To:
Hyperchick88--Yeah, I was thinking since everyone has a grudge against either Jon or George, and some are die-hard fans, the easiest way out would be to not make her fall in love with everyone. But then everyone would hate me, as opposed to half the people. And seeing as this is a fanfic, not an original story, you have to try your best to please everyone. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to just count up the votes and make her fall in love with whoever got the most votes. I'm just doing that to see what everyone else thinks--I will make her fall in love with whoever I choose whenever I choose wherever I choose.
Faithful--Read my note to hyperchick88 and you'll see why voting for Gary twice won't make much of a diff. Thanks for the condolences about my yrbook teacher, though. (she REALLY REALLY REALLY hates me-and there's only been 3 days of school so far!!)
Zenin--I really need to reread The Woman Who Rides Like A Man before I decide what I should do with Jon. So right now, I'm avoiding that and focusing on another, more important side of the story.
Lady Katherine and The Dark Lady--wait and see...
Lady T--(I didn't think Lady Tarillyn was that bad!!) Yep, Alanna's going to go insane again. Actually, she isn't, not quite yet anyway. Read...
Ladyluck--lucky you, you don't have to wait two weeks for my next chapter!!! I was inspired! I'm on a roll! Expect my next chapter really soon. That is, if I don't have anymore homework.
Mel, Lady of the Red Oak Forest, and Elspeth--thanks for your encouragement. Due to your reviews, I'm inspired. Here's the chapter!!
White-Wolf--YAY! YOU PUT UP A NEW CHAPTER!!! *Sternly* Now go write another.
And everyone else who reviewed (sorry I don't have specific names...), thank y'all tons!
Chapter eight--
Alanna shivered and pulled her cloak closer around her. It was pouring rain outside the carrige, and she was knocked hard against the seat everytime they rode over a bump in the road. She'd left without saying good-bye to anyone, simply leaving a note on her bed explaining her disappearance. After the incident with Gary, she'd been too upset to talk to him.
One trunk was in the carriage with her, containing a articles of clothing and a little money. There was also the old, but sturdy knives that Gary had given her as well a her mother's old books. Hidden in her dress was a dagger and a few coins.
Nervously, Alanna fingered the Black Ice hung around her neck, a habit that she'd developed. The thread had been replaced with a thin silver chain, but clasping the dark pendant still brought her waves of comfort. She prayed silently that the carriage wouldn't be stopped.
The prayer was obviously ignored, for the next thing she new, the door was being opened by the driver, who eyed her nervously.
"Miss, the wheel's stuck in tha' mud. It'll be a while 'til be start up again."
Alanna nodded and leaned back against the hard wooden seat. As soon as she'd read the letter, she'd set out to find a carriage that would take her all the way to Trebond without a stop. This had been the only one available.
"Miss," the coachman said again, clearing his throat. "Miss, I'm afraid...I'm afraid that you'll have to step out of the carriage."
Nodding glumly, Alanna took his hand and jumped out, landing in a puddle and covering the bottom half of her skirt with mud. The coachman promptly began work on the carrige, pushing the carriage out of the ditch. Pulling her hood over her head, Alanna wandered 'round to the horses.
"Come on now," she said soothingly into the ear of the lead horse. "Just one quick strain and we'll be up in no time."
The horse whinnyed softly, blowing in her face.
"I know you're tired, but this is important. My father's dead, you know. I have to get home. Please, do that for me?"
Even though she felt silly talking to the horse, some part of her felt as if the horse understood. With a quiet neigh, the horse burst forward, straining. The muscles on his neck bulged as he leaned forward. Slowly, slowly, the wheel began to rise out of the mud.
Instantly, Alanna ran around to the back of the carriage and pushed against it along with the coachman. At last, with a loud sucking noise, the wheel rolled out of the mud. The coachman smiled gratefully. With much grumbling, Alanna threw open the carriage door and climbed in, slamming the door after her.
After a few moments, the carriage started again. Alanna stared out the window and memories started floating back to her. For all their later years of hostility toward each other, her earliest memories of her father were warm ones. Hugging herself, Alanna began to cry. Despite that he'd sent her off to that wretched convent and that he'd abandoned her emotionally, he was still her father, and she'd loved him. She sobbed louder as she remembered that the last words she'd ever uttered to her father, the day she left home, were, "I hate you."
"I never hated you," Alanna whispered to herself. "Not really. I didn't mean it."
With the rocking of the carriage and the howling wind outside, Alanna of Trebond cried herself to sleep, hungry and alone.
------------------
True to his word, the coachman took Alanna to her home without a stop along the way. The horses were driven hard and fast, so that they arrived in Trebond two days later. The first thing Alanna did as she stepped out of the carriage was pat each of the horses, giving the lead horse a hug.
Stanmore was standing outside, ready to receive her. Dressed already in black, he eyed her with obvious distaste, his eyes lingering on her dirtied skirt and then on her messy hair. Alanna paid the coachman and dismissed him before adressing her cousin.
"Alanna," Stanmore said, his tone nor his face giving anything away.
"Stanmore," Alanna returned levelly, not curtsying for he had not yet bowed.
"Let us go indoors." Without offering his arm to her, he turned on his heel and walked swiftly toward the large building. Alanna followed him, glancing around to see how Trebond had changed since she had left. It hadn't.
Only after they were both seated and tea was served did Stanmore speak again. Never one for tact nor smalltalk, he was brusque and to-the-point.
"Your father is dead."
"I know," Alanna answered. Stanmore nodded, not suprised.
"He died a week ago. Hunting accident. One of the hunters accidentally shot him with a poisoned arrow. By the time the healers arrived, they could do nothing for him. The poison had spread too far through his body."
"Poisoned arrow? Who would hunt with poisoned arrows?" Alanna asked suspiciously. She'd never heard of anyone doing it before.
"Sir Lothar, or maybe that duke nearby," Stanmore shrugged. They stared at each other in silence for a long moment. Stanmore was, naturally, much taller since Alanna had seen him last. His moldy blond hair was cut shorter, and his face was longer, but he looked otherwise much the same.
"You do know that I will inherit Trebond, don't you?" Stanmore broke the silence.
"Oh, are you so sure?"
"Come now, Alanna! Think: you are a lady, so you obviously cannot inherit Trebond. And since Uncle Alan had no sons, and because I am his eldest nephew, Trebond would naturally fall to me."
"Unless his will states otherwise," Alanna snapped. Stanmore shifted uncomfortably, knowing that this was true.
"He wouldn't have had a will," Stanmore said loudly. "He-he died too young for that."
"My father was a very organized person. Believe me, he would have thought to write a will."
Stanmore was silent again. Alanna smirked. Ever since she could remember, Stanmore had acted extremely nice around her father, well-behaved until his back was turned. He played the part of a doting nephew well, in high hopes that Trebond would be his. However, Alanna was sure that her father would not have passed Trebond to Stanmore.
"When is the reading of the will?"
"After the funeral," Stanmore answered uncomfortably. "But I could always have it changed."
Alanna shrugged indifferently. She could care less what she inherited from her father. Rising, Alanna faked a yawn and stretched.
"Well, until then, Trebond is still my home, and I am tired. I will take a nap in my room now, or have you already moved in?"
A glare was his response.
She walked daintily out of the room, pouring every minute of her convent training into it, gloating with every step.
As she made her way through the corriders, a familiar being emerged from a corner and embraced her tightly.
"Oh, Alanna, you're back!"
"Maude?"
The woman smiled happily back at her, eyes bright with tears and happiness. At the convent, Alanna had sent Maude back to Trebond after an argument in a fit of anger. Now, seeing her again, she wished that she hadn't.
"Oh, I never should've left you alone!"
"That's right. So why did you?"
"Why, 'cause you were so upset with me, and after those names you called me, and you telling me to go home--"
"And since when did you ever listen so what I said?"
At that, Maude embraced her again. This time, Alanna hugged her back.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Maude said, withdrawing and pulling an envolope out from the folds of her dress. "Before he died, your father told me to give you this."
Alanna immediately tore it open. She found herself with two sheets of paper--a personal letter and a will. The will was very legal and correct, including fifteen signatures of witnesses and all the proper authorities.
"How did he get all these..." Alanna wondered aloud.
"Oh, when he found out that he was very sick, he called on his friends. Weak as he was, he made it down into the parlor. That's where everything was signed."
Alanna decided to read the letter first.
My dear Alanna,
If you are reading this now, it must mean that I am gone.
I am truly sorry now for all the pain I must have caused you and beg your forgiveness. I have not been a good father to you, not the father your mother would have wanted be to be, and that I regret. I regret it with all my heart.
If you are confused about any part of the will or have any unanswered questions for me, ask Maude or Coram. They will know the answers, and no doubt have the courage to answer them whereas I had not.
Your father
She stared at it in shock before rereading it. It was short, like all his letters to her, but this one was very sentimental. Alanna wasn't sure if she believed her father or not; she couldn't decide if it was truly sincere, or if it was yet another ploy of his. Still, she desparately wanted to believe that it was true, that her father had died the loving man that she remembered from her childhood.
Next, Alanna looked at the will.
"Is there another copy?" Alanna asked.
"Of course. Everyone who signed it has a copy," Maude reassured.
The will was extremely brief. It simply stated that all of his money and material possessions were to pass to Alanna. The servants were to be paid and then released from duty, or they could remain to serve Trebond if they wished. All the horses were to be given to his brother, Stanmore's father. When reading the last line, Alanna's breath caught. She brought the page closer to her face.
"Maude? I think this is wrong..."
"What is it dear?" Maude asked anxiously.
"Here it says that 'Trebond, the house, its lands, and everything else in it other than Alanna's mentioned inheritence is to pass to my son, born Thom of Trebond.' That can't be right!!"
When Maude didn't say anything, Alanna glanced up. She was deathly white.
"Maude? What is it, Maude?"
"Are you sure that's what it says?" she asked shakily. Alanna handed her the will.
"I know, it must be wrong, because I don't have a brother." She meant the last part as a joke and laughed. When Maude didn't smile, she sobered quickly. Reading the will slowly, eyebrows drawn together, Maude's eyes grew wider and wider. At last, she looked up and met Alanna's cool eyes.
"You're wrong," she said softly. "You do have a brother."
------------------------------------
DUN DUN DUN!!
Yet another dramatic cliffhanger!!!
I'm sorry you guys, but I couldn't help myself. And that was just such a perfect place to end the chapter that I couldn't pass it up!!! Besides, I need to think about what I'm going to do next chapter. I've got the general idea, but I need to work up the details.
Whadya think??????????????
*Haughtily* I'm not posting the next chapter until I have five new reviews. Is that so much to ask??
And yeah, I know I know--the first scene was WAYYYYYYY too sentimental!! And so was the letter, but I felt that after all his meanness, Sir Alan should apologize to his daughter, so there it is.
Hyperchick88--Yeah, I was thinking since everyone has a grudge against either Jon or George, and some are die-hard fans, the easiest way out would be to not make her fall in love with everyone. But then everyone would hate me, as opposed to half the people. And seeing as this is a fanfic, not an original story, you have to try your best to please everyone. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to just count up the votes and make her fall in love with whoever got the most votes. I'm just doing that to see what everyone else thinks--I will make her fall in love with whoever I choose whenever I choose wherever I choose.
Faithful--Read my note to hyperchick88 and you'll see why voting for Gary twice won't make much of a diff. Thanks for the condolences about my yrbook teacher, though. (she REALLY REALLY REALLY hates me-and there's only been 3 days of school so far!!)
Zenin--I really need to reread The Woman Who Rides Like A Man before I decide what I should do with Jon. So right now, I'm avoiding that and focusing on another, more important side of the story.
Lady Katherine and The Dark Lady--wait and see...
Lady T--(I didn't think Lady Tarillyn was that bad!!) Yep, Alanna's going to go insane again. Actually, she isn't, not quite yet anyway. Read...
Ladyluck--lucky you, you don't have to wait two weeks for my next chapter!!! I was inspired! I'm on a roll! Expect my next chapter really soon. That is, if I don't have anymore homework.
Mel, Lady of the Red Oak Forest, and Elspeth--thanks for your encouragement. Due to your reviews, I'm inspired. Here's the chapter!!
White-Wolf--YAY! YOU PUT UP A NEW CHAPTER!!! *Sternly* Now go write another.
And everyone else who reviewed (sorry I don't have specific names...), thank y'all tons!
Chapter eight--
Alanna shivered and pulled her cloak closer around her. It was pouring rain outside the carrige, and she was knocked hard against the seat everytime they rode over a bump in the road. She'd left without saying good-bye to anyone, simply leaving a note on her bed explaining her disappearance. After the incident with Gary, she'd been too upset to talk to him.
One trunk was in the carriage with her, containing a articles of clothing and a little money. There was also the old, but sturdy knives that Gary had given her as well a her mother's old books. Hidden in her dress was a dagger and a few coins.
Nervously, Alanna fingered the Black Ice hung around her neck, a habit that she'd developed. The thread had been replaced with a thin silver chain, but clasping the dark pendant still brought her waves of comfort. She prayed silently that the carriage wouldn't be stopped.
The prayer was obviously ignored, for the next thing she new, the door was being opened by the driver, who eyed her nervously.
"Miss, the wheel's stuck in tha' mud. It'll be a while 'til be start up again."
Alanna nodded and leaned back against the hard wooden seat. As soon as she'd read the letter, she'd set out to find a carriage that would take her all the way to Trebond without a stop. This had been the only one available.
"Miss," the coachman said again, clearing his throat. "Miss, I'm afraid...I'm afraid that you'll have to step out of the carriage."
Nodding glumly, Alanna took his hand and jumped out, landing in a puddle and covering the bottom half of her skirt with mud. The coachman promptly began work on the carrige, pushing the carriage out of the ditch. Pulling her hood over her head, Alanna wandered 'round to the horses.
"Come on now," she said soothingly into the ear of the lead horse. "Just one quick strain and we'll be up in no time."
The horse whinnyed softly, blowing in her face.
"I know you're tired, but this is important. My father's dead, you know. I have to get home. Please, do that for me?"
Even though she felt silly talking to the horse, some part of her felt as if the horse understood. With a quiet neigh, the horse burst forward, straining. The muscles on his neck bulged as he leaned forward. Slowly, slowly, the wheel began to rise out of the mud.
Instantly, Alanna ran around to the back of the carriage and pushed against it along with the coachman. At last, with a loud sucking noise, the wheel rolled out of the mud. The coachman smiled gratefully. With much grumbling, Alanna threw open the carriage door and climbed in, slamming the door after her.
After a few moments, the carriage started again. Alanna stared out the window and memories started floating back to her. For all their later years of hostility toward each other, her earliest memories of her father were warm ones. Hugging herself, Alanna began to cry. Despite that he'd sent her off to that wretched convent and that he'd abandoned her emotionally, he was still her father, and she'd loved him. She sobbed louder as she remembered that the last words she'd ever uttered to her father, the day she left home, were, "I hate you."
"I never hated you," Alanna whispered to herself. "Not really. I didn't mean it."
With the rocking of the carriage and the howling wind outside, Alanna of Trebond cried herself to sleep, hungry and alone.
------------------
True to his word, the coachman took Alanna to her home without a stop along the way. The horses were driven hard and fast, so that they arrived in Trebond two days later. The first thing Alanna did as she stepped out of the carriage was pat each of the horses, giving the lead horse a hug.
Stanmore was standing outside, ready to receive her. Dressed already in black, he eyed her with obvious distaste, his eyes lingering on her dirtied skirt and then on her messy hair. Alanna paid the coachman and dismissed him before adressing her cousin.
"Alanna," Stanmore said, his tone nor his face giving anything away.
"Stanmore," Alanna returned levelly, not curtsying for he had not yet bowed.
"Let us go indoors." Without offering his arm to her, he turned on his heel and walked swiftly toward the large building. Alanna followed him, glancing around to see how Trebond had changed since she had left. It hadn't.
Only after they were both seated and tea was served did Stanmore speak again. Never one for tact nor smalltalk, he was brusque and to-the-point.
"Your father is dead."
"I know," Alanna answered. Stanmore nodded, not suprised.
"He died a week ago. Hunting accident. One of the hunters accidentally shot him with a poisoned arrow. By the time the healers arrived, they could do nothing for him. The poison had spread too far through his body."
"Poisoned arrow? Who would hunt with poisoned arrows?" Alanna asked suspiciously. She'd never heard of anyone doing it before.
"Sir Lothar, or maybe that duke nearby," Stanmore shrugged. They stared at each other in silence for a long moment. Stanmore was, naturally, much taller since Alanna had seen him last. His moldy blond hair was cut shorter, and his face was longer, but he looked otherwise much the same.
"You do know that I will inherit Trebond, don't you?" Stanmore broke the silence.
"Oh, are you so sure?"
"Come now, Alanna! Think: you are a lady, so you obviously cannot inherit Trebond. And since Uncle Alan had no sons, and because I am his eldest nephew, Trebond would naturally fall to me."
"Unless his will states otherwise," Alanna snapped. Stanmore shifted uncomfortably, knowing that this was true.
"He wouldn't have had a will," Stanmore said loudly. "He-he died too young for that."
"My father was a very organized person. Believe me, he would have thought to write a will."
Stanmore was silent again. Alanna smirked. Ever since she could remember, Stanmore had acted extremely nice around her father, well-behaved until his back was turned. He played the part of a doting nephew well, in high hopes that Trebond would be his. However, Alanna was sure that her father would not have passed Trebond to Stanmore.
"When is the reading of the will?"
"After the funeral," Stanmore answered uncomfortably. "But I could always have it changed."
Alanna shrugged indifferently. She could care less what she inherited from her father. Rising, Alanna faked a yawn and stretched.
"Well, until then, Trebond is still my home, and I am tired. I will take a nap in my room now, or have you already moved in?"
A glare was his response.
She walked daintily out of the room, pouring every minute of her convent training into it, gloating with every step.
As she made her way through the corriders, a familiar being emerged from a corner and embraced her tightly.
"Oh, Alanna, you're back!"
"Maude?"
The woman smiled happily back at her, eyes bright with tears and happiness. At the convent, Alanna had sent Maude back to Trebond after an argument in a fit of anger. Now, seeing her again, she wished that she hadn't.
"Oh, I never should've left you alone!"
"That's right. So why did you?"
"Why, 'cause you were so upset with me, and after those names you called me, and you telling me to go home--"
"And since when did you ever listen so what I said?"
At that, Maude embraced her again. This time, Alanna hugged her back.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Maude said, withdrawing and pulling an envolope out from the folds of her dress. "Before he died, your father told me to give you this."
Alanna immediately tore it open. She found herself with two sheets of paper--a personal letter and a will. The will was very legal and correct, including fifteen signatures of witnesses and all the proper authorities.
"How did he get all these..." Alanna wondered aloud.
"Oh, when he found out that he was very sick, he called on his friends. Weak as he was, he made it down into the parlor. That's where everything was signed."
Alanna decided to read the letter first.
My dear Alanna,
If you are reading this now, it must mean that I am gone.
I am truly sorry now for all the pain I must have caused you and beg your forgiveness. I have not been a good father to you, not the father your mother would have wanted be to be, and that I regret. I regret it with all my heart.
If you are confused about any part of the will or have any unanswered questions for me, ask Maude or Coram. They will know the answers, and no doubt have the courage to answer them whereas I had not.
Your father
She stared at it in shock before rereading it. It was short, like all his letters to her, but this one was very sentimental. Alanna wasn't sure if she believed her father or not; she couldn't decide if it was truly sincere, or if it was yet another ploy of his. Still, she desparately wanted to believe that it was true, that her father had died the loving man that she remembered from her childhood.
Next, Alanna looked at the will.
"Is there another copy?" Alanna asked.
"Of course. Everyone who signed it has a copy," Maude reassured.
The will was extremely brief. It simply stated that all of his money and material possessions were to pass to Alanna. The servants were to be paid and then released from duty, or they could remain to serve Trebond if they wished. All the horses were to be given to his brother, Stanmore's father. When reading the last line, Alanna's breath caught. She brought the page closer to her face.
"Maude? I think this is wrong..."
"What is it dear?" Maude asked anxiously.
"Here it says that 'Trebond, the house, its lands, and everything else in it other than Alanna's mentioned inheritence is to pass to my son, born Thom of Trebond.' That can't be right!!"
When Maude didn't say anything, Alanna glanced up. She was deathly white.
"Maude? What is it, Maude?"
"Are you sure that's what it says?" she asked shakily. Alanna handed her the will.
"I know, it must be wrong, because I don't have a brother." She meant the last part as a joke and laughed. When Maude didn't smile, she sobered quickly. Reading the will slowly, eyebrows drawn together, Maude's eyes grew wider and wider. At last, she looked up and met Alanna's cool eyes.
"You're wrong," she said softly. "You do have a brother."
------------------------------------
DUN DUN DUN!!
Yet another dramatic cliffhanger!!!
I'm sorry you guys, but I couldn't help myself. And that was just such a perfect place to end the chapter that I couldn't pass it up!!! Besides, I need to think about what I'm going to do next chapter. I've got the general idea, but I need to work up the details.
Whadya think??????????????
*Haughtily* I'm not posting the next chapter until I have five new reviews. Is that so much to ask??
And yeah, I know I know--the first scene was WAYYYYYYY too sentimental!! And so was the letter, but I felt that after all his meanness, Sir Alan should apologize to his daughter, so there it is.