A/N: Sorry about the long wait. Devilkitti8 this chapter is for you.
Chapter IV: Thieves, Ladies, Knights, and Squires
George wandered through the Corus market place. Ela sat on his shoulders her small fingers entwined themselves in his brown hair. He glanced up at her and grinned. Her snub nose was sprinkled with ginger freckles and her thin brown hair brushed her shoulders. Her head was tilted back to catch every ray of sunlight. The market was drab and grey, as if the entire place was in mourning. The high taxes on imported dyes meant that only the incredibly wealthy, a class that was shrinking rapidly, could afford colors. Ela giggled and pointed at the one stall with bright ribbons floating from it. George walked over towards it. Its bright colors were a banner flowing out towards him. Ela deserved color in her life.
The trader smiled at George from the stall. George fingered the ribbons gently; Ela laughed and pointed at sky blue ribbon floating out with the rest on the breeze. George took it down and looked at it, fingering the fine silk then replaced it without a word.
"It would be a fine color for the little miss," the trader said with an oily insincere smile. George nodded then walked away from the stall with out saying a word. When they were safe in the throng he looked up at Ela and grinned.
"You lifted it right gently my little lass." She smiled and unwrapped the long azure ribbon from her wrist. "You will be an expert pick pocket, you have the lightest fingers I have ever seen." She smiled again hugged the top of his head. George had stopped worrying about her silence, she only spoke to people she knew very well and even then very rarely. They continued through the crowds, relieving the wealthy of the weight of their purses. The take each day was getting smaller and smaller. When they returned to the inn and counted the day's earnings, George looked at Ela.
"If life continues as is I'll have to start working for a livin', lass," he smiled. "It seems the trade I'm teaching you isn't going to get you far in these days." Ela looked up at him and removed from her pocket a thin wallet offering it up to he foster father. He smiled weakly at her at took it from her small hands. She jumped down from the table and tied the sky blue ribbon into her limp hair, and grinned, her face lit up the room, and she was beautiful. George couldn't help but grin back. She began to twirl and dance around the room, he laughed and swung her up in his arms and kissed her.
There was a beating of wings at the shutters of his room. George gently put Ela down and walked over to the window and threw it open. A pigeon flew in. It was from Esanta. Raoul decided that it was safer to send the pigeons to George, so these last couple weeks George had to learn to hear the difference between Esanta's palace birds and Stefan's stable pigeons. Wrapped carefully around the bird's leg was a slip of paper. The message was short but urgent.
R. has the warrant for your arrest.
*~*~*
Alanna concentrated on the orb in her hands it glowed with a steady violet light.
"By storing a spell in crystal it will be intensified so it can last longer and will be more accessible than one that you have to call up on the spur of the moment. It is less draining, making it possible for you to cast more spells while still having light to see by," the instructing sister continued. "Remember ladies in order for you to run a household efficiently careful study of your gift is necessary." Alanna looked at the sister trying to understand how something so potentially interesting could be so boring, she sighed. "Lady Alanna of Trebond do you have anything to share?" the sister asked sharply.
"No your Reverence," Alanna replied her intonation perfect from years of practice. Alanna didn't hate the convent the way she did when she first came but she couldn't say that it was her favorite place in the world either. In the first couple years she had hated all classes especially the magic training, but as the years wore on she lost her fear of her gift. She now was in advanced study, which, if the instructor had be any good at all, would be extremely interesting, but the sister just droned on. In Advanced Magical Studies the girls were learning how to run a household aided by magic, and how to defend a manor or palace while under attack. The first thing that they had been taught by the sisters was that they shouldn't depend on men to save their homes and their children.
"Men will not always be home or even care, you have to always look like you depend on them, but you must never actually depend on them. You have to learn how to look weak while actually being strong, you must remember that if you really were how you are supposed to act no one would marry you." So they were taught to look horrified to cry prettily, to faint, to act silly, to flirt, and to be the true and strong head of the household. Alanna felt it was all ridiculous, if you are strong act strong, was her mind, but she realized that acting silly had its advantages as well. She would be an ideal spy, if she wished no man would ever think that she had any brain.
Alanna at first had no respect for the sisters, she thought of them as spineless women creating spineless women, but the more she stayed with them the more she watched them the more she understood them, and that created a grudging respect for the sisters. Then Roger had ascended the throne and it was decreed that all gifts must be registered or the possessor would be incarcerated. The sisters carefully shielded their gifts from him, Roger would never have thought of women being trained in magic. They took in refugees, and helped teach the student mages that needed training. They continued training their gifted ladies, and embedded in them a powerful hatred for the King. Roger hadn't realized his mistake.
*~*~*
Thom walked down the long hallway. He was puzzled, why would the most disappointing squire in the entire realm be offered a place by Gareth the Younger. He approached the door, and reached out for the knob, then hesitated. His instinct for self-preservation told him that Gareth would never offer to be his knight master without some other motive. He stood there, wondering, thinking, puzzling. Then he shook his head, there was only one way to find out why this was happening. He opened the door. Gareth was sitting at his desk and looked up at the short figure of Thom of Trebond.
"Shut the door," he said curtly. Thom complied, then turned back towards the knight, shoulders back, eyes proud, he dared Gareth to under estimate him. "Do you have the Gift?" Thom started; this was not what he expected.
"No," he said guardedly. Gareth's eyes narrowed appraisingly.
"I will put my cards on the table first then, if you won't deal openly. I am a part of an underground movement against the crown." Thom's violet eyes grew wide. "Yes," Gary said taking the look, "it is treason, you could go to the King with this information and I wouldn't see the light of day for a long time, but I know you won't."
"How can you trust me?" Thom replied, with an almost defiant look in his eyes. "We were never friendly, you don't know me."
"I know that you have no love for Roger," Gary's eyes met Thom's seriously. "So will you tell me now? Do you have the Gift?"
A/T
MagixPawn and Jilla Kala: Thanks for the reviews.
Kaori Knight: Alanna's in this chapter. I have counted at least 30 Alanna goes to the convent fics. That's why I'm writing mine, as a reaction to all of them. Thanks for reviewing.
Athena and Tallina Starfire: You guys have cool names. Thanks for the reviews.
White-wolf: Alanna is in it. She will have a big part, just not the main part. Thanks.
Temptress: I like Thom too, but in a weird way. It is hard to explain. I like him but he can be an idiot and an unsensitive (I'm stopping here, but thanks for the review).
Queen of the Rogue and Babooshka: Thanks for the reviews.
Glaive Girl: Well this isn't soon but Alanna's in it.
Fntsyangel: The Dancing Dove is doing badly because 1. People don't have any money 2. There are curfews in place so people don't stay out late 3. I don't think Roger really likes the lower classes to enjoy themselves.
Devilkitti8: You get about 50% of the credit for this chapter getting written. I couldn't leave you hanging after you put so much effort into checking up on this story and not finding a change. So here is your chapter.
Slytherin Sweetheart: Thanks for the review.
Googlepuss: I'm glad Essy's true character was a surprise. Thanks for the review.
