A/N: It's been a while since I updated (I've been exhausted lately and
usually do my best writing at night). Thanks for all the reviews,
especially the people that are repeat reviewers! I am really glad that you
all like the way the story is going! I hope this next installment is up to
par!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Chapter 5: Out in Public
Alanna rushed around her room, throwing dresses onto her bed that already added to the mess strewn about her quarters. Faithful just watched his mistress in amusement, as the fiery redhead's complexion became the color of her hair. Stomping around, furious, she even threw a dress at the cat.
"Why am I even going to this party? It's not mandatory for the squires – I don't even know if all the knights are going to be there! This is madness!"
Faithful chimed in, 'You know why you are going to this party. It's a summertime party thrown by Jon, so it won't be too formal. You want to watch Jon and hope he doesn't flirt with Delia. And you want all the knights, especially one knight in particular, to notice you.'
Throwing a shoe at the cat, Alanna exclaimed, "Who am I supposedly trying to impress? I don't want Jon anymore – Delia can have him. I don't even know what I am so worked up about!"
'You want Sir Gary to notice you.'
"What? You are crazy – what nonsense is the Goddess feeding you now?"
'Of course you do. You told me what Gary said in the stables the other day. You want to know if Gary is as attracted to you as he claims, before you reveal yourself to him.'
"Well… what is wrong with that? Gary has always been so great to me: he was my sponsor, kept me awake in class, and has been just such a good friend. I don't want to lose that."
'You think Gary is going to stop being your friend just because you are female? I personally think he'd find it funny, and it would certainly help him figure out all the loose ends of the situation.'
"I guess we'll find out now if Gary does want to be with me. And I need help – which dress? Pale blue or emerald green?"
'Pale blue. You don't want to look too much like Delia.' Alanna could see the twinkle in her pet's eyes.
Once dressed, Alanna did her hair and makeup. Even as unskilled as she was at these feminine tasks, she managed to look brilliant. With the pale, ice blue dress, she had accented her violet eyes with shimmery eye makeup. Since she needed to stay in disguise, she again wore her black wig but had re-curled it so that the curls fell softly over her shoulders. Sliding into pale blue slippers, Alanna turned to look at herself in the mirror. 'I hope they all notice me. I hope Gary notices me. I even want Jon to notice me. I just don't want them to look beyond the dress and see Squire Alan.' Double-checking her appearance with Faithful, Alanna softly closed the door and walked to the ballroom.
Already in the ballroom, Jon, Gary, Raoul and their squires watched the ladies dancing on the floor. Jon, oddly enough, was not dancing with Delia, as the green-eyed lady had found another knight to spend her evening with. Raoul, as he hated social events, had a wineglass in his hand while he discussed the merits of longbows versus crossbows with his and Gary's squires. Both friends looked at each other momentarily as they heard Gary draw in a sharp breath.
"Gary, what is it? Is everything alright?"
"She's here," Gary breathed. "I had no idea if she would be coming tonight."
"Wow," Raoul commented while the squires jokingly whistled at the figure in pale-blue that had just entered the room. "My friend, I never knew you had such good taste."
"Jon, do you recognize her? Is she a new courtier or something?"
Trying to hide the smile on his face, Jon replied, "Gary, I'm sure she'll have more to talk about than one of the regular ladies, as I've never seen her in the palace before."
Raoul nudged his frozen friend. "Go talk to her. Take her for a walk or something if she wants to go outside."
Taking that advice, Gary stiffly walked over to Alanna. "Good evening miss," Gary stammered as he raised Alanna's hand to his lips.
Alanna, trying not to blush, replied, "Sir Gary, I was hoping to run into you tonight. I am now glad I came to this party."
"Um, would you like to dance? Or take a walk?" Alanna smiled as she heard her friend sound so unsure; she knew he was never this tongue-tied with his other pursuits.
"A walk would be very pleasant, as you do know that I enjoy the palace gardens."
Reminded of the first time he had seen Alanna, Gary also smiled. "Yes, I think a walk would be nice." Taking Alanna's arm in his, the pair exited the ballroom with Jon and Raoul looking on in amusement.
Raoul leaned over to Jon. "What is it about this girl that you aren't telling me?"
"You'll find out soon enough… Gary just needs to find out first."
Gary and Alanna walked slowly through the gardens, each silent in his or her own thoughts. While Gary was trying to speak a coherent sentence without boring his companion, Alanna was trying to think of a safe topic to discuss without revealing her knowledge of knight training.
Gary blurted out, "So what do you think of the palace?"
Relaxing, glad he had found a safe topic, Alanna replied, "I love the palace so far. I feel like I really know my way around."
"Really? After such a short time here? Most people find this place a labyrinth for at least a month or so. Have you seen much in the city already?"
"Corus is always fun to visit. I think some of the shops and eateries are so unique here, especially the Dancing Dove." Alanna grimaced as she mentioned George's 'court' bar.
"You visited the Dancing Dove? Amazing – I would have thought you would have stayed out of those areas in the Lower City. Let me guess… you also love to fight and wish you could have become a knight, right?" Gary remarked with a twinkle in his eye.
"I've studied the fighting arts back at my convent," Alanna lied, hoping her story seemed plausible. "I've been told that I'm a fair hand with the sword. I had a lot of training with archery back home."
"Speaking of home, milady, which fief do you call home? You already know where I hail from."
"Um…" Alanna had to think quickly on her feet. "I'm from… Tusaine, not Tortall."
"Tusaine? I thought they formally introduced all visiting courtiers."
"I'm from… Melor. Knowing this realm's past history with Dain, I did not want to cause a stir." Alanna breathed a sigh of relief, as Gary seemed to accept her story.
"Well, miss, it seems we have reached the end of our walk," Gary said as the pair arrived back at the palace. "Thank you for spending your evening with me."
"I really enjoyed myself. I didn't know a knight from Tortall could be quite so friendly." Alanna beamed at Gary.
Leaning down, Gary tilted up Alanna's face toward his. Gently touching his lips to hers, Alanna felt a jolt of energy as her friend kissed her. Unconsciously, she returned the kiss. As the two broke apart, Gary smiled down at Alanna. "I do hope that I will see you again soon."
"As you wish, Sir." Alanna turned and walked back to her rooms in the palace.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Chapter 5: Out in Public
Alanna rushed around her room, throwing dresses onto her bed that already added to the mess strewn about her quarters. Faithful just watched his mistress in amusement, as the fiery redhead's complexion became the color of her hair. Stomping around, furious, she even threw a dress at the cat.
"Why am I even going to this party? It's not mandatory for the squires – I don't even know if all the knights are going to be there! This is madness!"
Faithful chimed in, 'You know why you are going to this party. It's a summertime party thrown by Jon, so it won't be too formal. You want to watch Jon and hope he doesn't flirt with Delia. And you want all the knights, especially one knight in particular, to notice you.'
Throwing a shoe at the cat, Alanna exclaimed, "Who am I supposedly trying to impress? I don't want Jon anymore – Delia can have him. I don't even know what I am so worked up about!"
'You want Sir Gary to notice you.'
"What? You are crazy – what nonsense is the Goddess feeding you now?"
'Of course you do. You told me what Gary said in the stables the other day. You want to know if Gary is as attracted to you as he claims, before you reveal yourself to him.'
"Well… what is wrong with that? Gary has always been so great to me: he was my sponsor, kept me awake in class, and has been just such a good friend. I don't want to lose that."
'You think Gary is going to stop being your friend just because you are female? I personally think he'd find it funny, and it would certainly help him figure out all the loose ends of the situation.'
"I guess we'll find out now if Gary does want to be with me. And I need help – which dress? Pale blue or emerald green?"
'Pale blue. You don't want to look too much like Delia.' Alanna could see the twinkle in her pet's eyes.
Once dressed, Alanna did her hair and makeup. Even as unskilled as she was at these feminine tasks, she managed to look brilliant. With the pale, ice blue dress, she had accented her violet eyes with shimmery eye makeup. Since she needed to stay in disguise, she again wore her black wig but had re-curled it so that the curls fell softly over her shoulders. Sliding into pale blue slippers, Alanna turned to look at herself in the mirror. 'I hope they all notice me. I hope Gary notices me. I even want Jon to notice me. I just don't want them to look beyond the dress and see Squire Alan.' Double-checking her appearance with Faithful, Alanna softly closed the door and walked to the ballroom.
Already in the ballroom, Jon, Gary, Raoul and their squires watched the ladies dancing on the floor. Jon, oddly enough, was not dancing with Delia, as the green-eyed lady had found another knight to spend her evening with. Raoul, as he hated social events, had a wineglass in his hand while he discussed the merits of longbows versus crossbows with his and Gary's squires. Both friends looked at each other momentarily as they heard Gary draw in a sharp breath.
"Gary, what is it? Is everything alright?"
"She's here," Gary breathed. "I had no idea if she would be coming tonight."
"Wow," Raoul commented while the squires jokingly whistled at the figure in pale-blue that had just entered the room. "My friend, I never knew you had such good taste."
"Jon, do you recognize her? Is she a new courtier or something?"
Trying to hide the smile on his face, Jon replied, "Gary, I'm sure she'll have more to talk about than one of the regular ladies, as I've never seen her in the palace before."
Raoul nudged his frozen friend. "Go talk to her. Take her for a walk or something if she wants to go outside."
Taking that advice, Gary stiffly walked over to Alanna. "Good evening miss," Gary stammered as he raised Alanna's hand to his lips.
Alanna, trying not to blush, replied, "Sir Gary, I was hoping to run into you tonight. I am now glad I came to this party."
"Um, would you like to dance? Or take a walk?" Alanna smiled as she heard her friend sound so unsure; she knew he was never this tongue-tied with his other pursuits.
"A walk would be very pleasant, as you do know that I enjoy the palace gardens."
Reminded of the first time he had seen Alanna, Gary also smiled. "Yes, I think a walk would be nice." Taking Alanna's arm in his, the pair exited the ballroom with Jon and Raoul looking on in amusement.
Raoul leaned over to Jon. "What is it about this girl that you aren't telling me?"
"You'll find out soon enough… Gary just needs to find out first."
Gary and Alanna walked slowly through the gardens, each silent in his or her own thoughts. While Gary was trying to speak a coherent sentence without boring his companion, Alanna was trying to think of a safe topic to discuss without revealing her knowledge of knight training.
Gary blurted out, "So what do you think of the palace?"
Relaxing, glad he had found a safe topic, Alanna replied, "I love the palace so far. I feel like I really know my way around."
"Really? After such a short time here? Most people find this place a labyrinth for at least a month or so. Have you seen much in the city already?"
"Corus is always fun to visit. I think some of the shops and eateries are so unique here, especially the Dancing Dove." Alanna grimaced as she mentioned George's 'court' bar.
"You visited the Dancing Dove? Amazing – I would have thought you would have stayed out of those areas in the Lower City. Let me guess… you also love to fight and wish you could have become a knight, right?" Gary remarked with a twinkle in his eye.
"I've studied the fighting arts back at my convent," Alanna lied, hoping her story seemed plausible. "I've been told that I'm a fair hand with the sword. I had a lot of training with archery back home."
"Speaking of home, milady, which fief do you call home? You already know where I hail from."
"Um…" Alanna had to think quickly on her feet. "I'm from… Tusaine, not Tortall."
"Tusaine? I thought they formally introduced all visiting courtiers."
"I'm from… Melor. Knowing this realm's past history with Dain, I did not want to cause a stir." Alanna breathed a sigh of relief, as Gary seemed to accept her story.
"Well, miss, it seems we have reached the end of our walk," Gary said as the pair arrived back at the palace. "Thank you for spending your evening with me."
"I really enjoyed myself. I didn't know a knight from Tortall could be quite so friendly." Alanna beamed at Gary.
Leaning down, Gary tilted up Alanna's face toward his. Gently touching his lips to hers, Alanna felt a jolt of energy as her friend kissed her. Unconsciously, she returned the kiss. As the two broke apart, Gary smiled down at Alanna. "I do hope that I will see you again soon."
"As you wish, Sir." Alanna turned and walked back to her rooms in the palace.