A/N: Whee! It's Spring Break this week, so I have more time to write (I
hope), and maybe (just maybe) finish this!
~*~*~*~*~*~
Over the next few weeks, Alanna began the difficult task of trying to find proof of Roger's traitorous activities. Roger covered his tracks well, and though Alanna managed to search his room, there wasn't a single sigh of sorcery to be seen. His workroom was another story. It was lock and magic proof, and Alanna didn't have the ability to break into it. She continued working on it in the little time alone she had. She knew Jon's powers far surpassed her own, but she didn't want to ask him. This was something she had to do on her own.
Alanna was riding in the Royal Forest a few days later. She hadn't been gone long when she heard horses hooves galloping behind her. Warily, remembering her last ride, she turned around, only to come face to face with Gary.
"Hello!" he greeted her, "Can I join you."
"Of course." Alanna replied, glad to see her cousin. They spent so little time together, and Alanna realized she had missed their conversations. Gary could always be relied on to make her laugh. Today, however, he seemed serious and worried, saying very little as they rode.
"Alanna, how dangerous is Roger?" he asked finally. Alanna blinked, not expecting the question and not knowing how to answer.
"More dangerous than any other person or thing in this country." She said finally, "To the King, and Queen, and Jonathan at least. And to all of us if he were to be King."
"Do you know who is helping him?" Gary asked.
"I think so.there may be others, I suppose." Alanna had never thought about it. It was a scary thought; that more people could be in league with Roger.
"Is - is Alex?" his face was plainly worried.
Alanna stared at her cousin.
"I've never considered him as a possibility." She replied finally.
"So you're not sure." Gary sighed, "He's one of my best friends, but I barely know him anymore. And he spends a lot of time with Roger, if you hadn't noticed. Roger is about the only person he still talks to, but they never talked until a few months ago - after Alex's father died."
"He's changed, yes, and he's much more withdrawn than he used to be, but he talks to Amalia now as well." Alanna argued, "I was hoping that they were returning to how it used to be between them."
"They are nothing like how it used to be." Gay replied, "and that is no reason for talking, and fencing, with Roger so much."
"He's Amalia's guardian." Alanna knew it sounded stupid as she said it, "But what does Alex gain from helping Roger? And do you have any other proof that he is?"
"His father had some business deal with Roger last year, I remember." Gary explained, "Perhaps Roger somehow talked the Earl into helping him. Alex has spent all his time in his room since his father's death, apparently going over Tirragen records and such. He could just be talking to Roger about business, continuing whatever his father started, but he could be taking over other things his father started - a position in Roger's plans. And he's been positively hostile to Jon since then."
"He and Jon argued a few months ago - " Alanna began.
" - Over you." Gary interrupted.
"Yes." Alanna sighed, "and that is a stupid reason to plot against Jon. It sounds incriminating, but that's not enough to decide if Alex's a traitor."
"I know." Gary agreed, "But I don't trust him anymore. Can you find out, at least to make me feel more comfortable about it? Or do you want me to talk to Jon?"
"I'll try." Alanna said, "You've made me worry now. But, what does Alex know about Roger from us?
"You only trusted Amalia and Jon, and Jon only trusted me." Gary replied, "Unless Amalia told him something, he know nothing."
Which was too possible to be comforting. Alanna was about to say that when she heard a noise in the bushes behind them. Gary heard it to and turned his horse around. An arrow flew out of nowhere, hitting Gary in the neck. Gary slumped forward, clutching at his neck, as two men crept out of the bushes, swords in hand and a nasty glint in their eyes. Alanna whispered a few words, making her sword appear in her hand, and wheeled Moonlight around to face the intruders. Neither moved; they just stood there watching her, grinning evilly. Finally one of them lunged at Moonlight. Moonlight backed away nervously, and Alanna slid off her back. She looked at her opponents and gulped. Both were at least a head taller, and looked like they had been born with a weapon in hand, not to mention their own very big hands, which could hurt her by themselves.
You were born to fight. The Goddess has told her that. With no formal training, Alanna didn't know she could possibly compete with what obviously were professionals. She was just glad she hadn't worn a dress.
They both attacked at once, from either side, determined to wear her out. In only a few minutes Alanna felt tired from fighting two men at the same time. She could watch carefully as she blocked blows, but they gave her no openings.
Or wait. One of the men stumbles slightly on a twig. Alanna swung her sword around and cut his chest. It wasn't deep enough to be fatal, but he stared at the slow stream of blood in surprise. Alanna swung again, cutting a deeper line beside the first one. He stumbled back, and his sword dropped, as Alanna turned to her other assailant. The man cut her right arm as she turned, and Alanna winced, mentally kicking herself for being so slow. Blood spilled down her sleeve as she backed away, switching hands.
"Give up while yer still alive." The man snarled.
"And stand patiently while you kill me?" Alanna retorted, springing forward as she did so. She cut his side before he put his sword up. The malicious expression on his face didn't change though and he didn't let his attack hesitate. Alanna ground her teeth together, trying to ignore the sweat dripping down her forehead and the blood spurting from her arm. She spun around quickly, hitting his leg with her foot and causing him to falter. Immediately she cut into his already deep gash. He fell down, grabbing his side in pain, his eyes bulging in shock.
"'E never said ye could fight." He gasped, "'e said we could kill you easy."
Alanna didn't bother asking who he was. Once Roger realized his magic wasn't working, he decided to try another way. Whether or not he thought she might put up a fight she didn't know. But now he would know she could use a sword. Alanna didn't know if that was good or bad.
The other man groaned and tried to sit up. Alanna had forgotten he was still alive. Pulling a knife out of the dead man's belt, she hurled it at the other man. Amazingly it hit its target, and the man collapsed on the ground, falling still.
Alanna stumbled against Moonlight. Blood soaked the pale blue sleeve of her shirt. Gary had sat up, blood pouring down his neck. Neither of them was in any condition to ride, especially when more of Roger's men could be lurking in the shadows. Alanna pulled herself onto Moonlight's back, her arm screaming in pain. Moonlight led her, as Alanna could barely sit up. The ride back was slow and painful for both Gary and Alanna. Luckily, Jon was waiting by the stables, worry written over his face, when they rode up. He sent someone to fetch a healer of Gary and insisted on carrying Alanna to Duke Baird himself, ignoring her protests. Duke Baird bandaged her arm, clearly wanting to know how she had managed to loose so much blood, but she waited until he had left the room to choke out the story to Jon, before falling asleep, her hand in his.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Gary's remarks about Alex's possible involvement with Roger wouldn't leave Alanna alone. She had never considered that his recent change had anything to do with Roger.
'Pacing around your room will do nothing,' Faithful purred, 'Alex left early this morning. He will probably return tonight, so now is the perfect time to examine his room.'
Alanna glanced at her cat, who only rolled over and went back to sleep, showing no sign of wanting to come with her. Hoping no one saw her, Alanna made her to Alex's rooms, which were situated in the old quarters if the palace, far away from most of the daily commotion.
Unlocking the door with a whispered word, Alanna slowly crept into the room. Like everything else about Alex, the room was plain and dark. His desk was bare of any papers, but all the drawers were unlocked. Without any magic powers of his own, Alex had no way to protect his belongings from Alanna.
Alanna sat there for a long time, reading through documents about Tirragen, wondering if she wasn't on a wild goose chase. After going through every single drawer in the desk and dresser, Alanna glanced around the room, frustrated. Surely there must be somewhere..
The box on the table next to his bed caught Alanna's eye. When she touched her ring it sparkled with magic, obviously one of the charms one could buy from sorcerers in need of money. It was powerful, Alanna realized, as she picked the box up, but not powerful enough. The lock snapped open quickly, and she picked up the papers inside.
Until now, Alanna hadn't thought she would really find any proof. But here was everything she had been looking for a more: Documents from Roger, detailing plans, and letters explaining other things. He had asked for them to be burnt at the bottom of each paper, but Alex had decided to keep the evidence. One letter in particular interested Alanna. It listed, in detail, plans for every single one of Roger's assistants. Alex, described as 'A', was to gather a small, but powerful, army to attack the castle when asked for. From other letters in the box, Alex had managed to employ many mercenaries, all of which were now at Tirragen, waiting for their orders. Alanna magically copied all the script written letters which offered money to the mercenaries, incase she ever needed to prove Alex's involvement, and then returned to the plan.
'T' had to be Sir Darin of Trelso. His part seemed unimportant. Roger obviously knew that he was a hazard, likely to break when questioned, and only ordered him to work on Alanna. A few court officials, unnamed other than their job, were helping Roger, and someone called 'L' was mentioned as having done much work previously, but the most important person seemed to be someone referred to as 'She'.
'She will give the final call, it read, once you have receiver her orders, put your own plans into place immediately. She will hold the castle under magic until my work is complete, and then she will finish the plans for the prince. Do not do anything until she has done that'.
The mysterious She was probably Iliria. She had the magical abilities to place a spell on the castle, and was arriving in Corus in the next week, to celebrate her betrothal to Jon. But it wasn't the names of the people involved that disturbed Alanna. This wasn't Roger's effort to sit back and watch his uncle, aunt and cousin die peacefully in the next few years, as they had previously thought.
He had a plan to attack, and most likely kill, all of the important nobles that were loyal to the king.
And with Iliria's arrival so soon, it would probably happen within the next two weeks.
With more people involved, more developed plans, more at stake than ever before, Alanna had to discover exactly what Roger planned to do - and when.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Over the next few weeks, Alanna began the difficult task of trying to find proof of Roger's traitorous activities. Roger covered his tracks well, and though Alanna managed to search his room, there wasn't a single sigh of sorcery to be seen. His workroom was another story. It was lock and magic proof, and Alanna didn't have the ability to break into it. She continued working on it in the little time alone she had. She knew Jon's powers far surpassed her own, but she didn't want to ask him. This was something she had to do on her own.
Alanna was riding in the Royal Forest a few days later. She hadn't been gone long when she heard horses hooves galloping behind her. Warily, remembering her last ride, she turned around, only to come face to face with Gary.
"Hello!" he greeted her, "Can I join you."
"Of course." Alanna replied, glad to see her cousin. They spent so little time together, and Alanna realized she had missed their conversations. Gary could always be relied on to make her laugh. Today, however, he seemed serious and worried, saying very little as they rode.
"Alanna, how dangerous is Roger?" he asked finally. Alanna blinked, not expecting the question and not knowing how to answer.
"More dangerous than any other person or thing in this country." She said finally, "To the King, and Queen, and Jonathan at least. And to all of us if he were to be King."
"Do you know who is helping him?" Gary asked.
"I think so.there may be others, I suppose." Alanna had never thought about it. It was a scary thought; that more people could be in league with Roger.
"Is - is Alex?" his face was plainly worried.
Alanna stared at her cousin.
"I've never considered him as a possibility." She replied finally.
"So you're not sure." Gary sighed, "He's one of my best friends, but I barely know him anymore. And he spends a lot of time with Roger, if you hadn't noticed. Roger is about the only person he still talks to, but they never talked until a few months ago - after Alex's father died."
"He's changed, yes, and he's much more withdrawn than he used to be, but he talks to Amalia now as well." Alanna argued, "I was hoping that they were returning to how it used to be between them."
"They are nothing like how it used to be." Gay replied, "and that is no reason for talking, and fencing, with Roger so much."
"He's Amalia's guardian." Alanna knew it sounded stupid as she said it, "But what does Alex gain from helping Roger? And do you have any other proof that he is?"
"His father had some business deal with Roger last year, I remember." Gary explained, "Perhaps Roger somehow talked the Earl into helping him. Alex has spent all his time in his room since his father's death, apparently going over Tirragen records and such. He could just be talking to Roger about business, continuing whatever his father started, but he could be taking over other things his father started - a position in Roger's plans. And he's been positively hostile to Jon since then."
"He and Jon argued a few months ago - " Alanna began.
" - Over you." Gary interrupted.
"Yes." Alanna sighed, "and that is a stupid reason to plot against Jon. It sounds incriminating, but that's not enough to decide if Alex's a traitor."
"I know." Gary agreed, "But I don't trust him anymore. Can you find out, at least to make me feel more comfortable about it? Or do you want me to talk to Jon?"
"I'll try." Alanna said, "You've made me worry now. But, what does Alex know about Roger from us?
"You only trusted Amalia and Jon, and Jon only trusted me." Gary replied, "Unless Amalia told him something, he know nothing."
Which was too possible to be comforting. Alanna was about to say that when she heard a noise in the bushes behind them. Gary heard it to and turned his horse around. An arrow flew out of nowhere, hitting Gary in the neck. Gary slumped forward, clutching at his neck, as two men crept out of the bushes, swords in hand and a nasty glint in their eyes. Alanna whispered a few words, making her sword appear in her hand, and wheeled Moonlight around to face the intruders. Neither moved; they just stood there watching her, grinning evilly. Finally one of them lunged at Moonlight. Moonlight backed away nervously, and Alanna slid off her back. She looked at her opponents and gulped. Both were at least a head taller, and looked like they had been born with a weapon in hand, not to mention their own very big hands, which could hurt her by themselves.
You were born to fight. The Goddess has told her that. With no formal training, Alanna didn't know she could possibly compete with what obviously were professionals. She was just glad she hadn't worn a dress.
They both attacked at once, from either side, determined to wear her out. In only a few minutes Alanna felt tired from fighting two men at the same time. She could watch carefully as she blocked blows, but they gave her no openings.
Or wait. One of the men stumbles slightly on a twig. Alanna swung her sword around and cut his chest. It wasn't deep enough to be fatal, but he stared at the slow stream of blood in surprise. Alanna swung again, cutting a deeper line beside the first one. He stumbled back, and his sword dropped, as Alanna turned to her other assailant. The man cut her right arm as she turned, and Alanna winced, mentally kicking herself for being so slow. Blood spilled down her sleeve as she backed away, switching hands.
"Give up while yer still alive." The man snarled.
"And stand patiently while you kill me?" Alanna retorted, springing forward as she did so. She cut his side before he put his sword up. The malicious expression on his face didn't change though and he didn't let his attack hesitate. Alanna ground her teeth together, trying to ignore the sweat dripping down her forehead and the blood spurting from her arm. She spun around quickly, hitting his leg with her foot and causing him to falter. Immediately she cut into his already deep gash. He fell down, grabbing his side in pain, his eyes bulging in shock.
"'E never said ye could fight." He gasped, "'e said we could kill you easy."
Alanna didn't bother asking who he was. Once Roger realized his magic wasn't working, he decided to try another way. Whether or not he thought she might put up a fight she didn't know. But now he would know she could use a sword. Alanna didn't know if that was good or bad.
The other man groaned and tried to sit up. Alanna had forgotten he was still alive. Pulling a knife out of the dead man's belt, she hurled it at the other man. Amazingly it hit its target, and the man collapsed on the ground, falling still.
Alanna stumbled against Moonlight. Blood soaked the pale blue sleeve of her shirt. Gary had sat up, blood pouring down his neck. Neither of them was in any condition to ride, especially when more of Roger's men could be lurking in the shadows. Alanna pulled herself onto Moonlight's back, her arm screaming in pain. Moonlight led her, as Alanna could barely sit up. The ride back was slow and painful for both Gary and Alanna. Luckily, Jon was waiting by the stables, worry written over his face, when they rode up. He sent someone to fetch a healer of Gary and insisted on carrying Alanna to Duke Baird himself, ignoring her protests. Duke Baird bandaged her arm, clearly wanting to know how she had managed to loose so much blood, but she waited until he had left the room to choke out the story to Jon, before falling asleep, her hand in his.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Gary's remarks about Alex's possible involvement with Roger wouldn't leave Alanna alone. She had never considered that his recent change had anything to do with Roger.
'Pacing around your room will do nothing,' Faithful purred, 'Alex left early this morning. He will probably return tonight, so now is the perfect time to examine his room.'
Alanna glanced at her cat, who only rolled over and went back to sleep, showing no sign of wanting to come with her. Hoping no one saw her, Alanna made her to Alex's rooms, which were situated in the old quarters if the palace, far away from most of the daily commotion.
Unlocking the door with a whispered word, Alanna slowly crept into the room. Like everything else about Alex, the room was plain and dark. His desk was bare of any papers, but all the drawers were unlocked. Without any magic powers of his own, Alex had no way to protect his belongings from Alanna.
Alanna sat there for a long time, reading through documents about Tirragen, wondering if she wasn't on a wild goose chase. After going through every single drawer in the desk and dresser, Alanna glanced around the room, frustrated. Surely there must be somewhere..
The box on the table next to his bed caught Alanna's eye. When she touched her ring it sparkled with magic, obviously one of the charms one could buy from sorcerers in need of money. It was powerful, Alanna realized, as she picked the box up, but not powerful enough. The lock snapped open quickly, and she picked up the papers inside.
Until now, Alanna hadn't thought she would really find any proof. But here was everything she had been looking for a more: Documents from Roger, detailing plans, and letters explaining other things. He had asked for them to be burnt at the bottom of each paper, but Alex had decided to keep the evidence. One letter in particular interested Alanna. It listed, in detail, plans for every single one of Roger's assistants. Alex, described as 'A', was to gather a small, but powerful, army to attack the castle when asked for. From other letters in the box, Alex had managed to employ many mercenaries, all of which were now at Tirragen, waiting for their orders. Alanna magically copied all the script written letters which offered money to the mercenaries, incase she ever needed to prove Alex's involvement, and then returned to the plan.
'T' had to be Sir Darin of Trelso. His part seemed unimportant. Roger obviously knew that he was a hazard, likely to break when questioned, and only ordered him to work on Alanna. A few court officials, unnamed other than their job, were helping Roger, and someone called 'L' was mentioned as having done much work previously, but the most important person seemed to be someone referred to as 'She'.
'She will give the final call, it read, once you have receiver her orders, put your own plans into place immediately. She will hold the castle under magic until my work is complete, and then she will finish the plans for the prince. Do not do anything until she has done that'.
The mysterious She was probably Iliria. She had the magical abilities to place a spell on the castle, and was arriving in Corus in the next week, to celebrate her betrothal to Jon. But it wasn't the names of the people involved that disturbed Alanna. This wasn't Roger's effort to sit back and watch his uncle, aunt and cousin die peacefully in the next few years, as they had previously thought.
He had a plan to attack, and most likely kill, all of the important nobles that were loyal to the king.
And with Iliria's arrival so soon, it would probably happen within the next two weeks.
With more people involved, more developed plans, more at stake than ever before, Alanna had to discover exactly what Roger planned to do - and when.