Corus, Tortall - May
The life of a young knight who’s not quite the gender everyone expected her to be in a changing medieval country or what Alanna has been up to the past month.
After finishing up her morning work-out with Liam, Thayet, and Buri, Alanna had made her way to the castle.
Duke Roger was on the wall overlooking the City Gate as she rode into one of the many palace courtyards.
Alanna stared up at him for a long moment before she nodded to her escort to leave her alone. Leaving her mare to the hostlers and draping Faithful over a shoulder, she climbed the stairs up the wall.
Roger leaned against the battlement, waiting. Alanna was surprised to see his hair was too long and there were food stains on his robe-he used to be vain of his appearance. "So," Roger said, his light voice poisonous, "you survived. What a pity."
Alanna grinned with relief. She didn't have to pretend everything was fine and she liked this man. Open war was declared. "Hello, Roger. You look pale. Not enough time in the sun? Decided that vampirism is the new thing for you?"
His eyes, lighter than Jon's, narrowed. "You're cocky, aren't you? Killed anyone recently?"
"No. It's so depressing to come back and find one's work reversed." Her nerves hummed as if she were in combat.
A cruel smile curled his lips. "You know who to thank."
Alanna shrugged. "I know. Tell me something, will you? You meant to kill her-the Queen? And the King, and Jon?"
Roger tugged his beard. "If you ask about the days before you killed me, yes, I did. You doubted it? Or did you persuade yourself a court trial would have absolved you from complicity in my death?"
She flinched and looked aside.
"You aren't absolved. If not for you, I would have been King. Those were my plans. Now, of course, it's different. I had nothing to do with their deaths. I have promised to behave. Not that I can misbehave, since my Gift stayed behind when I came back to the living." He grinned wolfishly. "It keeps my tomb warm for me, against my return."
Alanna shuddered.
"Don't you want to assure yourself my fangs are drawn? Use your keepsake." He pointed at the ember. "I know all about it from Thom."
Alanna did not like it that Thom had seen fit to tell Roger that bit of news. Still, she touched the ember and saw only him, not even a tinge of orange fire. Disquieted, she released the ember. "You're still a dangerous man, Roger. Your Gift just made things easier for you."
He reached out and gripped her wrist, searching her eyes. "You've changed, Squire Alan. You're very much the experienced knight, aren't you? And you don't fear me anymore-not as you did once." He let her go.
Alanna tucked her hands into her pockets to warm them. Thinking about what he'd said, she replied slowly, "You know something? There are sandstorms that strip man and horse and bury them-I've seen them. I saw bones piled higher than my head for the folly of a bad king and those who wanted his throne. I lived through a blizzard that froze every other living creature solid. I’ve faced creatures you can’t imagine and lived through events you couldn’t even comprehend. Against those things, you're only a man. I can deal with you."
The two hours she then spent fencing with the young men who had flocked to see the new king crowned helped calm her nerves even more. The conversation with Stefan afterwards did not. The bit about the fainting and the most awesome artifact would remain unmentioned, until someone convinced Thayet to tell the story.
The next morning Jonathan called a meeting of his most trusted advisors: Myles, Gary, the Provost, Duke Gareth, Duke Baird, Raoul, and Alanna. Feeling uneasy, Alanna went. In the last year she'd grown more used to taking action than to sitting in meetings. Also, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she should bring something to throw at Jamie.
"Thank you for coming," he said. "I hate to plunge you into things just when you've come home, but we have a great deal to do." As she took a seat a little way down the table from him, he asked, "Have you given some thought to the place you'll hold in my reign?"
Alanna was startled by the question. "What place-? I never thought that I'd hold any place, not really. Although it would be nice to have something to do," she admitted. "I like roaming around, but I like it far better when I have a purpose. Maybe Liam is happy wandering from country to country like the wind. I feel as if I'm a sort of weapon, but a weapon must have someone to wield it, or it just lies around rusting." She grinned, suddenly embarrassed. "Listen to me. Next thing you know I'll start sounding like our old philosophy master."
Jonathan groaned. "That old bore!"
They were interrupted by another man entering the room. When she saw Duke Gareth at the door, Alanna got up and went to greet her teacher, hiding her shock as she knelt before him. The Duke, always lean, was rail thin. Streaks of grey had turned his hair a muddy yellow-brown.
Gary's father looked Alanna over as she rose. Finally he smiled. "You have lived up to your promise," he said quietly. "We are all very proud of our Lioness. Welcome home."
Coming from Duke Gareth, who had always been sparing of praise, it was the highest honor she could receive. "Thank you, sir," she whispered as she blinked tears away. "You're very kind. I tried to be a credit to my training-to you." She bowed herself back to her chair as the Duke sat beside Gary. The others busied themselves with papers, pretending not to notice.
Jonathan cleared his throat before Alanna managed to make her discomfort at being cooped up too well known, and the conversations stopped. "Thank you all for corning. I know the sixty days until the coronation seems like a great deal of time, but we have much to do." He glanced at Duke Gareth. "I've given some thought to the appointment of a King's Champion." Alanna's throat went dry. "Uncle Gareth was my father's. It seems to have been an easy post for him-"
"Thank the gods," the Duke said dryly. "None of the others were."
Jonathan joined the company's chuckling before he went on. "Except for taking part in the coronation of my father, he was never called on to represent-or defend-the throne. I think many have forgotten the post exists. Uncle no longer wants it." Duke Gareth nodded. "We feel someone young should be Champion. A proven warrior, of course. One who is known to our people and our neighbors. One who is quick to deal with situations as they a rise."
She saw all too clearly the direction this was taking. "Raoul," Alanna croaked, looking at the Knight Commander.
Grinning, Raoul shook his head.
"Or Gary," she tried as Gary tugged at his mustache to cover a smile. "Both fine, strong fellows, liked by-"
"No," Jonathan said firmly. The others in the room fought their amusement. "I want them where they are-Raoul with the King's Own and Gary as Prime Minister."
"Geoffrey of Meron." She wiped sweat from her upper lip. "Noble, far more respectable than me-"
"I've made up my mind." The Provost was the last to grin as Jon spoke. All the others had seen such confrontations between the Prince and his obstinate squire.
"You'll make enemies," Alanna said flatly. "There's never been a female Champion, not even when women could be warriors! Not in Tortall!"
"That's true," Myles said. "And it's understandable that you would be concerned about your standing in the eyes of the people. There are some, still, who feel a lady knight is unnatural. And at first there was a lot of feeling against it. Even the King-" He stopped and looked at Jon. "But a lot of that thinking has changed."
"Like it or no, you're a legend, after the Bazhir and winnin' your shield," the Provost said in his blunt way. "Girls play at bein' Lioness. I saw one chasin' her brother down the street, wavin' a stick and callin' for the Conte Duke to submit to her sword."
The men laughed. Alanna blushed and continued to shake her head.
Jonathan met her eyes, his gaze friendly but determined. "Let's not forget that you journeyed into the stuff of fables and brought back the Dominion Jewel." He took it from his belt-purse and set it on the table, where it shimmered. "This alone would cause you to be given a high place, even without everything else you've done. So say 'thank you,' Alanna."
"Jonathan," she whispered, knowing it was useless.
"Say 'thank you,' Alanna," Myles told her gently.
She looked at the others, but they weren't looking at her. They watched the Jewel, speculating or wondering, as their natures dictated. She realized then that even they had changed the way they thought about her. Only Jon met her eyes, and he would give no quarter. She had earned this honor. Did she really want to refuse?
"You said you wanted to be useful," Jon pointed out.
Alanna had to grin-trapped by my own tongue, she thought. "Thank you, Jonathan," she whispered.
He smiled. "You won't regret it-or at least, I won't." He gathered in everyone's attention. "Let us discuss the situation in Tortall. I refer to the interesting rumor that my reign is cursed and that I will be unseated from the throne."
They went on to other topics. It was noon by the time the meeting drew to a close.
[ooc: Mostly stolen from Lioness Rampant with some editing where necessary. No IC interaction possible, OOC comments welcome.]
After finishing up her morning work-out with Liam, Thayet, and Buri, Alanna had made her way to the castle.
Duke Roger was on the wall overlooking the City Gate as she rode into one of the many palace courtyards.
Alanna stared up at him for a long moment before she nodded to her escort to leave her alone. Leaving her mare to the hostlers and draping Faithful over a shoulder, she climbed the stairs up the wall.
Roger leaned against the battlement, waiting. Alanna was surprised to see his hair was too long and there were food stains on his robe-he used to be vain of his appearance. "So," Roger said, his light voice poisonous, "you survived. What a pity."
Alanna grinned with relief. She didn't have to pretend everything was fine and she liked this man. Open war was declared. "Hello, Roger. You look pale. Not enough time in the sun? Decided that vampirism is the new thing for you?"
His eyes, lighter than Jon's, narrowed. "You're cocky, aren't you? Killed anyone recently?"
"No. It's so depressing to come back and find one's work reversed." Her nerves hummed as if she were in combat.
A cruel smile curled his lips. "You know who to thank."
Alanna shrugged. "I know. Tell me something, will you? You meant to kill her-the Queen? And the King, and Jon?"
Roger tugged his beard. "If you ask about the days before you killed me, yes, I did. You doubted it? Or did you persuade yourself a court trial would have absolved you from complicity in my death?"
She flinched and looked aside.
"You aren't absolved. If not for you, I would have been King. Those were my plans. Now, of course, it's different. I had nothing to do with their deaths. I have promised to behave. Not that I can misbehave, since my Gift stayed behind when I came back to the living." He grinned wolfishly. "It keeps my tomb warm for me, against my return."
Alanna shuddered.
"Don't you want to assure yourself my fangs are drawn? Use your keepsake." He pointed at the ember. "I know all about it from Thom."
Alanna did not like it that Thom had seen fit to tell Roger that bit of news. Still, she touched the ember and saw only him, not even a tinge of orange fire. Disquieted, she released the ember. "You're still a dangerous man, Roger. Your Gift just made things easier for you."
He reached out and gripped her wrist, searching her eyes. "You've changed, Squire Alan. You're very much the experienced knight, aren't you? And you don't fear me anymore-not as you did once." He let her go.
Alanna tucked her hands into her pockets to warm them. Thinking about what he'd said, she replied slowly, "You know something? There are sandstorms that strip man and horse and bury them-I've seen them. I saw bones piled higher than my head for the folly of a bad king and those who wanted his throne. I lived through a blizzard that froze every other living creature solid. I’ve faced creatures you can’t imagine and lived through events you couldn’t even comprehend. Against those things, you're only a man. I can deal with you."
The two hours she then spent fencing with the young men who had flocked to see the new king crowned helped calm her nerves even more. The conversation with Stefan afterwards did not. The bit about the fainting and the most awesome artifact would remain unmentioned, until someone convinced Thayet to tell the story.
The next morning Jonathan called a meeting of his most trusted advisors: Myles, Gary, the Provost, Duke Gareth, Duke Baird, Raoul, and Alanna. Feeling uneasy, Alanna went. In the last year she'd grown more used to taking action than to sitting in meetings. Also, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she should bring something to throw at Jamie.
"Thank you for coming," he said. "I hate to plunge you into things just when you've come home, but we have a great deal to do." As she took a seat a little way down the table from him, he asked, "Have you given some thought to the place you'll hold in my reign?"
Alanna was startled by the question. "What place-? I never thought that I'd hold any place, not really. Although it would be nice to have something to do," she admitted. "I like roaming around, but I like it far better when I have a purpose. Maybe Liam is happy wandering from country to country like the wind. I feel as if I'm a sort of weapon, but a weapon must have someone to wield it, or it just lies around rusting." She grinned, suddenly embarrassed. "Listen to me. Next thing you know I'll start sounding like our old philosophy master."
Jonathan groaned. "That old bore!"
They were interrupted by another man entering the room. When she saw Duke Gareth at the door, Alanna got up and went to greet her teacher, hiding her shock as she knelt before him. The Duke, always lean, was rail thin. Streaks of grey had turned his hair a muddy yellow-brown.
Gary's father looked Alanna over as she rose. Finally he smiled. "You have lived up to your promise," he said quietly. "We are all very proud of our Lioness. Welcome home."
Coming from Duke Gareth, who had always been sparing of praise, it was the highest honor she could receive. "Thank you, sir," she whispered as she blinked tears away. "You're very kind. I tried to be a credit to my training-to you." She bowed herself back to her chair as the Duke sat beside Gary. The others busied themselves with papers, pretending not to notice.
Jonathan cleared his throat before Alanna managed to make her discomfort at being cooped up too well known, and the conversations stopped. "Thank you all for corning. I know the sixty days until the coronation seems like a great deal of time, but we have much to do." He glanced at Duke Gareth. "I've given some thought to the appointment of a King's Champion." Alanna's throat went dry. "Uncle Gareth was my father's. It seems to have been an easy post for him-"
"Thank the gods," the Duke said dryly. "None of the others were."
Jonathan joined the company's chuckling before he went on. "Except for taking part in the coronation of my father, he was never called on to represent-or defend-the throne. I think many have forgotten the post exists. Uncle no longer wants it." Duke Gareth nodded. "We feel someone young should be Champion. A proven warrior, of course. One who is known to our people and our neighbors. One who is quick to deal with situations as they a rise."
She saw all too clearly the direction this was taking. "Raoul," Alanna croaked, looking at the Knight Commander.
Grinning, Raoul shook his head.
"Or Gary," she tried as Gary tugged at his mustache to cover a smile. "Both fine, strong fellows, liked by-"
"No," Jonathan said firmly. The others in the room fought their amusement. "I want them where they are-Raoul with the King's Own and Gary as Prime Minister."
"Geoffrey of Meron." She wiped sweat from her upper lip. "Noble, far more respectable than me-"
"I've made up my mind." The Provost was the last to grin as Jon spoke. All the others had seen such confrontations between the Prince and his obstinate squire.
"You'll make enemies," Alanna said flatly. "There's never been a female Champion, not even when women could be warriors! Not in Tortall!"
"That's true," Myles said. "And it's understandable that you would be concerned about your standing in the eyes of the people. There are some, still, who feel a lady knight is unnatural. And at first there was a lot of feeling against it. Even the King-" He stopped and looked at Jon. "But a lot of that thinking has changed."
"Like it or no, you're a legend, after the Bazhir and winnin' your shield," the Provost said in his blunt way. "Girls play at bein' Lioness. I saw one chasin' her brother down the street, wavin' a stick and callin' for the Conte Duke to submit to her sword."
The men laughed. Alanna blushed and continued to shake her head.
Jonathan met her eyes, his gaze friendly but determined. "Let's not forget that you journeyed into the stuff of fables and brought back the Dominion Jewel." He took it from his belt-purse and set it on the table, where it shimmered. "This alone would cause you to be given a high place, even without everything else you've done. So say 'thank you,' Alanna."
"Jonathan," she whispered, knowing it was useless.
"Say 'thank you,' Alanna," Myles told her gently.
She looked at the others, but they weren't looking at her. They watched the Jewel, speculating or wondering, as their natures dictated. She realized then that even they had changed the way they thought about her. Only Jon met her eyes, and he would give no quarter. She had earned this honor. Did she really want to refuse?
"You said you wanted to be useful," Jon pointed out.
Alanna had to grin-trapped by my own tongue, she thought. "Thank you, Jonathan," she whispered.
He smiled. "You won't regret it-or at least, I won't." He gathered in everyone's attention. "Let us discuss the situation in Tortall. I refer to the interesting rumor that my reign is cursed and that I will be unseated from the throne."
They went on to other topics. It was noon by the time the meeting drew to a close.
[ooc: Mostly stolen from Lioness Rampant with some editing where necessary. No IC interaction possible, OOC comments welcome.]