Chapter 8
Disclaimer: As always I'm just borrowing from Tamora Pierce, she owns all.
Whenever Jonathan came anywhere near Alanna, she was cold, all emotion gone from her face and her voice. He received only short replies to his questions, such as "Certainly, your Highness", "I do not know, your Highness, perhaps you should ask someone else?" or "Why don't you talk to Lady Issia about that, your Highness?" and she always made sure to disappear soon after. It was as if she did not know him and had no intentions of ever going to.
It was ever so frustrating. It came to the point where he wanted to grab her arm and drag her with him to a place where they could be alone. Hold her there and make her listen. But that wouldn't do. He was the Crown Prince and had to act accordingly. To drag an unwilling woman by the arm, in public, was not an option. He would have to wait till he could find her where she was alone. The problem was just that Alanna made well sure never to be alone!
A couple of days after their arrival, Gary made a saying look in the direction of Alanna. He, Raoul, and Jonathan stood talking in one of the gardens, and Alanna was standing with her friends at the other side of a wide fountain. "Did you know she's Nicholas of Whitmore's daughter? Which would make her Alan's cousin."
Raoul made a slow whistle; " I suppose that explains the eyes then."
Jonathan didn't say anything, which made Gary look at him, narrowing his eyes. "What?" Jonathan enquired with a perfectly calm expression.
"You already knew that, didn't you?"
Jon only shrugged in reply.
Raoul did not notice the tension between the other two; "She could tell us about Alan. She was on board the same ship, was she not? Maybe she knows something." He had a hopeful expression on his face.
"Tell us what? How she actually saw him swim away in the direction of another ship in the horizon? How he might actually be alive out there somewhere? Don't be ridiculous Raoul. If that was the case they wouldn't have declared him dead." Jonathan said coldly, and immediately regretted it as he saw Raoul's shoulders slump forward.
"I know that", he muttered, looking down.
"Raoul just wanted to know more about his death. Alan was our friend. I don't know about you, Jon, but the rest of us feel like we're missing something." Gary bid in.
Jonathan sighed, "I know. I'm sorry. It's just that I don't think she wants to talk to us. I tried, but she shuts me out."
"Maybe I can change her mind," Gary offered.
"No! For whatever reason, she clearly does not wish to talk with us. I plan to respect that and I expect you to do that as well." Jonathan looked them both in the eyes, making sure, they knew it was an order.
Gary held his gaze, "And what reason would that be?" he contested.
"How should I know? Maybe she and Alan didn't get along well or something. Maybe she doesn't like to think of what happened on the ship." He said with a shrug, as if the topic of the conversation was starting to bore him. They didn't buy it.
Raoul thought that Jon was just crossed that a beautiful woman, plainly, disliked him so. The handsome prince was not used to that. Obviously, it annoyed him to have it rubbed in his face. Gary, on the other hand, thought there was more to it. No woman would go through such great efforts to avoid a man she did not know. He thought that Jonathan must have known her from before, met her through Alan or something. The question just was; why would he keep that a secret?
Lord Nicholas was pleased. He had been worried what would happen, when the Tortallan delegation arrived. Luckily, both Alanna and the prince avoided each other, and no one else seemed to recognize her. He'd come to like having a daughter. What was most important to him was his magical studies. Travelling around to other courts, he could learn more about the powers of the Gift. Royal libraries held the best information. And having a daughter sort of legitimized his travels. People would assume that he was looking for a marital prospect for his daughter, rather than suspect him of all sorts of treacherous deeds. Also, noblemen seemed to greet him more friendly after finding that his daughter was beautiful. That was why he spent so much money on her appearance.
When he first took her in, it was just for the good of the family name. But, despite a troubled start, she had proofed to be valuable. Unlike her brother. When he turned 18 he would have become the lord of Trebond, and in accordance, he would have become the legal guardian of his sister. And Nicholas didn't trust the twins one bit. Who knew what audacities and scandals Thom would allow the troublesome Alanna to perform?
Adding to that, there was the problem of Thom's growing powers. He would become a Master soon. Nicholas wouldn't be able to control him magically, the way he could with Alanna, after that. Moreover, he did not like the thought of Thom becoming as good a sorcerer as him. He did not like competition.
So it had been easier on all fronts to just kill the boy right away. It wasn't like anyone would find out that he'd done it. Of course, he had told Alanna, giving her an entirely different reason for the death of her brother. It had all worked out to his advantage in the end.
