A Note from Nessa'fur:

Thank you to every one who has reviewed! I really appreciate your feedback--it is what makes fanfiction so satisfying to both read and write. I totally had a forehead-slapping moment when you guys reminded me that Alanna was, in fact, ambidextrious. (And right after I post this new chapter I'm gonna go edit that chappie, like I've been meaning to all week.) I want you to know that I take your reviews very seriously, because I am eager to grow as a writer and a storyteller. I feel like writing (and completing) this story is kind of like a trial run, a place to experiment with different ways of storytelling. Looking back (and looking ahead, to what I still have to write) I cannot help but remember why I gave up on this story. It is so bloody complicated. I hope I can weave it all (it all, being the story I have in my head with the cannon of Tortall) together in a way that makes some slight bit of logical sense. I hope TP will forgive me for what I'm doing to her universe, but if it hadn't been for her and authors like her, I might never have been inspired, at age 11, to write my own story of Tortall.

And now, a bit of fluff:

Chapter Thirty-seven: Violet-eyed Boy

Though the air was crisp with the promise of the winter to come, Will sat outside on his balcony and watched the sunrise. He was wearing naught but his small-clothes, yet the cold morning did not seem to penetrate him as he smiled at the colors before his eyes. It was one of the most beautiful sunrises he had yet seen, the various yellows, oranges, reds, and pinks seemed to stretch across the sky and reach out to him.

The city below him seemed devoid of life; Corus was recovering from the celebration of the night before by sleeping in late. There would be little or no work done today, as most people were too exhausted to go about their daily routine.

But that was nothing unusual. The day after the birthday of the prince was always a slow one, in both the palace and the city.

"Daddy?" came a small voice from behind him. Will turned to see his three-year-old son standing in the doorway to the balcony.

"Terrance, what are you doing up this early?" Will asked, holding out his arms. The toddler ran into them and Will picked him up.

"I woke up and there was a dragon in my room!" said Terrance, his huge amethyst eyes as wide as they could go.

Will chuckled, his son was well known for the tales he spun. "A dragon you say? Did it try and eat you up?"

Terrance shook his head, his black curls bouncing. "It's a baby dragon. "

"A baby dragon!" Will said, "I've never seen a baby dragon! Should I go see it?"

Terrance nodded, and stuck his thumb in his mouth.

"First I better get dressed, and then I should tell mommy where we are going. We wouldn't want her mad at us would we?"

Eyes wide, Terrance shook his head. "Don't want mommy mad," he said, around his thumb.

Will laughed. "You're a smart lad. Keep that in mind when you're dealing with your own future wife."

Carrying his son, he went inside and into his bedroom. "Why don't you wake up mommy," he whispered to Terrance, who nodded very seriously. "But do it real gently."

"Don't want mommy mad," the young prince said. Will grinned, setting his son down on the bed, then turned to his wardrobe. The boy crawled over to where his mother lay and very gently shook her. "Wake up mommy," he said, "there's a dragon in my room."

Ana sighed softly and turned over. "What nonsense story have you fed your father this time, Ter?" she asked, ruffling the boy's hair fondly.

"Apparently there's a dragon in his room," Will informed her. He pulled on a pair of breeches. "We are going to check it out."

"It's a baby dragon." Terrance said solemnly.

Ana grinned at her son, and ruffled his hair again. "A baby dragon, eh? Maybe I'll come and see it in a little while."

"Ter, why don't you wait outside," Will said, "I'll be there in a moment."

Terrance nodded happily and sprang off the bed and out the door.

"You don't really think there's a dragon in his room, do you?" Ana asked.

Will smiled, and brushed a fiery lock out of her eyes. "No, but you know he won't be satisfied unless I check it out. Rather stubborn about that."

Ana laughed softly. "He takes after his father," she said, grinning lazily up at him. Will smiled back, then leaned down and kissed her softly.

"We won't be long," he whispered against her lips.

"Hurry back," she said.

~:~

Will awoke with a start, his heart racing and sweat running down his bare chest. For a moment he lay there, frozen in his bed as Ana's final words faded in the air. He could still feel the pressure of her lips on his.

He inhaled in a ragged breath, as he tried to slow the blood pounding in his ears. Was he going crazy? How could one person have such an effect on him?

"What has she done to me?" Will asked aloud. There was no one to answer.

Had it been only a dream? It had seemed so real…so…right.

Will turned over, determined to find sleep again, but all he could think of was that boy…the boy with her eyes and his hair. Their child.

~:~

Two day's ride from where Will lay in bed pondering, Ana woke with a startled gasp, heart racing and palms sweating, a vision of a boy with amethyst eyes and black hair still before her eyes.

~ ~:~ ~