I hope you like it!
The world was spinning. Alanna lying on the ground waiting for her head to clear. "Definitely not my favorite method of travel," she groaned.
"Tell me about it."
Alanna looked over to see Coram looking green around the gills. I don't know what you two are complaining about, Faithful licked a paw and drew it over his ear, looking quite at ease.
"Yeah, well not all of us are as lucky as you..." Alanna stuck out her tongue immaturely and looked over at the horses. It was almost comical to watch, the horses were staggering around as if they were drunk. Finally Moonlight, (Alanna's gold and white mare) sat down looking very uncomfortable, Anvil* followed suit.
Eventually the world stopped spinning, and Alanna slowly sat up and looked at her surroundings. They were sitting in a forest, with sunlight shining through the trees and dappling in patterns on the ground. Birdsong filled the air, and it seemed very peaceful. There were some gentle slopes and small hills around, so she couldn't see any landmarks, but there was a small stream.
Slowly she stood up, and climbed to the top of one of the hills. There! In the distance, maybe about a mile away was a very big castle, flags blowing in the breeze. She picked her way back down to Coram, was now sitting up, leaning against one of the trees. "There's a castle in that direction." Alanna pointed. "I think it might be Camelot, the place the Goddess said we should go to."
"Okay, just give me a few minutes to recover."
After a while, the horses stood straight, not dizzy anymore, and Coram looked like his normal self again. They both took a swig of water, allowed the horses to drink from the stream, then climbed up the hill. Alanna pulled her riding cloak more tightly around herself.
Wanting to give the horses a break - just in case they weren't fully recovered from the strange transportation they received from the Goddess - they continued on foot, leading Moonlight and Anvil. Eventually they came to another slope, this one with more undergrowth and rocks scattered about. Faithful nimbly bounded up the hill, flicking his tail. Coram and Alanna followed more slowly.
When they reached the top of the hill, the castle was again visible in the distance. She pointed it out to Coram, who merely nodded. She started down the slope but stopped when she saw movement. Two men creeped out from behind the trees, stalking a deer that was grazing a little farther off. One was blond, and he carried a crossbow. The other had dark hair, and wasn't nearly as stealthy in his movements. She watched in amusement as the dark-haired man looked around the forest floor, and quite deliberately stomped on a small branch by his feet. The branch snapped in two with a loud crick! The crossbow fired tight as the deer bolted for cover. He missed, and the deer got away safely.
"MERLIN!" The blond yelled.
"You know, you're never going to catch anything if you move around like that." Alanna called out, her voice carrying down the slope. The men whirled around in surprise, the crossbow aimed in her general direction.
"Who are you?"
Alanna moved down the hill with Coram following. She stopped a few feet from the men; not worried in the slightest about the crossbow now pointed in her face. Really, it was a little sad that she was that short, the crossbow was held just below her eye level.
"I am Alan of Trebond, and this is Coram, we are on our way to Camelot. Would Camelot happen to be the city yonder?" She peered up at them, and stopped dead, her eyes flying wide in shock. Her mouth dropped open for a split second before she clamped it shut. These were the 2 men she had seen in her dream! She tried to compose her features, the blond didn't seem to notice anything, and he lowered the crossbow. But the dark-haired man - was his name Merlin? - He narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion.
The blond stepped forward, "Yes, that is Camelot, apparently you aren't from around here. If I may, what is your business there?"
"I wanted to finish my training, and become a Knight of Camelot." She tried to keep her voice even. She didn't expect to meet these men so soon! Would she meet the other people she saw in her dream too?
The blond tried to disguise an un-elegant snort of laughter. "You want to become a Knight? How old are you? 13?"
Alanna's shock had worn off slightly, and she was tired of everyone underestimating her because of her size. She didn't know these people, yet they were already judging her. "I'm 18 thank you very much," She snapped, "And I can take care of myself, despite my size. I'll have you know I was one of the best swordsman back home. Who are you anyway?"
Coram put his hand on her shoulder, "Alan, don't go picking fights before we even reach the city."
"Don't worry about it. I am Prince Arthur of Camelot, and this is my manservant Merlin. We just finished hunting anyway, I don't think we'll catch anything else today." He shot a hard look at Merlin before continuing, "We can escort you back to the city, and if you're serious about the knight training, I'll help you get settled in. You look like a noble, judging from your clothes. When we get to Camelot, I'll need to see a seal of nobility."
"That won't be a problem, but why do you need it?"
"The King won't knight anyone who isn't a noble," Merlin explained. Alanna sneezed as she glanced up at him, and was surprised as the strangest feeling of recognition rose up in her. It wasn't because of the dream she had, no, it was something else. There is more to this man than meets the eye. He had a slight feel about him. Not really an aura, but she felt... Power? She wasn't sure what it was...
Coram seemed uncomfortable, "Well, let's be on our way then."
As they walked through the woods, Alanna gave a brief explanation of their story.
"I grew up in Trebond, which is very far from here, and rather small. Coram lived there with us, and taught me and my brother what it means to be a knight and also how to fight. I learned almost everything a knight needs to know, and I also received a very good education. All that's left for me is to become a knight. So I came to Camelot to finish my training."
"Are you a knight?" Arthur asked Coram.
"Yes, I am a knight when I am needed. But I retired a while ago, I'm not as young as I used to be." He replied.
"What kingdom did you serve under?" Asked Prince Arthur.
"Tortall, have you ever heard of it?"
"Yes... Of course... It's a great kingdom, I've heard it mentioned a few times..." Alanna rolled her eyes, Arthur had never heard of Tortall, she was sure of that.
"That's a nice cat you've got there." Said Merlin. Faithful was curled up on Moonlight's back, sleeping. "Thank you, this is Faithful, he follows me practically everywhere."
"May I pet him?"
"Sure." Merlin reached out and stroked him, Faithful purred lazily but kept his eyes closed.
"You're such a girl Merlin!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Alanna's voice came out a little bit colder than it ought to.
Arthur looked at her, surprised at her reaction, "Nothing."
Merlin just smiled and kept stroking the cat.
Soon they approached the city walls. Wow, Camelot was massive, it rivaled even Tortall in size. They passed through the gate, the guards nodding to Arthur in greeting. Alanna looked around in interest, at all the bright colors and the people moving around. They followed Arthur up to the castle. It was huge, and the courtyard was well paved, with a statue in the middle.
Arthur turned to her and Coram, "First I will need to see your seals of nobility." Alanna pulled out her shield which had the Tortall crest on it, but she knew that wouldn't do. She dug around her saddle bag until she found it eventually. "Here," she handed both Coram's and her seals to Arthur. He glanced at them briefly and handed them back.
"Merlin, show them the training grounds and give them a room in the Knight's Wing, Alan, I expect to see you at training tomorrow, bright and early."
Merlin gave Arthur a very fake-looking bow,"Yes Sire." He turned to them and grinned, "Hello travelers, my name is Merlin and I'll be your tour guide for today. Observe, one of the rare species found only in Camelot. It's called an Arthur, they tend to be quite cranky and -"
"Get on with it Merlin!" Arthur marched up the stairs in Camelot without a backward glance.
Merlin, true to his word, gave them a very informative tour. He pointed out everything from the bakery, to the well, to some annoying pigeons that had been bothering him lately . Alanna rather liked him, he was so cheerful about everything, and even Coram - man of few words - was asking him questions.
Eventually they passed the training grounds, but since the sun was setting, not many people were out. Merlin took them to the stables, a somewhat chubby, short man - he was only a little taller than her - was brushing down one of the horses. "Hello Tyr, this is Alan and Coram, would you mind brushing down the horses and feeding them?"
"Oh, that won't be necessary, I always take care of my own horse." Alanna said.
"Don't worry Alan, Tyr is very good with the horses, if you leave them here, I can show you your rooms and help you get settled in. If you really want to, you can come back after I show you your room." Merlin said.
"Alan, let's go to our room so Merlin doesn't have to wait for us." Said Coram.
"Oh, no, that's not what I was -" Coram held up a hand, Merlin fell silent.
"It's only polite Alan, don't make Merlin wait."
"Alright," She sighed, "I'll be back later Moonlight. Come on Faithful." Faithful opened his eyes, and Merlin started in surprise,
"He has purple eyes! Just like you!"
"Yeah, interesting coincidence isn't it?" Alanna smiled.
Merlin looked at her, trying to read her face, which she carefully kept as normal as she could, making eye contact with him. She rubbed Faithful's ears, "Let's go." Thankfully Merlin let it drop, but not without giving her a suspicious look, that had the slightest bit of hope in it.
After about a minute, he remarked, "You know, I'm surprised Arthur's making you start training right away. You'd think he would let you rest after your journey."
"We went easy on the journey, I look forward to training tomorrow," Alanna replied. "He just wants me to show how hard I'll work for this. And I think he'll be in for a surprise at what I can do." Alanna smiled, this was going to be fun.
"Well, Arthur is the best swordsman in Camelot, he's trained since he was a boy, and, well, you are quite small, no offense."
Alanna rolled her eyes, "I'm used to being small, and I've fought people who were much bigger than me."
Merlin still seemed disbelieving, "Well, tomorrow will be interesting indeed. Coram, will you be coming to training?"
"I'll come to watch Alan get settled in, but I don't think I can keep up with all the youngsters."
"It's always good to keep your skills sharp." Merlin replied.
"Eh, I'll decide tomorrow."
Finally, they arrived at the Knight's Wing. The trainees were separate from the actual knights, but in the same wing. Merlin brought them to a trainee room. Their room was simple, but nice. Alanna missed home, but at least she had Coram and Faithful with her. She unpacked her stuff, and laid out some of her things. She would go check on Moonlight and Anvil, and then go to bed. She was looking forward to tomorrow.
*Anvil is Coram's horse, he is mentioned very briefly in Alanna: The First Adventure, and in Lioness Rampant
AN: I apologize if the characters are a little OOC right now, I'm still trying to get the hang of this. Please review! How can I improve it? Chapter three will be posted in a few days, but I will be busy this weekend. I'll post as soon as I can.