Hey everyone! So, first time uploading a story so I apologize in advance for any formatting/grammar/spelling/anything-weird errors. Also I don't own anything in Tortall, it all belongs to the wonderful Tamora Pierce. Also warning for swearing and torture(not seen but talked about.)

Arrest

Alanna breathed a sigh of relief. It was nice to relax in the comfort of the Dancing Dove, surrounded by her friends, taking a quick break from the life of a squire to be. Jonathan was talking with Solom while Gary and Raoul favored learning to cheat at cards from Lightfingers. Alanna herself was engaged in a re-telling of her trounce of Ralon and his subsequent flight to some of George's newer followers, when George himself came rushing down the stairs, face serious.

He headed in Alanna's direction pausing only to motion that Jonathan, Gary, and Raoul were to join them. Alanna's newfound friends cleared out as George motioned for them to sit.

"Something's up. I went to open one of the lesser-known exits and it refused to budge. I think someone's betrayed me. You four can't be seen here; I'm going to try to get you out afore anyone else tries someth-" George was cut off as the front door slammed open and members of the guard stormed in with crossbows aimed at the patrons of the Dancing Dove. Most of the thieves froze or went for their weapons. Silence reigned.

"Drop you weapons and get your fambles where we can see em." A guard with the markings on his coat to indicate some sort of superior rank entered the room. He was a tall man, well built, and he would have been fine to look at if it wasn't for an arrogant smirk plastered across his face.

George began whispering hurried instructions under his breath. "Don't try anything daft. Baker doesn't have enough sway to do anything horrible. They probably are just here to take one or two of my men who have overstepped the line. Keep your faces down, and if they ask ya who you are just say you're from the country and don't want trouble." George was once again interrupted when the guard walked strait up to him.

"Now look here your highness we've been much too lenient for much too long. I have hear a writ to arrest everyone in this here establishment on suspicion of crimes against the crown, with special care to one George Cooper and all in his assorted company upon arrival."

"Now see here," Alanna was startled to hear a convincing country accent from Jonathan "we just got into town, we haven't been causing no trouble." Alanna, Raoul and Gary hastily agreed. The guard looked closer at Jonathan and then smiled.

"Well it appears you need to learn to keep better company. You are all under arrest to be questioned about the disappearance of a noble. I won't be hearing any half-witted excuses from any of you."

"Trust me, Baker, when I say yev got the wrong group of people to be accusing of a noble's disappearance. What makes you think we're to blame? For that matter who's gone missing in the first place?"

"Quit it Cooper, I've heard enough "I'm innocent" stories from your court to last me a lifetime. Now put all your weapons on the table and don't try anything funny." George's face looked desperate. Kidnapping a noble was a crime worthy of execution, and they wouldn't need much evidence to convict him.

"I'll come quietly, just don't take these four, they're innocent and it'll be both our heads if they come to any harm." The man gave a quiet chuckle of sick amusement.

"You still act like you have a say in any of this. If it makes ya happy the four of you can have a nice comfy cell together after you give us your knives." Knowing this was the best deal he was likely to get, George reached for his knives. As he did this, tensions rose quickly then fell as it became apparent that George was following instructions. As soon as George removed his first blade, the rest of the thieves followed suit. Alanna, Jonathan, Gary and Raoul tensed for a moment, unsure of what to do, then George nodded at them to place their arms on the table.

Mentally thanking George for insisting that they leave all valuables back at the castle, Alanna removed a few daggers from various hidden locations on her person, and watched as the others did the same. As soon as she finished, one of the guards grabbed her and patted her down for more weapons, and then promptly bound her hands together with a warning not to try anything. The guards waited until all of the thieves in the inn had been apprehended and then began to march them down the street to the guard station. Many city folks stopped to stare as the king of thieves was led behind bars, but none cheered, loyal, or fearful, as they were to George.

George awarded them a small smile and as casual a wink as he could, surrounded as he was by the guards. The walk to the guard station felt short to Alanna, although she knew it to be halfway across the city. The building was a newer one, built over the same spot as the old station, Jane Street Kennel, had been before it burnt down. The new station's name, as was prominently shown everywhere was the King's station. Alanna saw Jonathan smile bitterly at the irony.

As they stepped inside most of George's court was lead to the left, while their little band of five was lead first to one of the Provost's private rooms. It was furnished mostly of wood, with a non-descript painting behind a desk, and a map of Corus laid out various markers stuck in it. This map was quickly rolled up and stored, as they were shepherded into the room by a few guards.

"Now lads, I'm going to have to have you take your clothes off so we know you're not smuggling in any weapons." Alanna's blood ran cold and she tried to conceal a look of horror on her face. The man evidently noticed because he added, "Come, on off with em boy." And added a nasty grin.

"Come on Alan, no need to be shy." Gary tried to say this with his usual humor, but the gravity of the situation was affecting him too. George looked lost and Jonathan and Raoul threw her sympathetic looks.

"I…I can't." Alanna's voice shook as she began to panic. Thoughts of rejection by her friends, getting thrown out of Knight training, and being sent to become a proper lady overwhelmed her mind.

"You can't?"The man's voice was incredulous. The Squires froze in their various states of undress to shoot Alanna quizzical looks.

"What's the matter Alan?" Alanna fought to avoid Jonathan's eyes but was unsuccessful. As purple eyes met blue, a look of concern etched in them, a rush of shame filled her.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, please forgive me," Alanna was practically hysterical by this point, but shook her head when George looked as if he might speak. This was something that she needed to get through. Alanna mentally steeled herself and then said, "My name isn't Alan. It's Alanna. I'm a girl." She had barley chocked this last bit out when there was a universal exclamation from the Squires.

"What?" A shocked silence filled the room before Gary broke it.

"But that's… I mean how could…" Gary trailed off and Alanna looked up it was plain to see that he was thinking hard on something. Raoul's face merely looked somewhere between confused and utterly dumbfounded. Alanna looked at Jonathan last of all. His eyes met her's with a look of comprehension in them. There was a slight look of betrayal, but it was masked by an overwhelming amount of acceptance and reassurance. Alanna felt relief flood over her.

"Well then, err, Alanna was it? Just go into the room next door with Cynthia and change there." The man was clearly wrong footed and trying to take control of the situation, but his words did shock the Squires into motion, as they suddenly realized their various states of undress and rapidly covered themselves. Alanna turned her eyes respectfully away and followed a female guard down the hall. Her hands were shaking, and she felt faint. I am not going to faint like some spoilt court lady; I am a page and will act like it. Alanna straitened her back and determinedly entered the room. It was very similar to the room she had just exited, but it seemed much smaller, empty as it was besides herself and the guard.

"Ok. Lets get this over with." Alanna quickly stripped and changed into a shapeless grey dress, embarrassed to be seen naked by a complete stranger. The woman directed her down the hall to a large cell. Alanna entered and waited for her friends. While she waited she looked around. The cell was large enough to fit ten people easily, and there were three others identical to it nearby, though they were all empty. The cell itself repelled any use of her Gift. Alanna took the time to attempt to compose herself before her friends arrived.

After what felt like no time at all, Alanna heard footsteps and saw her friends being led in chains down the corridor. A guard unlocked the door to her cell, and they were shoved in. Alanna refused to look up from where she was sitting, but she felt her friends settle around her. As the guards left, Alanna felt a hand come to her chin, forcing her to look up. It was George and he had a soft, sympathetic look on his face.

"Alanna-" He started.

"Just go away George." Alanna lowered her voice. "They probably hate me. I'm going off to the covenant for sure."

George made no effort to keep his voice down. "Do these people look like they're mad at you!" George gestured at them. "Goddess, child, you'd think you'd killed their mothers." Alanna didn't raise her head. She felt more than saw the Squires move closer to her.

"Alan, sorry Alanna, we don't care, honestly." This was from Raoul. Alanna looked up in time to see Gary and Jonathan nodding fervently. A warm feeling was steadily replacing the cold that had settled in the pit of her stomach when she first realized they would learn her secret.

"But, aren't you furious, I lied to you, I lied to everyone!" Alanna asked bewildered. "Besides, I'm a girl I have no right to be training with you!"

"Alanna, settle down. I think you earned your right to train with us the moment you arrived for training. What makes you think you have less right than say Ralon did?" This came from an exasperated Jonathan.

"But-"

"No buts." Gary was close to laughing at her by now.

"You'd think that you would be the last person they would have to convince that you belong as a Page." George was sitting back on his heels and smiling. Alanna still could barley begin to hope that they had truly accepted her. From a long way off she hear footsteps. George's face suddenly went serious. "Don't reveal who any of you are unless they are about to convict you of anything. The second they know you're nobles is the second Alanna gets sent away, and none of us here want that. Pretend the reason they didn't know you was a girl's because you thought they would think badly of you for it. It's close enough to the truth to work."

A guard approached the cell. "Sergeant Baker says you're to be taken in for questioning first, but I'm to warn you that the rest of them'll be questioned if you decide not to talk." The cold returned to Alanna's stomach. Questioning meant torture. She say Jonathan look like he was torn between objecting and being sick, but at a quick shake of the head from George, his face went blank and he leaned against one of the walls. The guard unlocked the door after warning everyone not to try any 'funny business.' Cuffs went around George's wrists, and he was forced away before either party could say more.

A silence fell, and besides the occasional glance spared in Alanna's direction, the friends were silent, anxiously waiting for George's return. Half an hour passed, then an hour. After an hour and a half of waiting, Gary finally decided to find something to do to pass the time. Namely, question Alanna.

"So, how did you become a page after all?" Gary's sudden question shook the others out of their musings.

Alanna couldn't decide if answering questions or sitting in boredom would be better at this point, but after seeing the other's curious stares, sighed in submission. "Well, I never wanted to be a fine lady. Can you really see me wearing fine dresses and speaking nicely and learning how to curtsy?" Seeing a grin on their faces at this image Alanna continued. "My brother Thom never wanted to be a knight. He wanted to be some great sorcerer, so when he was sent to be a knight and I was sent to the convent we switched places. Thom forged my father's handwriting and we changed the letters to say that his son Alan was going to knight training, and his other son Thom was going to the convent to study sorcery.

"We threatened Maude, who was meant to go with me to the covenant, and Coram that we were going to make them see things that weren't really there to force them to take us. Maude wasn't that hard to convince, and Coram had always thought that I should have been the boy not Thom. I always beat him in anything related to being a warrior.

"That brings up another question, how did you learn anything in the first place? Why did Coram teach you?"

"He says it was first because he was trying to teach Thom and somehow ended up with both of us, but eventually he saw I was better."

"But how's no-one found out yet? Aren't you turning into a woman and all." Gary grimaced. "Actually, ignore that last question, I really don't want to know."

"Alanna grinned. Well first off, I happen to be an excellent actress. Second, George did end up finding out, or didn't he tell you?"

"George knew?"

"Yes, I needed to see a woman healer at one point and he wondered why."

Curiosity satisfied for the moment, Gary leaned back to ponder what he had learned. Alanna did her best to get comfortable, and try to get some sleep, doing her best to ignore what could be happening to George at that very minute.

Alanna awoke to the sound of footsteps coming down the hall, and the sound of something being dragged along the floor. A short gasp escaped her mouth as she saw a bloodied and bruised George being half carried half dragged down the hall. The door to their cell opened and George was thrown in none-too-gently.

"Fuck." The single explicative came from Jonathan.

Alanna rushed toward him as Jonathan continued his stream of curses in the corner. Gary was looking almost sick, and Raoul was sitting right next to Alanna looking helpless.

"Look, no need to panic. It'll take more than just that to hurt the King of Thieves." George's brave words were offset by the way his voice shook when he talked, as if he was holding back a cry of pain. Alanna turned him over and examined him to see where he was hurt. Multiple whiplashes scored his back along with countless bruises and a few burns. In addition his top half was soaking wet.

"George what did they do to you?" George didn't answer and Alanna could barely contain herself. She went to flip him onto his stomach to begin healing his back when George gritted his teeth. She threw him a questioning look and he answered.

"They dislocated my shoulder and I think they broke some bones when they hit me." Alanna sent out a cursory probe with her Gift to find multiple broken ribs as well as a broken arm and several broken fingers. Alanna had never seen anyone this badly injured, and it frightened her. Even though she knew he was no-where near as close to death as Jonathan had been during the Sweating Sickness it still frightened her that these wounds had been intentionally inflicted, and that the same could happen to her or one of her other friends soon.

"What did they want?" Jonathan had regained his composure enough to ask the question that had been gnawing at the back of everyone's mind since they had been arrested.

"Sir. Myles of Olau has gone missing, and it appears that he scrawled my name on a piece of paper before leaving in a rush. No one has seen him since yesterday. They suspect foul play and I am their only suspect. Besides, Baker's held a grudge against me for years. The Provost's out of town and he's has been itching to get his hands on me and this just provides an excuse."

"But wait, Myles is just gone?" Raoul's voice betrayed his shock.

"Evidently."

"But what could have happened to him? He's not liable to disappear at random."

"Knowing Myles he probably just got overexcited and is reading up on some obscure branch of history. They have no reason to arrest us."

"I agree. Baker's almost certainty just using this as an excuse to put me behind bars."

It was as George said this that they heard more footsteps coming down the hall. It was the Provost, followed by some guards who looked like small children who had been caught doing something they shouldn't. The Provost opened the door to the cell. "Sir Myles has been found, you are free to leave, and we apologize for any inconvenience."

Jonathan looked like he was about to give the Provost a piece of his mind, when George stopped him with a look.

"No problem at all my Lord Provost, anything that we can do to help prevent lawlessness in our fair city. I am glad nothing happened to the noble, if anything like this happens again be sure to feel free to ask for any advice. Although, I'm sure you might be very busy for the next few weeks, just as you were too busy tonight to come ask me what was happening yourself." George gave the Provost a direct look, and the Provost nodded.

"Oh, yes, we will be very busy with administrative duties these next few weeks. I hope nothing will happen to interrupt our efforts in recording the past misdeeds of criminals. It would have to be a large offence to draw us away from our duties, but if such an offence was committed, we would be the first to know."

"I think we understand each other my Lord Provost. I hope your duties keep you pleasantly busy."

"And I trust you will keep busy as well." The Provost gave George a rueful smile, before giving him a serious look. Some form of communication seemed to pass between the two of them, and the Provost nodded. "May I show you the way out, Cooper?"

"Oh, have no fear, we shall find our way." George led the nobles out of the guard station, and into the street. Once there, he straightened his back and walked through the streets with a jovial air. Only the nobles who knew of his injuries saw the faint limp he had, and the minute winces of pain that flickered on his face when he placed his foot wrong, or jostled his arm. To all other outward appearances, he had escaped the law unscathed, and it was only once he was in the relative safety of his room in the Dancing Dove that George collapsed.

"Must you always act so strong?" Alanna asked. Solom had been told to fetch George's mother, Eleni, but until then, as none of the Pages knew much about medicine, George was forced to just wait.

"What was all that about with the Provost?" Raoul was the first to ask what had been on everyone's minds."

"Yeah, why did you let him off so easily! They tortured you for the Goddess's sake!"

"I hardly let him off easy. We reached an agreement, he stays out of all my business for the next few weeks so long as I don't pull nothing major."

"Doesn't he already do that?"

"Yes and No. He'll usually still arrest my men if they are not as valued by me, for the next few weeks anyone who swears by me won't have to watch his back real close. He'll revoke that if he thinks I'm abusing the privilege though." After this explanation, George fell quiet, and neither Alanna nor any of the Squires felt they could break the silence. Eventually Eleni Cooper arrived and bustled them out of the room, insisting "He needs his rest if he's going to go off doing more foolish things in the near future." Alanna decided to go home while the others favored staying and making sure no one attempted to visit George when he was recuperating. Over the long walk back to the palace, Alanna frequently saw signs of the day's events, in the flower girls nervously gossiping, in the thief clutching his arm, and even in the guards who gave her a small nod after seeing her exit the Dancing Dove. Tomorrow she would think about the consequences of the past day, but for now all that was on Alanna's mind, was sleep.

So I hoped you liked it. I apologize if anyone seems OOC. Review if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer them.