The Ball

As the ball began the newly arrived ladies from the convent were introduced to the court. As each young woman descended the Grand Staircase they were examined and judged by the other ladies already present at the court and the young men that were meeting them for the first time. Alanna had ended up almost in the middle of the flow of ladies. Her dress was plain cut but it was an unusual violet that matched her eyes and provided a contrast to her vivid red hair. After giving her greetings to the royal couple she turned to join her brother where he stood among his more knightly friends.

A smile that most would find charming but was actually more of a smirk crossed her face as she saw her brother's expression. He looked absolutely stunned as he examined her figure. The years at the convent had definitely changed her and the teachings that she had undergone there shone more clearly in this setting then they had when she first greeted her brother. The full ball gown with its matching jewelery and the elaborate hair style gave her all the looks of a fully trained lady. The light amounts of face paint accented the beauty of her features but was not heavy enough to cover everything natural about her features.

Alanna continued to smile at her brother and the men around him, even as Thom still stood frozen in shock. His mouth had not closed at all and it seemed like her appearance had broken him, because it did not look like he would be moving, even to close his mouth, any time soon. When the silence had begun to grow awkward Alanna reached forward and gently closed Thom's mouth for him. He shook the shock from his body and cleared his throat as he tried to regain his balance. Alanna's arched eyebrow was all the sign that he needed to know that she was not amused and that she would like him to do something about that.

It was Sir Raul's laughter that really got him moving however. He glared at the men as they laughed at his plight before he remembered himself and wiped the emotions from his face as he introduced Alanna to the other men in the group that he stood with. In addition to Gary and Raul, he was standing with Sir Alex and Sir Myles. The normal bows and curtsies took place and niceties were exchanged. As the polite and rather stiff conversations continued Thom was able to notice the same fidgeting in Alanna that she had done when they were younger and she wanted to hunt rather than be studying at the books. It seemed that at least some of her habits remained no matter how different she appeared.

"Alanna, my dear sister, if I could steal you away from my friends so that I may have this dance?" Alanna pasted a smile on her face as she attached herself to her brother's arm so that he could led her to the dance floor. However, hidden beneath her skirts a foot stamped on top of Thom in retaliation for the mocking edge in his voice.

"Thom, I am concerned about your friends. There is one in particular that concerns me even more than your letters have suggested. While I am able to tell exactly where most of your friends thoughts headed when confronted with me, this one headed in a different direction. One that I am not comfortable with."

"Oh is this the person that is so close to my smiling friend. Yes, though I do not know what you caught that I have not, I share my concerns." As the dance came to an end Thom escorted Alanna back to his friends. The smirk that he directed at Alanna was pure evil and told exactly what he was thinking. She would go back among the sharks and he was going to leave her to defend herself.

As the long night of flirting and putting off potential suitors came to an end Alanna managed to escape and make it back to her room without getting caught in some meaningless conversation. Once in her room she removed all the draperies and fineries that had been placed on her body and exchanged them for some plain breeches and an equally plain tunic. Into this she hid numerous daggers and other small weapons. She then made her way to the stable and saddled her horse. Riding into the forest that the castle backed onto allowed her to find a rather small clearing, that was as flat and smooth as any forest ground can be. Dismounting she secured her mare to a nearby tree and stretched her limbs.

Once she was warmed up she began the basic practices for the daggers that she had picked up. As Alanna worked her way through the weapons she also worked her way through the frustration that had built during the ball. When her mind was back at peace with itself, she turned her thoughts to the problems that her brother had noticed within the royal family. All the time that her thoughts were in motion, her body was moving as well in a dance completely opposite then the ones that had taken place within the ball room.

As she traveled back to her room she allowed her thoughts to fade away. The best thing was for her to act like an empty headed court lady. That was the best way to appear not to be a threat and so she would seem to be no danger to anyone's plans or goals. Wrapping herself in the thick blankets that had been left on her bed Alanna smiled at the soreness in her muscles, they were one of the few signs left that she had not abandoned her goal to become a female warrior.