I feel obligated to begin with this: an abject apology. No, really, I am sorry (I promise)! I haven't updated not because I lost interest, or because I don't like you all (I love you, I swear), but because back in May my computer crashed. Kaput, boom, and just like that it was gone. Sad, I know, but I spent the intervening months working full time, with hardly any access to a computer, and trying to get my stuff together for college. So yes, while I am sorry, I hope you will forgive me!

So I'm back in action, at college, and ready to write more of the one, the only…

The Lady Knight's Squire

--

Justice: Rightfulness or lawfulness, often of a moral; equal treatment or dealings

Winter chased us across the landscape, seeping into our skin the longer we were out in the cold. Luckily, it didn't take to long, and we were inside the walls of Trebond before to long. It was Coram himself that welcomed us as the gates, his weathered face creasing as he let out a string of words more suited to a guard than a lord, though his gruff words were kind in their own way. We were welcomed out of the cold, for which Alanna was extremely grateful. I was grateful too, of course, but more for the fact that it stopped Alanna's bitter complaints than anything else.

It was almost a surprise, how much Alanna hated the cold. She's hardly what you'd call stoic, but the first thing she did upon reaching our campsite each night was build a roaring fire and proceed to hunch in front of it (while I did everything else, I might add).

So it was a relief, to finally arrive at Fief Trebond. Three small children, who I recognized by Will's description as George, Annalise and Marianne. Marianna, the youngest, was little more than an excited ball of clothing, barely able to waddle along, while Annalise tried to tug her younger sister along. "Auntie 'Lana! Auntie 'Lana!" they screamed excitedly, wriggling with excitement. Alana laughed and swept them up in a hug, while Coram shook my hand seriously.

Rispah shoved him aside and wrapped me in a hug. "How are you doing?" She said, face flushed with winter cheer. "Please, come inside! Alanna, dear, I know how you hate to be out in this sort of weather." She began to lead us inside, when she realized that her children were still attached to Alanna. "Sorry, dear, they simply insisted that they needed to be outside to wait for you." She spared a mock stern look for the extra appendages hanging onto Alanna's legs, "However, I think they've decided that you are their new plaything. Come on, George, Mari, Anna, please get off."

Alanna shook her head ruefully, and Coram motioned for guards to come and take care of our horses and bags. "It's alright," Alanna told Rispah. "It's been a long time since I've been able to do this with my own children. They grow up so fast," she finished, a touch wistfully.

"Now you've done it," Rispah said seriously. "They will never, ever leave you alone from now on."

Coram shook his head, as rueful as Alanna. "I'm afraid she's right," he interjected. "But come. I am sure that you are hungry, and some hot food should send you well on your way to sleep."

"Oh!" Alanna paused. "Please, I forgot to introduce Squire Nealan of Queenscove."

Rispah shook her head at Alanna's formalities. "Dear, you've spoken of nothing but having a squire for your last five letters. You should only expect that we know him nearly as well as you do."

Coram grunted. "It's true, you know." He thumped me on my back, while his cragged face broke into a grin. "And I bet you don't hear it nearly often enough from our lady knight, but she thinks that you are coming along excellently." I couldn't help flushing at Coram's words. It's true, Alanna is more than sparing with praise, but that meant that earning it was that much better.

"Thank you, sir."

"Now see what you've done, Coram?" Alanna teased. "Tomorrow, I'm going to have to take his ego back down to normal proportions."

"Argh!" I groaned. "Coram, now you've done it! Leave some gardenia incense at Mithros's temple. It's the least you can do for causing my death."

"What if I feed you a truly excellent meal?" Coram suggested. I have to admit to being swayed by the offer after days of nothing but cold meals for days.

"Well," I began hesitantly. "I'm not sure…" it was at about this point that a wave of smells from the main hall swept over me. I began to salivate at the delicious smells, stomach grumbling. Coram simply shook his head.

"We've got an excellent cook."

And an excellent cook they had- I was more inclined to roll away from the table then walk, stomach taut as a drum. While I left for bed, Alanna and Coram stayed up to talk, while Rispah followed me with the children, who had joined us.

"Good night, Neal! Good night! Sleep tight! And the bed bugs! Don't let the bed bugs bite!" George shouted cheerfully towards me when we parted ways at the top of the main staircase. Rispah shushed him, sending me an apologetic glance over the sleepy heads of her daughters.

I smiled back, and gave a little wave. I wondered briefly if my elder brothers had ever done that for me- tucked me into bed, wished me a good night. I know they played with me, but by the time I could form real memories of them, they were squires, and figures that rarely entered my life, and far to old to mind a younger sibling.

The thoughts of my brothers had me heading back down the stairs. I knew that a shrine had to be here somewhere. I wandered around the halls for a few moments, looking in vain for the shrine when I happened up a young serving maid. I greeted her, asking for directions, and was surprised when she volunteered to lead me to the shrine before she left for the village once more.

I tried to convince her that directions would be fine, she insisted, saying that it was no problem. Relenting, I followed her quiet skirts down a hallway into a medium sized room, clearly open to all the members of Trebond, a touch that I thought particularly nice. She swept a small curtsy and left.

The shrine was a quiet place, since the majority of the servants were already gone, back to the village that surrounded the main building of Trebond. It wasn't a fancy affair either. Granite sparkled in the dim glow of the fire and the candles in the room. There was little gold, and what gold was present was mostly in the form of the idols for the three main gods: the Black God, Mithros and the Goddess.

Incense and small splints of wood were hung near the doorway, readily available for anyone desiring to leave an offering. I smiled at the light, yet spicy scent of the incense- it was the scent of the gardenia flower. It's my mother's favorite scent, and I pulled a few sticks out, one for each member of my family.

Those for my dead brothers were set smoking in front of the Black God's statue, my mothers in front of the Goddess, and the remaining members of my family in front of Mithros. I stepped back, clean scent of the incense filling the room. Wisps of smoke rose up, curling against the ceiling and disappearing into the dim light.

I clasped my hands together. "Mithros, Goddess and Black God, please keep my family safe, and guard those who are already in the peaceful realms. Keep my friends, and my mentors under your wing, and grant them peaceful deaths. So mote it be," I let my hands fall, words fading, allowing silence to return to the room. I turned away, and my steps were oddly quiet as I returned to my room.

The only sound in the room was my breathing as I stripped out of my clothing, warming my toes in front of a fire that was kindly made to ward off the chill. Shivering, naked in front of the fire, I pulled a little heat from the fire and wrapped it around my bones, pulling on my nightclothes and slipping under the heavy covers. While I waited for the sheets to warm up, I was grateful for the magic that kept me warm.

I thought that I would fall asleep easily, but to my surprise, I couldn't quite manage to slip into dreams. So I lay under the covers, on the cusp of sleep and musing in a directionless, casual manner. I wondered what Kel was up to. Although I hadn't really expected her to have time to return my letters, I had hoped to hear some word of what she had been up to, but it seemed that she was never close enough for word to filter to our ears. I wondered how my friends among the pages were faring, along with Cleon and the others, my teachers at the palace.

I don't know when I fell asleep; I slipped in so gradually that I never noticed. If I dreamed, I didn't remember when I woke up. It was bright when I awoke, an unusual occurrence. I opened my eyes blearily, wondering why I was up so late. The reason was outside my window; the first real, heavy snowfall of the year had done it's magic last night, and at least two and a half feet awaited us outside. Considering that no doors could be opened from the inside, we were temporarily stuck until someone from the village could come to help.

Once dressed, I could smell the bacon cooking. Downstairs, it was only the family in dining room, Rispah cheerfully serving everyone some bacon, eggs, tomatoes and leftover bread. "So nice of you to join us!" Rispah teased. "We didn't want to wake you. This only happens a few times a year, so I figured you could use the sleep. I'm afraid that the builders of this place didn't want Scanrans to open to door one night while he was sleeping, so they can't be opened from the outside."

I shrugged. "I'll take whatever extra sleep I can manage," I admitted.

Alanna snorted. "Well, don't get to used to it. We'll be going to the village this afternoon to make sure no one had come down with any major sicknesses in this cold. This morning I'll test you on your herbs, and when we're done that, we'll help Rispah brew some more potions for later this winter, and replenish whatever she's got on hand."

"Replenish?" I asked curiously as I created an egg and tomato sandwich.

Alanna sighed. "That's right, we never got around to covering that while we were still at Pirate's Swoop, did we?" I mutely shook my head, mouth full. "So much to learn, and so little time." I wouldn't dream of arguing; she was completely and utterly right.

I sighed around yet another mouthful of food. George perked up, and said, "I come! I'm gonna help! We'll have fun, right Neal?" George's grin was wide and bright.

"Huh?" I said intelligibly.

Rispah shook his head. "No, darling that's not a good idea. It won't be very interesting. We'll be learning about herbs."

Instead of discouraging him, it seemed to make George more interested. "I will learn." He insisted stubbornly. Rispah looked to Alanna for help.

My mentor shrugged. "It's not a bad skill to learn, all things considered. It could come in handy."

Rispah shrugged. "If you're willing to take care of him…" she trailed off expectantly.

Alanna fixed one steely eye on George. "You will listen to me, won't you?" George gulped, but nodded. Alanna pursed her lips, considering. "Alright, but if you disobey me, you're going back to your mother."

George was not going to be put off, and grinned at her acceptance. Without waiting to be excused, he darted away from the table. "I guess that's our cue," I said, finishing the last bites of my meal. "Where are we going for this test?"

Alana paused, chewing her bacon thoughtfully. She swallowed, then turned to Rispah. "I'm not sure. What do you recommend?"

"There is a small room near the kitchen. If we start a fire in there now, it should warm up fairly quickly."

Alanna nodded. "That's good. I have to get the herbs from my packs. Do you have anything fresh?"

Coram nodded, and spoke for the first time, "Yes, we should have plenty in the kitchen, both fresh, and some other herbs and spices that are already dried.

"That's good," Alanna agreed. "I don't have that much in my packs." She turned to me. "Neal, bring down my pack, alright? Coram, if you could show me where these herbs are, I would greatly appreciate it."

Coram nodded. "Of course, Alanna. I would be happy to show you."

"I suppose that leaves me with Mari and Anna," Rispah finished, standing. "Alright, you two. Can you help Mommy carry the dishes into the kitchen? You've got to be careful, though."

Marianna looked nervous, but agreed, while Annalise, the more fearless of the two was already reaching for the plates. Rispah saved some of her dishes from shattering, taking them into kitchen while her daughters followed her.

I left the table, heading up towards Alanna's room. Inside, I easily spotted the small bag that carried her herbs. Carrying it back downstairs into the kitchen, I was surprised to know that Rispah was right; the room off the kitchen heated surprisingly fast, despite the winter chill that lingered in most other rooms.

George followed me into the room, feet pattering excitedly. "Neal, are those the herbs? Are we going to look at them? Do you already know what they are?"

Taken aback, I laughed shortly. "Ummm…yes, those are the herbs. And I should think that we are going to look at them, unless you can see through this pack, and I can only hope that I remember what all of them are, or Alanna-"

"Or Alanna will do what?" The person in question poked her head around the corner and raised a red-gold eyebrow.

George and I gaped, but couldn't quite find a good answer that would save my head. "Yeah," Alanna said. "That's what I thought."

She entered the room, hands full of both dried and fresh herbs to test me with. "Are you ready, squire mine?" A familiar wicked smile lit up her face.

"Let's find out," I suggested instead.

"Fine."

She brought out the first herb and set it on the small table in the middle of the room. "Oregano," I reported promptly.

"What are some of it's properties?"

"It helps to preserve food against spoilage, if brewed with water is helpful in relieving coughs, though it is far more effective for children that adults. Upset stomachs, fevers, indigestion can also be relieved. If ground properly, with the addition of a few other herbs, it can be used as an antiseptic, for things like sewing up wounds. Oh, and oregano is also very good for aiding a restful night's sleep."

Alanna smiled. "Now, you're up to a good start. Let's see if we can keep this going, right? What herb is this?" She pulled out an herb, this one fresh.

It took me a moment to recognize it as a fresh herb, and it was some hesitation that I reported, "Agrimony."

Alanna narrowed her eyes. "Yes. But can you tell me what it's used for?"

"Insomnia, mostly," I paused, thinking of other things that it was used for. "Sometimes it's used as a blemish cure."

"Very good. And this?" She showed me another fresh herb.

"Deadly nightshade," I reported promptly, and without waiting for her to ask me what it was for, I continued, "It's used mostly to relieve headache, though only by those who know the herb well, because so many parts are poisonous. It had few other uses that are effective."

Alanna nodded. This time she pulled out some dried herbs from her pack.

"Basil, it helps with general health, as a preventative to diseases. The next one is black snakeroot, it is very good for snake bites and other poisonous creatures. The last one is…" I struggled to remember for a minute, and then shrugged, admitting, "I'm not sure."

Alanna nodded. "That's not to bad. I'm not sure if Maude taught you this one. It's a fairly rare plant, and made even rarer by the fact that it grows mostly along the Scanran border. It's called bladdar senna. Does that sounds familiar." I shook my head, so Alanna continued, "You will rarely use it, though most of the healer for important nobles- or nobles who think that they are more important than they actually are, and of course your father, will have it on hand. When infused into water for long periods of time and then ingested, it will induce vomiting, something that is very useful for getting poisons out of the stomach, preventing it from being digested further." She nodded at the plant. "I picked that up while we were at the fort."

I committed the plant to memory, studying it intently. "Know that you mention it, I do think that I've seen my father using this before. When I was younger, I used to visit his storeroom when he was busy all the time. He was always ready for an extra pair of hands."

Alanna didn't comment further, instead putting away the bladder senna and retrieving another set of herbs. "I think we've established that you know your herbs. Now I want you to name all the herbs I set out, and why I've used these combinations."

I gulped, but set forth. The morning flew by- I stopped noticing that George was in the room, to be honest. I think Alanna felt the same. He was remarkably well behaved, quietly studying everything that I repeated in my tests.

Just as my stomach began to grumble, a loud knock sounded at the kitchen door. A face, with youthful brown curls, smiled around the edge of the door. The cheeks dimpled. "Good morning!" The voice was just in the male range- a young man, then.

The door was pulled open, revealing a path leading from the village to the castle, along with a young boy, wrapped as firmly as possible to guard against the cold. A shovel was leaning against the door, worn wood and metal making it seem ancient.

"Good morning," Alanna greeted. George ran to greet the boy, who tousled his head with easy familiarity.

"Do I hear Jacob?" Rispah as, head peeking out from behind the kitchen entranceway. "How is your mother doing?"

"Mama's doing fine," Jacob assured her. "She just sent me here to clear the way. She'll be here to cook the evening meal soon."

Rispah shook her head. "Firstly, come in and close the door. We can spare some hot tea before we send you on your way. And when you get back, tell your mother not to rush. We are in no hurry. Besides, our guests are quite busy studying today." Rispah chuckled. "Working hard, hardly working."

I couldn't help a smile at Rispah's easy humor. Neither could Alanna; she cracked a crooked smile that lit up her face. "We'll be working hard," she said, tone serious, though not heavy. "Is Anna still the midwife?"

Rispah nodded. "Yes, but her daughter is the one going out on calls more and more. Anna's getting old, and it's getting harder for her to get around every winter. In another year or two, Maggie will be village midwife and healer. She doesn't have any magic, but hopefully her skills with poultices and the like will prevent her from needing it."

Alanna pursed her lips. "Are there any healers in the town?" She asked. "As good as a midwife can be, sometimes it takes even a touch of magic to heal someone who is to far gone for other medicines."

Rispah wrinkled her nose. "Yes. Unfortunately, Ingrid charges more than she's worth. No one else is as good at healing, though, so I'm hoping that you could perhaps drop in after seeing Anna and…persuade her to lower her prices."

"Persuade?" Alanna said carefully.

"Nothing that I wouldn't do," Rispah said innocently.

Alanna raised an eyebrow. "Yes, but we both know that there are very few things that you aren't willing to do."

Rispah shrugged. "And?" Alanna continued her stare. "Oh very well," Rispah agreed. "Nothing that you wouldn't be comfortable doing either." She grinned slyly. "Though, in the defense of the innocent, there are very few things that you would refuse to do as well."

Alanna rolled her eyes. "Always the last word, Rispah. You always want the last word, don't you?"

Rispah swept a curtsy, "Always and forever."

Before things could get truly heated, however, the teapot that Rispah had but on began to squeal excitedly. She walked over to take it off of the fire, while Alanna gave me a gentle shove. "Get the teas," she ordered shortly.

Within minutes we were enjoying the freshly brewed cup of warmth. Jacob especially enjoyed it, flushing with color as the heat returned to him.

"While we're out," Alanna told me, "After, we replenish whatever Anna's got on hand for the winter, and make rounds with her, we will be paying a visit to this…Ingrid." Alanna's voice was thick with distaste, even outright rancor. She paused for a moment, as if thinking the best options through, before she said, in a low tone, "And don't bring your sword. This is mage-work, and it is our task to make sure that she understands justice."

If the words had been a physical blow, I would have been reeling. It seemed that the more time that I spent with Alanna, the more time that I felt my world was being rearranged and reevaluated, without ever asking my opinion. "But we're knights. Well, technically speaking, you're the lady knight and I'm the squire, but really, in the eyes of the King we are both held accountable for all the actions we decide to take because we are under the direction of the King and if we decide not to have our swords or any sort of weaponry-" Alanna cut me off with a fist to the head.

"You're babbling," she said firmly. "And yes, without swords."

I waited for the explanations.

I wasn't so lucky as to get one.

"Why?" I asked, trying to lead her into the answer. I briefly wondered if some God had taken all of my knight-mistress' senses.

"Rispah, I think that George will be in our way this afternoon. It's to cold outside for a boy to be in it all afternoon." Alanna said bluntly, ignoring me.

"I think you're right," Rispah agreed casually, as if the matter was of no account. "George, my dear, I think it's time that we leave our guests to their business. They'll be back then and you will be able to speak with them to your heart's content. But for now, I do believe that your sisters are missing a playmate."

George looked none to happy, but followed his mother out of the kitchen. As if following some unspoken command, Jacob gulped down the last mouthfuls of tea, and said, "I had better get going. My mother will want to know that nothing dreadful has happened to her kitchen during her absence."

"Her kitchen?" Alanna's smile was small, barely visible, in fact.

Jacob looked apprehensive for a moment. "Yes?"

Alanna's smile widened. "Good. A kitchen should always belong to the cook- at least, that's what Maude told me when I was younger."

"Really?" I struggled for a moment, picturing a child-Alanna, and then spent a moment staring blankly into space as my brain refused to work.

"Yes," Alanna said, a touch testily. "I didn't spring from the ground as an adult."

"I know that," I said, growing cross. "But it's hard to imagine, especially the idea of you being in disguise all the time."

"Bathing was hell," she said simply, with a shrug. "And once Jon, and Myles, and my friends found out, it really wasn't as bad as it sounds."

"Really?" I couldn't help sounding surprised. "I can't imagine them as children either."

Alanna's frown was cross again. "Of course we were all young!" She exclaimed. "We were all learning, though, to be fair, since all of my friends were older than me, I think I did a lot of growing up sooner."

"Ummm, bye!" Jacob called hesitantly from the doorway. We waved, in the same absentminded manner at him, and returned to our conversation.

"That's right, I remember Father saying that you were King Jonathan's squire."

Alanna's smile grew fond. "Yes. Two bumbling teens," she laughed.

My brain refused to work again. "Bumbling?" I managed. I tried to place that word in context of King Jonathan and Alanna, and couldn't quite manage it.

"Of course," Alanna said. "Before we were even squires, actually. I was still a page, and I remember having my first practice duel in class…I failed miserably, and my teacher claimed that I would never ever make a decent swordsman, especially considering my size."

"What else happened when you were younger?" I asked, genuinely curious. I'd heard all the great stories, of course. The slaying of the former Duke Roger, King Jonathan's coronation, these were the things that every child grows up knowing, and yet so little else is told. None of the trials or tribulations ever make the history books.

Alanna's smile was secretive, the first I'd ever seen it, and it make the corners of her eyes crinkle. "Alright, but only one other story."

"Sure!" I agreed excitedly, always on the quest for new knowledge.

"Anything in particular?" She asked, a touch of sarcasm in her voice.

I deftly ignored it, and shrugged my shoulders. "Anything is fine."

Alanna peered into the distance for a few moments, before grinning deviously. "Well, the first person to know that I was a girl, to really figure it out, was my father, Myles. Even though he never questioned me about it for eight years, waiting for me to tell him, he knew. When Roger sent the sleeping sickness-"

"You healed King Jonathan," I interrupted.

Alanna glared at me. "Would you like to tell the story?"

I shook my head. "I only know because my father told me that part."

"Anyways," Alanna stressed. "Almost everyone I know assumes that Jon was the first to know. But really, it was Myles. When I asked Myles to help me clear out the priests from Jon's room, he agreed, and then stayed with me while Coram stood guard from the outside- he really doesn't like any sort of magic." Alanna looked down at the tea swirling inside her cup. "So Myles stood there, helping me however he could, but nothing I tried worked. So finally, I called on the Goddess for aid." Her simple words made me think that calling on the Goddess was not nearly as easy as it sounded. "She allowed me to burn out the sickness, to call Jon back from the Black God's greeting." Alanna shook her head, as if to remove bad memories. "All the while, I had no idea that when I was speaking to Jon through my magic, it was resounding in the room, with the voice I was going to have. That of a woman." She gave a brief huff of laughter. "Of course, Myles had to tell me that years later, because I didn't even realize that was happening. But Myles was so kind about it. He never questioned why I was there, nor did he question my right to my shield."

I was surprised.

"I'm surprised."

Alanna cocked an eyebrow. "Why?" she asked.

"I'm not really sure. I mean, everyone knows that Sir Myles is the King's Spymaster, so he's certainly good at keeping secrets, but did you ever ask him why? You know, why he never questioned you?"

"I've never asked. I always assumed that he was more than willing to let me prove myself, and when I did, he felt that it didn't matter."

I whistled. Now that was certainly an opinion way ahead of its time. I had to admit I was surprised- with Myles' pension for drinking a little more than was healthy, it seemed as though he should miss a lot. As a result, I had always assumed it was one of Alanna's friends that figured it out first, while Myles had simply found out much later. It also added another dimension to Sir Myles, one that was out of place with his easy going persona.

"But enough of story-time." Alanna stood, stretching out her muscles. "It's high time that we get out of this kitchen, and into the cold." She scowled at the thought. "So hurry and get ready. The faster that you get your things together, the faster we'll get into the village, and the faster we can get back here and out of the cold. And remember, no swords."

I was halfway undressed in my room before I started swearing emphatically. I shook my head. My knight-mistress was certainly a sneaky woman, distracting me with a little known story of her life. I had completely forgotten to continue my argument to find out just why we weren't bringing any physical weapons along. I wasn't nervous, of course, because no hedge witch could stand up against Alanna, but more…apprehensive about why no swords were going to be involved. It was perfectly within our right (ok, technically Alanna's right) to tell Ingrid she had to lower her prices, because we had her liege-lord's permission.

Unwilling to anger Alanna, I didn't take so much as a dagger. Bundled up in the warmest clothing I had brought, I came down to see Alanna swathed in cloth, face just barely visible.

It was surreal to see her without her sword or dagger. She beckoned for me to follow her out to the stables, where I saddled Bluemoon and she saddled Darkmoon in silence. Eyebrow's knit, Alanna led us out side and mounted up, before leading me into the village using the path that Jacob had carved to the kitchen door.

Within minutes we were in the village, where most of the paths had been cleared. We left Darkmoon and Bluemoon in the single inn's stable for the afternoon, Alanna tipping the stable boy a couple of coppers to keep an eye on them.

As we left the stables, I asked where Anna lived. Pointing straight ahead to a well-made, if small hut, with a puffing chimney that wouldn't have looked out of place in a story. "Come on, Neal," Alanna motioned for me to hurry.

Alanna knocked on the door, and after a few moments of an excited dog barking, a face filled with cheer and more wrinkles than I thought was possible greeted us at the door. "Alanna, dear, you're here! How is Maude doing, the old bird? She sent me a letter you know, that cousin of mine. She's laughing, I swear, about how much warmer it is down south. I would be bitter about it, but I don't have the time. These old bones are making it hard to move around. Well come one, Rispah told me earlier this week you would be stopping by. Come boy, take this basket from me. You're a young, sprightly thing, and I'm sure that you will be better able to handle it in this weather than I. And you Alanna, you will be giving me your arm, and helping this old woman around. My daughter is visiting a young gentleman, you know," Anna continued conversationally, as if her monologue was normal. "He really is such a nice man, though a little dim-witted," she cackled.

Her monologue continued for the next one hundred feet or so, until we reached a house on the outskirts of town, a fairly dilapidated hut that looked none to stable.

Anna's grin showed that she had already lost a few teeth, though most were still intact. "Boy, are you ready to go?"

--

TBC