A Destiny All Her Own
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: All characters besides Riley and Paul are Tamora Pierce's, you know the drill.
Hours later, Riley's eyes painstakingly opened and adjusted to the low light of her surroundings. She tried to get up from her bedroll, but stopped when she noticed the gown she was wearing before was gone, replaced by a tunic and breeches. Men's clothing, Riley thought. Her mother had always told her that "no self-respecting woman would ever don the clothes of a man." Needless to say, Riley's mother wasn't exactly thrilled that there was a lady knight alive in Tortall, let alone being the King's Champion and close friend of her husband.
Riley herself wasn't opposed to the idea of having women being knights, though she didn't want to follow in Alanna's footsteps. Her good friend at the convent Brianna always wanted to roam around Tortall saving towns from bandits and the like. But Riley knew Brianna's dream was just that, a dream. It would never come true because Brianna was a female.
"The world makes absolutely no sense!" Riley said. Her voice echoed, so she guessed she was in a cave. Remembering the recent events, she looked frantically around, searching for any other sign of life. And more importantly, her luggage. My poor clothes, thought Riley. When I get to Corus, well if I get to Corus, I don't want to arrive looking like some beggar.
"I see you're awake," said a deep voice to Riley's left. Her head jerked to see the owner of the voice, but she could only make out a silhouette in the cave's gloomy blackness.
"Who-who are you? And where am I?" Riley frantically questioned. Whatever she did, she must keep her identity secret. This captor of her's didn't need to know whe was a noble, let alone one with strong connections to the Crown.
"All will be revealed in the morning. Now go back to sleep before you wake up my pet dragon." He must have sensed a look of petrifaction on Riley's face because he assured her he was kidding and he had never seen a dragon in all his 17 years.
As Riley drifted into sleep, she wondered if this mysterious stranger's face was as handsome as his voice. Ironically, the stranger's thoughts were the same as Riley's.
As the first rays of sunshine peeked into the cave, Riley awoke with a start. She had the most frightening dream the night before. Her carriage had stopped in the rain and she had been kidnapped by a stranger on a horse. But as Riley examined her surroundings, she realized the dream was all too real. The tall figure facing the cave's opening was real, too.
Summoning her remaining energy, Riley crawled out of the bedroll and slowly rose to her feet. The fall she took the day before must have been more serious than she thought, because upon scrunching up the sleeves of her shirt she noticed her arm was sporting a huge purple bruise.
"So, Sleeping Beauty has finally awoken."
Riley spun around, searching for the voice, but soon wobbled and noticed the ground was coming closer at an increasing speed. Suddenly two strong arms circled her waist and helped her to the ground in a less painful way than what would have happened had he not been there.
"Thanks," mumbled Riley. She looked up and found herself mesmerized by a pair of forest green eyes with a hint of gold in them. She tried to talk, but all that escaped from her lips was a very embarrassing croak. Riley blushed, then cleared her throat.
"Hi," she said. Wow, thought Riley. I'm really amazing him with my intellect huh?
"Hi," was the reply. Obviously this guy was not a talker.
"My name's Riley."
"Hi Riley.''
Well, this is going to be harder that I expected, Riley thought.
"And your name would be...?"
"Oh." Now it was the stranger's turn to blush. "My name's Paul."
"Hi Paul. And, uh, thanks for, you know, back there-"
"No problem," Paul interrupted.
Relieved she didn't actually have to apologize, Riley now felt more at ease.
"So, what's a girl like you doing traveling all alone?" Paul's voice reminded Riley of her father's, deep and warm. His words were caring and he spoke with an educated tone.
"A girl like me? And what, pray tell, kind of girl am I?" This amused Riley, because she had known Paul for five minutes and he already knew what "kind of girl" she was.
"One obviously of noble birth," came Paul's cool reply.
"Oh, well, I could say the same to you." Riley was not going to let this guy off the hook just yet.
"Really," Paul questioned. "I'm not the finest example of a noble girl then, am I?"
Riley blushed and muttered something about her not meaning the girl part, just traveling alone. "Are you, a noble I mean?"
"Yeah," came the reply, a bit forced.
"Well, why aren't you training to be a knight? Are you even from Tortall?"
"Yeah, in fact our fief's only about a day's ride from here."
Okay, Riley thought, so he's from Northern Tortall. Maybe he knows that girl squire Kally had told me about. Now what was her name, Kelly? Cammy?
"Hey, do you know who the girl squire is? At the palace, I mean."
"No, I haven't been to Corus in years," Paul almost sounded sad, like he had left something behind there.
Weird, Riley had never heard of any male who hadn't trained to be a knight. Well, except for those training to be mages. If this guy had magic, she had to be careful around him. She knew simple spells, but nothing compared to what this guy might know. She would have to keep her eye on him. Not that it would be a problem.
A/N: Sorry, I know the ending is bad so I'll give a little spoiler. Next chapter Riley and Paul will finally leave the cave and set out for who-knows-where.
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: All characters besides Riley and Paul are Tamora Pierce's, you know the drill.
Hours later, Riley's eyes painstakingly opened and adjusted to the low light of her surroundings. She tried to get up from her bedroll, but stopped when she noticed the gown she was wearing before was gone, replaced by a tunic and breeches. Men's clothing, Riley thought. Her mother had always told her that "no self-respecting woman would ever don the clothes of a man." Needless to say, Riley's mother wasn't exactly thrilled that there was a lady knight alive in Tortall, let alone being the King's Champion and close friend of her husband.
Riley herself wasn't opposed to the idea of having women being knights, though she didn't want to follow in Alanna's footsteps. Her good friend at the convent Brianna always wanted to roam around Tortall saving towns from bandits and the like. But Riley knew Brianna's dream was just that, a dream. It would never come true because Brianna was a female.
"The world makes absolutely no sense!" Riley said. Her voice echoed, so she guessed she was in a cave. Remembering the recent events, she looked frantically around, searching for any other sign of life. And more importantly, her luggage. My poor clothes, thought Riley. When I get to Corus, well if I get to Corus, I don't want to arrive looking like some beggar.
"I see you're awake," said a deep voice to Riley's left. Her head jerked to see the owner of the voice, but she could only make out a silhouette in the cave's gloomy blackness.
"Who-who are you? And where am I?" Riley frantically questioned. Whatever she did, she must keep her identity secret. This captor of her's didn't need to know whe was a noble, let alone one with strong connections to the Crown.
"All will be revealed in the morning. Now go back to sleep before you wake up my pet dragon." He must have sensed a look of petrifaction on Riley's face because he assured her he was kidding and he had never seen a dragon in all his 17 years.
As Riley drifted into sleep, she wondered if this mysterious stranger's face was as handsome as his voice. Ironically, the stranger's thoughts were the same as Riley's.
As the first rays of sunshine peeked into the cave, Riley awoke with a start. She had the most frightening dream the night before. Her carriage had stopped in the rain and she had been kidnapped by a stranger on a horse. But as Riley examined her surroundings, she realized the dream was all too real. The tall figure facing the cave's opening was real, too.
Summoning her remaining energy, Riley crawled out of the bedroll and slowly rose to her feet. The fall she took the day before must have been more serious than she thought, because upon scrunching up the sleeves of her shirt she noticed her arm was sporting a huge purple bruise.
"So, Sleeping Beauty has finally awoken."
Riley spun around, searching for the voice, but soon wobbled and noticed the ground was coming closer at an increasing speed. Suddenly two strong arms circled her waist and helped her to the ground in a less painful way than what would have happened had he not been there.
"Thanks," mumbled Riley. She looked up and found herself mesmerized by a pair of forest green eyes with a hint of gold in them. She tried to talk, but all that escaped from her lips was a very embarrassing croak. Riley blushed, then cleared her throat.
"Hi," she said. Wow, thought Riley. I'm really amazing him with my intellect huh?
"Hi," was the reply. Obviously this guy was not a talker.
"My name's Riley."
"Hi Riley.''
Well, this is going to be harder that I expected, Riley thought.
"And your name would be...?"
"Oh." Now it was the stranger's turn to blush. "My name's Paul."
"Hi Paul. And, uh, thanks for, you know, back there-"
"No problem," Paul interrupted.
Relieved she didn't actually have to apologize, Riley now felt more at ease.
"So, what's a girl like you doing traveling all alone?" Paul's voice reminded Riley of her father's, deep and warm. His words were caring and he spoke with an educated tone.
"A girl like me? And what, pray tell, kind of girl am I?" This amused Riley, because she had known Paul for five minutes and he already knew what "kind of girl" she was.
"One obviously of noble birth," came Paul's cool reply.
"Oh, well, I could say the same to you." Riley was not going to let this guy off the hook just yet.
"Really," Paul questioned. "I'm not the finest example of a noble girl then, am I?"
Riley blushed and muttered something about her not meaning the girl part, just traveling alone. "Are you, a noble I mean?"
"Yeah," came the reply, a bit forced.
"Well, why aren't you training to be a knight? Are you even from Tortall?"
"Yeah, in fact our fief's only about a day's ride from here."
Okay, Riley thought, so he's from Northern Tortall. Maybe he knows that girl squire Kally had told me about. Now what was her name, Kelly? Cammy?
"Hey, do you know who the girl squire is? At the palace, I mean."
"No, I haven't been to Corus in years," Paul almost sounded sad, like he had left something behind there.
Weird, Riley had never heard of any male who hadn't trained to be a knight. Well, except for those training to be mages. If this guy had magic, she had to be careful around him. She knew simple spells, but nothing compared to what this guy might know. She would have to keep her eye on him. Not that it would be a problem.
A/N: Sorry, I know the ending is bad so I'll give a little spoiler. Next chapter Riley and Paul will finally leave the cave and set out for who-knows-where.
