Umm... let's see. Marble51, TQ is not out yet, but Tammy put an excerpt up on her site. Go to and it should have a link. Anyway, thanks for the reviews.
Opening her eyes, Aly saw that the ground was muddy from melting snow and the sky was covered in clouds. Turning, she saw a small castle just over a hill. Sighing and thanking Kyprioth, she headed towards it.
As she came within one hundred yards of it, a man with shaggy blonde hair rode out to meat her. His horse was a light brown color, and wore battle armor. "What business do you have in Trebond, young lady?" He asked, squinting his eyes to see her better. Apparently, he didn't have the best of vision.
"I'm just passing through, although I would like to speak to the baron, if I may," Aly found a hard time trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice: it was so amusing being where her mother had first started her journey.
"I guess...," He stammered, then straightened and tried to glare at her, although Aly thought it looked more like a pig snorting. "Do you have a name?"
Aly thought for a moment. If she told him her real name, she might get more respect, but news travels quickly, and she didn't know what spies might be here. "My name... Caroline." Thinking of the clothes she had on, Aly decided to complete her story. "I'm a traveling actress, and I was on my way to Steadfast with my group. We're plannin' to put on a pe'formance, there. I just was worried and wanted to know how the war was goin', see, I've been trying to stay out of people's way, these past days." She smiled loosely, hoping the guard wouldn't notice her sudden change in speech.
"Well, ma'am, why don't I take you down to the castle myself?" Aly nodded and followed him down the cliff, the whole time trying to keep from rolling her eyes.
When Alanna awoke, she found herself blindfolded and her hands tied behind her back. Cursing, she tried to stand, but someone hit her down again. Muttering, she tried again. She fell back once again, and heard people chuckling at her.
"Look, Marc, the little Lioness wants to play with you. Maybe you should give 'er a ball o' yarn." The voice was male, uneducated, and brought on other's laughter. Footsteps went away from here and metal snapped shut.
"How about you just give me a sword, instead?" Alanna asked after checking that her sword was missing. "I'll take on any one of you, or, perhaps if you're scared, all of you at the same time. How does that sound?" Alanna smiled smugly, or at least she tried. She could already feel the magic barrier on her hands, and she knew for sure it would only hurt her to test its strength.
Something moved next to her. Alanna turned her head towards the sound. A muttering of curses gave her an idea who it was. "Raoul?" She asked slowly. "Is that you?" The big man moaned again.
"You think they could at least have thrown us in on some pillows," His voice was cracked and dry. Alanna sighed, leaning her head back against the cold pillar behind her.
"My favorite idea is that the war never began," She mumbled to herself, losing more hope than she planned to. Trying to gain it back, she turned towards the laughing drunks who were supposed to be guarding her. "Would you mind taking off my blindfold?" She asked in her most fake-pleasant voice. "Only my blindfold, that's all. I'm not asking to be released. I'm not that stupid."
A chair screeched on wooden floor, and footsteps came closer to her. There was a jingling of keys, the creaking of a door, and then... Alanna could see. She was in a metal cage in a small, smoke filled room. Four men sat at a table, playing cards and drinking.
By the time her eyes adjusted completely to the dim room, the man who had freed her had locked the door back up and sat down once again. "Thank you," She said, putting as much venom in her voice as she possibly could.
The man turned to look at her. His smile was missing teeth and the ones that remained were cracked and yellow. "Purty eyes she's got, aye Capt'n?" The man sitting farthest from her nodded. He has a big build, but Alanna couldn't tell his anything of his arms because he was half in shadow.
Alanna turned to see Raoul's condition. He was scratched up roughly, with bruises and such, but otherwise fine. It was at that moment that she saw a figure –still asleep- behind his. Manipulating her chains, she wriggled to see who it was. It was a tall girl with short brown hair- Keladry of Mindelan! The memory of everything that happened before she fainted came to her.
Swallowing, Alanna grinded her teeth. This was going to prove to be quite the difficult task.
Aly followed the guard threw the winding corridors of the castle, her mind ticking anxiously as the time passed. She had to talk to Corum and Rispah soon; precious time was being wasted while the guard rambled on about the history of the tapestries on the wall. The only one that even caught Aly's attention was of the late Lord Alan's Lady: her grandmother. Watching it was she passed, Aly felt a tremor in her stomach. Deciding then that it was too much of a waste of time to stare at picture, Aly gently persuaded the man to take her straight to the baron.
When she got to the entrance of the throne room, the guard turned to the sentry watching the doorway. "I'll relieve you." He said. The man raised his eyebrow, and then shrugged at stood up.
"Your name and common position will be necessary. And at this time, I will remain in service: at least until his majesty leaves." Aly glanced at him. Did he just imply that King Jonathan was here? Under such a low guard? That would explain why six foot soldiers sat gambling in the room to her left, but the king should have more security, especially during war.
The guard who had escorted her down from the hills replied, "My name is Carl Stounep; I'm a sentry currently on guard duty of the western hills, but my shift ended a few minutes ago, and my partner has word of where I am," The man lightly took Aly's hand and brought her over to the guard.
"I found this girl wandering the fields. Her name's Caroline, and she's a travelin' actress. From what it sounds, she just wishes to speak of the war to his lordship." Aly nodded, smiling wide-eyed as a girl who'd never seen such treasuries would do.
The guard scowled. "I don't think you should be so quick to trust her, Carl. We are in the middle of a war, you know."
"A war that's almost over, might I add. We have that Scanran King running from us like a cat from a dog." He smiled at Aly, and then nodded for her to sit down in a well-cushioned waiting chair.
"Still, you know who's here! And we can only hope that ape Muggar doesn't. Think about that next time you go flirting with wenches-," The guard stopped, looking towards the door. There were screams, but not of war: of anger. A few of the guards that had been gambling came out to see what was going on.
"You act as though you don't care of your champion!" Aly knew the voice was Coram's, even though she had only met him a few times before. Sharpening her Sight, Aly heard Rispah shushing him.
"And I suppose you do!" Aly almost froze. It was the king. "Oh, but it doesn't matter if you can't spare any guards, only if I can't-," Coram interrupted Jonathan.
"You're the KING! Use your godly powers and make all our little problems disappear." Aly could here his feet pacing back and forth, and swords being drawn by Jonathan's guards, preparing for an attack. Quieter, he said in a tone that made even Aly cringe. "You certainly were able to do that in the desert."
For a moment the king was speechless. "That was over twenty-five years ago- ," Again Coram's angry interrupted him.
"And you still haven't changed." Rispah gasped. Aly suspected that she was on the verge of tears. "I bet you still love her, don't you?"
At that, Aly realized this fight wasn't going to end without help. She rose, breathing deeply. What she was about to do could get her killed. She walked towards the door. Both the guard that had ushered her around the castle and the sentry on guard duty here turned to her, but it was the first who spoke. "What do you think you're doing?"
Aly turned towards him, trying to open the door behind her, but it was locked. Faking a smile, she pulled out a lock pick. Sticking it in the hole, she heard a click, and then the creaking of the un-oiled hinges moving just a bit. "You can't go in there!" Her escort yelled at her, reaching out but still not trying to make too much of an effort. He hadn't heard the door creak.
Taking a deep breath, Aly pushed the door open and twirled in towards the fight, leaving her head watching them for just long enough to reply. "Watch me."
Does that count as a cliffhanger? Hmm... Well, umm... thanks for reading it. I'll try to update again soon. Please review. Oh! Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes that I missed.
Opening her eyes, Aly saw that the ground was muddy from melting snow and the sky was covered in clouds. Turning, she saw a small castle just over a hill. Sighing and thanking Kyprioth, she headed towards it.
As she came within one hundred yards of it, a man with shaggy blonde hair rode out to meat her. His horse was a light brown color, and wore battle armor. "What business do you have in Trebond, young lady?" He asked, squinting his eyes to see her better. Apparently, he didn't have the best of vision.
"I'm just passing through, although I would like to speak to the baron, if I may," Aly found a hard time trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice: it was so amusing being where her mother had first started her journey.
"I guess...," He stammered, then straightened and tried to glare at her, although Aly thought it looked more like a pig snorting. "Do you have a name?"
Aly thought for a moment. If she told him her real name, she might get more respect, but news travels quickly, and she didn't know what spies might be here. "My name... Caroline." Thinking of the clothes she had on, Aly decided to complete her story. "I'm a traveling actress, and I was on my way to Steadfast with my group. We're plannin' to put on a pe'formance, there. I just was worried and wanted to know how the war was goin', see, I've been trying to stay out of people's way, these past days." She smiled loosely, hoping the guard wouldn't notice her sudden change in speech.
"Well, ma'am, why don't I take you down to the castle myself?" Aly nodded and followed him down the cliff, the whole time trying to keep from rolling her eyes.
When Alanna awoke, she found herself blindfolded and her hands tied behind her back. Cursing, she tried to stand, but someone hit her down again. Muttering, she tried again. She fell back once again, and heard people chuckling at her.
"Look, Marc, the little Lioness wants to play with you. Maybe you should give 'er a ball o' yarn." The voice was male, uneducated, and brought on other's laughter. Footsteps went away from here and metal snapped shut.
"How about you just give me a sword, instead?" Alanna asked after checking that her sword was missing. "I'll take on any one of you, or, perhaps if you're scared, all of you at the same time. How does that sound?" Alanna smiled smugly, or at least she tried. She could already feel the magic barrier on her hands, and she knew for sure it would only hurt her to test its strength.
Something moved next to her. Alanna turned her head towards the sound. A muttering of curses gave her an idea who it was. "Raoul?" She asked slowly. "Is that you?" The big man moaned again.
"You think they could at least have thrown us in on some pillows," His voice was cracked and dry. Alanna sighed, leaning her head back against the cold pillar behind her.
"My favorite idea is that the war never began," She mumbled to herself, losing more hope than she planned to. Trying to gain it back, she turned towards the laughing drunks who were supposed to be guarding her. "Would you mind taking off my blindfold?" She asked in her most fake-pleasant voice. "Only my blindfold, that's all. I'm not asking to be released. I'm not that stupid."
A chair screeched on wooden floor, and footsteps came closer to her. There was a jingling of keys, the creaking of a door, and then... Alanna could see. She was in a metal cage in a small, smoke filled room. Four men sat at a table, playing cards and drinking.
By the time her eyes adjusted completely to the dim room, the man who had freed her had locked the door back up and sat down once again. "Thank you," She said, putting as much venom in her voice as she possibly could.
The man turned to look at her. His smile was missing teeth and the ones that remained were cracked and yellow. "Purty eyes she's got, aye Capt'n?" The man sitting farthest from her nodded. He has a big build, but Alanna couldn't tell his anything of his arms because he was half in shadow.
Alanna turned to see Raoul's condition. He was scratched up roughly, with bruises and such, but otherwise fine. It was at that moment that she saw a figure –still asleep- behind his. Manipulating her chains, she wriggled to see who it was. It was a tall girl with short brown hair- Keladry of Mindelan! The memory of everything that happened before she fainted came to her.
Swallowing, Alanna grinded her teeth. This was going to prove to be quite the difficult task.
Aly followed the guard threw the winding corridors of the castle, her mind ticking anxiously as the time passed. She had to talk to Corum and Rispah soon; precious time was being wasted while the guard rambled on about the history of the tapestries on the wall. The only one that even caught Aly's attention was of the late Lord Alan's Lady: her grandmother. Watching it was she passed, Aly felt a tremor in her stomach. Deciding then that it was too much of a waste of time to stare at picture, Aly gently persuaded the man to take her straight to the baron.
When she got to the entrance of the throne room, the guard turned to the sentry watching the doorway. "I'll relieve you." He said. The man raised his eyebrow, and then shrugged at stood up.
"Your name and common position will be necessary. And at this time, I will remain in service: at least until his majesty leaves." Aly glanced at him. Did he just imply that King Jonathan was here? Under such a low guard? That would explain why six foot soldiers sat gambling in the room to her left, but the king should have more security, especially during war.
The guard who had escorted her down from the hills replied, "My name is Carl Stounep; I'm a sentry currently on guard duty of the western hills, but my shift ended a few minutes ago, and my partner has word of where I am," The man lightly took Aly's hand and brought her over to the guard.
"I found this girl wandering the fields. Her name's Caroline, and she's a travelin' actress. From what it sounds, she just wishes to speak of the war to his lordship." Aly nodded, smiling wide-eyed as a girl who'd never seen such treasuries would do.
The guard scowled. "I don't think you should be so quick to trust her, Carl. We are in the middle of a war, you know."
"A war that's almost over, might I add. We have that Scanran King running from us like a cat from a dog." He smiled at Aly, and then nodded for her to sit down in a well-cushioned waiting chair.
"Still, you know who's here! And we can only hope that ape Muggar doesn't. Think about that next time you go flirting with wenches-," The guard stopped, looking towards the door. There were screams, but not of war: of anger. A few of the guards that had been gambling came out to see what was going on.
"You act as though you don't care of your champion!" Aly knew the voice was Coram's, even though she had only met him a few times before. Sharpening her Sight, Aly heard Rispah shushing him.
"And I suppose you do!" Aly almost froze. It was the king. "Oh, but it doesn't matter if you can't spare any guards, only if I can't-," Coram interrupted Jonathan.
"You're the KING! Use your godly powers and make all our little problems disappear." Aly could here his feet pacing back and forth, and swords being drawn by Jonathan's guards, preparing for an attack. Quieter, he said in a tone that made even Aly cringe. "You certainly were able to do that in the desert."
For a moment the king was speechless. "That was over twenty-five years ago- ," Again Coram's angry interrupted him.
"And you still haven't changed." Rispah gasped. Aly suspected that she was on the verge of tears. "I bet you still love her, don't you?"
At that, Aly realized this fight wasn't going to end without help. She rose, breathing deeply. What she was about to do could get her killed. She walked towards the door. Both the guard that had ushered her around the castle and the sentry on guard duty here turned to her, but it was the first who spoke. "What do you think you're doing?"
Aly turned towards him, trying to open the door behind her, but it was locked. Faking a smile, she pulled out a lock pick. Sticking it in the hole, she heard a click, and then the creaking of the un-oiled hinges moving just a bit. "You can't go in there!" Her escort yelled at her, reaching out but still not trying to make too much of an effort. He hadn't heard the door creak.
Taking a deep breath, Aly pushed the door open and twirled in towards the fight, leaving her head watching them for just long enough to reply. "Watch me."
Does that count as a cliffhanger? Hmm... Well, umm... thanks for reading it. I'll try to update again soon. Please review. Oh! Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes that I missed.