All right, I'll take mercy on you. In this chapter I will tell you what happened. Maybe. And when I said that Kel was everyone's favorite lady knight or whatever in the previous chapter it was a figure of speech. No hidden meaning lied in the depths in there. But if it makes reviewers feel better, I am editing it to make it say MY favorite lady knight, okay? And obedient does not describe Alanna, yes, but doing what someone wants is called obedient, and since Alanna followed Kel when Kel asked, I'm calling it obedient.

Disclaimer: I own neither Tamora Pierce characters nor the Fearless plot thingy. Now that that's done with—ONWARD TO THE STORY!

Chapter Four: Revelation

Baron George Cooper of Pirate's Swoop found his wife sitting in the Royal Gardens, her face sad. He felt his heartstrings pull; his Alanna would not let anything get past her tough, (sometimes) boyish exterior. Whatever happened in Scanra must have been awful to hurt her in this way.

"Alanna," George said softly, sitting beside her. She turned her head and looked up at him. Her violet eyes were swollen and red-rimmed slightly and her nose was red, so he knew she had been crying. "You need to tell someone about Kel. Maybe it can be fixed."

"No," the small woman muttered, shaking her head. "It can't be…not unless she gets another with the exact same amount…"

"Another what?" her husband urged. "What with the exact same amount?"

Alanna looked up at him, and he felt his heart race. This is it, he thought, she's going to tell me…

(A/N: You're going to hate me for this)

"Excuse me? Baron, Baroness?"

"Oh, WAIT!" George bellowed. The maid jumped back, her eyes round.

"The k-king j-j-just w-wanted me t-to tell you that y-you both are needed in the m-mess hall. He has L-Lady K-K-K-K-K-Keladry in th-there." As soon as the words stumbled from her mouth the timid maid scuttled away.

"They probably wants me to spill the beans," Alanna sighed in resignation. "I suppose I'll have to. Maybe there is a way to fix what she's missing."

"What is she missing?" George asked gently.

Looking up at him, she opened her mouth and told him everything.

~*~

"I want the truth, Keladry."

Face blank, Kel stared up at the king. "Why do you want the truth, sire?"

Jonathan blinked. "Because everybody is worried about you, that's why."

Just then Alanna and George entered the room, the baron's face stunned as he glanced at his wife's successor.

"She told you?" Kel asked in mild annoyance. Reluctantly the baron nodded and she shrugged, adding in a monotone, "Well then, I might as well tell all of you."

Shooting a nasty look at her redhead friend, Kel began to tell the truth in front of her fellow knights.

"You all know how Alanna and I were sent to Scanra. During our stay there, we were kidnapped by King Maggur's soldiers and taken to his palace. There, he experimented on me. He told me all he wanted to do was see if I could exist without it. If I could, he'd give it back to me. It turned out I could live without it, but I never got it back. He released us both and we came back here."

"What did he take away?" Queen Thayet asked quietly.

Kel looked her in the eye. "He took away my fear gene."

~*~

I am so disgusted with myself it's not even funny. For some reason I am not able to make long chappies for this fic. I have no problems with The Return of Joren. Oh well. You reviewers just need to bear with me. Oh, and that reminds me—my cousin Mandy just joined FanFiction.Net and is known as Knyghtmare. She just sent in a fic called "Demon Children!". Just thought I'd let you know.