None of this is mine, so there.
Lord Trebond's untimely death and Thom's disappearance compel Alanna to care for Trebond. Eight years later, invading bandits, treachery, and deceit force Alanna to Corus.
Sacrifice: The Lady and the Prince
"Lady Alanna of Trebond." The herald announced loudly.
A stunned silence fell over the Queen's ballroom. While no one who attended the ball that night had actually seen Lady Alanna, rumors about her were legendary. The silence was quickly replaced by hushed whispering. Heads swiveled to look at the large doors the topped the dais. The Lords and Ladies of Court had gossiped about the infamous Lady Alanna and her scandalous behavior for many years - so much so that many courtiers dismissed her as a myth. It seemed they were about to be proven wrong. They watched the doors with bated breath. Nothing could prepare them for the site that met their eyes.
The woman standing on the dais was small - smaller than many of the women at court. After pausing briefly to bestow a dazzling smile on the chief herald, she moved through the doors and began a graceful decent down the Great Stair case. The woman's gown, a dark, silky amethyst color, was simple but fit her small figure precisely. Her hair, pinned up with effortless elegance, was a deep, fiery red. Her most striking feature, however, were her amethyst eyes. Deep, unreadable, remarkable, amethyst, her eyes had an otherworldly quality to them. There were rumors from the North of a great sorcerer with eyes such as hers. The greatest sorcerer ever known, if the stories were true. A shiver ran though the crowd.
Unaware or uncaring of the stares she was drawing, the woman seemed to float down the carpet toward the King and Queen.
"Welcome, Lady Alanna," the King announced. "We are pleased to finally meet you."
Lady Alanna gave a deep and graceful curtsy. "As am I," she responded, husky voice ringing clearly in the quite room.
The silence was broken by the buzz of voices. This could not be the Lady Alanna they had all heard tales of. This woman was not a giant, nor was her hair cut as short as male commoner. She wore a dress and had no weapons what so ever. As if she could hold a sword! The poor thing would fall over if she tried! While her skin was darker than most of the other women at court, this woman was in no way the barbarian they had all expected. There were no scars or warts. This woman, with her fierce pride and remarkable elegance may not be a beauty in the classic sense, but she was amazing all the same. Self assured and daring, this woman was-well, she was...stunning. Suddenly, many of them felt foolish for believing such wild tales about a fellow noble.
The king stood, silencing the crowd. "Come," he directed, assessing the newest member of his court gravely, "sit with us before dinner begins. There is much we have to discuss."
"Very well, Your Majesty."
Several hours later, Lady Alanna of Trebond rose from the long dinning table, using every ounce of her will power not to scream out her frustrations. Who spent two hours eating dinner? She was floored by the extravagance of the meal itself. What she wouldn't give for a quarter of the money spent on the first course alone. Court was all that she had expected it to be. Over done, frivolous, vain and self-important. Grown men and women perfumed and pompous, dressed up like peacocks, flouncing around for all they were worth. For all that her life at Trebond had been hard, Alanna thanked the Goddess that she had not ended up like these people.
Lord Alan had been incredibly neglectful in his duties to both the land and people of Trebond. After his death and Thom's abrupt departure, Alanna had been hard pressed to revive the land and people from their devastated state. Alanna stifled a sigh as another group of nobles approached her. She hadn't spent the last eight years surviving raider attacks, harsh winters, ruined crops and plague sickness just to loose it all now. All who knew Alanna knew that failure was not in her vocabulary. Praying for patience, Alanna pasted a smile on her face and gave her attention to the people standing in front of her.
"Lady Alanna," began a huge man, with sparkling chestnuts eyes, "please allow me to introduce myself-"
"Gareth of Naxen." Alanna finished, a heart felt smile forming on her lips. "Could you think I would not know you, my lord?" she held out her hand in greeting, "When your pranks boarder on legendary? Never."
What ever the large man was about to say died abruptly. Taken aback for only a moment, he kissed the back of her hand, eyes filling with amusement. "High praise indeed, my lady, from one such as yourself. Thank you. May I have the honor of this dance?"
"Of course, my lord." She replied sweetly.
Lord Naxen, who insisted that she call him Gary, danced her around the floor, keeping her amused with lively commentary about the rest of the court. Although she knew that she would, Alanna was surprised at her instant liking of him. All of his letters, addressed to Lord Thom, regarding the running of Trebond had been very insightful and an incredible help to Alanna. The thought made her smile falter a bit. She had never liked lying to this man, who had helped her so very much. Still, Alanna thought, her smile reappearing, knowing Gary as she did, he would think it was a wonderful joke.
"I'm surprised your brother didn't send word of your arrival." Gary said as escorted her off the dance floor. "I would have escorted you into the city."
Alanna knew the key to seceding in her mission lay in the fact that she was an enigma to these people. She had to keep them so distracted they would never think to question her or look into any of the stories about her. Flashing Gary what she knew to be considered a brilliant smile, she said "As I'm sure my brother informed you in his letters, my lord, I am a very capable woman."
"A truth, no doubt," a deep voice replied. Alanna looked up at the voice, trying to hide her irritation. Briefly, she wondered how much trouble she would get in for knocking a condescending noble senseless. The man was tall, broad shouldered, with dark hair and intensely blue eyes. Startled by those penetrating eyes and the fact that he was, with out fail, the most handsome man she had ever seen, almost gave her pause. The man the held a sense of command and Alanna cursed herself for not noticing him early enough to ask Gary his name. He held up his hands in defense, "Peace, good lady, I meant no offense."
Alanna eyed him, surprised that he had sensed her irritation. "No doubt indeed, good lord." She replied, careful to mimic his words as not to reveal the fact that she didn't know his name.
"Excuse me, Lady." Gary said, releasing her hand. "My father is waving me over. Jon, would you do me the favor of performing introductions for Lady Alanna until I return?
"With pleasure." The blue eyed man replied.
"Thank you." Gary bowed to her. "Lady Alanna."
Alanna curtseyed in return, eyes laughing at the mock severity in his tone. "Lord Naxen."
"He is fond of you." Jon said quietly watching Gary's retreating form.
"You flatter me, my lord." Alanna replied dismissively, wondering how long the ball would go on. Preparations for the ball had taken much longer than she expected, forcing her to miss her afternoon work out. Dancing was fine and good, but she had much to do before the sun rose, none of it in the upper city.
"Is it true that you once rode into a band of raiders with nothing but a sword?"
Alanna's amethyst gaze swung to meet his sapphire one. Heart pounding furiously, Alanna hid her fear of discovery behind a bright smile. "Surely, my lord," she replied sweetly, "you would not have a lady give up her secrets."
He smiled, blue eyes filled with delight, making Alanna's stomach drop. How could one man be so handsome? "Surely not, my lady." He said, this time mocking Alanna's words. Was he laughing at her? "Now that I have your attention-"
Alanna lifted on coppery eyebrow, "Are you certain about that, my lord?"
He paused, clearly surprised. Alanna didn't bother hiding her merriment. The foppish court ladies may pay heed to this handsome mans every beck and call, but she would not.
It didn't take him long to find his tongue. "One is never certain when dealing with the concerns of a beautiful and mysterious woman, my lady."
"And have you seen one lately?" Alanna continued, surprised that she was enjoying such banter. Such things were common at home, but she would have never expected to find such lively repartee at Court.
"Of that, I am certain," he replied. "Will you dance with me, kind lady?"
"For certain, kind sir." Alanna laughed, taking his arm.
People moved out of their way as Jon lead her to the floor, making Alanna wonder just exactly who this man was. Gary had neglected introduce Jon by his title before he departed and Alanna had no way of asking with out loosing face, she would have to keep up this pretense until someone else gave it away.
"You dance very well, my lady." He said, pulling Alanna away from her thoughts.
"Is that not a quality one finds in a mysterious woman, my lord?" Alanna replied, biting her tongue to suppressing her real retort. While she did enjoy an occasional dance, Alanna abhorred everything else that went with them. The primping and the posing, and the foolishness of it all. As if she didn't have better things to do!
He chuckled, sending shivers through her. "Their still watching you, you know. I thought only royalty could create this kind of stir, my lady."
Forcing herself to keep eye contact with him, Alanna replied. "Come now, good sir. It is not me that all those women are panting after."
He laughed outright, causing her to grind her teeth against sudden butterflies in her stomach . What was wrong with her? Irritated at her reaction to this man, Alanna wanted nothing more than to retire to her chambers. What use had she of blue eyes flirts?
"Don't fret so, little one," he murmured softly as the music ended, "it's almost over."
Looking directly into his eyes, Alanna's only wish was to punch him squarely in the face. The thought made her smile. "You need not concern yourself, my lord." Choosing a moment in which the departing dancers would conceal her actions, Alanna pressed herself very close to him, "And from what I can tell," she whispered, "I'm not the 'little one' here."
Stepping back, she saw his eyes his eyes widened in shock. Alanna then had the pleasure of watching his face change from deathly white to beet red. Again, she didn't bother to hide her merriment. He took a step towards here and Alanna automatically fell into a defensive stance; men never like having their manhood made fun of. They glared at each other heatedly.
"There you are," Gary appeared at her side as suddenly as he'd gone, brown eyes sparkling. "I hope our Prince hasn't swept you off your feet!"
Alanna felt as if she'd been dropped in ice water. This man was the heir to the throne? She had just insulted the future King? Alanna cursed herself and her temper silently. She had come here to make allies, not enemies! Meeting his eyes, Alanna attempted to hide her dismay behind a mask of serenity. What she saw in his laughing blue eyes infuriated her beyond reason. He knew! She realized. He knew I didn't recognize him! Temper flaring, Alanna wasn't sure that she could contain herself.
Taking a deep breath, Alanna gave Gary a radiant smile. "Off course not, Sir Gary." she assured him, eyes never leaving the Prince. "How could he with so many gallant men about?"
"Then I will have to try harder." The Prince replied.
Gary looked from one to the other, uneasy. "Jon," he said cautiously, "I was sent to tell you that your father wishes a word."
Jon's spared his cousin a glance. "Very well." He bowed to Alanna, eyes never leaving hers, very much like one opponent watching another. "Until later, Lady Alanna."
Alanna didn't want to curtsy. Her mind screamed defiance at bowing to such a knave. But to ignore such a rule of polite society would cause comment and Alanna could not afford that. The Goddess knew that Alanna was the best at everything she did and she refused to be shown up by a snobby little prince. "Until later, my Great Lord Prince." she replied, voice dripping with false sweetness. With a grace that seemed effortless, Alanna curtsied just enough to meet with the standard. Not an inch more or less.
He didn't want to leave. Alanna could see it in his eyes. He lingered long enough to draw notice from some of the crowd. An amused smile on his lips, Prince Jonathan turned way towards his father.
And so the first round went to her.
Gods she hated this place.