Chapter twenty-nine---
"Why don't we go outside for a bit?" Alex suggested.
"Why? So nobody else can dance with me for the rest of the night?" laughed Alanna. "Really, Alex! I didn't know you were such a jealous person."
"I'm not jealous," he said, taking her arm and pulling her down the marble steps into the dimly litted garden. "It's just that I was--"
"Planning on having me for the whole evening. Yes, you've said that already," finished Alanna, gazing around. The gardens looked so different in beneath the crescent moon, with only scattered lanterns offering a pale glow. The polished stone platform beneath their feet was slippery smooth.
Supressing a giggle, Alanna took a gliding step and spun on her slippers. Alex watched with amusement before encircling her waist and twirling her around, causing Alanna to laugh gleefully.
"A lady should never dance alone," he said. From the ballroom came the sound of the musicians starting a waltz. Releasing Alanna, Alex bowed formally.
"My good lady," he said with a straight face, "might I have the honor of a dance?"
Alanna dropped into a hasty curtsy. "My good sir, the honor is mine."
Still formal, though grinning now, Alex extended an arm to her, which she accepted with another dip of the knee. His other hand found her waist and they began the fast sweeping movements of the waltz.
"Explain your relationship with Boran."
"Bowen? You wouldn't believe me."
"His name is Boran," Alex corrected.
"He told me it was Bowen," Alanna said with a shrug. "I was in the city at night, visiting George, and on my way back, in the middle of the street, he appeared."
Alex stopped suddenly, giving her a stern look. Shrugging again, Alanna said, "If you don't believe me--"
"I believe you," he said. "So--"
"He has the Gift," Alanna said. "Anyway, he's just an acquaintance. After a brief talk, I'd really wanted to meet with him again. We made arrangements, but because I was unconscious for days after the healing the queen--"
"You didn't show, and he was curious as to why," Alex finished.
"That's about it," said Alanna, nodding.
"Why were you visiting George at night? The streets are dangerous then," Alex said with a frown.
"I had a nightmare that concerned him."
"What??"
"I'm getting cold," Alanna said with a slight shiver. She pursed her lip in a pout. "You wouldn't want me to get cold, would you?"
"Is this your way of trying to get me to go back indoors?"
"Alex, it's winter!"
"So? It's only a bit cool out here; I think it's rather nice to breathe fresh air. And the night sky is beautifully clear, isn't it?"
"I'm thirsty."
"You are not."
Alanna pretended to gasp in shock. "Ai, Sir Tirragen contradicted a lady!"
"There's a fountain over there," Alex said with a grin.
"Where?"
"Oh, about the center of the garden. Shall we make our way over there?"
"I want a bit of strong wine. Maybe I'll try that baf-thing you men are always talking about."
"Since when are you a heavy drinker?"
"Since tonight," Alanna said, smiling, as she pulled away. "And I really am thirsty."
"Then wait here. I'll get us drinks," Alex said.
"No!" Alanna protested. "I'll freeze out here! Let's both go back inside, where's it's toasty warm, for our drinks."
"Or," Alex said, "you can go find the fountain and wait for me to bring them to you. I'll be quick." Seeing, her expression, he planted a chaste kiss on her lips. Before she could protest, he'd ducked back into the hall.
Muttering under her breath, Alanna shuffled across the smooth floor to the stone steps that led to the garden path. Her breath rose as steam into the air.
"Cold?" a voice asked as a figure emerged from the shadows. Jon grinned as Alanna jumped.
"Don't do that!" she snapped. "And what are you doing out here when it's this cold outside?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing," responded Jon, drawing a cloak from nowhere and drawing it around Alanna's shoulders.
"Thanks," Alanna said gratefully, not questioning his preparedness. Putting an arm around her, he pulled her to his side. Happy for the extra warmth, Alanna pressed close.
"I heard you were to find the fountain."
"Yeah," Alanna replied into his tunic.
"It's one of those places that you always seem to find when you're wandering about with no purpose but can never find when you set your mind to it," Jon told her wryly.
"Mmmf," was her muffled answer.
"It's in the exact center of the gardens, I think," continued Jon, steering her around a row of rosebushes and between two tall hedges.
"Is this a maze?" demanded Alanna in alarm, lifting her head.
"A very small one," reassured Jon. "My father tells me that it used to be larger, but they trimmed it down during his childhood after people got lost in it too often."
Three right turns, a left pivot, four forks, and a hidden door later, she found herself staring at a huge stone fountain, triple-tiered, waist-deep, more than seven meters across. It sprayed water into the air that fell lightly on her face like rain.
"Let's go sit by it," suggested Jon.
"We'll be drenched," said Alanna, but allowed him to drag her to the broad edge of the fountain--which was very wet--and sit down. Within moments, her hair and skin was sprinkled with water, her gown damp. She soon realized, however, that--
"The water's warm!" Alanna cried delightedly. "It's VERY warm!!" Laughing, she scooped a handful of the water and washed her face in it, wiping off the face paint. Her whole body was instantly warmed.
She then proceeded to sling a handful of water at Jon, who only smiled. Because of his lack of response, Alanna continued to splash him with water for her own amusement until, without warning, his left arm swung around to knock her soundly into the fountain. Alanna screamed.
Now she WAS drenched. Sputtering, she grabbed him by his tunic and pulled him, yelling, into the warm water after her. Pushing his sopping hair out of his face, he looked to her in alarm.
"Why did you do that?"
"You pushed me in first," Alanna retorted, trying to get out but failing miserably. Air trapped beneath her skirt had caused it to float in a most comical matter. Her hair was being undone by the persistant flow of water onto her head.
Staring at the wet prince, who because of the full sleeves of his shirt was also having difficulty climbing out of the large fountain, they broke out laughing.
"You look a mess!" Jon cried, falling back into the water with laughter. Grinning, Alanna tried again to stand, but the huge weight of her now-wet-dress dragged her back into the fountain. She pushed away from the sprouting water, attempting to move toward the edge of the fountain.
"How am I suppose to get out?" she cried, indicating her gown. At this, Jon's laughter doubled.
"At-at...least you're...warm now," he said helplessly. Alanna splashed more water at him, making him choke and sputter.
"How about you get out first, and then you pull be out?" Alanna suggested. He waved his arms to emphasize the buoyant sleeves of his shirt that hindered his movements. He laughed even harder now.
Grumbling, though she couldn't help but smile, Alanna floated on her back and kicked off the bottom, swimming to the edge. A couple seconds later, something hard connected with her skull. Abruptly she was vertical again. She had hit the edge of the fountain. She motioned for the still-hysterical prince to swim over.
At last they both stood with their arms over the wide stone lip of the deep fountain. Jon was able to swing himself up and over. Moments afterward, he reached down to pull her up by the waist after him.
"Why is the fountain so deep anyway?" Alanna demanded as she wrung out her hair. "And so big? It's impractical!"
"I think I read about it somewhere," Jon said, following her lead and wrining out his shirt. "My grandmother had it built, I think. Some nights, when the weather was nice, she would steal out here to bathe in it."
Alanna gazed at the huge fountain. "That's why the water was warm!"
"And she built a fountain because people would talk if she built an open-air bathhouse in the gardens," Jon finished with a grin. "But somebody must have caught her bathing in the fountain because people still talked." His clothing was now wrinkled but much less wet than before. Alanna looked down helplessly at her skirt.
"A dance?" Jon grinned as Alanna was suddenly again aware of the faint sounds from the hall.
"Like this?" demanded Alanna incredulously, giving her dripping gown a shake.
"Why not?" returned Jon.
"Wait--where are my slippers?"
They turned as one to the fountain. There floated two ruby-colored slippers, though one was already half submerged in water.
"We'll manage without them," Jon said with a smile, placing one hand on her waist. As their free hands met, Alanna was suddenly reminded of their last dance. Her heart began to found, a rougher rythm than the music. She held her sopping skirt. His calloused hand was strangely dry, feeling warm and comforting and unsettling and bewildering all at once.
As they danced, Alanna felt herself wondering desperately where Alex was and what was taking him so long. The song soon ended and another dance began. Still Alex hadn't arrived.
"Ah, isn't this romantic?" Jon said with a laugh. "Dancing beneath the crescent moon in the rain--"
"Rain?"
Jon jerked his head toward the fountain. "Close enough." Alanna laughed, feeling her tension slip away. The air was instantly more relaxed.
Every time he twirled her around, her wet hair spun to slap him in the face. His shoes made strange noises. Her hand would sometimes slip and her wet gown would fall to drag on the ground, leaving a trail. After several dances, they were again helpless with mirth, clutching their sides from the laughter.
"I think that's enough," gasped Alanna. "I'm going to find Alex now." And skin him alive, she added mentally.
"Alanna--" Jon said softly, catching her sleeve as she turned to leave. Cupping her chin, he kissed her.
Frozen with shock, Alanna felt the quick, hard pressure of his lips against hers, nothing like Alex's slow, sensuous kisses. His tongue ravaged her mouth. She felt alive with delicious fear.
She found herself kissing him back. Almost viciously, she dug her nails into his back, drawing her to him as she hungrily demanded more. He responded in kind, clutching her in an iron grip, his hot passion scorching her.
Alex, Alex! her mind screamed even as her heart thundered wildly in confusion and her tongue dueled with Jon's. Alex, Alex, Alex! Even as her practical mind protested, she did not pause, did not hesitate for a moment until suddenly she felt Jon's hands fumbling with the lacings on her gown.
Alanna pushed away suddenly, clutching the laces and gaping at him. His eyes, still burning with fiery passion, were filled with bewilderment.
"Wha..?"
Her jaw dropped lower as she was suddenly filled with horror. For, over Jon's shoulder, Alanna saw a seething form in the archway cast aside wine-filled goblets to crash against the stone pavement, red liquid splashing against the walls and staining the plants and mud like blood. His black eyes glinted in the moonlight with murderous intent.
From his belt, Alex drew a dagger.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ai, ai! I really didn't mean for it to end like that! Ah, well. Now we'll all have ourselves a ni-i-i-ce duel over Alanna. Winner gains the spoils, hehe.
And for the Jon-lovers, there you have it! Jon's second shot! It went notably better than his first! Unfortunately, now I have to write some angst. Shoot. I've been trying to avoid that the entire story! I really didn't want Alanna to feel her heart tugged in more than one direction like it is in the books, but... well, yeah...
I can't remember exactly where I read the story of the fountain. I'm 95% positive that I read it in a book somewhere... only I added the fact that the water was warm. Who wants to bathe in cold water??? Even if it is in summer. Yeah, crazy royal people, huh? Only I don't think it was a queen... I think it was some noblewoman, or a desert princess, or something...
Anyway, I stuck the royal fountain in the Tortall because it amused me. ^-^
ALMOST DONE WITH THE STORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Possibly only 5 chapters left!!!!
"Why don't we go outside for a bit?" Alex suggested.
"Why? So nobody else can dance with me for the rest of the night?" laughed Alanna. "Really, Alex! I didn't know you were such a jealous person."
"I'm not jealous," he said, taking her arm and pulling her down the marble steps into the dimly litted garden. "It's just that I was--"
"Planning on having me for the whole evening. Yes, you've said that already," finished Alanna, gazing around. The gardens looked so different in beneath the crescent moon, with only scattered lanterns offering a pale glow. The polished stone platform beneath their feet was slippery smooth.
Supressing a giggle, Alanna took a gliding step and spun on her slippers. Alex watched with amusement before encircling her waist and twirling her around, causing Alanna to laugh gleefully.
"A lady should never dance alone," he said. From the ballroom came the sound of the musicians starting a waltz. Releasing Alanna, Alex bowed formally.
"My good lady," he said with a straight face, "might I have the honor of a dance?"
Alanna dropped into a hasty curtsy. "My good sir, the honor is mine."
Still formal, though grinning now, Alex extended an arm to her, which she accepted with another dip of the knee. His other hand found her waist and they began the fast sweeping movements of the waltz.
"Explain your relationship with Boran."
"Bowen? You wouldn't believe me."
"His name is Boran," Alex corrected.
"He told me it was Bowen," Alanna said with a shrug. "I was in the city at night, visiting George, and on my way back, in the middle of the street, he appeared."
Alex stopped suddenly, giving her a stern look. Shrugging again, Alanna said, "If you don't believe me--"
"I believe you," he said. "So--"
"He has the Gift," Alanna said. "Anyway, he's just an acquaintance. After a brief talk, I'd really wanted to meet with him again. We made arrangements, but because I was unconscious for days after the healing the queen--"
"You didn't show, and he was curious as to why," Alex finished.
"That's about it," said Alanna, nodding.
"Why were you visiting George at night? The streets are dangerous then," Alex said with a frown.
"I had a nightmare that concerned him."
"What??"
"I'm getting cold," Alanna said with a slight shiver. She pursed her lip in a pout. "You wouldn't want me to get cold, would you?"
"Is this your way of trying to get me to go back indoors?"
"Alex, it's winter!"
"So? It's only a bit cool out here; I think it's rather nice to breathe fresh air. And the night sky is beautifully clear, isn't it?"
"I'm thirsty."
"You are not."
Alanna pretended to gasp in shock. "Ai, Sir Tirragen contradicted a lady!"
"There's a fountain over there," Alex said with a grin.
"Where?"
"Oh, about the center of the garden. Shall we make our way over there?"
"I want a bit of strong wine. Maybe I'll try that baf-thing you men are always talking about."
"Since when are you a heavy drinker?"
"Since tonight," Alanna said, smiling, as she pulled away. "And I really am thirsty."
"Then wait here. I'll get us drinks," Alex said.
"No!" Alanna protested. "I'll freeze out here! Let's both go back inside, where's it's toasty warm, for our drinks."
"Or," Alex said, "you can go find the fountain and wait for me to bring them to you. I'll be quick." Seeing, her expression, he planted a chaste kiss on her lips. Before she could protest, he'd ducked back into the hall.
Muttering under her breath, Alanna shuffled across the smooth floor to the stone steps that led to the garden path. Her breath rose as steam into the air.
"Cold?" a voice asked as a figure emerged from the shadows. Jon grinned as Alanna jumped.
"Don't do that!" she snapped. "And what are you doing out here when it's this cold outside?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing," responded Jon, drawing a cloak from nowhere and drawing it around Alanna's shoulders.
"Thanks," Alanna said gratefully, not questioning his preparedness. Putting an arm around her, he pulled her to his side. Happy for the extra warmth, Alanna pressed close.
"I heard you were to find the fountain."
"Yeah," Alanna replied into his tunic.
"It's one of those places that you always seem to find when you're wandering about with no purpose but can never find when you set your mind to it," Jon told her wryly.
"Mmmf," was her muffled answer.
"It's in the exact center of the gardens, I think," continued Jon, steering her around a row of rosebushes and between two tall hedges.
"Is this a maze?" demanded Alanna in alarm, lifting her head.
"A very small one," reassured Jon. "My father tells me that it used to be larger, but they trimmed it down during his childhood after people got lost in it too often."
Three right turns, a left pivot, four forks, and a hidden door later, she found herself staring at a huge stone fountain, triple-tiered, waist-deep, more than seven meters across. It sprayed water into the air that fell lightly on her face like rain.
"Let's go sit by it," suggested Jon.
"We'll be drenched," said Alanna, but allowed him to drag her to the broad edge of the fountain--which was very wet--and sit down. Within moments, her hair and skin was sprinkled with water, her gown damp. She soon realized, however, that--
"The water's warm!" Alanna cried delightedly. "It's VERY warm!!" Laughing, she scooped a handful of the water and washed her face in it, wiping off the face paint. Her whole body was instantly warmed.
She then proceeded to sling a handful of water at Jon, who only smiled. Because of his lack of response, Alanna continued to splash him with water for her own amusement until, without warning, his left arm swung around to knock her soundly into the fountain. Alanna screamed.
Now she WAS drenched. Sputtering, she grabbed him by his tunic and pulled him, yelling, into the warm water after her. Pushing his sopping hair out of his face, he looked to her in alarm.
"Why did you do that?"
"You pushed me in first," Alanna retorted, trying to get out but failing miserably. Air trapped beneath her skirt had caused it to float in a most comical matter. Her hair was being undone by the persistant flow of water onto her head.
Staring at the wet prince, who because of the full sleeves of his shirt was also having difficulty climbing out of the large fountain, they broke out laughing.
"You look a mess!" Jon cried, falling back into the water with laughter. Grinning, Alanna tried again to stand, but the huge weight of her now-wet-dress dragged her back into the fountain. She pushed away from the sprouting water, attempting to move toward the edge of the fountain.
"How am I suppose to get out?" she cried, indicating her gown. At this, Jon's laughter doubled.
"At-at...least you're...warm now," he said helplessly. Alanna splashed more water at him, making him choke and sputter.
"How about you get out first, and then you pull be out?" Alanna suggested. He waved his arms to emphasize the buoyant sleeves of his shirt that hindered his movements. He laughed even harder now.
Grumbling, though she couldn't help but smile, Alanna floated on her back and kicked off the bottom, swimming to the edge. A couple seconds later, something hard connected with her skull. Abruptly she was vertical again. She had hit the edge of the fountain. She motioned for the still-hysterical prince to swim over.
At last they both stood with their arms over the wide stone lip of the deep fountain. Jon was able to swing himself up and over. Moments afterward, he reached down to pull her up by the waist after him.
"Why is the fountain so deep anyway?" Alanna demanded as she wrung out her hair. "And so big? It's impractical!"
"I think I read about it somewhere," Jon said, following her lead and wrining out his shirt. "My grandmother had it built, I think. Some nights, when the weather was nice, she would steal out here to bathe in it."
Alanna gazed at the huge fountain. "That's why the water was warm!"
"And she built a fountain because people would talk if she built an open-air bathhouse in the gardens," Jon finished with a grin. "But somebody must have caught her bathing in the fountain because people still talked." His clothing was now wrinkled but much less wet than before. Alanna looked down helplessly at her skirt.
"A dance?" Jon grinned as Alanna was suddenly again aware of the faint sounds from the hall.
"Like this?" demanded Alanna incredulously, giving her dripping gown a shake.
"Why not?" returned Jon.
"Wait--where are my slippers?"
They turned as one to the fountain. There floated two ruby-colored slippers, though one was already half submerged in water.
"We'll manage without them," Jon said with a smile, placing one hand on her waist. As their free hands met, Alanna was suddenly reminded of their last dance. Her heart began to found, a rougher rythm than the music. She held her sopping skirt. His calloused hand was strangely dry, feeling warm and comforting and unsettling and bewildering all at once.
As they danced, Alanna felt herself wondering desperately where Alex was and what was taking him so long. The song soon ended and another dance began. Still Alex hadn't arrived.
"Ah, isn't this romantic?" Jon said with a laugh. "Dancing beneath the crescent moon in the rain--"
"Rain?"
Jon jerked his head toward the fountain. "Close enough." Alanna laughed, feeling her tension slip away. The air was instantly more relaxed.
Every time he twirled her around, her wet hair spun to slap him in the face. His shoes made strange noises. Her hand would sometimes slip and her wet gown would fall to drag on the ground, leaving a trail. After several dances, they were again helpless with mirth, clutching their sides from the laughter.
"I think that's enough," gasped Alanna. "I'm going to find Alex now." And skin him alive, she added mentally.
"Alanna--" Jon said softly, catching her sleeve as she turned to leave. Cupping her chin, he kissed her.
Frozen with shock, Alanna felt the quick, hard pressure of his lips against hers, nothing like Alex's slow, sensuous kisses. His tongue ravaged her mouth. She felt alive with delicious fear.
She found herself kissing him back. Almost viciously, she dug her nails into his back, drawing her to him as she hungrily demanded more. He responded in kind, clutching her in an iron grip, his hot passion scorching her.
Alex, Alex! her mind screamed even as her heart thundered wildly in confusion and her tongue dueled with Jon's. Alex, Alex, Alex! Even as her practical mind protested, she did not pause, did not hesitate for a moment until suddenly she felt Jon's hands fumbling with the lacings on her gown.
Alanna pushed away suddenly, clutching the laces and gaping at him. His eyes, still burning with fiery passion, were filled with bewilderment.
"Wha..?"
Her jaw dropped lower as she was suddenly filled with horror. For, over Jon's shoulder, Alanna saw a seething form in the archway cast aside wine-filled goblets to crash against the stone pavement, red liquid splashing against the walls and staining the plants and mud like blood. His black eyes glinted in the moonlight with murderous intent.
From his belt, Alex drew a dagger.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ai, ai! I really didn't mean for it to end like that! Ah, well. Now we'll all have ourselves a ni-i-i-ce duel over Alanna. Winner gains the spoils, hehe.
And for the Jon-lovers, there you have it! Jon's second shot! It went notably better than his first! Unfortunately, now I have to write some angst. Shoot. I've been trying to avoid that the entire story! I really didn't want Alanna to feel her heart tugged in more than one direction like it is in the books, but... well, yeah...
I can't remember exactly where I read the story of the fountain. I'm 95% positive that I read it in a book somewhere... only I added the fact that the water was warm. Who wants to bathe in cold water??? Even if it is in summer. Yeah, crazy royal people, huh? Only I don't think it was a queen... I think it was some noblewoman, or a desert princess, or something...
Anyway, I stuck the royal fountain in the Tortall because it amused me. ^-^
ALMOST DONE WITH THE STORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Possibly only 5 chapters left!!!!