Hello! Finally, Chapter 3! It would have been up earlier, but I was camping last weekend, and I came back to find both of my computers broken. Not fun. So I got a bit of a writers block at the end, but I pulled through! Now READ!
By the way, Alana, Kathleen, Asha, and Katie (and Meghan, sorry) are all based of my friends...and I'm one of them too. A cookie if you can guess which is me. You don't get one if you already know me.
Oh, yeah...I don't own Tortall, or Prince Liam, or Lalasa, or Lord Padraig. I'm pretty sure I own everyone else.
The reunited friends tried to enter the mess hall inconspicuously, but the sight of four 'warrior women' wasn't exactly a common one for the pages and squires. Kathleen scowled a little, but didn't say anything to try to stop the whispered comments and open stares. Grabbing trays, and loading them with food, they sat at a table that had 'magically' cleared as they approached it. The stares continued, however, as the sat, waiting for the training master Lord Padraig ha Minch to arrive (A/N: Does the training master come at lunch? Eh, he does now). Asha tried to discourage them by glaring at any who made eye contact, while Katie simply looked at them and smiled, while slowly crossing her eyes. Alana absently tried to balance a spoon on her nose.
Finally, Lord Padraig arrived, and recited the prayer.
"Let Mithros guide our steps towards a bright future." (A/N: I'm not a religious person, so I came up with the prayer out of thin air)
"So mote it be," the assembled pages, squires, few odd knight, and Shang, Rider, and Lady chanted, before digging into their meal. Today, they had a chicken soup, with a salad and fruit, along with the bread, juice, and water already on the tables. Katie was about to take her first sip of soup, when someone suddenly slammed their tray down next to her, causing her to inhale it, literally. (A/N: hah, bad pun)
"Where did you go in such a hurry this morning that you couldn't even eat breakfast?" Troy asked her from his seat to the girl's right. Katie coughed and choked in reply.
Once she had regained the ability to breath, she replied, "Out in the Royal Forest." When her friend raised her eyebrows, she sighed gustily, and went on, "I was meeting some friends." Troy looked around the table. He was startled to see three girls looking at him that he hadn't noticed before, all with curious expressions on their faces. Reddening slightly, he tried to save his pride.
"I'm sorry, but your mere divine presence, my dear ladies, blinded me for a second, and-"
"Ahh, buttering us up, are we?" Asha cut in, trying to conceal a grin. "Well, we 'goddesses' are used to such treatment. You'll just have to do better than that." Katie chuckled, noticing Troy go a deeper red. "So, anyway, who's your friend?" Asha added, looking at the young man. He was muscular, but not very bulky, and close to six feet tall. His hair was dark brown, and chin length, and was always hanging in his face. His eyes were almost honey coloured.
"Oh, yes, where did my manners go?" Katie replied sarcastically. "May I introduce my Sir Troy of Highcastle, the boy who I had the pleasure of spending the last eight years with."
"Boy?" He protested. "I'm two years older than you!"
"Really? I wonder if I've heard that before...oh, wait, could it be the last hundred times you've rubbed that fact in my face?" The blonde knight drawled. "Anyway, these are my good friends Kathleen of Jirescliff, Alana of Gillham, and Anastasia of King's Court, who is better known as Asha." She pointed out each of them in turn, and Troy nodded in greeting.
"Just out of curiosity, why haven't I seen you with your friends before?" the young man asked. "I mean, I've seen Asha and Kathleen around the palace, and I've heard of the Shang Ermine, but I've never seen you ladies all together." The girls exchanged a look. Sighing, Alana looked at Troy.
"I'll volunteer to do this then," she said. "Alright...ten years ago, we were all moving away from each other (we've been friends since we were about two), so we made a blood bond, so we would remember to meet again in ten years. For some reason, the Goddess took an interest in us, and she said we wouldn't be able to see each other until that day. So, ten years later, here we are." Troy looked speculative at first, but as he looked at four serious faces, he shrugged.
"I guess I'll take your word for it," he said, and dug into his soup. "Eat," he pointed at Katie's tray with his spoon. "You didn't have breakfast, and you need the energy." The girl rolled her eyes, as her friends snickered.
"As long at you don't try to make me choke this time," she retorted, but started to eat anyway.
"Are you always nagging her like this?" Asha asked curiously, shredding a piece of bread into her soup.
"Well, she can't always take care of herself, you know, being so young," Troy replied seriously. "Especially with eating right. She seems to have a thing against vegetables..."
"Rabbit food," Katie muttered, while her friends laughed.
"Hey, Kate, who're your friends?" Another boy asked, quickly sitting down next to Kathleen, and across from Troy. He had short, messy, blonde hair, and dark blue eyes. He was about Katie's height, maybe a bit taller, very muscular, and somewhat stocky.
"Dan, meet everyone. Everyone, meet Dan," Katie said shortly around a mouthful of soup.
"Why, I never knew everyone was so beautiful," Dan remarked, taking Kathleen's hand and kissing it, grinning broadly.
"What, you too?" She remarked, snatching her hand away, and causing Troy to chuckle. "Why, Katie, are all of your friends so..."
"Handsome?" Troy supplied.
Irresistible?" Added the other man.
"Full of crap?" Suggested Alana.
"That was the phrase I was looking for," Kathleen continued, wiping her soup bowl with a piece of bread.
"Ouch, that hurt," Dan said, placing a hand dramatically over his heart.
"Good," Katie commented dryly, stabbing her salad viciously with her fork, "you've gotten too confident lately about your effect on women."
"My dear, beautiful, divine Katie, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"See?"
"Your problem is your lack of vocabulary," Alana put in, swirling her juice in her cup. "Words like 'beautiful' and 'divine' only go so far, before you start to repeat yourself."
"Ahh, well, I'll keep that in mind...uhh..." Dan stopped, realizing her didn't know her name.
"I'm Alana, and this is Asha and Kathleen," she told him, pointing to each in turn.
"Hey Dan...how's it going?" A man standing at the head of the table, by Alana and Asha, said, grinning. He was short, no taller than Asha, with slightly tanned skin, dark brown eyes, and black hair that flipped back from his forehead. He had a small wiry build, and his eyes were very bright. Dan turned red, and tried to slink down on the bench. The man grinned, and settled down between Katie and Troy.
"So what brings you here, Geoff?" Troy asked conversationally, finishing up his salad.
"I was looking for him, actually," Geoff replied, pointing to Dan, who was trying to make himself invisible.
"Oh really...what did he do?" Katie asked curiously. Dan coughed nervously.
"Perhaps we could talk about this another time..." He said, giving Geoff a Look. This made the small knight laugh.
"Afraid to talk about it in front of the ladies, are we?"
"No, I just think that we should settle this later. Can't you see I'm in the middle of a very interesting conversation with...Alana here?"
"You almost forgot her name!"
"Temporary memory lapse. Happens all the time."
"Sure it does."
"If you children are finished arguing, I left one of my books in your room, Katie," another man said, sitting next to Dan. The blonde knight rolled her eyes.
"Which one, Milo, because I think I have a whole library of your books by now," she replied. The man sighed gustily. He was very taller, topping Troy by a couple of inches, with light brown hair that would have been shoulder length, except it was tied back in a short horsetail. His eyes were a twinkling hazel, set in a strong face that was liberally sprinkled with freckles. He had broad shoulders, but was slim yet well muscled, and moved like a cat.
"The one about the Immortals War, remember? You were using it to prove me wrong when I said there were only three squads of centaurs on our side." (A/N: pulled a fact out of thin air there)
"Hah! I told you I was right," Geoff murmured, elbowing Troy, who ignored him.
"So who are these lovely ladies?" Milo asked, looking at Alana, Kathleen, and Asha, and smiling. Alana rolled her eyes. "What? Was it something I said?"
"Milo, meet Kathleen, the one with the big grin on her face, Asha, with the monster of a bow on her back, and Alana...who is glaring at me for not pointing out something about her," Katie answered. "They've been sweet-talked by these three already, so the whole thing's getting kind of old now."
"Speaking of which, Dan, you owe me one gold noble," Geoff said, grinning from ear to ear.
"What did he do?" Katie asked, somewhat annoyed this time.
"I bet him that he would get turned down if he came over and started flirting with these ladies."
"You used my friends to win money?"
"Yeah..."
"I should get some then, for bringing them here."
"Fair enough. I'll buy you a new scouring cloth...you've needed one for a while, right?"
"Yeah...but I'd prefer a new belt-knife."
"Nice try. You'll be lucky if I have enough to get you the cloth anyway." (A/N: another fact out of thin air...how much do scouring cloths cost?)
"Shouldn't you be paying him?" Katie pointed out to Dan, who grumbled a bit, but tossed a gold noble to Geoff eventually.
"Is this normal for you guys?" Asha asked curiously. Her, Kathleen, and Alana had been watching the conversation with interested looks on their faces.
"What, betting on each other?"
"Yeah."
"Yep. It makes our life more interesting."
"What about arguing like five-year olds?" Kathleen joked, smiling.
"Well, I don't know about me, but these men, or so they call themselves..." Katie stopped, grinning, and was punched by Geoff.
"Asha! Why didn't you tell me you wouldn't be back by lunch? I thought we were supposed to go out into town!" A young woman exclaimed, rushing up to their table, to stand by Asha. She was short and slim, with tan skin and freckles. Her shiny, dark brown hair was in a horsetail, and she wore an outfit similar to Asha's, complete with the Queen's Ladies insignia. She carried no weapons, though, except for a small knife on her belt. A look of horror appeared on Asha's face.
"Mithros, Meg, I'm so sorry! I forgot...ouch!" Asha said quickly, not quite dodging the punch from her friend. "You didn't need to punch me!"
"Yes I did. So who's all your friends?"
"Sheesh..." The brunette muttered. Then she raised her voice. "Meg, this is Kathleen, Dan, Milo, Troy, Geoff, Katie, and Alana. Everyone I just said, this is Meghan, or Meg."
"Impressive," Milo murmured to Dan, "she remembered all of our names."
"So I hate to take Asha away from you, but we have to shop for a dress for the upcoming ball...plus, I need a new bowstring, and some of my arrows need new fletching...are you coming or not, Anni, dear?" Asha sighed, but then looked at her friends with a somewhat evil glint in her eyes.
"Oh, the ball, yes...for Prince Liam's wedding, hmm (A/N: who's the lucky lady? Stay tuned to find out)? Alana...do you have a dress yet?" Alana shook her head slowly, wondering what Asha was up to. "Katie and Kathleen...you don't either, do you? Well, we're going to have to fix that...oh, I know! You could come with me and Megan! You wouldn't mind, would you Meg?" the girl shook her head. "Alright then. It's settled. You can stop by your rooms to drop of your weapons and such, but then we're going to have to get going." Dan guffawed, and Geoff snorted. They knew how hard it was for Katie to shop, and how it took her ages to find something that she liked, and that she got bored with it very easily. Glaring at them, Katie was then struck by an idea.
"Oh, Dan, Geoff...you have to go too, don't you?" She started, seeing a horrified look appear on their faces. "Well, you can come with us too! It'll be fun!" They glared at her. "Oh, you're coming too, Troy and Milo." She added.
"Oh, I've already got something to wear," Milo said quickly, and almost smugly. Katie glared at him, but he pretended not to see her.
"Really? What?" She asked.
"Well, you remember that red doublet I wore to the midwinter ball?"
"What, the one that was full of holes, and barely fit you?"
"Yeah, that one."
"Nice try. You're coming."
"You know, I am bigger than you. You can't really make me come."
"I have a sword."
"Well, if you're going to get like that, then I guess I'm going to have to go."
"Now that this is settled, can we go? We need to hurry!" Meg said impatiently, motioning for them all to get out of the mess hall. The group walked out of the hall, almost all unhappy about these arrangements except for Meg, Kathleen, and Alana. It was Meg's idea to go shopping in the first place, and she liked shopping, especially when she got to tell Asha what she should and shouldn't wear. Alana hadn't been to Corus in ten years, and she wanted to get out to see the town. Kathleen was indifferent about shopping, but loved the city.
"Alright...Katie, and your little knight friends, you have to go this way, right?" Meg asked her, and she nodded in reply. "Go down there, get rid of that monster of a sword, and we'll meet at the palace gates once you're ready. We aren't taking horses, and if you even think about sneaking off, I will personally hunt you down. Now hurry." Katie went off down the hall, followed by Milo, Dan, Troy, and Geoff, muttering to herself about something. "Kathleen, why don't you go to your rooms in the barracks, and get rid of your weapons. Why doesn't Alana go with you, because I don't think she has a place to stay, right?" Alana and Kathleen were looking at her, dumbfounded. "I'd recognize a Rider badge anywhere, and do you think that I haven't heard of the Shang Ermine?" Flapping her hands at them, she added, "Come on! Go! Asha, you're coming with me."
Half an hour later, Meg was leading a group of mostly unhappy people along the street of Corus, towards Lalasa the dressmaker's shop. Asha and Kathleen were arguing about whether ponies or horses were better in war, which was interesting, considering both of them owned a horse. Kathleen's friend Jael tagged along behind her, slightly annoyed that Kathleen had decided that he needed something to wear for the ball too. Alana and Geoff were discussing weaponry, and Geoff found it strange that the girl only used daggers, never swords, bows, or other weapons. Katie, Milo, and Troy were cracking jokes about how long it would take Dan to get shot down at the ball. Dan was trailing along at the back of the group somewhat dejectedly.
"Alright...everyone in here, please," Meg called out, going into a small shop, pulling Asha in with her. The others followed sullenly. "Now ladies, find something you like. Gentlemen...well, it's probably best if you just stay out of the way." Alana and Katie walked over to look at some purple fabric, while Kathleen searched for something red, and Meg dragged Asha to a book full of dress designs. Troy, Milo, and Dan stood in a corner, while Geoff and Jael started talking.
With some help from Lalasa, the girls finally picked out fabrics and patterns they liked. They went into the back room to get their measurements, paid Lalasa, and went out of the shop. The men followed them quickly.
"Well?" Dan asked Katie, walking beside her. "What's yours look like?"
"Let me think...no," she replied.
"What?"
"You'll just have to wait."
"Fine, be that way." Dan jogged forward to walk with Kathleen, but she wouldn't say anything either. He then decided to talk to Troy, at the back of the group.
The next stop was the tailors. The men went through pretty much the same as what the girls went through before, but some of them needed a lot of convincing from the tailor and Meghan to wear something other than a tunic and breeches. Finally, they were taken to get measurements, then they paid, and left, also refusing to say anything about what they would wear.
"Now that our torture is over with, can we go back to the Palace?" Asha asked Meg.
"Torture? This is a very important part of any lady's life," the shorter girl replied.
"Oh, well, I'll keep that in mind the next time I'm fighting bandits...ow! Why'd you punch me?"
"You were being sarcastic."
"So?"
"It's very rude." Asha rolled her eyes, and sighed. She managed to dodge the punch this time. "But yes, you can go now."
"It's about time," Katie murmured to Alana, who snorted.
"Hey...I bet that I can make it to the palace first," Dan commented, grinning.
"You're on!" Katie was surprised to hear Alana say that. Dan looked surprised too, then shrugged.
"Alright...first one to the stables, alright?" Alana nodded in agreement. "Loser owes five silver nobles."
"Ready..." Geoff said, "and...GO!" Alana and Dan shot off down the street, dodging people, both neck and neck. The others strolled down the street at a much slower pace, chatting and joking. Jael seemed to be getting along well with them all, and his cheerful outlook on life was appreciated by all.
A few minutes later, the group reached the palace stables, where they found a panting Dan and Alana.
"Well?" Milo asked, looking at them curiously.
"Well what?" Dan replied.
"What do you think?"
"Oh...she beat me, by about ten feet, too." Alana was congratulated by all, and given her money by Dan. When he asked what her secret was, she smiled.
"Short people have less wind resistance, of course," was the reply.
After a discussion, it was decided that Asha and Meghan would return to their quarters, near the Queen's, and eat with the other Ladies. Kathleen would go to the Rider Barracks, with Jael and Alana, who would stay their for the night. Katie, Dan, Milo, Troy, and Geoff would eat in the page's mess hall, and return to their own rooms for the night. Kathleen didn't see why they had to split up, but Alana pointed out that 'a good night's sleep would do them all good'. Kathleen laughed at this, but the four girls agreed to meet the next day, to get some more 'catching up time'. So they all separated, and said their goodnights.
"Well?" Katie asked, as she sat in the mess hall at supper that night, a the same table she had during lunch. Her friends looked at her, confused. "What do you think of them?"
"Oh...well, Alana can run really fast," Dan replied, shaking his head. "I lost five silver nobles!"
"You should learn not to make stupid bets," Troy told him, grinning.
"I didn't think it was stupid at the time," the stocky knight retorted. "I am the fastest runner out of all of us."
"Yeah, well, that's not saying much," Katie murmured to Geoff. "You've seen how we run." The short man chuckled.
"So am I going to get my book back sometime today?" Milo asked, looking at Katie.
"Oh, yeah...forgot about that," she commented. "Well, I'm done. Let's go."
"I'll come too," Troy said, standing up, his tray in his hands. "Want to get in some jousting practice before bed?"
"You're on!" The blonde girl said, putting her tray on a stack already left by the pages and squires. She then lead the way out of the mess hall, chatting with Milo and Troy.
"So your friends seem nice," Meghan commented, sitting in Asha's room, playing chess with her friend.
"Yeah...it seems kinda weird to come back, after ten years..." the brunette replied, taking one of Meg's pawns.
"It seems like you haven't been apart for that long, you know." Meg moved a knight forward.
"That's the weird part. But it's great to have them back."
"Of course. Checkmate."
"What?" Asha exclaimed, looking at the board suddenly. "Damn it, you're right...you always seem to win against me!"
"The trick is to get you talking," Meg replied, her eyes twinkling.
"Gee, thanks," the other girl commented sarcastically. "OW!"
"What did I say about sarcasm?"
"Sorry...you didn't need to punch me though!"
"...says you."
"Whatever. Want to go shoot some targets?"
"Sure...will you be using that monster of yours?"
"Of course! Why?"
"Well, you seem to make a habit of shooting through the targets with it."
"Sorry...it's not my fault its made of ironwood." (A/N: yes, I said maple before. But I changed my mind, after talking to my dad about bows. I now know much more about them.)
"Okay...let's just go." The two girls left the room, smiling.
"So, Alana, what do you think of the Rider Barracks?" Kathleen asked, putting a saddle on her horse.
"Very nice," the Shang replied, mounting her gelding. "You seem to be a...popular commander."
"Well, what can I say? They love me!" Alana stifled a laugh at this comment. At dinner, one of the riders in the Ninth Group, a pretty girl named Jenna, had enchanted Kathleen's bread, so that when she ate it, she couldn't stop sneezing for five minutes strait. Kathleen still had yet to find out it was Jenna who had done it, though.
"That's right," Alana said, nudging Leo into a trot.
"So...looking forward to the ball?" Kathleen asked, riding next to her friend.
"Well, yes and no. I'm looking forward to being back to Corus, and seeing the court again...but I'm not a huge fan of public ceremonies.
"Hmm...I know what you mean. I have a brilliant idea of how to make it more interesting, though."
"Uh oh..."
"Very funny. Now, this is the plan. A couple of month ago, at another ball, Jael undid the ties on my shoe, and I feel down the stairs, into the ballroom." Alana winced; that was a long fall. "So, to get back at him, I'm planning to set him up with someone. That someone can be you." Alana raised an eyebrow. "Not permanently or anything. So I want you to lead him outside sometime during the ball, and talk to him by the fountain. Then I need you to somehow get him to fall in."
"Why me?"
"Because if I did it, he'd suspect something for sure."
"...but this is part of your little fight with him."
"Oh, you can just tell him afterwards that it was my idea. He won't hold a grudge against you, don't worry."
"I'm still not convinced..."
"I'll pay you five gold nobles."
"So, when should I lead him outside?" Kathleen grinned. Revenge was going to be sweet.
And there it is. Chapter Three. Yay! So I need to reply to some people...
Mage-Magic17: Yup, I do have a reason for Alana now, but you're gonna have to wait 'till later to find it out.
Pheep: My goodness, you rock! What an amazing review!
Jowa: Well, they've been gone for ten years, but since they didn't even know the others existed during that time, it's like they haven't been apart. Does that make sense? So that's why they're so sarcastic...plus, they're sarcastic people.
seastar222: Well, that's good...they sound a lot like mine...probably because Alana, Asha, Kathleen, and Katie are based off my friends...and me. Oh, and Meg.
Clai-a-net: Hopefully fighting. I want to write a fight scene.
Opaque: Thanks about the Onua thing. I got that info from some website...lol, I lost Wild Magic.
RiverNeverCeasing: I shall try to keep it going. Though I'll need to think of a plot first...
Mage-Magic17: Hi...again, lol. As for some clues...well, fighting. Mysteries. Romance. A plot will be coming up to...I hope.
miamouse: Hi! Well, thanks, and I did put you in. And you did beat up Anna-Loo-Loo a bit. Muahah.
miamouse: You again, lol. Thanks, it must be good, coming from you.
Anastasia of King's Court: Thanks, I'll see what I can do about the handsome guy.
So review! Please! And I'll try to get the next chapter up soon!