Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to On top of cloud 9 for being the first reviewer.
Miss Moony would also like to thank Goddess of Reality, excited, Clair-a-net and Starlight Chibi-chan for reviewing.
------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------
Chapter 25
Breaking into Duke Roger's rooms was as difficult as Alanna had predicted it would be – she expected that he had upped his security after finding Thom poking around –, but with Scrap licking her face and mewling in her ear, the spells around the doorway didn't knock her unconscious for long.
Once inside, she located the mirror with relative ease – it was large, and highly decorated, and altogether appropriate for the chambers of somebody as highly respected and vain as the Duke. She snickered slightly to herself, before surrounding her hands with her Gift, and pushing it to the side-
Only to lurch unceremoniously to one side and stumble to the floor, as she dodged a fire-charm that had been set just behind it.
'Scrap,' she said, her voice strained, 'are there any more of these things in there?'
"These things"? Scrap replied, and she could almost hear the tiny cat clucking in disapproval, before he finally answered, The room is covered in them – you'll be able to see them, too, if you hold on to your necklace.
Alanna blinked, suddenly remembering the ember stone around her neck, and she raised her hand to grab it. Sure enough, Duke Roger's workshop was covered in tiny orange Gift-fires, looking to be keyed in to his own Gift, and set to attack anyone else.
She gulped, but eventually managed to lever herself to her feet, and take a step into the workshop – carefully avoiding the Gift-fires that littered the floor.
There was a small, ornamental fountain in the corner of the room, and a sack lay beside it. Alanna made in that direction, admiring the craftwork that had gone into it, before noting a small figure in the water. She lifted it up delicately – it was a wax model of the queen; a perfect imitation.
She drew a sharp breath as the spell he'd been using came to her, and then looked inside the sack, made from some kind of sheer veil. Inside, as she had expected, were several more figures, of the King, and Prince Jonathan, and most of the higher-up Lords and Ladies of the Court. There were even, she noted, tiny figures of Thom and Alex – though there wasn't one of her.
Taking a deep breath, Alanna placed the model of the Queen inside the bag, and picked it up, gripping the neck tightly. 'Let's go,' she said to Scrap, waiting by the mirror, before leaving the room.
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Alex, doing an extremely poor job of hiding his worry, had almost chewed a hole in his lower lip when Alanna came across him, waiting for her outside the banquet hall. He leapt to his feet upon seeing her, and ran his eyes up and down her body, as if checking for injuries.
'You're okay?' he finally managed to squeak out, and she nodded, still frowning as she thought of her discovery. 'And you found something?'
Alanna nodded again, her eyes hardening and her mouth forming a straight, stubborn line. 'Will you back me up?' she asked him.
Alex raised his arm slightly, and began to reach out to place a hand on her shoulder, before thinking better of it. 'Of course I will,' he said.