A/N: Sorry that it's been sooo long since I've updated
A/N: As I said before, I want to get this story finished before August so here's chapter 9. Thanks to all who reviewed!
Disclaimer: Yes well I'm not Tamora so I don't own Tortall or any of her creations. I wish I was. Even to have the same name as her would be cool. Maybe I could change it legally… Nah, too much work. ;)
Late-September,
Pirates Swoop,
Barony of George Cooper;
in the 13th year of reign of
Jonathan IV and Thayat, his Queen
452 H. E. (Human Era)
Chapter 9
Alanna had been released from her bed a fortnight ago and she was on her feet again. Now she was practicing her archery- the dreaded thing- while she thought about what to do next.
She knew that Jonathan would be calling her back again, and even if he didn't need her, she was aching to get back into the fight. She loved her family dearly and enjoyed spending time with them but she knew that she had a destiny to fulfill. The Goddess had looked upon her and given her great responsibility. A few small things like attaining the Dominion Jewel wouldn't cut it. No, and she preferred her destiny to find her away from home. She didn't want to drag her family into it.
"Mother! You promised to teach me how to light a candle without flame," complained Thom, interrupting his mother's thoughts.
"Alright," she grumbled. "Just don't expect it to come easily. You will be disappointed."
Thom looked at his mother, mystified. She obviously was distracted by something. Usually she was gruff when she taught him but still- he could tell something was on her mind. Maybe he would ask Da later.
Just as Thom finally got the candle-wick to smoke, after a long hour of work, the twins came into the pavilion where Thom was working, loudly fighting over some old scroll and breaking his concentration. The smoke disappeared.
"What do you want?" he asked angrily. He glared at the scroll, the source of the fight. No one notices that a small puff of smoke wafted up from the parchment.
"Da was teaching me this ancient and rare code. He wrote down the code for me but Alan stole it! Only five people know this code, Da included!" Alianne exclaimed.
"I didn't steal it. I borrowed it."
"You weren't going to return it! This code could help Tortall in our fights with the Yamani! No one would understand the code except us."
Mam tried to sort the mess out, ignoring Thom for the time being. Thom, however, was paying no attention to what was being said. He was concentrating on the scroll. He tried to read the words on the page but it wasn't facing him. Suddenly his eyes were blinded. When he regained his sight he saw a curious image blazing on the back of the parchment. It looked like a young woman fighting with a bow, a crow on her shoulder. The depiction scared Thom. The girl reminded him of his sister, and that frightened him. All of a sudden the parchment went up in flames. Alianne, who had been holding the scroll yelped as the fire burned her fingers and dropped the flaming object.
"You did it," Alanna said half-heartedly. She was glad that Thom had been able to start a flame but she knew Aly would be terribly disappointed that she could not read the scroll. Aly showed her discontent by letting out a terrible howl and would not be quieted for several minutes.
Later that evening as Thom looked into his see-er he saw the image again. This time he was sure: it was his sister he was seeing. He would tell Da and Mam about it in the morning. But morning came and with it something that would keep Pirate's Swoop busy for days. Thom would not get to tell his parents about his vision.
A/N: So what did you guys think? I hope you liked it. Please leave me reviews- I update faster when I know people are actually reading my story.
