Disclaimer: I do not own the world that Tamora Pierce created or the chracters that she has inhabiting it, the only things I own are Marquel Teloone and Dante and Karius Fallen. Oh, and a few characters that are only really vaguely mentioned in this chapter, including the Duchess.
Early evening sunlight added a hint of warmth to the crisp early fall air, making it a much more welcome evening for the two small boys that were playing in the tall grasses outside their home. They lived far from anything resembling civilization, in a small cottage that had been owend by an elderly woman that had left the small place to their aunt, who also happened to be their guardian. At that moment the two where stalking said aunt who was sitting peacefully on a rock raised above the green vegetation around them. Moments before they jumped their chosen victim turned and dove, tickling them as they landed softly on the ground.
"Thought to tackle me? Is that how you treat your dear loving aunt?" The woman, now revealed to be no older than nineteen turned away false sadness tainting her voice. The boys giggle joyfully and hugged the woman affectionately, their chubby and mysteriously nad constantly sticky, fingers grasping onto her cloths as they rested their heads on each of her shoulders.
"Don't be sad! We love you auntie." One said plaitavely as the other nodded.
"Yeah, Auntie Marquel! You're the greatest of the great!" The other added.
Marquel let a loving smile curl up her lips and she wrapped them in a soft embrace. When her sister had dropped them at her doorstep nearly four years ago she had been furious, at fifteen with both her parents dead and her sister refusing to care for her she had lived in a small attic above a bakery. She had quickly discovered that the two infants left in her charge could not live in such conditions and she decided that she would move into the small house left to her by a friend of her mother's, somewhere she had not thought to move into before because of its general seperation from everywhere. Now she could not imagine her life any different, though she had dreams that she wanted to persue she could wait, she was still young after all. They sat like that for a few minutes until the boys began to squirm, with a laugh she released them and watched as they continued to romp through the grass. Her attention was diverted a moment later by the sound of horses approaching. A frown marred her features and she stood, eyes widening at the sight before her.
A knight and a whole wing of the King's Own where approaching her home. She whisteled, summoning the boys from their games to her, they came reluctantly only to gasp with glee at the sight that had their aunt worried, what would such a force need with them? She walked through the grasses to stand in front of her home, a frown still marring her brow. The boys stood next to her, overjoyed themselves but sensing their guardians unease.
"Are you Marquel?" The knight asked from behind their visor, for some reasin Marquel did not think it was a male knight.
"Aye, I am." She replied uneasily. "What brings you and your men here?"
"A merchant village refused us the right to camp outside their village and directed us here... May we use this place as our base for the next week or two?" The knight sounded angry when referring to the village's refusal though personally Marquel was not surprised.
"You may." She smiled at them, "You are welcome to use the surorunding area, just please keep off the grases surrounding the rock and all will be well." The knight turned its attention to the area she specified and seemed to gasp.
"You are a mage?" The shock in their voice was almost palapatble as they voiced this, no doubt sensing the protection spells put on the grasses surrounding the rock, it was agianst badits and various dangerous vermin such as immortals and poisonous creatures.
"A hedgewitch." Marquel specified, "I specialize in wards and protection spells." She was not as powerful as she would like but was a far cry better off than the woman that had tought her the basics of what she knew, the rest of the information necissary to weave the spells that were part of her daily life she had been forced to teach herself.
"I see." The knight said as they jumped from their steed, a very pretty creature if ever there was one. Marquel noted that the knight was a couple on inches shorter than herself, and on closer inspection was decidedly female. The men behind the lady followed her example. "My back is killing me." The knight told her with a sigh as they knuckled away some kink along tehir lower spinal column.
"You're lady Alanna!" One of the twins besides her said in aghast before running up to the lady and grabbing on of her hands, tugging on it in glee. His counterpart followed suit.
"Did you really kill an ogre?"
Marquel looked surprised, she had not expected them to react so exitedly. "Karius!" the first boy to grab a hand released it a little reluctantly. "Dante!" The second boy let go as well. "You heard her ladyship, she has had a long ride, mayhap you should assault her tomorrow?" Both boys brightened and ran back into the tall grasses, having wholly lost interest in the armed guests. The knight removed her helm, revealing herself by her amethyst eyes to indeed being Lady Knight Alanna.
The knight was smiling at her with a small grimace on her features. "Hardly know me for a moment and alreday sacrificing me to the barbarians I see."
"I coud hardly prevent them, be amazed that they een agreed to wait a whole day before demanding you at the latar." She motioned to the rock above the grasses and the knight laughed. Marquel sighed and decied it was time to become serious. "Now, pray tell why there is such a large armed force in this part of Tortall, please?"
Alanna turned her attention to the playing five year olds. "We have reason to expect a rebellion staged by the Duchess of this area, the village refused us after hearing this as the lady very often vists that part of her lands... they said you hold very little love for the Duchess and suggested we encamp ourselves here."
"They chose wisely." Marquel said absently as her mind staggered on the word rebellion... It could not be, she wouldn't.
"Why do you dislike the Duchy?" Asked Alanna after a moment of watching the girl's expression alter from shock to horror as she processed the news.
"I do not dislike the Duchy, I dislike the Duchess... she is after all my sister and the mother of those two boys." She nodded towards the giggling pair.
Lanna was obvioulsy surprised by her confression. "Why are they with you and why are you here?"
Marquel laughed lightly but Alanna heard the bitterness in her voice. "It is a rather personal matter you're ladyship, please do not think less of me for not giving you all the the details, simply let it rest that I was thrown out of the castle after my parent's deaths and that the boys were left at my doorstep when they were one."
"Very well." Alanna agreed, despite how much she wanted to demand a full answer. "Are there any rules you wish us to follow?"
"Quiet two hours after sundown... the boys go to bed then and we have two dogs, they are out hunting at the moment that I want treated well, they have hlped us against bandits more than once." She turned to the stable, a building almost bigger than the house. "We have enough room for some of your horses but they must be kept after by the people that put them in there and must not be violent, we have our own horses in there." She pondered for a moment. "And keep all weapons at least five feet above ground or the twins will try to use them."
"Understood."
"Well then, Lady Alanna, Wecome to Teloone's Fort." Marquel said with an extravagant wave.
Alanna decided she rather liked this young woman who cared for two boys that were not her own and the son's of a woman she disliked and seemd to be taking her no doubt difficult life in stride, a feat that very few young woman of Marquel's birth would have been capable of. So she smiled at this young woman who was helping them prevent a rebellion staged by her sister and said, "Call me Alanna."