Starsplash: Thank you! You are always so sweet! It makes me want to write faster… though it doesn't always work, especially when inspiration hides in my mounds of laundry. Man, I hate doing laundry…

DragonDancer219: thank you very much! Reviews make for a happy scarlet!

AKA_fredandgeorge: Banter is what I like to write best. When I get into it that is. For some reason the first line or two are always the hardest… and I know that it was late, Blame the evil writer's block or just blame me. You know you still love me.

Rushingriver: thank you!

TortugaTourGuide: never fear, there will be updates until the end

Ghostliyprincess: thank you! And yeah, I like Link a bit too much to kill him…

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Katrina sighed and rubbed her eyes and then absentmindedly toyed with the end of the loose braid she had plaited after her bath as she stared at the book in front of her, her brow in a frown of concentration.

"Kitten?" she jumped slightly and looked toward the door of the study where Kipp was leaning against the doorframe. "It's late, why don't you get some sleep?"

"I can't. I have to straighten out the accounts." She gestured to the three open leather bound ledgers, loose sheets of paper and a pile of receipts spread across the desk. Kipp walked up behind her where she sat in the large leather chair behind the desk and put his hands on her shoulders, looked at the papers littering the top of the desk and sighed.

"These are a complete mess."

"I know." Katrina answered with a sigh of her own, placing one hand over Kipp's where it rested on her shoulder. "But I have to do it. I have no idea how I will be able to keep up with all this when we return to Port Royal."

Kipp chuckled. "You don't." Katrina twisted in her seat to give him a questioning look. "You need to hire a steward. You need someone that can run this place without having to be watched all the time. Someone trustworthy." He elaborated. "We should talk to that little lawyer in the morning, see if he has any ideas. But for now, get some rest. I'll see if Taidhgan can make heads or tails of this in the morning. He has a mind for numbers." Kipp's hands had started to lightly massage her shoulders as he spoke.

"Hmm." Katrina laid her head back against the high-backed leather chair. Feeling the tension of the last few days melting away and her eyelids drifted together.

"Kitten?" Kipp's voice penetrated the fog of her half-asleep mind.

"Hmm?" she responded sleepily.

"It's late and you've had a long few days. You should get some sleep."

"After I finish these accounts." She barely forced open her heavy eyes only to find the pen pulled from her hand and the inkbottle's cap replaced. She let out a light gasp as Kipp scooped her up in his arms.

"You need sleep. You'll be no good to anyone if you make yourself sick."

"Kipp." She weakly protested even as she wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her head against his chest, contentedly listening to his heart beat as he carried her up the stairs. He pushed open the door to her bedroom with his boot and laid her on the bed.

"Sleep well." he kissed her forehead. "I'm sharing a room with Jace and Taidhgan. I'm right across the hall if you need anything."

"Sera?" she asked, nearly asleep.

"In the nursery, four doors down and fast asleep."

"I should check on her." Katrina said through a yawn.

"I'll do that." Kipp promised as she drifted asleep. He pushed a stray lock of hair off of her face with a smile before he left the room.

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Katrina and Kipp met with the little lawyer after breakfast the following morning.

"Yes, yes, of course." The lawyer sifted through the stack of papers before him, obviously searching for specific papers. "I have some candidates here, as I was going to suggest them to the, uh, pervious manor owner." He held out a particular paper to Katrina. "Here is the top candidate. He comes highly recommended and he is currently staying in Charleston, along with a few other possibles. I took the liberty of contacting them before we set sail." He explained a little sheepishly at the raised eyebrows that were sent in his direction. "I can have then out here by early afternoon, or tomorrow if you prefer."

Katrina turned to look at Kipp with a questioning look. "You're the one in charge here, Kitten. But I would like to get home soon."

"The earlier the better, than." She directed at the lawyer who nodded and started scribbling down hasty letters.

"If you can get someone to deliver these…"

"I'll get someone on it right away." Kipp offered. "Why don't we go see how what Sera's up to?"

Katrina smiled and accepted his hand. "When the candidates arrive, please let us know, and direct then to the office." She asked of the lawyer. Who nodded and pulled another paper toward himself as he started on another missive.

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Katrina sent another applicant from the room. With a groan she slumped back in the chair and buried her face in her hands. "That was the fifth one. Not a single one actually talked to me. All the responses where directed towards you. How am I supposed to hire someone I can trust when not a one of them will look me in the eye or believe that I am in fact in charge?" her words where muffled through her hands. Kipp kneeled in front of her and gently removed her hands from her face so he could look her in the eyes.

"Hey, it's alright. You just haven't found the right one yet. That little lawyer has dozens of other candidates to choose from." He tried to sooth, but only succeeded in making Katrina groan.

"If those are his top picks, I don't even want to know what the other ones are like."

"You need a break." Kipp decided and pulled her to her feet as he stood. Katrina sighed and passed a hand over her face.

"Do you know how Taidhgan is coming on the accounts?"

Kipp frowned. "That's not what I meant by a break."

"I know, but I want to get this straightened around so we can return home." Katrina stretched on her toes and planted a light kiss on his lips.

"Home." Kipp repeated. "Sounds good." He grinned as he followed Katrina from the room.

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"Taidhgan, these are looking so much better." Katrina praised as she looked over his shoulder at the pages covered in his neat handwriting.

"There are some discrepancies, I suspect that snooty butler was lining his pockets some. But all-in-all it seems mostly ok." He explained as he pointed out a few shortcomings on the pages.

"Where did you learn how to do this?" Katrina asked, still studding the pages before her.

"My uncle had a shop. I worked for him for a bit and he had me take care of the books when he found that I had a head for numbers. I applied the same theories to these ledgers. It really is like running a business, a bigger one than most, but a business, none the less."

"A business…" Katrina trailed off.

"I know that look, what are you thinking, Kitten?" Kipp asked.

Katrina grinned. "I think I may know a person for the job… how fast can we get a message to Charleston?"

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Any guesses?

Yes, yes. It is very short, but I thought that people might be out for my blood if I didn't post something soon. More will be coming when busy season at work dies down.

Love to all!

­-Scarlet