Disclaimer: I own the plot, and the unnamed man that you will find in this story. That is ALL!

Stay with me, Mama!

Seven-year old Alianne of Pirate's Swoop walked into her mother and father's room. Her father was with one of his spies in his office getting a report. Her mother, however, was in the room, cleaning her sword.

"Mama?"

Alanna looked up from her work, and smiled. "Hello, Aly, come on in."

Aly walked over, and Alanna put her sword away, as if to make room for her only daughter.

"What can I do for you, Aly?"

"I want to spend the day with you, mama. You keep having to run off to defend the realm for Uncle Jonathan."

Alanna put Aly up on her lap. "You know, I would love to spend more time with you, your brothers, and your father." Alanna said. "But if Jon asks me to do something for the realm, I have to do it."

"But why?"

"Because I swore an oath, Aly." Alanna said. "I promised Jon that my life and my sword were at his command. I can't go back on my word."

Aly hung her head. But look up when she felt her mother gently shake her. "I don't have anything important to do now...what do you want to do?"

"Anything." Aly said. "I want to do anything."

"How about we go down to the beach? Just us girls?"

Aly nodded. Alanna helped her off her lap, and then the two of them walked outside. Just as they were outside the gates, a man arrived.

Aly guessed he was as common as her da. His clothes were worn, dirty, and patched up in several places.

"Lioness." the man said with a bow.

Aly froze. People only called her mother 'Lioness' when she was on the battlefield, fighting with Jon, or about to leave for a mission. Aly had a good idea of which it was.

"There are spindrens invading the village. The last count I got was twenty, but they were still coming out of the trees at that point...and they seem to have teamed up with a band of bandits...the men were riding on their backs, arrows at the ready."

Aly turned back as the guards opened the gate. There would be no beach trip this afternoon.

Alanna sighed, and looked at Aly. "I'm sorry, Aly. We'll go another time, I promise."

Aly tried to smile, and nodded.

Alanna turned back to the man. "I'll be right back. I just need to get into my chain-mail, and tell the housekeeper to keep an eye on the children."

The man nodded. Alanna headed to the house, with Aly behind her.

Alanna went to go find Maude right away. Aly followed behind her, meaning to go mope in her room. As she walked past her parent's room, she saw her mother's sword on the bed. Then, Aly got a great idea. If her mother couldn't find her sword, she wouldn't leave! Aly could still have the day with her mom. They couldn't go to the beach, not with spindrens on the loose, but she could still have a day with her mother!

Aly slowly walked into the room, and picked up the sword. She was surprised at how heavy it was. When her mother wielded it, she did so with the ease that made Aly believe it was feather-light. She quickly left the room, and ran to hers. She slipped the sword under her bed, where no one would look for it.

In a matter of minutes, Aly heard her mother cursing. She ran to the hallway. Her father was coming out of his office. Seven-year old Alan and nine-year old Thom raced inside the house. They had been playing tag.

"What is it, lass?" George asked.

"My sword, it's gone." Alanna said, anger laced into every syllable.

"Gone?" George asked. "What do you mean it's gone?"

"I mean it isn't in our room anymore, George." Alanna said. "I mean that I was cleaning it in our room, and it isn't where I left it."

"Are you sure you didn't move it?"

"I'm sure!" Alanna said. She turned to Aly "Did you see where I put my sword, Aly?"

George, Thom, Alan, and Alanna all looked at Aly.

"You put it on the bed, mama." Aly said. With her da right there, lying was not an option. Her da would smell a lie a mile away, and he was only about three feet away from Aly.

"I didn't put it anywhere except on the bed?"

"No."

"I went to go change clothes before the two of us left to go to the beach. Did you touch it?"

"No/" Aly said. "I left it alone while you got ready."

Alanna swore. "Where could it have gone?"

"Easy, lass, just take your axe and other weapons. I'll have the servants and children look for the sword while you're out." George said.

Alanna nodded. "Alright."

No! Aly thought No! No! No! No! No! Mama isn't supposed to leave without her sword! With her sword missing, she is suppose to send men-at-arms to handle the spindrens

After her mother left, Aly went to her room. Thom and Alan started helping the servants search the house from floor to ceiling. After her father was done with the spy, he too began looking.

It was about an hour later, when Aly heard horse hooves on stone outside in the courtyard. She raced outside. There was a man-at-arms helping her mother dismount. Aly noticed her mother was limping, and her leg was a bloody mess.

"Mama!" Aly screamed, and ran to her mom. George, Alan, Thom, Maude, and a few servants were at the entry in a matter of seconds.

"Lass, what happened?" George asked. He picked Alanna up in his arms, and carried her bridal style into the house.

"A bandit came up while I was fighting another, and slashed my leg." Alanna said. "My shield was able to hold off one attacker, but I usually block one side with my shield, and the other with my sword...did you find it?"

Aly was paler than a sheet. Her mother was hurt...it wouldn't have happened if she had had her sword...Aly had taken the sword...her mother wouldn't have been hurt if she hadn't taken her mother's sword!

"Not yet." George said. "We'll keep looking." George carried her into their room, and laid her down on the bed. Maude was at her side with a healer's bag. Aly ran out of the room in tears.

It's my fault. Aly thought as she cried into her pillow. It's all my fault that mama got hurt!

She heard a soft knock on her door. She looked up and saw her dad.

"What's wrong, Aly?" he asked, sitting down on the bed. "Your mama and I saw you run out in tears."

You'll be mad when you hear what I've done. Aly thought. "It's mama." she said quietly. "Oh, Aly." George said, sitting on the bed next to his daughter. "Your ma will be fine. The cut isn't too bad, and Maude will have her stitched up in a minute."

"That's not why I'm upset." Aly said. "I know mama isn't hurt badly."

"Then why?" George asked curiosity filling his eyes.

"Because it's my fault!" Aly said, looking at the ground.

"No it's not, lass." George said. "Bandits don't like people who get them arrested, is all. The bandit saw your ma, and knew he was in a lot of trouble, so he tried to hurt her to get out of trouble. But he's going to be in even more trouble now." He lifted Aly's chin to look at her. Aly saw his eyes widen, and she knew that he knew she was hiding something. "What is it lass?" he asked.

Aly broke away and looked at her feet again. George forced her to look up at him. He wasn't smiling anymore, he was frowning, and his eyes weren't filled with concern, but anger. "Why do you feel responsible, lass?"

"You're going to be really mad at me, da. So will mama."

"What did you do?" George asked.

Aly slid off the bed, and reached under her bed for the sword. She pulled it out, and showed it to her da. "I took it. If I hadn't taken it, mama would have been able to use it to protect herself, and would never have been hurt."

George was frowning at Aly. "Aly, you know better than to take things that aren't yours."

"I know da, but-"

"No 'buts', Aly." George said. "Now come with me. You are going to tell you ma all of this, and then you and I are going to have a long talk in my office, young lady."

Aly followed her da out of the room, and into her parents' room. Thom and Alan were sitting on the edge of the bed with their mother, who was wincing as Maude stitched her leg up.

"Alanna, Aly has something to tell you." George said.

Alanna looked at her daughter. "Yes, Aly?"

Aly looked at her father, hoping he wouldn't make her tell her mother what she had done. He frowned at her, a pointed to her mother.

"I found your sword." Aly said. She put the sword on the bed, and turned to leave, but George stopped her. "Tell her the whole story, Alianne."

Thom and Alan's eyes were wide. It wasn't uncommon for their mother to use Aly's full first name, but their father never used it!

"What did you do, Aly?" Thom asked.

Aly bit her lip. "Da, please don't make me tell!" Aly begged.

"Tell your mother where you found her sword, Alianne." George said.

Aly looked at her mother. "It was under my bed." she said.

"Under your bed?" Alanna asked, now she was frowning. "And how did it get there, Aly?"

Aly wanted to bolt from the room, but knew her dad wouldn't ever let her out. "Because I put it there." Aly said. With the truth came a fresh wave of hot tears. "I'm sorry mama! I thought if you couldn't find your sword, you wouldn't leave, and we could spend the day together still!"

"Alianne!" Maude said.

Alanna sat up in bed. "Alianne of Pirate's Swoop, I have never been more disappointed in you. Once Maude is done with my leg, you and I are going to have a long talk, young lady."

"I'm already ahead of you there, lass." George said. "Aly and I are on our way to my office to have a little chat right now, aren't we lass?"

Aly nodded slowly.

Alanna still frowned. "I still want a word with her, George. Wait until Maude is done with my leg, and then the three of us can chat together."

George nodded. Once Made finished stitching Alanna's leg, she, Alan, and Thom left. Alanna got off the bed to test her weight on her leg.

"Alianne, I told you I would make up our trip to the beach, didn't I?" Alanna asked as she walked around the room slowly.

Aly nodded. "Yes, ma."

"And you've been told not to touch my weapons, haven't you?"

Again Aly nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Aly, you are lucky the only thing that happened to your mother was a wound. She could have been killed." George said.

Aly gasped. If she had been the reason her mother was killed...she couldn't think about such a thing happening. She didn't want to think about that.

"I...I just wanted to be with mama!" Aly said, tears falling steadily down her cheeks. "I didn't mean for her to be hurt!"

"Well, she was hurt." George said. "And you took your mother's sword, when you know you aren't allowed to touch her weapons. That rule is for your protection as well. What if something had happened when you were taking it to your room, and you had been hurt?"

Aly was crying hard now. "I'm sorry!" she said. "I really, really am sorry!"

George sat down on the end of the bed. "I know you're sorry, Aly, but that doesn't get you out of trouble. Come over here."

Aly slowly walked over to her dad, and George lifted Aly over his knees and spanked her. When it was over, Aly was silently crying, accepting her punishment just as her mama always told her to. George pulled her into a tight hug. "Don't ever do anything to make me have to do that again, got it?"

"Got it." Aly mumbled into her father's shirt. George squeezed her one more time. "Now, I think you should stay in your room until supper, and think about why your mother and I have rules for this house."

"Okay." Aly said. "I love you, da."

"I love you too, Aly." he said.

Aly walked over to Alanna and gave her mother a hug. Alanna kissed the top of her daughter's head. "I promise, we will go down to the beach at some point, just the two of us."

"Okay." Aly said. "I love you, ma."

"I love you too, Aly." Alanna said. She gave Aly a light swat on her bottom. Aly yelped a little at any contact on her freshly spanked bottom. "Now go off to your room and think about what your father said." Aly slowly walked out of the room, and went to her room.