Greetings to you all! This is the first fanfic I have written, and I hope for it not to suck! So the summary is this: The war between Scanra and Tortall is winding down, and a peace treaty may be in the making. So most of the fighting is over and so is the need for the armies.

Summary:

So Alana is stuck in Corus for the peace talks with not much to do. So let's see what kind of trouble the King's Champion can get herself into.


This is Why No One Lets Alana Get Bored

Chapter 1- New Project

Alanna finally had a break. The war winding down rather quickly; few rebellions and raids were still happening, but those were easily squashed down by well armed settlements and fiefs on the borders, and soldiers of the crown that were making regular patrols. The rumors that were circulating around about Scanra signing a peace treaty with Tortall were even beginning to come to fruition. All of this peace left Alana bored out of her skull though.

It wasn't that any of these were bad things. On the contrary; it would be an easier and safer life for everyone if Scanra were at peace with Tortall. It was just bad for a stir-crazy knight; even the rouge Immortals that normally plagued the countryside were being exceptionally quiet. With all that being as it may, the only thing for Alana to do was attend negotiations, banquets, and parties. The only thing that Alana had to look forward to was when some of the Scanran warriors decided that her title as King's Champion was a novelty of the king's, and that they, being big strong men, could easily best her. That was when she would have the chance to get her hands dirty and trounce some foolish whelps. Until then, she would just have to make nice with the dignitaries and find something else to be entertained with.

So here Alanna found herself leaning against a pillar near the stable yards trying to think up a new project. As she was staring fixatedly at post, she felt a presence behind her. Before she could react, she felt an arm snake around her waist and settle across her stomach. Alana relaxed as she inhaled her husband's sent and leaned against his chest. "Y'know George, if anyone else tried what you just did, they would find themselves flat on their back halfway across the yard, and I'm still contemplating whether or not you deserve it anyways." Baron George Cooper of Pirates Swoop chuckled as he settled his head on top of hers and replied; "Now lassie, you know you don't be wanting to fight with your dearly beloved when we should be taking advantage of this calm." Alanna's huff in response made him look down at his feisty wife. "What's the matter lass? You look ready to skewer the first man to rub you the wrong way. Is there anything I can do to take some of that iron out of your gaze?"

Alanna looked up at her husband and sighed again. It was a rare occurrence for George to be able to leave Pirate's Swoop and be able to spend time with her. With the war coming to a close and reliable people keeping him up-to-date, George had been requested to help smooth over the negotiation talks. She should be enjoying the time she got to spend with him and her other friends, but the itch to do something productive was bothering her greatly.

"I'm just so bored George. There is nothing here for me to do but look pretty, and you know how I feel about that."

"Well then, we'll just have to find something interesting for you to do while we're here."

"And what pray tell do you…"

Alanna was interrupted by the sound of hoof beats. The pair looked out from under the arch to see the New Hope delegates arrive, escorted into the stable courtyard by a few men of the third company of the King's Own. George and Alanna watched as Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan and Sir Nealan of Queenscove dismounted along with some others including Sergeant Domitan on Masbolle. Alanna was about to leave the shadows to greet her former squire and her successor, but George pulled her further into the shadows instead. "Give them a moment," he whispered before his wife could protest, "I want to see something."

Alanna wanted to argue, but there was a certain look that the former King of the Rouge had in his eyes, one that the Lioness usually saw on his face when he had come across a good bit of information or an important detail that no one else saw, so she settled back into the crook of his arms and waited for him to finish being cryptic.

The scene before them continued to unfold with the two Knights and the Sergeant catching up as their horses were lead away by an eager horse-hearted lad by the name of Toby. The light banter of the three friends floated across the yard, mostly jabs at Neal and his desperation to see his "Yamani blossom" and all of the other yammering that poor Kel had had to endure on the long ride to Corus. Dom was giving a blushing Kel his condolences with a wink and an overly courtly bow, when Neal took advantage of the bent over figure, and booted Dom strait into a fresh pile of hay that had just been brought up. While Neal was backing up laughing at his own stroke of brilliance, he caught his foot on a loose bit of stone. His attempts to stay upright while stepping backwards resulted in him falling into a water barrel. Alanna had to suppress a guffaw at these antics, and she could feel her husband's chest rumble with his own suppressed laughter.

Meanwhile, Kel had helped Dom out of the pile of hay, then turned around to reprimand her other friend. The position that the resident Meathead was stuck in, combined with the disgruntled look on his face, set both of the other two off in a round of laughter, bellows of it from the Sergeant and giggles from the Lady Knight. An odd look crossed Dom's face as he looked over at Kel, but just as quickly as it had come it was gone, and he was begging for some help removing the dry bits of grass from his person while they both pointedly ignored Neal's pleas for help. "Now here's where things may get interesting," Alanna heard her husband murmur. So Alanna watched the pair more carefully.

Kel was gently, but quickly, brushing the hay bits from Dom's back, while he swatted at the front of his clothes. Things like the Sergeant's rear were passed over with a speedier hand and a faint coloring of the Lady Knight's face. Dom was facing away from the eavesdroppers, bent over double, so they couldn't see his expression. Nothing else interesting occurred until Kel pointed out all of the straw stuck is Dom's hair. She pulled his head forward and began tenderly removing the bits of hay. "I can certainly see things getting 'interesting' here," Alana whispered with a grin as she pointed to blushing Lady Knight.

"Aye yes, but you're missing half of the story my dear," George replied as he pointed to the Sergeant. Dom had a bemused and flushed look on his face; he was also trying to look everywhere but at his friend's chest. Neither of the two seemed to notice the other's reaction to their almost-intimate closeness.

Suddenly Neal's struggling tipped over the water barrel and he rolled out with a yell. These actions had the same effect on the quiet moment as someone hurling a brick at a pane of glass. The suspenseful atmosphere was shattered as Kel and Dom jumped away from each other. Dom was the first to recover, and hid the awkwardness of the situation by once again laughing at his cousin; Kel followed, her Yamani famous mask pulled into place; she yanked her fellow Knight to his feet and proceeded to reprimand him for the entire mess being his fault.

An argument might have taken place after that, but the bell chose that moment to ring, reminding everyone that it would be noontime in an hour. Gear was distributed between the two knights, and then they all went their separate ways two settle in with a promise that all three of the would meet for lunch.


When Alanna and George made it back to their rooms, Alanna could contain herself no longer. She had been trying to speak since they watched The Lady Knight and Sergeant in the stable yard together, but her husband had kept silencing her. "How has no one noticed this before!" she finally exclaimed. "I mean the looks, the dynamics between the two, is the entire castle blind and stupid? How could this have gone on for so long and…?" George put his hand to his wife's lips to silence her, and it took some willpower on her part to not bite his hand.

"Kel is a quiet lass dear one. Why would she ruin a dear friendship with something she considers unimportant? The Lady Knight we know has forsaken her personal life for those that she loves her whole life. Why would now be any different for her?"

"What about Dom? He may be a bit of a flirt, but he's a good guy. I don't think he would ignore that kind of obvious…"

"But that's the thing love, he has no idea he has theses feelings."

"But, what about that scene we just saw."

"He may be beginning to notice that his 'good friend' is more than just a fellow warrior, but it still hasn't hit home for him yet."

This theoretical talking around in circles was giving Alanna a headache. She needed to get these thing set strait in plain speak or her head would explode. Or she would kill her husband. Or both, but either option was, in her opinion, an unpleasant way to spend the hour before lunch. "Ok," she began. "Let me get some things straight."

"If that's what you need love"

"Watch it George, I may still smack you."

"Sorry love."

"Fine, let's set down the facts. So, Kel is in love with Dom, but she doesn't want to ruin her friendship with him, so she's keeping quiet about her feelings."

"Yes"

"And Dom may like Kel?"

"Unless I'm wrong, which is a very rare happening, than the Sergeant is staring to see our dear Lady Knight in a new light. This is going to make him step lightly around her for the time being."

"So the two of them are just going to dance around each other for the rest of time? That's awful!"

There was a moment of heavy silence between the couple, each deep in thought. Alanna's mind was racing with the loneliness that her successor must be feeling. She knew from experience how hard it was to be among men where no one thought of you as anything more than one on the boys. She knew all about the craving for a tender touch that would almost surely never come.

"I suppose there is sommat we could do to aid them," George mused aloud finally breaking the building tension. Alanna looked over at her husband in a way that clearly meant she was waiting for him to elaborate. "Well if two parties cannot reach a reasonable conclusion to a problem, then a third party is called in to assist." George was smiling a way that told Alana that he had a plan, and a clever one at that; she motioned for him to continue. "Well I just had a brilliant idea for a project for you. This new project is productive, will keep you plenty entertained, and if all goes well, it will have a nice outcome that will make most everyone's lives a little better." By the end of this statement, he was grinning ear-to-ear

"What are you getting at, you old trickster?" She had an inkling of what was going on, but she wanted to be sure before she jumped to any conclusions.

"Alana my dear, how would you like to play Matchmaker?"


So that's the first chapter of the first fanfic I've ever posted. I would appreciate any kinds of reviews, even if you do flame the beejezus out of my story.


Just an update for this first chapter. I was going back to check a few details, and I saw a few thing that just really needed to be changed, such as spelling errors, forgotten bits of words, and missing dialog. I think I may go back and fix all of the chapters, just so that it makes more sense. Let me know how you feel