(Hey, groovy. It appears that I can't tell what the date is! Funnn…*hits self with shoe* Duh…Idiot)
I'd also like to apologise for the travesty of writing that was the last chapter. I just re-read it and, well…it wasn't very well written. (I think some parts of it didn't even make sense!) *Sigh* Maybe I should re-do it. No, wait, that would require effort…so scratch that idea *grins* .Oh well, no harm done, I guess. It got across what I was trying to say, but not very well. I don't know…maybe I'm just pedantic. (And yes, that is the correct answer). Hopefully it made sense to people…!
This chapter is a little longer than the last few, the reason why is because a lot of stuff happens. I actually was intending to go a little further, but…uhh…probably realised that that would make the chapter well over 10,000 words. Which might be a little large.
Thanks goes out to the those who a) reviewed and b) those who pointed out where I was glaringly stupid *laughs*
I actually went back and corrected a lot of the more obvious mistakes when I righted the look of the chapters, so…thanks for that! J
And one final thing – can anyone please tell me what Gary looks like? I know that he's got brown hair, but apart from that I'm totally stuck! Aiee!
***
When she eventually emerged from her room, hours later, she was somewhat disheartened to discover that George wasn't present. She'd asked Nelly if she'd seen him, but the burly innkeeper had merely shrugged her shoulders in denial. Alanna chewed on her lip, hoping that George would be able to deal with her rejection this time better than he had the first time; after he had kissed her. She contented herself with the knowledge that at least this time she'd explained herself to him. Explained herself, she noted, with surprising clarity and honesty. It was the first time she'd ever opened herself up like that, letting it all just wash out, and it felt surprisingly cathartic.
Moving out of the Nelly's kitchen, she noticed that Arune was sitting at one of the large tables, animatedly conversing with Riven and a few other youngsters. She trotted over to him, just catching the last part of whatever story he was telling them.
…"should have seen it!" his voice rang out across the room, "It was the most outrageous thing an Initiate could have done, and he couldn't sit for a month after the masters were done with him!" he roared with laughter, and the youths followed suit.
"What are you telling them, Arune?" she asked, confused. "Hopefully not more ways for them to get into mischief."
He looked up at her, grinning. "Oh don't worry, Falcon; they just wanted to know about some of the other Shang. Riven here-" he ruffled the boys hair, which Riven didn't seem to like, scrunching up his face in annoyance "-especially wanted to know what you were like as an Initiate."
Looking sidewards at the youth in question, she hesitantly asked "And what, pray tell, have you been telling him?"
"Oh, nothing but the truth, Alanna." His smile widened as she groaned. "Don't worry, I didn't tell them the one about your breeches, some mice, and a lot of water."
Alanna blushed fiercely. "If you had," she hissed at him, "I would have shoved your face into a cow pat!" Arune spluttered at her threat, while the youths around the table gave her expectant looks, probably wanting to know what the story involved. "Oh don't think for a moment I'll tell you about that one; it's certainly not one for children."
Riven snorted. "You ain't much older than me, 'lanna."
"He's got a point there, Falcon." Arune pointed out, infuriatingly.
"I-I," she fumbled, before putting on a haughty expression. "They wouldn't get it; it only makes sense if you were there." And she nodded in satisfaction. Arune just gave her a skeptical look.
Riven had a similar expression on his face. "I bet it was real embarrasin', or something, an' that's why you-"
"No it wasn't." Alanna interjected, "Don't be silly. Now," she said, attempting to steer the conversation away from that particular story, "Does either of you know where George went?"
Arune shook his head. Riven chimed in, noting, "Wherever 'e went, 'e looked glum." Alanna made a vexed sound, looking towards the door. She should probably try and find him, though she didn't really know where to start looking. Maybe she should ask Eleni…?
"Alanna," Arune hesitantly said, breaking her out of her reverie. She turned back to him, "Can I ask you a favour?"
"You can ask."
"I'm supposed to be teaching some of the palace squires this afternoon, just some basic drills in hand to hand combat." She nodded; Arune had been commissioned by the Palace to help train squires and knights (Though knights, she remembered with a smile, referred to it as 'honing their skills', rather than 'training'), in return for his lodging there. "And I was wondering if you'd be willing to help me."
She frowned, somewhat suspicious of his motives. "Why?"
Arune coloured, slightly. "Well, uh." He scratched his head, "You've done basic Shang training more recently than I have?" he offered, lamely. She glared at him, and he relented. "Ok, I should tell you the truth." He looked away from her, adding in a mumble, "It's because someoftheknightswanttomeetyou."
"Huh?"
"Some of the knights want to meet you." He clarified, now looking down at his feet in an oh-so-guilty fashion.
"Why do they want to do that?" she asked, confused. "Unless…" he was definitely blushing now, "Oh no." She was going to kill him. "You haven't, have you? Don't tell me you've talking about me with them."
"Well," he spluttered, awkwardly. "In my defence they'd already heard all about the 'Fighting Falcon'. Some of them told me that they even saw the bout we had the other day! I-I just, you know…cleared up some of the details." She groaned at him. "Come on, Falcon, they're not that bad. You've never even heard of any of them, so I don't know why you're so against meeting them."
"I suppose not," she sighed, "I just don't like talking to nobles in general."
"I think you'll find that these particular nobles are nothing like the one's you're against."
"Whatever you say, Arune. Alright, I'll go with you." Her mouth opened in a toothy grin, "At least I'll be able to do something I've wanted to do for a while. I'll finally be able to see just how good these knights really are."
"Great!" Arune grinned. "You don't know how much these guys have wanted to meet you." He smiled at her for a short moment, before he noticed something behind her. His face lit up, and he rubbed his hands together. "Of course, we don't need to go for a while, so I'll just have some lunch here first. Yes, yes. No rush." He trailed off. She turned, and noticed Nelly walking towards them, plates of food in her arms. She deposited one in front of Arune, winking at him as she left. Alanna quirked her eyebrows at that.
"Palace food that bad?" Riven slyly asked Arune, as the Shang licked his lips.
"Ahh," the man struck a classic thinking pose, hand on his chin. "Not so much the food, just the formality that goes with it." Alanna unconsciously nodded, remembering the few 'family' meals she had been forced to attend in her youth, with her father calling for proper decorum at the table. "I mean, I see food," he motioned at the plate in front of him. "I want to eat food. I don't want to cut my food into tiny pieces and ensure that I'm 'properly covered' before I eat." He grabbed a meaty bone, and began to chew on it. "See?"
Alanna agreed with him, about the manners and formality of noble eating, but she hoped she didn't look like that when she ate. "You look like a dog, Arune."
"Better than a horse, right?" he grinned at her. "I'm moving up." Just to prove her right, he put the bone in between his teeth, and growled at her.
She rolled her eyes at his behaviour, and he laughed, removing the bone from his mouth. "I'll be back in a bit, ok? Don't worry," she qualified, after seeing his questioning look, "I'll still come and 'entertain' your noble friends. I just have to do something first."
***
Trotting down the crowded streets of Lower Corus, Alanna wondered what exactly she was doing. She had decided to speak to Eleni, to try and figure out where George had gone. Although, she noted with dismay, she'd probably not have enough time to track him down if he was any real distance away. Arune had mentioned that she should meet him at the palace gates at around an hour after noon. That left her scant little time, but she was determined to speak to George's mother, if for nothing else than to hope that she could clear the waters with her.
She liked Eleni, after all, and was somewhat disturbed by what had transpired at their last meeting. The older woman had been surprisingly curt with her, when she had previously been nothing but open, albeit domineering. She assumed that it had to do with what had occurred between herself and Eleni's son, but now that things were cleared up – so to speak, she hoped to get on good terms with the woman again. She wasn't exactly sure why she was making such an effort, but she resigned herself to following her gut instinct. Perhaps Eleni had lied when Alanna had asked about herbs to block dreams?
Alanna scrunched her nose up; she didn't think the old woman would purposefully mislead her, no. But she might have remembered something since their last meeting, remembered a way to stop the dreams. The dreams that were still coming strong, and still containing disturbing and horrific images that woke her in a terror.
Shuddering, Alanna tried in vain to forget what she had been forced to see each night. The images were burned in her mind, however, and now that she had lingered on them for a while, they sprang unbidden to the front of her mind. She knew that they upset her probably slightly more than they should; although watching one's own death in graphic detail every night probably wasn't exactly supposed to be comforting. The problem was, she realised, the fact that she had once felt such warmth in them, such wonder. The dreams used to be a refuge of sorts for her, an escape from the problems that beset her in the waking world. Now they…scared her. She didn't like that, not a whit.
But what was she to do? She was still no closer to understanding why the dreams had begun in the first place. Maybe it was for the best that they'd changed, it meant she couldn't live in fantasy any more. If she could find a way to block them, that is; she'd not get a good nights rest, otherwise.
Eleni's house was just around the corner, she realised with a start, and put such deep thoughts to the side for the moment. She found the dark wooden door with ease, and rapped hesitantly upon its surface with her knuckles. After a while, she heard sounds of movement behind the door, and the large frame creaked as the woman pulled it open. Her creased face popped around the door, frowning slightly when she realised who it was that had knocked on her door.
"Yes?" she asked, stonily. "Can I help you with something?"
Alanna grimaced. "I don't suppose you would have seen George today, would you?" she wanted to be friends with the woman, but damned if she was going to make the first move towards conciliation. "I need to speak to him."
"Really?" the other woman crossed her arms, "I don't suppose that it crossed your mind that George didn't want to speak to you."
"We spoke quite well this morning, all things considered." Alanna seethed; the woman didn't know what she was talking about! She had no idea of what had happened! Did she? Would she still have been angry at her if she knew what had happened this morning? She could be, Alanna felt, but she probably wouldn't be quite as caustic as she was now. This was the same way she had talked to Alanna earlier in the week. She obviously didn't know what had happened, then. She decided that taking a step back might therefore be best, adding; "I just needed to apologise again." There, she thought, that should placate her. Probably get her wondering what had been said 'this morning', too.
Eleni looked at her for a moment, measuring her. Eventually, she uncrossed her arms. "No," she stated, "I've not seen my son today. Don't tell me he's in trouble again?" the faintest signs of a smile were showing on the other woman's lips, Alanna noticed.
She shook her head, returning the smile. "No. Well," she qualified, "Not to my knowledge."
Eleni laughed. "You've got a good sense of humour, Alanna of Shang." Her face turned serious after a moment, "I take it this talk you had with my son this morning concerned-"
"-Matters of a personal nature," Alanna broke in, "Yes." She didn't particularly feel like discussing the travesty that was her romantic life with the mother of a man she cared for. Eleni seemed to accept that, nodding. Alanna felt that she was probably owed the truth, though. "I fear it probably wasn't what George wanted to hear, though." She softly added. "I wanted to see that he wasn't doing something- I don't know…"
"Harmful?" Eleni suggested.
She nodded slowly. "I do care about him, and I don't want to see him hurt. I don't think he would, though. To himself, I mean. "
Eleni smiled. "You're a good girl, Alanna."
"Thanks. I think." Alanna scratched her head. "Uh, if you do see George, could you tell him that I want to see him?" the other woman nodded, and Alanna smiled. She was glad that the woman didn't seem to harbour any resentment towards her, not anymore. Even, she thought with a shock, though she can probably guess what I told George this morning. She suddenly remembered the dreams, and wanting to ask Eleni about the possibility of a herb (or something- Anything!) to block them. She was just about to open her mouth to ask the other woman, when she realised just how high in the sky the sun was. Arune would be waiting for her; she had to go. "Are you- uh, can I speak to you later about something, Eleni?"
"Of course you can, dear." Alanna thanked her, and took off at a sprint towards the palace.
***
It dominated the skyline of Corus, so it wasn't all that difficult to find. What was difficult, Alanna had found, was actually winding her way through the mass of people that populated the streets of Lower Corus at this time of day. Having to elbow people out of the way, having her feet trodden on and the like truly aggravated her. Despite knowing that the streets were always like this at this hour, it seemed ten times as worse for herself; her height condemning her to constantly walking into people and places who had been hidden from her eyes by another person in the crowd. She could see the palace at all times, of course, so she knew she was heading in the right direction, but it was slightly disconcerting to not really be able to see much of what was around her.
It seemed that today was a particularly busy day. She had no idea why, though the cries of some people ahead were probably related to the inflated size of the horde. It seemed, she realised after getting a look at the people in question, that this was some kind of procession; with some Mithronian priests leading the crowd in chanting and prayer.
She was somewhat put off by the scene, and decided to slip out of the crush. She darted into a back alley, and attempted to find another way towards the palace.
***
In the maze of the darkened back alleys, however, her height was just as much of a problem as it was in the crowded streets. She wasn't able to see what direction the palace was in, and so was just hoping for the best. She knew that it was situated to the western side of the city, and that by traveling north-west she would eventually find herself near it, but she had been turned around and around so many times in these alleys that she had no idea of where north and west even were!
As she turned another corner to come face to face with yet another dead end, she released her frustration on the wall in front of her. Her fist stung, and it helped her current situation not a whit, but she felt a little better. She muttered a curse; wasn't someone supposed to have made sure this kind of thing didn't happen? That streets were actually designed? She kicked a small pile of refuse that lay next to a wall, and watched as some scraps of paper floated away. Maybe she should just backtrack and follow the main road again. At least then she'd know what direction was which. She'd just turned around, heading back the way she came, when she heard voicesfloating down the alley towards her.
"Aye, and 'e'll be ready f'us?" the man's lilting voice reverberated off the narrow walls of the alley, amplifying the sound. Alanna pressed herself back into the dead end, pushing herself flush with the wall. She wasn't exactly sure why she had done so, and was even about to push off the wall and continue to stroll back down the alley, when a second voice came crashing down the narrow streets.
"Yes, he'll be waiting for you." For some reason, the cultured voice sounded hauntingly familiar to Alanna, though she couldn't tell exactly why that was. The acoustics of the alley, it seemed, might have altered his voice too much for her to instantly recognise it. "And you know what to do, yes? About him?"
"Yeah, yeah." The first man replied, and was then silent. She was now able to make out footsteps, and pressed herself further back into the bricks behind her, schooling her breathing so that it was as quiet as it could be. The footsteps carried to her left – going past the dead end, and began to eventually fade away. She quickly snuck a look around the corner, but it appeared that the men had passed around a few of the endless corners, and had passed from her sight. She grimaced in annoyance.
'About him', the cultured one had said. Who was 'him'? What could they be talking about? She had no idea, though it would probably bear some thought at a later time. For now, however, she needed to get to the Palace. The sun had passed its' zenith a while ago, and she was afraid Arune would be in a foul mood at her lateness. Oh well, at least he'd be taking it out on Nobles and not her, she thought with a grin, before retracing her steps as fast as she could, attempting to find her way back to the main street. Eventually finding it, she was glad to find the procession long gone, and sprinted for the palace.
***
"There you are!" Arune's voice brought her out of her reverie. "Where have you been, Falcon?"
The name caused a few of the people hanging around the dart glances back towards her. Uncomfortable, Alanna prodded Arune onwards. "Sorry about that," she told him once they were off the main street. "I had to avoid the most direct route here." She told him, distracted. Frowning slightly as she thought over what she had been distracted by, she felt Arune take her by the elbow.
"Are you alright? You look a hundred miles from here."
She waved his question away. "No, I'm fine." She focused herself, pushing any frivolous thoughts aside, and pointed to the gates. "Shall we?"
He looked at her quizzically for a while, before smiling. "We shall."
***
They made their way through the Royal Gardens, the verdant green at such odds with the city outside the palace walls that Alanna thought for a moment that they had entered another world. Which, she supposed, was true, in a fashion at least. It sickened Alanna somewhat to see the prosperity of those within the palace walls in comparison to those outside.
"It is just the way things are, Alanna." Arune told her sadly when she mentioned it. "How would we even begin to go about changing it?"
She didn't know, instead restraining her frustration to the occasional grimace whenever she saw the Lords and Ladies strolling past in their incredible outfits. The dress of one Lady, she decided, would probably have fetched a price enough to feed an entire family for a month! Still, she thought with a sigh, wealth can create beauty – the Gardens were magnificent, and she contented herself with enjoying them for the moment. She wasn't sure why, but an echo of familiarity stirred within her when she was in a certain part of them. She couldn't place it, that was for sure, but it still felt very familiar.
"Alanna!" she turned, realizing Arune had stopped at a different path some meters back, waving to her. "We go this way!" With a shrug of her shoulders, she put the familiarity down to having passed through the palace seven years before hand. It couldn't have changed that much, after all. She caught up to Arune on a trot, and continued alongside him through the Gardens.
Eventually, the two of them passed through an arch, emerging into a fairly large square of trodden dirt. There were various markings all over it, in chalk and in different coloured dirt. The place seemed to be deserted, piles of equipment lying along the edges of the square, propped up against walls.
"Here we are," Arune told her once they came to a stop, "This is the practice area."
"It's not as big as the Training Circle. I thought there were supposed to be a lot of, um, Squires and the like?"
Arune nodded. "There are, Falcon. But not many come out here at the one time; they've other lessons too." She gave a slight smile as she realised the stupidity of her own question; she knew all this, or had anyway. She had wanted to be one of these Squires herself, once, after all.
"So where are they now?" she asked him.
"Who, the Squires?" she nodded, "Well, they won't be out here for another hour or so. But the knights we were supposed to meet should have already been here." They both looked around the square, not noticing the presence of anyone. She gave Arune a questioning look. He sighed, "Not like I control them, Falcon."
"Not that it stops you from trying, Master Arune." A voice from behind them spoke laughingly, and the two of them spun about. A tall, heavily set man was standing behind them, a wide grin on his face. Beside him stood another three men. One was whip-like, a smirk on his thin lips. His unruly auburn hair surrounded a face with sharp features. Another was also smiling, shaking his head at his larger friends comment. He looked a little older than the other three, but Alanna knew that might not be from age. His eyes danced, and he gave her a wide smile when she looked at him.
But it was the fourth one that really captured her attention. Tall with broad enough shoulders, his piercing blue eyes were looking at the larger man with disbelief as he shook his head, coal black hair flying. In short, it was the man who had plagued her dreams for the past two months or so, in the flesh, and standing in front of her. She supposed that she should really be doing something; talking to him, running, fainting – whatever. But all she could do was stand there, rigidly, staring at him. Thoughts flew through her mind – If he's real, then are the dreams real? Does he know me? Why on earth would I be getting dreams about this man? – but she couldn't answer them. Her brain just refused to tick over; shock spreading through her system.
She peered at him, her amethyst eyes open in wonder. It was all just too bizarre. Blue eyes turned towards her, a smile spreading across her face. Her knees felt weak; he was even more beautiful than what she had already known. Because he was real.
"Ahh, but it's your for your own benefit, Sir Raoul." Arune responded to the burly man, after what seemed like aeons had passed. "And besides, Shang are much less compliant than you have been. I have been going easy on you.
"Is this her?" the whip-like one broke in, indicating Alanna.
Arune nodded absentmindedly, "Yes, yes. This is the Shang Falcon." He seemed to be expecting her to say something, but she didn't respond. She was still staring at the black haired man. She wondered if her mouth were open; it would be very embarrassing for it to be. Not that it was any less embarrassing that she was simply staring at the man, she realised too late; blushing as she tore her gaze – with some effort. She wanted to drink the sight of him in! - Towards the men Arune was introducing. "Uh, yes. Well, let me introduce you all, then. These are Sirs Raoul, Alex, Gary. And," he had indicated each in turn, before cutting off as his gaze fell on the blue eyed man. Alanna noticed him – Him! – give Arune a small shake of his head; "And, uh, Sir Jonathan." He finished. She berated herself for acting a fool, and tried to focus her attention away from Blue Eyes. She had mixed success.
The men then each offered her a hand to shake – thankfully they were not treating her as a Lady. She supposed that Arune had told them a little more about her than he had implied. She didn't particularly care at the moment, however; her attention was far too distracted for the current time. She mumbled a curt greeting, shaking each man's hand in turn. Their calloused palms felt familiar, like Shang hands, and she relaxed a little. It did not seem like these were nobles that spent all their time at balls and feasts. She was slightly hesitant in shaking the hand of Blue Eyes – Sir Jonathan, she corrected herself – and it appeared that he noticed. He gave an almost imperceptible wince, but she grabbed his palm and shook it as she had done with the others. It seemed to perk him up a little, her 'roughness' with him, and it made her blush slightly.
"Are you alright, Alanna?" Arune asked, noticing her blush.
"What?" she spun around to face him, confused. "Ah, yes! Yes! Why wouldn't I be?" she snapped back, defensively. Blushing even harder as some of the men, Sirs Raoul and Gary, chortled slightly at her antics.
"A real Wildcat," Sir Alex said, giving her a measuring look. She wasn't sure why, but it made her uneasy – it was far too akin to a leer for her liking. Tossing her black hair over her shoulders, she glared at him.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" she challenged. Even Jonathan Blue Eyes laughed at that one.
Alex merely leant back on his heels, "Oh, just that we've heard stories about you. About your temper, for one." Giving her a cocky grin, he added; "And we've heard about your skills, as well. Arune here said you could beat him, which would be impressive. Though I think I could best you." Arune had the dignity to at least look embarrassed for the moment, though he – like Alanna herself – then shot the young Knight an incredulous look. Best a Shang?
Sir Raoul groaned, and Gary hit Alex on the back of the head with a laugh. Jonathan Blue Eyes grinned at his friends antics, before he leant towards her. "Alex likes to talk big, puffing himself up before he challenges anyone. Don't pay any attention to him. Although," he added with a frown, "he is very good with a sword. Probably the best in the Palace."
"Really?" she asked, the words coming out in a low husky tone that seemed to sound intrigued. Actually, she had been somewhat breathless by the close proximity of Blue Eyes, and had only then regained the ability to speak. At least it seemed to turn out for the best.
Alex gave her another smug look, "So you accept my challenge?" he asked her. "I don't want to get off on the wrong foot with you, socially, by beating you so soon after we've met, you know." that cocky grin was back, and she narrowed her eyes.
"Don't worry about me," she muttered through clenched teeth. "I can take care of myself." Watch out for yourself, she left unsaid.
A pleased grin spread across Alex's face. "Excellent!" he told her happily; it seemed he had been looking forward to this. "Are you alright with a sword duel?"
She gave him a toothy grin, "That's fine." She was actually very pleased with the way this was going – she had been wary of having to drill young squires and pages in boring and monotonous hand to hand drills. Now she'd be able to test her sword skills against the supposed best Swordsman in the Palace – sword skills, she noted with a slight waver of trepidation, that she had not practically utilised in many months. Still, she remembered Liam's words to her on the eve of her Shang testing – You will have to fight someone better than you sometime in your life. Why not adjust to the idea now? – and what better way to get back into shape than facing off against 'the best'?
Blue Eyes was a bit of a problem, though, she thought to herself. She should be able to ignore him, to focus on the battle ahead, but…
She shot him a quick glance from the corners of her vision. He was walking alongside Arune, animatedly talking to him, throwing phantom punches into the air. She gave a smile as she realised he was a little loose in his left swing; maybe she'd have to talk to him about that? It would, she noted, at least give her an inroads into talking with him. But did she want to talk to him? This man, who didn't seem to recognise her – beyond what Arune had told him – yet who had taken a staring role in her dreams for the last two months. The dreams, which at one stage were impossibly romantic (and sexual! She even blushed at the memory of what had happened in some of them!), had recently become terrifying nightmares that caused her to awaken in a cold sweat? Did she want to talk to him?
More to the point, she thought to herself, what would she say? She couldn't tell him about the dreams, and she dared not reveal in real life what she had talked to him in dreams about. Did she want to talk to him? It would, she thought sadly, be far easier to just ignore him. Hope he went away, and she could forget him – that he was ever real. Never mind that the very idea caused a twinge of pain; it might be easiest for her in the long run.
Like most things in her life, however, things were never easy. Did she want to talk to him? In the end it mattered not a whisker what she wanted. She was still mulling over whether she would talk to him when he peeled away from Arune and took up stride beside her. His blue eyes looked down at her, and she suddenly found it hard to walk.
"Hi," he whispered to her, giving her a smile. "You're Alanna, right?"
"Yeah!" she croaked back, eagerly. He turned his head to the side a little, hiding a laugh. This aggravated her, she was getting a bit sick of these knights somewhat condescending attitude. "What?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes.
"Nothing! Nothing," he retorted, holding his hands out in front of himself. She cocked her head, giving him a questioning look; her aggravation was getting the better of her, she knew she should tone it down a little. But it was hard; she'd been under a lot of pressure over the last few days, and seeing Him – Jonathan Blue Eyes – seemed to cause her emotions to well to the surface. All her frustration from the last few months seemed to come to a head. "Well." He sighed, continuing his thought. "I was just wondering whether you're really up to this. This fight with Alex," he clarified. "Arune mentioned that you probably wouldn't have been able to get any real sword training done recently-"
"He did, did he?" she turned, glaring at the man in question.
"-and are you sure that you're alright from that injury you received the other week?" Blue eyes continued, in a cautious tone. Alanna spun back to face him, her hair flying across his face.
"How did you know about that?" she demanded; surely Arune wouldn't have told them about that particular incident.
He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, colouring slightly. "Ahh, I was there." He told her quietly. "I was watching the two of you, watching you, when he struck you." He paused for a moment, walking beside her in silence. "I've actually been wondering about that. I mean, you had him beaten, didn't you? What happened?"
Alanna didn't answer for the moment, processing what he had just told her. He was there? So, in a way, it had been her dream man that had put her off? Was that good or bad? At least she hadn't imagined him, but she had acted as if her dream had been real. She decided that it was probably neither good nor bad. "I froze," she told him truthfully. "Something in the crowd distracted me." Shrugging, she added, "Shang are human too, we make mistakes."
"Don't ruin our reputation, Falcon." Arune called out, overhearing. "You may well be fallible, but I am simply perfect in every way."
Alanna rolled her eyes at him, and shared a small smile with Jonathan; the first? "Was he always like this?" he whispered to her with a grin.
She nodded, seriously. Grinning all of a sudden as she remembered a particular story about Arune; "He once refused to train an Initiate because he didn't like the way he dressed."
"Actually," Arune broke in from his place behind them, "It was because he had ignored his cleaning duties for the previous two days. I just thought the clothing justification was funnier."
She laughed softly to herself, shaking her head slightly. She still hadn't answered Jonathan Blue Eyes' question, she realised. "Yes, I'll be ok, Sir Jonathan. Despite what Arune here may say to the contrary."
"Jonathan," the Knight said. "Just Jonathan. This Sir business makes me feel old."
She nodded at him, agreeing to his proposal. They continued to walk in silence for a distance, Gary and Raoul arguing about something up ahead of them. She caught snippets here and there, but nothing that made sense to her; 'like at Drell', 'archers and horsemen' and the like. She had lost her interest in warfare on a larger scale once she had joined the Shang, but at least she knew what they were talking about. She frowned as she realised that she'd lost sight of Alex, who had been just behind Raoul and Gary the last time she looked. Turning to ask Jonathan if he had seen Alex leave, she found him staring at her. His piercing blue eyes examining her, an intensity about them. He coloured slightly when he realised she had seen him staring, and he quickly averted his gaze. She blushed too, though a faint smile spread across her lips. She still didn't know just who he was – whether he was anything like her Fantasy man or not, but she still enjoyed the attention.
"Jonathan," she asked softly after a beat, "did you see where Alex went?"
He frowned slightly, taking a look behind them as he did so. He must have seen something, because he nodded slightly as he turned back. "Yeah, his room is down that way," he pointed to an adjoining corridor a few meters back from where they currently were. "He might have gone to get his own blade."
"And we're here!" came the call from in front of her, and she looked back to see Gary and Raoul pushing open some large doors. She slowly followed them in, peering about her almost in awe. The room itself was very large, but it was the modifications that had been done to it that truly caught her eye. Some of the walls were mirrored, on another hung racks of equipment – more equipment than she had seen even at the Shang village! Some of the floors were covered in light padding, while others' had chalk marks scrawled all over them, for whatever reason. It was truly a room she could envisage large numbers of trainee's within, all brushing up on or practicing their skills.
She exhaled in wonder at the sight. "Wow. This is amazing."
"I know," Raoul told her. "That was the same reaction I had when I first entered here. Of course," he added, "Jon and Gary here never really consider it like that. They grew up with it." Jonathan gave Raoul a pained expression, and Alanna frowned. Why would you grow up in a room like this? Or did he mean that they grew up in the palace? She was about to ask the burly knight what he meant when Arune broke in.
"No need to stand about gawking, Falcon." He snidely commented. She shut her mouth with a snap, and glared at him. "Save your energy for the bout, Alanna." He told her. She realised he was probably right, and that she should begin her exercises. As she looked towards the wall with the equipment along it, she noticed the practice swords and padding that was present. She trotted over to them without a word, beginning to run her hands along the swords, picking them up; testing their weight.
"That one might be a bit heavy for you," Gary said from behind her, having walked up beside her. "Might want to try for a lighter one."
"It's fine." She told him, holding out straight in front of her, peering along the edge. "Was there something else you wanted, or were you just looking to insult me?" He gave a start at that, eyes open in shock. She gave a resigned sigh, "Sorry. I just don't like people thinking less of me."
He winced. "No, I should apologise. It's just hard to consider you as a Shang, somewhat. Since, y'know…" he waved his hands at her, lamely.
"Since I'm a woman?" she finished for him.
"Well, yeah." He reluctantly admitted. "Not to mention your height."
She narrowed her eyes at him, "Hopefully when I beat your friend you won't have any problems considering me as at least your equal."
"Fine, fine." He put his hands up in front of him, "I'm sorry. I was just saying that it was a shade difficult."
Alanna grunted at him, hefting the sword under her arm for the moment. "Do you have any of those for me to wear?" she motioned to the padded jerkins.
Gary nodded, "Yeah, we can probably find one that will fit." He moved over to help her pick one out, chewing his lip as he went. "Are you sure you're up to this, ah, Mistress Shang?"
"Call me Alanna," she told him, "And for the last time; yes I am prepared for this."
"It's just that Jonathan told us what happened in the Lower City the other day and-"
"If Jonathan told you that he saw the King of Tortall in the Lower City would you believe him then?" she dryly answered. Gary choked; his face a feature of surprise. She curled her lip in disgust at her own comment, "Yes, I suppose that's not particularly appropriate, is it? I mean, you're all nobles, so I suppose you've all seen the King a few times."
"You could say something like that." Gary told her after a moment, seemingly bemused by something.
"Anyway," she continued, shrugging off his strange behaviour. "Jonathan saw me once! He never even talked to me; how does that suddenly make him an expert on my condition?"
Gary gave her a small smile, before glancing over at his friend. He leant in close to her, "I think he might be somewhat enamoured with you, Miss Alanna." He whispered. "He came back to the palace raving about this 'Fighting Falcon' he'd seen in the lower city, and then made it a personal quest to find out as much from Master Arune about you as he could."
She blushed, "Really?" Gary nodded, before winking at her.
He struck a pose, obviously pretending to be Jonathan. "So graceful, she was!" he sighed as loudly as he could, hand on his heart. Alanna noticed Jonathan out of the corner of her eyes, he had suddenly become very pale, and looked to be shaking his head in denial. Gary kept on; "Her skills were sublime! Flawless! Exquisite!" he added in an overwrought tone. She snickered as she noticed Jonathan almost sprinting towards them, eyes wide in alarm. "She flew across the ground like her namesake! She was incredible! So bea-Mmphf!" Gary cut off as Jonathan thrust a hand over his mouth.
"I think that's quite enough, Cousin Gareth." He told the other man, with a nervous chuckle. "Alanna doesn't need to hear anymore of your, uh, awful poetry."
Poetry? Alanna thought with a laugh. That was quite possibly one of the worst excuses she had ever heard. And here she thought Sir Blue Eyes a quick thinker. She giggled out loud at that, noticing Gary attempting to hold back a laugh behind his cousins' hand. Jonathan looked away from her, his tanned skin darkening for a moment. Luckily enough for him, attention was diverted elsewhere as Alex finally made his way into the room.
"Ah! Finally my challenger is here! I was beginning to worry that you may have backed out, Sir Alex." She said, with a smirk. She was still laughing over Jonathan and Gary's antics. She realised that she hadn't really thought of them as stuck-up nobles once she had learnt a little more about them – perhaps Arune was right.
"Me? Back away from a fight with you? Hardly." He strolled towards her, his gleaming sword resting in the crook of his arm. Standing in front of the padded jerkins, he selected one that was obviously his, before beginning to shimmy his way into it. "Well?" he asked as he worked, "Are we going to do this or not?"
She frowned at him; he seemed a lot more aggravated than he had been before he left. But she ignored it for the moment; she needed to focus. She grabbed the padding she had selected earlier, and began to shimmy into it as well. It was a little constraining on her, which was irritating. It only reached down to the tops of her shins, and was very tight. She commented on this to Gary, who laughingly told her that it was probably because the outfit was intended for pages.
Still, she managed to squirm her way into it, though a fair amount of dancing about was required. She was probably putting on quite a show, but she didn't care – she was focused now. She went through her exercises, first the stretches, then the hand and fist katas, then finally picking up the sword. Shang were versed in all weapons, yes, but unlike their mastery of hand to hand combat, there were others who knew the sword to. The Shang style was supposed to be different from that learnt by noblemen; she'd never actually seen a proper sword drill from a trained knight, so she wasn't sure if that was true or not, but she must be sure not to underestimate Alex because he was not Shang.
He was performing exercises of his own, she noticed. He was smoothly working his sword through various positions, the glittering blade darting about his body effortlessly. It was obvious that he was as good as she had been warned, and that she would have to be at her best to defeat him. Which was, she realised as she caught a glimpse of coal black hair behind Alex, going to be tricky, considering all the distractions about the place.
"So what do you think?" Arune softly asked her, as he moved up beside her.
"I don't know," she replied. "He's good, definitely."
"He is one of their best."
She nodded softly. "I take it this will be a sword only bout?" she asked Arune, "No jabs or kicks allowed?" She assumed that the answer was no, because Alex had specified swords, but if she was allowed to use the rest of her body, she knew she could beat him. Shang sword styles mixed in various elements – kicks and punches as well as slashes and parries. After all, the old mantra went, what's the point in only using your arms if you're attempting to save your life?
He shrugged. "I would say no. But you would have to ask him about that." He stepped back a moment as she launched into a supple sword kata, waiting until she had finished before moving back in again. "Watch your left side." He quietly told her; not in an admonishing way, just a friendly reminder. She nodded, and finished her exercises, breathing a shade more heavily than normal. Her hair was caught in the back of the jerkin, she realised, and reached around to tie it back.
"Doesn't that get irritating?" Jonathan asked from beside her. She jumped slightly, not having heard him come towards her. "The hair, I mean."
"Uh, yeah. I guess, I don't know; it's annoying in it's way, but I don't think I'd like to cut it."
"Why not?"
Shrugging, she kept her eyes away from him. She couldn't be distracted at this time. "I don't know." She pulled out some more strands, before slipping a small tie around her forehead, keeping the hair off her face. "I guess I like it long."
"It looks nice." He said softly. She did look at him then, turning her face towards his. She tried to keep her eyes expressionless, but she couldn't prevent a small amount of warmth showing from them. He looked into her eyes, too; his own sapphire globes dancing as he gave her a warm smile. She sat there for a while, basking in the moment, before she realised that this was exactly what she shouldn't be doing – not at this time anyway. She reluctantly tore her gaze away from Jonathan's intense eyes, moving away towards the center of the practice room. "Good luck."
