~*~*~*~ Dreams of a Lady ~*~*~*~
Chapter One: Crafty…
Genre: General/Action/Romance
Rating: PG-13.
Disclaimer: I own the ragtag bunch of rogues you don't recognize. Other then that, I've been doing my best to bribe Tammy to let me have the rest. Well, as least George.
Author's Note: THIS IS THE SEQUEL TO PRIDE OF THE CONVENT. If you have not read Pride, go read it, THEN read this. This will only make so much sense if you haven't read the first one. Well, to those who read regularly, enjoy. Sorry if I restate some things. Just trying to get everyone on the same page.
~~~
Lanna Crell, his Majesty's ringleader of Treven, and Alanna of Trebond in disguise, sat talking to a few of her rogues at a small table by the fire one blistering autumn night. Their conversation ended quickly when a lean, intrepid looking man burst through the door, coughing and wheezing. In his hand, he clutched a piece of parchment.
"Message for milady Lanna," he rasped, then stiffened and fell to the floor.
All hell broke loose in the pub.
She sighed, stepped up onto a table, put to fingers between her lips and whistled shrilly. The commotion ceased and all eyes turned to her. "Maybe you didn't notice," she said, "but that rogue—the dead one—has a throwing star sticking out of his neck. Quick, Tem and Dark, take a team out each. I want our assassin tracked down. Bring him to me. Alive."
The men blinked, staring at her.
"Go!" she barked. "Now clear the way! I need to get to him!"
The crowd parted before her, and she knelt before the figure.
"Gods damn it all!" she whispered fiercely, as a single hot tear slid down her cheek. "Not you, Score. Oh gods, not you." She brushed a few strands of hair from her dead friend's head and kissed it. Score, who had been one of George's most trusted messengers had been one of her favorite people at the Dove, though he wasn't often around. He had been sickly sweet to her—it had become a joke between them—and had flirted with her lavishly every chance he got. And even though he was a bit cocky, Alanna would have trusted him with her life.
She put two fingers to the messenger's temple and reached out with her gift. She found black poison laced through his veins, but it was one she'd only seen once or twice before. And then she remembered why. The poison, distilled from a flower native to only one of the Copper Islands, was a strict non export item, and was highly expensive domestically. The only way it legally made it from the Islands was in a carrier. A human carrier. This rose the already astounding price significantly.
Alanna shook her head and took the note from his stiff hand and pocketed it. She then took a gold noble from her pocket and on the back etched two symbols with her dagger: an upside down crown and a bleeding heart, a symbol of honor in the Court of the Rogue. She pried upon his fingers, set the coin in his palm and then closed the fingers around it. She then said prayers to Mithros, the Great Mother Goddess, the Black God, and the Crooked God. With one more tear, she rose.
"Tirin, see that the body is warded, clean it for poison and see to it that this man is buried. Spell the grave so it won't be plundered," Alanna said weakly to the thief-mage.
"Aye, milady." He nodded and whistled to a few other men. Alanna watched as they carried Score from the pub and then sank into a chair. With a dagger, she ripped the seal of the letter open.
'Lanna (George had taken to spelling her name this way after he found out her real name)
You've got to come to Corus immediately! It's Prince Jonathan. He's ill and no one can seem to Heal him. He's been asking for you. I've taken measures to secure you a horse. She's in the fifth stall, lower stables. Burn this right away. I've had it warded, but if it fell into a mage's hands, we could have problems. Leave as soon as possible and travel by day. Something bizarre is going on and I don't want you getting killed. Hurry. There may not be much time.
G.C.
With an astonished curse, Alanna flung the letter into the fire where it exploded into white flames. Alanna shuddered and slid from the room and into an empty storeroom where she dug out writing supplies she's stashed there.
George,
Score's dead. The boys are tracking down the assassin right now. Killed by a poisonous throwing star. I'll investigate it the best I can before I leave. I'll be leaving the day after tomorrow. I have to excuse myself from my "duties" at the convent. Otherwise, I'd leave with the sun. Get as many spies as you can in the palace and watch the smilin' duke and his romancer of a once-squire. I'll be on my way soon.
Lanna
She sealed it and magically warded it so that no one could open it but the King of Thieves himself. She gave the note to one of her best messengers and sent him on his way. Less then ten minutes later, Quick and Dark burst in, half dragging a man behind them.
"Found these on him, Mistress Lanna," Quick said in disgust, tossing a case of throwing stars onto the table. Alanna inspected them briefly before pocketing them.
"Search him again. He should be carrying poison." Alanna bent to look in the man's eyes, noticing that he was a Carthaki.
"Who sent you?" she asked through clenched teeth.
The man spat in her eyes. Alanna growled and whipped a dagger from her boot and held it to the man's throat.
"Who. Sent. You?" she asked again, narrowing her eyes.
The man said nothing, and Alanna put more pressure on his throat. He winced as she dug it deeper and could finally bear the pain no longer.
"Wait! I was hired by—"
But he never finished. He coughed and his eyes rolled back into his head.
Alanna tossed the now dead man to the floor. "I'm getting sick of people dying!" she shouted. A few eyes turned to her.
She glared at them, and they turned away.
"Aha!" Dark said, grinning. From inside the man's boot, he produced a vial of a dark red liquid. Blood. Contaminated blood. He handed the vial to Alanna, and she opened it and held it under her nose.
It was as she'd guessed. Poison from the Copper Islands. She sat down hard, thinking. Finally, she withdrew a few of the throwing star from her pocket.
Each was of a black steel, beautifully polished. Upon closer inspection, Alanna made out engravings, etched with a fine hand. She guessed the engravings were runes, but hadn't studied runes much, and couldn't tell for sure. She set each of the stars on the table, and using her Gift as discreetly as she could, tried to see if the stars were poisoned. When her Gift touched the stars, there was small explosion of white light, and the table shook. Alanna shuddered. There was something evil about the stars. No doubt something evil brewed up in Carthak. She touched the stars, now warm, carefully, being careful not to prick herself. She took a hair from her head and sliced it across the edge of the star. It split as soon as it touched the lethal edge of the weapon. She wrapped the stars in a handkerchief and put them back in her pocket. She'd have to study them further later. She also pocketed the poison, thinking ahead, knowing it might be handy some day.
~~~
A few hours later, Alanna stepped up onto a table and addressed her people once more. "His Majesty requests my presence in Corus, so I'll be leaving soon. Quick, Dark, you two are in charge. I want notes weekly. Investigate the messenger's death. I want any information on who sent him. And if anything strange happens, get word to me immediately. I'll be back as soon as possible. Don't anyone dare try for my position. You'll find yourself skinned when I come back. Gods bless you all."
She stepped down from the table, spoke briefly with Quick and Dark and then disappeared into the night.
~~~
Author's Note: How predictable am I being? Very? Well, sorry. So, my Alanna saga continues. Sorry she didn't stay at the convent too long. Things are slow there. Hmm…I've been thinking. About the A/G in my story. The best time to get the together would be around…April. It's like October right now. Not looking good….Well. I suppose I can work around it, and get the A/G fluff sooner. What do you all want? Sooner or erm…how I had it planned?
Cheers!
Sara
Oh, by the way, Pride Chapter 18 reviewer thanks are in the A/N in Pride!
