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

Chapter Fifteen: Down And Almost Broken

Genre: General/Action/Romance

Rating: PG-13.

Disclaimer:  I don't own the characters and places, as they belong to Tammy P, but hey, I own my plot! Well, it's not copyrighted, or anything…but…um…right….

Author's Note:  Sorry for the long wait. Just had writer's block. Been busy with the wedding. It was very beautiful. I cried. Lol. I always cry at weddings. I'm such a sap! Well, haha. I just couldn't get past a certain part in this. I mean, I need to get past the summer, then everything speeds up a bit. It will get better. The Gods, Faithful. All in here. But, not yet! I have a feeling this will be a nice meandering fic. I might have to break it down into more then one. Anyway, I've been working on my original, which no one reads, and my suicidal Harry Potter fic. (I was challenged into it!) Well, do enjoy! Sorry for taking so long!

~~~

Finally, Mistress Cooper could take it no longer. Her son had been pacing around the room for the past hour, and now, it was starting to distract her. She'd get nothing done with him around!

"George!" she said, sternly. "I can't work with you fussing about like this! Go get a message to Thom, telling him that Alanna will not be back to the palace within the next few days." If ever. "Someone will need to cover for her."

George nodded, understanding both his mother's said, and unsaid words. He slipped back to the Dove, and entered his apartment through the window. He didn't want to see any of the thieves now.

He sat down at the desk, and sighed. How was he to tell Thom that he had broken his promise? That he had let Alanna fight the men. That now, his twin sister could be dying, and he hadn't been able to stop it… George swallowed around the lump in his throat, telling himself over and over again that she'd be fine, but, even to himself, he sounded scared.

When he managed to stop shaking, he put quill to paper and wrote a note to Thom, telling Thom everything that had happened, though leaving out some of the more graphic details of the fight. He told Thom of Alanna's desire to proof herself. The fight. The assassin. The Healings. The shaking. Finally, he finished the note by telling Thom how scared he was for Alanna, and told Thom that he cared for his sister very much. He signed it, and slid down into the common room of the Dove. Everyone looked up, but no one said a word. George walked straight over to Marek, and asked his to see that the note was delivered to Mikhail, a spy of his in the servant's wing, and then to Thom. Marek nodded, and slid from the inn. George looked at his people, the almost grim look on their faces, and left the inn, sliding down the deserted streets alone.

~~~

Thom heard a slight knock at his door, late in the night, and quickly got up, hoping that Jon was sleeping deeply in the connected room. Thom opened the door a crack, and saw a servant by the name of Mikhail standing at the door, looking tired. The servant handed him a note and left, yawning. Thom closed the door as quietly as he could, and, not wanting Jon to wake, threw balls of power at the corners of the room, shielding his room from prying eyes and ears. He unfolded the note and recognized the scrawling style to belong to the Rogue.

Quickly, he read the note. And then reread it, twice. He cursed and slipped on his breeches, tunic and boots and then crept from the palace and down into lower Corus. Knowing that George would have taken Alanna to his mother's, Thom went there immediately, and knocked on the door.

George answered it, looking glum. "I told you not to come! If you both go missing, there'll be trouble!"

Thom bit his lip. "She's my sister George. I've got to help her if I can."

George searched the hazel eyes and nodded, opening the door enough for Thom to slip in. Thom immediately ran to the cot, and bent over his sister.

She was sleeping still, and had fine pink scars across her chest, arms, legs and abdomen. Thom cursed softly, and Mistress Cooper put a hand on his shoulder.

Alanna began to thrash on the cot, shivering again.

"It's the poison," Mistress Cooper explained softly. "I tried to burn it out of her system, but it's immune to my Gift."

"Do you mind if I try?" Thom asked, quietly.

"Goddess no, Thom. If you can help her…" Her voice faded as she tried to still the girl that was twisting about on the cot, but to no avail.

Swallowing hard, Thom touched his sister, and closed his eyes, and began to concentrate. Several minutes went by, and Thom gave up.

"Immune to mine as well."

"And I've tried every potion I have!" Mistress Cooper sighed in dismay.

"You couldn't…sweat it out? Could you?" George asked, from where he had been standing in the corner of the room.

Thom and Mistress Cooper exchanged glances.

"We could sure try," Mistress Cooper said. "George, fetch me at least ten bricks from the cellar. Thom, go out back and bring in as much firewood as you can. We can't have you wearing down your Gift with fire. We may just need it later." With that, she shooed them with her hands and went to the closet and pulled down as many thick woolen blankets as she could, and more clean linens. George came back with a few bricks and immediately sat them in the fire, and went to get more.

Mistress Cooper pulled the dirty linens from the cot and wrapped Alanna in a particularly thick blanket and waited as Thom build up the fire. Finally, she took the offered bricks, wrapped in linen, and set them around Alanna.

They waited.

It took half of an hour to make her sweat, and when she did, small, gray beads formed on her head. Mistress Cooper wiped them away with a rag. She brought the rag to her nose and inhaled. A noxious odor greeted her. 

"It's working," she said, her voice barely audible.

Thom built up the fire further and George brought more clay bricks to heat.

They went on for hours, changing bricks and linens and keeping the fire roaring. It grew hotter and hotter in the room, but they did not open a single window. Instead, they prayed. Occasionally Alanna would have a fit, but these grew weaker and weaker.

Sometime around dawn, Mistress Cooper wiped Alanna's forehead once more, and inspected the rag.

"Just sweat," she reported, her voice shaking with relief.

George looked at his mother, and then threw his arms around her, and then around Thom.

"Oh! Great Mithros!" Thom said suddenly, looking out the now open window. "Jon'll be furious if he finds me away!" His voice sounded worried, but he looked torn.

"Don't worry. I'll get word to you if her condition changes," Jon assured, barely able to contain his excitement.

Thom nodded, shook his head at the situation, took one last look at his sister, and ran back to the palace, hoping that Jon was still asleep.

~~~

"George!" Mistress Cooper snapped, coming in from the kitchen. "If you don't get some sleep then I'll have to Heal you!"

George looked up from where he was sitting, in a chair next to the cot. "I'm fine, mother. Please, just let me sit with her. Why don't you get some rest?"

She looked long at her son. "All right. You may sit with her. But don't think I'll get sleep if you aren't!"

George nodded and looked at Alanna. She was pale, almost white, and whimpered in her sleep. George bit his lip, wishing he could do something about it.

~~~

Alanna felt a throbbing pain. All over. She winced, and slowly remembered the events of the fight. She wasn't even sure how many hours, or days had passed since then, but while she ached all over, she felt as if she'd been healed. She also felt as though she'd used a great deal of her Gift. Silently, she cursed herself over and over for her antics.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. The room was bright and hurt her eyes. She let out a soft groan and closed her eyes again.

George, hearing her, turned to the bed, but found her eyes closed. "Alanna?" he whispered.

She forced her eyes open again. "Oh, gods! Am I dead? Are you Mithros?" she croaked, and a small smile spread across her face.

George looked at her, his face worried, but his eyes twinkled, as they always did when they talked. "Thank the gods you're awake! We'd thought we'd lost you! But, no darlin', you're not dead, am I'm certainly not Mithros."

She smiled, and he laughed softly and took her hand in his.

"We were so worried about you Alanna," he said softly. "What ever made you do that?"

She yawned, and shrugged the best she could. "Insanity runs in my family," she finally mumbled.

He grinned. "It must. Your brother's been down her every night since you went down."

"How long?" she asked, stifling another yawn.

"Three nights. It's just after dawn now."

"Oh Goddess. How much healing did I do?"

"Too much, but you were poisoned, lass. You do remember the assassin, don't you?"

With a slight groan, Alanna remembered. "Yes. I wish I could have roughed him up a bit more, but I was just getting so tired, and my head was spinning."

"The poison, darlin'."

"Oh." Finally, she worked up the strength to look around. "George, where are we?"

"My mother's. She's a healer."

"How bad was it?"

"She fixed the cuts and nicks with no problem, but the poison had to be sweat out."

Alanna made a face. "Sorry to put you all through all this trouble."

George gave Alanna a scolding look. "I'll not be hearing that from you!"

"Sorry."

"George Cooper! Let her have her rest!" came the stern voice of a woman from the kitchen.

George grinned at her. "My mother. She'll be in to fuss over you soon.

Alanna scowled. "I hate being fussed over."

George grinned at her again, so glad he finally could grin at her. "You brought this down on yourself!" he teased.

"You enjoy teasing me, don't you?" she asked, trying to glare at him.

"Immensely."

Mistress Cooper came into the room, shooing George away. She helped Alanna sit and then handed her a mug. "Drink this."

Alanna took the mug and sent George a questioning look. He pretended to gag. Alanna grimaced and took a sip, and swallowed, barely. "Thank you Mistress Cooper," she managed.

"And after that, you're to sleep. I'll not have my fool of a son," she sent a stern, but loving look at George, who grinned, "keeping you up when you're in such a condition."

Alanna was about to protest, but George sent her a warning look and she didn't. Instead she took another gulp of the liquid in the mug, and nearly choked. Mistress Cooper, seeing her drinking, gave her a stern look and left. George shuffled back to the chair, and peered into the cup and made a noise of disgust.

"Well, I'm sure you'll be glad to know you won."

She smiled.

"The lads are askin' about you. I think they might be worried, especially the ones you fought."

"Well, then I did what I set out to do. Do they accept me now?"

George nodded, and grinned. "But I'm still their king."

She rolled her eyes. "Gods forbid it that I forget!"

George chuckled. "Ever when you're down, you're a bold one!"

"And don't you forget it," she affirmed, a glint in her eyes.

"I have a feeling you won't let me," he replied dryly.

Alanna laughed. "You bet I won't."

George smiled. "It's good to have you back, Alanna."

~~~

Author's Note: Boring chapter. Sorry. Well, she lives! But, you knew she would! Now, onto reader thanks! More A/N after wards!

To:

Silenttina: You ask for quite a bit, don't you? I can't fit it ALL in one chapter! There will be more Roger, but I'm just introducing that part of the plot! Sorry it wasn't one of the best. Fights don't work so well for me! Well, thanks for all the compliments! You are like the greatestest reviewer ever!

Keziah: Sorry!! Very glad you like it! Sorry it took so long to post!!! Thanks for reviewing! You're wonderful!

Rya: I will definitely check out your original! (You should read mine! NO ONE HAS!) Please!! Much thanks!!!! Can't wait to read yours!!! Thanks for the review!

Lulu: Thanks!!

M'Cha Aream: Nice LONG review! Thanks!! Oh! Goody! Someone noticed! Glad I'm not loosing my mind entirely in the fluff department. I know, not my best. Glad you thought the fights were okay! Yeah, Alanna had too much to think about to bother with George being all lovey-dovey. Nice job figuring out who the assassin was sent by!! I thought some of you brighter readers might have. Yes George was by her bedside, you saw that. But, Alanna doesn't know that. Yet. Hahaha. Wedding was great! Thanks! Ah yes, suburbia. I live down in DuPage, and I was RAISED to cheer on the Sox! So, you're cool! It does suck how they're doing! But they're striking now anyway! Dumb baseball players….honestly. Well, thanks much for your long wondrous review! You are great and loved in every way!

Krazy Kitty: It doesn't take much to confuse me, but I'm actually pretty smart, so, go figure. Right? Very cool with the posters! I'd like to see them! E-mail me? Thanks!!!!! I'm glad you like it and won't stop reading it! (JOY JOY JOY JOY JOI! Hee hee hee. Please, delight me with poetry this review! Would you? Please? It's much fun to read! Yikes… no sleep. That sucks. I've been coughing, so last night, I finally gave up on sleep and decided to come on the computer and write, but I kept coughing and so my mom comes in and says. "GO TAKE SOMETHING! I'm trying to sleep and I can't sleep with youc coughing!" Hey, guess what, mom? Me either!! Gah. So, I'm drinking lots juice and taking Vita C. It's all good. Thanks much! You are now the delightful-splendidly-ultra-cool reader reviewer! Thanks much! :o)

Daine: Oh!! Glad you like my Alanna! Thanks for reading and reviewing! You're wonderful.

Hoppuschick182: You're cool already. I have strange tastes. Fantasy and punk. Great combo! Eh? Thanks for the review!

SoHo Chic: Well thank you for reviewing! I love to know when people are reading! It's nice to know that you are! Very good call!! I wasn't even sure they'd be poisoned by then! Haha. I will definitely check out your fic! Here's a deal, you reread and then we do a joint fic! (I'm honestly so swamped now! I'm sorry!) Very sorry. Very very! But I will check out your story and thanks much for the review! You are great and wonderful in everyway!

The Dark Lady Adrienne: Hello again! Ah, a smart one you are! Yet, I will not admit if you be right or wrong. (How completely transparent am I? Hahaha) Oh, glad you picked it up too! Thanks much for reading!!!!! You're wonderful and a great reader!!!! Thanks!!!!

Morrigan: Glad you liked it! Sorry for the slow update!

Siren Porter: Thanks much! Glad you like! Don't worry about our little Lioness. It takes more than an assassin to kill her!

Temptress: Well, at least someone didn't immediately know about the poison! Thanks much!!

Anonymous: Just because I'm curious. Have I read your fics or do I know you? Just out of curiosity! I mean, anonymous…hmm…. Oh well. Thank you for the wonderful compliments!!!! Thank you!!!!!!! And thanks for wishing me well at the wedding! It was beautiful!

Babooshka: One of the coolest reader/reviewers! Haha! Okay, yes. On to the response. Glad you liked the fight! More action then I usually write! Weezer CDs. Very cool. Got Maladroit? I really like it! The Green Album wasn't bad either. Anyway. Yes, but now our assassin man is dead. The first person to die in my fic!! Oh my gosh! I think I think in bubbles. Random, and unconnected, but sometimes they stick in all their bubblieness. Rightio. Maybe I think in dots. I never did like to connect the dots in the right order in all those connect the dots games. :o) The Evil Guy will remain unnamed, but, you coulda put your nonexistent money on it, cuz there's a large chance you're right! Thanks much!!!! You're wonderful!!!!

White-wolf: Hello again! Much glad you liked it!!! :o)

DandyLioness: Thanks! I love hearing how odd my style is! Glad you like it though!!! Very glad! Thanks!!!!

OrangeBlossum: She can still be a little fiery at times, but I try to make her seem normal enough. With George around, it's not as if the whole world's stacked against her, so therefore, she's nice….erm….or something like that! Haha. I'm confusing myself! Thanks!

EireVerde: Another totally cool reader/reviewer! Oh! A dang! I LOVE those!!! Hehehehehe! I'm very happy that you liked the fights! Most people aren't too thrilled with many fights in a row. I'm glad to give you a way to pass time! You are wonderful! Thanks for all the compliments!!! :o)

Cherry: Thanks!!! I love hearing about my style! And, I'm so glad you'll keep reading! There will be A/J fluff along the way, so not to worry! And as to Faithful and The Gods. See the A/N below! Thanks!!!!!

Michelle: At least you got to go somewhere! Get well soon! (If you haven't already!) Thanks much! You're a wonderfully cool reader/reviewer! Sorry you got a flame. Did they log a signed review? I'll terrorize her for ya! Ha ha ha. Thanks for wishing me well at the wedding! It was soo beautiful. I got all weepy. Hahaha. Thanks much! I'm so glad you like it!!

Glacial Phoenix Mystiara: Hey! You're on my MSN list! Wow! Oh please don't fall off a cliff! Hey, you're on MSN right now. Ah, but you're away. Darn. Oh well. Glad you like it!!!!!!!!! :o)

Lady Rogue: Hello! Hello! Sorry bout the cliffie! Much sorrieness! Glad you like it! Thanks!

Lady Phoenix: **blushes** Thanks! I'm very much in awe at your compliment! I will try to have some more for when you get back! Thanks!!!! Hee hee. Now I'm all giggly! :o)

Bec: **blushes A LOT** Thanks…. Heeheeheehee! Now I'm MORE giggly!! Hahaha! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!! You're so nice!!! I'm all hyper now! Thanks! :-D

Dragon Fire: Sorry for the slow update! Glad you like it!!!

Daemon: Glad you like it! Okay, when doing italics, you MUST do it in Microsoft Word. I don't know if it works otherwise. Write it in with all the italics. Then, when you save it, there will be a box under the box you title it in. In that box, click the arrow, and it will let you save it as a "Web Page." Save it like that. You may have to practice with the paragraphing. It's a bit weird with this format, but that's how I do italics! Good luck! Please tell me if you get it to work!!!!

Author's Note: Done! Okay. I have a few questions/comments.

1. Any guys reading this? (I'm just the ultimate curious little pixie. Sorry. I doubt it, but YOU NEVER KNOW!)

2. How do you make things underlined? It NEVER works for me!

3. Any fics you can recommend? Please!!!

4. If you want me to read your fic, tell me! I'd love to!

5. I still want to beta read for someone, so please tell me if you need one!

6. People tell me about my style. WHAT IS MY STYLE? I hear how it's good, different, etc. but I still don't even know what it is!!

Okay. Enough of that. Many of you would like to see Faithful in the story. Yes, he will be here! Trust me! And so will the gods. Trust me. Okay. Also, the summer in this fic is mostly court/rogue, and touches of A/J. I might try to speed up the rest of the summer now, so I can get to the fun stuff! Because, it is coming! Also, my fic will probably be a LOOOOONG one. So, stick with it please! I may break it down into multiple stories. Who knows….sheesh. Well, thanks much! Sorry for the SLLLLOW update!!!! I'll try to be quicker! You guys are awesome!

Cheers and Goddess Bless! :o)