A/N Wow, thanks so much to everyone who reviewed - I'll admit I'm completely
addicted to reviews now.
Anyway, I know this is a pretty prompt update - but don't expect them all to be this
quick. This is only up so soon because I have had it drafted for a while.
Please indulge me and leave reviews. I'm still a little hazy about where this is going
so if you've got any inspiration feel free to email me. The plot for this is a bit like a
mirage - I think I can see it, hazy and in the distance, but it may be something
completely different by the time I reach it.
Anyway, thankyou for reading and please review!
(Also - the start of the camp scene is a little sketchy so you'll have to forgive me)
Chapter 2 - Journey to the River Drell
Alanna, dressed in her light mail and seated on her horse, surveyed her troops happily.
Somehow she could forget, out here. Here she was a warrior and a commander, she
was no one's lover, no one's wife.
"Ready, Lioness?" asked a young knight. She turned and grinned.
"Ready." She felt a sudden, sad sense of resolution. She could forget Jon. She must
forget Jon. She had done so before. Some things were in the past. But are they?
Asked a treacherous voice. No, she admonished herself. I'm married, I'm
committed. Your trapped whispered the voice.
She shook her head, determined to ignore those thoughts. The situation was clear -
She was married to George, she loved George. She must absorb herself entirely in her
duty at the Drell valley. And then she could return home, lovingly, to her husband.
She rode to the front of her troops and turned to survey the ranks of men behind her.
She looked up and spotted a figure with dark hair standing on one of the palace
battlements. There was no mistaking the stance or that coal black hair. Jonathan. He
stood, hands braced on the stone battlements, looking down at her. She looked back
once, her eyes lingering on the figure as surely as his were dwelling on her. Turning,
and looking over her shoulder, she lead her troops out the palace gate, and away to the
River Drell.
* * * * *
On the long ride to the Tortallian boarder, Alanna could not help but think. She
thought of George. She felt…she hardly knew what she felt. They'd been married
such a short time. Two years. She considered her feelings for him. Alone they were
love, fondness, and friendship. But when Jonathan, and especially the looks and
silences they had shared lately entered the equation, her entire world was turned
upside down.
"Goddess," she muttered, "I thought I had love sorted out."
* * * * *
On the third night of their ride East, the battalion of Tortallian soldiers camped on the
edge of thick forest. The weather was damp, barely holding off from rain. Alanna sat
poured over maps while the camp was prepared around her. She was tired and her
mind kept wandering to George. She missed him, sort of, or just missed the closeness
she felt when she was with him. She knew it wouldn't be right between them even if
he was here. She thought back over the past few months. Marriage was fine - for a
while - but it soon became uncomfortable at the Swoop. George was part of it, but
the main problem was with her. Certain things were expected of a married woman,
she even expected them of herself. But somehow she couldn't bring herself to be
that. She'd felt suffocated. George had settled easily into domestic life, but for the
last six months she had felt her feet itching. She needed to be out in the world, doing
things, fighting, exploring. She'd explained this to George he's suggested a trip to
court. They'd still been close when they parted, but now she couldn't imagine feeling
more distant from anybody.
Suddenly she swore, fed up with the whole problem. She rolled the maps up roughly
and stowed them in a bag, wondering what she could do to keep her mind off her
dilemma. She stood and wandered distractedly around the camp for a while, as
around her knights and soldiers busied themselves arranging tents and checking food
stores. She offered to help in a few jobs, but a commander wasn't expected to do any
of the grunt work it seemed. A squire was attending to her own things. She was
annoyed; physical busyness would keep her mind from thinking. She kicked moodily
at a stone, finding that she had wandered into a small clearing amongst the dark trees.
She sneezed violently, swore, and sneezed again.
"Frustrated, my daughter?" She jumped at the voice. Turning and wiping her
streaming eyes, she recognised the Goddess.
"Mother." She inclined her head and stepped forward to kiss the woman's hand.
"Indecision is a terrible thing, is it not?"
"Indeed, mother."
"You are caught, my daughter, and all I can tell you is that there is pain in which ever
course you take. Only you can make this decision. Love is strong within you. The
simplest way is not always the wisest, but neither is true love to be sacrificed for
infatuation or the lure of safety and peace. Your heart will guide you and your spirit
is strong. Have faith."
Alanna looked into the woman's eyes as the powerful voice died away.
"How will I know, mother?"
"How do you know when you are in danger from a hidden archer? Trust your
instinct, but do not deceive yourself to what those instincts are." Alanna knelt and
kissed the Goddess' hand. The woman smiled at her once more and faded into the
mist in the trees. Alanna headed and headed back to the camp.
"Why can't that woman ever give a straight answer," she muttered. A breeze
whispered through the trees and Alanna heard the Goddess's husky laugh, like the
baying of hounds, drifting on the wind.
* * * * *
Arriving, nine days later at the Drell Valley, Alanna remembered the last time she had
been here. She rode at the front of her troops and surveyed the valley before them.
The last time she'd arrived here she'd known nothing of love, nothing of the pain and
difficulty in front of her. She wondered what may be ahead of her now.
addicted to reviews now.
Anyway, I know this is a pretty prompt update - but don't expect them all to be this
quick. This is only up so soon because I have had it drafted for a while.
Please indulge me and leave reviews. I'm still a little hazy about where this is going
so if you've got any inspiration feel free to email me. The plot for this is a bit like a
mirage - I think I can see it, hazy and in the distance, but it may be something
completely different by the time I reach it.
Anyway, thankyou for reading and please review!
(Also - the start of the camp scene is a little sketchy so you'll have to forgive me)
Chapter 2 - Journey to the River Drell
Alanna, dressed in her light mail and seated on her horse, surveyed her troops happily.
Somehow she could forget, out here. Here she was a warrior and a commander, she
was no one's lover, no one's wife.
"Ready, Lioness?" asked a young knight. She turned and grinned.
"Ready." She felt a sudden, sad sense of resolution. She could forget Jon. She must
forget Jon. She had done so before. Some things were in the past. But are they?
Asked a treacherous voice. No, she admonished herself. I'm married, I'm
committed. Your trapped whispered the voice.
She shook her head, determined to ignore those thoughts. The situation was clear -
She was married to George, she loved George. She must absorb herself entirely in her
duty at the Drell valley. And then she could return home, lovingly, to her husband.
She rode to the front of her troops and turned to survey the ranks of men behind her.
She looked up and spotted a figure with dark hair standing on one of the palace
battlements. There was no mistaking the stance or that coal black hair. Jonathan. He
stood, hands braced on the stone battlements, looking down at her. She looked back
once, her eyes lingering on the figure as surely as his were dwelling on her. Turning,
and looking over her shoulder, she lead her troops out the palace gate, and away to the
River Drell.
* * * * *
On the long ride to the Tortallian boarder, Alanna could not help but think. She
thought of George. She felt…she hardly knew what she felt. They'd been married
such a short time. Two years. She considered her feelings for him. Alone they were
love, fondness, and friendship. But when Jonathan, and especially the looks and
silences they had shared lately entered the equation, her entire world was turned
upside down.
"Goddess," she muttered, "I thought I had love sorted out."
* * * * *
On the third night of their ride East, the battalion of Tortallian soldiers camped on the
edge of thick forest. The weather was damp, barely holding off from rain. Alanna sat
poured over maps while the camp was prepared around her. She was tired and her
mind kept wandering to George. She missed him, sort of, or just missed the closeness
she felt when she was with him. She knew it wouldn't be right between them even if
he was here. She thought back over the past few months. Marriage was fine - for a
while - but it soon became uncomfortable at the Swoop. George was part of it, but
the main problem was with her. Certain things were expected of a married woman,
she even expected them of herself. But somehow she couldn't bring herself to be
that. She'd felt suffocated. George had settled easily into domestic life, but for the
last six months she had felt her feet itching. She needed to be out in the world, doing
things, fighting, exploring. She'd explained this to George he's suggested a trip to
court. They'd still been close when they parted, but now she couldn't imagine feeling
more distant from anybody.
Suddenly she swore, fed up with the whole problem. She rolled the maps up roughly
and stowed them in a bag, wondering what she could do to keep her mind off her
dilemma. She stood and wandered distractedly around the camp for a while, as
around her knights and soldiers busied themselves arranging tents and checking food
stores. She offered to help in a few jobs, but a commander wasn't expected to do any
of the grunt work it seemed. A squire was attending to her own things. She was
annoyed; physical busyness would keep her mind from thinking. She kicked moodily
at a stone, finding that she had wandered into a small clearing amongst the dark trees.
She sneezed violently, swore, and sneezed again.
"Frustrated, my daughter?" She jumped at the voice. Turning and wiping her
streaming eyes, she recognised the Goddess.
"Mother." She inclined her head and stepped forward to kiss the woman's hand.
"Indecision is a terrible thing, is it not?"
"Indeed, mother."
"You are caught, my daughter, and all I can tell you is that there is pain in which ever
course you take. Only you can make this decision. Love is strong within you. The
simplest way is not always the wisest, but neither is true love to be sacrificed for
infatuation or the lure of safety and peace. Your heart will guide you and your spirit
is strong. Have faith."
Alanna looked into the woman's eyes as the powerful voice died away.
"How will I know, mother?"
"How do you know when you are in danger from a hidden archer? Trust your
instinct, but do not deceive yourself to what those instincts are." Alanna knelt and
kissed the Goddess' hand. The woman smiled at her once more and faded into the
mist in the trees. Alanna headed and headed back to the camp.
"Why can't that woman ever give a straight answer," she muttered. A breeze
whispered through the trees and Alanna heard the Goddess's husky laugh, like the
baying of hounds, drifting on the wind.
* * * * *
Arriving, nine days later at the Drell Valley, Alanna remembered the last time she had
been here. She rode at the front of her troops and surveyed the valley before them.
The last time she'd arrived here she'd known nothing of love, nothing of the pain and
difficulty in front of her. She wondered what may be ahead of her now.