Chapter 5: Stalkers and Dances
Er yeah... I always meant to update during the school year but I never actually got around to it... so YAY! Here you go! R&R please Disclaimer: MY NUMAIR, MINE!!!!!! clutches Numair's leg as he tries to shake me off... He's not mine, ok?
Kris was true to his word. Whenever Kara went out of the castle, whether it was to the stables or the market place, she saw him there, or at least, she thought she did. She would usually see him out of the corner of her eye, and then when she turned to see more clearly, he was gone. The third time this happened, Kara decided just not to look at him anymore, and tried to ignore it. This only lasted for so long, soon, she was seeing him everywhere and the fact seemed to be following her around now: Kris was stalking her.
Kara approached Alanna about this, remembering that George had stalked her for awhile in one of the Song of the Lioness books. She found the lady knight at the practice courts and stood back to watch as the lioness lunged, parried and chopped at unseen enemies. When it looked like she was taking a break, Kara walked over and said simply, "I've got a problem, I thought that maybe you could help me. You sort of had the same problem when you were earning your shield." Alanna looked up from where she was sitting and smiled, "Kris is following you around, isn't he?" When Kara didn't reply and only looked shocked, the lady knight explained, "George, you know, my husband, ever since he has quit being the King of the Rogue, he has been keeping tabs on all of the younger Kings. If he needed to, he sometimes even would help them out if it was too much for them to handle. Kris, well, Kris is one of the youngest Rouges that have lived for over a week while being King. For being seventeen, he has a good grip on what he wants." She stood up and smiled, "He finds you interesting to talk to, unlike all those 'damsel in distress- types'." The knight and Kara both scowled at this, and she smiled impishly, "I've heard he calls you a few nicknames too, was fox one of them?" Kara groaned and plopped down in the chair Alanna had just vacated, "Ugh... I should have just sat in the SIDE chair, then I wouldn't have this problem." She looked up at the redhead, her chin in a hand, "So what should I do?" The Lioness Kara had read so much about in books just shrugged, "I don't think there is much about it that you can do. Although," she put on look of quiet thoughtfulness, "since the man that stalked me I just so happened to marry, I think that it's pretty much a hopeless cause. But there is ONE thing that I THINK may work, but will take some time on your part." "Anything," Kara said, desperate for something that could have him leave her alone. "Stalk him back," She said simply with a shrug, picking up her sword again, "Especially at night, you know, let him see you, but then wind up not being there at all." Alanna smiled, "Chances are he won't like it so don't tell him that I gave you the idea. Now," she said, waving her off with her hands, "I need to get back to my practicing so you just go and wander around the castle a bit. Maybe even try the stalking thing tonight. He stays in one of the top rooms in the Dancing Dove, second window from the right, I think. See you later."
To stalk or not to stalk, that is the question Kara thought, mock solemnly as she quickly drew the symbols of a protection spell on the ground next to the wall Kris's room's window was on. She shrugged, stalk and began to scale the wall. It took her awhile to make her way up the wall, not because it was hard to climb—rather, it was on the easy side, many old bricks and stones chipped away to make good holds—but more because she wanted to make the least amount of noise possible. Kara had told Faecha, of course, what she had planned to do, and right now she would be sitting in the Dancing Dove, having a drink, watching to make sure that Kris would not come out of his room downstairs, therefore ruining their plan. She reached his window finally and barely peeked her eyes over the edge. Inside was Kris, lying on a bed, reading. Kara ducked back down to rest her arms for a moment before looking back over the window sill. He wasn't there! Kara had but a moment to think AWWW... Crap! Before her arms were grabbed and she was dragged into the room, via a broken window. Scratched and irritated, she kicked out at Kris as he knocked her down, pinning her to the ground and holding a knife to her throat. She was facing down so he couldn't really know who she was, and her hair was covering her face. He better not cut any of it off she thought before spitting some out of her mouth. "Who are you, and who sent you?" Kris demanded, digging a knee into her spine. Kara yelped and before thinking, spun, knocking his hand away and squeezing out from underneath him. She brushed her hair out of her face as she sat there on the ground and looked accusingly at him, "Hey! That HURT!!!" Kris first looked shocked, and then, covered it up with amusement. "Hello, my little fox," he said, giving her a flirtatious smile and standing up. "How are you this eve?" "Oh shut up," Kara said, taking the hand that Kris offered her to help her up. Looking on the ground around her, she saw what she was dreading. A rather large, black lock of hair was on the ground. Picking it up, she looked accusingly at the thief. He looked sheepish, "Ummm... yeah, sorry about that, although," Kris said, moving closer and brushing the now short piece just about as long as her chin, "I rather like it." He gave her another smile and showed her his knife, "I'll do the other side too if you want." Kara thought about it a moment, holding the short piece in front of her nose, and finally nodded, "Fine, but you better not screw it up." She waited as Kris took a lock of hair from the other side of her face and neatly cut it off, standing back and looking at his handiwork. Giving her a smile, the King of the Rogue's pointed to a mirror on the opposite wall, "Take a look," he said, sitting on his bed and placing his knife under his pillow. Kara walked over, turning her head at different angles to see how it would look. Not bad, she thought, tucking a piece behind her ear and turning to look at Kris. "At least you didn't chop off a larger piece than that. What do you think?" she asked, spinning around to show him. "Very pretty," Kris said, moving close to her and tugging softly on one of the pieces. Kara looked down at her feet, feeling a little uncomfortable. Sure she had THOUGHT about her and Kris together but they weren't exactly pleasant thoughts. He had rather annoyed her up to this point. Now, the idea wasn't all that unpleasant. Looking up, she looked into Kris's eyes carefully. Bending down, the thief brushed his lips softly against hers. Suddenly, Kara heard yelling outside. They jumped away from each other like scared rabbits. Kris was the first to recover and walked over to the window to look out of it, ducking his head so as to not scratch it on the broken glass. "What?" he called down. "Where is Kara?! She was supposed to be down here ten minutes ago!" Faecha's voice yelled up to Kris. Kara winced, kicking herself mentally for forgetting about the wild mage. "I'm okay!" she called down to her, pushing Kris aside and sticking her own head out the window. "I'll be down in a second!" She ducked back in to smile apologetically at Kris. "I'll see you later, okay?" she said, opening the window and climbing out. Kris nodded with a smile and a wave and Kara quickly dropped/ climbed down to land next to Faecha, who was leaning against the building. "What?" Kara asked, placing her hands on her hips at Fae's raised eyebrows. "Oh, nothing," she replied, raising her hands and walking away with a grin.
A week later, Kara was summoned to the King's study after her lessons with Numair. Wiping her hands nervously on her skirts, she hesitated before knocking on the large oak doors softly. There was a pause before a muffled, "Come in" came from within the room. Pushing a door so that she could slip in, Kara closed the door carefully behind her before turning and walking towards Jonathan, who was sitting at his desk signing papers. "Oh yes, Kara, I wished to speak with you." The king said without looking up, leaning foreword to examine a paper practically dripping with ribbons and seals. Coming foreword cautiously, she sat down in the chair across from him and placed her hands folded in her lap. "Oh?" she answered politely, leaning foreword to as to possibly catch a glimpse of the paper. Looking up, the King of Tortall gave her a smile before leaning back. "Yes, I wanted to inform you that we are holding a ball in you and Faecha's honor next Saturday, no, don't thank me, it is the Queen and I's pleasure," he said, misinterpreting her horrified stare. "Oh, um, okay." Kara said, snapping her mouth closed and looking away. She didn't want to seem ungrateful but she had no clue on how to behave at a ball, she barely went to her high school's dances in the first place! Plus, she wasn't sure if she would be able to handle being polite to annoying young nobles that wouldn't leave her alone to hang out with who she wanted to. Looking back over at the king out of the corner of her eye, he looked at her with a thoughtful expression on his face. "You will need to formally present yourself to court sooner or later, you know," he reminded her, picking back up his quill and spinning it between two fingers. "I know," Kara said moodily, placing her head in a hand with a sigh. "I just wish I didn't have to be nice to everyone, it gets old fast. What about the dances that me and Fae need to learn?" She looked over at the king, a scowl threatening to adorn her face. He waved a hand at her, gesturing for her to leave as he picked back up the paper, "You shall have lessons every night after dinner with our etiquette master. He will teach you all that you need to know. Now, I need to sign a new treaty with Tyra so go tell Mistress Quickpaw the good news." Kara left the room with a sigh Well, no getting out of it now, might as well find Fae and tell her the "good" news she thought sullenly, walking through the castle to her friend's rooms. Knocking sullenly on the door, Kara waited as she heard a little bit of thumping, as if someone had fallen off a bed, and then some quick steps until the door was yanked open with a growled, "WHAT?" "We have to go to a ball in our honor next Saturday. Oh yes, I'm thrilled too," she said, leaning against the wall opposite the wild mage's door. The auburn haired girl groaned and motioned her inside, chucking herself facedown on the bed as Kara grabbed a chair and plopped into it, their emotions mirrored down to their facial expressions.
"I know; sucks doesn't it? And not only that, but we get dancing lessons for the next week and a half so that we don't embarrass anyone." Kara said, unsheathing her dagger and chucking it into the wall, where it dropped behind a chair. Faecha groaned and stuffed her head into her pillow, rocking back and forth slowly, "I can NOT believe that this has to happen," her voice muffled by the pillow, "I mean I have Initiation next Saturday." There was a pause as the wild mage sat up and turned, looking over at Kara's shocked face. "Did I give away too much?" she asked carefully, wincing. "Initiation for what?" Kara asked, standing and charging at Faecha, tackling her so that her arms were crushed beneath her and she was unable to move. "Oh, nothing... OW! Okay, initiation into being a thief." She muttered finally, squirming to get her hands free, but just managed to get herself more tangled up. Kara jumped off her friend, laughing as Faecha scrambled off the bed. "You're going to become a thief? Neat! And, well, I'm not that surprised anyways, you're always stealing stuff from me anyways." She grinned as the wildmage glared at her, but then grew worried. "Um, Fae? How are we supposed to deal with this? We can't just blow off the ball-thingie, can we?" Faecha rubbed the back of her neck, pacing back and forth across the room, "I'm not sure. You may need to cause a diversion so that I can get away. The good thing is that the Initiation thing is later in the evening. Kara nodded, "Alright then, that shouldn't be too hard, though I may ruin my reputation in the process" She shrugged, "Sorry but if I back out now, Kris may have to kill me, he's told me too much..." she drifted off as Kara stared at her. "Really?" she said, sitting down again in a chair. Faecha shrugged once again, "Who knows, but it can always be a possibility," she looked at Kara and slyly smiled, "So what are you going to do?" Kara grinned and folded her arms over her chest, "You'll see."
Er yeah... I always meant to update during the school year but I never actually got around to it... so YAY! Here you go! R&R please Disclaimer: MY NUMAIR, MINE!!!!!! clutches Numair's leg as he tries to shake me off... He's not mine, ok?
Kris was true to his word. Whenever Kara went out of the castle, whether it was to the stables or the market place, she saw him there, or at least, she thought she did. She would usually see him out of the corner of her eye, and then when she turned to see more clearly, he was gone. The third time this happened, Kara decided just not to look at him anymore, and tried to ignore it. This only lasted for so long, soon, she was seeing him everywhere and the fact seemed to be following her around now: Kris was stalking her.
Kara approached Alanna about this, remembering that George had stalked her for awhile in one of the Song of the Lioness books. She found the lady knight at the practice courts and stood back to watch as the lioness lunged, parried and chopped at unseen enemies. When it looked like she was taking a break, Kara walked over and said simply, "I've got a problem, I thought that maybe you could help me. You sort of had the same problem when you were earning your shield." Alanna looked up from where she was sitting and smiled, "Kris is following you around, isn't he?" When Kara didn't reply and only looked shocked, the lady knight explained, "George, you know, my husband, ever since he has quit being the King of the Rogue, he has been keeping tabs on all of the younger Kings. If he needed to, he sometimes even would help them out if it was too much for them to handle. Kris, well, Kris is one of the youngest Rouges that have lived for over a week while being King. For being seventeen, he has a good grip on what he wants." She stood up and smiled, "He finds you interesting to talk to, unlike all those 'damsel in distress- types'." The knight and Kara both scowled at this, and she smiled impishly, "I've heard he calls you a few nicknames too, was fox one of them?" Kara groaned and plopped down in the chair Alanna had just vacated, "Ugh... I should have just sat in the SIDE chair, then I wouldn't have this problem." She looked up at the redhead, her chin in a hand, "So what should I do?" The Lioness Kara had read so much about in books just shrugged, "I don't think there is much about it that you can do. Although," she put on look of quiet thoughtfulness, "since the man that stalked me I just so happened to marry, I think that it's pretty much a hopeless cause. But there is ONE thing that I THINK may work, but will take some time on your part." "Anything," Kara said, desperate for something that could have him leave her alone. "Stalk him back," She said simply with a shrug, picking up her sword again, "Especially at night, you know, let him see you, but then wind up not being there at all." Alanna smiled, "Chances are he won't like it so don't tell him that I gave you the idea. Now," she said, waving her off with her hands, "I need to get back to my practicing so you just go and wander around the castle a bit. Maybe even try the stalking thing tonight. He stays in one of the top rooms in the Dancing Dove, second window from the right, I think. See you later."
To stalk or not to stalk, that is the question Kara thought, mock solemnly as she quickly drew the symbols of a protection spell on the ground next to the wall Kris's room's window was on. She shrugged, stalk and began to scale the wall. It took her awhile to make her way up the wall, not because it was hard to climb—rather, it was on the easy side, many old bricks and stones chipped away to make good holds—but more because she wanted to make the least amount of noise possible. Kara had told Faecha, of course, what she had planned to do, and right now she would be sitting in the Dancing Dove, having a drink, watching to make sure that Kris would not come out of his room downstairs, therefore ruining their plan. She reached his window finally and barely peeked her eyes over the edge. Inside was Kris, lying on a bed, reading. Kara ducked back down to rest her arms for a moment before looking back over the window sill. He wasn't there! Kara had but a moment to think AWWW... Crap! Before her arms were grabbed and she was dragged into the room, via a broken window. Scratched and irritated, she kicked out at Kris as he knocked her down, pinning her to the ground and holding a knife to her throat. She was facing down so he couldn't really know who she was, and her hair was covering her face. He better not cut any of it off she thought before spitting some out of her mouth. "Who are you, and who sent you?" Kris demanded, digging a knee into her spine. Kara yelped and before thinking, spun, knocking his hand away and squeezing out from underneath him. She brushed her hair out of her face as she sat there on the ground and looked accusingly at him, "Hey! That HURT!!!" Kris first looked shocked, and then, covered it up with amusement. "Hello, my little fox," he said, giving her a flirtatious smile and standing up. "How are you this eve?" "Oh shut up," Kara said, taking the hand that Kris offered her to help her up. Looking on the ground around her, she saw what she was dreading. A rather large, black lock of hair was on the ground. Picking it up, she looked accusingly at the thief. He looked sheepish, "Ummm... yeah, sorry about that, although," Kris said, moving closer and brushing the now short piece just about as long as her chin, "I rather like it." He gave her another smile and showed her his knife, "I'll do the other side too if you want." Kara thought about it a moment, holding the short piece in front of her nose, and finally nodded, "Fine, but you better not screw it up." She waited as Kris took a lock of hair from the other side of her face and neatly cut it off, standing back and looking at his handiwork. Giving her a smile, the King of the Rogue's pointed to a mirror on the opposite wall, "Take a look," he said, sitting on his bed and placing his knife under his pillow. Kara walked over, turning her head at different angles to see how it would look. Not bad, she thought, tucking a piece behind her ear and turning to look at Kris. "At least you didn't chop off a larger piece than that. What do you think?" she asked, spinning around to show him. "Very pretty," Kris said, moving close to her and tugging softly on one of the pieces. Kara looked down at her feet, feeling a little uncomfortable. Sure she had THOUGHT about her and Kris together but they weren't exactly pleasant thoughts. He had rather annoyed her up to this point. Now, the idea wasn't all that unpleasant. Looking up, she looked into Kris's eyes carefully. Bending down, the thief brushed his lips softly against hers. Suddenly, Kara heard yelling outside. They jumped away from each other like scared rabbits. Kris was the first to recover and walked over to the window to look out of it, ducking his head so as to not scratch it on the broken glass. "What?" he called down. "Where is Kara?! She was supposed to be down here ten minutes ago!" Faecha's voice yelled up to Kris. Kara winced, kicking herself mentally for forgetting about the wild mage. "I'm okay!" she called down to her, pushing Kris aside and sticking her own head out the window. "I'll be down in a second!" She ducked back in to smile apologetically at Kris. "I'll see you later, okay?" she said, opening the window and climbing out. Kris nodded with a smile and a wave and Kara quickly dropped/ climbed down to land next to Faecha, who was leaning against the building. "What?" Kara asked, placing her hands on her hips at Fae's raised eyebrows. "Oh, nothing," she replied, raising her hands and walking away with a grin.
A week later, Kara was summoned to the King's study after her lessons with Numair. Wiping her hands nervously on her skirts, she hesitated before knocking on the large oak doors softly. There was a pause before a muffled, "Come in" came from within the room. Pushing a door so that she could slip in, Kara closed the door carefully behind her before turning and walking towards Jonathan, who was sitting at his desk signing papers. "Oh yes, Kara, I wished to speak with you." The king said without looking up, leaning foreword to examine a paper practically dripping with ribbons and seals. Coming foreword cautiously, she sat down in the chair across from him and placed her hands folded in her lap. "Oh?" she answered politely, leaning foreword to as to possibly catch a glimpse of the paper. Looking up, the King of Tortall gave her a smile before leaning back. "Yes, I wanted to inform you that we are holding a ball in you and Faecha's honor next Saturday, no, don't thank me, it is the Queen and I's pleasure," he said, misinterpreting her horrified stare. "Oh, um, okay." Kara said, snapping her mouth closed and looking away. She didn't want to seem ungrateful but she had no clue on how to behave at a ball, she barely went to her high school's dances in the first place! Plus, she wasn't sure if she would be able to handle being polite to annoying young nobles that wouldn't leave her alone to hang out with who she wanted to. Looking back over at the king out of the corner of her eye, he looked at her with a thoughtful expression on his face. "You will need to formally present yourself to court sooner or later, you know," he reminded her, picking back up his quill and spinning it between two fingers. "I know," Kara said moodily, placing her head in a hand with a sigh. "I just wish I didn't have to be nice to everyone, it gets old fast. What about the dances that me and Fae need to learn?" She looked over at the king, a scowl threatening to adorn her face. He waved a hand at her, gesturing for her to leave as he picked back up the paper, "You shall have lessons every night after dinner with our etiquette master. He will teach you all that you need to know. Now, I need to sign a new treaty with Tyra so go tell Mistress Quickpaw the good news." Kara left the room with a sigh Well, no getting out of it now, might as well find Fae and tell her the "good" news she thought sullenly, walking through the castle to her friend's rooms. Knocking sullenly on the door, Kara waited as she heard a little bit of thumping, as if someone had fallen off a bed, and then some quick steps until the door was yanked open with a growled, "WHAT?" "We have to go to a ball in our honor next Saturday. Oh yes, I'm thrilled too," she said, leaning against the wall opposite the wild mage's door. The auburn haired girl groaned and motioned her inside, chucking herself facedown on the bed as Kara grabbed a chair and plopped into it, their emotions mirrored down to their facial expressions.
"I know; sucks doesn't it? And not only that, but we get dancing lessons for the next week and a half so that we don't embarrass anyone." Kara said, unsheathing her dagger and chucking it into the wall, where it dropped behind a chair. Faecha groaned and stuffed her head into her pillow, rocking back and forth slowly, "I can NOT believe that this has to happen," her voice muffled by the pillow, "I mean I have Initiation next Saturday." There was a pause as the wild mage sat up and turned, looking over at Kara's shocked face. "Did I give away too much?" she asked carefully, wincing. "Initiation for what?" Kara asked, standing and charging at Faecha, tackling her so that her arms were crushed beneath her and she was unable to move. "Oh, nothing... OW! Okay, initiation into being a thief." She muttered finally, squirming to get her hands free, but just managed to get herself more tangled up. Kara jumped off her friend, laughing as Faecha scrambled off the bed. "You're going to become a thief? Neat! And, well, I'm not that surprised anyways, you're always stealing stuff from me anyways." She grinned as the wildmage glared at her, but then grew worried. "Um, Fae? How are we supposed to deal with this? We can't just blow off the ball-thingie, can we?" Faecha rubbed the back of her neck, pacing back and forth across the room, "I'm not sure. You may need to cause a diversion so that I can get away. The good thing is that the Initiation thing is later in the evening. Kara nodded, "Alright then, that shouldn't be too hard, though I may ruin my reputation in the process" She shrugged, "Sorry but if I back out now, Kris may have to kill me, he's told me too much..." she drifted off as Kara stared at her. "Really?" she said, sitting down again in a chair. Faecha shrugged once again, "Who knows, but it can always be a possibility," she looked at Kara and slyly smiled, "So what are you going to do?" Kara grinned and folded her arms over her chest, "You'll see."