Once again, thanks for your reviews. Hope you like this chapter.

Note: The fights in this chapter come from the books and are nothing of my creation.

Ralon Malven

The two weeks following Jon's interesting conversation with Myles were uneventful. But nothing changed. Alanna remained fierce and didn't utter a word to anyone but her brother and the teachers when asked a question. Jon was still curious about the new girl who had so suddenly entered his life but had enough sense to keep a safe distance from the Lioness. And Ralon, he continued to be a sexist ass. However, in those quiet two weeks, Ralon had been stirring up trouble. At first, he thought that it would be good entertainment, watching as she attempted to keep up with the class. After all, she was only a girl. And girls couldn't do athletics. But then she beat him once, twice, three times in a row. His patience was waring thin. There was only so much he could take.

They were doing fencing and surprise, surprise he was beaten again. He was able to hold his tongue however when he saw who her next opponent was: Dain Melor. Dain was one of Ralon's cronies and the two had been friends since they were kids. Said to be one of the best fencers in school, Dain was a foot taller than Alanna and all muscle. No way would she be able to beat him, Ralon thought smugly. Little did he know, that smug smile was about to be wiped of his face.

Alanna and Dain stepped into the centre of the floor while the rest of the class surrounded them, forming a circle. They quickly bowed and saluted each other as was custom and then crossed their swords to begin. As soon as the coach gave the signal, Dain swung his blade around, meeting Alanna's with a clear, ringing sound. He bore down, trying to force her sword to the floor but Alanna, being Alanna, gritted her teeth and held, the muscles in her arms screaming with the effort. Dain's eyes widened; she was much stronger than she looked. He broke away and circled her. He whipped his sword down and in. Alanna struck it away and slid her own blade straight toward Dain's heart, ready to pull back if she had to. Dain stepped back hurriedly, and Alanna lunged back before she went off balance.

"A child's trick!" Dain scoffed. No one needed to point out that that child's trick had almost worked.

Dain was circling and talking, trying to keep Alanna distracted until he spotted her weakness. He lunged in and back with great speed, searching for her one failure to fend her off. Alanna parried his blows and watched for an opening she could use to knock the sword form his hand. Sweat was trickling down her cheeks, making her nervous in case it got in her eyes. It was no comfort that Dain's shirt was soaked through on the chest and back, or that he was breathing in deep, heavy gasps. Alanna grinned inwardly to herself. When Coram had first discovered her talent for fencing many years ago, he had allowed her to practice with an old, broad sword that had been passed down through his family. Had Dain practiced with that old sword, he wouldn't be so tired now.

The only sound in the room was the padding of their feet and Dain's harsh breathing. Alanna spotted a chance and lunged-Dain stumbled back. She tried to wipe away the sweat on her face with her sleeve while he recovered but she wasn't quick enough. With a yell of triumph, Dain darted forward. She stepped back too slowly and the top of Dain's sword sank deep into her right arm, just below the elbow. The swords were only practice swords but extremely blunt and hurt like hell if you were cut by one. Despite the deep wound and the blood pouring out of it, Alanna didn't even blink. Cursing her bad timing, Alanna lowered her blade. As much as she would have liked to continue, she had assumed that the fight was over. Suddenly, he lunged for her chest, his eyes wide and crazy. Dain began circling her again, searching for another opening. Slowly she stepped back and away from Dain, transferring her sword into her left hand. She was careful not to slip in her blood that was dripping on the floor. Alanna lunged forward viciously, her sword met Dain's with a crash. Instantly she pulled away, and then thrust in again. Dain blocked clumsily, falling back as she bore in on him. Her sword never stopped moving; she never stopped looking for an opening. There it was! She brought her sword down, under and up, catching Dain's hilt and yanking the sword from his hand. It went flying. Alanna darted forward to press her sword's point into Dain's throat. He looked up into the coldest eyes he would ever see.

"Stupid," said Alanna loud enough for all the class to hear. "Very, very stupid."

Silence rained throughout the hall. Alanna threw her sword on the ground beside Dain, letting a cruel smile edge its way on to her face when he flinched. Jon noted that the smile, although evil, was the first he had seen grace her features. He would never admit it, especially considering that the Lioness would chop him up into little bits if she ever knew, but she looked quite pretty when she smiled. Of course there where prettier girls in the schools, beautiful even. Girls who would throw themselves at his feet if it meant they could get to go out with him. But there was something about Alanna. Something different, but at the same time alluring. He watched as she turned and walked out the room; her footsteps echoing throughout the room.

Alanna stepped out the changing room, focused on wrapping a bandage around her cut arm to try and stop the bleeding until she could get stitches. She was so focused that she didn't noticed the figure lurking outside the changing room waiting. She felt hands grab her shoulders and push her up against the wall. A kick to the back of her leg found her on her knees on the floor. A low cackle that she was now familiar with was heard behind her and she quickly turned around before he could hit her again. She slapped him and quickly ducked before he swung at her, missing her by a few inches. Alanna came up and under his swing to ram into his chest. He yelped and grabbed her hair. She punched him twice in the stomach, hard. Ralon seized her throat, choking her. She shoved her thumb in his eye while stamping down on his foot at the same time. Ralon screamed in pain and backed away, clutching his eye. Alanna lunged forward, thrusting her hip between Ralon's legs. He stumbled and she helped him fall by throwing him over her hip. Quickly she knelt on his back, twisting his arms behind his back in the process, keeping him pinned down with one hand while using the other to pull his head up by the hair.

"Give up?" she panted. Weakly, Ralon nodded. She stood up and he leaped at her, landing a wild punch on her cheek sending her flying backwards. Before she could react, three sets of hands pulled him back and started punching and kicking Ralon. She recognised the coal black hair of Jon, and the two giants that were Gary and Raoul. When Ralon was in a bloody, heap on the floor they stopped and turned to Alanna to check if she was okay.

"Are you okay? What was that all about?" said Jon. He offered a hand to help her up but she didn't take it.

"I'm fine." She turned to walk away, picking up the bandage that had come off during the fight, but Jon grabbed her arm.

"Look we were only trying to help!"

"I didn't need your help. I can take care of myself. I've been doing it my whole life." She tried to walk away, but once again Jon stopped her.

"Look, despite what you might think about us we don't care that you're a girl. You are a talented athlete. Anyone with half a brain can see that. Ralon and his groupies may think that you're hopeless but the rest of us don't. We saw what you just did in there. We know what you're capable of. We deserve the chance to show you that much." With that he turned and walked away, Raoul and Gary on his heels. Alanna was left standing there, speechless. She knew that she could come off quite cold sometimes. She didn't mean it; it was just the way she was. For years she had had a barrier up to stop herself from having her heart broken again. Only two people in the world were on the inside of that barrier. That's the way it had been for a while, and no one had ever tried to make an effort. Tried to get inside the barrier and get to know who the real Alanna was. She didn't know how to respond to this new person who was willing to face her wrath. It was a whole new experience for her.