DISCLAIMER - I own no characters, nor SOTL, but I do own Faith of Aurora Lake, Lady Jacqueline of Dove's Peak and Daniella. Nick em, and you'll have a few nice 'n' friendly lawyers at your door before you can say, "I'm sooooooooooorrrryyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

~ Chapter Six ~ The Truth is revealed

Alanna was sick with worry. Her stomach was empty, and she knew that if she ate anything it would just come back up. Her coppery hair was thick with sweat and her palms were itchy and wet.

She couldn't stop kicking herself. Why had she left Thom to get Jon? She had her Gift, but she was such a baby, that she wouldn't use it. Damn it! She could have helped Thom! Now he may be critically injured, and it would be all her fault.

Tears trickled down her cheek. She brushed them away angrily. She shouldn't feel sorry for herself! But she knew that wasn't the reason - she was afraid for Thom.

He still glowed a steady purple, and it gave Alanna the shivers whenever she looked at him. Jon and Roger stayed by him. Alanna didn't trust that Duke. There was just something - evil about him.

Jon came in and put his arm around her. Alanna pushed him off. "I'm fine," she snapped.

"Of course you are," he told her. "You're Alanna."

She smiled. Jon made her feel so much better. Then she looked at him sternly. "What was Thom doing that was so powerful? What was he messing with?"

Jon looked down. He knew that he couldn't look Alanna into her strong, firm purple eyes and lie. He didn't know what to say.

"Jon," she said, "Tell me."

Jon sighed. He looked her in the eye. "I can't," he said.

"Oh, that's crap, Jon," she exclaimed. "I'm Thom's sister. It's bad enough he didn't tell me himself what he's been playing at, now damn it TELL ME."

Jon looked at her, startled. Her face was the same colour as her hair - Alanna wasn't very happy.

"Alright, alright," he sighed. "You see - Thom has always wanted to be a sorcerer instead of a knight."

"I knew that," Alanna said impatiently.

"Well, since Roger is a brilliant sorcerer, and I'm not so bad myself -"

Alanna raised her eyebrows, irritated.

"Oh, um, sorry," he mumbled, going red. "Anyway, well, Thom just kept going into more and more advanced books and he, well. kind of goes out of control with his magic sometimes."

"So what was he doing, then?" Alanna asked.

"Well, from what we can - ah - gather, he was, um, well, he was - oh, Alanna, he was trying to raise the dead."

"Raise - the - the -" Alanna's voice was a whisper.

Jon calmed her. "Just small things - like - like birds, insects, nothing major."

"Raise the DEAD?!" Alanna cried. "What an IDIOT! Wait till he wakes up! I'll wring his ne -" Alanna fell silent as Duke Baird entered the small waiting room.

"Is - is he alright?" Alanna asked.

Duke Baird looked at her. "He is conscious. He's very weak, but he's stopped glowing. You may talk to him."

Alanna nodded. "Thankyou."

Alanna entered the room quietly. Duke Roger left as she entered. Alanna was glad for the privacy.

She walked over to Thom's bed cautiously. "Are you alright?" she asked him.

He opened his eyes slowly. "Hey Alanna," he said.

"You IDIOT!" she cried. "What the hell were you THINKING?!"

Thom chuckled. "Had a felling you were going to say something like that," he told her.

"Damn right," Alanna snapped. "Jon told me what you were doing. Trying to raise the dead, you buffoon! That's dangerous stuff, that is!"

"Not so loud," Thom told her. He sighed. "If only I'd been a sorcerer."

"You had the chance," she snapped. "Then things would be different. Very different. But no, you had to be all goody-two-shoes -"

"Not only that," Thom replied harshly. "You know you couldn't have talked Coram around."

"Could too," Alanna replied stubbornly. "Besides, that's over and done with, we had out chance. it just slipped by." Alanna suddenly bent down and hugged Thom tightly. "I love you," she said. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"I love you as well," he said. "And I'm glad I'm alright too," he added.

Alanna laughed. "You're such an idiot Thom," she told him. She was just glad no one saw the tear that dripped down her cheek.

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Duke Roger of Conte, next in line to the throne after Prince Jonathan, paced his magnificently decorated room impatiently, occasionally sipping from a pure gold wine glass. He was so close. so, so close. and then that blasted Trebond twin had to go and start practising magic by himself!

That damned Thom! Roger was at the tip of discovering just how far Thom could exceed in sorcery at his age, and then he had to go and alarm his equally annoying twin Alanna.

Alanna was a bit of a mystery to Roger - he had been studying her secretly, getting information from Thom and other servants, including his cousin (thankyou StarFire) Jonathan.

But she still puzzled him. Whenever he looked for her in the fire at night sometimes, he encountered strong, powerful shields surrounding her. If Roger was correct, from what he'd gathered from Thom, Alanna was petrified of her Gift, and did not have the skill to place such barriers on herself.

So either Thom or one of the Gods was protecting Alanna, which made him wonder if whoever it was was protecting Jon as well, since they were so close. Jon may be untouchable until Thom or Alanna were killed first.

Roger slammed his wine glass onto his desk, spilling red wine onto his desk. He snapped for a servant that was in another room, who hurriedly cleaned up the spill with a white cloth. The wine left dark red stains on the cloth, like blood.

Roger smiled menacingly. Blood - death. He would have to dispose of both of the twins, before he could kill Jon or their Majesties.

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**Several days later**

"I'm just glad you're alright Thom," Daniella told him. They were sitting at a fine table at court, to celebrate Thom and Alanna's birthday. They selected a few close friends to share a special dinner meal cooked by the chef Alanna had made friends with.

Thom and Alanna sat at either end of the table. On one side sat Jon, Gary, Raoul and Alex. On the other side sat Daniella, Lady Jacqueline of Dove's Peak, and two other ladies Alanna had made friends with - Lady Cythera of Elden, and Lady Faith of Aurora Lake.

"It was nothing really," he told her modestly. "It was just some experiments that got a little out of hand."

Alanna rolled her eyes. Thom never misses a chance to show off, she thought to herself.

She turned to her right. Jon was sitting there, eating. She turned to her left. Daniella was there, sipping champagne. Alanna turned towards Thom, who was gathering tiny balls of light in his hand and making them dance and skip. She rolled her eyes again. What a way to spend my birthday! She sighed. I'd so much rather try my hand with a sword against a proper knight - after how I've worked so hard! I remember when I first tried my hand at a sword - I was hopeless! But I worked hard. now I'm not so bad! I wish I could do something rather than just sit here making idle chitchat - even if I do like these people!

"So, Alanna," Jon said to her. "It was Thom's choice for this dinner - what do you want to do tonight?"

Everyone looked at her. Alanna blushed slightly - she certainly couldn't say what she really wanted to do! She normally wouldn't hesitate - but she didn't think her new friends Faith and Cythera would approve. and it was so nice to have friends now!

"Um, I'm not sure." she said.

Thom grinned. "I know what she wants to do!" he said. "Sword fight with a knight, or practise archery, or go horse-riding - normal saddle, that is."

Everyone gaped at Thom, then Alanna. Apart from Daniella, Jon and Gary that is.

She shrugged. "Don't be silly," she snapped. "Maybe we could go into the city," she suggested.

"That's a good idea," Faith said softly. "I haven't had much of a chance to see Corus." She flicked her soft, cherry-blonde curls and smiled shyly. (A/N I'm not sure how Cythera is described. I don't think there's a description in SOTL - if there is pls tell me!)

"Yeah," Alex agreed. He smiled at Alanna.

Alanna hadn't really noticed Alex before - he was very mysterious. Alanna had heard he was close with Duke Roger - and that instantly had made her back away.

"It's very dangerous at night in the city," Raoul said cautiously. "If we go, no one wanders, ok?"

Alanna smiled. "Don't you doubt that we can't take care of ourselves, Sir Raoul," she told him.

Gary grinned. "Of course not, fair maidens," he said. "But your brilliant charm may lure young men towards you."

Raoul, who was sitting next to Gary, gave him a friendly push. "Stop trying to charm them," he told Gary.

Jon smiled. "I think it's a wonderful idea. But we must pair up!" he rose, and the others took their leave from him. He extended his arm to Alanna, and she smiled warmly at him. She graciously took his arm.

Gary extended his arm to Cythera, who took it, and Raoul to Daniella. Alex took shy Faith, and Jacqueline ended up with Thom. Knowing Thom, he'll talk about sorcery the whole time, Alanna thought, as she watched her brother strike up conversation with the pretty sorceress.

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The city of Corus was bustling with everything in the world, Alanna thought. Her wide purple eyes shone. Alex laughed. "What are you gaping at?" he asked.

"Everything is so big," she said.

Jon laughed as well. "Not here, Alanna," he told her. "Port Caynn has one of the biggest market places ever."

"Wow," Alanna breathed. "What can we do first?"

Jacqueline smiled. "I wouldn't mind getting some books on sorcery." she said.

Thom grinned. "Say no more!" he whisked her off to some stall about sorcery. "I wouldn't mind getting some new gloves," Faith said, looking hopefully up at Alex.

"My treat," he told her.

Cythera looked at Gary. "What do you want to do?" she asked him.

"I'm not sure," Gary mused. "What about going to see some jewellery?"

Cythera smiled. "I did need a gold bracelet." she said.

With Thom and Jacqueline, Alex and Faith, Gary and Cythera all departed, that left Raoul and Jon with Daniella and Alanna.

Daniella whispered slyly to Alanna, "Do you want some time alone with the Prince?"

Alanna elbowed her hard. "Don't be silly," she whispered back.

"Well I need a new pen anyway," Daniella told her.

Daniella took Raoul's arm, saying something about needing new stationary and some ink as well.

Jon looked at Alanna. "Just us," he said.

Alanna smiled. "Yeah. Just us."

"So." Jon said.

"Yeah." Alanna replied.

They both looked at each other, and laughed.

"Let's go look at the armoury," Alanna said, with a glint in her eyes. She led Jon away. "And then maybe the swords. I need a new one, and then perhaps some new arrows."

Jon laughed. "You don't expect me to pay for all this, do you?"

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Well? What do you think? It's a long chapter, this one!! I'm still not sure what is going to happen next so all your ideas and comments are greatly appreciated. I want heaps and heaps (at least ten) review-ideas before I post next, so I can get a good idea of what you want!

* Thanks to bblond07 for the idea of Roger overseeing Thom's sorcery to see the extent of his magic.