A/N: Thinking...I need a vacation soon. Any suggestions?
Aubrey: Here you go :)
Gold: :) Glad you review so faithfully. Hope you catch up soon!
Disclaimer: I'm not John Flanagan. And still not Australian.
Scout followed her guards through the intricate paths until they were at the stable. Three horses, including her new mare Swift, were saddled and ready. Scout mounted and they began riding. Warden and Matthew guided her through back alleys until they came to the city's docks. Everyone dismounted and a waiting stable boy took the reins of their horses. Matthew led and Warden covered as Scout was taken to a shack of a fisherman's house. Inside a wiry old woman hovered over a stove while her husband mended a net. Sean and Kineta sat at the table waiting for her.
Kineta ran to embrace her. "Are you alright?" she demanded. "Are you hurt? Did you see anything? Are you…"
"Let her breathe," Sean said gently as he took Kineta's shoulders and pulled her back. "You alright, Scout?"
Scout nodded. "I'm fine."
The old woman put bowls full of chowder on the table and a plate of sliced bread in the middle. "Eat up," she told them, "You all could use something in your stomachs."
"Scout meet Mistress Brighton," Sean said. "She was the maid who became like a mother to me after my own died. My uncle fired her once I was deemed too old for a mother but she and her husband have let their house be a safety point for me since I was young. Mistress Brighton this is Scout, Nerilina's daughter. You remember Nerilina?"
"Of course I do. I liked that girl so much before her wretched father sent her and her mother away. I always wonder if she grew up to be happy. Seems like she had a beautiful daughter. Do you have any siblings Scout?"
"A sister. Caitlyn," Scout answered slowly with a glance to her cousins.
Mistress Brighton winked to Sean. "I'm glad your mother got someone named after her."
Sean nodded. "Me too." Scout noticed Kineta's hand went to her stomach for a brief moment before everyone gathered around the table again. She suddenly remembered the whole reason she'd been sent to Hibernia. It saddened her. Sean and Kineta had been nothing but loving and accepting of her, a faraway cousin they barely knew. They'd become like second parents and proved to be good ones. The deserved their own child.
"How long will we be here?" Scout asked.
"Just for the day," Sean replied. "It's fairly routine. I've got some paperwork to get through but Kineta's schedule was full of meetings that are now postponed. How does a trip to the beach sound?"
"I thought we couldn't leave the safe house?" Scout asked.
"You can't alone but Kineta's got the training your mother ran to Araluen with. Take a guard, change clothes, and the three of you can go enjoy the sun for a few hours."
Mistress Brighton showed Kineta and Scout to a small bedroom and opened a trunk. Soon the queen and crown princess of Hibernia looked like they were just a fisherman's family. "Clothes seem to be what define us," Scout muttered. Kineta put a hand on her shoulder. Among the fishers clothing of men and women were identical. Everyone wore loose pants cut off at the knees and loose shirts.
"It's more about the person in them," Kineta told her.
"How do would you know?"
"I grew up wearing a uniform. Everyone wore the same thing. The clothes meant we were being trained and were expected to perform at a high level but the people inside the uniforms were all different."
Scout wasn't sure what the words meant but didn't feel like she wanted to. Warden volunteered to shadow them. They walked outside down to the water. Both went barefoot. Scout felt strange without shoes. At home she went without them often but in Hibernia it was unheard of. She smiled when her toes found the sand. Kineta seemed happy outside of the restraints of castle life too. They walked far away from the main beach to the secluded cliffs. Scout saw Warden keep his distance out of respect for their privacy.
"How are you at climbing?" Kineta asked, eyeing the sheer wall. Scout looked up. There were plenty of handholds and footholds and after months of castle life the challenge felt too sweet to resist.
"I'll race you," Scout challenged her. Kineta laughed and the two began climbing. Usually queens and princesses didn't have such skills. Rosalina surely didn't though Cassandra might be mediocre. Scout's parents had taught her young and it seemed Kineta used their same techniques.
They came to a ledge wide enough for them to sit on comfortably. Above them the cliffs jutted at a slant so nobody would be able to see them from the top and the seemingly straight drop below would allow them to see any pursuers before they could get too close. It was out of even a Ranger's bow range.
"I'm glad you give us a chance," Kineta told her. "Sean and I are happy you agreed to come here. We have come to love you so much."
Scout smiled. "Would you still say that if I decide to go back to Araluen?"
Kineta nodded. "Even if you opt out of princess you are still our cousin."
"But you and Sean adopted me, right?"
"That really was just a formality. I promise I'm not out to replace your mother."
Far below a man and woman walked with their arms around each other with their feet in the water. Four children younger than Scout danced around them laughing so loudly they could hear it from their place far above. Scout saw Kineta's hand, again, go to her stomach and rest there for just a moment.
"I'm so sorry you had to bring me here," Scout whispered. She met Kineta's gaze before looking away. Kineta turned her eyes back towards the water.
"There's something wrong with me," she whispered. "For some reason I can't carry a baby past the first few months. When I was a teenager the Academy leaders put me in an experimental group for some new type of medicine to boost our immune systems. Now I'm told that probably has something to do with…my problem."
Scout frowned but kept her eyes on her cousin. "That's terrible."
Kineta looked up at Scout sternly. "The reason nobody retaliated was because we were led to believe we wouldn't survive long enough to have families. Your mother was in the final group for that experiment which may be why it took her so long to get you and your sister. It was wrong of them, Scout, and you have to know that the person who got the Academy to that level was your grandmother and the person who played a big part in putting an end to it is your mother."
"Not much for me to do then," Scout said
"There's so much for you to do. Sean and I prepare the path but everyone will be watching you, to see which way you'll follow."
Scout felt choked. She hugged herself. "So much," she whispered.
Kineta slid an arm around her shoulders. "Scout, you are so strong. I hope you decide to get in line to be queen one day."
"What if I turn out like my grandmother?"
"What if you turn out like your mother or even your father?"
Scout took a deep breath. "I…"
"You won't be like any of them, Scout. You'll be you."
Scout stared out at the water. "There's so much that would be expected of me."
"That's true. Do you think I'm a good queen?"
"Of course you're a great queen."
"It wasn't what I was supposed to be though. Horace of Araluen was never supposed to be a king ever."
"He's the best."
Kineta hugged her tighter. "You, my dear, were very much born to be queen. Rightfully the throne belongs to your mother but she has danced around it for decades. Halt has no natural children and she is the only child of Ferris. Sean wasn't supposed to be king but he's wonderful, won't you agree? You were supposed to be queen."
"No I wasn't," Scout protested. "I was supposed to be Araluen as a Royal Scout or huntress or Courier or…Battalion Lady, or…
"You're all those things," Kineta cut her off. "And that's what makes you so special. You have more paths to choose from than anyone else I've ever met. You've just got to pick one and run with it."
Kane's day lasted much longer than he'd anticipated. His commanding officer had been in a meeting with King Horace, who decided to say hello when he learned Kane was waiting outside. It was in front of King Horace that his commanding officer learned exactly what he'd done. His superior on the mission demanded he get the full punishment for insubordination but both Horace and the Royal Scouts Commandant, Nicholas, thought it too steep considering the circumstances.
"He got back within two weeks of his original schedule and what would you do if you saw someone you knew in that situation?" Nicholas had demanded.
"I would have gotten permission from my superior," he retorted. Horace had turned to Kane at that point.
"Why didn't you try to get prior permission?"
"I wasn't sure how to explain it, Your Majesty," Kane replied.
"You understand you went against direct orders and we can't ignore that?"
"Yes sir."
"You know that you won't get special treatment because of your connections?"
"Yes sir."
Horace had turned to the captain scout. "He's obviously prepared to take punishment."
"Exactly," the angry captain said, "He went against orders knowingly."
"And he's here to deal with the consequences as a man should," Nicholas snapped back at him firmly. He crossed his arms and faced Kane. "You know you've gotten yourself into trouble, right?"
"Yes sir."
Out of nowhere Gilan appeared. Kane tried not to let his embarrassment show as the Ranger Commandant joined them. Horace was bad enough. He'd known this would be a portion of his career he wouldn't want talk about later and had wanted to keep it as private as possible.
"What brings you here Gilan?" Nicholas asked.
"I was looking for you…should I come back later?"
"Actually I think you could be of some use. What would you do if one of your junior Rangers went against the orders of a senior Ranger he was on a mission with if he didn't get prior permission but was completely morally sound in his decision?"
Gilan looked from Kane to the captain scout. "Well…Rangers don't really have rank or superiority. The junior and senior Rangers are fully equal. The titles are just a formality some former king inflicted on us. Besides that, we encourage creativity in our missions. So long as the end result is decent we live and let live.
Kane swallowed hard as Nicholas turned back to him rubbing his chin. "A month's salary docked, two weeks' clerk duty, and a formal apology issued to your captain will be sent before the day's end. Understood?"
"Yes sir," Kane answered. He refused to let his frustration with the decision show. At least you're not being flogged.
"Public apology," the captain put in.
"I think a simple apology is enough," Horace said firmly once distress became clear in Nicholas's eyes. "I don't want anyone in my service being humiliated for doing what is morally right, even if they didn't go about it the correct way."
Nobody was about to argue with the king. Nicholas turned back to Kane. "There you go. Dismissed."
Kane bowed and left before anything else could happen. Horace and Gilan had seen what happened, meaning his parents would know soon. He was sure they'd be disappointed. Now, several hours later, clerk duty had left him bored and worn all at once. Sitting at a desk filling out and putting away papers hadn't suited him at all but he'd committed himself to doing it to the best of his abilities. He'd expected a flogging and public humiliation and, while he'd almost prefer those to clerk duty, it saved his mother from the embarrassment of her son being paraded around in shame. He just couldn't do that to his elegant retired Courier mother.
He went to his apartment. His father had already helped himself to coffee while his mother and birthmother sat together in front of his fireplace. Gabby was in the kitchen she knew well (because she'd set it up) minding the pot of stew either she made or his parents brought. Her motions slowed and head turned towards the noise of the door opening.
"Kane!" Pauline exclaimed. Gabby set down the spoon and grabbed her cane. Pauline and Talia both stood while his father simply took a long sip of coffee. "What happened?"
"Gilan tip you two off?" Kane asked as he went to touch Gabby. She wouldn't be content until he did.
"Don't you worry over how we figure things out just tell us what happened from your side," Halt ordered firmly. Kane sighed.
"I have to give up a month's salary and will sit behind a desk for two weeks," he answered. Kane took Gabby's hand and squeezed it. "How'd your day go?"
"Fine," she answered.
"A month's salary?" Talia exclaimed. "I can't let you do that for me."
"Too late," Kane said shortly.
"Why didn't you get permission first?" Halt asked.
"I wasn't thinking."
"Clearly. See what you're with Gabby? You could do better."
Kane glared at his father. Gabby traced his arm so her hand rested on his shoulder. She aimed for his cheek but got his jawline with a kiss. "Good thing I can't see then," she replied without missing a beat.
Both Pauline and Talia hid their smiles. Not many could shut Halt up so fast. "Eat your dinner Kane," Pauline said after a few moments. "And bring Talia another bowl. She looks like she needs it."
They were in his apartment but still Kane obeyed his mother. Gabby held his upper arm as he made the two bowls and carried them to the sitting area. Once Halt took Pauline's other side on the couch the armchair was all that was left available so he went back for an extra chair from the kitchen. He'd sat in the armchair many times with Gabby in his lap but it didn't seem appropriate with his parents and Talia there.
"Talia's going to come stay with us," Pauline said after a while. "You're too young for such a responsibility and you're gone all day."
Kane studied his birthmother. "You're sure?"
"I think I've caused you enough trouble," Talia told him. "You've got plenty to do without my being here."
"But…"
"I don't want to hear anything else about it," Pauline said flatly. "Now, Halt and I have to go take care of some things so Kane, before you walk Gabby home you need to show Talia where we live. And Gabby, you do need to go home tonight."
"I will," Gabby promised.
Once they were gone Gabby washed dishes while Kane walked Talia to his parents' apartment in the wing for retired service members. He felt he needed some time alone with her and Gabby felt as comfortable in his apartment as she did at her own home.
"You alright?" Kane asked. "If they're making you go then I can…"
"No. Your mother offered and I accepted. We agree I shouldn't be in your apartment right now."
"How's…um…"
Talia smoothed her hand over her small bulge. "We're both fine. I was told to take it easy for a few days and I need to be watched over by someone who knows what they're doing. Gabby's volunteered to check me over on her lunch breaks until I see the midwife again."
"I hope you like her. She's great."
Talia nodded. "She is."
Kane sensed there was more to her answer than she let on but let it go. He'd learned secrets between women were best left between women. "You're sure you're alright?" he asked.
Talia bit her tongue. "My back hurts…really bad. But I was told that's a good sign. I can't really feel it move yet but we've got a few more weeks before that becomes a concern." She paused for a long moment. "Kane, I'm so sorry I got you into trouble."
"It's nothing," he shrugged.
"No it isn't. You risked a lot to help me and I owe you for it."
"No you don't."
"Yes I do."
Kane shook his head. "No you don't. You would've done the same for me."
"That's not the point."
"Yes it is."
Talia fell silent. Kane stopped in front of his parents' apartment. He let them in and showed Talia to their spare bed, the one he used to sleep in as a child. "Father gets up early to have coffee with his friend Crowley," he told her, "So if you hear him in the morning just go back to sleep. Mother will wake you when breakfast is ready."
"You know I really did want to be your mother, right?" Talia asked. "I never wanted us to be separated and had I known you were alive I would have fought with everything in me to get you back."
Kane nodded. "I know. But I turned out alright, don't you think? I've got great parents. Really, Talia, they're the best. Besides now you get a second chance to be a mother, right?"
Talia looked down at her stomach. "Right," she agreed. "Thank you, Kane."
"So…what do you think of Gabby?"
"What?"
"My mother's great but she's old. This isn't really…well…her area of expertise."
Talia laughed. "You think I'm any better at relationships? You do know the father of this baby isn't any better of a man than the one that gave me you?"
"I know, I know…but…you're a woman. Please?" Kane seemed desperate for approval. Talia just smiled sadly.
"I wish someone thought of me the way you two think of each other. She's great, Kane. I couldn't think of a better girl for you."
Kane bit his tongue hard. "I'm a Royal Scout. That means I'll be gone a lot and may have to move a family. I try not to think of her limitations because usually she proves me and everyone else wrong but…she's blind. She doesn't need to be moving into a new apartment or house every five or so years. She needs…I don't know…stability. Someone else would be better for her, don't you think? I mean…someone with a more predictable life."
Talia shook her head. "She loves you, Kane. You obviously love her. Sure, she's blind, but from what I saw today I think that won't really matter. She knows every inch of your apartment but when you were there she still held your arm. I bet when you two are alone she still holds onto you."
"Sure but…that's just Gabby. She prefers touching other people. It helps her see better, if that makes sense. She'll hold anyone's arm rather than walk alone."
Talia shook her head. "She held my arm for a while and before you arrived she stayed near your mother until she began minding the soup…but not like she does you. It's as though you two are one person. She keeps her hand on you and you act as though she's become part of you."
"I just don't want her to run into anything."
"You don't want her to be hurt."
"Exactly."
"Or embarrassed."
"Of course not."
"You also don't want her to feel alone."
Kane glared at Talia. "You're setting me up."
"I'm making you see what you have," Talia corrected him. "Don't let her go."
Kane nodded. "Thanks," he said. "Thanks so much."
"You're lucky, Kane."
"I better get back."
"Gabby doesn't like being alone?" Talia asked with a sly smile.
"Well…no she doesn't. She doesn't like the quiet either. It makes her feel…" Kane cut himself off once he realized what she'd been doing. "Good night, Talia."
"Night, Kane."