Disclaimer: I own Jalee, Tonia, this story and any of its characters you do not recognize, while the divine Tamora Pierce owns everyone and everything mentioned in her - wonderful, divine, and original - books.

Author's Note: This is a vice-versa Song of the Lioness story. Alanna was not able to get to Corus and there-by had to go to the City of the Gods.

Comments: I am in love with George Cooper. Back off, Alanna - he's all mine!

Chapter One: The Shang Dragon

Alanna sighed as she got out of bed. She had never been a noblish girl - but this was going too far. Four years ago - four very long years ago - Alanna's father, Lord Alan of Trebond had sent her to the City of the Gods and her brother to the capital city of Tortall, Corus. While Alanna and Thom, her twin brother had tried to switch places, so Thom could became a sorcerer and Alanna a knight, their plan had failed when Alanna's servant, also a healer, had left Fief Trebond - to visit her niece in Tyra, who had thirteen children and needed some help controlling them - and Lord Alan had hired a young woman named Jalee to take Alanna to the City of the Gods. Alanna and Thom had tried to fool Jalee into taking Thom to the City of the Gods, thinking that Thom was Alanna, but Jalee had noticed the difference and spoiled their plans. And so Alanna had gone to the City of the Gods to learn to be a lady.

It had been four years since then. Thom was soon to be a squire to the knight Gary (the Younger) of Naxen, but he still didn't have the natural-born war talent that had called to Alanna. Alanna, was living a lie in the covent - all the other noble girls and young woman were perky and feeble and Alanna felt like an outsider. The priestesses had tried to turn Alanna more feminine and had failed - miserably.

Alanna quickly walked over to her wardrobe and took out a pair of breeches and tunic - since she took no pleasure from her lady-training and magic studies, she had, for the last three and a half years, gotten up at dawn and practiced fighting skills with a friendly stable boy named Dara - who was about two years older than Alanna. Alanna opened up her third story window and looked outside. Sitting on the ground was a bored-looking Dara.

Alanna whistled, trying to get Dara's attention - she succeeded. Dara looked up and Alanna began to descend down the rope - which she hid in her wardrobe, behind her lady-like dresses with her breeches and tunics. Dara smiled at her as she reached the ground and looked around the covent grounds, as if searching for someone.

"Have you seen him yet?" asked Dara in a whisper, his handsome face anxious.

"Who?" asked Alanna confused. Dara was acting odd - then again, a young boy who practice

fought with a fourteen-year-old girl had to be.

"Liam Ironarm - the Shang Dragon - is in the City of the Gods! Even more than that he's here at the covent - the High Priestess summoned him, when she heard he was in the City, to teach the young noble woman how to defend themselves," explained Dara. Alanna could hardly contain her glee - it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn any kind of fighting - even lady-like self-defense - from someone who belonged to the Order of the Shang.

"Where is he?" Alanna asked, trying not to show her happiness at the remarkable chance to meet someone - and learn from someone - with such a high status as a Shang warrior. She had to meet him - maybe she could convince him to teach her the basic fighting techniques - not the self-defense the noble girls were learning - of a Shang warrior. That would certainly help her when she left the City of the Gods and went adventuring - although Alanna had been unable to go to the palace - because of her sex - she knew that one day she would be a knight. No matter what, that day would come and Alanna could prove to everyone - including herself - that she could become a knight - along with any other members of her sex.

Dara smiled - him and Alanna were the best of friends and he knew about her dreams of becoming a knight and going off on adventures and quests. He also knew that Alanna would one day be a knight - he was no fool; he had seen Alanna in action and he knew she was as capable as any page or squire

studying to be a knight in the palace of the capital, Corus.

Dara led Alanna into the courtyard were Anya Craft - the niece of one of the priestesses - often took the girls outside to enjoy the sun while learning the advanced stitches of embroidery - Alanna, needless to say, had some very awful memories of the courtyard. . . especially of that one time when Tonia of Hergon got Alanna back for defending a younger girl by paying a stable boy to put a giant spider in Alanna's embroidery thread, causing her to throw down her needlepoint and get some unwanted attention from Anya.

Standing in the courtyard was a man in his late-twenties. He had cooper hair - like Alanna - and a wonderful shade of blue-green for eyes; his face was marked with pox scars - Alanna immediately took a liking to him. The Dragon smiled when he saw Dara and Alanna approaching; as Alanna neared Liam looked her over and silently agreed with what Dara had told him; the young girl defiantly had spunk - she just needed a way to show the world it; and Liam would help her do that.

~*~*~*~

Alanna moaned as she dropped into bed without bothering to take off her tunic and breeches. It had been two months since Liam had first come to the City of the Gods, and since then he had been secretly teaching Alanna many fighting techniques - not just those of a Shang warrior -, unknown to anyone except Dara. Alanna hadn't told Liam about her dream to be a knight yet, but he knew - he had either guessed or Dara had told him. She was still surprised about none of the covent girls noticing the time she spent with Liam - which was usually in the evening -; they no doubt thought Liam was courting her, despite the near twenty-years age difference.

Alanna drifted off into a deep sleep within minutes.

~*~*~*~

Liam smiled as he saw Alanna approaching; Dara at her side. She was such a brilliant girl; so unlike most noble girls; she had no idea how deep Dara's feeling were for her - she was oblivious to the boy's un-platonic feelings and un-self-centered.

"What are we doing today? Hand combat?" asked Alanna as she and Dara came within hearing range. Although her fighting lessons were obviously wearing her out, she was as eager as ever to learn more

despite the physical pain of the lessons - a sign of a great warrior-to-be. Liam had been quite taken with Alanna; he couldn't wait to see her face when she heard his news.

"We won't be doing lessons for a while," started Liam.

"Why?" asked Alanna terrified - the past couple months had been ideal to Alanna. The kind of training she would of been doing if she had been able to pass as a boy in Corus.

Liam smiled, as if reading her mind, "Because we're leaving for the capital tomorrow at dawn."

Note: Chapter two will be up later on in the week. Please review - tell me what you think about it.