~Rand~

The depressingly gray walls seemed to press in on Rand from all sides. George had been gone for what seemed like hours, even though it was probably more like forty minutes. Hm. I guess time seems to go faster in prison. He twisted in the chair, pulling at the leather restraints that held his midsection firm to the cold wood. He stopped squirming when he heard the light shuffling of feet. George. He thought instantly. The rattling of keys alerted him, and he frowned in confusion. He was almost positive that George hadn't locked the door behind him. There wasn't a need to, after all. His attention was jerked back to the door as it swung inward on squeaking hinges. The Lord Provost stuck his head into the room with a confused expression on his face, clearly wanting to ask why the room hadn't been locked. His eyes hardened as he saw that Rand was alone.

"Where's George?" Rand narrowed his eyes for a minute and didn't answer. The Provost shrugged. "Well, when you see him, tell him that he's got a message from the castle."

The Provost left the room and Rand relaxed. At least he wasn't going to have to endure that man blathering at him. The Provost wasn't what you'd call 'reserved' with his speech.

While Rand was musing, he didn't see the door open. George entered, looking shaken and livid. His face was slightly flushed and he could tell that it wasn't from exertion. He stared at Rand with a mixture of confusion and fury. After a couple minutes he spoke.

"What does she see in you?" Rand gave him an odd smile.

"You're not the first person to wonder. I ask myself that question every godsdamned day."

He watched Rand for awhile, the fury leaving his face. "I wondered the same thing when Alanna finally accepted me."

Rand shut his eyes and sighed, opening them. "So I'm guessing that you'll help me?"

"Yes. I will. But it's not going to be as easy as Raul doing me a favor. Aly insists that I get you and the Yamani boy out of prison as well." Rand shot straight up in his chair, pain in his eyes.

"What!?"

"I don't understand it either, don't worry."

Rand exhaled softly. "Try and get us all out. Knowing Aly, if Pyro or I am still in prison and she's free, she'll either go right back to prison in a statement of rebellion or try and get us out herself. Not that I doubt her abilities, but she would take unneeded risk," he gave a small, pained smile. "She's a lot like Alanna that way. Always risks too much for what she believes."

George narrowed his eyes. "How do you know Alanna so well?" Rand raised an eyebrow and smiled genuinely for the first time.

"I've been regaled with tales of the not-so-famous side of the famous Lioness for quite awhile: her parenting side." George laughed.

"Yes. Aly never liked to be restricted, and Alanna never liked to see her daughter running as wild as she used to. Their personalities clashed quite a bit. Alan was the only one that could get them to stop fighting, even if it usually meant throwing a tantrum. Aly and Alanna are so alike, and neither of them can stand to see Alan in pain or angry."

Rand nodded, shaking his head. He knew how close Aly and Alan were from the times Alan came down to the Dancing Dove with his sister. Alan also never approved of his sister and Rand.

The Next Day

~Alan~

Meeting his mother at the practice courts when she was in Corus was part of his routine, but today as he left the pages wing silently with his practice sword in hand, he was worried, an unusual emotion for him. Usually he spent a lot of his time with Aly, his twin sister, when she was in Corus. This time, though, she had spent her first two days up at the castle with him and Thom and then disappeared, as far as he knew. Shaking his head, he tried to forget about it. If he wasn't focusing, his mother wouldn't be happy with him. But then again, she had been as preoccupied as he had after he told her about Aly's vanishing act.

Rounding the corner into the first court where he had arranged to meet his mother, he found his father and mother arguing heatedly.

"Alanna, listen to me! I have to help Raul with something and I can't be up here sitting at Jon's council table, listening to all his advisors bicker like old women!"

"Yes, well, if you remember correctly, you're required to!"

His father's face was angry and tired. "ALANNA! I'm trying to get our daughter out of PRISON, for gods' sakes, and you want me to sit up here and listen to the accountants list how much gold the kingdom has spent on rye!" Alan stepped forward now.

"Aly's in prison? Let me guess, it's Rand's fault?" he asked sarcastically, masking his fear. His parents turned to him, shocked to see that he was there. His mother looked between her son and her husband.

"Aly's i-in what?! Prison? There had better be a wonderful explanation for this," she said, looking at George. Then she turned to Alan. "Who's Rand, and why would he have anything to do with your sister being in prison?"

Alan rolled his eyes. "If he's got anything to do with her being in prison, which I'm sure he does, he's the one who got her there."

"WHAT! I'll kill the bastard! I'll-" George cut her off.

"Stop it, Alanna. Rand has nothing to do with Aly's imprisonment. Well, indirectly, I suppose, but it's not like he framed her. No, Aly brought this onto herself."

"Brought this onto herself?! None of this would have happened if she had never met him! I don't know what happened, but she wouldn't have been there if she'd never met him!" he shouted, not realizing that tears were pouring down his face. He hated Rand for taking his sister away from him. Occasionally, Aly would get enamored with some boy, but she would always, always come back to Alan. That was until he had started page training. She tried and tried to get him to stay, but she couldn't get him to stay or come back. So she had drawn away and met Rand, then began to follow their father's path. Away from him.

"Alan" said Alanna gently, but Alan shook his head and walked away, fiercely flicking the tears from his face. He didn't need sympathy. Not from them. The only thing he needed was to have Aly back.