Time and Again
Chapter 9
Rated PG (Just in case)
By LynaQT
E-mail: Lyna_Q.T@miakaandtamahome.com
Web Site: www.geocities.com/lynaqt
Disclaimer: These amazing characters belong to Tamora Pierce. I haven't a dime, so don't sue. The plot is mine, however.
Chapter 9: mysterious Stranger
"Stand up and take the fall again, Lady Alexis, until I'm satisfied." Wyldon had made the girl do drills with the other pages only to see how glaringly unsuited for the art of war she was. Alexis of Trebond was short and too slender. A good wind could have probably blown her away. Her long black hair was a disadvantage on the field of battle; someone could surely use it as a weapon against her.
And her greatest flaw of all was of course that she was a girl, a pretty girl that attracted far too much attention and distracted his pages.
Already, he'd seen the pages take pity on her and go lax. Even Eda Bell and Kakuin Seastone were going easy on the girl. Therefore, Wyldon took it upon himself to personally train the lass, which turned out to be his most difficult student. At least Kel had potential and training. This Alexis was nothing like her aunt in martial arts. (Even Wyldon had to admit Alanna was useful on the field). All morning, Wyldon had taught Alexis the drill, just as he had for any other page, and seen her fumble and fall. She didn't catch on at all and was only going to hurt herself if she continued this charade. She was, in Wyldon's opinion, her father's daughter. From public knowledge, Wyldon knew that Alexis's father had given up the chance to be a knight to become a sorcerer instead, so what else could such a weakling spawn, but a lady.
He watched again as Alexis took a fall and saw her do it incorrectly again. "If you wish to break your wrist, continue falling limp on your arm like that. If you want to live, use the momentum of the fall to help you push against the ground and get back on your feet."
She stood and rubbed her hands together to get rid of the mud on them and, most curiously, she smiled at him. "Yes, Lord Wyldon. I hope you have the patience to deal with my incompetence. I have never had any training in anything thing so physical, unless you count dancing. And there was never any worry of injury in that sport. Only for my unlucky dance partners…"
Now Wyldon thought her tone was rather sarcastic, but her expression was so sincere he didn't know what to think of her act. "Fall again, Lady Trebond." He winced internally just looking at the way she stood. It was hopeless. He saw her look to her right before she took the fall and landed hard on her elbows. Wyldon followed his newest student's gaze to see a hysterical Alanna on the sidelines. It seemed that she finally arrived to watch the fiasco her niece was causing.
With tears of mirth in her eyes, Alanna stepped inside the training court. "May I interrupt to talk briefly with my niece, Cavall?" Before waiting for an answer, Alanna took her counterpart's hand and led her to an isolated corner of the field and made her voice low. "When I said you had to appear as an amateur in the fighting arts, I didn't mean for you to act as a bumbling idiot. I'm surprised that your wig hasn't fallen off with the exuberance you are putting in your falls."
"I spelled it the day before." Alexis was assessing her wounds. For all the pomp and circumstance she had put in her act, they were superficial and quite painless in comparison to other injuries she had received in the war. "The thought had occurred to me that someone might dislodge the wig, so I spelled my hair. Temporarily, I shall be a brunette with 'simply gorgeous' waist length hair I suppose. As for my fighting abilities, I'm keeping it to the level of Thom's. You said to make myself appear as Thom's daughter and I seem to remember him oftentimes acting as a bumbling idiot. And besides," Alexis burst into a moment of laughter that caught the attention of everyone else on the field, "did you see the look on Wyldon's face? Classic! It was worth a few bruises and wounded pride to see that hard face look so perplexed. He had NO idea what to do with me."
Alanna waited for Alex to calm down from her moment of hilarity before responding. "I will be the first to support you in making a fool of Wyldon, but do something good now and again. You're giving us Trebonds a bad name."
"So what am I supposed to do. Yesterday, you told me that I had to keep a low profile. If these people think I'm a weakling I'll have the element of surprise on my side."
"That is one thing, but giving Wyldon an excuse to say females aren't made for battle is another thing. All I'm saying is that you can't be the best here. Why don't you try to be fifth? Not the best, but not the worst either. I know it is hard. It's easy to give your all or nothing, but one thing you must learn here is control. In one of your biggest battles to come, it's not your fighting abilities that save you. It is your control over your adversary. It's a lesson you'd best learn now."
Alexis adjusted her ponytail and glanced at the pages practicing in the yard. "I could beat any of them if I could act as I am, but I'll try to control my natural instincts to strike instead of strategize. I just have one condition."
"What would that be?"
"Get me out of Lady Wyldon's class. If I have to hear her shrill voice intoning another lecture on the importance of posture…" Alexis drifted off in a mock shiver of fear. "She is worse than the Ysandir. At least I could fight them…Her. She is a different entity entirely and she has made ME her newest project. You have to get me out of there before she marries me off to the nearest noble."
Alanna shook her head, "No can do. Wyldon's instructions were clear that in order to be trained as a page you must attend those classes."
Giving an aggravated sigh, Alexis knew she had lost that battle. "Then can I take the afternoon off to relax and build up the strength to face Lady Wyldon? Please? Must I go to classes that I've already taken?"
"I suppose that can be arranged, but for right now you had better return to training. Wyldon probably thinks that I have probably used my gift to make you a better athlete, that ass. Get out there and show some pride in the Trebond name. Just try not to stick out more than you already do."
Alexis straightened her tunic and made her way to Wyldon. He stood staring down at her slight form. "I'm going to knock you down and this time do it right." He was flat on his back a second later, startled, and with a queer look on his face by Alexis's speed. She had perfectly executed the fall, tripped him, and was back on her feet by the time Wyldon's head hit the ground.
"Alanna, did you mean the fifth best among the warriors of the training court or among the pages?"
* * *
After the fifteenth time Wyldon had told Alexis to quit being "pert," she stopped trying to get on Wyldon's case and started concentrating more on the Shang aspect of the training. Alexis's body was athletic, flexible, and strong for all she looked the part of the lady in waiting. She was physically up to the challenge of learning a new fighting art, but of course she had to make herself look like a complete amateur. She couldn't even risk appearing to be anything other than a lady. It was first time she saw a real Shang warrior and she couldn't even ask for training. Goddess, I must have the worst timing…
The best thing to happen during training was the fact that Alexis didn't have to use a palace horse, or regular training gear. Alanna made sure that her counterpart would have everything that Alanna herself used, which included Darkmoon. From the moment, Alexis laid eyes on that beauty it was love at first sight. Out of everyone in the future, Alexis thought the only one who had the closest inkling to her true identity was Darkmoon. From her scent and the cadence of her voice, Darkmoon instantly recognized Alexis as his companion. Alexis showed to Wyldon that she excelled only in horsemanship. What impressed Wyldon most was that Alexis could ride the real way: astride and not using ladylike sidesaddles.
It was a tiring day, and Alexis was the last to enter the stable only see all the pages in a scuffle that would likely make the stables tumble right over them. Now, Alexis had two instincts. Her first was to get right in the midst of it and punch out its instigators, which seemed to be Neal and Joren, but since that would ensure the destruction of the stables Alexis decided to go with her second instinct.
"Nealan of Queenscove and Joren of Stone Mountain shame on you two!" Alexis put on her disappointed look and remembered to point her finger at them, just as Maude used to at her. "What would your mothers say if they saw you this way, fighting and destroying the palace stable. Why, they would say you were acting like chickens with their heads cut off. Quit this silliness." Wow, the power of the female finger. All the boys had instantly stilled their movements with each wag of her it. I guess it's an extension of the one their mother used to scold them with, which makes them revert back to their childhood adolescence. "What would Wyldon say if he saw you now?"
"I'd say there was a use for you, Lady Alexis, after all." Wyldon saw the look of shock on her face to see that he was standing right behind her as he viewed the damage done to the stable. "Tsk. The lady wields some power after all. It seems you've earned the afternoon off that your aunt was requesting." Wyldon turned to the other pages, "And the rest of you have all earned a different sort of afternoon. Lady, please excuse yourself while I deal with this matter."
That was definitely a dismissal if I ever heard any…
* * *
After the torture, Wyldon thought of as "training," Alexis had sore muscles she never even knew she had. Wyldon had expressly given her instruction on where she was to go and bathe, but in all respects this afternoon was hers. In an act of defiance, she chose her favorite secluded portion of the creek that ran beside the castle to have a private soak. She doubted anyone knew of this spot, but she kept her chemise on just in case. This is pure heaven.
She finished all of Lady Wyldon's hygiene rituals and sat at the edge of the bank. Her feet wading in the water and waiting for her chemise to dry in the warm sun. In no time at all, her mind and body relaxed and she drifted into a nap. She awoke to the sound of footsteps and acting completely on instinct tripped the approaching stranger into the creek. What she had not expected was that this male would bring her crashing into the water with him.
Her hair in disarray and her chemise once again wet and clinging to her skin. The stranger clutched Alexis close, her eye line remained parallel to his muscled chest. She put her hand against that chest and tried to push away, so that she might see who he was, but he only pushed her further against himself. Instinctively, she knew that this was no threat, but he remained where he was with Alexis supported in his arms. In that closeness, Alex could smell his male scent of sweat, horse, and grass. As he spoke, Alexis could feel the soothing vibrations against her skin.
"Lady Alexis, this is no place for any lady to be by herself."
A/N. So who is this mysterious stranger??? HELP ME!! I lack inspiration!!! READ AND REVIEW!! I'm so sorry this took so LONG! I wrote all, but the last scene and that last scene was such a trial for me!! That plus my personal life. This took so damn long and it is all math's fault. That and college apps. Sigh. I must make that big decision about majoring in English or not…Where is the money? Where is the love? So anyway, PLEASE READ AND REVIEW. I need them to continue…Plus, I really need to know who this mystery man should be… Happy Thanksgiving. Plot © LynaQT, November 2001
