This is set in the midst of the Tricker's Series. I know Kally is suppose to be married by the end of the first book, but the timeline is almost right, and I wanted Alan to be a squire so he could come along, so I adjusted things. Obviously, anything you recognize belongs to Tamora Pierce--basically all the characters except Zenobia.
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"There is one more thing I'd like to discuss before we end the meeting," King Jonathan said.
His Champion groaned audibly, but had the good grace to look ashamed of herself when her King glared at her.
"When we send Kalasin to Carthak to meet Kaddar," Jon continued still glaring at Alanna, "I would like to send a personal guard with her. Someone whom she can trust and who can protect her if there are any assassination attempts. I think it might be better if the guard was a woman. If we could pretend she was a maid or a lady-in-waiting, there would be fewer diplomatic difficulties and a surprise for any enemies. Any suggestions?"
"There are a few riders who might do," Buri, the former Commander of the Queen's Riders, answered thoughtfully. "We'd have to see if they'd be willing to leave Tortall though."
"Actually father, I've already arranged for a guard," Kalasin interjected into the conversation.
"Excuse me? You did what?" her father replied.
"Well, I have an old friend who agreed to go to Carthak with me as a sort of maid and companion. She is completely qualified to guard me if any danger were to arise. She excels at knives and is also handy with a sword and bow. Her favorite weapon is the Sai though."
"How good is she?" asked Alanna.
"She beats me with knives, sword and bow every time, and don't get me started on those three-pronged Sai she favors. I can't even react enough to run away when she gets going those things. She even trounces Alan with a sword and Aly with knives fairly regularly. She is also Gifted and Sighted, powerfully so, although she does not have much training or control," said Roald.
"You get trounced with a sword by some street girl with no formal training," demanded Alanna, turning in her chair to stare at her younger son who was serving drinks at the meeting as part of his duty as a squire.
"I beat her once," said Alan defensively.
"Yeah, when she was hungover," said Roald.
Alan glared at him.
Sir Raoul, Knight Commander of the King's Own, laughed. "Who is this girl?" he asked.
"She's a street girl. I befriended her when I was a little and running away from my nanny. She taught me to pick a lock and throw a knife, and I taught her to read and write and the basics of a sword. She doesn't even know her real name. She always says that Tortall is the only mother she ever knew, and the Streets of Corus the only father. She goes by Coop for the most part though, or Zenobia," answered Kalasin.
"Coop?" asked Alanna.
"Her….friend, Marek, named her that. He's sort of like a father figure to her. He says he named her after the only person he knew who made as much trouble as she does," Kally replied, smiling with a wink a Marek's old friend George Cooper. "Later, she read about Zenobia the warrior princess in one of my books and decided that Zenobia Cooper would be her name."
George laughed. "I've heard about this girl. She's supposed to be quite the terror. Marek reckons she's around 17—Alan and Aly's age. She'll be a good guard for Kally here. We may have to give her a few lessons about court life though."
"I'd like to meet her as soon as possible," said Jonathan.
Kalasin hesitated, looking around at the array of faces that made up her father's advisory council. She lingered in her inspection on Lord Wyldon of Cavall and Vangent HaMinch. She wasn't sure how these two conservative men would react to her friend. "Well, she is meeting me in my room tonight. She's probably there now, but...well, don't expect her to be…respectful."
Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "Go get her please."
Kalasin got up from the table and walked out the door. Everyone in the room silently listened to her heels click and her skirt swish across the floor as she hurried down the hallway. Before long, the tap-tap of Kalasin's footsteps came back, along with another pair of loudly clicking heels. Everyone at the table turned to look at the door with expectation. Kalasin walked in followed by a tall figure in a black cloak that brushed the floor with a hood that exposed nothing to their inspection. The figure turned slowly in order to inspect everyone at the table from under the shadow of the hood. The figure finally parted the cloak at the front to reveal two hands covered by long black gloves that disappeared into the recesses of the cloak. As the hands reached up towards the tie that held the cloak in place, Jonathan and most of the others in the room found themselves breathing in with anticipation.
The girl certainly knows how to make an entrance. I'll give her that, George thought.
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This is my first fanfic, so any suggestions are welcome. Should I keep going? The plot I vaguely have in mind has more action eventually, but takes a few chapters to get started.