"Twins, hm?" Duke Garath leaned back in his chair, looking from one violet-eyed redhead to the other. He was an older man with a thin face and muddy brown hair. "It's been a long time since we had twins come to the palace. I can't remember any twins, actually." He nodded to the man-at-arms. "Coram Smythesson. It's been quite a while."
"It has, yer Grace," Coram said, bowing respectfully.
"The Battle of Joyous Forest, right?"
Coram grinned. "Yer Grace is correct, though I don't see how ye managed to remember."
"Someone saving your life isn't the thing that fades from memory." Duke Gareth turned back to the twins, his face now stern. "Both of you may not have the same interests, but you're here to train to be a knight and a noble. This isn't going to be some kind of child's game. You won't have fun. You won't enjoy yourself. But eight years from now, you'll either be a knight, or you'll have given up."
Alanna and Thom exchanged nervous glances.
"You'll be a page for the first four years here. No one here is beneath your rank, so you'll do everything: run errands, wait at table, help the nobles who request your aid. You'll learn humility and how it feels to be the underdog. You'll learn to respect the weak. When you turn fourteen, if you are ready, you will be taken on as a squire by a knight. You'll be his body squire, taking care of your knight master's belongings, run his errands, be infinitely loyal to him. You'll learn to help the weak, champion the small, defend the right. Maybe you'll even learn to distinguish what right is." His face was stern. "During all this time, you'll take lessons in fighting, reading, writing, and bookwork. Your lessons will get harder as the years go by. When you are eighteen, you take the Ordeal of Knighthood. If you survive, you'll be a Knight of Tortall. Not everyone survives."
Alanna and Thom looked at each other again, even more nervously.
"I lost a finger in the Chamber of the Ordeal." He sighed. "But that's in eight years from now. Right now, you'll have too much to think about to care." He looked at them again. "You'll be in the pages' wing. I guess we'll put you next to each other. Coram can be in the room off yours, Alan. I hope he'll be able to serve with the palace guard in his free time."
Coram nodded. "I'd like to, if I could, your Grace."
Duke Gareth smiled. "Excellent." His gaze went back to the twins. "I'll send an older page to show you around and tell you how everything works. Do the best of your ability at your studies, and you may even earn the priviledge of free time to go to the city. Remember, you both are here to train to be knights, not to have a good time." He turned to the servant, who had brought them. "Timon, take them to their rooms. Have the tailor measure them for outfits: page clothes for the twins, guardsman's uniform for Master Smythesson. You two can begin serving dinner in five days. Thom, you'll be waiting on me. Alan, you can wait on Sir Myles. Any questions?"
"No, your Grace," Thom said.
"I'm supposed to wear this?" burst out Thom, staring at the pages' uniform, several sizes too large.
Alanna snorted, holding up her own. "Look at this one. It could fit an elephant."
The old tailor scowled at them. "Wear them or go naked. You'll grow into them. If you rip them, you're the one who mends them. Don't run to me about it." He turned away, muttering to himself.
Thom raised an eyebrow at Alanna, making her laugh.
The tailor cast a dirty glance over his shoulder at them as they walked out, the huge clothes draped over their arms. "Just what I needed," Thom said sarcastically. "A tent to wear on the first day."
"Mine is more a tent than yours is."
"No, it's not! Look at this! It's huge!"
"And look at this one!" Alanna shook hers out, and dumped the rest of the clothes on Coram, holding it up to her.
Thom studied it, then shook his own out and held it out, giving his clothes to Coram too. "They look about the same size."
"What am I, a coatrack? Why can't ye do this in your rooms?" grumbled Coram, his arms piled high with his own uniform and the rest of their clothes.
"Good point." Alanna snatched her clothes back.
"Hey, those are mine!" Thom said, reaching for them.
"No, they aren't. Those are yours."
"They are not."
"Yes, they are."
"No, they aren't."
"Yes, they are."
"No!"
"Yes!"
Thom snatched the clothes out of Alanna's arms. "These are mine."
Coram sighed. "Could ye stop arguing?"
"Fine, fine." Alanna snatched her clothes back and ran down the hall after Timon, who was still walking. Thom chased after her, and Coram, his arms still piled high, sighed and followed.
Thom and Alanna looked at each other. Thom examined himself critically. "I guess you can't really tell that they're too big. The colors are absolutely blinding."
"At least we don't look like we just shrunk fifty pounds."
"True." Thom opened the door a crack and peered out. "Maybe we should go down to dinner now."
"Instead of standing here talking about tents?" Alanna joined him at the door. "You want to go out first?"
Thom shook his head violently. "Not me! Why don't you go out first? You're the brave one."
"And you're the... uh... one who knows magic."
"What does magic have to do with this?" Thom scoffed.
"Fine, fine," Alanna muttered. "I'm going." She stepped out in the corridor cautiously, wondering how she would have felt if Thom wasn't here. Shaking uncontrollably, probably. She caught a glimpse of boys peering at her from side corridors, and soon everyone was there, watching her. "New page," Alanna muttered to herself. "Everybody come and watch." She cast a glance back at the door for support, and saw Thom's violet eyes watching. She gave him a grin, nodding to the boys who were gathering.
"What are you smiling at, country boy?" snarled a voice. Alanna whipped around to fix the speaker, a crooked-teethed boy with thick lips and squinting blue eyes. He had sandy blond hair that flopped everywhere.
Alanna stared at him in disgust. "Whatever happened to the manners of Tortall's pages? Maybe I was mistaken, but it seems to me that they were supposed to learn how to be polite."
The boy sneered. "Look here, country boy. You do what you're told." He grabbed her collar, lifting her off her feet. "When I speak, you say, 'yes, Lord Ralon.'"
She gasped for breath. "I'd soon as kiss a pig!"
"Say it!" he snarled.
"What are you doing to my brother?" a furious voice demanded.
Ralon took one look and shrieked, dropping Alanna. "There's two of them!" he screamed, pointing a trembling hand.
"They're called twins, Ralon of Malven," a voice said dryly from behind them. Thom and Alanna turned as one. Standing there were five boys, one with dark hair, bright blue eyes, and an overpowering sense of command around him, another big one with curly brown hair and coal-black eyes, another dark, slender boy with silent eyes, a small, quiet boy with blond hair, and the last, the one who had spoken, had hair and eyes of a chestnut color. "Now stop bothering them."
Ralon's face was turning a blotchy color. "You can't order me-"
"You heard him, Malven." This time the one with the piercing blue eyes spoke.
Ralon paused.
"Now."
Ralon spun and dashed out of the hallway. Thom and Alanna watched the five boys as they came up warily.
"Twins, hm?" the one with the piercing blue eyes studied them. "So, who's who?"
"Alan of Trebond, um..."
"Jonathan."
Thom raised an eyebrow slightly. "Prince Jonathan?"
The prince nodded. "They call me that. But, please, just Jonathan." He turned his eyes to Thom.
"Thom of Trebond, your Highness."
Jonathan sighed. "Very well." He frowned. "Does your family attend Court?"
"No, your Highness." They both shook their heads. "Our father doesn't like it."
Jonathan nodded thoughtfully, then turned to introduce the others. Gareth(Gary) of Naxen, the duke's son, was the one who had spoken first. Raoul of Goldenlake was the one with the eyes of coal, Alex of Tirragen was the smaller one, who, nevertheless, was at least a head taller than the twins, and Francis of Nond was the shy blond one. When they were done, Jonathan looked around. "Who's the sponsor for these two?" There was a immediate forest of hands. "Gary, I think." He motioned the big boy forward. "Welcome to the palace, Alan and Thom of Trebond." A smile lit the prince's face.