~*~*~*~ The Pride of the Convent ~*~*~*~

Chapter Eight: A Jester And A Puppy

Genre: General/Action/Romance

Rating: PG-13.

Disclaimer: I own a few new characters, the ones that don't run away or play tricks. Tamora Pierce owns the rest. I wish I owned them, but, the way of the world is that I don't, so all hail the Goddess Tamora Pierce.

Author's Note:  Lots of errors in the last chapter. Somehow I typed Jon when I meant to type George. I think I was plotting about how to make Jon seem more…well…royal.  Don't know though. I'm going to repost it later, when FFN isn't being slow. Anyway, our favorite Duke of Conte is soon to be back from Carthak! Maybe next chapter!

~~~

Delia of Eldorne paced her room, brushing her hair from her eyes. Despite the fact that that Trebond girl had so wonderfully gotten herself out of the way, the Prince wasn't falling for her! Delia was at a loss for words. What was she doing wrong? She had acted charming, sweet, and a bit racy, when nothing else had worked. Maybe she needed to meet the prince on a personal level. She brushed her hair, and pulled it into a tie and then went to search the palace.

~

Alanna sat in the gardens once again, reading. This time she sat under a tree that she had never found the Prince under, but one that was well hidden from sight. She doubted Jon would seek her out anyway, but there was always the dreaded possibility.

As Alanna tried desperately to, she found she couldn't read. She had far too much to think about. Jon had been sweet to her and she had thought that he respected her for who she was. Alanna supposed that she had been wrong about him. Jon would act however he had to, to get girls to fawn over him, and, probably, to bed with him. Alanna sighed, in utter disgust. She would never bed with him.

She wondered where she had gone wrong, when she had fallen for Jon. He had seemed sweet enough, but perhaps it was just a façade.

There was a sound of footsteps coming from the entrance of the garden and Alanna looked around in a panic. Jon. She cursed. He would find her, if he was looking for her, and she was sure that he was. There was no running this time either, as surely he'd see her if she tried. She went around to the other side of the tree, hoping the broad trunk would shield her.

It didn't.

For a second, Alanna thought about running, but didn't think that was the warrior's way out. She sat, trying to appear engrossed in the book until he wandered over, literally forcing her to look up.

She gave him a lady like exclamation of surprise and quickly, and gracefully leapt to her feet, and curtsied. "My Prince, your Royal Highness! To what do I owe your gracious presence?" She laughed to herself, wickedly. Just another fawning girl. "Surely you have oh so many royal duties to tend to! It wouldn't be right to keep so noble a man from his job!"

Jon gave her a flat look.

She said nothing, but fiddled with her hair, as Trycia did when nervous, giving the Prince a shy smile.

"I'm thoroughly upset with you Alanna," he said bluntly.

She gave him a look of horrified surprise. "Oh Highness! I'm so sorry for what happened at court! I swear I'd never do you such an injustice! I was mistaken, my Prince. Would you forgive me, as gracious as you are?" She gave him a look of weak hope.

He sighed, his scowl softening. "Of course!" He took her in his arms and embraced her. She shoved him. Hard.

"I knew it! I'm only some fawning girl to you!" she said in disgust. "You don't care a whip for me, only for Lady Alanna!"

He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again.

She shook her head, not believing. "I knew all you wanted was a girl to bed with you!"

"That's not true and you know it!" he said, choking on the words some.

"Be realistic, Jon. Even you don't know for sure!"

"I truly liked you, Alanna, from the moment I found you under that tree! You were fresh, sharp, and amazing, Alanna!" he said, his voice bordering anger and grief.

"Then why'd you go and treat me like an object, a girl to giggle over you and praise you?" she demanded, softly, but strongly.

Jon was at a loss for words for a while, and when he finally spoke, he stumbled over his words. "You were the first person to take me for a regular person, and I felt lucky! Lucky that I'd finally found someone who could speak true to me, and not worry about what she was saying."

She shook her head. "That's no explanation, Jon." She picked up her book and left the gardens. She went back to her room, and donned her boy's clothing, and a cap to keep her hair back, should she be seen on her way to the courts, and picked up her sword and worked for a good time on drills, and then, when she felt warmed up, went to meet Gary.

Gary was leaning against the wall, polishing his blade when she entered.

"Alanna! Good! You made it here without getting caught!"

"Of course I did," she said with a grin.

"Let's see what you've got. Guard!" He tossed down the cloth he had been using to polish his blade and stepped into the center of the room. She followed quickly, unsheathing her blade.

They stepped into guard position, and bowed. He was the first to strike, and he struck slowly, and cleanly. She defended it easily, and twisted her blade under his, and up, bringing their bodies closer. Alanna immediately saw the error of her ways, as Gary was a good head taller then her, and much stronger. She danced away.

"Good! You know your weaknesses!" he complimented, and attacked her again. It was a common, high attack, which called for a lot of upper arm strength to deflect. Alanna had that. Smartly, she brought her blade in an arc, making for his unprotected left side. He blocked her attack and grinned at her.

"Very tactful. I don't wager you learned that from a book."

"I spent hours thinking of what I'd do, if I was ever sparring. I went over so many plans, over and over in my head." She aimed a thrust right at him, that forced him to turn so he wouldn't get speared. She brought her blade down, then up, and under his, forcing him to jump back.

"I underestimated you!"

"People tend to do that!" she replied, with a laugh.

They continued to spar for a length until there was a call from the entrance to the court. "Gary! Don't pick on the pages! They don't know any better!" Raoul said, laughing.

"This page can certainly do some damage with a blade, Raoul!" Gary said, looking Alanna dead in the eye, a sparkle in his own.

"Mithros sake, Gary! He's only a page! How good can he be?" Raoul asked, not having seen Alanna's face yet, as she and Gary expertly sparred.

"Just watch," Gary said, shaking his head. Raoul muttered something, and sat down to watch the match. Alanna fought with a renewed desire to prove herself, and fought much stronger this time, forcing both Gary and herself to breathe heavily as their feet danced.

Gary attacked her, a high blow near her shoulder. She twisted her torso slightly, to let the blade past, then forced hers up under his and knocked it from his hands.

Gary cursed, but shook her hand. "Nice match! You've got a few unique techniques there, and I'd still like to practice with you."

"Of course! Now, what to tell Raoul?"

"Don't worry. The oaf will put in his two coppers soon!"

"Gary! You're loosing your touch! Let me have a go!" Raoul demanded, unsheathing his blade. Gary shook his head, winking at Alanna and clapped his friend on the shoulder as he passed him.

Raoul stood before Alanna, still not looking her over. He was still looking at Gary at disbelief. When he turned to bow, he nearly dropped his sword.

"Alanna?" he asked, turning pale.

She took the cap from her head and shook her curls free. "None other."

"Where did you ever learn to fight like that?" he asked in awe.

Alanna laughed. "I learned from a book, and from many hours of practice."

Raoul narrowed his eyes, and looked at her evenly.

"If I tell you the story, will you swear not to tell anyone else? This is already getting out of hand!"

"Of course!"

"You'd better sit down," Alanna said, and following her own advice, sat and told about how she had always wanted to be a knight.

"You're playing Alanna! Surely you wouldn't have tried to win your shield.

"I planned to, Raoul, and Goddess strike me down if I hadn't done everything in my power to get it!"

He shook his head. "I reckon you'd have made a damn fine knight."

She grinned. "Thanks."

A bell tolled off in the distance.

"Best be getting ready for dinner!" Gary suggested.

They nodded agreement, and went back to their chambers to bathe and dress for dinner.

Alanna had just slid into a pale violet dress when there was a knock at the door.

"S'open! Come in!" she called, twisting her hair up into a knot.

Trycia came in and sat on her bed, bouncing.

"You look happy," Alanna commented, looking at the girl in the mirror image of her room.

Trycia nodded gleefully.

"Well, what is it?"

"Your brother! He's so charming!" Trycia said with a giggle.

"I thought you were in love with the Prince," Alanna said, offhandedly, not seeing how anyone in her right mind could be.

"Oh, he's wonderful, as far as royalty goes, but, I've fallen completely for Thom!"

"How?" Alanna asked. She could understand how the girl had fallen in love with Jon, but not with Thom.

"He's so kind and wonderful, Alanna! He reads me poetry, and we go walking in the gardens!" she said, her voice dreamy.

"I had no idea," Alanna commented, a hairpin in her mouth. She stuck it in her hair and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She smoothed her dress and slipped on a pair of shoes.

"Let's go to dinner!" Alanna suggested.

Trycia agreed, and followed her from the room, eagerly.

~

Jon stole looks at her all throughout dinner, and Thom stole looks at Trycia, as he served the Prince, as squires were required to do. Each time Thom caught her eye, Trycia would blush and smile.

Alanna shook her head. Young love.

As they left after dinner, Trycia followed Alanna back to her room, no doubt wanting to gossip some more. This put a damper on Alanna's plans however, and nothing she could say could get the girl to leave.

"I bet Thom's finished, and has returned to his room by now," Alanna mused.

"Oh, I could never go to his room! I'd be too scared!" Trycia said, blushing.

Alanna sighed and talked with the girl a few minutes more before finding the perfect excuse. "Trycia, I think I need to talk to Jon, and I need a little time to think before I do it. Why not go find Thom? If not in his room, check the gardens. That's where men in love tend to go, Goddess knows why!" Finally, the Prince is good for something!

Trycia nodded, understanding the graveness of the situation and left, heading toward the gardens. Alanna closed her door and pulled on her boy's clothing, undid the knot in her hair, changed it, along with her eyes, and put on her leather belt, now with a sword hanging from it.

~

Alanna told the antics of her day to George over ale.

"Well, quite the player, aren't you lass?" he asked, grinning.

"It was good fun, tormenting him like that," she mused.

"You're wicked, Alanna, utterly wicked."

"I put in over my share of time with the duckling today!" she protested, pretending to take offense.

"She follows you around like a puppy, doesn't she?" he asked.

"Yes! She always pops up when I don't want her to, too!"

"Then I don't think you put in that share of time willfully, Alanna!"

She shrugged.

"Wicked little lass." He grinned at her, and she laughed, as he ruffled her curls.

"And wicked with a sword, at least according to Gary and Raoul."

"You told them?" George asked, frowning.

"Gary caught me in the armory trying to nick a blade. Left mine back in the convent. I explained the story to Gary, and he agreed to help me with my technique. Well, we were sparring and Raoul happened to come into the court. I had to tell him."

"You couldn't have simply asked for a blade?" he asked. "I'm sure we could have found you one!"

"I'm wicked?" she asked, a hopeful smile on her face.

"Completely, and stubborn on top of that!"

Alanna sighed dramatically. "And woe is me! I will never find a suitor with my wicked heart!" She clutched her hands to her heart and nearly fell off her stool.

George laughed. "Darlin', you certainly do act a fair drama. But, cheer up! Someone's bound to fall for your wicked heart!" He patted her on the shoulder, and grinned at her.

Alanna looked in his dancing eyes, and wondered.

~~~

Author's Note: I'm at a loss. I was reading a few fics the other day. All POTS/Kel fics, right? And I had only read the first two books then. The names "Dom" and "Yuki" evaded me, so I set my mind to get Squire. I searched bookstores, but didn't find a paperback with the words "Protector of the Small: Squire" along the side. I finally decided that it had not been printed yet. I went back home and looked in the back of Page and found out that the paperback was not out yet. So, I went in search of the hardcover. Nothing at Borders, so I looked in their special computer, and found out that it was supposed to be in stores on the 31st of July. This puzzled me. How did everyone know about Dom and Yuki? I felt utterly dumb, but then followed my mother to B. Dalton to look for a book she wanted. I scanned the shelf, and sure enough, in its green dust jacket glory was Squire!!!!  I got it, of course, and just finished it! All the while I was reading, I kept saying, "Oh…I should finish my chapter in my fic…" but somehow, I got caught up in the story. Thankfully, I'm a fast reader! So, here's the chapter! So that's that! And know I'm up to speed with the goings on in Tortall. Here's thanks to my reviewers. It's the only thing that will shut me up from telling more of my POTS story….

To:

White-wolf: Trycia and Thom are…in puppy love, and I guess you could say together. Gary, well, Gary just went a bit romantic last chapter, but there's nothing between them. I've got other plans for Gary, anyway. YOU NEED TO GET OVER YOUR WRITER'S BLOCK! Please!!!!

The Lady Rogue: I'm trying to find the right way to get A/G fluff in, but I'm trying to make George look as sweet as possible, not an evil prig, like Jon. He'll be dancing in and out of the next few, but Alanna's still mad at him. Not much with the Eldorne chick this chapter, but that's because Roger is currently in Carthak, doing whatever it is he does in Carthak. I'm glad you like my story! ::blushes::

Krazy Kitty: I love your reviews! They're nice and long! And you say "golly" which my friends make fun of me for, but I still say anyway. Yay! Glad I got you hooked! I always liked A/G, and the more and more I reread the Alanna quartet, the more and more I disliked A/J. So, I'm glad you're starting to like it! I haven't read any of your work yet, mainly because I didn't think I'd understand it, right? But, I'd love to beta read your TP! That would be sweet! And I definitely want a beta! That would be great! Yay! Glad you like it! Ha ha, okay…I'm fine…really I am….

Temptress: These are bad men we're talking about, and she doesn't want to hurt them, exactly, just scare them a bit. Remember, they're not keeping a deal with the Rogue, and that's bad. She doesn't live to kill, but she likes a good fight, keeps her on her toes. **wink**

Morrigan: I made a faves list! Yay! Is Tammy the best? Lol. I agree! I read Squire in a night…but you already mighta read that…Thanks!!!!!

Michelle: ::giggles:: It makes me all rosy, being told that I have talent! It's nice…..lol.

Lady of the Lost: Better and better? If you say so! Thanks!!! You make me feel special! ::grins::

Inicana: He should be hit, but…shoved…close! Alanna's too proud to slap like a girl. Maybe a few bouts on the practice courts? But no, he can't know her secret. Yet. Yes, a softer side of George…::sigh:: more for Alanna to fall in love with!

Silenttina: If only I could just tell you my evil plan!!! But no, I can't! The Thom/Trycia may seem like unimportant filler, but, it will be back later, and in a way that can upset at least…::counts on fingers:: four people! The dashing duke is coming back from Carthak soon, so evil will happen! And, I would kill Jon, but if I kill him, my evil plot will fall through! So PLEASE, PLEASE keep reading, even if Jon and Alanna get back together, because this will end with Alanna and George together. Jon is just needed to make Alanna see how great George is! Get it? PLEASE, PLEASE don't stop reading! Please! Oh, and can I keep my head?  It will be very useful when I write out my evil plan.

Glacial Phoenix Mystiara: Classy? Ooh! That makes it neat sounding! Alanna's the best, except when the writer's make her dump George and go back to Jon, who is married. Gosh…

Princess Kattera: I'm glad you like it! I will start e-mailing you with updates!

Okay. I know some of you are getting right sick of Jon, and so am I, but you have to understand, I have his treachery planned out, and you will like it. I know I would sure hate him more if this happened! Wish I could say…but that would ruin the surprise and my surprise won't come till…Midwinter. But remember, fall at the convent passes quickly, when the ladies are not at court! Okay. Post time! Thanks all for reading and reviewing! Hey, any one out there want to recommend me a fic to read? I need some new stuff to read, between postings of my regular reads. A/G very much appreciated. A/J glared at, but looked over. Doesn't have to be Alanna. I like Kel too and love a good Harry Potter. Okay! Thanks!!!!!

Also, I'll beta read, if anyone wants one! Thanks!

Cheers guys!!!