GETTING UNHITCHED
I'd like to state for the
record that I do not own a copy of the books. As such there are bound to be
plenty of canonical errors (as well as all the other regular kind). Feel free
to correct, shout or laugh at me. This is pure fluff, except when its not.
Roger doesn't exist in this story.
Hope you enjoy - plotless.
Disclaimer : I do not own any of Tamora Piece's characters or settings. I just
like to sneak into her toybox and play with them once in a while.
I made another mistake last week. Thayet comes from Sarain not Scanra. Like I say at the beginning of the chapters, I don't own the books but thanks for pointing mistakes out. I appreciate it.
aznchicki: More Calisto and Thom this week, although not much making out. Sorry!
Alannawannabe: well, there isn't too much of the story left. So you'll probably figure out most of the pairings in this chapter.
WhiteTiger-82087 (kia): Thanks. I like Calan too, a lot of the scenes with him are still in my head and never made it into the story. But he's very cool.
PhyscoLioness: Thanks for the advice about the paragraph lengths. I'll keep it in mind. You've done fencing? I'm so jealous!
Kore Yan : Here's the update you asked for
Rubber Duck: Calan is in his late thirties. If I called him a 'boy' it must have been a mistake, something I left in from a first draft. When I first wrote him, he was around nineteen. But then I decided he would be the one who helped train her and that he should be older.
MangoSam: I told my sis you liked the fighting scene. She says thanks.
SodaPop33: Thanks for pointing out the mistake.
maria: best chapter ever? Really? Thank you!
Emikae: Thanks for the review.
Lady Leah of Chaos: Well…I can imagine a "luv scene" :P But I'm too embarrassed to write it out…or show it to anyone if I did!
Tenshichild: The romance is very, very tame. And when it's not tame its corny…that's why I put it of as long as possible. Imagine the horror I would go through if I got the characters together in the middle of the story! I'd much rather end with a kiss. An of screen kiss, so I don't have to describe it!
imogenhm: Alanna doesn't kick too much ass in this chapter. Unfortunately. She's got a lot to think about.
Chapter 12
Alanna sat up groggily. Her head was pounding and her eyes were scratchy as if she'd just spent the whole night crying. She flung of the covers and swung her legs over the side of her bed…no, not her bed. She glanced around her. Not her room either; she looked down at herself, those definitely were not her clothes. Alanna gulped, she was in a strange room, lying on a strange bed, wearing, not just any clothes, but a man's shirt. What had she done last night?
She got up and began to pace, wracking her foggy brain for an answer. There had been a ball last night. Screwing up her eyes, deep in thought she felt the blanks in her mind gradually fill. She leant against the wall and sank slowly to the floor. Remembering the previous night didn't improve her mood. She'd revealed one of her deepest, darkest secrets to a hall fill of people and cried like a baby about it. She remembered George sitting up with her, trying to decipher her ramblings. She must have fallen asleep on the couch because the rest was hazy. She vaguely remembered being carried up a flight of stairs and being laid on something soft, a hand caressing her cheek, but that was all. She'd been a mess and the fact that she'd let someone see her in such a state annoyed her beyond words.
Then her annoyance turned to grief as she remembered the worst thing that had happened last night. The worst thing that had happened to her in her entire life. Her brother was dead. For a moment it felt like Alanna had forgotten how to breathe. The world seemed to turn grey until she drew in a tortured breath. The colour returned and with it all the pain and when she exhaled a gasp escaped from her throat along with hopeless tears that streamed down her face.
She jumped to her feet at the sound of the door opening. George stood in the doorway with a tray in hand. He looked aghast at the sight of Alanna in tears and began to speak hurriedly, "First of all your brother's alive. Calisto managed to heal him, she sent a message here when she couldn't find you at the palace."
Alanna flopped back down on to the bed and put her head between her knees.
"Alanna!" George placed the tray on the table and hurried over to her, "are you okay?"
He sat down next to her and placed a hand on her back.
She looked up at him with and asked quietly in a voice raw with tear, "Could you repeat what you just said?"
A smile appeared on George's face as he rubbed her back comfortingly, "Your. Brother. Is. Alive."
"Oh thank the goddess!" Alanna exclaimed, "For a minute there…" an awkward silence filled the room.
Alanna's thoughts vacillated between relief at her brother's survival and horror at all the other things in her life that had gone wrong until an enticing smell reached her nose.
"Ooh, food!" she enthused all thoughts of brooding pushed immediately from her mind.
"Oh thank the goddess. We've got the real Alanna back," George laughed.
"Haven't been the most cheerful person lately, have I?"
"Don't worry. I've never pictured you as a morning person," George said leading her over to the table.
"I'm not usually," Alanna said already beginning to fill her plate.
They sat in silence while she gulped down her breakfast in a few mouthfuls.
"Um…George?" she asked as she reached for a pitcher of orange juice.
"Yes?" he glanced up from ruffling through some papers.
"I…" she began but came to an abrupt halt when George jumped up and knocked the pitcher out of her hand.
She opened her mouth about to protest but instead stared in horror as the juice began to eat a hole through the floor.
"Orange juice is NOT supposed to do that! What…? How…? Why…?" Alanna grappled for the right words stunned.
"To answer your questions. That wasn't meant for you, but for me. I don't exactly know what that was. It was probably Cole again."
"Still trying to kill you, huh?" Alanna asked remembering George's explanation that someone could only become King of Thieves once they had killed the previous king.
"Hasn't gotten me yet," George answered proudly.
"How'd you know about…?" Alanna gestured at the hole.
"I never have orange juice in the morning…awful stuff," George grimaced. "The stupid bugger is going to have to try a lot harder if he wants to win my crown" George said grimly. "What were you going to tell me before?"
"Uh…well…about last night…" Alanna squirmed uncomfortably.
"Whatever was said or done stays between us," George said seriously.
Alanna grinned, "Thank you."
"No problem," George grinned back, "Now get changed. I'll meet you down stairs in a minute." He got up and left the room.
Alanna found her clothes laid out on a chair and dressed quickly then made her way down the stairs and into the inn's pub. She seated herself at a table across from George.
"What are you going to do now?" George asked.
"I'm going to have to go and face my fears," Alanna replied with a roll of her eyes.
"The famous Alanna scared of some rich folk," George said teasingly.
"Well, there's the brother whose going lecture me, the father whose going to disown me when he finds out exactly how I've been spending my free time, the Ladies who will ostracise me, the Lords who will mock me and the King and Queen who will probably ban me from court forever."
"Aren't you forgetting the suitor who requires an answer to his proposal?"
"I have a feeling that Tristan isn't so keen to marry me now that he's seen me in action." Alanna said remembering Tristan's shocked face at the ball.
"I thought you said he didn't mind your fighting?" George asked.
"He said he didn't mind in theory…but in practise. And I'm sure he meant for me to fight in heavy, body concealing armour that renders the wearer unrecognisable, not to put on displays for all the nobles at the Palace!"
"Disappointed?" George asked
Alanna pulled a face in reply.
George laughed, "Good luck then."
"I should go now before the whole castle wakes up. Minions of the devil are always especially hungry in the morning," Alanna sighed and got up.
"I would think the devil's minions didn't sleep," George raised an eyebrow at her.
She glared and made her way out of the inn and through the almost deserted streets of the city.
The castle loomed above her. It seemed suddenly forbidding as if aware of her scandalous behaviour. She scaled the wall and jumped into the garden on the other side. The trees hid her from view as she made her way to the window of the passage nearest to her room. She hated that she was acting like a scared little kid, hiding from idiotic Ladies and Lords. She shouldn't care what they thought. She climbed silently through the window and landed easily on the other side. She tiptoed along hoping fervently that no one saw her. Luck was not on her side though as she turned the last corner before her room she came face to face with Tristan.
"Lovely show last night," he smirked.
"I'm so happy you enjoyed it," she snapped.
"It certainly was very impressive."
"Although not very lady like," she said the continued, "lets get straight to the point. You don't want to marry me anymore, do you?"
Tristan looked away for a few moments then met her eyes.
"Honestly, I think I overestimated my indifference to societies opinion. I find that I do care what people will say of the woman I marry, but I've made the offer already and if you wish to marry me, I'm sure we could work around this."
"I don't want to marry someone who feels forced to do so."
"Come Alanna, I was honest about how I felt about marrying you."
"Fine!" Alanna capitulated, "I just plain don't want to marry you. I'm glad this happened so that I could let you down easy."
"No hard feelings?"
"None."
"I'll tell your father that I called off the wedding and the decision was not based on any indiscretion on your part, as we agreed," Tristan said.
"After he hears about last night's ball, I doubt he'll believe you," Alanna said with a smile.
As she turned to walk away she heard Tristan call out, "Goodbye Alanna."
"Goodbye Tristan, and don't give up on the Ladies at court yet, they aren't all completely hopeless," Alanna called over her shoulder and continued down the passage.
Relief washed over her as her hand gripped the handle of her bedroom door. She stepped into her room and collapsed on her bed. Staring up at the ceiling morosely she realized that sooner or later she was going to have to face the world. She couldn't hide in her room and sneak around the palace for the rest of her life no matter how much that option appealed to her. There was always the other option. The one she'd been thinking of since she was young. She could run away and go on adventures; forget about Lady Alanna of Trebond. She was just imagining what it would be like to be free to wear and do and say anything she wanted when her door creaked open. Sitting up she stared at Thom and Calisto who were hovering in the doorway looking nervous.
"You can come in you know," Alanna pointed out as she lay back down.
"How're you feeling?" Thom asked.
Alanna smiled, "I should be asking you that."
"Um…Calisto told me what happened last night," he went on nervously.
"Oh," Alanna closed her eyes and waited for his lecture.
"Thank you…for defending me I mean."
Alanna sat up straight and stared at her brother, "You mean you aren't angry because I soiled the family name."
"Please. I did that when I first started training to become a knight," Thom grinned.
Alanna grinned back, "You're an ok brother after all."
"Just ok," Thom frowned.
Alanna laughed, "Well maybe more than ok."
Calisto cleared her throat, "Um…Alanna, I need to ask you something."
Alanna frowned, "Yes?"
"Well…you know we made that pact back at the convent," Calisto wrung her hands.
Alanna smiled as she noticed how close Thom and Calisto were standing, "Yes I remember."
"What would be a good reason to break it?" Calisto stared at Alanna, biting her lip and waiting anxiously for her answer.
Alanna pretended to think, "If your parents forced you to marry someone and… um…yes, that's all."
"Oh," Calisto looked down at the floor disappointed.
"Hold on. There is another one but no it will never happen," Alanna turned away.
"What is it? Tell!" Calisto demanded childishly.
"I guess you could break the pact if…your friends brother asked nicely," Alanna looked at Thom expectantly.
He blushed and cleared his throat, "Can Calisto break the pact?" he said through clenched teeth.
"No, there's one other condition," Alanna grinned.
"What is it?" Thom asked irritably.
"You have to name your first child Hasufel," Alanna looked at them expectantly.
"Never," Thom gasped.
"It's a nice name," Alanna protested.
"For a horse!" Calisto said indignantly.
"You're marrying Thom. What do you think your children will look like?" Alanna huffed.
"Alanna!" Thom said menacingly.
"Fine. Give your children nice common names," Alanna sulked. "See if I come to your wedding."
"You're evil," Calisto stuck out her tongue.
"You coming to breakfast?" Thom asked tentatively.
Alanna nodded, "No better time that the present to face your foe."
Alanna walked into the dining hall with Thom and Calisto and winced inwardly when all conversation died. As she had expected there were looks of disgust on the faces of many of the Lords and Ladies. She was completely surprised however, when Patricia stood up and began clapping, she was soon joined by Thom and Calisto as well as quite a few members of the court. Some of the squires even started cheering and whistling with looks of admiration on their faces.
Alanna stood momentarily shocked at the reaction until Thom nudged her in the side. She curtsied quickly and dropped down into her chair.
Calisto was in the middle of her dramatic retelling of what had happened after Alanna left the ball when Raoul, Gary, Jonathan and Thayet arrived and sat down across from them to eat. Alanna grinned when she saw how close together Jonathan and Thayet sat. Already full from her breakfast with George, Alanna sat back and let the conversation at the table drift over her.
She was astounded that the members of court hadn't chased her from their midst in disgrace. She had never expected applause and congratulations for what she had done. Admittedly it had only been a small portion of the court that had actually cheered but even that was a larger number than she had expected. Perhaps there would be some way for her to stay at court and be accepted over time for who she really was.
Her musings were interrupted by a group of knights who had walked over to their table. Unsure what to expect Alanna looked up at them along with the rest of the table. Their leader turned to the boys and spoke loudly enough for the entire room, "Your Highness, Gary, Raoul, would you like to spar with us today? Oh, and you too Thom if you're feeling better, or are you feeling too weak again? Going to make your sister stand in for you? Trust the Trebonds to send a woman to do a mans job." He sneered. Jonathan moved as if to stand up. Alanna placed a hand on is arm, "Leave it Jonathan. They're not worth it."
She stood and left the room, silently fuming. Stupid, pig-headed, idiotic nobles and their evil, gossiping wives, she stormed internally. For a few moments she had been hopeful but now it was clear that she had no other choice. Her mind was made up. She'd had as much as she could take of being a Noble Woman. It was time she started making decisions. She'd gone to the convent because her father and her birth status required her to. She'd come here, to the castle, because the priestesses thought it was time for her to. Now it was time for her to show the world her true self. Some of the court had accepted her when she had revealed her skills. Realising from the evidence before their own eyes that clearly a woman could fight and deserved respect for that. But others evidently needed more proof, a bigger shock to jolt them out of the preconceived notions of the way the world should be. Maybe if she went out into the world and did the great deeds she had always dreamed of they would all eventually be forced to accept her.
Alanna entered the Inn and walked over to his usual spot by the fire and plopped down in the chair opposite George.
"It was horrible," she complained sniffling. "Some of them seemed to be okay with me but others were mean and vindictive and Thom and Calisto said they were getting married and it was horrible."
"I think you already said the last one," George said and patted her shoulder consolingly.
Alanna glared her fiercest glare, "The only good thing is that Tristan did ask me to call of the wedding."
"And you agreed?" George
"No, I said I wouldn't just to spite him," her voice oozed sarcasm.
George's eyes widened, "Of course I said yes," she said heatedly.
"Oh," George let out a sigh of relief. Alanna glared, "What? You're a very vindictive person."
She increased the intensity of her glare and slumped further down in her seat, arms folded over her chest.
"And a right moody person too," George muttered not exactly soft enough and received a vicious kick under the table.
They subsided into silence each inwardly cursing the person sitting across from them.
"So, what are you going to do now?" George asked finally running out of curses.
"Well, that's why I came here actually. I'm leaving." Alanna looked down at the table. It seemed more believable now that she'd said it.
"Leaving?" George frowned
"Yes, I'm packing my bags getting on a horse and riding into the sunset on a great adventure like the heroes," Alanna grinned. She was really going.
"Oh," George's mouth tightened slightly. "What's that got to do with me?"
"Um…I was thinking. It wouldn't be proper for a Lady to just you know get up and go off all by her lonesome."
"I didn't know you cared about what was proper."
"Well, it would also be boring."
"And I'm supposed to find you a mate to take along?"
"No, I was actually wondering if you would come along,"
George looked up from his inspection of the table and there was regret in his eyes, "I can't Alanna. I'm King. I can't just pack up and leave my court whenever I want. They need me."
"Well, I need you too," Alanna said without thinking.
"I…I…" George sighed. "I can't," he said firmly.
They were silent for a long time each lost in there own thoughts.
"I understand," Alanna said finally. "Anyway I'll probably spend more time saving you than adventuring," she added trying to lighten the mood.
George laughed sadly, "That you would."
"I guess I'd better go it's getting dark and I'll need to wake early if I plan on leaving tomorrow," she got up and turned.
"I'll miss you lass," George said quietly.
"I'll miss you too George," she didn't turn around but continued to walk towards the door.
When she had left the inn George stood, "I really will miss you," he said again to himself.
{A/N don't hyperventilate! This is not the end!! Last chapter will go up next week Sunday…maybe earlier if I'm feeling nice.
Next week: Lots of farewells as Alanna plans to ride of into the sunset all by her lonesome.}