DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters except for the few who I
made up. ENJOY
Coram stared at the four year old standing before him and sighed. How he'd wished Alanna had been the boy. She was a fighter, and although she was still very young the Man at Arms knew she had potential. Alanna tilted her stubborn chin skywards and glanced at Coram. 'You called for me sir?' she asked. Coram smiled at the young girl 'the Shang Bear has arrived; he wants to see you after breakfast.' Alanna whooped with joy and flew off to the mess hall. Here she filled her plate with bread and milk then plonked herself next to her twin brother Thom and started to wolf down her food.
***
Twenty minutes later Alanna walked out to the courtyard in her practice clothes. The Shang Bear was waiting by a nearby fountain and was surrounded by other children, all commoners. Alanna was the only one of noble birth there. As the Bear saw her approach, he clapped his hands and told the children to form three lines so as he could assess them all. Alanna ran the last 10 metres and slipped into the back line ready to start training. The Master Shang started the warm up by doing a series of twists and turns to get the body limber so as not to pull any muscles. He then started the trainees on jumps and body pushes trying to calculate the abilities of each child there. Although he wished he could take them all back to the Shang training grounds, only one was aloud to go. He smiled slightly as he came to Alanna. She was by far the youngest there, yet the Bear saw in her a great fighting talent. He clapped his hands once again 'collect a staff from me and find a partner' the Shang shouted 'try to find someone your own height.' The Bear then started the drill, teaching them how to do a series of blocks and attacks. 'High attack, high block. Middle attack, middle block. Lower attack, lower block' the bear cried and watched as each pair started to get a rhythm going. Sharp cries were heard as some faltered, getting their fingers in the way. 'Make sure your fingers are not in the line of attack, space your feet shoulder width apart' 'Righto' he shouted after half an hour. 'That's enough. Put your weapons back in my bag please.' He watched as the tired children put their staves away. Then he remembered Alanna. She had been a head smaller then her opponent yet she had fared well, placing her feet correctly and blocking with ease. 'Follow me now; we will be heading over to do archery. Pick a bow and quiver. String it, and then line up. I want to see how well you all do.' The beginners raced over to the yard, hoping to grab the best equipment then lined up as the Bear had ordered them too. Coram was there, watching from behind as they started to release their arrows at the target.
After the Bear had tested them at archery, he made them run, learn to break fall and taught them some basic hand to hand combat before he addressed them all one more. 'I am pleased with all of your efforts, although only one of you may come with me; I hope you all learnt something. Alanna, I would like to speak with you please. You are all dismissed.' Girls groaned as stiff muscles protested at their movement and one by one they all returned home, the boys jostling one another before returning to their own separate houses. The bear turned to Alanna. She looked up at him with bright purple eyes full of respect, her copper hair tied back behind her head in a horse tail. 'Now missy' he motioned for her to sit down 'you show much talent, have you done much fighting before?' The young girl shook her head. 'Only what Coram has taught us Sir. Archery, staff work, horse riding and some tracking.' 'Well then' the Bear replied 'I guess you'd better come with me then, sharpen up those skills ey?' 'Yes Sir, thankyou Sir' she jumped up from her seat as Coram approached the pair. 'Did she pass then?' the man inquired. 'Aye, that she does. I'll come by to pick her up tomorrow morning' the man bowed and walked away. 'Come on then missy, we better get you packed. I'm sure you'll want t'say goodbye to ye brother before ye leave.' 'Thankyou Coram' she replied 'but, what about father?' Sir Alan was a strict man who cared naught for his children. 'I've got that planned. As long as you still go to the convent when ye turn 11, he doesn't care what you do until then.' Alanna grimaced. She did not want to go to the convent at all. How could she stay in a place where she had to learn how to sew or flirt, or accept flowers from a knight, and listen to the mindless girls talk about how much they loved the Prince, and what colour make up went with what kind of shoes. It was all pointless in Alanna's opinion. She wanted to be a knight and go on maidenly adventures. Yet she knew that even in her wildest dreams that could never happen. Still joining the Shang was better then nothing. Even if she did have to attend the stuffy convent. Alanna ran off to tell Thom the good news. He was about as excited to be going to the Palace to be a knight as Alanna was going to the Convent.
***
'You are so lucky' Thom murmured. 'At least you will get to do something you want to.' Alanna scowled. 'I'd rather be a knight, and I still have to go to the stuffy convent. At least while you at the palace you can still learn magic' Thom wanted to be a great sorcerer, and even at his young age was very talented. Alanna did not possess the gift. She had wild magic and was brimming with it, yet often had trouble controlling it. As there weren't any mages at Trebond who could teach her, Maude had asked her friends and from the information she was given had managed to teach Alanna the basics. After talking to her twin, Alanna raced off to her room to pack, putting all her breeches and shirts into one saddle bag, and any other necessities into the other. She pulled all her weapons out from under a loose floorboard. She had an assortment of throwing stars, daggers and a bow and quiver full of arrows, fingering them carefully as she packed them away into the corner of one bag. Then she found her tent and sleeping bag and rolled them up tightly, storing them with her other items. At last she was packed. She stood up and glanced out of her window. The sun was setting. As she watched it disappear over the horizon her stomach grumbled. She had forgotten to have lunch in all her excitement. Alanna chucked to herself and ran down to grab some supper.
***
Coram stared at the four year old standing before him and sighed. How he'd wished Alanna had been the boy. She was a fighter, and although she was still very young the Man at Arms knew she had potential. Alanna tilted her stubborn chin skywards and glanced at Coram. 'You called for me sir?' she asked. Coram smiled at the young girl 'the Shang Bear has arrived; he wants to see you after breakfast.' Alanna whooped with joy and flew off to the mess hall. Here she filled her plate with bread and milk then plonked herself next to her twin brother Thom and started to wolf down her food.
***
Twenty minutes later Alanna walked out to the courtyard in her practice clothes. The Shang Bear was waiting by a nearby fountain and was surrounded by other children, all commoners. Alanna was the only one of noble birth there. As the Bear saw her approach, he clapped his hands and told the children to form three lines so as he could assess them all. Alanna ran the last 10 metres and slipped into the back line ready to start training. The Master Shang started the warm up by doing a series of twists and turns to get the body limber so as not to pull any muscles. He then started the trainees on jumps and body pushes trying to calculate the abilities of each child there. Although he wished he could take them all back to the Shang training grounds, only one was aloud to go. He smiled slightly as he came to Alanna. She was by far the youngest there, yet the Bear saw in her a great fighting talent. He clapped his hands once again 'collect a staff from me and find a partner' the Shang shouted 'try to find someone your own height.' The Bear then started the drill, teaching them how to do a series of blocks and attacks. 'High attack, high block. Middle attack, middle block. Lower attack, lower block' the bear cried and watched as each pair started to get a rhythm going. Sharp cries were heard as some faltered, getting their fingers in the way. 'Make sure your fingers are not in the line of attack, space your feet shoulder width apart' 'Righto' he shouted after half an hour. 'That's enough. Put your weapons back in my bag please.' He watched as the tired children put their staves away. Then he remembered Alanna. She had been a head smaller then her opponent yet she had fared well, placing her feet correctly and blocking with ease. 'Follow me now; we will be heading over to do archery. Pick a bow and quiver. String it, and then line up. I want to see how well you all do.' The beginners raced over to the yard, hoping to grab the best equipment then lined up as the Bear had ordered them too. Coram was there, watching from behind as they started to release their arrows at the target.
After the Bear had tested them at archery, he made them run, learn to break fall and taught them some basic hand to hand combat before he addressed them all one more. 'I am pleased with all of your efforts, although only one of you may come with me; I hope you all learnt something. Alanna, I would like to speak with you please. You are all dismissed.' Girls groaned as stiff muscles protested at their movement and one by one they all returned home, the boys jostling one another before returning to their own separate houses. The bear turned to Alanna. She looked up at him with bright purple eyes full of respect, her copper hair tied back behind her head in a horse tail. 'Now missy' he motioned for her to sit down 'you show much talent, have you done much fighting before?' The young girl shook her head. 'Only what Coram has taught us Sir. Archery, staff work, horse riding and some tracking.' 'Well then' the Bear replied 'I guess you'd better come with me then, sharpen up those skills ey?' 'Yes Sir, thankyou Sir' she jumped up from her seat as Coram approached the pair. 'Did she pass then?' the man inquired. 'Aye, that she does. I'll come by to pick her up tomorrow morning' the man bowed and walked away. 'Come on then missy, we better get you packed. I'm sure you'll want t'say goodbye to ye brother before ye leave.' 'Thankyou Coram' she replied 'but, what about father?' Sir Alan was a strict man who cared naught for his children. 'I've got that planned. As long as you still go to the convent when ye turn 11, he doesn't care what you do until then.' Alanna grimaced. She did not want to go to the convent at all. How could she stay in a place where she had to learn how to sew or flirt, or accept flowers from a knight, and listen to the mindless girls talk about how much they loved the Prince, and what colour make up went with what kind of shoes. It was all pointless in Alanna's opinion. She wanted to be a knight and go on maidenly adventures. Yet she knew that even in her wildest dreams that could never happen. Still joining the Shang was better then nothing. Even if she did have to attend the stuffy convent. Alanna ran off to tell Thom the good news. He was about as excited to be going to the Palace to be a knight as Alanna was going to the Convent.
***
'You are so lucky' Thom murmured. 'At least you will get to do something you want to.' Alanna scowled. 'I'd rather be a knight, and I still have to go to the stuffy convent. At least while you at the palace you can still learn magic' Thom wanted to be a great sorcerer, and even at his young age was very talented. Alanna did not possess the gift. She had wild magic and was brimming with it, yet often had trouble controlling it. As there weren't any mages at Trebond who could teach her, Maude had asked her friends and from the information she was given had managed to teach Alanna the basics. After talking to her twin, Alanna raced off to her room to pack, putting all her breeches and shirts into one saddle bag, and any other necessities into the other. She pulled all her weapons out from under a loose floorboard. She had an assortment of throwing stars, daggers and a bow and quiver full of arrows, fingering them carefully as she packed them away into the corner of one bag. Then she found her tent and sleeping bag and rolled them up tightly, storing them with her other items. At last she was packed. She stood up and glanced out of her window. The sun was setting. As she watched it disappear over the horizon her stomach grumbled. She had forgotten to have lunch in all her excitement. Alanna chucked to herself and ran down to grab some supper.
***