Disclaimer × Refer to the last chapter… and the one before that… and the one before that… you get the idea. ;)
Author's Note × Exams are over!! Finally! Hehe. I don't think I failed any, so that's good. Or at least I hope I didn't fail any… o.0 So, anyway, back to the story.
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HIDDEN THREAT
Chapter Eight ◊ Around the Palace
Alanna could only stare at everything as Gary showed her around the Palace. It was far bigger than she had thought possible, and they hadn't even covered half the of the grounds yet! How she and Erin were going find whoever they were looking for, was beyond her.
"Where are we going now?" Alanna asked, as Gary led her through yet another long corridor that looked identical to the one she had walked through not a moment ago. Gary turned around her flashed her a grin.
"We still have a couple of hours before the sun sets, how about a ride across the grounds. If we're lucky we can catch the sun setting… Mithros, that's a sight you do not want to miss…!"
Alanna smiled back at Gary. She wasn't one to trust people easily, yet she found herself liking the big, friendly knight. Plus she hadn't really given Solar any real exercise. Her mare would love the chance to have a bit of freedom, instead of being cooped up in the stables. A few minutes later, Gary and Alanna walked out through one of the doors and into the afternoon sun. Shielding her eyes briefly, Alanna noticed that they had reached the practice yards where several pages, squires and knights were busy training. Gary began walking away, before realising that Alanna wasn't following him. He turned back concerned.
"Alanna? Are you coming?"
As if breaking out of a daydream, Alanna blinked a couple of times and hurried over to where Gary was waiting. While they continued to make their way to the stables, Alanna couldn't help glancing around, slightly envious. It was unfair that males were allowed to fight and handle swords, while females were expected to become proper ladies and do nothing of the sort. Pouting slightly, she followed Gary wordlessly and nearly ran into him when he stopped suddenly.
Wondering why he stopped, Alanna glanced over to where he was looking and spotted some of the knights she had seen from the festival.
"Jon is fencing with Alex? This should be interesting…" Gary seemed to say to no one in particular, as he covered a smile. He turned back to face Alanna, "you don't mind if we stop and watch this for a second, do you?"
Alanna, who was eager to watch the knights practice more, shook her head, "no, go ahead"
Together, Gary and Alanna walked over to the practice court at the very end. There was already a small crowd gathered around the outside of the courts, but the moved out of the way for the big knight and his friend. Before long, they found themselves at the front of the crowd. Recognising the two young knights in front of her, Alanna soon became captured by the strong and smooth movements of the sword. She found that her breath caught each time the swords hit one another and echoed with a loud crash.
While she was at the convent, Alanna had dressed up as a boy and bought an old sword from the market place. She had then hidden it away in her room and practiced in private, teaching herself by watching various tournaments and other people around the market practice and draw swords. Though she could probably beat some of the less experienced squires, Alanna knew that she could never hope to beat a full grown knight. At least not without some practice. At this thought, she pouted. Her battered old sword was back at the convent.
Hearing a surprised yell, Alanna looked back up in time to see Alex knock Jonathan's sword out of his hand. Beside her, Gary was shaking his head, "I don't know what Jon was thinking… he's good, but Alex is better…"
As the crowd began to break up, Gary went over to talk to Alex and Jon. Alanna was about to follow him, when she spotted Erin standing across the other side of the court, an amused look on her face. She quickly made her way to her friend.
"What are you up to, Erin?" Alanna asked, suddenly beside her. Startled, Erin turned around and relaxed when she realised that it was only Alanna.
"I was on my way to see you, when I bumped into Alex. He was on his way to practice and I joined him… how about you? Come down to sweet talk one of the knights into teaching you how to fight?" she teased, laughing when Alanna gave her a light shove.
"No, Gary was showing me around the Palace and we were on our way to the stables when he wanted to stop and watch Alex and Jonathan practice"
"The stables? Where are you going?"
"I'm not sure, but Solar's been a bit restless lately… it'll be good for her to get out…" Alanna replied, absently fiddling with her long hair. Erin nodded in agreement as Gary, Jon and Alex joined them.
"Lady Alanna, Erin… you two had to come down on the day when I get beaten by Alex, don't you?" Jonathan said with a good-natured smile as he greeted them. Alex smirked.
"Face it Jon, you're good… but I'm better" he said, in a mocking tone of voice.
Jonathan scowled, "you've been spending too much time with Gary, haven't you?"
Alex and Gary didn't say anything, but just grinned at each other. Jonathan rolled his eyes and turned back to Erin and Alanna, "since my so-called 'friends' are acting really immature right now, I think I'll stick to talking with you two… what are you doing here anyway?"
"Gary was showing me around the Palace, when we passed you and Alex. He thought it'd be interesting to watch," Alanna said, with an innocent smile as the Prince turned to glare at his cousin.
"I bet he would…" he muttered. Gary laughed.
"Oh, cheer up Jon. Why don't we all just go for a ride… I promised Lady Alanna that the view at sunset is fantastic" he said, as they began walking back in the direction of the stables. Jonathan sighed and gave a small smile.
"Whatever you say, Gary," he said.
"I wish I could join you, but I promised your dad that I'd help him train some of the squires," Alex said, looking over at Gary. With a wave, he was running off in the other direction.
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AN × Mm… not much to say. Sorry if it's short. Please tell me which you'd prefer:
Updated more often, but with shorter chapters… or
Long chapters, but having to wait longer between each chapter.
Thanks!
