1Pro_NextMorn

Black Pearls - by HPK


Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise as Tamora Pierce's. Make this disclaimer go for the whole story, K?


A/N: This is my first fic. I hope you enjoy it. I'm not used to this Author's note thingy, yet. Oh...Thanks to phredde for beta-reading this for me. My typing and grammar is atrocious. Without her, I don't know how you FF.N-ers could read this. Read her story, Limericks: The Sequel. It's coming soon. Pls R&R!!


PROLOGUE

Kel looked around at the calm, peaceful scenery surrounding her new home. Cleon came running up to her.

"Err...Kel...my love...my pearl drop...my flower...the fire in my life...I've lost Jeremy again."

Kel sighed. Ever since she had married Cleon, everything seemed to depend on her.

"You lost him AGAIN??!!??!!"

"Yes dear...sorry...pearl."

Kel turned around and shouted.

"JEREMY!!!!"

A small toddler emerged from a cubby house and ran as fast as his short legs could carry him up to his mother. Kel gave him a sweet as a reward. She realised she couldn't leave him with his father for the weekend.

"Cleon, I'm taking Jeremy with me to Corus."

"No, no, no, no...I'll be fine...with Jeremy if you can tell me how to call him..and if you can teach me how to cook...the servants are on holiday...."



THE NEXT MORNING

Jeremy started whining as the carriage he was riding in bumped. Kel looked back. They were less than 3 metres away from the doorstep. It was going to be one, heck of a long, journey.

In side the carriage, Cleon was attempting to hush the baby. He tried to rock the baby.
He started crying even more.

Cleon feeling incapable as a father asked Kel, "How do you do this?"

"Support the head."

"Huh?"

"Hold the head so that the baby can feel comfortable...Goddess..men can be so daft..."

Cleon made a face.

"Well, pearl drop, that's what happens when we swap roles...can't you come in here?"

"Cleon, who said he wanted to be a better father a few days ago? It was you and if you can't hold your baby properly, I cannot understand how you can be a better father if you can't do that.... and anyway, i went through practically the same treatment as you and I can still care for Jeremy. I can't see why you can't"

"Well, flower, it's kinda hard. I don't have the feminine touch."

"And me? I coped well being a knight,"

"But that's different pearl drop"

"Whatever. We're only about 100metres away from the house. I'll turn your horse back. I'll go into town and find somebody to help you. If I can't, you do it."

Cleon smiled with relief but his temporarily calm face screwed up tightly as Jeremy kicked him in the (author clears throat) place.

Kel continued her way to Corus. On her way, She could not find a nanny, she wrote to Cleon saying that he would have to cope on his own. Kel was anxious about this.



A/N: I hope you liked that. Pls tell me if you did, or didn't. Thanks to my friends at school:

phredde, YamaniPrincess, Avadriz and Ghristinga for helping me.

R&R!!