1Disclaimer: Alani is mine, and that's about it.
Chapter 10 - Never Duel With Lady Knights: Alani leaned out of the open window in her bedroom one morning after breakfast, listening to the bits of local gossip carried to her on the winds. She grinned at the voice of a harried young mother scolding her little boy for trying to eat a bug, but the grin turned into a scowl when she heard one woman say to another, "Kissing each other like it was right! Two women! I've half a mind to kick them out! Have them find some new landlady as immoral as they are." The other woman replied that it was the best idea, and Alani slammed her window shut in disgust. "Stupid, prejudiced kaqs," she hissed, using the Trader word for non-Traders that literally meant 'dirt under foot.' While Alani herself was attracted to boys, not other girls, she knew 2 women in Emelan who were, and one who was attracted to both males and females. Love is love, Alani thought. Who cares about the details?
Alani was still in an irritable mood when Aly came to the door, but she forced a smile onto her face for the younger girl. "Alani, you'd better get downstairs. Aunt Thayet's coming!" After this announcement, Aly ran off again. Alani stood stunned for a minute. Aunt Thayet...? Oh, gods, that had to mean the queen! Sure, Alani knew Duchess Sandrilene of Emelan, but she was Tris and Daja's foster sister, so it wasn't too weird. That, and Sandry hated all that fawning and standing at attention most royal personages expected. But this Thayet was supposedly the most beautiful woman in the world, so... and yet Thayet had also formed the Queen's Riders. Alani shook her head. This was too confusing. She would have to wait and see what Thayet was like.
Alani went downstairs and noticed that her relatives were outside, so she joined them. She was just in time to see 3 people ride up. As she walked out the door, a large man with black hair and beard leapt off his charger and pulled Alanna into a one-armed hug. Alanna yelled, "Gods, Raoul! Are you trying to break every bone in my body?"
The man called Raoul laughed and let go. "No," he replied. "Just suffocate you a bit." Alanna slapped his arm, but laughed all the same. The other horses bore women. The one, a small dark-haired woman, remarked, "These big ones are insufferable, eh?" Raoul looked at her. "Buri," he said in a wounded voice, "that's unfair." Aly giggled and the third woman chuckled, drawing Alani's eyes. She suddenly found herself amazed. The third woman had jet-colored hair, dancing hazel eyes, and... she was simply stunning. Alani was jealous. If she had half the looks of this woman...
As Alani suspected, the beautiful woman was Queen Thayet. When Alani tried to bow, though (she had leggings on, not a skirt), she was ordered not to do so. "Please," the queen said, "don't do that. Your aunt and uncle are two of my best friends, and your cousins see me as family. You don't have to do any of that bowing nonsense."
Alani blushed. "Sorry, Your Majesty." Thayet groaned. "It's Thayet. And I'll forgive you all of it if you tell us about Emelan over lunch. I've heard of the country, but with the distance..."
Alani shook her head. Everyone always wanted to know about Emelan! She wished Glaki was here, or Lark. They were good storytellers. Alani really wasn't. Just then George said, "So, what brings you all out here, anyway?" The three travelers shared a glance, and then Raoul said, "Jon, of course. He's decided he's not waiting on Alanna's temper any longer and is pretty much ordering you all back to court." Thayet scowled. "His excuse is your niece. He says that she need s to be presented at court and such," she added. Alani winced. She wasn't sure what had happened to make her aunt angry at the king (because she was certain 'Jon' was King Jonathan), but she hated that she was the excuse for the command.
The third woman, who had been silent until now, saw her wince. "Jon would've used a different excuse if you hadn't come along, Alani. By the way, I'm Buriram Tourakom, but call me Buri." Alani nodded. Alanna sighed. "Well, let's not let your news spoil the visit. Come on, lunch should be out now."
The topics of Emelan and Raoul's latest adventures as Knight Commander of the King's Own got them through the meal, but when they finished, Raoul said, "There's something I'd like to see. Alani, you said you were trained in the use of a sword?" Alani nodded, confused. "Good," Raoul said. "You and Alanna should have a duel. A family thing, just to see who is the better female fighter in the house." Alani glanced at Alanna in alarm, and saw that her aunt had a thoughtful expression on her face. I am in a great deal of trouble, Alani decided.
She was indeed. Alanna decided she liked the idea, and everyone else seemed to think it would be fun to watch, so Alani had no choice. And so that was why she was found in a padded vest 20 minutes later, holding a longsword. She hated longswords. Her favorite type of blade was the Fatephan kesari, which was longer than the average short sword, but a few inches shorter than a weapon like the one Alani had now. She didn't have a kesari, or she might have used it, and her short sword would disadvantage her too much. Alani stretched as Skyfire had taught her, noticing that Alanna too stretched, though with different positions than Alani had been taught.
Several minutes later, stretch time ended. Alanna and Alani began their fight. Alani was stunned. Alanna was way too fast for her. It was nearly impossible to keep up her defense, and she definitely was unable to even think about her offense, until one second, when Alanna left a gap. Alani lunged, but it wasn't enough, though she did gain a bit of ground. The two redheads circled, lashing out, but neither really getting very far, until Alanna maneuvered her blade so that Alani's was knocked out of her hand. Alanna's blade snaked up to kiss Alani's neck. "Yield," Alani whispered, breathless. She'd only had an experience like that with Skyfire, and that had ended much the same way.
"Remind me never to do that again," Alani muttered to Aly and Alan as they came over, wanting to know why she was slumped against a tree. "Do what?" Aly asked, her voice innocent. Alani raised her eyebrows. "Duel your mother. I feel like I've been through a day of Skyfire's training and the fight only lasted 15 minutes!" she said sardonically. She heard a laugh. Thayet had come over. "Shoo," she told the twins. They went, and Thayet sat beside Alani.
"She's good, isn't she?" the queen asked. Alani nodded fervently. Thayet continued, "I just want to warn you, Court... well, it won't be a walk in the park. People will carp at you for being born out of wedlock, and for your father's foolishness, and even because of your aunt. There are plenty of people who think she's immoral." Alani shrugged. "People always looked down on me for being a bastard. And as for immoral, well, there's a saying that mages have the morals of cats, so that won't bother me. But Alanna's agreed to go? Why is she mad at the king anyway?"
Thayet shook her head. "He's her liege lord, and she has to obey him. And as for why she's upset, have you heard the name Keladry of Mindelan?" Alani shook her head and Thayet continued. "Well, she's the first official girl page, but people think that Alanna succeeded due to her Gift and so Keladry, who is no mage, will only become a knight if she is helped along. Alanna is suspect, for obvious reasons, so to keep the peace, my lord said she can't have any contact with Keladry."
Alani scowled. "I think the king is a bit of a hamot," she remarked without thinking, and then flushed. Thayet looked at her quizzically. Alani muttered, "A hamot is an idiot. It's Tradertalk, which I picked up from the smith-mage I mentioned, Daja."
Thayet laughed. "Well," she told the girl, "you're right, and I've told him so, but he never listens." This made Alani laugh, and soon she forgot her aches, and even forgot that she was soon to be presented at a court of strangers. But she was definitely not going to duel her aunt again anytime soon. She was no fool.
A/N: (cringes) OK, I have no excuse except invasion! New characters appeared and demanded that their stories be told! Then my computer crashed, and well... it's been a comedy of errors! And yes, I know this wasn't very good, but I found the fight idea amusing, and Court should be delightfully awkward. Oh, and about the lesbian/bi women mentioned in the first paragraph, if you've read Will of the Empress, you know who they are, but if you haven't, well, you can ask, and I'll tell you in a review reply, but I don't want to spoil anything for those who want to read it. By the way, I need advice. There's a possibility of a new TP fic, an AU COM story where there are 5 kids, not 4. Tell me if you like the idea or not!