Hey, all! I know that I have a lot of readers for this story, and I really want to continue it. I do, however, feel that I have grown a lot as a writer from the day I wrote the prologue to the day I reread this and decided that I had to rewrite sections of it. And so, here you go. I have edited and replaced and/or deleted some big chunks of it. I hope you enjoy the new version!

-Christine

Prologue:
The Letter

Ranger Will Treaty:

Your presence is requested on a diplomatic mission to Hallasholm, Skandia to oversee how the affairs of the Hallasholm Treaty are working. If you should accept, Ranger Halt and the Oakleaf Knight Horace Altman will be your traveling companions. Please report back to Crowley, Ranger #1 with your reply.

All that boring stuff over, I know you'll accept, so why did I even bother to send this? I hate protocol, stupid stuff, but all the same, send me a formal reply, blah blah blah, etcetera. See you at Castle Araluen on June 5th!

-Crowley

"Alyss!" Will called. He smiled to himself. It had been a total of three years since Alyss Mainwaring had become Alyss Treaty. In that time, the two had quickly become used to the other disappearing for sometimes months at a time, occasionally with little or no explanations. They both had their careers, after all, Will reflected.

"Yes?" his wife answered. "What is it?"

"I'll be going on a mission to Hallasholm with Halt and Horace," he said. Will could hear her footsteps coming closer. He turned, and smiled in spite of himself at the sight of her swollen pregnant stomach. "Here." He held out the notice, and watched her as she thoroughly examined it. When she was through, the expression on her face was one of extreme dismay.

Will could have slapped himself. As a matter of fact, he did. Alyss's agonized tones turned slightly puzzled.

"Will?" she questioned. He couldn't well blame her, Will supposed. After all, it was quite a sight to see your husband slap himself in the face, especially if said husband was rather famous throughout the Kingdom. He frowned.

"Sorry, Alyss—I forgot. The baby would be due while I'm away, right?" She nodded, smiling slightly. Will turned away, slightly relieved. Alyss was feeling rather touchy at the moment—and Will couldn't blame her. Carrying a baby around for nine months must have been tiring.

Behind Will's back, Alyss's small smile turned into a frown as she spun on her heels to face him. "You. Forgot. That. I. Was. PREGNANT?" she yelled. She smacked him and flounced out of the room. Will reached up a hand to touch the red mark on his face and grimaced. At least there was only one month left.

It was with that small consolation that he went to enter their room, but found it locked from the inside. Mentally, Will kicked the door down, stormed over to his writing desk and retrieved some parchment and ink. Instead, he moved over to the kitchen and pulled some out of a cupboard (it was not the first time Will had found himself locked out of his room with the need to write an urgent letter). He wrote in the neatest handwriting he could muster, given the circumstances, then shoved the letter in an envelope and harnessed Tug.

"Alyss! I'm leaving!" he called. He heard a muffled response that sounded something like "Please do!," rolled his eyes, and left for town. When he came back, he knew, he would most likely be greeted by a sobbing, tearstained Alyss, who would be apologizing profusely for smacking him. She would fuss unnecessarily over the barely noticeable red mark on his face, run inside to make dinner (despite his protests), and he would be sleeping on the couch by dinnertime.

Will grinned wryly to himself. "Maybe I'll spend the night at Halt's…" he mused.

Later that night at Halt's

"So you got the note about the mission as well?" Halt questioned. Will rolled his eyes.

"Since I was listed as one of your traveling companions, one might assume so." Halt gave him one of his famous glares.

"I was merely checking." Will glanced at him skeptically, but allowed Halt to change tack anyways. "You are coming, right?"

"I most certainly am not," Will replied. "As a matter of fact, Crowley's stupid letter is the reason I'm exiled to your cabin for the night. Alyss was not pleased when she saw it."

Halt nodded. Will, Alyss, and himself had gone to visit the royal couple several months ago. Halt knew Evanlyn could be rather frightening if needed, but a pregnant Evanlyn… Well, he knew Horace was relieved when she gave birth to their little girl, Evangeline.

"So I sent Crowley my letter today. Hopefully I'll be welcome in our house tomorrow," Will said. Halt raised an eyebrow—his equivalent of a grin.

"Hopefully so." He turned to leave the room. At the last second, he turned to face Will.

"If not, you're welcome to stay over tomorrow night as well." Will nodded, watching that man he'd always thought of as a father figure leave the room. He knew he would always be welcome in his house.

With that thought, he got up and headed for his old room.

Crowley:

I regret to say that I will not be able to accept the mission due to the fact that my wife, Alyss, is pregnant and is expected to give birth while, if I had accepted, was gone.

I am sorry; Crowley, but I can't leave her, and you can't really expect me to. She is my wife, after all.

-Will Treaty

"Hmmm." Crowley bit his lip as he thought it over. The team would work a lot better if Will were a part of it. But Crowley did not expect him to leave his pregnant wife to give birth while he was gone. That was just plain out unfair.

He thought… And thought… And thought… And:

"YES!"

Will:

How would you and Alyss feel if…?

"Alyss!" Will called. He had been allowed back in the house, after promising he wouldn't go on any missions for another year.

"Yes?" his wife answered. "What is it?"

Will grinned slyly. "How would you like to accompany me on a mission?"

I did rewrite this, and I do feel that it's better than it was before, but that doesn't mean I'm not accepting constructive criticism! If it has a point, bring it on - oh, and don't forget to review in the first place.

-Christine

Prologue - Words: 980