Owen of Jesslaw, he was already off to a great start. He was accompanying the King's Own for their trip back to Corus after dispatching a rowdy band of bandits that were hassling a town. Owen was already on his way to Corus with his daughter in tow. Next year, he would be enrolling her to study for her knight hood, and he couldn't even be more excited about the process. He knew it was what Jessamine had aspired to be after meeting Lady Kelady for the first time.

Because of the nature of their trip was also to spend more time together before she was committed to studies next year, Owen insisted that they take the chance in the early morning to walk together and get a chance to wake up. He took the chance to study his daughter as sunlight was trying to peek over the tall trees of the forest. Though she was young, he could tell she took more of her mother's build. A soft, and cherub face with deep set dimples every time she smiled. Even though Jessamine tried to tie her hair back into a braid, curls of smoky black fell into her hazel eyes. She hummed happily to herself, enjoying the cool morning air.

"You said that the creek was not far from here, father?"

"Not far at all now Jess. Just a quick little trip off the beaten path and we'll be there in no time."

She nodded and kept up the pace Owen had set. He was excited to show her the creek, he knew how attracted she was to any water sources. It was something about the calmness of rushing water that always set her mind at ease. They quickly stumbled upon a creek that was nearly over flowing the banks. Owen couldn't help but watch his daughter's face lighten up as she trotted closer to the steam to investigate.

Owen took a seat on a nearby stump to watch Jess look for rocks worthy to skip across the surface. She continued humming to herself, and Owen started to catch himself singing along with the words. He stopped for a minute when he recognized the words to the song and scowled.

"Which unruly soldier exposed you to such a song my dear?"

The young girl continued collecting her stones and turned to smile at her dad reassuringly.

"I can't seem to remember which one it was father. It's too catchy for me to forget, I'm afraid."

"Well never mind that then. Show me the stones you have picked."

Jessamine is quick to skip across some of the bigger rocks, much to her father's concern and show him her collection. Stones of various sizes and colors sat damp in her palm. Owen takes careful time examining the stones, making sure they had a flat side for her to skip. He picked a few out for himself and encouraged her to go back and try skipping them. Soon as her hand was empty, Jess was back to picking out more worthy stones before she presented them again to Owen.

As she wandered back closely to Owen, the young girl freezes in her tracks and she drops her stones. Owen quickly follows her gaze and jumps to his feet. He made sure to place himself between Jess and the danger of five armed men. He was quick to size them up to get a better understanding of the situation. They looked like bandits, as they were not heavily armored, and bore only swords. Instinctively, Owen pushed Jess far behind him and nearly close to the creek again. If she needed to run away, she could at least get over the creek in a mannerly time assuming no one took chase.

"You will want to rethink this boys." Owen threatened, his eyes never moving from the bandits in front of him, and wondering what the best course of action would be. "There is a company of soldiers not too far from here."

"Then we'll make this quick."

The larger of the men stepped forward, his sword in both hands raised high and ready to swing. Owen was quick to push his daughter farther away from him as he could. As the sword came down, Owen rolled out of range as his hands went for his belt. Instead of coming up with a sword, he came up with a horn and blasted the three cries of help. The bandit managed to recover from missing the knight and turned to take him on again. The other bandits are quick to jump to action after Owen sounded the call. He didn't have enough time to draw his sword before a bandit delivered a swift kick to the Owen's stomach. The other's joined quickly in kicking and punching her downed father; Jess didn't think twice about it, and pulled her sling from her belt. She found one of the sharpest of rocks and was quick to aim and fire. She watched with satisfaction that the rock bounced off the back of one of the bandit's head. Before he could turn, she was armed again with another decent sized rock, and she waited for the perfect moment. This time, the rock hit him square in the nose, and he howled with pain. That got everyone's attention. The wounded bandit holds his now bleeding nose and glares at the small girl.

"You chit. You're going to pay for that."

Three of them broke away from the group that was beating her father, who struggled to get to his feet when he heard Jessamine in trouble, but a strong boot kept him pinned to the ground. With a roar, Owen mustered as much strength that he could, and punched his captor in the back of the knee. Another cry of pain as the bandit crumpled to the ground to nurse his injury. Owen jumped to his feet and drew his sword. Now that he was a threat again, the remaining bandits turned their attention back to him. As hurt as Owen was, he went on the offense and struck out to the nearest bandit with the sword in his hand. Jess watched in awe as her father fought hard against the bandit, the clashing of metal filled the silence. But the moment did not last as long as the bandits flanked him from all sides, and one sliced the back of his knees. Owen cried out in pain and fell to his knees, the red color from his cheeks drained quickly and his eyes fixed on Jess. They were hard, and determined, as if she could read his mind; Owen of Jesslaw was not going to go down without a fight. He held his sword in a defensive manner and tried to block the attacks that came, but they were relentless. Jess could only watch in horror as one held his sword high, ready to for the kill while the others kept Owen busy.

"Father!"

Just as the blade pierced his chest, cries filled the forest, and trained soldiers were suddenly upon the bandits. Jess began to run for her fallen father, but she was quickly cut off by tall horse legs. She stopped to look up at the rider and recognized Sargent Domitan of Masbolle. Without waiting another second, he leaned down in his saddle and scooped her up. She struggled to break free of him, but her eyes landed on Owen's body. She instantly froze and did not register the tears that threatened her eyes.

"Jessamine, we do not need to linger here any longer."

"You have to help him Sir Dom." She whispered and tried to push away from the soldier again. Dom wrapped a secured arm around the struggling girl, and kicked his horse away from the skirmish. Jess held tightly onto Dom's arm, not because she was afraid of falling from his war horse, but because it was the only thing that kept her anchored from snapping

Dom spoke some words to her, but she did not hear them. Jess kept her focus on holding him tight and trying to not think the worst. The leaves and branches flew fast past her face as the sound of battle faded quickly and a horn call went to camp. It was one that she had recognized as victory.

"But was it really?"

Dom did not stop until they were in front of his tent. A young man, maybe in his twenties, reached Dom first and held his horse.

"Jess you need to let go of my arm so we can get you inside okay?"

She could only nod her head and obey his request. With trembling hands, Jess released his arm and slid out of the saddle. As soon as her feet hit the ground, the rest of her body began to tremble as she fought those damnable tears back. Without saying another word to anyone, Dom guided Jess to his tent and sat her down on his bed. Dom knelt in front of the small girl and studied her face carefully.

"Jessamine, I want you to stay here in my tent for now, okay?"

She finally made eye contact with Dom and shook her head. He could feel his heart drop when he saw the dead look in her eyes. The Sargent was unsure of what to do, as he was not experienced with consoling children. Instead, he put a gentle hand on her head.

"Someone is going to be checking in on you in a moment, okay? Do you need anything?"

She did not meet his eyes, and remained silent, only to shake her head again. Jess feared if she spoke, everything would come spilling at once. As reluctant as he was, Dom forced himself to step out of his tent to greet the soldiers that rode back from the creek. He desperately prayed to the Gods that Owen survived his wounds, but he saw the blade fall and the blood spilt on the rocks. His fears were confirmed when the soldiers emerged from the forest, carrying the still body of Owen on their shoulders.

The ride back to Corus was quiet for Jessamine. She sat in the saddle of her father's warhorse, Sunny, and barely gripped the reins as she was comfortable with the idea that the horse didn't need to be directed. Instead, her eyes remained on the horse in front of her. Dom made sure she rode between him and a captain, whose name she had already forgotten. The company kept pressing forward, and did not make any more delays. From what Jess understood, Dom would be rallying a few volunteers to escort Jessamine home after the honors were presented to her and she could gather her father's belongings; a task she did not think she was ready for.