Disclaimer: Ok, I don't own any of the characters except for Maddie, her family, and Gary's parents. The rest all belong to Tamora Pierce. (oh, and I own the plot line too. Almost forgot that)
Part: 3/?
Thankyous: All of you beautiful people who reviewed. *hint hint* Thank you so much for your feed back, it means a lot to a writer. (if you can call me that) :)
Summery: Ok, Maddie tells Gary their plan has no chance now and Gary gets kinda . . . mad. Then Gary, Lady Miriana, and Duke Rona all head back home to Naxen to prepare for the wedding. Maddie tries some stuff of her own and Halifax is back and tries to be nice and sweet. Oh, and something special pops up.
Chapter Three
Of Anger and Leaving
Like a whirlwind, Maddie swept through the castle. The papers were already signed. It would be against the law now for them not to be married. She marched down a stone hallway in the east wing and promptly knocked on Gary's door.
"Get up, Knight. I know you're in there!" she shouted. "Get up!"
There was the noise of someone rolling over in bed and then silence.
"Get up!" she shouted again, her face turning red. There was a mumble and then nothing.
Enraged at being ignored as well as betrothed, Maddie called upon her gift and blasted the door open. The sound echoed down the empty hallway.
There was a surprised cry and a muffled curse and Gary fell out of bed.
"What, in Mithros name, are you doing in here?" came his muffled voice, "And why did you blow my door off?" Gary, trying to look and sound dignified stood up, still tangled in his blanket and fell back down with a thump.
"It's over. Poof! Done with! Our fathers signed the forms while we were in the garden!"
"What?" Gary asked, sitting straight up.
Maddie starting pacing and waving her arms, "They signed the forms for the marriage agreement while we were in the garden. Arguing, I might add, over telling them to call it off."
"Wait, wait, wait. Just hold on." Gary struggled up and faced Maddie, pulling himself up to his full height, "Are you saying that it's *my* fault we have to get married?"
"Yes! Of course I'm blaming you. If you hadn't taken so long to see that I had a good plan then we wouldn't have to get married!"
"Oh, well, how like a woman. Of *course* it's all my fault. I'm a guy. It must been in my genes."
"Oh, you're messing with the wrong person, Knight." Maddie narrowed her eyes as her voice got a dangerous edge. A pale green fire shimmered around her.
Gary grappled for a sword that wasn't there and when his hand was met with nothing he felt the slightest wave of panic. Then he realized the circumstances. Suddenly relaxed, he started to laugh.
Taken by surprise, the green fire vanished and Maddie no longer seemed overpowering. "What are you laughing at?" she asked him.
Now laughing so hard he was bent over at the waist, Gary pointed to her.
"Me?" Maddie asked. Gary nodded, laughing helplessly. "What's so funny about me?"
"You - you're a g - girl." He managed to get out.
Maddie stared at him in shock. Suddenly, she closed the distance between them and slapped him across the face.
Gary stumbled back in shock and in pain. He clutched his face and looked up at her, meeting her eyes. A bright fire burned in them and when she spoke her words were clipped and short.
"Yes, Sir Gareth. Only a girl." And with that, she turned and left his room.
* * *
It was raining when Gary left with his parents. Duke Halifax, his wife, and Sir Halifax saw them off at the gate but Maddie had not been seen by anyone but her brother since her late night visit to Gary. Halifax had said she was in the library, looking up stuff to try and calm herself down.
"She is the most unusual girl I've ever met," Gary muttered to himself and pulled his cloak tighter around him. "Strangest girl . . ."
* * *
The moment Gary was out of sight, Halifax the Younger hurried inside and into the library where his sister was sitting.
She was hunched over a large green book and looked like she hadn't slept in weeks. In a circle around Maddie she had put up a ring of magic to stop anyone from bothering her.
"Maddie, let me in," Halifax said.
She kept on reading as if she didn't hear him.
"Maddie, I know you can hear me. Let me in."
She looked up at him. Her face was red and puffy from crying and lack of sleep.
"Let me in," Halifax said again.
She shook her head and turned back to her book.
"Look, you're going to have to leave soon. Mother is going to make you. The two of you leave in three days for Naxen and she wants you to try on the dress she has for you."
Maddie's back stiffened but she didn't turn around.
Sighing, Halifax pulled up a chair and sat down next to the ring. "Gary means well. He really does. It's just that he grew up with a sister who could care less for military strategy and is now married to the crown prince. His sister is, not him. Gary doesn't see any future in girls what so ever. I mean, Lianne is a nice person and she'll make a great queen, but she's not like you in a whole lot of ways. Look, if you at least try to like him it would be easier, and if you give room for his faults."
Maddie looked at her brother and gave him a half smile. "Thanks for the advice."
"Hey, I spent eight years in training with him. I know him almost as well as myself."
"Madeline! Where are you!" Lady Jona's voice echoed through the library. "I know you're in here somewhere!"
"She's right here, Mother." Halifax said. Maddie grumbled about being left alone but she took down the ring of magic and stood up as her mother came into view from around a bookcase.
"Madeline, come along. We're leaving sooner then expected. You're father is having a military meeting here and we need to leave before we can't get out. Come along. You need to bathe and pack your things."
Maddie followed her mother out the door.
* * *
The messenger soon overtook Gary and his family. He rode straight up to Duke Rona and handed him the letter.
"The Lady Jona and her daughter send word ahead that due to unchangeable circumstances they will have to join you now. My lady requests that you wait for her and her daughter here. She apologizes for the short notice."
Rona nodded at the messenger and the messenger road off.
"Would have been nice of her to apologize for the rain, too," Gary's mother complained.
"Hush, Miriana." Rona told his wife.
From behind them Gary sighed. Now he'd have to spend the next three days and two nights with Maddie. Not that she was talking to him anyway.
"Gary, when the Lady Jona arrives with her daughter you are to ride with Madeline." His father had rode over to him.
"Yes, Father." Gary muttered.
"And try to have a civil conversation with her. I know she's a little different from other girls but she is interested in some of the things you like."
"Yes, Father."
Rona smiled at his son and rode back up to his wife. The trio settled down to wait.
* * *
Maddie sat in her room waiting to leave. While her brother's advice was probably the best she was going to get, she still didn't like Sir Gareth. He saw her only as a girl and not as a human who was his equal. He might be able to best her when it came to weapons and fighting, but she could beat him any day when it came to knowledge.
Halifax entered her room without knocking and sat down next to her. "He didn't make you cry, did he?"
Maddie was surprised at her brother's question. "Wha - what do you mean?"
"You had been crying before I came and talked to you today. Gary didn't do that, did he?"
Maddie stood up and put on her riding cloak. "Sir Gareth has no control over me. He is just a knight who hasn't had anyone to demean for quite some time."
"He isn't really like that Maddie. It's the system."
Maddie whirled around, "Yes," She said, eyes blazing, "it's the system. Everything is the system. Well, why is the system dominated by men!"
"Because they took it. They took the power, and they see women as the less of the two because they didn't."
Maddie glared at her brother for another moment before turning around again and marching off.
A little, black blob poked it's self out of Halifax's pocket. "Angry." It said. Halifax nodded.
**
I know, this part's kinda short but I feel it should end there. I hope you like it! Oh, and now the parts will come slower because school starts again tomorrow. *sob* Ok, so stay tuned for part four still, because it will come, just not as quickly. (and 5 points to anyone who knows what the black blob is called)
Part: 3/?
Thankyous: All of you beautiful people who reviewed. *hint hint* Thank you so much for your feed back, it means a lot to a writer. (if you can call me that) :)
Summery: Ok, Maddie tells Gary their plan has no chance now and Gary gets kinda . . . mad. Then Gary, Lady Miriana, and Duke Rona all head back home to Naxen to prepare for the wedding. Maddie tries some stuff of her own and Halifax is back and tries to be nice and sweet. Oh, and something special pops up.
Chapter Three
Of Anger and Leaving
Like a whirlwind, Maddie swept through the castle. The papers were already signed. It would be against the law now for them not to be married. She marched down a stone hallway in the east wing and promptly knocked on Gary's door.
"Get up, Knight. I know you're in there!" she shouted. "Get up!"
There was the noise of someone rolling over in bed and then silence.
"Get up!" she shouted again, her face turning red. There was a mumble and then nothing.
Enraged at being ignored as well as betrothed, Maddie called upon her gift and blasted the door open. The sound echoed down the empty hallway.
There was a surprised cry and a muffled curse and Gary fell out of bed.
"What, in Mithros name, are you doing in here?" came his muffled voice, "And why did you blow my door off?" Gary, trying to look and sound dignified stood up, still tangled in his blanket and fell back down with a thump.
"It's over. Poof! Done with! Our fathers signed the forms while we were in the garden!"
"What?" Gary asked, sitting straight up.
Maddie starting pacing and waving her arms, "They signed the forms for the marriage agreement while we were in the garden. Arguing, I might add, over telling them to call it off."
"Wait, wait, wait. Just hold on." Gary struggled up and faced Maddie, pulling himself up to his full height, "Are you saying that it's *my* fault we have to get married?"
"Yes! Of course I'm blaming you. If you hadn't taken so long to see that I had a good plan then we wouldn't have to get married!"
"Oh, well, how like a woman. Of *course* it's all my fault. I'm a guy. It must been in my genes."
"Oh, you're messing with the wrong person, Knight." Maddie narrowed her eyes as her voice got a dangerous edge. A pale green fire shimmered around her.
Gary grappled for a sword that wasn't there and when his hand was met with nothing he felt the slightest wave of panic. Then he realized the circumstances. Suddenly relaxed, he started to laugh.
Taken by surprise, the green fire vanished and Maddie no longer seemed overpowering. "What are you laughing at?" she asked him.
Now laughing so hard he was bent over at the waist, Gary pointed to her.
"Me?" Maddie asked. Gary nodded, laughing helplessly. "What's so funny about me?"
"You - you're a g - girl." He managed to get out.
Maddie stared at him in shock. Suddenly, she closed the distance between them and slapped him across the face.
Gary stumbled back in shock and in pain. He clutched his face and looked up at her, meeting her eyes. A bright fire burned in them and when she spoke her words were clipped and short.
"Yes, Sir Gareth. Only a girl." And with that, she turned and left his room.
* * *
It was raining when Gary left with his parents. Duke Halifax, his wife, and Sir Halifax saw them off at the gate but Maddie had not been seen by anyone but her brother since her late night visit to Gary. Halifax had said she was in the library, looking up stuff to try and calm herself down.
"She is the most unusual girl I've ever met," Gary muttered to himself and pulled his cloak tighter around him. "Strangest girl . . ."
* * *
The moment Gary was out of sight, Halifax the Younger hurried inside and into the library where his sister was sitting.
She was hunched over a large green book and looked like she hadn't slept in weeks. In a circle around Maddie she had put up a ring of magic to stop anyone from bothering her.
"Maddie, let me in," Halifax said.
She kept on reading as if she didn't hear him.
"Maddie, I know you can hear me. Let me in."
She looked up at him. Her face was red and puffy from crying and lack of sleep.
"Let me in," Halifax said again.
She shook her head and turned back to her book.
"Look, you're going to have to leave soon. Mother is going to make you. The two of you leave in three days for Naxen and she wants you to try on the dress she has for you."
Maddie's back stiffened but she didn't turn around.
Sighing, Halifax pulled up a chair and sat down next to the ring. "Gary means well. He really does. It's just that he grew up with a sister who could care less for military strategy and is now married to the crown prince. His sister is, not him. Gary doesn't see any future in girls what so ever. I mean, Lianne is a nice person and she'll make a great queen, but she's not like you in a whole lot of ways. Look, if you at least try to like him it would be easier, and if you give room for his faults."
Maddie looked at her brother and gave him a half smile. "Thanks for the advice."
"Hey, I spent eight years in training with him. I know him almost as well as myself."
"Madeline! Where are you!" Lady Jona's voice echoed through the library. "I know you're in here somewhere!"
"She's right here, Mother." Halifax said. Maddie grumbled about being left alone but she took down the ring of magic and stood up as her mother came into view from around a bookcase.
"Madeline, come along. We're leaving sooner then expected. You're father is having a military meeting here and we need to leave before we can't get out. Come along. You need to bathe and pack your things."
Maddie followed her mother out the door.
* * *
The messenger soon overtook Gary and his family. He rode straight up to Duke Rona and handed him the letter.
"The Lady Jona and her daughter send word ahead that due to unchangeable circumstances they will have to join you now. My lady requests that you wait for her and her daughter here. She apologizes for the short notice."
Rona nodded at the messenger and the messenger road off.
"Would have been nice of her to apologize for the rain, too," Gary's mother complained.
"Hush, Miriana." Rona told his wife.
From behind them Gary sighed. Now he'd have to spend the next three days and two nights with Maddie. Not that she was talking to him anyway.
"Gary, when the Lady Jona arrives with her daughter you are to ride with Madeline." His father had rode over to him.
"Yes, Father." Gary muttered.
"And try to have a civil conversation with her. I know she's a little different from other girls but she is interested in some of the things you like."
"Yes, Father."
Rona smiled at his son and rode back up to his wife. The trio settled down to wait.
* * *
Maddie sat in her room waiting to leave. While her brother's advice was probably the best she was going to get, she still didn't like Sir Gareth. He saw her only as a girl and not as a human who was his equal. He might be able to best her when it came to weapons and fighting, but she could beat him any day when it came to knowledge.
Halifax entered her room without knocking and sat down next to her. "He didn't make you cry, did he?"
Maddie was surprised at her brother's question. "Wha - what do you mean?"
"You had been crying before I came and talked to you today. Gary didn't do that, did he?"
Maddie stood up and put on her riding cloak. "Sir Gareth has no control over me. He is just a knight who hasn't had anyone to demean for quite some time."
"He isn't really like that Maddie. It's the system."
Maddie whirled around, "Yes," She said, eyes blazing, "it's the system. Everything is the system. Well, why is the system dominated by men!"
"Because they took it. They took the power, and they see women as the less of the two because they didn't."
Maddie glared at her brother for another moment before turning around again and marching off.
A little, black blob poked it's self out of Halifax's pocket. "Angry." It said. Halifax nodded.
**
I know, this part's kinda short but I feel it should end there. I hope you like it! Oh, and now the parts will come slower because school starts again tomorrow. *sob* Ok, so stay tuned for part four still, because it will come, just not as quickly. (and 5 points to anyone who knows what the black blob is called)
