Okay… how long has it been? Is anyone even reading this anymore? Haha, I actually doubt it but I'm still going to update just because I feel bad for just… suddenly dying and I'm a very 'spur of the moment writer'.

Chapter 8 – Unexpected Problems

Alanna tried hard to keep a straight face and her mouth moved in odd angles in order to hide the wide grin that was threatening to stretch her face to the point of extreme pain. George grinned and spread his arms, nearly toppling over at the force his wife who literally rammed into his arms.

"There lass, don't want me drowning in the water right?" George said with a toothy grin, happy that his wife was finally happy. He could tell she had been extremely moody, especially with the dark circles under her eyes. "I'm glad you're happy to see me but did you even hear what I just told you?"

Alanna released her husband from her death grip and stared at him with a grin and then her smile slowly became smaller and smaller and George shuffled back a bit until his heels were to the edge of the water.

"…WHAT?" Everyone person in Corus could have heard her, they paid very little attention these days though. What with Alanna screaming at nearly every little thing, they wondered when it would end. Next thing George knows, he's being dragged through the palace and right into Jon's office with Alanna breathing heavily beside, she seemed a lot more worn out than normal and both men knew it.

"Maybe you should sit down Alanna," Jon said, she hadn't recovered and it had been well over two minutes.

"I'm… fine.. just… tired…" Both men stared at each other, worry in their eyes. "George… talk…" Alanna wheezed.

"Well, bad news Jon. Roger has prepared some sort of spell that is pulling all the water and life away from Tortall's plants to Carthak. It's a very complicated spell, I personally don't know how it works but I can tell it uses a great deal of magic. Also, the Carthaki's are planning to attack our navy tomorrow at dawn, might want to get your men assembled, and hopefully get some powerful mages while you're at it," George said in a very business like way. Occasionally while speaking his eyes slid to Alanna who seemed to be dying in the corner of the room. By the time George had finished his last sentence, both men had rushed to the young woman and was helping her into a chair.

"I'm…" Alanna paused, her skin had turned pale and sickly and also had a tinge of green.

"Are you okay?" Jon asked, "I think you need to see Duke Baird and get a check-up, you don't seem to well," the king murmured. "We need you at a time like this, don't be stubborn at a time like this Alanna!" The kings champion tried to say something but the moment she opened her mouth her hand clamped her mouth closed again and she made a lurching noise. A trail of saliva trailed down her chin. "Get her out of here George!" Jon said, both men were very frustrated and worried. This was not typical Alanna behaviour.

Duke Baird was silent as he examined Alanna, when he finally finished he glanced at George and then Alanna. "I know Alanna… probably not as well as you, but I think personally she would like to hear this alone," he murmured. George was silent for a second and then stood up and left the ward with a grim expression.

"You are… well…" The duke hesitated and winced slightly as he imagined the reaction of Alanna when he told her the news. "You are… pregnant." No matter how sick, or horrible the lady knight was feeling, it did not stop her from sitting bolt right up and yelling.

"WHAT?" The duke winced, not from fear but from the fact that he had gone slightly deaf. George rushed into the room with a wild expression and when he saw Alanna sitting up he grinned, and then frowned at the shocked, bewildered expression on his wife's face.

"What happened?" The baron of Pirates Swoop asked. Alanna had lost all colour but not in the sickly way that she looked before.

Duke Baird was silent, Alanna was silent. George looked between the two and wondered what in the world could make Alanna so… shocked.

"What happened?" The man asked again, another silence.

"Um… Alanna is-" The duke was cut short.

"I'm… pregnant…" The last part came out as a barely audible squeak. George stood for a second with a thoughtful expression and then very lamely replied.

"Come again?" he asked. Alanna gave him an exasperated look.

"I'm PREGNANT! I am going to have a BABY!" she yelled with frustration. Dimly she remember just a year ago, Thayet's pregnancy and shivered. The woman had been bedridden for days, if the war between Carthak and Tortall lasted more than two months, Alanna wouldn't be a part of it anymore. Her hands reached out to grab something to throw, she grabbed air. The temper of the Lioness was famous, especially after being told she was sick. It was now customary to take all things out of a ward in which the Lioness was staying in so she would not break any special medicines or injure any of the doctors.

George was silent, he to had lost quite a bit of his color.

"Co-"

"Don't make me repeat it George!" Alanna muttered dangerously, no wonder why she had been so sick. Suddenly Alanna grabbed a bucket from under the bed and vomited, she breathed heavily and drank the glass of water Duke Baird offered her in a single gulp. "Drat… I can't believe I'm pregnant, how am I supposed to fight?" she muttered and glared daggers at George who had opened his mouth to reply. He closed his mouth quietly, aware that currently his wife was not in a very good mood. In fact he was surprised she hadn't gone into a murderous rage. Then he grinned crookedly.

"I'm going to be a father, you a mother… you should be happy lass," he whispered kindly. Duke Baird took this as a cue to go, his ears were hurting considerably and he needed a moment of peace to mend his loss of hearing.

Alanna was not happy.

"You're bringing new life into the world…" George persisted, taking a slow step towards his wife. Her head was still hanging over a bucket. George couldn't see his wife's face. Slowly the man took the bucket away and was surprised and yet not to find his wife's face covered in tears. He stood quietly for a moment, letting his wife cry. Then he went to her side and held her. "It's all right…" George murmured.

"George…" Alanna whispered. "I don't think I can do this, Jon needs me, but…" she continued.

"Shush, what would the people say if they saw the Lioness crying over such a trivial thing, every woman gets pregnant. Children would laugh if they realized the Lioness was afraid of having a child!"

Alanna straightened and grinned. George always managed to make her smile. "You're right… I can't go crying over something like this," she sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I guess I should tell Jon, he might take it worse then I did!" They both laughed.

Jon did take it worse then Alanna, the only thing stopping the king from crying was the fact that he was the king and kings did NOT cry when he found out a woman was pregnant.

"But… we… but…" the helpless man sputtered. "Can't you… do something?" he yelled stupidly. Alanna gave him a look that said 'are you stupid?' and Jon shut up immediately and collapsed into a chair. Thayet was also in the room and went to her husband before giving Alanna a small encouraging smile.

"This isn't how you act when your friend becomes pregnant Jon, Alanna is going through enough and doesn't need her king spouting out nonsense, isn't that right?" Alanna smiled back and George couldn't help but grin. Jon gave everyone sad looks and buried his face in his hands and let out a very uncharacteristic sobbing sound.

"Oh Jon, it isn't he end of the world, I can fight for a month… that's what Duke Baird said anyways," Alanna trailed off, biting her lip. The fact irked her and often made her annoyed but she looked at her stomach and couldn't help but feel a warm bubbly feeling inside her chest.

"But we NEED you!" Jon cried, it was true. The crops, over night, had all begun to wilt and the heat of the sun was scorching hot. It was like Tortall had suddenly turned into Carthak and Carthak had turned into Tortall. The Tortallan Navy had only just managed to fend of the Carthaki's as well and now Ozorne was aware of the fact that there had been a spy in his army. "Numair said so himself, he is not strong enough and no other mage we have no is strong enough o help him! I offered but he said even with me, he needed your assistance, and it would probably take a week and would drain your energy, you HAVE NO ENERGY!" the king was going into hysterics at the moment.

"Jon, you obviously know nothing about Alanna!" George said, finally speaking up. He couldn't just stand and watch the king curl up into a ball and cry. "She wouldn't let a baby get in the way of her saving the kingdom, who would save a single baby and not their country?" George sighed and turned to Alanna, she had a firm expression on her face. "She'll do it, I am sure," Alanna nodded, and Jon looked warily at his knight wondering if this was all just a ploy to drive him insane. The king was at the end of his strings, his own children were driving him insane at the moment and with the whole threat of Roger. Now this, it seemed the gods had suddenly left Tortall and went over to help Ozorne!

"Are you… sure about this?" Jon asked.

Alanna nodded, "Yep, this is for the country and I can't let Roger do his dirty tricks!" George and Thayet exchanged smiles, their spouses were not going to go insane, thankfully.

"Alanna, I don't know what this will do but if this becomes to much tell me okay?" Numair said. In the short while the two knew each other they had become quite good friends.

"I'll be fine Numair, just get it over with," growled Alanna, she was feeling edgy again. Jon, Numair and herself were in a spot in the castle were they could see most of the land of Tortall and the sights she saw made her feel sick. The land was turning barren and the waters were drying up and getting sucked away. Far away, in Carthak she could see thunderstorms.

"Jon, same to you, although you aren't pregnant you seem really tired as of late," The king glared daggers at the ex-Carthaki mage but didn't reply.

"Alright, let's hold hands, Alanna my left, Jon my right and let's begin," all three released their magic, Alanna and Jon flowed their magic into Numair and the tall mage glowed very bright. The three stood together for hours and occasionally servants would come to check up and bring food, somehow the food always seemed to disappear but the three never seemed to break contact or lose their concentration. After a while Alanna began to break out into sweat and her hands became cold and clammy, she was losing her energy due to her pregnancy.

Can't… lose concentration… she thought, but she was losing her energy to fast, soon Numari would tap into her own life energy because her own energy wasn't enough to bring out her magic. Her hand slipped, Numair stopped and opened his eyes.

"Sorry… you should've let go earlier you know!" he scolded. Jon bent down to, worry in his eyes.

"Darn it Alanna, maybe you shouldn't do this…" he murmured, she glared at her king but didn't say anything. She cursed her weakness but that was all she could do with the amount of energy left in her body. It seemed whatever Numair did worked because the water from lakes and rivers stopped disappearing but plants were still continuing to wilt, if a bit more slowly.

"Excellent… Excellent…" Ozorne murmured with a wide smile. Roger stood smiling beside him.

"Everything is going as plan my friend," Roger said with a savage grin. Crops were growing abnormally fast and lakes were suddenly forming in the ground in the lands of the Carthak people.

"Tortall will be nothing… I will be king and it is all, thanks to you!" Ozorne turned to Roger. The two men stared at each other, both with the same glint in their eyes.

"I am sorry to say, it will not be you who will be ruling Tortall but I," Roger whispered, raising his hand to show the color of his now violet magic.

"Do you take me for an idiot Roger? I have known of your plan all along!" Ozorne answered, his own magic appearing in his palm.

"Just because I am in the body of a girl-child, it does not mean I have become weaker Ozorne, you would take care to fight me. I have always been stronger than you, remember that!" Roger retorted, the two circled each other warily, like two tigers fighting for their mate.

"Again Roger, do you take me for an idiot? If I thought I could not defeat you, why do you think I accepted your help?" Ozorne's voice answered in a very bored tone, his palm flicked, the banister behind the Tortallan shattered. Roger frowned, and his purple eyes glinted dangerously but before he could do anything back he froze.

"Someone is tampering with my spell, whoever it is they are strong…" grumbled Roger angrily. Ozorne's eyes flashed in interest.

"Ah… perhaps we have finally found Numair, working as the young king's dog is he? What a fool, he was always an idiot," muttered the emperor of Carthak with a smirk. "It seems we will have to hold our duel of to later my friend, for now… we must think on how to attack Tortall before your spell is completely shatter." There was a pause by the emperor and then a gloating look came onto his face. "Really, for such a strong mage I am surprised that you could let even Ozorne break your spell, it is a surprise since I have twice the power of that nitwit!" Roger didn't have time to reply before the emperor disappeared leaving a very enrage little girl glowing purple in the darkness of the night.

"Now… let's see if I can add in a few more barrier to this spell…" Roger mumbled tightly as he tried to control his rage. He had to work delicately, on mistake and his spell could blow up on him and possible destroy a large portion of Carthak as well as a good portion of Tortall as well. Roger did not want that, he wanted to healthy kingdoms in order to take rule of countries across the sea. Soon, his dream would come true soon, he would see to that personally.

Well there you go, and update. You see, I told you I randomly start my stories up again months later. If anyone is still reading this story I applaud you, I think my writing has become better, or maybe it became worse. Hmm…. That's for you to judge people.

Okay that's enough, R&R if anyone is still bothering to read this, if not, I'm still going to update whether you like it or not!

-Griƒƒen