^-^Disclaimer-don't own, don't sue! Anyhoo, the storyline's mine, and the
soon-to-be-arriving Lady Simone of Wild Lake.
Wow! Thanks for the reviews; I can't believe you peeps actually read my story! ^-^ *Me very happy!*
Please R+R. I like constructive criticism. I need it…
Ok, you guys asked for more of Thom? I'll try to give him a bigger part in the story. And I have a question-should Faithful and the crystal come into the story at all? Let me know!
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Alanna practically ran down the hall to the old fencing gallery, she was so excited. She didn't have any breeches to wear, so she wore her oldest and simplest dress, cursing the priestesses the whole way down to the fencing gallery. She found the place without any problems and swiftly ducked inside.
Thom walked passed the end of the hall with Gary, Raoul and Alex. They watched his sister quickly disappear through the door to one of the fencing rooms. "Now, I wonder what she's up to." Commented Raoul.
"Why don't we go have a look?" suggested Alex. They all agreed and made their way the door.
Inside, Alanna found the prince already waiting. He was inspecting a rack of swords and was holding a bundle under one arm. Seeing her come in, he held it out to her, "Here. I figured you wouldn't have anything practical so I brought you something to practice in."
She received the bundle and opened it. It turned out to be a pair of soft black breeches, a plain white shirt, a plain brown tunic, and a black belt. She smiled. Then he pointed to a screen set up in a corner of the room, "You can change over there. I'll be picking out a sword." He turned and went back to inspecting the practice swords on the rack. Alanna ran behind the screen and changed. The clothes fit perfectly.
"Jonathan, they're a perfect fit!" she emerged from behind the screen, holding her dress.
"You can keep them, then," was the reply, "They're some of my old ones, anyway. No doubt you'll find them useful."
"Thank you, so very, very much!" she cried happily. She hung the dress on the back of a chair and stood next to the prince as he selected a sword.
"You can go ahead and pick one out. There's actually a few lighter ones that I think you'll like better."
Alanna picked the lightest one she could find. It was a blunt practice sword, lighter than usual, but still bulky in her hand. It would have to do. She tied her hair back to keep it out of her face and then joined Jon in stretching. They were still stretching when Thom and the others snuck into the back of the room to watch.
"Hey, Thom? Isn't that your sister? Why is she wearing breeches?" asked Gary. Thom nodded and whispered back, "Hush! Your cousin is in for a surprise!"
Finally, they picked up their swords and stood across from each other at the center of the room. "Are you ready?" asked Jonathan, smiling.
Alanna nodded and he lunged. She brought her sword up just in time to block. She danced away and they circled. He attacked again. She brought her sword up to meet his and sparks flew. She parried his next blow and attacked with an overhand pass. Jonathan's sword met hers with a clang. She pulled away and darted in again. This time, Jonathan stumbled a bit, trying to back up. He couldn't believe how fast she was. When she said she knew what she was doing, she wasn't kidding! She saw her chance and knocked the sword out of his hand. As his sword went flying, she pointed hers at the prince's face. He kneeled, "I yield." She withdrew the sword and helped him up.
From the back of the room came applause and enthusiastic yelling. Thom and company walked up grinning from ear to ear, praising Alanna's sword skills. Alanna and Jonathan turned, startled. They hadn't realized anyone had been watching. Jon turned to Alanna and smiled, "Well done, Alanna! Same time tomorrow?"
"Sure thing, Jon. Then I can whip you again!"
"I don't think so! Next time will be different."
"Whatever you say, your Highness."
Jon left the room, wiping sweat from his brow as he did, and waved a good- bye to his friends. They swarmed around Alanna, asking all sorts of questions, like where she'd ever learned to fence. Then she had a few practice duels with Gary, Raoul and Thom. She won every time, occasionally using a disarming move that no one could follow. Thom finally accused her, "You used your gift! I just know you did. There's no way you could be that fast without it!"
"I did not! You know how scared I am of it!" she replied. Thom muttered something about how she was always winning him at everything. She giggled. When they were all tired out, they left and went their separate ways. Alanna went back to her rooms and the boys went elsewhere.
She changed out of the clothes that Jonathan had given her and took a long hot bath. When she was dried, she put on another dress. There was yet another dance tonight and she definitely was not looking forward to it.
She was sitting on a window seat, pretty in gray and silver, contemplating an escape when the prince found her. He sat next to her and said, "Why are you over her by yourself? Why not come and talk with Thom and the rest of us? At least you should be dancing. You're so graceful on the floor."
"Thanks, Jonathan, but I was just trying to think up an escape. I'm so sick of these parties. I really dislike dancing and everything that goes along with it. Don't take this the wrong way, but I'd rather not go over there with you guys right now."
Jon frowned, "Surely you don't think I'm going to let you mope over here alone?"
"I most certainly do."
"Then you're mistaken, milady." He smiled very slowly and mischievously, "Common, lets have a little fun." Alanna's interest was peaked. She turned and looked at him curiously,
"What kind of fun?"
The prince pointed in the direction of the chestnut-haired girl from the other night, "You see Delia over there?" Alanna grimaced and he continued, "She seems to be convinced that I favor her. Yuck, I can't stand her-she's so annoying. She gets jealous of any other girl I dance with." he looked at her, "So, what do you think?"
Alanna grinned. She knew what he was planning and it sounded like a lot of fun to her, "Just as long as it's not a long dance, I'm in!"
"In that case," he stood up, "may I have this dance, Lady Alanna?"
Alanna stood up gracefully and curtsied, formally replying, "You may, Prince Jonathan." She rested her hand on his arm and they walked out onto the dance floor.
They put a little effort into the dance, showing off. Delia fell right into the trap. "Quick, look at Delia!" whispered Jonathan. Alanna did, and almost burst out laughing right then and there.
While she watched the prince dance with the new girl, Delia's face went from pale and pretty, to screwed up, beet red and angry! She definitely recognized Alanna. "I think our job here is done," said Alanna, fighting back an insane grin.
"This is nothing," whispered the prince, "Wait until you see what happens when I kiss you!" He leaned in a little as if he intended to do just that. Alanna, alarmed, pulled away, whispering back,
"Jon! The whole court is watching! Don't do that!"
"Oops, sorry."
The song ended and they walked away together, slowly and deliberately (knowing Delia was still glaring at them) heading for the gardens. Once out of the room, they began to laugh hysterically. Alanna laughed so hard that her sides hurt, and Jon was gasping for air as he said, "Did you see the expression on Delia's face?"
"I know! It was priceless!" they started laughing all over again.
"Alanna! Jon! That was great!" cried Raoul; the group was walking towards them, grinning from ear to ear. They thumped Jon and Alanna on the backs, congratulating them on such a great performance.
"We saw Delia's face and guessed what you two were up to. Man, you should have seen her storm out of there! It was fantastic!" exclaimed Thom.
"Yeah, but next time let Jon kiss you Alanna. It will be so much better!" suggested Alex. Jon and Alanna blushed slightly, and she shook head.
"What can we do to her next time?" asked Gary, enjoying the joke as well as his cousin, "Start thinking. There's got to be a way to get that girl out of court. She's driving us all up a wall here."
For the rest of the evening, the group of friends exchanged ideas of how to torture Lady Delia the next time.
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^-^ hee hee! I wonder where Delia marched off to? Let's see, I'll give u a clue-his name starts with 'R'. I'm sorry it's taking me so long to update, but I've got a lot of end of the year projects to work on for school. Yuck!
Wow! Thanks for the reviews; I can't believe you peeps actually read my story! ^-^ *Me very happy!*
Please R+R. I like constructive criticism. I need it…
Ok, you guys asked for more of Thom? I'll try to give him a bigger part in the story. And I have a question-should Faithful and the crystal come into the story at all? Let me know!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Alanna practically ran down the hall to the old fencing gallery, she was so excited. She didn't have any breeches to wear, so she wore her oldest and simplest dress, cursing the priestesses the whole way down to the fencing gallery. She found the place without any problems and swiftly ducked inside.
Thom walked passed the end of the hall with Gary, Raoul and Alex. They watched his sister quickly disappear through the door to one of the fencing rooms. "Now, I wonder what she's up to." Commented Raoul.
"Why don't we go have a look?" suggested Alex. They all agreed and made their way the door.
Inside, Alanna found the prince already waiting. He was inspecting a rack of swords and was holding a bundle under one arm. Seeing her come in, he held it out to her, "Here. I figured you wouldn't have anything practical so I brought you something to practice in."
She received the bundle and opened it. It turned out to be a pair of soft black breeches, a plain white shirt, a plain brown tunic, and a black belt. She smiled. Then he pointed to a screen set up in a corner of the room, "You can change over there. I'll be picking out a sword." He turned and went back to inspecting the practice swords on the rack. Alanna ran behind the screen and changed. The clothes fit perfectly.
"Jonathan, they're a perfect fit!" she emerged from behind the screen, holding her dress.
"You can keep them, then," was the reply, "They're some of my old ones, anyway. No doubt you'll find them useful."
"Thank you, so very, very much!" she cried happily. She hung the dress on the back of a chair and stood next to the prince as he selected a sword.
"You can go ahead and pick one out. There's actually a few lighter ones that I think you'll like better."
Alanna picked the lightest one she could find. It was a blunt practice sword, lighter than usual, but still bulky in her hand. It would have to do. She tied her hair back to keep it out of her face and then joined Jon in stretching. They were still stretching when Thom and the others snuck into the back of the room to watch.
"Hey, Thom? Isn't that your sister? Why is she wearing breeches?" asked Gary. Thom nodded and whispered back, "Hush! Your cousin is in for a surprise!"
Finally, they picked up their swords and stood across from each other at the center of the room. "Are you ready?" asked Jonathan, smiling.
Alanna nodded and he lunged. She brought her sword up just in time to block. She danced away and they circled. He attacked again. She brought her sword up to meet his and sparks flew. She parried his next blow and attacked with an overhand pass. Jonathan's sword met hers with a clang. She pulled away and darted in again. This time, Jonathan stumbled a bit, trying to back up. He couldn't believe how fast she was. When she said she knew what she was doing, she wasn't kidding! She saw her chance and knocked the sword out of his hand. As his sword went flying, she pointed hers at the prince's face. He kneeled, "I yield." She withdrew the sword and helped him up.
From the back of the room came applause and enthusiastic yelling. Thom and company walked up grinning from ear to ear, praising Alanna's sword skills. Alanna and Jonathan turned, startled. They hadn't realized anyone had been watching. Jon turned to Alanna and smiled, "Well done, Alanna! Same time tomorrow?"
"Sure thing, Jon. Then I can whip you again!"
"I don't think so! Next time will be different."
"Whatever you say, your Highness."
Jon left the room, wiping sweat from his brow as he did, and waved a good- bye to his friends. They swarmed around Alanna, asking all sorts of questions, like where she'd ever learned to fence. Then she had a few practice duels with Gary, Raoul and Thom. She won every time, occasionally using a disarming move that no one could follow. Thom finally accused her, "You used your gift! I just know you did. There's no way you could be that fast without it!"
"I did not! You know how scared I am of it!" she replied. Thom muttered something about how she was always winning him at everything. She giggled. When they were all tired out, they left and went their separate ways. Alanna went back to her rooms and the boys went elsewhere.
She changed out of the clothes that Jonathan had given her and took a long hot bath. When she was dried, she put on another dress. There was yet another dance tonight and she definitely was not looking forward to it.
She was sitting on a window seat, pretty in gray and silver, contemplating an escape when the prince found her. He sat next to her and said, "Why are you over her by yourself? Why not come and talk with Thom and the rest of us? At least you should be dancing. You're so graceful on the floor."
"Thanks, Jonathan, but I was just trying to think up an escape. I'm so sick of these parties. I really dislike dancing and everything that goes along with it. Don't take this the wrong way, but I'd rather not go over there with you guys right now."
Jon frowned, "Surely you don't think I'm going to let you mope over here alone?"
"I most certainly do."
"Then you're mistaken, milady." He smiled very slowly and mischievously, "Common, lets have a little fun." Alanna's interest was peaked. She turned and looked at him curiously,
"What kind of fun?"
The prince pointed in the direction of the chestnut-haired girl from the other night, "You see Delia over there?" Alanna grimaced and he continued, "She seems to be convinced that I favor her. Yuck, I can't stand her-she's so annoying. She gets jealous of any other girl I dance with." he looked at her, "So, what do you think?"
Alanna grinned. She knew what he was planning and it sounded like a lot of fun to her, "Just as long as it's not a long dance, I'm in!"
"In that case," he stood up, "may I have this dance, Lady Alanna?"
Alanna stood up gracefully and curtsied, formally replying, "You may, Prince Jonathan." She rested her hand on his arm and they walked out onto the dance floor.
They put a little effort into the dance, showing off. Delia fell right into the trap. "Quick, look at Delia!" whispered Jonathan. Alanna did, and almost burst out laughing right then and there.
While she watched the prince dance with the new girl, Delia's face went from pale and pretty, to screwed up, beet red and angry! She definitely recognized Alanna. "I think our job here is done," said Alanna, fighting back an insane grin.
"This is nothing," whispered the prince, "Wait until you see what happens when I kiss you!" He leaned in a little as if he intended to do just that. Alanna, alarmed, pulled away, whispering back,
"Jon! The whole court is watching! Don't do that!"
"Oops, sorry."
The song ended and they walked away together, slowly and deliberately (knowing Delia was still glaring at them) heading for the gardens. Once out of the room, they began to laugh hysterically. Alanna laughed so hard that her sides hurt, and Jon was gasping for air as he said, "Did you see the expression on Delia's face?"
"I know! It was priceless!" they started laughing all over again.
"Alanna! Jon! That was great!" cried Raoul; the group was walking towards them, grinning from ear to ear. They thumped Jon and Alanna on the backs, congratulating them on such a great performance.
"We saw Delia's face and guessed what you two were up to. Man, you should have seen her storm out of there! It was fantastic!" exclaimed Thom.
"Yeah, but next time let Jon kiss you Alanna. It will be so much better!" suggested Alex. Jon and Alanna blushed slightly, and she shook head.
"What can we do to her next time?" asked Gary, enjoying the joke as well as his cousin, "Start thinking. There's got to be a way to get that girl out of court. She's driving us all up a wall here."
For the rest of the evening, the group of friends exchanged ideas of how to torture Lady Delia the next time.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
^-^ hee hee! I wonder where Delia marched off to? Let's see, I'll give u a clue-his name starts with 'R'. I'm sorry it's taking me so long to update, but I've got a lot of end of the year projects to work on for school. Yuck!