She smoothly stood from her seat in Sister Magdalene's office, a practiced gesture that had taken years to accomplish. Though she tried to maintain her composure, she struggled against the smile that fought to overtake her face. She turned to thank the other woman.

"Sister, you have been so gracious to give me this opportunity. I offer my thanks for the instruction offered to me here."

The other woman dismissed her with a thin smile and a nod of the head. As Alanna stepped through the threshold she couldn't contain her happiness. A broad grin flashed onto her face, and her eyes sparkled. She was going to court this season! Ever since she had come to the convent, it had been all she had hoped to be able to do. She hadn't come willingly, but she knew better than to make too many waves. Alanna knew that the most eligible young women were presented to court not only when they were of age but also deemed of proper caliber. If she wasn't going to be a knight like she had always dreamed, then she would be the best lady that the convent had turned out.

She smiled when she thought back to her arrival. Oh, she had rebelled in secret ways, of course. Her own spirit couldn't allow her to be so easily molded like the rest of the girls. But she had diligently turned herself towards this new education. Among the girls at the convent, she was one drawn to horses more than most. She spent years riding and chafing at the restraint of her side saddle before she gained the courage to ride properly when no one was watching. She had stumbled in her dancing until she had stolen a book on swordwork from the library. The footwork had finally made sense to her and she doubled down, devoting almost every spare minute to her task until she was always aware of her movements. She practiced drills, learning attacks and parries with a fire poker under the cover of night.

Alanna wrote so often to Thom that her penmanship had eventually turned into the elegant hand of a lady, hungry for details of palace life. She tried her best to hide some of her curiosity from Thom, and in an attempt to find something to entice him the same way, had finally started to attend classes to be educated in her Gift. After that, information had come in droves. She tried her best to copy the page's training regimens, sneaking out at night in her older riding clothes to run laps around the convent grounds and using the heavy etiquette books as weights to try to add some muscle to her arms. But whatever she did was done carefully, that the sisters might not notice anything amiss.

Indeed, instead of noticing something wrong, Alanna found herself praised by them. The riding was often ignored, but her dancing skills were lauded. It was good that she had the stamina to dance for an entire ball while wearing a corset if it meant that she might ensnare a court man and then send her own daughter here. No one stopped to wonder why she was so interested in stories of history and knights because they assumed that, as many of the girls here were, she simply wanted to marry a knight of the realm. An honorable pursuit, really.

Several times she had even worked up the nerve to sneak down to the nearest town. While the girls at the convent were allowed down there just before Midwinter so that they may buy trinkets and gifts for family and friends, it was only on specially organized (and chaperoned!) trips. In a plain dress, she had hoped her bright hair wouldn't stand out overly much. Unfortunately it marked her as different but gave her the first thrill she had experienced since coming to the convent when another woman tried to snag her change purse from its hiding place. The two of them had stared at each other when Alanna pulled out a knife from among her skirts, but after a beat they both started laughing. For some reason Alanna felt that she could trust this stranger, and the two became… well, friends would be the wrong word for it. However, she really appreciated the knowledge she had gleaned from Lucy on her rare visits to town. She learned how to actually use her knife, how to do laundry and mend her own dresses. The raw skin on her hands from scrubbing had been hard to explain away, but it was worth it to feel self-sufficient and to actually understand how the world truly worked. The convent was such a sheltered place, and Alanna ached to escape it for the bustling city of Corinth.

And of course there was Thom. She hadn't seen him since they were both young, about to leave for the castle and the convent. When she had glibly suggested they switch places (after all, wasn't she the one who wanted to become a knight?), he had surprised her with his vehement denial. She had been deeply hurt, surprised and thinking that she knew her twin better. In a fit of petty retribution she didn't talk to him after that, and by the time she regretted her actions it was far too late to simply speak to him. The letters had helped both of them, because it took Thom quite a while to find his place at the palace. The other boys had dismissed him because he was small, weak, and altogether too interested in magic for their interests. Even still she wasn't sure he was telling her the whole truth. It seemed like he got along just fine with everyone but didn't forge any deeper friendships. Rather like her, she thought wryly. She couldn't wait to finally talk to her twin again.

She heard excited chattering down the hall and hastened her footsteps. Just because she hadn't formed close bonds at the convent didn't mean that there were some girls she preferred over others, and it was practically expected of her to gossip with the others about going to court. As long as Delia stayed out of her way…

Alanna breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was only Juliette and Lucille coming down the hallway. The two girls were nice enough, and extra polite once they realized she had a source of information on the eligible pages, squires, and knights at the castle. A conversation with the two of them would, most importantly, make sure they were at good terms going into this. She didn't want to get married now, but she definitely didn't want to be a pariah.

Not needed to feign excitement, Alanna chirped, "I can only assume you two are going to court also?" The other girls nodded excitedly, and Alanna moved to stroll alongside them. Juliette struck up a conversation about the latest Corus fashions.

"I was shocked to hear it, but did you know that green is started to go out of style. What a shame! I just bought the most wonderful green dress too, and the silk certainly wasn't inexpensive…"

Alanna tuned out the chattering to the best of her ability, smiling and nodding at the right times, half-heartedly agreeing that they should be allowed to town to shop for dresses for their debut. It took the girls longer than she expected to remember just how much she knew about what palace life was like.

"Oh, Alanna, your brother. He's at the palace, right? Well, you must know about some of the men there?" piped Lucille, clearly expecting an answer.

"Yes, Thom is training to become a knight. He writes me often about his friends. Now, I'm sure you know that Prince Jonathan is our age. Well, it turns out that…"

By the time that Alanna made it back to her room, she was worn out. It was a long conversation and she had a lot to think about. It seemed that her debut outfit was more important than she had thought, and not being one for frilly things, she hadn't a dress appropriate for the occasion. She resigned herself to shopping in Corus. Maybe it would be slightly less tedious of a process in a new place?

And who would escort her at her introduction. She had assumed Thom, but she ought to check about that. Oh, she had so much to tell him! Alanna hurried to get out her stationery set.

Dearest brother,

Guess who is coming to Corus soon? I apparently am now ready for my formal debut in a fortnight, and I was wondering if you would be kind enough to escort me?

Alanna rolled her wrist in a most unladylike manner, and set to work writing a few more requests.