The Hall of Crowns, Tortall - Coronation Day
Alanna
With the help of the King's Own, Buri brought a fainting Alanna to the surface on a stretcher. Revived by the warmer air at the ground level, Alanna got Buri to help her walk to the Hall of Crowns. She was sickened by the bodies in evidence everywhere: clearly the assault had been heavier than anyone had expected. Men of the Palace Guard admitted them to the Hall with deep bows, and Buri waited silently as Alanna took in the scene before her.
The Lord Provost
Between the quakes and uprising, the Hall was in ruins. The City Doors hung from their hinges; the stone risers had buckled and collapsed in sections. Pieces of roof and arches had fallen, dragging banners and garlands down to litter the floor in a mockery of a holiday. Survivors hunted in the rubble, freeing the trapped and pulling out the dead. These were placed on the main aisle for burial. Only later would the bodies in Tirragen or Eldorne colors be separated to be burned on Traitor's Hill.
The Provost limped over, brushing heavy silver hair back from a sweat-streaked face. "Not as bad as it looks," he said in a terse way. "More of them are dead than us. They weren't expectin' much opposition." His ice-blue eyes caught Alanna's and held them. "You take care of your end of things?"
Alanna
She grinned wolfishly. He grinned back. "Indeed I did."
The Lord Provost
The Provost put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Good." Pausing, he added, "Your men. They did well today." Favoring a wounded leg, he returned to help the searchers.
All the King's Men
Around the room, people tended to each other. Eleni, looking worn and old, bandaged George's wounds. Thayet was exhausted and sat with a shattered sword in her lap. Rispah fussed over Coram nearby and kept a close eye on Delia, who was bound and gagged with strips of petticoat. She had attempted to knife Jonathan in the thick of the fighting, but hadn't been expecting Rispah to be watching her. Duke Gareth and Sir Myles were absent, having their wounds tended to by Duke Baird.
Charlie
Charlie caught sight of Alanna and stood from where he'd been wrapping one of Gary's gashes. He glanced at George, who met his look and then turned back to his mother. Gary nodded to say he'd be fine, leaving Charlie to walk slowly towards Alanna. He was grubby and sweaty and had a few bruises and scratches of his own where a sword got too close for comfort. "Duke Gareth had a heart attack. He'll be okay. Baird is looking after him and Myles. Myles took on two big guys. They were huge, but he killed one and George got the other. He's not a guy I'd want to mess with when he's angry."
Alanna
Alanna nodded, almost on auto-pilot, before the words, and their speaker, filtered through. Her eyes were wandering the hall trying and failing to focus on any one before going back to Charlie. "You're okay?" Her voice was flat.
Charlie
He nodded. "I'm okay." The same couldn't be said for some of the others. Instinctively, he reached to touch her arm, as if physical contact would tell him something his eyes couldn't. George's appearance stopped him short.
George
"He's fine, lass. Not a bad hand in a fight, either. But it was the ladies who saved us all," he said, nodding to where Thayet, Eleni, Buri and Rispah were. "They kept the archers from killing his Majesty. We're proud of them - and you." He kissed her swiftly on the cheek. "If you'll be excusing me. Matters to attend to."
George
"Jon," Charlie started to explain, then corrected himself. "The King told us what you did downstairs. He saw it all."
Alanna
Alanna tried to get her brain working at a pace where she could keep up. "Yeah, yeah, he is." Some part of her that was function without her actually being involved reached out for Charlie's hand. "It's over." She summarized.
Charlie
"It's over," he confirmed. "You should go see the King." He turned towards the altar and squeezed her hand.
Alanna
Alanna faced the altar. Jonathan sat at its base, leaning against the stone. His face was drawn. She was shocked to see white threads in his hair where none had been that morning. The Jewel was in his lap. He stirred; Geoffrey of Meron gave him a cup of water. The altar itself had been cleared to make room for the body of Liam Ironarm.
A tiny voice had started screaming in the back of her head a while ago and was suddenly just that much louder. It took Alanna a moment to react, but finally, she did. With an almost unconscious squeeze to the hand in hers, she walked to the altar and climbed the stairs.
King Jonathan
"He and George saved my life-they saved us all." Jonathan dragged himself up to lean on the altar. "You'd just gotten to Roger when Tirragen soldiers attacked me in force. Myles was down by them, Duke Baird, Raoul, Duke Gareth. They're all right. I guess Raoul will have a limp to show for it. Coram and Gary were drawn away, as was your friend. I was-helpless." He grimaced.
Alanna
"You did more than enough." Alanna's broken voice was hardly audible. She wasn't sure which part of her brain was still functioning enough to even do that. Probably not the screaming one.
King Jonathan
"But I couldn't do anything else. George and Liam kept me from being-interrupted." Alanna shuddered, knowing the land would have shaken itself to pieces if Jon's concentration had broken. "Two archers got clear. Liam took the arrows meant for me. He didn't even falter, until the last." Jonathan's eyes met hers. "It isn't much consolation, I know, but-they'll sing about the Dragon's last fight for centuries." After a moment he added, "I'm sorry."
Alanna
Alanna nodded and tried to get up, but her knees failed her.
Charlie
Charlie was there where he hadn't been a moment ago. He held Alanna's arm and steadily helped her back to her feet.
King Jonathan
"It was the death he wanted," the King said. "We'll honor him, always."
Alanna
Alanna nodded dumbly, letting most of her weight fall on Charlie, trusting that he would hold her up.
King Jonathan
Jon reached for her: there was a flash, and a tiny ball of reddishpurple fire leaped from his fingers to her own bloody ones. Gently he took her hand and kissed it. "We did it, King's Champion. Tortall is safe."
[ooc: And it's a wrap! For tonight at least.]