"I have failed ye, and for that, I apologize. I tried to be the best substitute father that I could, and I should have taught ye the proper appreciation for such things," Coram said.

"I too have done wrong by you…and myself. How could I have ever been fooled into believin' that someone with so little regard for fireballs was a lad?" George said in a serious tone to match Coram's.

"I don't dislike fireballs," Alanna said irritatedly. "I just don't understand the obsession. And don't make this a gender thing! Apparently, my female apprentices talked you into this."

"'Tis a good point. There is no good reason for you not to understand the pure bliss that is creating a flaming ball of light and destruction," George said as Coram nodded vigorously.

"So now you agree with him?" Alanna snapped at Coram.

"Some things are more important than such squabbles. Like fireballs," Coram said.

Alanna narrowed her eyes. "Not all of the liquor went into creating fireballs, did it?"

"Oh, you mistrusting lass." George winked. "Of course it didn't."

Alanna made sure the tent flap was fully closed behind her before dropping her stern expression and letting her amusement show.


A week later, Alanna sat across from Kara as they worked on their weaving.

"I really do believe you're both ready for the trial, and I need to go back home soon," Alanna said.

"Why must you leave so soon?" Kara asked. "I wish you could stay and guide us for a while longer."

"You don't need me, and besides, you've got all of those visiting shamans to help you if you get stuck. And I have a wedding I need to get back for."

Kara stopped weaving abruptly, "You've decided to marry George?"

"No, the wedding isn't mine; it's Myles's. I still haven't made a decision about George."

"Because you're still in love with the Voice?" Kara asked quietly.

Alanna shook her head. "Jon and I have an understanding. He isn't standing between us."

"You wouldn't like the life you would lead as his wife then?" Kara asked.

Alanna sighed. "Marrying him would give me almost everything I want."

Kara looked at her quizzically.

"It's hard to explain," Alanna said. "I've just always wanted to be someone and accomplish things on my own without being defined by a husband. For so long, the only options I saw were to lie, marry, or be a lonely spinster in a tower. I was just learning how to live as myself and still accomplish things without needing a husband or any man to come save me. I love George, but securing my future by marrying him feels like some kind of surrender. Does that make sense?"

Kara nodded slowly. "It does because I am the same, but opposite. I wanted very badly for a man to save me from my life. I wanted to be just another woman in the tribe with a husband who loved me and children of my own. Before you came, I had little hope of that, and now I have less. But now I have a life and a purpose all my own instead."

Alanna studied the girl's face. She hadn't considered what she could be taking away from her apprentices.

"What do you want now?" Alanna asked. "If you could have anything."

Kara smiled sadly at her, "Maybe I am greedy, but now I want both. I want to be worthy of memory as one of the first female shamans, and I want to have a husband and children."

"Do you regret training to be a shaman if it makes marriage less likely?"

"Without this, I would likely have lived out my days without a man or a purpose. You would have been a spinster in a nice tower. I would have been an outcast fit only for the jobs no one else wanted. You have given me a great gift, even if I had to learn to want it. I was saved, just by a woman instead of a man."

Alanna walked over and hugged her. "I just showed you what you were already capable of. And if two men can love someone as unconventional as me, there's certainly hope that someone will realize how lucky they would be to have you."


As Alanna waited, she concluded that whatever horrors the ordeal of knighthood held, it could not actually be worse than waiting through other people's ordeals. First, it was Jon, Gary, and Raoul's ordeals of knighthood, then Jon's ordeal to become the Voice. Now, she had every confidence in her two apprentices, but sitting helplessly by was excruciating!

As she led Kara and Kourrem through their initiation test, she couldn't help stealing glances at the other members of the tribe and the visiting shamans, trying to gauge their thoughts. They were getting two intelligent, capable female shamans, whether they liked it or not, but Alanna wished she had a better sense of how hard a path her two apprentices would have to walk.

Finally, both girls floated gently over the ditch dug for this purpose and collapsed to the ground on the other side. Alanna tried to remain solemn but couldn't keep the joy from her eyes as she helped the girls to stand.

"I am honored to name Kourrem and Kara the new shamans of the Bloody Hawk. May the gods smile on them as they serve, heal, and defend our proud tribe!" She declared.

The answering cheers from the tribe were somewhat less than she might have hoped, but the cheers were nevertheless genuine. That was a start.


Alanna slipped away as soon as she could without being rude after the ceremony. The adrenaline crash after the rush of the day's events, combined with the mixed emotions of pride and loss, drove her to want to be alone.

When she was nearing her tent, she suddenly sensed a presence behind her.

She stopped and turned as a large Bazhir man stepped out of the shadows behind her.

"Now that you are no longer the shaman of the Bloody Hawk, I can slay you as your heresies deserve, she-demon!" He barked at her.

"I thought you people were past this by now," Alanna muttered to herself as she sized up her opponent. He had a big sword and was half a head taller than her. She smiled without realizing it and was glad that she was already done wondering what makes a bully because she was fully prepared to enjoy this. Focusing her energy on teaching this man a lesson was just what she needed.

She wished she had brought Lightning instead of leaving it in her tent, but the two long knives she quickly unsheathed from her ankle sheath would serve just fine.

The man charged her sloppily, clearly expecting his size and strength to make this an easy fight. Alanna considered disarming him quickly, but where was the fun in that?

She dodged easily and slashed his arm shallowly before he met her blade with his own.

Realizing that she wouldn't be an easy kill, he stepped back and shifted position, readying for a more difficult fight.

"Did you really think you could kill a shaman she-demon that easily?" Alanna asked as she attacked with her blades. "I could just blast you."

He parried and jumped away at the last second. "I have weighed the risks. They are worth it," he shouted as he swung, trying to use the length of the sword to protect himself.

"So you want to be a martyr, is that it? Dying is easier than living with things you don't like?" she asked, meeting his sword on one of her blades.

"Die, witch!" is all he managed as his entire focus went into the fight.

He had some skill as a fighter, and the gash he managed to cut just above her right wrist proved it.

Finally, Alanna saw her chance and sunk her blade into his stomach. He fell back and screamed in agony as she pulled her knife back out.

She stood over him for a moment before crouching down next to him and reaching out a hand. He gasped at her touch, clearly expecting death, but recoiled still more when he realized that she was actually healing him.

"I could kill you," she said calmly, "but I'd rather you live knowing that you were both defeated and saved by a 'heretic she-demon.'"

The man looked up at her with sheer hatred and didn't say another word.

When she was done, she got up and turned around to find George standing casually by, smiling as if she had been weaving instead of fighting for her life.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked.

"Long enough to know that he didn't correctly weigh the risks," George drawled.

"You could have ended that fight early then," she said. "Why didn't you?"

"I wouldn't interrupt poetry in motion, and besides, you looked like you were enjoying yourself." A knife suddenly appeared in each of his hands. "If that had changed, it might have been a different story."

"But you resisted the urge to save me?" She asked.

"You didn't need savin," George said simply.

He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped a splatter of blood from her face before tying it around the wound on her arm. "But you do need to work on your knife blocks with your left hand. You almost gave him an openin' a couple times. C'mon, let's clean that wound and get you a proper bandage."

Alanna was quiet as she led him back to her tent to get supplies.

When her arm was taken care of, she looked up intently at him. "You saved me after the Drell when the King found out I was a girl. You offered me a future."

George laughed. "I didn't save you - I found you work that greatly helped my ma."

"But you didn't try to save me tonight."

"What's all this 'savin" talk about? I've helped you, wooed you, and relied on you to watch my back as I watch yours. I suppose you and Jon have 'saved' each other a bit, but you and me don't need to be so dramatic as all that."

"But now you're all trying to save me with this marriage scheme," Alanna said.

"Mayhap, but there's a lot of that goin' around," George said.

"What do you mean?" Alanna asked.

"Unless I miss my guess, Ma was involved in formin' this plan. She and Myles wanted to save me from the life I worked very hard to build for myself and was rather enjoying. That wasn't the only reason for adoptin' me, but it's there."

Alanna studied him carefully, suddenly feeling a little guilty for how little she had thought about what all of this had cost him.

"So why give it up?" Alanna asked.

"I couldn't deny that Myles was offerin' me a better option. But make no mistake, Lass, it hurt to give up what I had worked for to take somethin' that felt like charity. My life is now a wee lass's storybook tale: a knight in shining armor and a handsome prince are savin' me from my life of crime and raisin' me to be a noble."

Alanna couldn't keep from laughing at that. "I never would have thought of it that way, but that's true, isn't it?"

"It is. And there's more," George continued. "I believe Myles is sincere about his desire to use this arrangement to get the two of us to better serve and protect Jon, so he's also tryin' to save the Prince. And you can't have too much of a problem with that because savin' Jon is your favorite pastime."

Alanna sat quietly as she processed this.

"So, I'm here now askin' you to save me just as much as I'm savin' you, if that's what we're going to call it. I gave up my throne, and there's no turning back. I'll do this on my own if I have to, but I'd much rather do it with a wife who already knows how to be a noble and navigate the court."

He took her hand and looked into her eyes.

"Wed with me, Alanna. We'll travel and do all the things we couldn't do before. We'll make this kingdom change for the better. We'll save Jonathan, mostly from himself. We'll make Myles' life so interestin' that he'll think twice before he even conspires to change anyone else's life again."

Alanna laughed softly as she looked up into his dancing eyes. "When you put it like that, how can I refuse?"

"That's a yes?"

"Yes," Alanna breathed.

George tightened his arms around her. "Tonight, I want you all to myself, and then tomorrow we'll tell you're tribe we're betrothed."

They kissed passionately until George stopped abruptly. "I also need you to save me from Coram once he hears the news."

Alanna laughed again. "That is the truest thing you've said all night," she said and returned to kissing him.


Author's Note: I realize that George and Alanna getting engaged in the desert is how SOTL ends, but we still have a long way to go in this fic!

Thank you for reading this far, and as always, please review. I'm very curious what you all think!