Of course, the characters and location belong to Tamora Pierce. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter; you may have averted a potential fratricide, or at least the destruction of my bother's drum set. (You also may have made my family think I'm crazy because I was humming cheerfully while doing the dishes, but they've been calling me crazy for years.)

Kel found Lord Roaul sitting at her desk in office. Her heart was hammering as she poured him a glass of water.

"Thank you, Kel." He smiled as he accepted the glass. "I've taken the liberty of glancing at your records; it looks like everything is in perfect order." He watched as Kel began shuffling from one foot to another and raised his eyebrows at her highly uncharacteristic behavior. "Was there anything else that you wanted to discuss with me?"

Kel nodded mutely and began a thorough examination of her boots. Might as well look at them now, she told herself, while I have a good view. After a few very long minutes of silence, she forced herself to speak.

"Will you swear not to discuss what I'm about to tell you with anyone else?

"Of course," Roaul said calmly.

"I'm pregnant," she muttered.

"What?"

"I said," Kel forced herself to raise her voice slightly and tried to ignore the fact that her face felt as though it were on fire, "that I'm preg—"

"Oh good, I'm not experiencing auditory hallucinations—or if I am they're repeating themselves. Wait, did you just say you're, oh Gods, Kel." He jumped out of his seat and walked towards her. "How are you feeling?"

"I don't think, I've ever been this scared in all my life."

"That was Alanna's reaction too, if I remember correctly, George took over the being overjoyed part for her." He fell silent suddenly and then set down his glass. "Um, does this baby have a father?" He blushed.

"As far as I know," said Kel quietly, "I haven't been blessed by the Gods that way."

"You don't want to tell me."

"I'm sorry, I don't want to compromise his career—or mine—by revealing him."

"He's married then?"

Kel looked up and shook her head. "I would never—"

"I didn't think so," he said. "I won't pry then, I'll just be flattered that you trusted me enough to tell me." He walked over and embraced Kel.

"Do you think they'll force me to resign?"

"I would imagine that a number of conservatives will demand your immediate removal, but no, I don't think you will be forced to resign. You are, however, going to make things much harder for yourself by keeping the father's identity a secret."

"I know."

"I'm glad to hear that you don't want to resign though. I assume you want to keep your pregnancy secret for as long as possible in order to maximize the shock to various conservatives in the hope that a few will be stricken with deadly heart attacks."

Kel smiled. "Something like that."

"Who knows now? Who are you going to tell?"

"I'm going to tell Alanna and Wyldon, and I guess I'll have to tell the king at some point." Kel shuddered. "Neal knows, you know, the father knows."

"Does Dom know?"

"Ye—no," Kel squeaked.

"Oh," he said quietly. "I'm not really that shocked. I guess the King's Own will just have to visit New Hope more often so that he can see you."

"Is it really that obvious?"

"Only to me, I think." He grinned at her. "The Lioness is riding in tonight; I'll make sure you get a chance to speak with her alone. She can help you more than I could." He discretely passed her a handkerchief so she could dab at her eyes. "And Kel?"

"Yes, sir."

"You'll let me know if you need anything."

"So, I assume there is a reason I'm walking patrol with you when I should be in bed after riding for the past three days," Alanna said as she and Kel reversed in order to pace in the opposite direction.

"You, erm, know a lot about secrets, don't you?" Kel hesitated before continuing. "About hiding things from people who trust and respect you."

"Alright, I solemnly swear not to share what you are about to tell me with anyone. But please get to it; it's cold out tonight."

"I'm pregnant." Kel found that it got a little easier each time she said it. Which was good, as eventually she'd have to tell crowds of unsympathetic people. "My charm came off in a jousting match over midwinter and I didn't realize it until it was too late."

"You'll make a good mother," Alanna said quietly, taking Kel's hand. "Better than I've been."

Kel's heart was pounding suddenly. "But you have George," she said. "And I'm going to be all alone, and I don't know if I can keep commanding or if I should or if they'll even let me, but I've worked so hard for all of this and I don't want to give it all up."

"Then don't give it up. You've grown up working twice as hard as the boys around you, there's no reason you shouldn't work twice as hard as all the men around you now. I almost think that your having the baby here would be an asset to your command; it would prove to the refugees that you have faith in their ability to defend New Hope."

"Oh," breathed Kel. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Now," Alanna continued, "as for being all alone, clearly you don't want me to know who the father is, or you would have told me by now. You probably have some sort of noble sounding sentiment about not wanting to compromise his career."

How come no one's ever mentioned her mind reading abilities in any of the songs about her, Kel thought.

"No, Lady Knight, I can't read minds." Kel had her doubts about this. "But you're not the first noblewoman expecting an illegitimate child that I've talked with. You're just the first one with her own command post."

"Oh," Kel said again.

"I could put a truth spell on you and force you to tell me." Kel stepped backwards quickly at this and the Lioness chuckled. "And I might have done that ten years ago, but I won't. It wouldn't be worth losing your trust."

Kel nodded. Her day of confessions seemed to have stiffened her tongue.

"You aren't suffering from morning sickness are you?"

"Neal has taken care of it."

"Good, meet me in the practice yard first thing tomorrow morning. You can teach me how to use a glaive."

Alanna stood in the moonlight with a contemplative expression on her face as Kel climbed off the wall and walked back inside. Then, she hurried to Roaul's tent. There she found Dom and Roaul glaring at each other and arguing in whispers.

"No, I'm not going to let you resign; she'd be furious with both of us if I did that."

"But sir," Dom began. Alanna coughed, interrupting them.

"Congratulations, Dom," she said quietly. " I did rather expect Kel to have excellent taste."

"Please give me a chance to explain myself before you impale me."

"I'm not planning on impaling you. Kel would be furious with me if I did that." Alanna grinned. "You might actually wish I'd impaled you in a few years, when you realize how difficult parenting is. For now, though, you should stay where you are. I don't think Kel's ready to settle down and be married yet. And I'm afraid the two of you might end up resenting each other in a few years if you thought either one of you had ended the other's career." Alanna paused and pointed at Roaul. "And clearly he doesn't want you to resign.

"What do you have in mind?" Roaul thought there was an awfully familiar glint in Alanna's eyes.

"Not much," Alanna said. "But I've been thinking lately that the law forbidding men in the King's Own from being married is archaic and detrimental to morale."

"That's odd," said Roaul grinning. "The same thing has been crossing my mind lately as well. I'm sure Jon could easily be persuaded to introduce the idea to his council if it were suggested to him."

Alanna turned towards Dom again. "The conservatives will never allow it to pass if they suspect that you fathered Kel's child."

"You just have to lie low for a year or so. And I'll claim the, er, responsibility if necessary. In which case, Buri will probably impale me." Roaul shuddered.

"She and I will have a little chat together, first, if that becomes necessary," Alanna said. "Besides, Buri has always favored decapitation when she's really angry.

Reasons to go to a women's college:

3. Chocolate

4. You can always use another excuse to live in your pajamas

Thanks for reading. I'm glad you decided to come along for the ride and I hope you've had run. Remember, reviews make me hum and try to insert scenes—like the one in Roaul's tent—for you.