A/N: Hey! Here's the August chapter and just in time too! I'm afraid this chapter is very long and not particularly interesting but after this the chapters will be slightly shorter. I've had to make these first two chapters so long to bring in all the main characters and develop them enough and tell you enough about their backgrounds and presents to be able to get the story moving. Stick with me—the next chapter starts with a fight!!!

Something I forgot to mention in my unbelievably long author's note last time: I've heard that the Copper Isles is supposed to be based on Indonesia but since I know absolutely zilch about Indonesia, the Copper Isles in my fic is just a complete mix of all different nationalities and comes out however I write it.

Thanks for all the great reviews!!!

Dedication: to Kerm (as usual) for all her help with the Sight and to all the wonderful WLD-ians for being, well… wonderfully mad! Luv ya guys!

P.S. When uploading this, I think something went wrong meaning you have to scroll sideways. If it has, I apologise greatly cos I hate that but I'm in a rush (as always). Sorry!

Stolen Lives

Part One: Look For The Dark (When There Is Light)

Chapter Two: Arrival Of Identities.

The sun stretched its golden fingers and sent streams of pale warmth in every direction. It peeked through the corner of a window where the curtain had not bee pulled back properly after an unsettling dream. Lazily, it curled about the red strands of hair lying against the contrasting white pillow and danced upon the tanned skin of the delicate face of the woman lying there.

Slowly, the sun's early tendrils woke the woman and for a moment she lay still, letting the light bathe her gently. Then with a small contented sigh, Alianne rose from her slumber-filled state and wound her way towards the window. She was not usually a morning person, a trait she had picked up from her mother yet this morning was an exception, possibly because of the people she would be meeting today, and she threw back her curtains energetically, letting the sunlight flood the room. Briefly she stood with her arms outstretched and her eyes closed. She felt that today would be almost like a new beginning; a new beginning in which she would fit perfectly, just like everyone else. She had no recalls of the dream she had paid witness to last night.

With a sigh that seemed to let out not only the air in her body, but also every negative thought, feeling and urge in her, she went into her dressing and wash room and readied a bath for herself. Sinking into the warm waters, she cast her mind back over the last eighteen years and smiled at how far she had come. Yet the places she had to go to were almost as pleasing. Knowing she now had both feet firmly planted on the correct path, she was willing to let herself sit back and enjoy life more.

Finally she tired of the company of her thoughts and memories, and the water became too cold to be pleasant. Alianne climbed out and dried herself off before proceeding to dress herself. She combed the knots out of her vibrant red hair, slipped her feet into boots and left her rooms.

It was still relatively early and most of the palace was not yet awake. Aly almost felt like an intruder in somebody else's dream. But there was something satisfying about traipsing the corridors while others lay in slumber. The early bird catches the worm, Aly thought. Well this bird isn't looking for worms this morning- only a squire and some Royalty.

She made her way through the palace towards the practice courts, guessing that if the squire she sought- her brother- was up yet, he would most likely be there. If not and the practice courts were empty, she would make sure they were immediately put to use.

Instead of finding squires, pages or empty courts, Alianne met a large group of trainees on the archery court. A mixed bag of females and males of varying ages and nationalities, she knew almost instantly that they were try outs for the Queen's Riders. They began to exercise as Aly reached the fence skirting the practice court and leant lazily against it. The young lady that had been talking to the assembled group and demonstrating with unwavering skill, stepped back to observe. She was 5'6" with unruly brown hair. Aly smiled in recognition: Daine.

Alianne managed to watch the trainees for a few minutes before Daine suddenly looked sharply at her. Daine smiled and beckoned the younger woman over. Aly vaulted the fence and crossed the court, continuing to watch the trainees. They weren't bad- most of them got the arrows somewhere on the target and a few came very close to the bulls eye; those that missed the target were not far off. They were using a range of different bows and arrows, often swapping after a certain amount of practice with each one.

It was only when Alianne stood next to Daine that she realised the twenty-seven year old was pregnant.

'Alianne,' said Daine fondly. 'How I've missed you! I haven't seen you or your brothers since you were small!'

'I bet you've been kept too busy with all these wars, threats and with Numair and thoughts of the future,' Aly looked pointedly at the Wild Mage's stomach.

Daine blushed and covered her stomach with her hands. 'Is it that obvious?'

'No,' replied Aly. 'Remember I have something that gives me an upper hand.'

'Of course. I had forgotten for a moment you had the Sight.'

'How are you coping?'

'Fine. I'm really happy with life at the moment. The trainees are coming on too.' She inclined her head in their direction.

Aly nodded in agreement. 'I thought they were doing quite well.'

'They're intermediate trainees but by the Gods, they have given me a lot of headaches.'

Alianne laughed and picked up a bow that was resting on the ground. 'I've not seen this type of bow before,' she remarked casually.

'No, I wouldn't have expected you to have,' answered Daine, running a hand instinctively over her abdomen. 'It's the native Copper Isle's bow. A bit crazed, if you ask me- like its makers. A bit wild and unpredictable. I don't use it but the trainees have to be trained in all the main bow types these days, just in case.'

'In case they loose their bow on the battle ground and have to use one of their enemies?'

'Precisely.'

Alianne ran her fingers along the alien bow shaft, feeling for any abnormalities in the wood or craftsmanship. 'Are they imported from the Isles?'

'Some. Some are made here- as replicas of those imported.'

It was, to a degree, like a cross between a Tortallan recurved bow and a striped Yamani long bow. Alianne had never seen anything quite like it before. She noticed a few trainees presently trying to control it; where they had nearly reached the bulls eye with a different bow, their arrows now ricocheted right off the target. Aly lifted the bow, her first two right fingers positioned on the string, straightened her left arm and pulled her right arm back so that her hand brushed past her ear. Holding the position for a second, she weighed its power and speed. When she let her arms fall to her sides again, she realised Daine was watching her.

'Try it if you like,' Daine said. She wandered to the closest target- a hanging dummy- and asked the trainees to step aside for a moment. Then Daine stuck four arrows in the ground beside the starting line and indicated for Alianne to take the limelight.

Slowly Aly walked up to the chalked line, standing just behind it. She removed one of the arrows from the grass and slipped the bowstring into the nock. Pulling the bowstring back to her face, she appraised the distance between herself and the dummy.

After a moment's hesitation she lowered the bow without shooting and stepped back five paces. Then in one fluid movement she brought the bow up and released the arrow. It hit the red painted area of the dummy meant to represent its heart.

Alianne turned to see all of the trainee's staring open-mouthed at her. She cringed. Oh dear, she thought. I shouldn't have done that. I hope to goodness I haven't put Daine to shame... As she turned to the Wild Mage, she suddenly heard her name being yelled out between gasps.

She turned around to be confronted with a short male, startlingly similar to her in appearance. Her face broke out into one large smile and she ran to greet the new comer.

'Alan!' she cried, throwing her arms around him. With a laugh, he hugged her back.

'It's good to see you too, sister dear,' he teased. 'That was a very good shot with that bow.'

'Thank you, Alan. I bet you could do better though.'

'I don't know,' he pondered, studying her shot. 'But I have practiced with that bow a lot. Come, let's talk.'

Aly said a quick good bye to the smiling Wild Mage and walked alongside her twin as he led her down paths towards the Royal gardens. She surveyed him as they walked. He was shorter than her by a handful of inches and still had that stocky yet lithe build he had possessed eight years ago, only now with added muscle. His hair was cut close to his head and was a reddy-brown colour. His eyes were deep purple and looking at them, Alianne could remember times when they had been so dark with anger they appeared almost black.

'You're a lot taller than I remember, Aly,' Alan remarked, grinning. She smiled back.

'Well thinking about it, you've grown a bit in the last eight years too.' There was a comfortable pause as they walked down a path shrouded in flowers. 'I hear you're to take your Ordeal soon.'

'Yes,' Alan replied very quietly.

Guessing he didn't particularly want to speak about that, Alianne changed the subject. 'I also heard Ma and Pa are coming today- bringing Thom with them, who passed his Ordeal of Mastery eight months ago.'

Alan smiled. 'Let me guess- you've been speaking to Jas. He said he wanted to fill you in on everything.'

Aly laughed. 'Well, he certainly did. So how did Thom find it?'

Her twin shrugged. 'Okay as far as I know. As Jasson probably told you, I haven't seen him since, although I have spoken to him through a magical connection. I think Ma's a bit worried about him. She's afraid he would follow the same path as our Uncle- his namesake.'

'So I bet she was pleased when Anelise turned up.'

'Oh, so he even told you about that. Did he leave me anything to tell you?'

'Yes- you can explain exactly the relationship between our dear brother and the Prime Minister's daughter,' said Alianne tartly.

'Basically all I know is that Anelise managed to wangle a holiday for herself out of her Father, choosing to spend it at our home. She was only supposed to be away from court for a maximum of three weeks. Somehow I think she forgot that- five and a half months is slightly longer than three weeks.'

'So how come she's been allowed to stay that long?'

Alan grinned. 'I think she wrote to her mother about the current… situation and Lady Cythera had words with her husband.'

'And the "current situation" is…?'

'Well Thom always seems happy in his letters these days,' Alan replied with a smirk. 'And he always speaks highly of Anelise. I think you can make an educated guess at what's going on between them.'

Aly grinned at her twin. 'You know I've never been particularly good when it comes to education. Well, we'll find out later today for sure. How has training been?'

Alan shrugged. 'Hard- immensely so at times. But almost always fun. These last four years have been good- travelling around Tortall and dealing with different predicaments as they arise.'

'And what is your best weapon?'

He considered this for a moment. 'Probably just the sword- the knight's constant best friend.'

Alianne laughed at her twin's expression of words. She opened her mouth to ask him something else, but he jumped in with new enthusiasm before she could speak.

'Enough about me- let's talk about you.'

She snorted, yanking a red flower off a bush as they passed. 'Let's not. Everyone will be talking about me soon enough.' She brought the flower to her nose, smelling the delicate scent it gave off.

'Oh, only good things for sure,' he teased, watching her twiddle the flower between her fingers.

She raised an eyebrow and started to reply but the palace bell overrode her voice. 'Let's eat,' she said. 'I'm starving.'

They changed course, heading for a large mess hall, talking quietly about the past eight years. Once seated, the twins ate leisurely but heartily, talking all the while.

Finally Alan pushed his plate away and stretched in his chair. Folding his hands over his now-full stomach, he appraised his sister sitting across the table. She was gazing out of a nearby tall window, her eyes misty with memories. He briefly thought, as he had so many times in the past, how strange her eyes were- blue and lilac flecks danced upon stormy grey orbs. Her long, thick, slightly curly hair was tied back this morning, although the leather thong was not doing a very successful job. Her skin was tanned and had the weathered appearance of one used to the outdoors. She wore a loose, full-sleeved white shirt and tan-coloured breeches as many women were want to do of late. However, unlike most of the females that wore men's attire, there were no signs of weapons of any sort upon Aly's person.

'Alan! Alianne! My favourite twins!' Jasson's cheerful voice broke Alan's ponderings of his sister's appearance and brought her back from her reveries.

'Jasson, we're the only twins you know,' countered Alan, licking the remnants of breakfast from his fingers.

'That doesn't mean you're still not my favourite.'

Aly laughed. 'Oh, don't start you two.' She stood up, stretching her arms above her head; Jasson winced at the clearly audible click that came from her shoulders. 'Come on Alan, you'd better try and walk off at least part of that large breakfast.'

Alan groaned but stood up anyway.  As Alianne began to walk towards the door, he followed, grabbing hold of Jasson as he passed.

'Come on, Prince. If I have to put up with her, you can too,' teased Alan.

Even with the noise of those eating in the mess hall, Aly heard her twin's comment and called back, 'I'll get you for that, brother-dear.'

Jasson laughed heartily, tearing his arm from Alan's grip. 'Oh, I can't wait to see how Aly!' She grinned at the Prince over her shoulder before slipping out of the door. The two young men followed her, good-natured smiles across their faces, to find her waiting for them in the courtyard outside.

Together they started to walk down the hill into the busy streets of Corus, having not much else to occupy them at the palace. Their playful banter continued all the way, reminding the three of days past. Traipsing lazily down a busy market, they gathered outside a Raven Armoury stall; quietly examining different weapons for sale and occasionally Alan or Jasson would exclaim at the price.

Alianne was silent, her quick eyes appraising everything the stall had to offer. While Alan muttered over the value of a sword and Jasson chatted to the stall owner about a quiver of arrows he had picked up, Aly's eye was caught by a dagger. Polished until one could see one's face in the metal, the sun glinted powerfully off the weapon. Aly gently picked it up, weighing it in her palm. She traced a finger delicately over a red pattern embossed in the head of the blade, the epicentre of which was a small orange-red stone set in a bed of silver. Surprisingly for Raven Armoury, the handle had been covered with a soft yet durable leather, instead of having a wire-crafted hilt.

'So… you still prefer the old knife in the back trick do you?' came a lilting voice from behind Aly. Knowing that voice as well as her own, Alianne turned around, a beam on her face at the same time as Alan yelling, 'Pa!'

George Cooper, Baron of Pirate's Swoop, grinned down at his children from atop his horse. With a laugh, he dismounted and no sooner had his feet touched the ground than they momentarily left it again as he was swept up by two pairs of strong arms. With a chuckle, his arms went around his twins, returning their hugs.

Finally the three pulled away to see Jasson grinning at them, the dagger Aly had picked up in his hands. He now held it up, hilt towards her.

'I removed it from you when you leapt at your Father. Somehow, I didn't think he'd quite enjoy being impaled on it. Hello, Baron by the way.' Grinning, Alianne replaced the dagger on the stall and then turned to her Father.

'I've missed you,' she said quietly, slipping her hand into his as she had done so often as a child.

'I've missed you too, sweetheart. So has your mother- she had no-one decent to argue with over trivial issues. Apparently Jonathan didn't qualify.'

Aly laughed, remembering how, even though they had loved each other dearly, she and her mother had quite frequently had heated arguments over the pettiest of things. The fights never lasted for long though, and soon mother and daughter were back in each other's arms, laughing at Prince Liam's feeble attempts to impress the girls or Alan's arrow bounding half the way across the court and completely missing the target. George had always complained that his wife and his daughter were too much alike, with the same hot temper and wild, roaming spirit.

'Where is Mother?' asked Alan. 'And I thought Thom was coming with you too.'

'Aye, they're both here,' replied George. 'They stopped a way back to look at amulets that increased the power of a specific area of your Gift.'

'Here they are,' said Jasson, nodding behind George. Indeed, the final two members of the family of Pirate's Swoop were riding up, unaware of the twins that waited for them.

'George?' called Alanna, as she came closer and saw his rider-less horse. She spotted him standing next to his mount, his arms around a pair of redheads. Momentarily, a frown passed over her face, before a beaming smile took it's place and she dismounted in one fluid movement.

Alan was first to reach Alanna and they hugged, but Alan knew his Mother was longing more to hold her daughter. After all, Alan had still seen his parents while he was training and although he hadn't seen them in nearly a year, Aly hadn't seen them in eight years. Alianne and Alanna met half way, throwing their arms around each other.

Aly clung to her mother; over the past years there had been dark nights when she just longed to be held by those comforting arms. There had been days when all she had wanted was to talk and laugh with her Mother. But she had never been able to. There were some days when only your Mother could make things right and without her you just had to grit your teeth and bare it. Now that after all this time, she could do these things she had so long missed, the emotions were almost overwhelming.

At long last, Alianne loosened her claw-like grip on her Mother and realised they were gaining interested looks from passer-by's.

'Ma…' whispered Aly, lost for words. It was strange how all of a sudden the simplicity of  "I've missed you" became overly clichéd and inappropriate.

'Goddess, Aly- you've grown!' exclaimed Alanna. 'Look how much taller than me you are now!' Aly coloured slightly, grinning.

'I remember when she was small enough to be cradled in our arms,' said George with a happy smile.

'Aah- those were the days,' Alanna replied, winking at her daughter. Alanna looked around her. 'Where's Thom got to now? Do you know that boy is the most trouble to travel with ever! At every corner he has to stop to look at something, or to alter some part of his luggage or to take his over-robe off! He will drive me to Chaos and back again!'

Aly laughed. 'How come you're so early? I didn't expect you until later this afternoon.'

'That would be my fault,' replied George.

'Your Father went and hurt himself yesterday. I had a look at it and it seems fine but I wanted to get him here as quickly as possible so that he can rest his ankle. We travelled until late last night. Surprisingly, I seem to know the route exceedingly well now.'

Suddenly an extremely tall man walked languidly over to their group, his full concentration on a large bag of cream cakes cradled to his chest, while he stuffed the last of a warm meat-filled pasty into his lazy-looking mouth. His hazel eyes were nothing extraordinary, but what drew people's attention was his hair. Just past his earlobes, the length was popular among nobles, yet the colour had never been seen before: a vibrant shade of emerald green.

'And he's always eating!' cried Alanna, grabbing the bag of delicacies from the tall man.

'Aw- Ma, I just paid good money for those!' whined the tall, green-haired youth.

Aly's mouth dropped open. 'Thom?'

He grinned cheekily at her. 'Hi, Aly. Nice to see you again.' Turning back to Alanna, who looked even shorter than usual when standing in front of him, he pleaded, 'Come on, Ma- its not going to do me any harm! Anelise is always saying I need to put more weight on! And you complain about how lanky I am! How can I put more weight on if you stop me from eating?'

With an exasperated sigh, Alanna handed him the cakes. 'He won't shut up unless I give them to him,' she muttered to her twins.

'Thom,' began Alan.

'Hey- Alan, my dear brother!' replied the older man in between mouthfuls. 'Ordeal soon!'

Alan ignored him. 'What have you done to your hair?'

Thom grinned widely. 'Do you like it?' He ran a hand through his green locks. 'I thought it brought out the green in my eyes.'

Jasson exploded into laughter, earning a small glare from Thom. Aly bit her lip to try and hide her grin.

'Oh Thom,' she said. 'You're still as foolish as ever.'

He gave her a lop-sided grin. 'Would it be any fun if I wasn't?'

Their small group had at some point drifted away from the Raven Armoury stall slightly, now they were next to another stall but this one had large bolts of material propped up against the back. Six pairs of eyes wandered over the varying fabrics; one mouth chomped non-stop on cream cake after cream cake. The stall owner, bargaining with another customer, kept a wary eye on the cream-covered hands-- he didn't want them anywhere near his precious cloth!

Impulsively, Thom jabbed a finger in the direction of a royal blue bolt of fabric. Around his current mouthful, he said, 'Now that's nice.'

'Thom, you couldn't wear that,' replied George firmly.

'Why ever not?'

'It would clash horribly with your hair, dear,' answered Alanna. Turning away, she mounted Darkmoon {a/n: this is the horse she had in Wild Magic, which she probably doesn't have any more because that was 11 years ago. However, this is my fic and Darkmoon is still alive and kicking!} and began to nose her way through the crowds. Thom's horse- a large dappled gelding- trailed Darkmoon obediently. George followed his wife's example, leaving their children and Jasson to bring up the rear on foot.

'I don't like riding much,' Thom stated. 'I'm tall enough as it is and I just feel like I'm going to fall off all the time.'

'That's because you're all limbs,' muttered Alianne. 'So I hear you've become very friendly with Anelise during my absence.'

He shrugged. 'If you want to put it that way, then sure. There's no need to try and be subtle about it, sister dear. I know it, Anelise knows it, and you all know it- we're courting! It's no big deal.'

'Fine, brother dear, I just didn't want to offend you.' Grinning, Thom stuck a hand out and ruffled the top of Aly's head. 'Thom!' she cried. 'Now I'll have cream cake in my hair! And I'm not eight years old any more!'

He laughed, then suddenly sobered up. 'No, you're not. Look at you- you're most definitely not eight years old. The full, slightly red lips, the breasts, the curves—'

'Thom! Do you mind?' Both Aly and Jasson had begun to turn an interesting shade of pink and Aly had felt it was time to end that conversation before he got any further. Alan was chuckling to himself; Thom shrugged.

'Only stating the truth, Alianne dear. I'm sure you've had the men after you lately.'

'Yes well, we're not here to discuss my love life.'

'Why ever not? Isn't that what brothers are for- to embarrass their sisters and to pester them about their love lives?'

'I sincerely hope not, for your sakes.'

Thom shrugged again, snaking a long finger into the empty corners of his bag to scrape up any crumbs he had missed. Finding none, he crumpled the bag with a small frown. 'I like your ear bobs by the way. I was thinking of getting some myself.' At the astounded looks on the twin's faces, Thom burst into laughter. 'Don't worry- I'm just teasing! That's too much like frippery for me.'

Fingering the ear bobs in her right ear, Aly asked, 'Then what about your hair?'

'Now that is two things, neither of which are frippery. One, it's for attention and two, it's a fashion statement my dear, uneducated sister.'

Alianne tugged lightly on the small golden hoop in her earlobe, thinking how odd her brother was. Sighing, she gently touched the tiny diamond to the right of her hoop, before tucking an errant red curl behind her ear.

'Are you lot going to laze about forever?' called Alanna from her horse some metres in front of them.

'Coming Mother dearest!' cried back the green-haired mage, with an over-bright smile. Alanna rolled her eyes, turning in her saddle to converse with her husband. Thom started to talk about something or other and Alan and Aly exchanged grins at their brother. Alianne opened her mouth to stop Thom before he got too into his one-sided conversation but was interrupted by a shout behind them.

'Jasson! There you are! Gods above, I've been looking for you everywhere!'

'We've hardly been hiding, Anne,' commented Jasson as his sister joined them. Smiling shyly at Alan through her eyelashes, Princess Lianne linked arms with Jas.

'Did you forget about this morning?' she asked the Prince; he frowned in reply. 'I'll take that as a "yes" then. The Prince from the Copper Isles is showing up this morning. Father's really anxious you wouldn't be here in time- that's why I came looking for you. Remember he wants to make a good impression on this Prince? The full Conté family lined up to greet him.'

Jasson made a face. 'We did the same for all the other Princes.'

'Aah- but the difference here is that relationships with the Isles are rocky- we are strictly forbidden to jeopardise this chance of peace in any way. You know what Father's like at the moment.'

'Hello, Princess.'

The five had caught up with Alanna and George, and the latter, having turned atop his mount to make sure the gangly green-toped mage was still with them, had been surprised to see the new addition to their little group. At George's words, Alanna turned too, welcoming Lianne with one of her warm smiles.

'Hello Baron; Alanna. Did you want to see Jon? That's where Jas and I are off too next- you can come along too if you want.'

'Thankyou but I think we'll pass- tell your Father I'll speak to him later,' replied the Lioness.

Lianne nodded. 'Oh, I nearly forgot! Kally wants to see you, Alianne. I think she's hoping to introduce you to some more of her less-popular suitors.'

'In case they take my fancy?'

'Looks like it.'

Alianne rolled her eyes. 'How I just love Royalty.' They had arrived back at the palace and drifted through the gates. An anxious looking Kalasin was flitting around; seeing her siblings enter, she squealed and rushed over to them.

'Where have you been? Oh, and look at you- such a state! It's too late now! The Prince has been spotted- he's on the outskirts of the city. Come quickly before Father shouts. Alanna, George- you can come to welcome him too.' Thom and Alan began to wander off, talking amiably. Kalasin noticed them and screeched their names. 'Alan you are free to go or stay, how you please,' she commanded. 'Thom and Alianne you must come too.'

Thom made an indignant face. 'How come he gets a choice?'

'Because he's a squire. He doesn't yet have a title so therefore he's not as socially high as you or Aly. Come Thom, stop fussing.' Kalasin had not mentioned his hair- indeed she had barely looked at it and seemed completely unperturbed by the bold colour it was. Either that or in her panicked state she hasn't noticed, thought Alianne.

Grinning, Alan ambled back to the palace to complete his day's duties. With the three Royals leading the way, Thom fell in next to his sister; they shared a painful look- this was going to be hard!

The rest of the Contés were waiting, their advisors and the most important members of their court gathered behind them. Alianne took a place next to her family amongst the crowds quickly gathering, gazing at the main palace gates through which this new prince would soon arrive.

After long minutes of boredom, a procession began to rise up the hill. In front was a pair of finely dressed, dark-skinned men carrying standards bearing the Royal coat of arms of both the Copper Isles and Tortall. A herald walked between them, announcing the Prince's arrival. There was quite a large number of guards for an occasion such as this, most of which would soon be dispatched back home- evidence of the general distrust between the two realms. Many a courtier, advisor and mage were among the train but the Prince was easily identifiable.

He rode alone, atop a large, completely black stallion. His attire was made of deep coloured velvets with the minimal amount of embroidery and jewels allowed on travelling clothes. He held his head high, and his nose even higher. His face was home to a bored yet arrogant look, with dull eyes and sharp features.

Coming through the palace gates, the procession stopped. The herald yelled a word and the guards saluted with a clomp of their boots. In return, Lord Sir Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak shouted his own command and all the Tortallan warriors gathered- those of the King's Own, the Queen's Riders, the general army, the personal guards of the Royal army and any knights present- saluted back, their boots the only noise amid the otherwise silence-filled court.

Alianne watched her mother salute, then gazed back at their highly honoured guest. Vaguely she wondered how anyone could devote themselves to their realm so much as some of the people standing, saluting in this courtyard- particularly subjects like her mother who had suffered so much hardship at the hand of the realm, yet continued to dedicate her life to it's safety. The Prince was dismounting now, as King Jon came to meet him. Watching them bow at each other before firmly shaking hands, Aly caught hurried movement out of the corner of her eye; she turned to find the source. A young squire was pushing his way through the crowds towards Aly and her family; when he eventually reached them, he paused for a moment, putting his hands on his knees and panting.

'Lady Alanna,' he puffed. 'The Queen asked me to come find you when she heard you had arrived in Corus. As the King's Champion you are required up front.'

Alanna grumbled to herself and moved to follow the squire but George took hold of her, giving her quick kiss.

'Smile lass- get it over and done with quickly. Then you can spend the afternoon with me.'

That potential did make her smile and she followed the squire with a small bounce in her step. Alianne smiled at her parents and their ever-lasting love. Through thick and thin, they were by each other's side, always knowing how best to cheer the other up. One day, Aly thought, One day some time in the future I would like a love like that.

Standing next to Thom, she didn't listen as the mage rambled wildly about some market stall and its merchandise. Instead, she silently watched the Prince make his way among the more important courtiers. She studied him with particular interest when he met her mother but he showed Alanna no more curiosity than the Knight Commander. However, some minutes later, he returned to her side, asking her something. She nodded, bowed and began to walk through the crowds. He trailed after her, a few of his people behind him.

Aly frowned. What was going on? It wasn't typical for the King's Champion to lead Royal guests into the palace. Slowly Alanna made her way away from the main gates. Though I suppose, thought Aly, if that's what this Prince requested, Ma could hardly refuse.

Thom had stopped his idle ravings and seemed as puzzled as his younger sister as to their mother's actions. Both siblings were immensely surprised when the Lioness stopped in front of them.

'Prince Dartonian Rexam, son to King Yota Rexam, Crown Prince of the Copper Isles and all lands and tribes under the control of said realm, and Duke of Tintburne,' reeled off Alanna, 'I would like to introduce you to my husband, Baron George Cooper of Pirate's Swoop—' George bowed; the Prince nodded in acknowledgement—'and my eldest two children: Master Thom of Pirate's Swoop and-'

'Master?' interrupted Prince Dartonian. His voice was harsh and cold.

'Yes,' replied Thom softly in his own cold tone. 'Master of the Mithran Light (A/N: I think that's right…). I passed my Mastery quite some time ago. This surprises you?' Thom seemed even taller than his 6'4" and an air of wariness now replaced the lazy manner that had earlier resided about him.

'Slightly,' replied the Prince. 'I did not think it was usual for Masters to be so… young.' The hesitant yet carefully calculated pause implied that he meant something quite different; a glance at the mage's wild hair and rough attire reinforced this ideal.

'It's not,' Thom retorted showing a sarcastic little grin.

The Prince turned away from the mage almost in disgust at the vulgarity he saw before him, looking instead toward Alianne. 'And you are?' he asked curtly, as if he expected the same strain of crudeness to run throughout the family.

Alanna stepped up, ready as always to intervene. 'This is my daughter, Alianne, your Highness.' She shot a glare at Aly to make sure she would not be as blunt as her brother.

Prince Dartonian smiled and straightened even more than his already erect form. 'Aah- yes. My mage here, Theo-' he indicated a young woman some paces behind him- 'was telling me about you on our journey here. She had heard you had returned to your home, now branded as the Shang Tiger. Tell me, what is the secret of Shang?'

'Sire?' quested Aly, taken aback. 'The secret?'

'Yes. How come Shang warriors are so skilled in every weapon and every form of fighting? Why the animal names? Why the isolation, the travelling?'

Alianne smiled. 'The skill comes from solid daily practice for years, Sire, taught by the best teachers. As for the rest, every race has its own traditions, your Highness.'

The Prince made an unsatisfied sound and clicked his fingers at his subjects hovering behind him. 'Well thank you, Lady Alanna, your family is most interesting.' His black stallion had been brought to his side; he mounted the jerking creature and looked down on Alianne. 'I believe I will be speaking to you again, Tiger.' Turning his steed, he rode back to the Royal family, ready to be taken into the palace.

'Well he seemed to have an interest in you, Alianne,' remarked George. She made a non-committal noise, watching the back of the disappearing Prince.

There was some instinct in her that told her this man was not one to get involved with. Yes, he had been arrogant and demanding but that was the way of royalty and Aly knew his behaviour would be no different to the other guests. But for some reason, her skin had crawled at his last words. When he had hap-hazardly commented that he had been speaking of her previous to their meeting, a part of her shrunk away in revulsion. She didn't like him, didn't like him at all; yet she had no reason not too.

~

Alianne, Shang Tiger, sighed and pulled the towel from her wet hair, feeling- without thought- it glance over the back neckline of her plain shift. Her eyes darted with obvious reluctance over the three evening dresses laid out for her examination and preference. She immediately discarded the first one: pink satin did nothing to compliment her. So her eyes fell instead to the other two gowns, toying between the pale blue and the deep lilac.

Gowns, like so many other things, had changed greatly under Queen Thayet's guidance. Often they now had less frivolous, encumbering frills, lace and bows; the style now was for simpler forms with extensive embroidery and a larger inclusion of small jewels sewn into the pattern. Colour, too, had changed- where once it was nearly unheard of for respectable ladies of court to wear anything but pale pastels, now bright hues were readily accepted. Although the simpler designs were more practical, gowns were now more expensive, making competition between court ladies even more fierce.

Alianne sighed again and ran her fingers through her wet hair. Coming across knots, she made a face and searched out her bone-handled comb. She hoped the soothing motion would help her come to a decision for she did not want to waste more time staring at dresses.

Gazing into the full-length mirror, she piled her hair up on the back of her head, pursed her lips together and tried to imagine herself now if eight years ago she had gone to the convent as her father had originally suggested.

A knock came on her door, interrupting her daydream and making her a jump. A little bit of colour leapt to her face at the thought of potentially having been caught like this but it sunk back down again as soon as she replied to the knock.

'Yes? Who is it?' Her voice was unwavering, with only the slightest hint of annoyance.

'It's me- Jas,' came the muffled answer.

Aly looked over herself. With wet hair and dressed only in her shift, she was hardly a sight for the Prince.

'Come in, Jasson,' she called over her shoulder as she made her way into the dressing room. She knew the Prince would disapprove of her indecency and anyway, she had wanted an excuse to try out the cotton and satin dressing-gown that she had found hanging over the clothes horse next to her bath yesterday.

She heard the door click shut and booted feet upon the boarded floor, and she re-entered her main room, pulling the black and white gown around her.

Jasson watched as Aly came into his view, slipping her second arm into a sleeping over-robe. He raised an eyebrow while greedily taking in the sight. 'A little scantily dressed, aren't we Alianne?'

She smiled at him, full red lips with a spice of unknown seduction. 'I know you don't mind, Jas, so no fooling me.'

'But what if anyone was to—suddenly burst in? I'm sure they would feel this is a very compromising situation.'

'Jas, you're practically my brother! Don't be silly.' Alianne picked up the forgotten towel and began to rub her hair, leaning slightly to one side so that it fell over her shoulder.

You're practically my brother! Don't be silly. Oh, he didn't like those words, didn't like them at all. But he wasn't going to let on to her about that. At least, not yet. So he smiled and said demurely, 'Of course, how could I forget? Pray, my lady, forgive my insolence.'

The laughter that bubbled from her lips was nearly enough to make up for that unwanted remark. A small twinkle wormed into his blue eyes and he smiled at the joy of having made her laugh.

'Oh Jasson, this reminds me of our childhood again.' She smiled warmly at him and he felt a corresponding warmth in his chest. Suddenly she turned serious. 'I have to be rude though. If you have come here for idle chit-chat, I'm afraid I'll have to decline. See, I'm having problems preparing for tonight.'

Jasson chuckled at this. 'Then I shall solve your problems.'

She raised her eyebrows at him and when he didn't move, picked the two gowns up from her bed and held them each in front of her in turn. 'Blue- or lilac?'

'Neither,' replied Jas and crossing the room he took them from her, promptly discarding them.

'Neither?' Aly echoed mockingly. 'What, you propose I go to the ball in my shift and over-robe?'

'Although I'm sure that would be much appreciated from certain members of the audience-' he grinned- 'that wasn't what I meant.'

'You will have me wear something of Kally's?'

'If you let me speak, I will tell you exactly what I mean.' She pouted at him and he hesitated, pausing long enough to make that image of her an ever-lasting memory. 'The ball has been cancelled.' Her little frown was nearly as adorable as her pout, but Jasson pushed that out of his mind. 'As you know, the ball was in honour of the arrival of Prince Dartonian Rexam of the Copper Isles. We have had an honorary ball for all Kalasin's prospective suitors. However, Prince Dartonian has decided he would rather have the ball tomorrow evening, giving him time to settle down and rest. So it is no longer on tonight.'

'So you are wrong- it has not been cancelled.'

'Pardon?'

'You started of by saying it was cancelled. However, you commented that the Prince wants the ball to take place tomorrow. Therefore the ball has only been postponed, not cancelled.'

Jasson glared at Alianne, then caught sight of the wicked spark in her eyes, and they both began laughing.

'So how come the Royal Prince of the realm of Tortall- even though he is the youngest of the Royal children has been sent off as messenger to mere warriors?' Aly couldn't help but notice his cheeks colour ever so slightly.

'Well, I wanted to speak to you again anyway. So I said I'd come and tell all of your family.'

'How kind of you,' mocked Alianne. 'And what was it you wished to speak to me about?'

But as he opened his mouth to reply, there was another knock on the door and with an apologetic look in Jasson's direction, Alianne opened the door.

'Aly dear!' It was Thom. 'We guessed you would have heard the news by now so Ma sent me along to ask you if-'

'Thom, if you don't mind, I have a visitor,' interrupted Alianne.

Interest flared in his face. 'And you only came home yesterday,' he muttered.

Aly glared at him. 'Not that kind of visitor, Thom! It's just Prince Jasson, so if you don't mind can you please just come back later?'

Her brother peered around her, saw Jasson standing alone in the middle of the room with his arms folded across his chest, and waved. 'Hello Jasson!' he cried, with a manic grin on his face. To Alianne, he said, 'Ah, but what if I do mind?'

'Thom,' growled Alianne in a low voice. 'Don't be an—'

He cut her off. 'Look, like I said, I just came with a message from Ma, savvy?'

' "Savvy"?'

'Oh, its sailor's slang.'

' "Sailor's slang"?'

'One of my mates- friends- at the City came from a sailing family. He taught me a lot about sea life. Now, about our parents- they want to know if you're free tonight.'

Alianne looked doubtful. 'Well, yes- I suppose I am now that the ball has been postponed. Why?' she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

'Because Ma and Pa wish to take you out for the evening,' he replied smugly.

'Out? Where? Thom, please try and be more helpful.'

'I don't know quite where exactly- just somewhere down in the city. To celebrate.'

'To celebrate what? Stop being so irritating, Thom!'

'Sorry- didn't realise I was. To celebrate you of course. You know, becoming Shang and coming home and all. Savvy?'

'Only partly. And what exactly does that term mean?'

Thom shrugged. ' "Understand", I suppose. So will you come with us?'

'"Us?" '

'Well I'm coming as well. You didn't seriously think I'd let you celebrate without me, did you?'

'Is Alan coming too?' Alianne asked, choosing to ignore her elder brother.

'If he can. You know what these squires are like- always far too busy for their own good. So will you come? That's the last time I ask you.'

'Yes, I'll come. Now can you leave me in peace for a bit please Thom?'

The lanky mage smiled broadly. 'Of course, my lady, as you wish. Be at the stables in half an hour's time.' And with a mock bow, Thom left.

Alianne let out a long, weary sigh and shut the door. 'How can Anelise put up with him?' she asked rhetorically, before apologising to the Prince for her brother's behaviour. Jasson had stood patiently through all of Thom's bantering chatter.

'I had better leave you then to dress,' the Prince commented, making for the door.

'Wait!' cried Aly, putting a hand on his arm. Jasson looked down at the contact but did not break it. 'You wanted to talk to me about something before Thom arrived.'

It is too late now, he thought grimly. Smiling falsely he said, 'Oh never mind, that was not important. Forget about it now, and prepare yourself for your evening.'

Aly withdrew her hand, not liking his tone- something was not right. She inhaled a deep breath slowly through her nose, closing her eyes very briefly. Then she looked at Jasson standing by her door through hooded eyes. As she thought, he was lying to her. With a little thankful thought to her Sight, she pushed the power back into her.

'Jasson, wait.' He looked back over his shoulder, eyebrows raised. 'You heard my conversation with Thom- I have no idea whereabouts I am being taken but if you want to, you may come too.'

Jasson smiled at her. 'Thank you for the offer but I fear I would intrude upon a family affair.'

'Nonsense. They are celebrating me and so I am entitled to bring a guest if I wish to. And if they say anything I'll tell them what I told you earlier- we're practically siblings anyway. However, apart from that, it is my desire that you come with me tonight.'

Prince Jasson felt an uncalled for fire build in him at the thought of her combining him and her desires in the same sentence.

'In that case then, how could a sensible man refuse?' he replied smoothly.

'Don't flatter yourself, Jas. Be at the stables at the correct time and I will deal with any problems my family tries to make.'

'Which stables do you think Thom meant?'

'Your guess is as good as mine. Any idea where their horses will be stabled?'

'No.'

'Me neither.' Aly laughed. 'I'm sure we will find them. Goodbye.' And shutting the door on the Prince, she turned to change into a simpler dress than the evening gowns thrown haphazard onto the bed by her guest.

~

As it turned out, Prince Jasson was not the only guest wishing to celebrate the Shang Tiger that wasn't related to the family of Pirate's Swoop. True, the evening had started off with just Aly, Jasson, Thom, Alanna and George but soon they were joined by many friends, taking over the small drinking room of the tavern.

Alan turned up, bringing Princess Lianne with him. Lord Sir Raoul and his wife, both good friends with Alianne's parents came too with their congratulations. Alanna's other childhood friend, Sir Gareth, arrived soon after the Knight Commander, a young man by his side. Tall, flaxen-haired and brown-eyed, this was the Prime Minister's only son- Sir Finn of Naxen. Sir Nealan of Queenscove, having met most of the family when he was a squire, dragged Lady Knight Keladry along.

Other young people turned up too out of curiosity to see this legend family- the mysterious Baron, good friend of the King; the Baroness- the Lioness- first female knight of the realm; the elder son- a particularly young, strong and odd Black Mage; the younger son- following in his mother's footsteps; and now the only daughter- a Shang warrior. They wanted to size up this Tiger in their own minds; her namesake might be like that of her mother but was she of any worth compared to the fabled, all-powerful Lioness? Only time would tell, but these curious mortals wanted a good head start.

But they saw nothing of spectacular interest- nothing to gossip about. The evening was a success with dancing, cheering, singing, drinking and congratulating. Presents were given from the close family to the cause of the celebrations: from her Father, the dagger that had caught Aly's rapt attention that morning on the Raven Armoury market stall and from her mother, the crystal ember that had been given to her by the Great Mother Goddess. Thom's gift was less useful.

Smiling smugly, he handed Alianne two corked glass vials wrapped tightly in leather.  They contained a coloured substance- liquid with gas above and powder tight along the bottom. One was a shocking blue, the other black. Trying to look pleased, Aly turned to her brother.

'Thanks very much, Thom but... what exactly are these?'

His smile broadened. 'They're Mage-made hair dyes.'

' "Hair dyes"?'

'Yep. Like my green hair. A friend and me at the City worked out how to make them. When you want to put one in, you pour it over your hair and comb it in, then soak your hair in cold water for about ten minutes. Oh, and make sure you do it just before you go to bed. Then, spread the powder at the bottom of the vial over your pillow when you retire for the night and this will seal the colour in.'

Alianne looked dubiously at the vials she held. 'Thanks Thom.'

'That's okay. I thought they might come in handy in the future. I've given you a black and a bright blue there, see?'

'Yeah, I see. Well, thank you Thom. I'm pleased that you can put your Gift and City training to such a... practical use.'

With an even wider smile, he moved off to talk with Finn of Naxen. Finn was three years older than the Black Robe Mage yet quite a few inches shorter. The two men seemed to get on well and since Thom was courting the knight's sister, Aly surmised that this was a good thing.

Alan's present was quite different to those of the others. At a quiet moment he drew his twin aside to a corner, a small knapsack in his hands.

'I'm afraid Aly that my presents are nothing like Ma's, Pa's or Thom's. I cannot offer you the partial protection of a Goddess and I do not have magic to make something like Thom has. As you're probably aware, I have little money so buying you something of true value would be hard. However, I want as your twin to give you my heart-filled congratulations and good wishes for the future. I also give you a promise that in the future, you may ask for my help when you need it and whatever the circumstances, I will do all I can to assist you.'

Aly took her twin's hands. 'Thank you, Alan,' she said sincerely. 'I do not need riches or hard work from my family for completing what was expected of me. Your congratulations and love mean more than had you spent all the money you owned on me!'

'Thank you. I also brought you something from our childhood. I thought you might like them.' He pulled a small, velvet drawstring bag from the knapsack. Handing it to her, she opened it and let the contents fall into her upturned hand. Upon her palm fell a pair of small golden hoops. Aly nearly squealed in delight and surprise, hugging her brother instead with so much sudden intensity, he only just stopped himself from falling over. The earbobs were the first ones Aly had owned, given to her by her grandma, Eleni Cooper when, as a very young girl, she had asked her grandmother to pierce her ears. The new decoration at such a young age did not go down well with Alanna but her daughter was ecstatic, delighting in the earbobs Eleni had given her. The old woman told the little girl how pretty the earbobs looked amongst her red curls and told her to look after them very well for they had been her mothers and so were very old. When, ten years old and leaving home, Aly had been unable to find the hoops, she had been drastically upset.

'I returned home for my summer break last year and found them under my bed,' said Alan. 'I thought you would want them back so I kept hold of them, not trusting a messenger.'

'Thank you,' she said gratefully, taking her current ear hoops out and placing her childhood favourites in their place.

'I have something else for you too,' Alan said. 'Something else from the past.' He pulled a blue and green coloured length of material out of the knapsack, holding it up and shaking it so that the tassels on the ends danced wildly through the air.

Aly laughed and held her arms out. He draped the shawl over her arms and she hugged it tight to her. When she was but eighteen months old, her mother had travelled (under great protest) to Tyra for the King. Apparently, on arriving home, Alanna had rushed to her young twins, and wrapped them each in a dyed shawl from Tyra- red and purple for Alan and blue and green for Alianne. Alianne hadn't seen her shawl in years.

'Thank you so much, Alan. It means a lot to me- everything that you've said and done.' She hugged him again, replacing the shawl in the knapsack for safekeeping. Alan departed to dance with Princess Lianne, and Aly looked on with pleasant surprise.

As the evening winded down to a close, people left in dribs and drabs. Most had important business the following day and so did not want to spend the whole night in a tavern. Jasson, returning to the palace with his sister, offered to escort the Shang Tiger home but she refused, wanting to stay a little longer. Her family were the last to head off, leaving her alone with her ale and her presents. The little hoops in her ears, the ember an unfamiliar weight around her neck and the dagger pressing against her leg, hidden in her boot-sheath.

Her thoughts were both wild and calm, happy and sad all at the same time. Wild with the tumultuous things buzzing through her mind; calm because life seemed for a crack in Time to be perfect; happy because she was accepted for who she was and was now surrounded by caring friends and family; and sad because of all the memories that had been disturbed- all the memories of times gone by when life was simpler.

Lifting her tankard, Alianne swallowed the last gulp of ale. Pulling the knapsack onto her shoulder, she set off for her temporary home. The night was cold- especially for the beginning of September- and had a certain crispness about it as if frost was setting in. Aly frowned slightly and looked to the sky as she began to walk. It was filled with over-bright stars. Alianne shivered but not from the chill of the wind. A shiver was running down her spine and a niggling sensation from her Sight meant something was not quite right.

She debated throwing her Sight out of her body like a net to catch the positions, emotions and maybe even identities of anyone around, but without specialised training in the use of her magic she could easily tire doing that or be caught unawares. Her Shang instructors had always discouraged her from using her Sight at any time. As a rule, they didn't take any children with magical tendencies and had only accepted Alianne after much persuasion and under the excuses of the Sight not being the Gift (the most common and probably most powerful magic of the mortal realms) and that she was the daughter of the Lioness- a skilled female Gifted fighter, trained and loved by the last Shang Dragon, a brave man who gave his life for Alanna's King.

The streets were deserted and the wind was cold. Alianne began to wish that she hadn't lent her horse to Lianne- she could have been home a lot quicker and in bed a lot sooner. There aren't even cats around, she thought.

Just as that muse passed through her mind she thought she heard a scuffling noise off to her left. She paused mid-step, heard no other noise and continued.

It could have been any animal- even a drunk fool long past reality. I wasn't even completely sure I heard it. I'm probably just paranoid from lack of sleep, too much ale and all these stirred up memories.

That time she had definitely heard it. Aly made no move, her breathing even, waiting, watching, listening. But there was no attack, no movement, no noise. She took a step, determined to get home without further ado, when there came a sneeze from the very place the scuffling had been.

She smiled. The game was up now. She knew they were there, and they knew she knew. She stood perfectly still as they moved some paces closer and they hit the general range of her Sight. If she had paid attention to her Sight, and put some effort into it she would have known they were behind her ages ago. As it was, they had kept just that bit beyond her so that their presence went undetected. Her Sight now told her what she had already guessed at: they were hungry, cold, and thirsty for blood and money. These were the people that hid away during the day and came out at night- scavenging rubbish and following anyone with anything they could take- foxes, every one of them.

Alianne waited as they made a circle around her. Tuned in perfectly to her Sight, each man gave off a dull glow that was their aura and thus silhouetting the outlines of their bodies against the sky.

'You don't want to be doing this, boys,' she called lightly. Her words were swallowed up by the thick darkness of the late summer night.

'We've got ye surrounded!' His common city accent was so thick, she could only just make out what he said.

'I know. And you don't really want to take any steps closer.'

'Ye don't scare us, little girl!'

'Out in the dark alone, pretty kitty?' called another from her right. 'We'll take ye home!' The men cackled with bawdy laughter and Aly wrinkled her nose, wondering at the mental affects of pure poverty.

'Thanks for the offer but maybe this cat can take care of herself! Now we can do this the easy or the hard way. The easy way is you listen to me and back off. I just got a shinny new dagger and I'd hate to dirty it with your blood. The hard--' She never got to explain the hard way as the leader yelled a blood-curdling "get her!" and the men screamed like beasts and charged.

Aly settled the knapsack containing her shawl and Mage-made hair dyes over both shoulders, took a firm stance and commented to herself, 'I'm guessing the hard way then.'

She grinned into the night.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

~

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