First things first squeal with happiness! Thanks sooooo much for the reviews guys! It helped so much during the last week to know you guys liked the story. I had planned on having this chapter up by Christmas but I hit one of those huge unexpected problems – I had absolutely NO idea what to write next. When I started this chapter my mind said Blank. At least now I hit some inspiration and can give you a chapter for New Year instead of Christmas. Hope you enjoy it! No, I did not just write it to give you something, so don't just assume that! I did put some real thought into this chaper! =)

Thanks once more to everyone who added my story to their alerts and favourites.

And my definite favourite people: the reviewers! Aria657, m0rganosity, spazzysassyangel, RealGirlsHaveCurves, GreenQueen615, alykat23, TopazDragon, TheWackedOne, EpsilonTheta, stormwinglover, Blackdraumdancer, Sith's Shadow, BMX Princess, TwilightBrightStar, Sora Ajax, Knight-Em, youjustgotSTORMed, Susyq (Thanks so much! I knew from a few chapters ago that this had to be Alanna's plan – it just seemed like the perfect plot twister – and when she burst in there it just seemed like something she should say), somebody's sister (Super thanks for the review. Secret, I absolutely adore Alanna and George too so this truly is a cameo they deserve. Plus it's fun torturing Dom), somebody (Thanks so much! If only all my updates were so fast. Unfortunately since University starts at the end of the month they may actually start to take even longer. I'll try though!) and BLANK (Ah, thank you thank you thank you! =) )

Chapter 10

Mother and Father

Kel could have died from embarrassment right there and then. There were hundreds of ways she could have imagined the night would end up but she could whole heartedly say this had not been one of them. She opened her mouth to say something – anything but sitting there like she'd swallowed her tongue – but nothing she did could force words from her mouth. Her mind was screaming, partly telling her to run and hide, partly telling her to toss Alanna straight out the door and into the snow. Whatever she did, it was to late now. Her plan was completely and utterly ruined. She could have sobbed at the mere thought. All that work for nothing. She spared a quick glance at Dom who looked just as ruffled as she felt. Well, almost for nothing.

Dom managed to find his tongue before she did. "What are you doing here?"

Alanna clicked her tongue like a mother scolding her naughty child. "Now now Robert, that's no way to speak to your mother," Her tone was reprimanding but Kel caught the hint of mirth in it.

Kel was glad she thought the situation was funny; she herself was turning a bright shade of red as she scrambled down from the table and pulled the white dress' neckline up until it came to her chin. It was a long dress and she would rather have Alanna catching sight of her legs than her breasts. Dom caught on with alarming speed and, before Kel could even remember how far things had progressed, tightened the dress at the back.

"I didn't mean to sound rude Mother," he rolled to word for exaggeration, "but your visit is a bit of a surprise. I'm sure all of us learned how to write a nice piece of warning called a note."

Alanna waved off the idea. "Nonsense, the two of you are married, what else would I expect to find?" There was a hint in her tone that Kel couldn't miss. She was convinced that somehow Alanna had known all along that this was exactly what was going to happen – or would have happened if the knight hadn't just burst into their home unannounced.

Dom was more than willing to play her game. "That's an excellent question, Mother, what were you expecting to find?"

Alanna crossed her arms in mock dismay. "I don't like your tone, young man,"

Noticing the villagers standing outside the door, Dom grinned and moved forward to dutifully give her a hug. Alanna was playing her role like a professional, fake tears gleaming in her eyes as she embraced her loving son. Kel, slowly getting over her surprise and disappointment, was beginning to see the amusing side to the situation, especially when Alanna refused to let go.

"Oh, how I missed you, my dear boy," Dom looked more than slightly uncomfortable, "I can't believe you're all grown up and married, and to such a nice girl!" Dom tried to pry her off but Alanna was having too much fun. Suddenly she stepped backwards, peered around Dom's shoulder at Kel, and smiled wickedly. "Go help your father with the bags."

Dom managed to get out, "My father?" before Alanna shoved him out the door and slammed it shut in his face. Kel knew she was going to have to explain what Alanna had just seen. They were supposed to be playing an undercover role after all, not sharing romantic dinners and 'frolicking about'. No wait, that didn't sound right, but Kel couldn't even mentally force herself to call it anything else.

As Kel gathered her thoughts Alanna ensured the door was firmly closed before turning to the young knight. "We have a problem," Her voice was a soft whisper, loud enough for Kel alone to hear, confirming that the problem had something to do with the mission. The only problem Kel could think about was what Alanna had just walked in on.

She took a deep breath. "Look Alanna, I can explain…"

"I'm sorry to interrupt Kel, but we have a real problem," Alanna interrupted smoothly, her eyes scanning the room like she expected a team of assassins to suddenly jump out from behind the couch. She looked worried about something, Kel realised. This wasn't a prank they were trying to pull or Alanna checking up on them, but a true problem.

"What's wrong Alanna?" Kel could hear the worry in her voice but didn't even try to reprimand herself for it. If Alanna the Lioness was worried about something then there was real trouble about. Kel had only seen that expression a few times on the older knight's face and every single one of those times had been in the middle of the war against Scanra. Alanna knew how to hide her worry when the need came, and the times she showed it usually meant that she was too overwhelmed to do so.

Alanna hesitated. She wasn't sure exactly what she should reply, but one thing was for sure, she wasn't going to tell Kel the truth. She had planned on doing so on the ride to Darkwood, had told George not to say anything because this was her mess to clean up, but the second she had entered the house and seen the success her plan had brought she had changed her mind. She wasn't going to burst Kel's love bubble right now, not when she could leave it in place and convince the young woman to follow her heart eventually. Alanna could honestly say she had never expected her plan to prove successful so soon, but now that it had she was going to have to let it proceed into true triumph.

She and George were going to have to find the villains, get rid of them, and get out of here as soon as possible so they could leave Dom and Kel to finish what they had started earlier that night. She wasn't too worried about George's reaction. He would be unhappy about it, of course, but he'd do it for Alanna.

And if he wouldn't, well, there were ways to force him to listen. She wasn't the King's champion because she looked good riding a horse. Now that she thought about it, she wasn't so sure she did look good riding a horse in the first place.

What was she going to tell Kel? She needed to know it was dangerous but on the other hand Alanna couldn't go into specifics without telling her about the plan. She was going to have to compromise.

"We've been discovered. Well, not really discovered, but the men in charge have found out about the spies we originally sent to watch the town and have retaliated. They knew something was wrong so they sent two of their own spies to act as villagers and determine what we're after. The only problem is we have no idea who they are or what they look like, all we know is that they're deadly. On the other hand, they don't know we aren't who we say we are." Alanna almost surprised herself by how efficiently she could lie. It seemed like all the times she and Raoul had made up to avoid social functions were finally becoming useful.

Kel could feel her eyes widen in surprise and slight disbelief. There were two deadly spies living amongst them? She had to admit, that came as a bit of a surprise. The village had felt a little weird from the start but all the people had been perfectly normal. Some a little well off, maybe, but normal nether the less. Sure some were crazy – Grace was the first to come to mind here – or maybe a little creepy – Marcus, the man in charge, fit in that category – but that was normal in any village. Every village or town had the people who were a little different or extravagant, but that didn't automatically make them super killers!

"Are you sure of that?" Kel asked curiously.

"You and Dom are still alive aren't you? In my mind that gives us two options: either they don't know who you two really are or they don't see you as a threat. Pick your favourite,"

Kel saw her point. If they had known who they were they would have had plenty of time to get rid of them. She had spent the entire day running around in broad daylight – well, as much daylight as you could get when it snowed – and Dom had been on duty. Easy picking honestly. She hadn't really been in the village all too long, but she hadn't really seen anything out of the ordinary. Except…

"There's something you should know about Alanna. Last night when Dom and I were heading off to dinner we came across someone dressed entirely in black. I tried to follow him but he disappeared into the darkness. You don't think it could have been one of the spies?"

To Kel surprise she saw a slight flush spread across Alanna's cheeks. Once more she had the feeling that she knew something she wasn't sharing.

"It could be." Alanna tried to sound worried but Kel wasn't buying it. She knew more about this person than she was letting on and no matter what she said Kel was sticking to her decision. "But even if it wasn't we should see this as a warning to be careful. From now on you're not to leave the house without Dom, George or myself with you."

Kel felt her lips part in surprise. "You brought your husband along?"

Alanna waved a hand nonchalantly. "Of course. I'm supposed to be a commoner remember? Have you ever heard of a woman of the lower class travelling all alone?" She didn't even wait for an answer. "No, of course you haven't! Plus, this way I don't have to take care of all the unpacking or the horses. I'm on holiday for the period of time I'm here and I plan on enjoying it. If only this blasted cold would go away!" She snuggled deeper into her fur lined coat and moved away from the door. Without waiting for an invitation she grabbed Kel's wine glass from the table and sat down on one of the sofa chairs. Sitting back with a sigh she brought the glass to her lips.

Suddenly remembering how bad the wine tasted Kel opened her mouth to warn Alanna, but it was too late. Looking like she was about to choke, Alanna spat the foul tasting excuse for wine back into the glass.

"Glad to know my husband comes from a family with such impeccable manners," Kel said dryly.

Alanna glared at her but was to busy trying to get rid of the horrible taste to reply. Taking pity on her friend Kel retrieved the jug of water and a glass from the bedroom and handed it to Alanna, who accepted it gratefully.

"So," Kel went on as Alanna took a deep swallow, "what's the cover?"

Alanna didn't need to ask what she meant. "You know by now that George and I are playing Dom's parents. Since your father was against the marriage at first we thought George didn't really suit the role. Most people don't really expect him to be able of doing half the things he can, so that doesn't automatically equal 'evil father'. I may still be able to pass as an 'evil mother' – I'm sure my daughter would agree – but it seemed like more fun to torture Dom a little." Remembering the expression on his face when Alanna had shoved him out the door, Kel couldn't agree more. "You are to call us Mother and Father – and please don't laugh when you do so," Kel wished she knew how Alanna knew that had been the first thing she had wanted to do. "But to the rest of the village we'll be David and Emily Winters."

Kel couldn't stop herself from smiling in response. "I assume you're David and George is Emily?"

Alanna simply shook her head. "You know it. I always thought I made a good David. Why I settled on Alan I'll never know."

"I must say, I'm almost surprised you didn't pretend to be my father,"

Alanna expression turned evil. "Oh, I wouldn't do that," Kel couldn't help but feel that Alanna hadn't finished that sentence. "But we're getting off topic."

"I wasn't aware there was a topic,"

"There is. George – I mean Emily," she gave a playful wink, "and I am here to try and uncover these spies so that you and Dom can deal with the rest of the mission in peace. Then you guys can go back to," she cleared her throat, "more important matters."

Kel turned bright red once more. Alanna wasn't going to forget what she saw anytime soon and judging by her actions she wasn't going to let either Kel or Dom forget it either. Her only solution was to make sure Alanna was so completely occupied that she didn't have the time to make suggestive hints. The only question was how?

"Since the two of you have only been here for two days I assume you haven't met that many people. We'll have to rectify that. While Dom works and George does – whatever he does to get information, we'll be off meeting the female population of the town. We know the spies are acting as a couple, so if we find her, we'll find him."

Kel frowned. She had never been one for meeting people. She couldn't help but feel people liked to judge too soon when they met someone, but it seemed like she had little choice in the matter. "Wouldn't you rather take Dom? I'm sure he'll enjoy it a lot more than me."

Alanna shook her head. "Don't even say that Sarah. I'm a mother! I still like to believe my son thinks girls are scary and disgusting,"

"Despite him being married?"

"I'm married and I'm still scary and disgusting."

Kel had no reply to that so she simply laughed. "Okay Mother, my life is in your hands. When does the torture begin?"

Alanna's head turned towards the door. "As soon as the men are finished unpacking. I would have made it sooner but I'm afraid they'll ask me for help if I dare stick even my nose out of the door." She held up a finger to silence Kel. "And don't call me lazy. I'm just aware that I can manipulate others to do things so that I don't have to,"

"I'm not going to argue with that," Kel smiled before snuggling back into the comfortable chair.

"How did she manage to fit all this onto one horse?" Dom exclaimed as George dumped the first two cloth bags into his arms. He was surprised the horse hadn't died of a heart attack halfway to the village. The bags were heavy! Alanna was a knight for goodness sake, didn't she ever learn to pack light?

"You know your mother, Rob," George replied wrestling two more bags from the horse's back. "She always did know how to pack for an army,"

Literally. The only problem was, this wasn't for an army, this was for two people.

"Ah and here's my bag." George pulled out another bag less than half the size of the other bags.

Correction, make that one person.

"What did she even pack? Next year's harvest?"

George shrugged. "Oh, you know, trinkets, souvenirs, cute things you gave her when you were a baby,"

Okay, now Dom knew he was lying. Mostly because he hadn't known Alanna when he had been a baby and would have probably run for the hills if he had. Dom turned his head slightly to the side so that he could see behind him out of the corner of his eye. A few villagers were nearby grooming some of the horses. Whatever was truly in these bags, George obviously didn't want them to know about it. Setting down the bags close by, Dom grab a brush and quickly set to work rubbing down the horses. While he cleaned Alanna and George's horses, George finished unpacking and brushed down the pack horse. Working together they managed to finish a lot quicker than Dom had originally expected. The time spent doing so gave Dom the time to examine the man playing his father carefully. He had met Baron George Cooper of Pirate's Swoop plenty of times before when he and Alanna had ridden with Lord Raoul. He knew he was a quiet man with exceptional skills in easily seeing what others overlooked. He was also an excellent fighter, something Dom had learned firsthand when they had been ambushed by a Scanra raider party. If he and Alanna had felt the need to come personally then something had to be seriously wrong. Although, he had to admit, the baron had an exceptional gift of fitting in. If he hadn't known who he really was then he would never have guessed that he was anything more than hardworking man of the lower class.

Looks could certainly be deceiving.

"Come on son, I think the lasses will be missing us," Ensuring the horses were secured in the stables, he picked up one of Alanna's bags and his own, leaving the two extra heavy bags for Dom to carry.

This was becoming a habit, Dom thought dryly as he squatted to pick up the bags. Maybe it was just him, but it seemed like everyone around him was beginning to take advantage of him. Then again, this was all for Kel, every hour spent boring himself to death on watch duty, every extra job he was forced to do, every insult Grace threw at him – though this one didn't hurt all that much – all of it was for Kel. And he honestly didn't mind doing it for her. He would keep his thoughts to himself and grin and bear it for as long as Kel wanted him to.

He felt a goofy grin spread across him face, but couldn't care all too much. Minus the little interruption things were progressing at a very good pace. Okay, maybe calling Alanna and George a little interruption wasn't that accurate.

Big, maybe. Catastrophic, definitely.

By the time they reached the house Dom felt like his arms were perilously close to falling off. If he wasn't a teeny bit afraid of Alanna he would have dumped the entire lot of it unceremoniously on the floor. Instead he gently placed it on the table. As he turned he saw Alanna warn George about something with her eyes but she saw him looking and suddenly got up.

"George, could I see you outside for a second?" Just as she had done with Raoul, she didn't even wait for an answer. Instead she grabbed her husband by the arm and propelled him out of there like the house was on fire.

Dom turned to Kel, his mouth curving into a grin as he saw her cheeks flush bright red. So he wasn't the only one stuck in the memory of their passionate kiss after all. If he hadn't feared Alanna interrupting them a second time he would have hurried right over to Kel's side and started all over again. Instead he positioned himself behind the sofa opposite Kel's. If he was overcome with the sudden urge to sweep her off her feet this time, he'd have to scramble over the chair first. Hopefully that would give him enough time to get to his senses. If not, well, he could always play the 'but I'm your son!' defence card now.

"So," Strangely enough this was awkward. Too awkward. "Alanna must have an important reason to be here without any warning right?"

Kel nodded, unable to look him in the eye. "She does. Didn't George fill you in?"

He shook his head. "Nope. Unfortunately we had a crowd watching our every move the entire way. The all agree I get my good looks from my father as I don't have red hair and I'm not freakishly short,"

The managed to get a small smile out of Kel. "Don't let the Lioness hear you. I don't think she'll take too kindly to being called 'freakishly short'."

Dom shrugged. "She'll live. Oh, I can already see it. The whole 'I birthed you young man, don't use that tone with me' speech my mother gives me each time I refuse to dance with the neighbour's daughter. Although it might be a little more awkward for both me and Lady Alanna if she does give it to me," As Kel nodded stiffly, Dom decided to switch topics. "What reason did she give for charging in here?"

Kel finally forced her eyes up to his, her expression turning from embarrassment to worry. "They received word that whoever is in charge of this plot we're suppose to stop got wind that something isn't right so he sent in two spies to discover what's going on. Our luck is that they have no idea we're the people they're looking for. Unfortunately, we don't know who they are either. Alanna's already made plans for us to meet the entire female half of the village so that we can determine who it is. If she gets her way we'll leave as soon as she and George return."

Dom mirrored Kel's frown. "This is turning into a bigger mess by the second."

Kel nodded, her eyes once more turning to the ground. This was going to have to stop, Dom couldn't take it anymore. He wished he could invent a device that could read people's minds so that he could see what Kel was thinking. Was she regretting that things had ever happened or was she sorry that something hadn't happened because of Alanna's interruption like he was?

"Look Kel, about tonight…"

"I know Dom, it shouldn't have happened. We're in the middle of a mission and things are dangerous enough as it is and…"

Surprisingly enough it wasn't that hard to get over the chair. Dom clasped a hand over her mouth before she could continue, stopping her babbling before she managed to convince him or herself. "Kel, maybe you should let me finish before you assume things. I was about to say that I should have said thank you and that we should have done this a long time ago. Tonight was perfect, even if Lady Alanna did ruin the mood by arriving when she did. I'm quite lucky to have someone as amazing as you in my life," Before she could answer, before she could even think to disagree, he lowered him mouth to hers in a fiery kiss that he sincerely hoped would take away any of the doubts she had. She responded in a way only Kel could, with innocence and shyness, but with determination and heart mixed in as well. Dom was reluctant to pull away, his heart begging him to linger a little longer, but his head knowing that Alanna and George could enter any second and that it would only embarrass Kel if they did.

Kel looked up at him, her dreamer's hazel eyes shining with an emotion Dom couldn't place for the life of him. As Dom sat down on the arm rest of her chair, she leaned forward and momentarily rested her head against his chest, her arms wrapping around him. "I'm sorry if this sounds offensive," her voice was a soft whisper, "but this whole situation is confusing the living daylight out of me. If this was a war I'd know what to do, but I can honestly say, as bad as this sound, that I have no idea how to be a normal woman,"

Dom pulled her close. "Who wants to be normal Kel? It's so much more fun being extraordinary,"

"I guess," She raised her head, her eyes staring directly into his, and Dom could help but steal another kiss. "As much as I hate to say this, that's going to have to stop. Alanna and George can't see us acting in any way except professional during this mission Dom. We have a duty to fulfil and that should be our first priority."

Dom nodded in agreement, his movement slow and disappointed. Not because of what Kel said, but because he realised what she said was true. "So in other words, we have to find these spies as soon as possible so we can get rid of Alanna?"

He'd made Kel smile again. "That's one way to put it,"

Dom paused as a sudden idea hit him. "Wait, you said you have to interview the entire female population of the village right?" Kel nodded, confused. Dom smile turned evil. "Well, I think we're about to get our revenge for her bad timing. I know who you should introduce her to first."

"Alanna, you can't keep playing around with people's lives like this," George had to admit, he had known Alanna would do anything to make this mission a success, but he really hadn't expected her to put them in danger just because of it.

Alanna sighed in exasperation. "They're not in danger George, they know that these spies are dangerous, they just don't know that there are about eleven other spy couples in the village as well."

He wouldn't win. When Alanna had her mind set on something it was like trying to move a boulder, she wouldn't budge even if you had superhuman power. He was use to it by now, one couldn't be married to Alanna for so many years without accepting it eventually, but that didn't mean he was any less worried. This could go wrong so easily that he wasn't sure it was worth it to take the chance. She was giving him the sad eyed expression, trying to convince him that she was right and that he knew it.

"Come on George, you're like the master spy of them all. Surely they won't be in danger with you here?" Just like Alanna to try and soften him up.

"I don't know how good these people are Alanna. For all I know they could make me look like an amateur." He sighed. "But I'll play alone. Just as long as you agree that if anything comes close to going wrong we'll tell them the truth and all leave before things really get ugly."

Alanna nodded vigorously. "Okay, thank you George!" She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. "You won't regret this, I promise!"

"I hope you're right Alanna,"

She stepped back looking sceptical. "What can go wrong? Look, two three days and 'backup' will be here. Everything will be fine, just watch and see."

By the time Alanna and George headed back inside the house Kel and Dom were sitting on the two sofas opposite each other. Kel hoped they didn't notice the blush she could feel creeping across her cheeks. What was wrong with her, she never blushed! And now she was doing it every few seconds like some proper lady who's only use was to bare children for her husband. Okay, since she was now supposed to be married to Dom, this only made her blush harder. Strange how for the first time in her life baring children didn't sound like it would be such a chore. No, she couldn't think that way. This was pretend, not real life! She would have to watch herself.

"Ready to go?" She asked Alanna.

Alanna nodded, but George shook his head. "Oh no you don't, you two can start tomorrow morning. It's too dangerous in the dark, and besides, normal people want to sleep now,"

Translation: he and Alanna were tired, even if they didn't want to say so.

"I guess sleep would be good," Kel agreed, "But, how exactly are we going to do that,"

"The normal way?" Dom hinted.

Kel ignored him. "It's just that there's only one bed in the house. Would you two like to take it?"

Alanna turned to look at George who shook his head. "No, you two ladies take it. Dom and I will be true gentlemen and sleep on the sofas."

Dom nodded in agreement but Kel heard him mutter 'goodbye back' as she headed off to her room. She was sure she wouldn't be able to sleep, the excitement of the day still to fresh on her mind. Yet after getting dressed, cleaning her teeth and slipping under the bed sheets Kel found her eyes drooping. She had barely closed her eyes when she fell asleep.

Outside, his body camouflaging perfectly with the dark, a figure carefully studied the house. More people were going to make this job a lot more difficult. He silently stole around the house, checking every nook and cranny for some way to enter undetected but there was none. He was almost a hundred percent sure these were the people they were looking for. He had seen her rush around all day, watched that innocent smile gathering what she needed. She was going to be easy to get rid off. He couldn't see her or her husband putting up much of a fight. He didn't know who they were, but he knew that unless they were very good at hiding their true identities they would never be a match for his skills. Ending up where he had started, he stopped. He would give them a few nights to get comfortable because he didn't see any need to rush. Grinning he disappeared into the darkness. This was going to be far too easy.

This was a difficult chapter for me – lesson = learn to plan ahead – so once more I would really appreciate reviews =)

Let's see whose smart enough to figure this one out: What is Alanna's 'back up'? Clue: I may or may not have hinted at it in the last two chapters.

Hope everyone has a super 2011!

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