Deceptions of Alianne.
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me? Yes that's right.
Authors note: Yes, I suck. I know.
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"Would I be wrong in saying that you're spending too much time think about the wrong boy?" A voice whispered into her ear.
"Wrong?" Aly asked her brother quietly. She raised a brow.
Alan nodded and offered her his arm. "Sister, do come for a walk with me."
Aly accepted; it was the only way to get away from the crowd of people. She didn't want the entire court to hear when she began to interrogate him. When they were out of earshot, Aly said, "Enlighten me."
"You're not spending enough time thinking about one boy and too much on another." Aly scowled, so much for elaborating. "You're smart enough to know who I mean," Alan said, mistaking the scowl for confusion.
"Oh, I know exactly who you're talking about."
"And..?"
"You're clearly wrong, Alan."
"Really? You may always have an answer Aly, but is it the right answer?" Alan turned around, and in doing so, forced Aly to. "Look to the far left. Find the tree with a person sitting under it."
Aly looked. She saw a boy, about her age sitting beneath the tree. Using her Sight, she saw that he was a squire. "Teron," she said.
"Teron," Alan repeated, nodding.
Aly paused, she knew where this was heading, but did she really want to listen to it? "Continue," she told her brother with a sigh.
"He doesn't have charm, like Dimitri. He doesn't have confidence like Wilfred does," Alan began. "And he doesn't have a twin sister to introduce him to the girls, like I do."
In a most unladylike manner, Aly snorted. "Oh yes, you're a big hit with the ladies," she said sarcastically. "I don't tell them embarrassing stories involving you, or anything."
"Aly, you wouldn't."
Aly merely grinned.
"Oh, I see, you're changing the subject," Alan mused. "In any case, do you know just how happy Teron was when you agreed to go to the ball with him?"
"Extremely, I'd assume," Aly correctly guessed.
Alan nodded. "And now you're all but ignoring him."
"Ignore is a harsh word," Aly said as she watched Teron's lone figure sitting beneath the tree.
Alan stared so intently at his sister that she shivered. The resemblance between Alan's stare and their mother Alanna's was uncanny.
"It's not as if he's courting me," Aly cried, feeling the need to defend herself. "He's only escorting me to the ball, there is no rule saying that I have to spend every waking moment with him."
"Mithros, I'm not asking you to spend the rest of your life with him, Aly. I only want you to pay him some attention. Maybe talk to him?"
"You do know I hate it when you're right?" Aly asked.
Alan grinned. "Of course. I know something else, too."
"That I won't let you get away with being right?"
Alan nodded. "Yes, that sounds quite like something I know."
Aly smiled and made her way down to the tree, taking a seat just behind Teron. "Go away, Alan," Teron said.
"Close, but no," Aly said.
The surprise on Teron's face was unmistakable; it made Aly want to laugh, though she didn't. He'd probably take it the wrong way. "Alianne?" he asked.
Aly nodded. She hated it when others asked stupid questions, though she knew what Teron actually meant. What are you doing here? "I'd much prefer my friends called me Aly," she told him.
"Friends?" Teron asked. "I thought I was only an acquaintance." He looked away.
Waiting for him to finally look at her, Aly said, "No, you're most definitely a friend."
"Do friends escort friends to balls?" Teron asked tentatively.
Aly nodded. "All the time, Uncle Raoul took Buri as friends." She conveniently left out the fact that their relationship had begun because of that ball.
"Friends it is then, Aly." Teron smiled.
Holding out her hand, Aly said, "Would you like to join the others?"
Hand in hand they walked back to their large group of friends. Halfway there, Aly stopped. "How about friends with benefits?"
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Happy Reading!
Madame-S-Butterfly
xx