Of course, all the characters (except Nessa and her despicable uncle) and the location belong to Tamora Pierce. I want to thank all of my reviewers for providing wonderful encouragement that has kept me going both on this story and on the original piece I'm working on. This chapter is a bit darker and more serious than the last—I've got to keep Kel on her toes somehow, I wouldn't want her to get rusty.

Kel and Tobe—who had been found sleeping between the hooves of a notoriously ill-tempered stallion—rode away a short while later. Owen had sworn not to tell a soul before Kel left. Not that he would have time, Kel thought, with all the duties Wyldon had heaped on him. They arrived at New Hope well after dark, tired and hungry.

Kel and Tobe were about to enter the mess hall for dinner when Kel heard a low moan and stopped suddenly, slipping around to the shadows beside the building. There she found a middle-aged man shaking a young woman by the shoulders. The woman already had a black eye and her forearms were covered with bruises and scratches. Tobe darted away to find Neal at Kel's signal.

"It was that idiot southerner, wasn't it?" growled the man as he slammed her body against the mess hall. "I saw the way you were looking at him, you little—"

"Release her," Kel ordered, stepping forwards.

"This be but a family matter," the man snarled. "My stupid niece has gotten herself pregnant. The wench is no better than she ought to—"

Within moments, Kel had his arms pinioned tightly behind his back. He whimpered in pain as she tightened her grip.

"I'd say that's a matter between your niece and the Goddess. I'd say your niece looks old enough to make her own decisions, and that she need not answer your questions."

"But Lady—"

"I'd say that an insult to her is an insult to me," Kel snapped. She took a deep breath and began dragging him towards the mess hall. "In fact," she said, as Neal and Tobe came running into view, "I'd say it's time for me to make an announcement."

"Kel, what are you doing? I'd probably want to kill Wyldon too if I were you but that's no reason to--"

"I'm going to make an announcement, not a resignation speech, and make an example," Kel said quietly, "and I'd like you to be there."

"What for? I'm not an good at funeral hymns."

"Just help her, would you?" Kel nodded at the young woman, who was slumped against the wall, tears sliding silently down her cheeks.

Neal hurried over and checked her injuries, before helping her to her feet. She was a slender woman and Kel could just see the bulge of her pregnancy when she stood straight. Neal noticed that she was shivering and he wrapped his own cloak around her as he helped her towards Kel.

"Thank you," she whispered to Kel and Neal. Then she stepped up to her uncle and slapped him hard across the face. "I feel much better now."

"What's your name?" Kel asked.

"Nessa," the woman replied, as she pulled her borrowed cloak tightly about her hunched shoulders.

"Alright, Nessa, can I ask you to do something really brave with me?" Kel began walking again as she spoke, jerking Nessa's uncle out in front of her and pushing him forwards.

"What?"

"We're going to tell the whole camp that were pregnant and that it's none of their damn business who the fathers of our children are."

Kel was grinning now, and Neal thought the grin was vaguely familiar. It looked rather like his own reflection just before he said something particularly insulting to Lord Wyldon.

"We are?" Nessa placed a slight emphasis on the word we.

"We are?" echoed Neal.

"Well, you're actually just going to back me up and provide moral support. Unless you have a number of secrets you've been keeping from me."

"You didn't tell me that," whined Tobe.

"We'll talk about this later, Tobe" Kel quickened her pace and pushed Nessa's uncle through the mess hall doorway, allowing his head to scrape its sides in the process.

"So I take it Peachblossom is sitting placidly in his stall, and sharing out his oats to all the other horses," Neal muttered, "since you two have obviously switched personalities."

"Precisely," said Kel. "And maybe he'll want to join you and Tobe, when the two of you have a little chat about the birds and the bees later tonight."

Neal swallowed and was silent. He became suddenly aware of the number of eyes upon Kel and Nessa's uncle.

Kel walked to the far end of the mess hall and stepped onto a bunch, dropping Nessa's uncle, who promptly fell onto his hands and knees.

"I found this man outside, beating his niece." Kel spoke loudly and gestured towards Nessa. "He was beating her because he was angry to discover that she is with child. His excuse, that he wanted to know the father of her child, is unacceptable. All expectant mothers, regardless of whether or not they are married, are to be treated with respect. I want you to know that Nessa is not alone. I want to tell you all now, that I too am carrying a child."

Kel had to wait a few moments for the noise to die down before she could continue.

"And I want all of you to know that I am not leaving New Hope. I will give birth here and raise my child here as long as I am stationed. New Hope is a safe place and the people of New Hope are good people, which is why I am trusting you not to ask me for the name of my child's father. I am trusting you not to question my judgment, or Nessa's, or that of any other woman in this encampment."

There was a long pause, and then an old woman stood and shouted. "Well-spoken Lady Knight and congratulations."

The mess hall was suddenly filled with low muttering, which evolved into hissing and shouting. Some of the refugees were expressing disbelief and anger, but most of the noise seemed to be in support of Kel. Soon another woman stood and offered Nessa a seat beside her at a table. Nessa cast a fleeting glance at Kel and her uncle before returning Neal's cloak and hurrying to the table.

"As for this man," Kel said, gesturing to Nessa uncle after the refugees' shouts had subsided somewhat. "I'm going to give him a choice. He may leave New Hope immediately or he may remain in New Hope on promise of good behavior after he spends a night in the stocks and a month on latrine duty."

"I'll leave," the man snarled, " I can't see why any self-respecting man would want too stay here and take orders from a common who—"

Neal had him flat on his back with a sword-point to his neck before he could finish. "I'm afraid Lady Keladry neglected to mention that you are to leave not only immediately, but also silently. After you apologize to your niece that is."

"His apology means nothing to me," Nessa said, standing quickly. "It might take hours for his lips to form the words "I' sorry" and I would rather not delay his departure for even an instant."

"Very well," Neal said, pulling his sword away and nudging Nessa's uncle up with the heal of his boot. Nessa's uncle scuttled out the door of the mess hall and out the gates of New Hope to loud applause.

"You know," said Kel, as she watched Neal tend Nessa's bruises, "I think that maybe this is going to work out after all."

The evening, had indeed, gone well for her. Tobe had decided that he was glad to hear that Kel was having a baby if only so that she would "have someone else to force feed vegetables." One of the refugees, a skilled carpenter, had offered to construct a cradle for Kel. An older woman had offered to live with Nessa and help her during her pregnancy, "seeing as she has no kin here." And she was feeling surprisingly calm and peaceful now that she had told the truth to the residents of New Hope. She knew that angry mutters would follow her for days, but she didn't think that anyone would confront her openly.

"I still can't believe Wyldon's trusting me with something," Neal said. "Are you quite sure he didn't have a stroke or anything right after you told him? You might have noticed if he seemed non-responsive for a few minutes or if his face turned an odd color."

"Actually…now that you mention the possibility." Kel smiled. "We just won't mention his orders to anyone else."

Neal left to find some herbs for Nessa and the two women were left alone in the infirmary.

"I want to thank you for what you did today," Nessa said. "I imagine you wanted to keep it a secret a little while longer."

"Yes," said Kel, " I did, but that wouldn't really have done me any good in the long run. I'm going to be gossiped about no matter what. Now I can start getting it over with. All of the court will know within a week or so now. At least I won't have to hear most of what they're going to say about me." Kel paused and set a hand on Nessa's shoulder. "How are you going to manage though?"

"Not as well as you, I'm afraid,. My child's father is dead or we might be married by now. It must be nice, having him around to support you, even if he's already married," Nessa said, nodding her head in the direction of the doorway to indicate Neal. "Still I'll manage. Heather will be a great help to me, and no one will bother me now that you have forbidden it."

"Neal's not—"

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just the way he went after my uncle like that I just assumed…"

"You and the rest of the camp probably," Kel said as Neal stepped in and handed a packet of herbs to Nessa.

Nessa curtsied to both of them and muttered her thanks before hurrying out the door. "Best of luck to you, Lady Knight."

"And to you, Nessa, and to you."

Nessa stepped away and the room was silent.

"You'd better hope this baby doesn't take after Dom, or you're going to be getting a lot of funny looks around here."

"I know, I was just outside the door when she said that about me."

"I'm sorry, I don't want to damage your reputation too."

"It's alright," Neal said quietly. "It's kind of flattering in an odd way. I wonder who else is going to be honored at court." Neal grinned. "Let's see: Cleon, probably, Raoul, most definitely—that'll be conservatives trying to prove that female squires corrupt honest men, Roald—quite possibly, Owen, though that seems a bit far fetched. Hmm, I wonder if anyone will try to claim it was Wyldon, that would be highly entertain—"

Kel had him on the floor with a sword point to his throat before he could finish. "Remember who taught you this one?"

"Now I do," said Neal cheerfully. "But I seriously think you don't need to worry too much about Dom. You know how peoples' minds work at court. He'll only be one of a long list of possibilities." Neal grabbed Kel's hand and pulled himself up. "I wouldn't let it bother you too much if I were you. At least people at New Hope won't be able to claim that I am shirking in fatherly duties towards my illegitimate relative."

Reasons to go to a women's college:

7. The phrase "I go to a women's college" works very well to shut up grandmothers and aunts who won't stop asking impertinent questions about your boyfriends or lack thereof

8. The phrase "I go to a women's college" works very well to shut up uncles who claim that women don't need to know how to change light bulbs in college because they can always get a guy to do it for them.

Don't worry; the next chapter will be more light-hearted and fun. Thanks for reading and remember that reviews make me feel giddy with energy and delight. This makes me more likely to walk my Australian Shepherd (and I like to plan out scenes while I'm out walking.)