Chapter 4-Revealed
More twistedness. I know. You can expect lots of weird stuff. That's about the only thing you can expect. I try, and fail, to make less romance. It just always seems to drift that way!!! I would like to say that I wrote almost all of ths before I posted it, and I am just doing this to get you with cliffhangers. Mua ha ha ha ha! Disclamer, I didn't create any characters in this story, though I would sell my teeth for 'em. This may get morbid, I'm listening to emenem. (sudden change of tune- now we have "I'm like a Bird")
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Alanna woke up in a tent, empty exept for herself. The first thing that she noticed was she wore no shirt, and her entire midsection was covered in bandages. She started to turn pale. Do they know? Did Jon do anything? Did he even try? Inspite of herself, Alanna of Trebond started to cry. All those years. For nothing. All the lying, the pretending. For nothing. Then she saw someone at the door flap of the tent.
"Go away." she said, her voice hoarse. She pulled the blankets over her head, wincing as her barely healed cut pulled and started to bleed again.
"Alanna..." Raoul said.
"How did you know my name?" If Alanna was suprised, she gave no sign of it.
"Jon and Gary told me. Listen, Ala-Alanna, noboby else knows. I took you back to the tent when you fell off Moonlight. Gary saw me and followed. He tried to stop me taking off your shirt, to see the wound." Raoul blushed. "Finally he told me. A while later Jon came in and healed you. A bit, anyways. We stopped anybody else coming in until you had woken up. But Alan, why didn't you tell any of us before? We're your friends."
"Are you going to turn me in?" Alanna said softly, fearing the answer.
"Mithros, no. All that work? You earned the right to try for your shield years ago." Raoul kneeled down. "I think you could do anything you want, Lady Squire."
Alanna felt she was getting used to this. Goddess. Every time someone finds out that I'm a girl, they go and do something like this. Is all the world crazy? But before Alanna could respond, Raoul had swept he up in a kiss. I think I'm getting to like this, she thought, and retourned his kisses.
***
When Alanna woke again, Raoul was gone, leaving her with her thoughts. Is it because I'm pulling this off? Are males atracted to deceit or something? She snorted and dismissed the idea. It's not beauty. None of them have ever seen me in a dress. Exept George. I wonder what he thinks of me now? Would he be mad? Or happy? It was too much for one Lady Squire to make sense of. Painfully, she got up and started to dress. They're my friends. Not my...lovers? That makes it sound as if I have some kind of harem. Jon hasn't done anything, yet. Maybe he feels it's his royal duty or something. Or is he...jealous?
Alanna tried to push these ideas out of her mind, and went to the mess tent to get some grub. She was starving! How long has it been since I've eaten? she pondered. Days. She went to a table, her plate piled high with food. She gobbled it down in what felt like three seconds flat. In about five minutes she wished that she hadn't. All those men that she had killed came back to her, haunting. All the blood, the gore. Alanna ran outside the tent and heaved up all the lunch she had eaten into the bushes.
***
Flash forward to before the Ordeal...
"...You will be a Knight of the Realm. You will be sworn to protect those weaker than you, to obey your overlod, to live in a way that honors your kingdom and your gods..."
Alanna listened closely, still fresh and clean from her sacramental bath. None of it was new to her, but now it meant more than anything. Her hands shook, and she kept them clasped tight behind her back to keep Gary and Raoul from seeing. She had wanted Jon to instruct her, but he had declined. Is he mad at me? Why is he being so distant?
Alanna dully found herself being pushed into the Chapel of the Ordeal, where she sat for what seemed like hours and minutes at the same time. Dark robed priests helped her to her feet as she walked towards the Chamber. Oh, gods. This is it. Alanna slowly walked towards the open door, dreading the blackness inside. Where was Jonathan? How come he wasn't here to give her luck? Then right before she reached the Chamber, a figure came running. It was Jon.
"Stop! Stop!" he cried. "Alan can't go in the Chamber! Alan of Trebond is a girl!"
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Mua ha ha ha ha! Is Jon really such an asshole? Why does he give Alanna away? Find out in the next episode of Tortall's Twin, Part 1: Alanna. Another disclaimer: The exerpt from the code of knighthood was also taken straight from In the Hand of the Goddess. Please R/R, I live on your reviews!!!