Disclaimer × sigh.. do I really need to put a 'disclaimer' on every page? Oh well… nope, I don't own any of the characters that you may recognise. They belong to Tamora Pierce. However, Erin and some others… do belong to me. Hehe.

Author's Note × Just thought I'd let everyone know, since it's not really clear in the first chapter… Alanna and Erin are around… um, maybe sixteen-years-old? Something around there…

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HIDDEN THREAT

Chapter Two ◊ The Plot

"I don't know what he's on about…" a gruff voice said, near the place where Alanna and Erin were hiding. The two girls looked at each other, too scared to move. Outside had grown quiet, though they still heard people riding past every now and then.

"No-one really knows what he's on about…" a new voice replied.

"What exactly were we supposed to do tonight, anyway?" the other asked, [AN:let's just call him Gruff and the other one… uh… New…] There was a slight pause as Erin and Alanna waited for New's answer.

"Well…" he began, somewhat hesitantly, "no-one is supposed to know this, but we were supposed to look for some-one…"

"Oh?" Gruff asked, not quite sure what to make of this new information, "and who would this… some-one be?"

"That's the thing. We weren't told"

Gruff gave a short, unfriendly laugh. "That's just great isn't it, we're told to go to the convent and find some-one that we don't know who it is… any idea's why?"

"Apparently this person that we're supposed to find, may put our… uh, 'aim'… in danger. And don't ask me how, either…" New replied, with a faint sigh. There was another uncomfortable silence, and Alanna wished that they would say more. She hated not knowing what was going on. And what was this 'aim' they were talking about? Looking over at Erin, she found that neither of them had any clue as to what they were talking about. Before long, Gruff began talking again.

"I thought the plan was supposed to fool proof…" he growled in a low voice, "if I had known that it could be pulled apart by this one person, than I wouldn't have agreed to it..."

"Shhh… you don't know who may be near and listening!" New cut in, looking around quickly. Erin and Alanna quickly pulled back into the shadows as he came nearer. They needn't have bothered, as he barely glanced in their direction.

"Why don't we just forget that this converation ever happened?" he suggested, apparently satisfied that he didn't find anyone lurking nearby. "the throne is as good as ours… you just wait…"

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"Alanna! What are you doing?" Erin hissed, as she followed Alanna quickly and silently towards the stables.

"You heard what those two men said! There's something going on, and I think it's aimed at the Throne of Tortall…" she replied, without looking back. Erin sighed and grabbed Alanna's arm.

"Don't you think we should go tell some-one? You knnow me, I'm always up for adventure, but come on… this is serious!"

"And so am I! Who do you think we could tell, anyway? Those guys we just heard talking? We don't know who we can trust. Erin… I'm going, either way. My brother is training to become a knight at the Palace, he'll think of a way to help us stop whoever those people are," Alanna said, making her way over to where her silver-white mare, Solar, was resting.

Erin pouted, obviously not convinced, "do you always have to be so stubborn?"

Alanna had to smile. Erin was just as stubborn as Alanna, if not more so, and they both knew it. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Erin saddling her own chestnut mare, Blaze, which had a pure white star marking on her forehead. Once they were both mounted and set to go, Erin paused.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked quietly. The two of them had always talked about going on an adventure once they left the convent, but they didn't expect to get mixed up in a plot of high treason. Alanna took a deep breath, and adjusted her saddle bag. Inside it were a few gold coins and food rations that they had to keep with their horses for emergency. Erin had a similar bag.

"Yeah… let's go…"she nodded, steering Solar towards the road leading away from the dark convent. The attackers had long since left already, and it was unusually quiet. Without another word, she urged Solar to a fast canter with Erin and Blaze following close behind.

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AN × Short chapter… I know, but… please R/R! Thanks~

HuntressDiana- yay, my first and only review so far! Hehe. Thanks for taking the time to actually read and review. =) I see your point about how little paragraphs can get annoying. I've changed the window size of my computer, so it looks like the paragraphs are bigger than they actually are… hehe. But I'll try to work on that in my next chapter…

× Lady Kalitana ◊