A/N: Ok, I know that this has been a little blah, but now (I hope) it
should get more exciting. Please read and review and I love the two people
who reviewed, although that could be taken as an insult.
~*The Hawk and the Horn*~
Alanna woke early, feeling acutely mutinous. The events of the day before *author winks* had left her in a relatively good mood, so she didn't feel any guilt at all at the idea of sneaking out of the City after breakfast. Smirking devilishly to herself, Alanna dressed, not in the cumbersome convent garb, but in a boys tunic and leggings of worsted broadcloth. Shutting the door quietly on her peacefully drowsing roommates, she made her way to the dining hall.
After grabbing her usual piece of fruit and taking a swig of water, she checked to make sure no one followed her (which was pretty useless, as it was just about half-past-five) and searched the main parapet for a smaller, lesser known gate. The fruits of her labor were soon revealed, and she slipped out into the northern countryside.
***
It was the exact opposite of the day before. The sky was a clear periwinkle, the sun was bright as a freshly stoked ember, and the sharp air was clean. The slight young girl meandered happily through the light- dappled trees for quite a distance before realizing that something was very wrong in the forest. The birds were flying in packs-but not south, as is common in autumn.but north. Beasts were doing the same, but even bears and other hibernating creatures were joining in. "Damn," she breathed softly, and stopped walking for a moment, her brow furrowed pensively. A strange, musty scent entered her nostrils, and she froze. Where had she smelled that before? Suddenly a piercing screech rent the air and Alanna forgot all else as she threw her body down on the damp loam. Twisting her neck around to look at the sky, she gaped in horror and awe, as a colossal hawk swooped across her field of vision. But this was no ordinary hawk; its body was broad and feathered-exactly as a hawk's should be. But the head-the head was human. A young female, apparently, with tumbling masses of smoky brown hair, and full, stubborn lips. Her eyes were cruel and savage, as she coasted on an upper thermal, raking the woodlands for any sign of human intruders.
Alanna ran into the shelter of a fairly large oak, and sat down, hard, against its trunk. There was no doubt in her mind: the animals had been following the hawk-creature. And it didn't look like they were ambassadors of the peace.
***
Lord Ushak smiled triumphantly at the slender young woman kneeling in front of him, and brandished the ornate bugle in his hand. "This, my dear, is the turning point in my plan."
She gazed slyly up at him from under her lashes. "My lord, I believe that the horn was already in my possession before we even met and devised this scheme."
He shook his head impatiently. "No no, Veriladaine, my sweet. This- this new regiment of creatures that you have managed to procure, that's what is wonderful." Ushak chose a ripe persimmon from a bowl on a hardwood table, and polished it on his brocade doublet. The room was built on grand proportions, but was as cold and bleak as the Scanran weather it endured.
Veriladaine watched him eat the plum-like fruit voraciously, and curled her lip in disdain. He lusts for power, she thought, but in the end all he'll get is a dirk in the back and a moldering grave. She smiled graciously, however, and swept majestically over to a long, many-paned window. "Milord, the weather will doubtless deteriorate, so we must rush to accommodate all the animals we can before it begins to snow." She looked into his cold eyes. "That means that I must leave you soon, to further encourage them to join the rightful cause. If we hope to destroy the Tortallans then we must have them thoroughly convinced." The woman made as if to leave, then held back. "When I came to you last year, you naturally did not believe that I come from the year 461. In fact, I was a bit disoriented myself. In my time, as I told you, the Scanran people-my people, now-had already tried to dominate Tortall and failed. I felt strange yearnings for a less civilized way of life, and my thoughts fell on the horn that my old friend, Numair Salmalin, gave me as a birthday gift. He did not know its time-traveling nature, and therefore missed out on a wondrous academic discovery. But I discovered them, and came back to now, when we had a second chance at a great existence."
Lord Ushak cut her off. "Dearest, you have told me all of this at least ten times. Please, if you have a point to make, indulge me."
"I have done all of this for your benefit and our country's. So much of my effort is drilled into our project that it can-not-fail!" She emphasized each word by pounding a fist vehemently into her palm. However, Veriladaine soon regained her composure. "I will see you this evening, milord." She curtsied deeply, and fled quickly out the door.
The paunchy man sitting on a magnificent teak chair laughed heartily, and reached for the crock of fruit.
***
Alanna leaned heavily against the granite wall of the outer convent, breathing in gasps. She had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was was deeply disturbing, even to a girl of such strong nature. She regained her breath and swore loudly. It was almost an hour after noon, by the looks of the sun! She had not meant to be gone quite that long. Pushing open the stout oaken door, Alanna found the class that she was supposed to be in (healing magics and methods), braced herself for punishment, and entered.
Her first impression was one of incredulity. This puzzled slightly her for a few moments, and then she realized that her garb was a bit unusual for that of a maiden at a prestigious convent. She grinned somewhat sheepishly. "Sorry I'm late, Madam Orita," she said in a would-be-cheerful manner, and slid into a vacant seat. Rosa frowned curiously at her, but refrained from comment as Madam Orita was bellowing at Alanna in the most bizarre manner.
"Young lady, just TRY and fool me, you are not getting away with missing the ENTIRE morning and then some of the afternoon too! I'm surprised at you, miss, and not the least bit APPALLED that you are bold enough to enter my class wearing that-that-well, never mind, just go to your room and change, and then go directly to the Mother, she will be most interested as to WHERE YOU'VE BEEN! You are dismissed, young lady, go on!"
Alanna took this bit of good advice and strode as quickly as she could out into the passageway and down to the Mother's office. A developing feeling of utter doom grew inside her until, as she opened the door into the High Priestess's room, she couldn't help but feel extremely apprehensive of her fate.
A/N: There you go, Daine fans! I really am quite sorry, all you guys and gals out there, but I am feeling evil and obnoxious, so I thought it would be a cool plot-if I do say so myself. I'm sorry if you think it's a cliffie, but oh well, just keep on reading. Remember, please R/R.
DISCLAIMER!!! I do not own the majority of these characters.
~*The Hawk and the Horn*~
Alanna woke early, feeling acutely mutinous. The events of the day before *author winks* had left her in a relatively good mood, so she didn't feel any guilt at all at the idea of sneaking out of the City after breakfast. Smirking devilishly to herself, Alanna dressed, not in the cumbersome convent garb, but in a boys tunic and leggings of worsted broadcloth. Shutting the door quietly on her peacefully drowsing roommates, she made her way to the dining hall.
After grabbing her usual piece of fruit and taking a swig of water, she checked to make sure no one followed her (which was pretty useless, as it was just about half-past-five) and searched the main parapet for a smaller, lesser known gate. The fruits of her labor were soon revealed, and she slipped out into the northern countryside.
***
It was the exact opposite of the day before. The sky was a clear periwinkle, the sun was bright as a freshly stoked ember, and the sharp air was clean. The slight young girl meandered happily through the light- dappled trees for quite a distance before realizing that something was very wrong in the forest. The birds were flying in packs-but not south, as is common in autumn.but north. Beasts were doing the same, but even bears and other hibernating creatures were joining in. "Damn," she breathed softly, and stopped walking for a moment, her brow furrowed pensively. A strange, musty scent entered her nostrils, and she froze. Where had she smelled that before? Suddenly a piercing screech rent the air and Alanna forgot all else as she threw her body down on the damp loam. Twisting her neck around to look at the sky, she gaped in horror and awe, as a colossal hawk swooped across her field of vision. But this was no ordinary hawk; its body was broad and feathered-exactly as a hawk's should be. But the head-the head was human. A young female, apparently, with tumbling masses of smoky brown hair, and full, stubborn lips. Her eyes were cruel and savage, as she coasted on an upper thermal, raking the woodlands for any sign of human intruders.
Alanna ran into the shelter of a fairly large oak, and sat down, hard, against its trunk. There was no doubt in her mind: the animals had been following the hawk-creature. And it didn't look like they were ambassadors of the peace.
***
Lord Ushak smiled triumphantly at the slender young woman kneeling in front of him, and brandished the ornate bugle in his hand. "This, my dear, is the turning point in my plan."
She gazed slyly up at him from under her lashes. "My lord, I believe that the horn was already in my possession before we even met and devised this scheme."
He shook his head impatiently. "No no, Veriladaine, my sweet. This- this new regiment of creatures that you have managed to procure, that's what is wonderful." Ushak chose a ripe persimmon from a bowl on a hardwood table, and polished it on his brocade doublet. The room was built on grand proportions, but was as cold and bleak as the Scanran weather it endured.
Veriladaine watched him eat the plum-like fruit voraciously, and curled her lip in disdain. He lusts for power, she thought, but in the end all he'll get is a dirk in the back and a moldering grave. She smiled graciously, however, and swept majestically over to a long, many-paned window. "Milord, the weather will doubtless deteriorate, so we must rush to accommodate all the animals we can before it begins to snow." She looked into his cold eyes. "That means that I must leave you soon, to further encourage them to join the rightful cause. If we hope to destroy the Tortallans then we must have them thoroughly convinced." The woman made as if to leave, then held back. "When I came to you last year, you naturally did not believe that I come from the year 461. In fact, I was a bit disoriented myself. In my time, as I told you, the Scanran people-my people, now-had already tried to dominate Tortall and failed. I felt strange yearnings for a less civilized way of life, and my thoughts fell on the horn that my old friend, Numair Salmalin, gave me as a birthday gift. He did not know its time-traveling nature, and therefore missed out on a wondrous academic discovery. But I discovered them, and came back to now, when we had a second chance at a great existence."
Lord Ushak cut her off. "Dearest, you have told me all of this at least ten times. Please, if you have a point to make, indulge me."
"I have done all of this for your benefit and our country's. So much of my effort is drilled into our project that it can-not-fail!" She emphasized each word by pounding a fist vehemently into her palm. However, Veriladaine soon regained her composure. "I will see you this evening, milord." She curtsied deeply, and fled quickly out the door.
The paunchy man sitting on a magnificent teak chair laughed heartily, and reached for the crock of fruit.
***
Alanna leaned heavily against the granite wall of the outer convent, breathing in gasps. She had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was was deeply disturbing, even to a girl of such strong nature. She regained her breath and swore loudly. It was almost an hour after noon, by the looks of the sun! She had not meant to be gone quite that long. Pushing open the stout oaken door, Alanna found the class that she was supposed to be in (healing magics and methods), braced herself for punishment, and entered.
Her first impression was one of incredulity. This puzzled slightly her for a few moments, and then she realized that her garb was a bit unusual for that of a maiden at a prestigious convent. She grinned somewhat sheepishly. "Sorry I'm late, Madam Orita," she said in a would-be-cheerful manner, and slid into a vacant seat. Rosa frowned curiously at her, but refrained from comment as Madam Orita was bellowing at Alanna in the most bizarre manner.
"Young lady, just TRY and fool me, you are not getting away with missing the ENTIRE morning and then some of the afternoon too! I'm surprised at you, miss, and not the least bit APPALLED that you are bold enough to enter my class wearing that-that-well, never mind, just go to your room and change, and then go directly to the Mother, she will be most interested as to WHERE YOU'VE BEEN! You are dismissed, young lady, go on!"
Alanna took this bit of good advice and strode as quickly as she could out into the passageway and down to the Mother's office. A developing feeling of utter doom grew inside her until, as she opened the door into the High Priestess's room, she couldn't help but feel extremely apprehensive of her fate.
A/N: There you go, Daine fans! I really am quite sorry, all you guys and gals out there, but I am feeling evil and obnoxious, so I thought it would be a cool plot-if I do say so myself. I'm sorry if you think it's a cliffie, but oh well, just keep on reading. Remember, please R/R.
DISCLAIMER!!! I do not own the majority of these characters.
