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

Chapter Thirteen: Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Genre: General/Action/Romance

Rating: PG-13.

Disclaimer:  Tammy owns the characters! Lucky her!! I wish I owned them! Then I'd have a nice following and people begging me to HURRY UP AND FINISH LADY KNIGHT!!!!

Author's Note:  Sorry it took so long to post. I had to work all day Saturday! Also, I'm starting a few side projects, one of which already has a chapter posted! It's a joint fic I'm writing with Lady Rogue, but don't worry! I won't stop writing here! And I'll try to keep posts coming at a decent speed! Actually, I just didn't know where to start with this chapter! Well, started now! Do enjoy! Oh, and very sorry for the bad proof reading job with the last chapter. It was like two in the morning, and I wasn't all together there! **cries** I got flamed!!! Someone called my Alanna a Mary Jane. :o(

~~~

"You're fidgety, Alanna," Jon said to Alanna, who he had his arm wrapped around.

"Am not!" she said, a bit crossly.

"Alanna, what's wrong?" Jon asked, a hint of power to his voice.

"Nothing…"

"Alanna."

"It's just that, at the balls, everyone is always watching me," she lied. She'd never tell Jon that she was worried about a fight down in Lower Corus tonight. Tonight was the night that she proved herself to the members of the Court of the Rogue.

"They're watching you because you're beautiful," Jon said softly.

Alanna gave him a flat look, while still enjoying the compliment. "They're just watching me because of you! Your cousin, your parents! Honestly Jon! I don't want to have to worry about what the King and Queen think about me!"

"I'm sorry Alanna. If there was something I could do about it, I would."

"How about a fight in front of the entire court?" she asked, leaning back in his arm, gazing through the leaves overhead.

"We've already done that!" he protested, an amused tone to his voice.

She laughed. "Yes well, I wasn't trying anything that time."

Jon grinned. 

~~~

"Thom, what's wrong?" Trycia asked softly, looking up at Thom.

He shook his head. "Nothing, dear."

She smiled at the name, but pressured him further. "Thom, something is wrong! What aren't you telling me?"

Thom sighed. "It's Alanna. I'm worried about her."

Trycia gave him a thoughtful look. "Why is that?"

Thom thought of a lie as quickly as he could. "Well, you know how off she was feeling, and Alanna doesn't bounce back from illnesses too well."

Trycia nodded, understandingly, not knowing the truth. Thom, on the other hand, knew part of the truth and he knew that Alanna planned to do something very bold, and very stupid.

~~~

Roger laughed, his laughter smooth, like silk.

Delia looked up from her vanity where she was applying rouge. "What is it?"

Roger gave her a charming look. "I've found out how to get Alanna of Trebond out of our way."

Delia gave him a look of shock.

"I've found out what her secret it," Roger said mildly.

Delia's face lit up. "Finally! We'll be done with the wench forever!"

The duke only smiled. "And then, you'll be able to make you move, and soon we'll be rid of that idiotic cousin of mine!"

~~~

George looked at the girl in front of him, put his large hands on her shoulders and squared her in front of him. "Don't do something you're going to regret later, or something you'll never get the chance to regret."

She gave him an impish grin. "I never regret anything."

He gave her a very serious look. "Then don't do something that I'm going to regret letting you do."

"George, don't worry about me. I'll be fine!" Alanna insisted.

He sighed. "Alanna, I do worry about you. You're a wonderful friend and a great thief and Alanna…I…" he took a deep breath, well knowing what he wanted to say, but fearing how she'd take it. Instead, he finished with¸ "don't want to see you get hurt."

She smiled. "I'll be careful. I rather like life with the Rogue, and it certainly would be a shame if I got run out of town."

He shook his head. "I think you'd better get this over with."

~~~

Alanna and George came down from George's room and made their way into the common room of the Dancing Dove, which was crowded beyond belief that night. George had called every one of his men that could be spared to the inn that night.

Alanna rocked on the balls of the feet, starting to get a bit nervous. Tonight was the night that she would either prove herself to the Court of the Rogue or fail, and be forced to leave. Either way, someone was going to get hurt.

Gathering all of her courage and as much pride as she could, she jumped up onto a table and stood before the Court of the Rogue. The frenzy in the inn didn't calm down any. In fact, it seemed that no on noticed her presence at all.

She tried yelling over the din to get the attention of those in the Dove, but found that futile. With a look of grim resolution, she put two fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly. The shrill tone startled the men and they quickly turned to find out the source of the sound.

Seeing Alanna, they growled their disgust through loud cursing and crude comments. Alanna bit her lip and scanned the crowd of thieves, spies and dealers, who had now quieted to mutters of abhorrence.

"Good eve gentlemen," she greeted, nearly shouting. "I'm Lanna Crell, from Treven. Maybe some of you have seen me around here. Maybe some of you haven't." A wave of grumbling went through the room, but Alanna continued. "I've been ring leading Treven for two years now and I finally got a chance to come to Corus to pay my respects to His Majesty." She pointed to George, who nodded, looking much calmer then he felt. "His Majesty and I had been sending messages back and forth, me telling him about the goings on of Treven, and him asking for information, which I usually found. Well, in my first week in Corus, a few bad dealings sprung up, and his Majesty asked me to help him out. We straightened out a dealing, involving about ten men that night. After that, I helped out his Majesty frequently, knowing from experience how the Court needed to be run. His Majesty thinks that I am strong and smart enough to help him run the Rogue, but maybe some of you don't, and that's understandable. I am, after all, a woman." A general agreement of this was reached in the inn, mostly through cursing.

Alanna bit her lip and continued. "But, that hasn't stopped me from fighting like anyone else. I'm versed in hand-to-hand combat, dagger fighting and swordplay and know nearly every poison peddled on this side of the Inland Sea. I'm not a good enemy to have. But, since some of you are so clearly bent on it, well, why not test your own skills? Against me. If anyone thinks they can best my in one-on-one combat, then meet me out behind the Dove, and we'll settle this once and for all." With that, Alanna hopped down from the table, walked up to George, bowed and then went out the back door of the inn, with out looking back once.

~~~

Author's Note: SORRY SORRY SORRY for my (very late posting) and the very short chapter! I've been working on my website a lot. I had to write all the HTML and that is time consuming! Plus, I wasn't sure where to start this chapter or where to end it, but I don't have much more time tonight, and I really really wanted to post! Hope you enjoy it! I will have more by Wednesday at the latest! I will catch up with my thanks then, because all you guys are so great and supportive and wonderful! Right now, I just want to post! Fights to come!