A/N: My last disclaimer, as I've finally finished the last chapter. I do not, nor will I ever, own Beka Cooper. That genius is purely Tamora Pierce's doing.

I hope you enjoy the final, and leave your reviews at the end!

'Well that was stupid.' I thought to myself as I trudged down the hall alone. Why in the name of the gods did I admit that? To them, of all people? Their giggling and discussing over my admittance of liking Rosto had gotten too much, and I'd fled the room. 'Do I like Rosto?' I asked myself. If I didn't, then why did I say I did? Perhaps I just need sleep. 'Yes, that's it, sleep.'

Surely it couldn't be that I did…

I shook my head to clear it of the confusing thoughts and changed my course, heading instead down into the tunnels towards the weapons room. Maybe a good spar was what I needed, and after that, uninterrupted sleep. Only, when I entered the top-secret underground room, I found it full of nearly every other person in the house and tunnels.

"Giles," I start tiredly and all eyes swing to me. I fully realised how exhausted I truly was when I spoke. All this time had finally taken its toll on me. I felt older, yet silently more at peace with myself. I'd faced what I'd been hiding from for so long, slain the shadows that sat, waiting, on the edges of my dreams. I felt…actually rather good, tired and a little confused, but still good.

I stole a glance at the fair headed, coal eyed Rogue leaning casually against the wall and my heart drummed a little faster in my chest. Yes, definitely confused. But it was nothing I couldn't over come…I hope.

"What are they doing down here?" I quickly take my eyes away from the main source of my confusion and reach for my usual sabre hanging on the wall. Lifting it out, I tested its sharpness against my thumb and glanced at the great mage who was in deep conversation with my Lord Provost.

"Tunstall asked about our weapons." Dom explained. "And I thought it'd be a lot easier to bring them down here, instead of the weapons up there. Besides, Rosie would skin us if we brought in more dust and dirt then usual."

"Brother, you really need to get over your fear of that duster." I said, shaking my head at him. "I don't really want my family traipsing around down here. Couldn't you have just explained? Adrian, do you have a moment?"

The giant man grinned, nodding his understanding. "'Course, Mistress." He took one of the biggest broad swords off the wall and followed me through the expanse of tunnels to the open sparing room. The children and their teachers were scattered around practising their hand to hand combat when we entered. I nodded for the instructors to continue as we watched.

"Children? What place do children this young have here?" My Lord enquired quietly as not to disrupt their concentration anymore.

I smiled at him. "The next generation, I'll explain it later."

Bravln looked up and grinned at me, the wavering of his concentration for those few moments aloud his opponent, a young girl, to smack him a good one in the ribs. I chuckled and walked over to them, silently cursing the dress for being so long. "Never take your focus off your opponent." I instructed, standing behind him and moving him into a ready stance. I smiled at the girl. Her dark eyes watched me warily from behind her curtain of equally dark hair. "That was a good hit."

"Thank you, Mistress." She muttered bowing her head and dipping into an awkward curtsy, her cheeks flushed.

"There's no need for that." I assured her quickly, gesturing for her to rise to her feet. I stepped away from them and smile. "Start again."

They nodded unsurely but slowly picked up from where they had left off. Their young bodies moving through the movements well, abet clumsily, but they'd overcome that. Everything could be overcome with time, practice and a lot of patience.

They had to learn this most of all. Our lives were more then just battle. There was skill, smarts, perseverance and more patience needed to make a good warrior. We are the elite of the underworld, the most secret of secrets. I glanced over at the 'outsider' audience and allowed the beginnings of a smile.

My people would not be known as ruthless demon shadows any longer. There will be no more whispers of merciless assassins creeping through the dark. With the death of the Hangman and his empire, their names, and the fear they instilled, would die as well.

Be it by my sword or Executioner's Hill, I didn't mind.

I wouldn't rise to fill the place, though. The Daughter of Fire will all but disappear, and the realm of assassins along with it. I vowed to do a much better job of keeping my organisation secret then my father did.

My sword suddenly felt heavy in my hand and I stared down at the stunningly crafted weapon, it fit so perfectly in my hands, as if it had been made for me. It wasn't jewel incrusted, or anything ridiculously fancy. The hilt was sturdy silver, and engraved around it were simple patterns of swirls and lines. The blade was thin but strong, making the whole weapon light and easy to wield. Just at the base of the hilt, running up the blade was recently engraved writing that I couldn't read.

The writing was not here that last time I'd used my blade, which was only the night before.

I frowned at it, flexing my fingers around the hilt experimentally. I hadn't realised its fit before, either. I mean, it had always been like this, but, I'd never actually realised it until now. Apart from the writing, that was definitely new.

Clasping the hilt gently in both hands, I rested the tip of the blade in front of me and attempted to relax somewhat as I watched the children train. I tried to brush off my curiosity and contemplation and just concentrate on what was happening around me. I really needed a good night's sleep.

In trying to block the other thoughts from my mind, I almost missed the almost none-existent sound of a blade cutting through air. At the last second possible, I brought my blade up from its resting position and whipped around to block the sudden attack.

I almost glared at Adrian as he grinned at me and put more pressure on our locked swords. This is what I had come down here for, though.

I pulled my sword back and ducked around him, moving fluidly through familiar movements and biting back a smile as my body and senses responded almost happily to another fight, if only a spar. "Come along, then." I grinned. "We don't have all day."

Adrian chuckled and shook his head. He knew I knew it was pointless to goad him, he was to smart for such things. Still, it was fun to try. Perhaps Dom has taught me something else after all.

He was still for a moment, just watching me as I started to circle him, then he launched into a heavy swing aimed to slice me straight in half. In stead of blocking the attempt I dodged it. I'd never fought in a dress before or not one as heavy and long as this, and I promised myself right then that I would never do it again. It made my movements awkward and less efficient until I got more used to it.

Adrian gave his low, amused chuckle again. "You should have changed, Milady."

I agreed, but there was another point not to have done so. "Probably, but the enemy is hardly going to wait for me to change if they attacked me while I was wearing one." Practice makes perfect. I was good now, but I knew suddenly that I could be much better.

I don't know where all these realisations were coming from, but I knew they were right.

Adrian gave me no mercy, like usual when we sparred. He came at me surprisingly fast for someone of his size, with the strength you expected and the agility that you did not.

I either dove out of the way or blocked his blows. His strength was no match for mine and I knew when flight was the best option. We continued our dance until sweat trickled down my forehead and my body began to feel tired from everything it had endured in the past months. It was time I rested, properly rested, and I begrudgingly admitted it.

I swung upwards unexpectedly, locking our blades together and pulled back sharply, instantly yanking his free of his large hand. I dropped to the ground and spun my legs to knock his from under him. He landed heavily with a grunt and sent small specs of dust up into the air. Flipping easily to my feet I repositioned the swords, resting his on top of mine and pointed them both at his throat.

"Yield?" I asked, more panted. My chest rose and fell quickly with each deep breath I took and I swayed slightly on my feet, ready to collapse. I wouldn't though, I would take each step back to my room myself.

Adrian nodded and I lowered the blades, extending one hand down to help him up. Unlike the first time I'd done this, he didn't make it difficult for me. Holding his sword out to him, hilt first, I smiled. "Thank you, I needed that."

He nodded and clapped me on the shoulder, nearly sending me sprawling to the ground.

I looked up in surprise at the sound of applause. While I'd been concentrating on the fight I'd failed to notice that my audience had grown with the women having entered.

"You are very skilled, Beka." My Lord said as I approached.

I smiled tiredly. "You could say it's in my blood."

"You should put on a show for us after every meal." Dom suggested with his mischievous grin. "It's very entertaining watching Adrian get his backside kicked."

"Silence, brother, or you will be next." I warned, playfully.

"Not today." Giles interrupted Dom before he could come up with a reply. "You need your rest, little one."

I nodded and smiled. "I believe that is a very good idea, Uncle." I stretched up and kissed his weathered old cheek affectionately. I stepped back and looked around all the faces watching me, my new family and my old one.

No, not old, they were still as much my family as they were before this whole thing started. My family had simply gotten bigger.

I hugged Will and Nilo tightly, dipping my head to kiss their cheeks. "Will you be here when I wake?"

Will nodded. "Yes, Lord Giles and Lady Mary-Ann have asked us to stay, and my Lord Provost has allowed it."

I smiled my thank you to my mentor and he bowed his head in acceptance with a smile of his own. Lorine embraced me next, and kissed my cheek. "Sleep well, sister. I am very proud of you." She whispered.

Tears stung the back of my eyes but I held them at bay. "When tomorrow comes, will you take me to Diona?" I asked in a matching whisper, tucking a stray stand of her hair behind her ear.

"Of course." She squeezed my hand then pushed on my arm lightly. "Go and sleep." She ordered. "You look terrible."

I laughed. "Thank you, Lorine. If you'll all excuse me, I believe I've been given new orders."

Kora and Aniki both gave me hugs before shooing me out of the room. I waved at the others once more, declined Anna's offer to assist me, and slipped into the darkness of the tunnels.

I sighed in relief as I entered my room; the weariness was starting to make my eyes droop. I rested my sword on the mount above my bed, running my fingers over the script as if to memorise it. I'd have to find out who'd done it, and what it meant.

I contemplated going straight to sleep, but I felt itchy and uncomfortable so I moved myself over to the wash basin atop the small table in the corner instead. I kicked off my shoes and battled for a while with the fastenings on my dress. Just was I was about to resort to cutting it open, they came undone.

Pulling the top down to expose my upper half, clad only in the bindings around my chest, the dress hung at my hips instead of dropping straight to the floor.

Dipping the cloth into the lukewarm water, I squeezed out some of it before applying it to my body. It caused goose bums to form along my arms, but it felt good to be rid of the sweat and dirt.

I didn't notice the doorknob turning, so when the door opened to admit someone, my hand automatically reached under the desk and wrapped around a knife. I brought it up, ready to hurl it into the skull of the intruder, but stopped when I saw who it was. Instead I let out a squeal and pulled up the top of my dress, clamping it in place under my arms.

"Rosto!" I hissed. "What in the name of the Goddess are you doing here?"

He lowered his hands from where he'd held them up when he thought I was going to stab him. A cheeky smile stretched across his mouth as he shut the door behind him. "Remind me not to sneak up on you. This is the second time you've nearly killed me today."

"Why are you in my room?" I demanded, wishing I could cover my bare shoulders but not willing to risk him seeing anything else. "How did you even find my room?"

"I followed you, of course. Goodwin isn't very easy to evade, but Tunstall was nice enough to help me get away." He grinned, walking towards me until he was in touching distance.

"Why did you follow me?" I wasn't sure how I felt about him knowing where I slept; it was instinct that my chambers be a secret to help avoid assassination attempts in the night. This was Rosto, and I didn't know wether to be upset or pleased.

He gave me his cursed smirk, the one that stirred the butterflies in my stomach and boiled the blood in my veins. He closed the distance between us and I swallowed hard, but didn't step back. Why didn't I step back?"

His smirk widened into a pleased, triumphant grin and he reached up a hand to cup my cheek. With his other hand he took the damp cloth from the table top and dipped it back into the water.

He gently ran the cloth over my scratched cheek, my eyes flickering closed and I let out an unwilling sigh. Why did it have to feel so good? My eyes opened quickly as the cloth trailed down the side of my neck slowly. I stared up at Rosto, confused and nervous and excited all at once.

He wasn't watching my eyes though. His gaze was trained on the marks across my cheek. He leaned in closer, bowing his head slightly. I felt his hot breath across my cheek and then his lips pressed against the marks. I shivered.

"Rosto…"

He pulled back, caressing the other cheek with his thumb and resumed his movements with the cloth.

"What are you doing?" My voice was barely above a whisper. I was so confused, lost. I didn't know what he was thinking. I didn't know what I was thinking, or what I should think.

"Isn't it obvious?" He asked in the same low tone.

I shook my head. Obviously it wasn't obvious. I didn't even know if I wanted to know. I was scared, I hadn't remembered feeling this scared in a while. Fear was a weakness, and I couldn't afford weaknesses.

The cloth moved across my collar bone, and his other hand slid down the side of my neck. He pulled at the top of my dress and my whole body went ridged. His dark eyes came back up to mine apologetically.

"I just want a look." He explained.

I glared daggers at him and went to pull away.

He kept me firmly where I was though and I thought I heard a soft curse. "Forgive me, Beka, not a look at that." His smirk threatened to come back and I knew he wanted to add something else, but didn't say anything more.

I stared at him for a moment, weighing up my options while he waited patiently for me to choose. Finally I sighed, and against better judgement, let my hold on my dress lighten enough for him to gently pull it away from me. He let it drop and it hung at my hips again.

He simply looked for a moment, his eyes taking in every inch until he tentatively reached out and traced the length of the longest claw scar. His touch made me shiver again and a new wave of goose bumps formed. He turned his attention to the next one, and it continued until he'd inspected and traced every scar on my torso.

"I should've been there." He spoke after what felt like hours of silence between us. His voice was hoarse. "I should've protected you."

"How could you have?" I asked him, not liking the pain I saw in his eyes as he started mapping out the scars all over again. "It would have happened whether you were there or not. It is not your fault, Rosto."

He shook his head, his hair moving with the movement. "I nearly lost you." I don't think I'd ever seen him like this, and I didn't care for the change in him at all.

I reached up and touched his cheek. "Look at me."

He obeyed my soft command after a moment and our eyes met.

"You didn't loose me, I'm here. See?" I grabbed his hand still tracing the scars and intertwined our fingers and squeezed. "Right here."

He smiled a little and I felt myself smiling to. "I don't want to loose you, ever." He admitted, closing the small space between us and bent down to rest his forehead against mine, cradling my face in his calloused hands. "I can't loose you."

I brought my hands up and wrapped them around his, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I could really think about them. "You won't."

He smiled, not smirked, not grinned, smiled. He pressed a light kiss to the tip of my nose. My eyes did close as his thumbs stroked my cheeks again, I felt my body sway as I got more relaxed and closer to sleep. My exhaustion was starting to freely show itself.

One of his hands left my face and I almost protested until it wrapped around my waist, whether to support me or keep me from moving, I didn't know, nor did I care.

"I love you."

My eyes snapped open and found his already watching mine. "What?" I asked breathlessly.

"I love you, Beka." He repeated, watching closely for my reaction.

"But…I don't…I…" Clearly I had no idea how to respond to this. My heart pounded so hard I thought it likely my ribs would crack and I'd be back to the healing quarters. The butterflies swarmed and tears stung my eyes as I opened and closed my mouth, trying to find a response. At the moment, any response would do.

He loved me?

Loved me?

I saw him falter, and something came into his eyes that I couldn't quite recognise. Pain, disappointment…?

He started to move away. "I'm sorry, Beka…"

I didn't know how to respond, but I did know that I didn't want him to go anywhere. 'Isn't that the answer, then?' I thought. His going had never bothered me this much before, but now? He hadn't even really moved yet and I already wanted him back.

"Wait!"

He stopped and looked down at me, searching my face, my eyes, for something.

"I…I don't know, what to say." I uttered finally. "But please don't go. I don't want you to go."

He quickly assumed his position and I saw the bad emotions in his eyes fade and my panic eased. "Why don't you know?" He asked softly.

"I don't know!" I exclaimed, balling my hands in his tunic as if it'd anchor him there. "I don't know what to think, I don't know what I feel…I'm confused, Rosto."

"Shh." He soothed, resting his forehead back against mine, my eyes immediately closing at his touch. "It's alright, I know. Come, you really do need to rest now." He guided me to my bed and helped me out of the dress. I didn't care that all I wore were my under clothes as I sat on the edge of the bed, staring up at him.

"Sleep, Beka. We'll talk about it later." He promised, leaning down to kiss my forehead before backing away.

I wondered why he hadn't kissed me, usually it was the first thing he did. I wondered then why I wanted him to.

My hand shot out and grabbed his before he got out of reach. He looked back at me, surprised and hopeful.

I pulled on him. "Don't go. I still don't want you go, Piper."

He smiled and returned to my side, sitting down next to me. I scooted back across the bed and laid down, my hand still gripping his tightly. I would be asleep soon, no matter how much these strange feelings raged inside me, I couldn't go without sleep much longer. I wanted him to be with me when I fell into the darkness, and I was suddenly scared that he wouldn't be here when I woke from it.

"Will you stay with me?" I asked him, watching him from under half closed lids.

He debated it for a moment before nodding. He kicked off his own shoes and lay down next to me. I closed the little distance he'd put between us and sighed in content.

"You can sleep." He said as he took the ties in my hair out and let it fall across my shoulders. "I won't go, I promise."

I nodded and bit back a smile as he tucked some of my hair behind my ear. He moved as if to kiss my forehead again but I tilted my head up at the last second and our lips met. He was shocked for a moment but recovered quickly enough and kissed me back. I pulled away first, completely breathless and happy. I knew now, it was all I needed to know.

"I love you to, Rosto."

He grinned and wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to him. I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed deeply, relaxing instantly.

"There, now was that so hard to say?" He teased.

I smacked his chest weakly then left my hand there. "Oh, be quiet, or I'll tell Goodwin."

"I thought you said you loved me." He complained.

I was so close to sleep now, it felt wonderful. "I did, I do, but I'll never pass up a chance to watch her best you."

He chuckled and rubbed my hip comfortingly, pressing another caressing kiss to the side of my head before he settled beside me and held me tighter. "Sleep now, my little Terrier."

I smiled, and allowed myself to fall into the black oblivion.

Maybe this life wasn't so bad after all.

The End.

A/N: Well…wow, there you have it. Last chapter. Kinda sad about it, but I'm really glad I finished it :). Especially since there were times when I thought I wouldn't be able to. This one took a little longer as I wanted it to be just right, since it's the last one.

I want to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, favourited and alerted this story. Your support has been what has kept it going. Thank you so much! And a very special thank you to Navigator101 for all her help, you're amazing, :).

I am toying with the idea of a sequel, but it probably won't be written for a while, since I start my final year of high school in all of two days. But what do you guys think? Would you like a sequel?

Thank you, again. Please leave your reviews =).

~Angel xx