Time and Again
Chapter 2
Rated PG (Just in Case)
By LynaQT
E-mail: Lyna_Q.T@miakaandtamahome.com
Disclaimer: These amazing characters belong to Tamora Pierce. I haven't a dime, so don't sue. The plot is mine, however.
Chapter 2: Explanations
The response was exactly as Alanna expected it to be.
"Alexis? Thom's daughter? I thought Thom was dead."
"I CAN'T believe it!"
"What do you mean? That a dead man can have children?"
"See, Daine there goes your last excuse. Thom was a powerful mage AND had children I don't see why we can't."
"Obviously, Thom WASN'T JUST interested in magic. I wonder who's the mother."
"She looks like Trebond a'ight." That last thought came from Alanna's childhood confidant Coram Smythesson. He walked up the young girl, who was now looking curiously at them all, and took a good look at her. "She has the stubborn chin, the slight stature, an' the eyes with that troublemakin' gleam of adventure. Her EYES…Only Trebond h've eyes that shade of violet."
Coram's comments seemed to awaken Alexis to her surroundings at last. "Please, continue talking as if I wasn't right here in front of you. I know. It must be the insanity that runs in my family that allows me to absolutely adore people, who don't properly acknowledge my presence," With that sarcastic statement, Alexis looked from Coram to the rest of the room to finally set her mystified eyes on Alanna. "How can this be? Where am I?"
Alanna walked slowly toward Alexis, keeping the tenuous eye contact in place. "Alexis, I know that you know me. Do you recognize who I am?"
"I…believe so, but how can such a thing be possible?" Alexis observed the Lioness. Taking note of the russet hair, the purple eyes, and the wrinkles. Alexis reached out her hand tentatively to examine the fine lines around Alanna's eyes. "You are Trebond just as I am, but you can't be—"
"You should know by now that there are things in heaven and earth that are beyond your philosophy," Alanna interrupted calmly mentally thanking Shakespeare for the right words to say. "All you need to know is that you are in Corus, which is the capital of King Jonathan and Queen Thayet's kingdom, Tortall. My name IS Alanna and, out of all the people in the world, you can trust me with your life."
"A lot of things have changed." After a questioning glance at the Jon and a quick, curious assessment of Thayet, Alexis returned to the conversation at hand with a smirk. "King, huh? Things have DEFINITELY CHANGED!"
"Well, a lot of time has passed. It will take some time to adjust, but I'll help you." Alanna took the time to critically examine her audience. "We will ALL help you."
"Will someone PLEASE tell me what's going on?" An exasperated Gary questioned. "Is this even possible?"
"Before Thom died, he must have known the danger that insane, though magically talented, Roger would pose. He could have put a very powerful protection spell on his daughter just in case," Numair Salmalín, the most powerful mage in Corus, had heard of such incantations. "It was probably a teleportation spell to send her to someone who could protect her if peril should arise, which did happen. All we know is that he sent her here, on this specific day, to Alanna. It would take an immense amount of power and concentration, but I believe Thom had plenty of both."
Alexis turned white and looked like she was about to faint. Her hands shook with grief and her voice vibrated weakly. "Thom is dead? For how long?" Numair gently nudged Alexis to the nearest seat.
"He died the day of my coronation," Jon had been observing the young Trebond and felt an instant protectiveness for her. "I'm sorry. I want you to know that you will have a place here in Corus. How old are you? You can't be more than thirteen."
Dazed, Alexis answered the question automatically, while absentmindedly toying with a strand of black hair. "I'll be seventeen in two weeks."
"Seventeen years old? Thom has already been dead for more then that. It is impossible for a man already dead to have a child of your age." Myles silently assessed the facts at hand and could not come up with a plausible explanation.
"Maybe the protection spell was so extensive that it slowed the physical aspects of the passage of time." Veralidaine Sarrasri thought of her own experience in magic and how complex it could end up being.
"Yes, I have heard of such spells that are used in an effort toward eternal youth. Years go by in our world, but physically only an hour would have passed for the person under the conjuration. To think of how to control such power and mix it with a transportation spell…In the remotest recesses of my own mind, I could never have thought of harnessing such power." Such awe from Numair invoked the same feeling from everyone else.
"If you all are done explaining Alexis's mysterious appearance, I would like to send her to bed." Alanna knew that Alexis's journey had not been easy. Now, Alexis must have felt the excess of her physical, mental, and emotional exertions of the day. "Could someone help me carry her?"
"It is okay. I can wal—" But Alexis's protests were stopped as Raoul easily lifted her into his arms.
"Let's put her in the bedroom next to mine." With that, Alanna was the first to depart from her welcome home dinner, leaving her friends to ponder over the object of her return.
Raoul set Alexis on the bed and left the bedroom to allow Alanna to tend to her niece. As soon as Raoul left, Alanna placed magical wards around the room. Alexis's eyes followed Alanna's movement. Violet met violet.
Alexis decided to be the first to break the silence. "Thom's daughter? Alexis? Couldn't you come up with something better? And why couldn't I just walk here, instead of being carted around like an infant?"
"Sorry…I was pressed for time. I'm just glad Numair gave some plausible excuse because I couldn't think of one," Alanna sat herself on the bed next to Alexis, turned to her and smiled. "So Squire Alan, what do you think of the future so far?"
A/N. I know that in the year 454 H.E. Shakespeare has not even been born yet…probably doesn't even exist. His appearance is a complete anachronism; his existence is completely part of my own weird mind. I just couldn't think of a more impressive line. I'll try to write the next chapter in every spare minute I get. Please read and review. Plot Copyright 2001, May.
