Author's Note: What makes you all so sure that she's going to find George? Heh. Heh heh. Read on…

Chapter Seven: All That Flashes

Awakened by a clear, cold wind shortly before dawn, Alanna slowly remembered her declaration from the previous night and rolled out of bed. She had been given a surprisingly nice room in the temporary Rogue headquarters, save for the high window through which the bitter gust flowed. The not-quite-a-morning-person Lady Knight stuffed her aching feet into her hard, cold boots and pulled her cloak around her, shivering in the morning briskness. Stretching and waking up with a silent groan, Alanna rubbed her growling stomach and wondered if, somewhere, George was hungrier.

The thought left a cold chill in her bones and sent an arrow through her heart. I've got to find him, she told herself again. She swept back her mane with an impatient rake of her fingers and tied her flaming locks into a knot at the base of her neck, then groped her way to the door.

Lighting a small portion of her Gift as she exited the room, Alanna cupped her hands around the violet flames to keep from disturbing anyone. She made her way to her twin's room at the opposite end of the narrow hall and kicked his door to summon him.

A loud thump and a groan could be heard from inside the room and Alanna grinned in spite of herself. She could just imagine Thom rolling out of bed with a start and hitting the floor, as he had done so many times as a child when they lived in Trebond. A few seconds later, a sleepy-eyed, tousle-haired Thom opened the door and thrust his head out, blinking wearily. "What do you want?" he asked grumpily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Alanna grinned (slightly evilly). Nothing would be better than Thom seeing how great it was to be Jon's little spy when they were out actually looking for George, instead of just talking about it. "Come, my dear brother, don't you remember? We have a job to do! Get dressed and we'll be off!" Giving her twin a hardy slap on the back that nearly knocked him over, Alanna strode off down the hall whistling and vanished down the stairs.

Thom closed himself into his room again, rubbing his aching back gingerly. "That's right, dear sister. We do indeed have a job to do," he whispered, removing an object from his pocket and grinning ever so slightly.

* * * * * *

Coram found Alanna as she was preparing Moonlight to ride. He entered the stable, coughing slightly to announce his presence. She looked up and met his worried eyes.

"Ye don' have to do this," he said softly but frankly.

"Yes, I do," sighed Alanna. "He may need my help."

"He may not," countered Coram. "Are ye sure there's not another reason ye're so eager to leave fer?"

The Lady Knight looked up, startled. "What? How did you— "

Coram chuckled softly. "I've known ye yer whole life. I can tell when somethin's amiss, lass."

Alanna smiled wryly. "I said I'd marry Jon," she muttered. "But I don't want to be a princess or a queen. I just want to— I don't even know anymore."

Coram returned the wry smile. "It's what comes when ye love someone important," he noted wisely. Alanna nodded and a comfortable silence hung in the air.

Thom burst in through the door, breaking the silence with a string of unhappy complaints. "I'm cold, tired, and hungry," he moaned, rubbing his head. Alanna snorted.

"Maybe you shouldn't come along then, brother. I'd hate for anything to happen to you," she said sweetly. Thom and Coram snorted.

"I'm afraid that's not possible, sister dearest," he replied in the same sickly tone. "In fact, I feel better already. I'll just saddle my horse and we'll be off," he announced.

Alanna rolled her eyes. Maybe getting rid of Thom would be harder than she had thought.

* * * * * *

The pink morning sun had peeked its way from beneath the mound of thick blue-gray clouds by the time Alanna had managed to literally drag Thom, on his horse, out of the Rogue's new headquarters. The thieves couldn't wave her goodbye; they had to disappear once the sun had risen. "Someone might have known we stayed at the Dancin' Dove, and burned it apurpose," as Rispah had explained to Alanna earlier.

The Lady Knight glanced over at her brother. Wrapped in a thick, expensive-looking cloak, Thom was clutching tightly his reins, his hands in fur gloves. His face was barely visible under the hood of his cloak and above his tight wool scarf. Even Alanna, who passionately hated the cold, was only wearing her cloak for weather protection.

As they neared the city gates, Alanna's heart thumped in her chest. What if the gatekeepers recognized her? Would they take her back to the palace? Not if I have anything to do about it, she promised herself fiercely.

Few people were awake at the early hour, so Alanna was unable to hide in a crowd to avoid speaking to the guards. She covered her head in her hood, looking down at the ground to avoid the guards' faces as they neared the wall.

"Good morning," she called in a low tone as the guards noticed her presence. They nodded absentmindedly in return and she quickly rode through the open gates. "Free at last," she muttered to herself.

Thom followed her on his mare, a chestnut he called Daphne, still yawning in a loud and obnoxious way.

Their horses took to a trot as the twins entered the path to the forest. The clattering of hooves on the dry, packed dirt lulled Alanna into a state of day dreaminess, so she was slightly startled when Thom's voice broke the monotonous clops.

"Why'd you say you'd marry Jon if you were just going to run away?" he asked, his voice sounding strange.

Alanna snapped upright in her saddle. "I don't want to talk about it."

Thom sniffed, not meeting her eyes. "You needn't get upset."

Alanna clenched her teeth. "It's none of your business!"

Neither twin spoke during the rest of the day's journey. Alanna noted that they had covered several leagues and was content with the progress. They hadn't stopped for lunch and her stomach was growling by the time the sun was late in the sky. Thom was complaining about being hungry or tired or cold, but Alanna had effectively learned how to tune him out. They had just left the main path and made their way to a village by near sundown.


"It's about time we stopped!" Thom cried eagerly as their horses made their way onto the cobblestone streets. The fairly large town, Laughing Waters, was well-kept with tidy streets and many rows of shops and houses.

"Not so fast, Thom," cautioned Alanna. "We are not stopping just so you can stuff your face with expensive food and then sleep with some pretty prostitute and get drunk."

Thom opened his mouth to argue, but shut it when he realized she was right. He gave her a wink and she snorted. "Then what are we stopping for?" he demanded.

"I'm not quite sure yet. Let's have a look around this place before it gets dark." Putting a hand on her sword hilt, Alanna shifted uncomfortably in her saddle. Moonlight, sensing her mistress's discomfort, gave a gentle whicker. Thom rode ahead of Alanna, sitting up straight in the saddle to impress any fine ladies he might encounter.

They passed a smithy and Alanna stopped temporarily to peer inside at the fine swords. She fingered Lightning, wondering if she should purchase another blade. Her thoughts were rudely interrupted by Thom screeching for help ahead of her.

Alanna swung back onto her mare and quickly raced around the corner, expecting to find Thom being robbed or attacked by some ruffians. Drawing her sword, she reared up on Moonlight. "Stop!" she cried.

Thom turned around and continued to try and shake the old man grabbing him off his arm. "Help me!" he cried feebly, shaking his arm wildly. The old man laughed like an intoxicated hyena, clutching Thom's arm tightly. He was dressed as a priest in his white robe, though it was dirty and he smelled terrible.

"You are a chosen one, my lad!" he said drunkenly, laughing at his own words. Alanna nearly fell off her horse laughing.

"Shut up and get this old guy off of me!" ordered Thom. Alanna was holding onto Moonlight to keep her knees from collapsing under her as laughs shook her body. The drunken priest was singing now, some old bar song, from what she could understand. Thom was not happy.

Alanna finally straightened up, still shaking from a random laugh or two, and helped Thom remove the old man hanging on his arm. Thom, angry beyond words, quickly stomped over to his horse to sulk moodily. The drunken priest was laughing now too. "Ah, what a beautiful young damsel we have here!" announced the priest, smiling at Alanna. Thom snorted from the other side of Daphne, who was snacking on a nearby bush.

"Come, my dear, let me buy you a drink! I know a *hic* lovely tavern where *hic* we can have a nice ale," he said, stumbling over and taking her arm. Thom, watching behind his mare, started coughing loudly.

"That— er, would be lovely," Alanna replied, putting on her best damsel-in-distress voice. She met Thom's extremely surprised violet eyes and gave him a look that said play along. The priest hiccupped some more and proceeded to lead her along the street, leaning on her for support in his drunken stupor.

The Lady Knight turned her head around and mouthed, "Get the horses and follow," to her brother.

Alanna and the priest soon encountered a shabby looking tavern, the Silver Feather. Inside it was dark and full of pipe smoke and murmuring voices. Most of the attention was centered on two men fighting in a corner. The priest led Alanna to a vacant table and left to "fetch some drinks".

Alanna looked around and saw Thom enter innocently. He caught her gaze and was directed by her eyes to a seat at the bar. Glancing around, Alanna found something else of interest: a few men at a table arguing heatedly. She caught the words "Rogue" and "suspect" and was immediately entranced. Are these Tyran Rogues? she asked herself. She quickly looked at something else when they met her gaze squarely.

The intoxicated clergyman was returning to the table bearing two tankards when he was shoved out of the way by one of the possible Tyran Rogues, apparently the leader. "I see ye've got a sword," he stated matter-of-factly, crossing his arms over his chest in a manly way. "Ye know how to handle it?"

Alanna felt her blood heat and rise in anger. Calm down and be cool, she instructed herself firmly. "I'd say so," she said coolly.

"Then why don't ye prove it?" he asked back, placing both hands on the sticky tabletop.

"Is that a challenge?" snarled Alanna, unable to control her feelings anymore. She hated when men assumed that she was weak just because she was female.

"Yep, I reckon it is," grinned the Rogue. His comrades were laughing and Alanna wanted to put them in their place.

"All right then. Let's go outside and I'll show you how to sword fight," she snapped, standing up.

"After you, my Lady," he said mockingly. Alanna couldn't wait to kick his butt.

Alanna tramped outside, followed by the suspected Rogue, his friends, several other customers, and her brother. Thom was giving her frantic looks that all meant "what the heck are you doing?!?!", but Alanna chose to ignore them. The dark Rogue then led to the bar's courtyard in back, where he drew his own sword.

"Let's dance," he said with a wink, then lunged forward at her.

Alanna quickly ducked and rolled out of the way. She drew her sword and lunged back at him. There wasn't much she loathed more than opponents who didn't play by the rules of swordplay. She caught his every move and continued to push him back. His wide eyes showed all the surprise Alanna could have hoped for.

"Why don't you think about this the next time you challenge a female!" she suggested triumphantly, knocking away his offensive attacks again and again. His eyes flashed in anger and he made a foolish move. She quickly turned his sword around. The blade twisted in his hands and slipped to the ground; he lunged after it and fell too. Alanna moved forward and pressed Lightning to his throat. "I win," she announced coldly. The small crowd was in a cheering frenzy as Thom pushed his way forward to get to his sister as everyone headed back inside.

"What was that for?" he demanded angrily of his sister. "You were showing off! You could have been killed!"

"I knew exactly what I was doing," Alanna replied coldly, stepping away from the man on the ground and sheathing her blade.

Thom waved his arms in a frustrated manner. "Well, maybe that man knows about fighting too! Maybe he knows street fighting like George Cooper did!"

A cold hand grabbed Alanna's arm and she turned around. She threw off the arm and knocked the suspected Rogue to the ground easily, but his friends were there to help. They quickly surrounded her and Thom and had their arms twisted behind their backs. The Lioness growled in anger.

The man she had beaten in the swordfight stepped forward, leering at her. He drew a knife from his shoe and slowly pressed it against her throat. When Alanna tried to kick him, he stomped on her foot and backed away.

"What do you gentlemen want?" demanded Thom angrily. "This is most undignified!"

"Ye'd do well to shut yer mouth," suggested the man angrily, and Thom fell silent.

"Funny, I never figured you for a sore loser," Alanna said angrily, struggling against her captors. She stopped as the blade was pressed at her throat again.

"Ye have some information I'd like t' hear about," he said cunningly, his eyes glinting like a rat's in the thin moonlight.

"What makes you think I'll tell you anything?" she demanded. With a wave of his hand, the man directed his minion to give a swift kick to Thom in his stomach.

"Well?" the man asked, grinning evilly. Alanna said nothing.

Gasping for breath, Thom hissed something at the man and was rewarded with another kick.

Alanna met the man's eyes with her violet ones coldly. "What do you know about George Cooper?" he demanded.