"Shit."
Alanna sat down on the pallet she called her own with a thud. This couldn't be happening. Not now, of all times.
But you want children, remember? Besides, you're married now. It's expected. Alanna could almost hear her familiar's voice with the slightly smug tone it carried when Faithful knew he was right.
"It's bandit season. By the Goddess, I'm on a bandit hunt right now!" She rubbed her temples. "Any other time but this!"
Slowly, her hand drifted to her belly, to the new life forming beneath its flat plane. "Ha!" she exclaimed softly. "George will just about explode from happiness!"
"Alanna!"
Alanna looked up to see Douglass of Veldine's head poking through the tent flap. "Yes, Douglass?"
"The scouts are back. There's a group of bandits camped in the hills six miles east of here. We're convening to go over strategy."
"Alright. I'll be along shortly."
Douglass left and Alanna once again looked down at her abdomen. Maybe… maybe this wouldn't be such a bad thing.
"A baby…Well, I suppose I have to be careful from now on."
~3 months later~
George looked up from his desk as he heard the trumpets sound from the gates. He grinned: his lady-love was back. He ambled down the stairs of his castle (His castle! Who'd have thought?) as his wife dismounted from her aging mare's back. His brow creased. Did she gain some weight?
The former Rogue's hazel eyes met the Lioness's purple. His face lit up as he jogged the rest of the distance between them.
Sweeping her up into a hug, he whispered in her ear, "Welcome home, lass."
He released her.
"I'm pregnant," she blurted.
George's heart stopped as he processed what his wife just said.
"I'm about three and a half months along," she added.
Suddenly, George crushed his lips against Alanna's as he lifted her into the air with a twirl. Setting her down, he rested his forehead against hers.
"Pregnant?" he breathed, wide smile on his face.
"Pregnant." Alanna was smiling, too.
With only a devilish glint in his eyes as an indication, George once again scooped Alanna up.
"George! What in the name of the Mother are you doing? Put me down! I'm pregnant, not crippled!"
At this outburst, the courtyard fell silent. George paid it no mind as he carried Alanna across the threshold of the Swoop, also ignoring the cacophony cheers that rose from the spectators.
This was cause for a celebration. And by the gods, there would be one.