Chapter 9: At The Back Of The Stables
Trouble came the next day, in the stables. Alanna was there, grooming Spirit, the others had already gone in to wash up and change into clean uniforms. She was dreaming of the adventures she would have as a Knight one day with her mighty, loyal stead by her side and her father's sword in hand. Her wonderful daydream was interrupted by the creaking of the stall's door.
An ugly sneer twisted across Ralon's face as he glared down at her. "I suppose you thought our talk yesterday was the last one."
Alanna drew herself up, standing straight, but her hands trembled with nervous energy. "No." She said flatly.
Ralon staggered around her, eying her small form. Part of her was relieved he didn't know she was a girl. "You're too big for your breeches. You aren't so snappy when you don't have Raoul or Gary to hide behind, are you?"
She clenched her fists. "I don't hide behind anyone!" She retorted. "An' I don't have t' pick on someone littler'n me t' prove what a man I am, either!"
He grabbed her by the front of her shirt and yanked her up onto her toes so he could get in her face. "I won't take that from you, dunghill trash!" He spat in her face and then threw her against the back wall of the stall.
He came at her with his fist raised high, so she ducked under his arm and hit low and hard. Ralon doubled over, clutching his lower belly in pain, and Alanna wait, legs braced, fists ready.
Spirit reared up onto his back legs, ready to defend his rider, but she waved him off with her hand. The horse dropped, snorting in disagreement and worry, as he began trampling the ground beneath his hooves. He didn't like this human boy, but his rider insisted on fighting him herself.
"Take it back. Or I'll stuff yer mouth with dung, since ye like it so much!" Alanna said, shifting from foot to foot.
Mercifully, no one saw her when Alanna returned to her room. She closed the door and bolted it, keeping her head down. Coram had her bath waiting for her.
"Mother of Darkness." He whispered under his breath when he saw her. "What happened?"
She risked a glance in the mirror. Her right eye was already swelling, her bottom lip was split, part of her upper arm was bleeding from when she scraped it when she fell on her side, and bruises littered her body. Her uniform was a bloody, dirty mess and she couldn't help the grimace that crossed her features when she saw herself. "I fell down."
Coram placed his index finger and thumb on her chin, forcing her to look up at him. She flinched as he wiped her face with a wet cloth. His callused hands were surprisingly gentle. It reminded her of when she was very small, when she would fall down and there would always be a large hand that came and picked her up again.
"It's lyin' ye are. Ye were in a fight." Coram stated as he cleaned the blood from her lip off her chin.
"I said I fell down." She gasped when he touched her eye.
"Ah. Th' ground bloodied yer arm, split yer lip, an' punched ye in th' eye, all at once? Would ye prefer t' say 'twas yer horse? Th' big milksop? Th' others didn't say ye were hurt, so ye must've 'fallen' in th' stables." He eyed her suspiciously and Alanna refused to meet his gaze.
"I don't want t' talk 'bout it." She muttered, glaring at the floor next to Coram's feet.
Coram grinned. "I'm off t' fetch some raw meat for where th' ground punched ye in th' eye. I'll tell th' other lads yer ill." He clapped her on the shoulder with his heavy hand and said gruffly. "Ye're a plucky lass. I'm proud of ye. An' I think it's time I gave ye a bit of help."
She went to her bed after Coram left. She flopped onto her stomach and wrapped her arms around the pillow at her head. She felt angry, frustrated and humiliated. This wouldn't have happened to a real boy.
Someone tapped on the door from the other side, making Alanna stiffen, and a slightly muffled voice called through the wood. "Alan? It's Raoul. Coram says you're sick. What's wrong?"
"Nothing." She called back, hoping he would just go away.
"Can we come in?" He asked.
Alanna's eyes widened in horror. We? They were all out there? "No! Go away!"
"Alan? It's Alex. What's the matter?" Alex tried.
"There's nothin' th' matter!" She shouted. "Just leave me alone!" A brief silence followed her outburst, but then they cornered her without even knowing it.
"Alan. Open the door." This was Prince Jonathan. And he was giving an order. A tingling feeling ran up Alanna's spine. She couldn't refuse a royal order. Not from the King, not from the Queen, and not from her Prince. An order was an order.
She slowly rose from her bed and walked over to the door. She very, very slowly opened the heavy wooden door. It was nearly dark, maybe they wouldn't even notice. All of her friends were waiting there when she finally finished opening the door. She kept her eyes on the floor.
"I -I'm sorry I yelled. It's just th' heat, I guess -"
"Look at me." Jonathan commanded. The tingling in her spine returned and she couldn't say no. She hesitantly rose her head and met the Prince's gaze, giving him look for look with her good eye. She tried her best to ignore the gasps and murmurs of pity.
"What happened?" The Prince asked finally.
"I fell down, Highness. In th' stables." She clenched her fists, resisting the urge to examine her shoe laces. Now they all knew what a weakling she was.
Jonathan held her gaze for a long moment. "I'll make your excuses to Uncle Gareth. We'll bring you something to eat later."
"Thank you." She murmured. "I'm not hungry."
"Here, lad -What's this?" Coram had returned with the raw meat for Alanna's eye. "Alan had a bit of an accident, that's all. Ye'd best be gettin' t' th' tables. His Majesty's 'bout t' start."
The others nodded and hurried away, but Prince Jonathan hesitated a moment. "I'll be back." He said and Coram bowed.
"Very good, yer Highness."
That night the pages ate in silence. After dinner, Prince Jonathan and his circle went to Gary's room. They remained silent until they had entered the room and the door had clicked shut, before Raoul finally burst.
"It was Ralon!" The large page's eyes snapped and flared once they were alone.
"He didn't like what happened yesterday." Francis pointed out worriedly, looking at Jonathan who was standing next to him.
"It's about time we dealt with him." Alex added in his own soft, icy voice. "He forgets his place."
"I'll teach it to him." Raoul growled, cracking his knuckles.
"He forgot the lesson you taught him yesterday." Gary reminded him, his expression serious with worry for his newest friend and anger at Ralon.
Raoul smiled coldly. "This time I'll make sure he knows what the lesson's about."
"You're forgetting something." They all looked at the Prince. "Alan hasn't and will never admit Ralon hit him. He wants to fight Ralon himself."
"He can't!" Raoul protested. "He's just a little guy. And he doesn't know how to fight!"
"He's got courage." Alex said.
"Courage?!" Raoul bellowed. "That coward almost kills him and -!"
"Hush!" Jonathan ordered. "Listen. We have to be sure. Gary, go down to the stables and see if anyone saw what happened. I'll go speak with Alan. And remember, we have to do this his way. Alan would be ashamed if he thought we were fighting his battles." The others reluctantly nodded their agreement to the Prince's plan and the group split up.
"How do you feel?" The Prince asked.
"Miserable, Highness." Alanna admitted as she struggled to sit up. Jonathan closed the door behind him and walked over to the bed, handing her the tray of food he had brought.
"Poor little man. He really whipped you, didn't he?" Jonathan asked, hoping to provoke an outraged retort from the young page.
"Nobody whipped me, I fell." Alanna stated firmly, pausing in her useless picking at the food on her tray to flash an annoyed glance at the Prince.
He grinned. "Deny it all you want, but we both know you had a fight with Ralon and you lost."
"I fell. Your Highness." She replied sharply, stabbing a large piece of meat with the fork and shoving it in her mouth so he wouldn't ask anymore annoying questions.
Jonathan chuckled and patted her shoulder. "You're pluck to the backbone, young page. Get some sleep."
With that, Jonathan stood and left. Alanna stayed seated on her bed and swallowed her large piece of meat, leaving her gaze to stare at the tray in her lap. Her brow furrowed and her eyes became clouded as she thought about her fight with Ralon and the things the Prince had said.
Gary walked into the stables and Stefan swung down from the hayloft immediately. The hostler nodded to the young nobleman as they both walked to the back of the stables where they could speak more privately.
"I thought mayhap one o' ye would be comin' around. What lie is Master Alan tellin'?" The youthful stablehand asked.
Gary made a face. "He said he fell down."
Stefan spat. "Oh, aye, he fell down. O' course, Master Ralon helped him fall, several times! Poor li'l tyke didn't have a chance." He chuckled. "But he got Master Malven a good 'un in th' nuts t' start!"
"Why didn't you stop them?" Gary wanted to know.
Stefan shook his head. "It's th' rules. We don't mess in th' noble's fights."
"But Alan isn't a noble." Gary pointed out logically.
Stefan shrugged. "His Grace don't care. We're t' treat all th' young masters th' same. But, I'll say this, if Ralon ever comes back from th' city with a full purse, George'll have all our ears. He likes Master Alan."
"Let George do as he wants." Then Gary frowned. "What do you mean, 'He'll have your ears'?"
Stefan's eyes were calm as he spoke. "George has a collection. One slip an' he warns ye. Two slips an' he takes yer ear, for his collection. Three slips-" Stefan shrugged again. "He takes th' other ear an' all that's attached. George likes things done right."
The next afternoon Raoul beat Ralon thoroughly. Ralon broke the code and informed Duke Gareth. From then on Jonathan and his friends left any room Ralon entered. Raoul watched Ralon all the time, just waiting for his chance. But since Ralon couldn't take revenge on Raoul, Gary, or the Prince, he found an easier target to go after.
"You told your friends!" He hissed when he caught Alanna alone in the library one day. He blacked her other eye and split her lip again.
Four days later, he caught her again. This time, however, Alanna used a trick Coram had taught her and bloodied Ralon's nose. Ralon, in return, broke her arm.
Each time she had a fight with Ralon, she would get a lecture from Duke Gareth, and each talk they had was worse then the last. Once again, she stood facing him in his office, this time, with her arm in a sling.
"I fell down, your Grace." She said, her face completely straight as she met the Duke's frustrated gaze.
"Great Mithros, boy! Can't you come up with a better excuse?" The Duke demanded, surprising Alanna so much that she actually blinked at him for a few moments before shaking her head and replying.
She scuffed her shoe against the floor. "This one works so well, sir. It -it has tradition behind it."
Duke Gareth actually scowled at her. "It certainly does. I've heard it from every page who's been fighting I've ever trained. With a few exceptions."
"Well, sir, you may not believe me, and I know ye don't believe me, but pride is satisfied all 'round. Your Grace."
Duke Gareth had to hide a smile. "You are pert, Alan of Tortall. An extra hour of mathematics for the next five weeks. You may go." Alanna turned and walked to the door. She was just opening it when he added. "I wish you would thrash him. He deserves it."
Alanna smiled. "I will, one day, sir. I'm gettin' tired of fallin' down."
While Alanna was talking to the Duke, Stefan came to the practice courts in search of the master that was teaching the boys hand-to-hand combat. After Stefan had lured the teacher away, Jonathan and his friends surrounded Ralon. He saw Raoul adjusting the padded gloves on his big hands and began to sweat.
Jonathan was the first, and only, to speak, his voice icy. "You were warned, Malven. You are no gentleman. You are a dog and you shall be thrashed like one."
Gary held Ralon. Raoul administrated the beating, his face impossible to read. When the boys' teacher returned from his wild goose-chase, they were practicing wrestling and Ralon, they said, was sick and had gone to his room.
After that Ralon kept to small bits of nastiness, knowing that Alanna would never complain. If Alanna had ever gone swimming with the other pages', they would have seen the many bruises that covered her body. As it was, she said nothing and continued to study with Coram. She lived with Ralon's tormenting and spent her free time wrestling and boxing. At night she fell asleep the moment she rolled into bed, only to rise at dawn to practice some more.
She was determined to beat Ralon. It would mean she had finally earned her place among the boys. It would mean she could do anything larger and older males could do.
Her splinted arm turned into an advantage. Normally Alanna was right handed, but because Ralon had broken her right arm, she had to rely on her left hand for everything. She quickly realized that she could be twice as effective by using both hands and worked hard to develop her skill.
In mid-October, the palace healers removed the splint. If they were surprised her arm had healed so quickly, they said nothing. Impatient to get Ralon, Alanna had used her own Gift to help mend the broken bone.
In bed, the night the splint was taken off, Alanna waited, awake, until she heard Coram's snores from across the room. Quickly and silently, she swung her legs over the side of her bed and started getting dressed in the dark. Once she was ready, she picked up her boots and tiptoed to the door, trying not to make a sound.
When her hand touched the door handle, Coram sighed heavily. "Now what are ye up t'?"
Alanna winced. "Go back t' sleep." She told him.
"Where are ye goin'?" He asked. She could see his form sitting up in his bed, despite the darkness.
"If Duke Gareth asks, you won't be lyin' when you say you don't know." Alanna pointed out.
Coram grunted. "Lass, it's restriction t' th' palace if ye're caught." He cautioned.
"I know." Alanna replied calmly.
"All right, then. I won't bolt th' door." He said and lay back down. He immediately went back to sleep and Alanna heard his soft snores just a moment after.
It was easy to slip out of the palace from there. She was able to get past the palace walls and started down the road to the city. She wished she could have brought Spirit, but there was no way she could have ridden him out without being spotted. And that was the last thing she wanted.
She had promised George she would be careful whenever she came to visit him. She intended to keep that promise, even if it meant walking the whole way. So, Alanna kept walking without complaint.
Hopefully the King of Thieves would give her the help she wanted.