Alan woke at dawn and went down to the practice courts. He began to exercise with his sword. Swordplay always helped him to relax, he thought it had something to do with the fact that he had been watching his mother do it as long as he could remember. He did it now so he could contemplate his new job. Obviously, his real duty was to protect Jasson, Lianne, and Liam. Roald was a knight and already under as much protection as the king could give him him without suffocating him. Kalasin was Carthak's responsibility- no longer an heir to the throne of Tortall. Jasson he would just stay close to, try to be there when he was in danger. They were both knights and best friends, so that wasn't the tricky part. Liam was a page and would be all right as long as he was a page- the only issue would be makng sure his knightmaster didn't take him into danger. 'I'll talk to Raoul or my mother about it.' Alan thought. 'Or I could take him myself.' The idea occuring to him suddenly. He pushed it aside to consider the real problem.

"Annie… Annie, Annie, Annie… how am I going to protect you…" he murmured.

"Talking to yourself, brother dear?" Alan spun around to see Thom propped up on a pillar.

"I'm cracking under the pressure." Alan began to clean his sword, waiting for the returning wisecrack.

"That wasn't completely untrue." Thom said, grin fading "What's worrying you, Alan?" Alan considered spinning a story about the pressures of being a knight, or even telling Thom anout his feelings for Lianne, but then he remembered all the times Thom had woken him from nightmares, stuck up for him when Aly took advantage of his compliant nature, comforted him when he was anxious about their mother in battle. He decided to tell the truth.

"The King made me the Knight Protector last night." He said sliding down the pillar to sit.

"Goddess, Alan. What an honor. Keeping it quiet until he can think of an excuse?" Alan nodded, glad for once that Thom was a so sharp. Thom whistled and sat down next to Alan. "Well, I can see why he did it. You're always watching out for them anyway. You might as well have the authority to do it right. That was brilliant last night, by the way." Alan smiled faintly.

"How am I going to protect her, Thom? And without anyone knowing I'm doing it?" Thom looked at Alan sharply, and Alan realized he'd said her, not them. He tried to cover.

"I… I…"

"Don't bother. I've known for ages anyway. To answer your question, I think you need to do two things. You need to go to the King and get him to promise to let you see the minutes of the council meetings, in case theres information in them that will help you. If you were officially knight protector you would have access to that anyway, because you would be equal in rank to the King's champion- or just below. You also need to find out who you can tell. It would be really helpful to have Grandfather and Raoul know, for example."

"What's the second thing?"

"You need to tell Annie how you feel." Alan stiffened.

"No, I don't, Thom. That's not part of the job." He said angrily.

"No, that was a bit of sage advice from big brother to little brother. Seriously, Alan, I'm no expert, but I think you'd be happier if you did." He patted Alan's shoulder. "Think about, at least?"

"Yeah, I will." Alan said, agreeing almost autimatically, he was so accustomed to not arguing. "Thanks, Thom. I'll go to the King now."

"Any time, little brother." Thom grinned and got up.

"You could stop calling me that, now that I'm bigger then you." Alan grumbled.

"Never!" Thom laughed as he walked away. Alan sighed and got up. He sheathed his sword and headed towards the King's study when he got there he was surprised to see that the King was the only one there.

"Reconsidering your post already, Alan?" The King asked cheerfully.

"I need to see council minutes and all other information I would have access to if my post was public. And I need to know who I can tell- ask for assistance." Alan sat down in the chair opposite the King and hid his shock at his audacity. 'You are an adult. A knight with a very important position. You are not out of line.' He told himself. He looked up at the King, who was beaming.

"I knew you were ready for this job. Well done, Alan, I didn't expect you to settle in so quickly. I will have the council minutes given to you after every meeting, and you can tell people at your discretion. You do not need to get my approval for any measures you decide to take. You are the Knight Protector in full capacity, we're just keeping it quiet." Alan nodded.

"Thank you sire. Would you please tell me everything that's happening with Lianne and the Sarens?" The king sighed.

"Lianne- well, all of my children, have a legitimate claim to the throne of Sarain. As Thayet's children, they also have the support of the K'mir. The latest King and his supporters think they'll be able to keep the throne if Lianne is the queen. As a father I want to tell them to get lost and never let them into the country again. As a king I have to consider that the fact that these Sarens want the support of the K'mir instead of just to slaughter them might mean that they will be able to turn things around in Sarain- with my daughter's help. Peace in Sarain- I might have to make a terrible decision, Alan." The King put his head in his hands.

"Lianne will never be safe in Sarain, your majesty. So I'm telling you now that I will do everything I can to stop her going, screw peace in Sarain. As Knight Protector, I will kidnap her, get Thom to jinx her, fake her death- anyhting to keep her in Tortall." Alan stood up and made to leave.

"You're in love with her." The King said, amazed.

"Am I that obvious?" Alan ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Thom told me this morning he's known for ages."

"She won't see it. But you're not hiding it very well to those who know. I'd say it won't be long before all you "aunts and uncles", and your parents know, and one of them might tell her."

"Thom thinks I should tell her."

"Thom is a very intelligent young man."

"You don't mind?" Alan asked.

"I approve wholeheartedly. But if you break her heart. I'll have to fire you as Knight Protector." Alan looked the king in the eye.

"I would never hurt her." He said softly, as he left.