DISCLAIMER: We own nothing but the plot. Everything else is by Tamora
Pierce. However some characters you may not recognise because we created
them (eg. Georgina, Dana).
A/N: Not sure how the first meeting with Dana, Alanna and Sir Antony went... was hard to write. So feedback would be great!
Oh and sorry it has taken a month (or 2) for this chapter to appear... exams... and moving houses... hectic! So anyway, sorry for the wait...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Immediately after her lessons were finished the next day, Alanna hurried off to the stables. The one thing she hated about the convent already was that there was always a servant or two hanging round, wanting to do everything for you and know exactly what you were doing. She'd had to be careful creeping away, and luckily none of them had seen her. She wasn't sure if she was meant to be riding down to the village all by herself, without telling anyone, but she didn't think she would get in much trouble over a little thing like that. Anyway, she thought, it's not as if anyone really cares. Suddenly she had an idea. She ran back into the main dormitory building, and went straight to Dana's room.
"Dana, are you busy right now?"
"Who is it? Oh Alanna. Well no, not really. There's not much to do, other than practice my dancing of course," she said with a grin. "Come to think of it, you should too!"
"Yes, maybe Dana, but not now. Listen; do you want to come to the village with me? I have to find a bookstore, and find a knight. I'd like company, so I thought I'd ask you."
"Sure, I'd love to. When?"
"Umm, How about now?" Alanna replied. "I'll see you in the stables in thirty seconds. Is that enough time for you to do your hair and change your dress and powder your face and just generally beautify yourself, as my sister would say?"
".... and as your sister would do!" Dana laughed. "Alright, I'll be there."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thom was just leaving his room when he met Jon and the others.
"Where did you rush off to in such a hurry yesterday?" Asked Raoul.
"Oh, I had forgotten I was meant to write a letter to my sisters, and you wouldn't want to see what they'd do to me if I hadn't done it, especially Alanna. She's not the sort of person you'd want as an enemy."
"She sounds quite interesting," said Jon politely. "Are you ready for your first lesson?"
"If by ready you mean have I got my books ready, then yes. It's just I haven't really settled in yet so I don't know how well I'll be able to concentrate," answered Thom.
"Well don't worry, we have History first, and that's taught by Sir Myles of Olau. He's very nice, and teaches a great class. He'll understand," said Gary kindly. "You'll want to be more careful around some of the other teachers though. They can be absolute ogres if they don't take a liking to you."
"Thanks, I'll try and behave," grinned Thom. "So, what punishments do we get if we're late?"
"Well," replied Raoul slowly, "You might have to muck out the stables - all of them, or clean every weapon in the armoury, or help with the laundry for a week, or just be given three times as much homework, and punished more when you can't do that!"
"I think I'll have to behave then," Thom laughed, as they left the room and rushed down the halls to get to their classes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The two girls had hardly been gone ten minutes when a servant hurried into Georgina's room. "Mistress Georgina? We cannot find Mistress Alanna. I just thought I should tell you before the Priestesses find out, because they shan't be too happy."
"Thank you very much," replied Georgina graciously. "I'll have a look for her." 'Mistress Alanna,' she thought to herself with a grin. Alanna is the last person I'd call 'Mistress'! First she checked Alanna's room, just to make sure, then she went looking for Delia.
"Delia, have you seen Alanna? I can't seem to find her."
"No I haven't actually. I've been fitted for a new dress. This is the design," she said, waving a piece of paper in the air. "Do you like it?"
"I'm sorry Delia, but I don't have time to look now. I really have to find Alanna, before the Priestesses realise she's missing, or else she'll be in big trouble."
"Why do you have to cover up for her?" asked Delia in a silky voice. "I'm sure she has a reason for what she's doing. Don't worry about her"
"Yes but I've always covered up for her, ever since we were little."
"Well maybe she doesn't want to be looked after anymore. Surely she would have at least told you where she was going."
"I suppose you are right." Georgina said uneasily. "It's just that I get so worried about what she's getting up to next, and..."
".... It's her business, so don't. Now come and have a look at my design."
Georgina did so, but her mind wasn't really on it. Where had Alanna gone? Why hadn't she told Georgina that she was going? And didn't she realise that there were rules? Oh well, Georgina said to herself, if she wants to do this sort of thing she will have to accept the punishments. After all, is she wanted to break the rules, she should except the consequences...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alanna and Dana laughed and joked the whole ride down to the village.
"Where shall we go first, my brave companion?" asked Dana gallantly.
"To the fine knight by the name of Sir Antony. He resides somewhere in yonder village." Alanna replied, trying not to giggle. "I am sure he will be all too pleased to hear of such fine beautiful young ladies coming to visit him."
"...and charming, don't forget charming!" Dana replied giggling. "No, seriously, where are we going?"
"I am being serious," replied Alanna, "we are going to visit Sir Antony. He's just recently got his shield, and Thom wrote to me and told me that he was training some of the villagers. I thought I'd go and ask him if he'd let me train too."
"Hey, that's a really good idea. Do you mind if I ask too?"
"Of course not. Well, that's part of the reason I brought you. I thought I might need a bit of company, as it's probably going to be hard."
"I'd love to train with you Alanna. So where's he live?"
"Well, I'm not quite sure about that," replied Alanna glumly. "I guess we'll have to ask people round Carnolus. They're sure to have heard of him. We have to find a bookstore first though. Race you there!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few minutes later, Thom and his friends stood at Sir Myles' door, gasping for breath.
"I see you boys finally decided to join us then," chuckled Sir Myles "And this must be Thom of Trebond, how do you think your settling in?"
"Erm... I guess it's been a bit hectic"
"Isn't it always? Well, I'm sure things will lighten up soon. Anyway, probably time to start the class then? I believe there is a spare seat next to Alex"
Bowing his head slightly, he headed around the many other desks crowding the room until finding an empty one in the third row, between Alex and Jon.
"Told you he was alright" whispered Gary from behind him, as he piled his books onto the desk.
"yeah, I suppose" grinned Thom back, while settling down into his chair.
"Alright boys, now if you'll just turn to page 256 in your books, we are now going to start on the Carthak Civil War..."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alanna had spurred up on her horse and galloped towards the village, yet Dana was not far behind, and managed to pull even. It was a close race the whole way there, until right at the end Dana managed to get ahead. They slowed their horses down, finally bringing them to a halt in front of the main village building. They let their horses walk slowly along the street as they scanned for any signs of a bookstore.
"You sure ride well Dana!" said Alanna. "I know I'm not bad myself, but you're even better. Where did you learn to ride so well?"
"I'll tell you later," said Dana, "because there's our bookstore."
The two girls tied up their horses outside, and entered the shop. An old man with white hair looked up from behind the counter when the girls entered.
"Good afternoon ladies, how may I help you?"
"We're looking for advanced books on magic. Do you have any?" Alanna replied politely.
"That's rather a dangerous thing to be too interested in," said the little old man, "but I'm sure I can find you a few at the back. His lord Duke Roger doesn't seem to appreciate people nosing around in magic much, unless they are trained sorcerers. Even then he can be rather touchy. A few ambitious youngsters have 'mysteriously' disappeared after they began to get too powerful, so it might be good to keep quiet, or tell whoever you are giving these to, to keep quiet," he said, seeing Alanna about to open her mouth.
"Thank you, I'll make sure he does." Alanna replied.
"Here they are," he said, reaching up to a shelf in a dusty corner. "Magic for the beginner, Simple Battle Magic, Simple Healing Magic, Secrecy and Sorcery, Ancient Magic and it's uses today, and," he dusted the cover off an old, leather bound book; ".........rous ........cery?" I can't read the rest of the title, it's too damaged, but it's certainly old. Anyway, which would you like?"
Alanna studied the books carefully. 'Magic for beginners' was not going to be useful for Thom as he already was above that level. 'Simple Battle Magic' and 'Simple Healing Magic' were also going to be too easy. 'Ancient Magic and its uses today' probably would interest Thom much because he was really into theory, almost as much as their father. She thought 'Secrecy and Sorcery' sounded interesting, and the way the man had spoken about magic made a book on secrecy sound good. She'd get that for Thom, but what about the other one. She assumed the last part of the title was Sorcery, but what did '......ous' stand for? Fabulous? Marvellous? Contagious? She finally decided to get all three books. Thom could have a look at the unknown one, and just throw it out if it wasn't any good. That was, if it wasn't too expensive. It turned out neither of the books were too expensive, so after farewelling the old man Alanna and Dana left the store with the books under their arms, and led their horses back to the village centre.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Georgina sat with Delia only for a short while, before she began to tire of her friend's ceaseless chatter.
"So do you think the blue goes better with the green or the purple? What do you think about this design? Is it better than the other one? Did I tell you about the time I met that handsome guy up in Waratla? Doesn't my hair look gorgeous? You should wear your hair like this Georgina; it makes you look more like a girl. Do you want to try on my ball gown?"
Normally Georgina would have loved to, but she was too worried about her sister.
"Not now Delia, maybe some other time."
Delia was visibly deflated. "Oh, well, if that's what you want," she said, in a bit of a huff.
"Listen, Delia, I've got to go. I'll see you later." With that Georgina left, before Delia could say anything. She knew she was being a bit rude, but she just had to get away to somewhere quiet where she could think to herself. She was walking along the corridor when she bumped into Priestess Achenar.
"Ah Georgina, just the person I was looking for. Have you seen Alanna or Dana? They seem to have gone."
"Dana as well," gasped Georgina, before she could stop herself. "No, I haven't seen them."
"Did you know they had left?" asked Priestess Achenar with a curious look on her face.
"Well, I knew about Alanna......." said Georgina, with some hesitation.
"Yet you didn't come and report it? I find that very unsatisfactory. I would have thought better of you Georgina. As soon as we find the girls I want to speak to you in my office." With that the priestess walked away, leaving Georgina staring dumbly at her shoes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Turning back into the market place, they headed off in quest for a merchant whom would sell them some breeches and shirts. After 3 tries, they finally came across a rather bulky woman, dressed in a plain brown dress and apron who was more then happy to lend them a hand.
"Come in girls and we'll see what we can gather for yer" said the woman as she hustled them into a tiny bare room, which smelt strongly of fresh herbs.
"Now if you two'll just wait here a second..." mumbled the woman, and bustled off to another room. In no more then 10 seconds she returned with bundles of old clothes, which were more then perfect for the use of the girls.
"Well they aren't much but they'll do. Dunno why nobody'll serve you! Not normal for noble girls to be wanting breeches but still... Anyway, these are just a few things from my boy, George. He don't need them anymore so you're more then welcome to have the lot."
"Oh thank you so much, mistress umm..."
"Cooper, just call me Eleni" she replied as she shook their hands vigorously.
"Thank you Eleni, well we had better be off now"
"Yes, of course, well if you're ever back and wanting anything, which I highly doubt, just give me a buzz"
"Alright we'll remember that then, oh and do you happen to know where we could find a Sir Antony?..."
"Oh, he'll be over by the mill, I dare say. That's about the only clear space he can get, what to train his youngsters up. I dunno how much I approve of that, of him training up the youngsters, but I suppose he's not doin' any harm, " Eleni said. "It might even be a good thing, I suppose, as it'll give our village more of a fighting chance if any hostiles come by, but I dunno. Still reckon the youngsters shoulda been brought up in the rogue..."
"Thank you very much," said Dana, "but we've got to go now. Thanks for your help."
"That's all right," said Eleni, as she walked them out the door, "any time."
The girls hurried off, before they could get dragged into any more conversations. They found the mill without too much difficulty, and changed behind a small hut into the old clothes Eleni had given them to disguise themselves as commoners. As they walked around the Mill they noticed a large field on the other side of the small river. They crossed over the bridge, while studying the people on the field, trying to identify Sir Antony. They were glad to see that although there weren't many, there were some girls involved in the training.
They saw what they presumed was Sir Antony on the far side, correcting a young boy's technique with a sword. When he saw the girls coming towards him he praised the young boy and sent him off to practice what he'd learnt. As he walked over, Alanna noticed he was rather tall and bulky. He had a head of messy chestnut hair and piercing grey eyes. Although he seemed rather jolly and quite handsome, something about him seemed off and she doubted whether he was a trustworthy man.
"Hello there, my name is Antony. I don't think of seen you girls around town before? Are you new to the village?"
"Ah yes we are, actually we were wondering if we could join in... and if you could train us to fight with a sword"
"well..." said Sir Antony uneasily, "I only train those who are willing to put in their all, won't give up when the going gets tough and have the courage to go all the way. Do you think you are both ready for such a big commitment?" he added questionary.
Alanna knew she was ready, she'd been ready her whole life and her face showed it. "It's all I've ever dreamt of Sir," she muttered, while Dana half-heartedly agreed, "We're ready for it."
"I suppose that'll be all right then," Sir Antony said grudgingly, "I accept no responsibility for any trouble you get in though, alright?" he paused as they nodded before continuing, "but I'll have to trial you first to see how talented you are. When would you like to start?"
"Oh right now I guess," said Alanna eagerly. "Why not!"
"Um, maybe because we haven't got permission to be here, and we really should get back before they notice we're gone," whispered Dana.
"Okay," said Alanna to Sir Antony, We'll be back sometime this week, I'm not sure when. Will that be Okay with you?"
"Sure, that'll be fine. You can call me Tony if you wish," he yelled, as the girls had already begun to run back to where they'd left their horses.
"Okay, bye Tony," they both yelled in chorus. They mounted their horses, and began the ride home happily, not realising the amount of trouble they were going to be in.
A/N: Not sure how the first meeting with Dana, Alanna and Sir Antony went... was hard to write. So feedback would be great!
Oh and sorry it has taken a month (or 2) for this chapter to appear... exams... and moving houses... hectic! So anyway, sorry for the wait...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Immediately after her lessons were finished the next day, Alanna hurried off to the stables. The one thing she hated about the convent already was that there was always a servant or two hanging round, wanting to do everything for you and know exactly what you were doing. She'd had to be careful creeping away, and luckily none of them had seen her. She wasn't sure if she was meant to be riding down to the village all by herself, without telling anyone, but she didn't think she would get in much trouble over a little thing like that. Anyway, she thought, it's not as if anyone really cares. Suddenly she had an idea. She ran back into the main dormitory building, and went straight to Dana's room.
"Dana, are you busy right now?"
"Who is it? Oh Alanna. Well no, not really. There's not much to do, other than practice my dancing of course," she said with a grin. "Come to think of it, you should too!"
"Yes, maybe Dana, but not now. Listen; do you want to come to the village with me? I have to find a bookstore, and find a knight. I'd like company, so I thought I'd ask you."
"Sure, I'd love to. When?"
"Umm, How about now?" Alanna replied. "I'll see you in the stables in thirty seconds. Is that enough time for you to do your hair and change your dress and powder your face and just generally beautify yourself, as my sister would say?"
".... and as your sister would do!" Dana laughed. "Alright, I'll be there."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thom was just leaving his room when he met Jon and the others.
"Where did you rush off to in such a hurry yesterday?" Asked Raoul.
"Oh, I had forgotten I was meant to write a letter to my sisters, and you wouldn't want to see what they'd do to me if I hadn't done it, especially Alanna. She's not the sort of person you'd want as an enemy."
"She sounds quite interesting," said Jon politely. "Are you ready for your first lesson?"
"If by ready you mean have I got my books ready, then yes. It's just I haven't really settled in yet so I don't know how well I'll be able to concentrate," answered Thom.
"Well don't worry, we have History first, and that's taught by Sir Myles of Olau. He's very nice, and teaches a great class. He'll understand," said Gary kindly. "You'll want to be more careful around some of the other teachers though. They can be absolute ogres if they don't take a liking to you."
"Thanks, I'll try and behave," grinned Thom. "So, what punishments do we get if we're late?"
"Well," replied Raoul slowly, "You might have to muck out the stables - all of them, or clean every weapon in the armoury, or help with the laundry for a week, or just be given three times as much homework, and punished more when you can't do that!"
"I think I'll have to behave then," Thom laughed, as they left the room and rushed down the halls to get to their classes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The two girls had hardly been gone ten minutes when a servant hurried into Georgina's room. "Mistress Georgina? We cannot find Mistress Alanna. I just thought I should tell you before the Priestesses find out, because they shan't be too happy."
"Thank you very much," replied Georgina graciously. "I'll have a look for her." 'Mistress Alanna,' she thought to herself with a grin. Alanna is the last person I'd call 'Mistress'! First she checked Alanna's room, just to make sure, then she went looking for Delia.
"Delia, have you seen Alanna? I can't seem to find her."
"No I haven't actually. I've been fitted for a new dress. This is the design," she said, waving a piece of paper in the air. "Do you like it?"
"I'm sorry Delia, but I don't have time to look now. I really have to find Alanna, before the Priestesses realise she's missing, or else she'll be in big trouble."
"Why do you have to cover up for her?" asked Delia in a silky voice. "I'm sure she has a reason for what she's doing. Don't worry about her"
"Yes but I've always covered up for her, ever since we were little."
"Well maybe she doesn't want to be looked after anymore. Surely she would have at least told you where she was going."
"I suppose you are right." Georgina said uneasily. "It's just that I get so worried about what she's getting up to next, and..."
".... It's her business, so don't. Now come and have a look at my design."
Georgina did so, but her mind wasn't really on it. Where had Alanna gone? Why hadn't she told Georgina that she was going? And didn't she realise that there were rules? Oh well, Georgina said to herself, if she wants to do this sort of thing she will have to accept the punishments. After all, is she wanted to break the rules, she should except the consequences...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alanna and Dana laughed and joked the whole ride down to the village.
"Where shall we go first, my brave companion?" asked Dana gallantly.
"To the fine knight by the name of Sir Antony. He resides somewhere in yonder village." Alanna replied, trying not to giggle. "I am sure he will be all too pleased to hear of such fine beautiful young ladies coming to visit him."
"...and charming, don't forget charming!" Dana replied giggling. "No, seriously, where are we going?"
"I am being serious," replied Alanna, "we are going to visit Sir Antony. He's just recently got his shield, and Thom wrote to me and told me that he was training some of the villagers. I thought I'd go and ask him if he'd let me train too."
"Hey, that's a really good idea. Do you mind if I ask too?"
"Of course not. Well, that's part of the reason I brought you. I thought I might need a bit of company, as it's probably going to be hard."
"I'd love to train with you Alanna. So where's he live?"
"Well, I'm not quite sure about that," replied Alanna glumly. "I guess we'll have to ask people round Carnolus. They're sure to have heard of him. We have to find a bookstore first though. Race you there!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few minutes later, Thom and his friends stood at Sir Myles' door, gasping for breath.
"I see you boys finally decided to join us then," chuckled Sir Myles "And this must be Thom of Trebond, how do you think your settling in?"
"Erm... I guess it's been a bit hectic"
"Isn't it always? Well, I'm sure things will lighten up soon. Anyway, probably time to start the class then? I believe there is a spare seat next to Alex"
Bowing his head slightly, he headed around the many other desks crowding the room until finding an empty one in the third row, between Alex and Jon.
"Told you he was alright" whispered Gary from behind him, as he piled his books onto the desk.
"yeah, I suppose" grinned Thom back, while settling down into his chair.
"Alright boys, now if you'll just turn to page 256 in your books, we are now going to start on the Carthak Civil War..."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alanna had spurred up on her horse and galloped towards the village, yet Dana was not far behind, and managed to pull even. It was a close race the whole way there, until right at the end Dana managed to get ahead. They slowed their horses down, finally bringing them to a halt in front of the main village building. They let their horses walk slowly along the street as they scanned for any signs of a bookstore.
"You sure ride well Dana!" said Alanna. "I know I'm not bad myself, but you're even better. Where did you learn to ride so well?"
"I'll tell you later," said Dana, "because there's our bookstore."
The two girls tied up their horses outside, and entered the shop. An old man with white hair looked up from behind the counter when the girls entered.
"Good afternoon ladies, how may I help you?"
"We're looking for advanced books on magic. Do you have any?" Alanna replied politely.
"That's rather a dangerous thing to be too interested in," said the little old man, "but I'm sure I can find you a few at the back. His lord Duke Roger doesn't seem to appreciate people nosing around in magic much, unless they are trained sorcerers. Even then he can be rather touchy. A few ambitious youngsters have 'mysteriously' disappeared after they began to get too powerful, so it might be good to keep quiet, or tell whoever you are giving these to, to keep quiet," he said, seeing Alanna about to open her mouth.
"Thank you, I'll make sure he does." Alanna replied.
"Here they are," he said, reaching up to a shelf in a dusty corner. "Magic for the beginner, Simple Battle Magic, Simple Healing Magic, Secrecy and Sorcery, Ancient Magic and it's uses today, and," he dusted the cover off an old, leather bound book; ".........rous ........cery?" I can't read the rest of the title, it's too damaged, but it's certainly old. Anyway, which would you like?"
Alanna studied the books carefully. 'Magic for beginners' was not going to be useful for Thom as he already was above that level. 'Simple Battle Magic' and 'Simple Healing Magic' were also going to be too easy. 'Ancient Magic and its uses today' probably would interest Thom much because he was really into theory, almost as much as their father. She thought 'Secrecy and Sorcery' sounded interesting, and the way the man had spoken about magic made a book on secrecy sound good. She'd get that for Thom, but what about the other one. She assumed the last part of the title was Sorcery, but what did '......ous' stand for? Fabulous? Marvellous? Contagious? She finally decided to get all three books. Thom could have a look at the unknown one, and just throw it out if it wasn't any good. That was, if it wasn't too expensive. It turned out neither of the books were too expensive, so after farewelling the old man Alanna and Dana left the store with the books under their arms, and led their horses back to the village centre.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Georgina sat with Delia only for a short while, before she began to tire of her friend's ceaseless chatter.
"So do you think the blue goes better with the green or the purple? What do you think about this design? Is it better than the other one? Did I tell you about the time I met that handsome guy up in Waratla? Doesn't my hair look gorgeous? You should wear your hair like this Georgina; it makes you look more like a girl. Do you want to try on my ball gown?"
Normally Georgina would have loved to, but she was too worried about her sister.
"Not now Delia, maybe some other time."
Delia was visibly deflated. "Oh, well, if that's what you want," she said, in a bit of a huff.
"Listen, Delia, I've got to go. I'll see you later." With that Georgina left, before Delia could say anything. She knew she was being a bit rude, but she just had to get away to somewhere quiet where she could think to herself. She was walking along the corridor when she bumped into Priestess Achenar.
"Ah Georgina, just the person I was looking for. Have you seen Alanna or Dana? They seem to have gone."
"Dana as well," gasped Georgina, before she could stop herself. "No, I haven't seen them."
"Did you know they had left?" asked Priestess Achenar with a curious look on her face.
"Well, I knew about Alanna......." said Georgina, with some hesitation.
"Yet you didn't come and report it? I find that very unsatisfactory. I would have thought better of you Georgina. As soon as we find the girls I want to speak to you in my office." With that the priestess walked away, leaving Georgina staring dumbly at her shoes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Turning back into the market place, they headed off in quest for a merchant whom would sell them some breeches and shirts. After 3 tries, they finally came across a rather bulky woman, dressed in a plain brown dress and apron who was more then happy to lend them a hand.
"Come in girls and we'll see what we can gather for yer" said the woman as she hustled them into a tiny bare room, which smelt strongly of fresh herbs.
"Now if you two'll just wait here a second..." mumbled the woman, and bustled off to another room. In no more then 10 seconds she returned with bundles of old clothes, which were more then perfect for the use of the girls.
"Well they aren't much but they'll do. Dunno why nobody'll serve you! Not normal for noble girls to be wanting breeches but still... Anyway, these are just a few things from my boy, George. He don't need them anymore so you're more then welcome to have the lot."
"Oh thank you so much, mistress umm..."
"Cooper, just call me Eleni" she replied as she shook their hands vigorously.
"Thank you Eleni, well we had better be off now"
"Yes, of course, well if you're ever back and wanting anything, which I highly doubt, just give me a buzz"
"Alright we'll remember that then, oh and do you happen to know where we could find a Sir Antony?..."
"Oh, he'll be over by the mill, I dare say. That's about the only clear space he can get, what to train his youngsters up. I dunno how much I approve of that, of him training up the youngsters, but I suppose he's not doin' any harm, " Eleni said. "It might even be a good thing, I suppose, as it'll give our village more of a fighting chance if any hostiles come by, but I dunno. Still reckon the youngsters shoulda been brought up in the rogue..."
"Thank you very much," said Dana, "but we've got to go now. Thanks for your help."
"That's all right," said Eleni, as she walked them out the door, "any time."
The girls hurried off, before they could get dragged into any more conversations. They found the mill without too much difficulty, and changed behind a small hut into the old clothes Eleni had given them to disguise themselves as commoners. As they walked around the Mill they noticed a large field on the other side of the small river. They crossed over the bridge, while studying the people on the field, trying to identify Sir Antony. They were glad to see that although there weren't many, there were some girls involved in the training.
They saw what they presumed was Sir Antony on the far side, correcting a young boy's technique with a sword. When he saw the girls coming towards him he praised the young boy and sent him off to practice what he'd learnt. As he walked over, Alanna noticed he was rather tall and bulky. He had a head of messy chestnut hair and piercing grey eyes. Although he seemed rather jolly and quite handsome, something about him seemed off and she doubted whether he was a trustworthy man.
"Hello there, my name is Antony. I don't think of seen you girls around town before? Are you new to the village?"
"Ah yes we are, actually we were wondering if we could join in... and if you could train us to fight with a sword"
"well..." said Sir Antony uneasily, "I only train those who are willing to put in their all, won't give up when the going gets tough and have the courage to go all the way. Do you think you are both ready for such a big commitment?" he added questionary.
Alanna knew she was ready, she'd been ready her whole life and her face showed it. "It's all I've ever dreamt of Sir," she muttered, while Dana half-heartedly agreed, "We're ready for it."
"I suppose that'll be all right then," Sir Antony said grudgingly, "I accept no responsibility for any trouble you get in though, alright?" he paused as they nodded before continuing, "but I'll have to trial you first to see how talented you are. When would you like to start?"
"Oh right now I guess," said Alanna eagerly. "Why not!"
"Um, maybe because we haven't got permission to be here, and we really should get back before they notice we're gone," whispered Dana.
"Okay," said Alanna to Sir Antony, We'll be back sometime this week, I'm not sure when. Will that be Okay with you?"
"Sure, that'll be fine. You can call me Tony if you wish," he yelled, as the girls had already begun to run back to where they'd left their horses.
"Okay, bye Tony," they both yelled in chorus. They mounted their horses, and began the ride home happily, not realising the amount of trouble they were going to be in.
