Chapter 1****Goddess's Gift.
"Stop Pushing!" Alanna said angrily.
"Sorry." Gary muttered red faced. Alanna and her friends; Gareth the younger, better know as Gary, Jonathan, the prince, Raoul, Alex, Douglass, and Geoffrey were all staring at the wonder. No one had seen a dragon before. They were rumored to have been sealed away years ago.
"Hey Alan, where do you think it came from?" Jonathan asked her using her false name. For you see, girls weren't allowed to train as knights and try for their shield. So Alanna had secretly switched places with her brother Thom, who was supposed to become a knight but instead tried for a sorcerer. Alanna, had been sent to the convent, but she refused and bribed her friend; Coram Smythesson to let her go here. Then , under a false name and disguised as a boy she'd begun her new life.
"I have no idea Jon" she told her knight master.
"It looks dangerous. I heard that they can change colors, decided by there mood." Gary whispered. She looked at her friends and smiled. All of them; except Douglass and Geoffrey were knights already, and good ones at that. She had one year to go before she was knighted to. That was.if she passed the ordeal. She shook her head and focused back onto the dragon. It was about 3 feet tall and had a short muzzle. Its wings were still incapable of bearing flight. Suddenly the great bell rang and she jumped. Quickly she pushed her way out of the crowd with a small twinge of regret at not being able to stay and observe the dragon, but she'd promised Sir Myles that she would deliver the papers by lunch. Running through the halls she ran past the door to Roger's study and just as she turned the corner, ran into the great sorcerer. Papers flew as they collided. Alanna groaned and looked up, her face blanching when she saw who she'd just knocked over.
"L-lord Roger! My apologies my lord! I'm so sorry." 'Stupid moron. I hate your guts' she thought silently as she helped him to his feet and picked up his papers. Handing them to the duke she bowed and apologized once more.
"And may I ask why you were in such a hurry, Alan?" Roger said smiling. 'He's handsome, he's kind' he's smart. So why don't I like him?!' she thought angrily but quickly answered his question.
"I was just delivering these papers to Sir Myles and lost track of the time my lord." She blushed.
"But I was late so I was running to arrive on time and I ran into you my lord."
"Ran into? I believe you meant to say 'ran over'" he chuckled. Alanna forced a smile of her lips and said with a bow.
"Begging my lord's pardon but I must hurry." She said still hating every piece of hair on his neck.
"Of course. You are dismissed, Alan of Trebond." He sighed and continued to walk down the hallway. She breathed relief and tore off again. After delivering the papers she went into her room which was a joined by a door to Jon's room and plopped down onto her bed.
Something the matter? Her cat Faithful asked. He spoke as plain as a human when he wanted to. His amethyst eyes shown as brightly as Alanna's. She ran a hand through her copper red hair and sighed a reply.
"No, it's just that I can't figure out why I hate Roger so much!" She punched the pillow in anger. "It doesn't make sense! He hasn't done anything wrong and I still blame him for everything!"
Maybe your instincts are warning you. He replied washing a paw.
"Or maybe I'm just being paranoid." She muttered.
By the way he said leaping down beside her onto the bed. Don't forget that there's a ball tonight. You have to keep up your end of the bargain.
"I know! I know!" she yelled. Her mind went back to her unhappy Saturday.
~Flashback~ "So here's the deal. You lose, and you have to come to the Midsummer day festival at the palace as a girl. And if you win, then I stop bugging you over this. Deal?" Jon said smiling.
"Hold on! Let me get this straight. You say that if I can get 3 weeks without punishment duty then you'll leave me alone? Heh, fine. That'll be easy." She said. Sadly, she didn't know how hard it would be. By the end of the first week she'd gotten in trouble because she'd made a mess when she'd thrown a spider at Douglass out of terror. The poor boy had been just as terrified of spiders as she was and had dropped the tray of soup he was carrying onto the floor. Needless to say. the soup splattered everywhere and had soaked Lady Delia of Eldorne's Dress. She was furious and had ordered a complete severe punishment. Alanna took the blame. It was her fault after all and she lost the bet.
~End Flashback~
She sighed and walked to the end of her bed where there was a trunk securely locked. Inserting a key she opened it to a chest full of dresses and a black wig. She wore the wig because there were too few red headed violet eyed girls around here. She quickly got dressed and looked at herself in the mirror. A young lady looked at her. She smiled then began to put the wig on when she stopped. She looked back at the mirror and gasped. Her hair was now raven black with a few stripes of gold in it. It was now long and flowing, down to her waist in fact. Then she noticed her figure. It was much smaller then before. Her skin became flawless and her lips were full. She had round amethyst eyes and a dainty nose.
"What in the name of Goddess is going on?!" She yelled. Suddenly she sneezed and looked up, there was the black figure cloaked in a robe.
"Hello my daughter." The voice of wolves said. Alanna could swear she heard laughter.
"Mother." She said with a curt bow then looked at her angrily. "Did you do this?!" She demanded. She knew this was no way to talk to a god, but her manners were eaten up by anger at the moment.
"Yes, I did. You didn't heed my warning when I told you to love. So I thought I'd push you along."
"Of course!" She screamed up at the ceiling. "Why didn't I think of THAT!?" she said still talking to no one as the great goddess petted the Faithful.
"You needn't worry, each time before the ball you change. After the ball is over and you return to your rooms. You change back to normal." She gave a tiny smile. "Have fun my daughter." And vanished.
"Have fun she says." Alanna muttered. She sighed and grabbed a cloak. This was going to be a long week. She stepped out into the hall after checking that no one was there and walked down the hall. She couldn't trot as usual, she didn't run. She walked gracefully, like a lady should.
"Another gift I suppose" she muttered. Entering the great hall she stepped lightly in her silk blue dress.
'This isn't reality! This is a fairy tale written by a five year old!' she thought angrily. Her hair was slightly braided half way, then the rest was loose. As she sighed she walked up to Jonathan as part of their agreement. Stopping beside him she smiled lightly, trying to keep back her sour feeling. Jon talked to Raoul at the moment and when Alanna stood beside him Raoul's jaw dropped.
'Practically to China' she thought with a smile. Seeing his friend's odd look he turned and saw her. He gasped stunned too.
"Umm. talk to you later Raoul!" Jonathan said hurriedly and grabbed Alanna by her arm and pulled her out onto the empty balcony. "Alanna? Is that you?" he asked surprised.
"Of course it is!" She hissed. "I kept my end of the bargain. This is going to be a loooonnggg week." She muttered.
"But- how did? When did you? And Your hair-!" Laughing Alanna stopped him and told him of the visit by the goddess. She only left out the part of where the goddess warned her to love.
"Well, you may not like it, but I think every other boy will." He smiled with a hint of jealousy. They returned to the hall where she took a few dances with the prince. (another agreement) when to their surprise, Gary asked for a dance.
"You really are a beautiful woman. And you hair is like a crow's wing bathed in the gold of the setting sun." He said to her while they danced. Alanna giggled not at the flattery but at how silly Gary was acting. She did thank him for the words however. Next Raoul came up for a spell. She was somewhat flattered at this because Raoul was known for hating formal occasions. After thanking her politely for the dance he left his cheeks all red. She smiled and covered her mouth with her hand. She didn't know why she did it, 'another habit with the disguise' she thought unhappily. After retiring from the dance floor she sat down on the chair and leaned back with a sigh. It was a few minutes before she felt something at the back of her neck. Looking she saw nothing on her but she did see Alex, looking at her. She stiffened as he walked towards her. She turned back around and got up, brushing off her skirts and began to walk away quickly but all too late.
"Excuse me." The voice said. "But may I have the honor of dancing with you tonight." She turned and saw Alex, giving a small nod she blushed.
'Heaven above! I'm attracting every man and boy in this castle!' she thought worriedly. The last thing she wanted is for the one man she hated to be courting her. Then the nightmare came true.
"May I cut in?" An all too familiar voice said. Turning to look she saw none other then the Duke of Conte. Duke Roger.
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Starlet: OH! The evil! cackles evilly. I love cliff hangers. It gets people so annoyed. Anyway please review. I'm dying to know how much I annoy- uh! I mean how much you liked the story. I'll get the next one up soon. Working on another called 'The Rivals of heaven.' A Gundam Wing fic. Anyway I hope you enjoy my stories. Later!
Starlet.
"Stop Pushing!" Alanna said angrily.
"Sorry." Gary muttered red faced. Alanna and her friends; Gareth the younger, better know as Gary, Jonathan, the prince, Raoul, Alex, Douglass, and Geoffrey were all staring at the wonder. No one had seen a dragon before. They were rumored to have been sealed away years ago.
"Hey Alan, where do you think it came from?" Jonathan asked her using her false name. For you see, girls weren't allowed to train as knights and try for their shield. So Alanna had secretly switched places with her brother Thom, who was supposed to become a knight but instead tried for a sorcerer. Alanna, had been sent to the convent, but she refused and bribed her friend; Coram Smythesson to let her go here. Then , under a false name and disguised as a boy she'd begun her new life.
"I have no idea Jon" she told her knight master.
"It looks dangerous. I heard that they can change colors, decided by there mood." Gary whispered. She looked at her friends and smiled. All of them; except Douglass and Geoffrey were knights already, and good ones at that. She had one year to go before she was knighted to. That was.if she passed the ordeal. She shook her head and focused back onto the dragon. It was about 3 feet tall and had a short muzzle. Its wings were still incapable of bearing flight. Suddenly the great bell rang and she jumped. Quickly she pushed her way out of the crowd with a small twinge of regret at not being able to stay and observe the dragon, but she'd promised Sir Myles that she would deliver the papers by lunch. Running through the halls she ran past the door to Roger's study and just as she turned the corner, ran into the great sorcerer. Papers flew as they collided. Alanna groaned and looked up, her face blanching when she saw who she'd just knocked over.
"L-lord Roger! My apologies my lord! I'm so sorry." 'Stupid moron. I hate your guts' she thought silently as she helped him to his feet and picked up his papers. Handing them to the duke she bowed and apologized once more.
"And may I ask why you were in such a hurry, Alan?" Roger said smiling. 'He's handsome, he's kind' he's smart. So why don't I like him?!' she thought angrily but quickly answered his question.
"I was just delivering these papers to Sir Myles and lost track of the time my lord." She blushed.
"But I was late so I was running to arrive on time and I ran into you my lord."
"Ran into? I believe you meant to say 'ran over'" he chuckled. Alanna forced a smile of her lips and said with a bow.
"Begging my lord's pardon but I must hurry." She said still hating every piece of hair on his neck.
"Of course. You are dismissed, Alan of Trebond." He sighed and continued to walk down the hallway. She breathed relief and tore off again. After delivering the papers she went into her room which was a joined by a door to Jon's room and plopped down onto her bed.
Something the matter? Her cat Faithful asked. He spoke as plain as a human when he wanted to. His amethyst eyes shown as brightly as Alanna's. She ran a hand through her copper red hair and sighed a reply.
"No, it's just that I can't figure out why I hate Roger so much!" She punched the pillow in anger. "It doesn't make sense! He hasn't done anything wrong and I still blame him for everything!"
Maybe your instincts are warning you. He replied washing a paw.
"Or maybe I'm just being paranoid." She muttered.
By the way he said leaping down beside her onto the bed. Don't forget that there's a ball tonight. You have to keep up your end of the bargain.
"I know! I know!" she yelled. Her mind went back to her unhappy Saturday.
~Flashback~ "So here's the deal. You lose, and you have to come to the Midsummer day festival at the palace as a girl. And if you win, then I stop bugging you over this. Deal?" Jon said smiling.
"Hold on! Let me get this straight. You say that if I can get 3 weeks without punishment duty then you'll leave me alone? Heh, fine. That'll be easy." She said. Sadly, she didn't know how hard it would be. By the end of the first week she'd gotten in trouble because she'd made a mess when she'd thrown a spider at Douglass out of terror. The poor boy had been just as terrified of spiders as she was and had dropped the tray of soup he was carrying onto the floor. Needless to say. the soup splattered everywhere and had soaked Lady Delia of Eldorne's Dress. She was furious and had ordered a complete severe punishment. Alanna took the blame. It was her fault after all and she lost the bet.
~End Flashback~
She sighed and walked to the end of her bed where there was a trunk securely locked. Inserting a key she opened it to a chest full of dresses and a black wig. She wore the wig because there were too few red headed violet eyed girls around here. She quickly got dressed and looked at herself in the mirror. A young lady looked at her. She smiled then began to put the wig on when she stopped. She looked back at the mirror and gasped. Her hair was now raven black with a few stripes of gold in it. It was now long and flowing, down to her waist in fact. Then she noticed her figure. It was much smaller then before. Her skin became flawless and her lips were full. She had round amethyst eyes and a dainty nose.
"What in the name of Goddess is going on?!" She yelled. Suddenly she sneezed and looked up, there was the black figure cloaked in a robe.
"Hello my daughter." The voice of wolves said. Alanna could swear she heard laughter.
"Mother." She said with a curt bow then looked at her angrily. "Did you do this?!" She demanded. She knew this was no way to talk to a god, but her manners were eaten up by anger at the moment.
"Yes, I did. You didn't heed my warning when I told you to love. So I thought I'd push you along."
"Of course!" She screamed up at the ceiling. "Why didn't I think of THAT!?" she said still talking to no one as the great goddess petted the Faithful.
"You needn't worry, each time before the ball you change. After the ball is over and you return to your rooms. You change back to normal." She gave a tiny smile. "Have fun my daughter." And vanished.
"Have fun she says." Alanna muttered. She sighed and grabbed a cloak. This was going to be a long week. She stepped out into the hall after checking that no one was there and walked down the hall. She couldn't trot as usual, she didn't run. She walked gracefully, like a lady should.
"Another gift I suppose" she muttered. Entering the great hall she stepped lightly in her silk blue dress.
'This isn't reality! This is a fairy tale written by a five year old!' she thought angrily. Her hair was slightly braided half way, then the rest was loose. As she sighed she walked up to Jonathan as part of their agreement. Stopping beside him she smiled lightly, trying to keep back her sour feeling. Jon talked to Raoul at the moment and when Alanna stood beside him Raoul's jaw dropped.
'Practically to China' she thought with a smile. Seeing his friend's odd look he turned and saw her. He gasped stunned too.
"Umm. talk to you later Raoul!" Jonathan said hurriedly and grabbed Alanna by her arm and pulled her out onto the empty balcony. "Alanna? Is that you?" he asked surprised.
"Of course it is!" She hissed. "I kept my end of the bargain. This is going to be a loooonnggg week." She muttered.
"But- how did? When did you? And Your hair-!" Laughing Alanna stopped him and told him of the visit by the goddess. She only left out the part of where the goddess warned her to love.
"Well, you may not like it, but I think every other boy will." He smiled with a hint of jealousy. They returned to the hall where she took a few dances with the prince. (another agreement) when to their surprise, Gary asked for a dance.
"You really are a beautiful woman. And you hair is like a crow's wing bathed in the gold of the setting sun." He said to her while they danced. Alanna giggled not at the flattery but at how silly Gary was acting. She did thank him for the words however. Next Raoul came up for a spell. She was somewhat flattered at this because Raoul was known for hating formal occasions. After thanking her politely for the dance he left his cheeks all red. She smiled and covered her mouth with her hand. She didn't know why she did it, 'another habit with the disguise' she thought unhappily. After retiring from the dance floor she sat down on the chair and leaned back with a sigh. It was a few minutes before she felt something at the back of her neck. Looking she saw nothing on her but she did see Alex, looking at her. She stiffened as he walked towards her. She turned back around and got up, brushing off her skirts and began to walk away quickly but all too late.
"Excuse me." The voice said. "But may I have the honor of dancing with you tonight." She turned and saw Alex, giving a small nod she blushed.
'Heaven above! I'm attracting every man and boy in this castle!' she thought worriedly. The last thing she wanted is for the one man she hated to be courting her. Then the nightmare came true.
"May I cut in?" An all too familiar voice said. Turning to look she saw none other then the Duke of Conte. Duke Roger.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Starlet: OH! The evil! cackles evilly. I love cliff hangers. It gets people so annoyed. Anyway please review. I'm dying to know how much I annoy- uh! I mean how much you liked the story. I'll get the next one up soon. Working on another called 'The Rivals of heaven.' A Gundam Wing fic. Anyway I hope you enjoy my stories. Later!
Starlet.