Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I'm just messing around.
A/N: Written for the 2010 Goldenlake Drabble Tournament. Category: up to 250 words Word count: 246 Prompt: walk the line
Before Kally left for Carthak, Lianne asked her if she was scared.
"No," her sister replied. "Their Majesties have been assured that Kaddar is a good man. Mama wouldn't permit the marriage if he wasn't."
"But you've never met him before," Lianne protested. "What about Fal –?"
Kally cut her off with a finger on Lianne's lips. "That's all over now. This is a princess's duty."
"Shinko, can I talk to you?"
The Yamani grinned when she sees Lianne. "Of course, sister. What is it?"
"Were you scared when you came to Tortall? Weren't you frightened that you wouldn't love Roald?"
Shinko smiled. "But I knew I would learn to love him, as I have."
Lianne shook her head. "But what if you hadn't? Weren't you afraid to marry someone you didn't know?"
Shinko looked at the embroidery in her lap. "I am lucky that I love Roald, and he loves me." She murmured. "But I would have married him anyway. It is a princess's duty."
When she first asks Alan he balks, of course, but his love for her is greater than his fear of her father's anger. He asks her a dozen times if she is sure. She promises him she is.
Less than two years later, Princess Alanna celebrates her first birthday and Vania leaves for Galla in Lianne's place. Lianne is not worried about her. Vania can learn to love anyone, and she will be happy as long as she can travel.