A/N: a poem for your time… I started this fic in December, and now, alas, it's May. Now the next installment - I'm so sorry for the delay. Oh yes. I should become a poet and base my life earning on it. Or not. Ahem. On with the story. Oh and a question for my loyal readers - should I capitalize "ado"?
Chapter Three - The One with the Royal Ball and Much ado about Flirting
Alanna raced back to her room, and arrived, out of breath, and light-headed - the reason being the run or a pair of exquisite blue eyes she wasn't sure. Glancing around her room, she saw that the remainder of her clothes had been hung up and her things put away, and a warm bath was waiting for her. She had nothing to do but undress, and situate her aching body in the inviting water.
Unfortunately, now that she was alone, her mind began to argue with itself. Memories of the haunting dreams kept plaguing her, no matter how hard she tried to ignore them. They were only dreams. Only dreams? Have you ever heard of anyone else having recurring dreams with very real physical consequences? It's only a coincidence. A coincidence? How could cuts and bruises be a coincidence? Maybe I was sleep walking and…and what? Fell down stairs, took a knife to my skin and tied a rope around my neck? Be reasonable Alanna, maybe the gods were sending you a warning of some kind. A warning? Why would they do that - they've never meddled in your life before and it's not like you're special in any way. Oh I'm never going to figure this - -
Suddenly, Alanna's thoughts were interrupted by a sharp knocking on the door. Someone was growing impatient. Vaguely realizing that the water had grown lukewarm around her, she hopped out of her bath, threw a robe around her, and answered the incessant pounding. Standing there was the one person she least wanted to see: Thalia. "What do you want?" She asked more sharply than she would have had she not been in such a pensive mood.
"You're not even dressed yet?! Where were you at dinner? We're all waiting for you - they're about to begin announcing us any second. But here you are, just out of the bath. Get dressed before I KILL you for making me wait!"
"Oh shove it, Thalia. I'll be ready when I'm ready," Alanna replied but felt the beginning of panic rising in her stomach. I'll be there in 10 minutes."
"We don't have 10 minutes!" she heard Thaila shout through her already slammed door.
"Oh gods, why, why, why? I'm always late to everything!" She jerked open the wardrobe door, finding the sapphire blue dress she'd previously picked to wear tonight. Throwing it on haphazardly, she threw her hair into a messy updo, then applied a minimum of face paints, and diamond ear bobs to complete her look. Halfway down the corridor, she realized she wasn't wearing any shoes, so she raced back and found a pair of comfortable slippers before running to the waiting chamber where 3 of her remaining year mates were waiting impatiently.
"There you are Alanna, no one thought to come get you when you didn't show up at dinner. We thought you might be taking a nap, but we had to rearrange the entire order of presentation when you were late, and we all got so worried so we sent Th--" fidgety Marla was interrupted by the presenter.
"Alanna of Trebond? It's your turn, milady. If you'd please come here." He glanced her way, giving her a fatherly smile. She returned it, and drawing a deep breath stepped forward. The doors opened and she began her descent as she heard his voice boom, "Lady Alanna of Trebond, daughter of Lord Alan of Trebond," and she glanced around the ballroom from her high vantage point. Not many took notice of the red-headed teenager that was descending the stairs for the first (probably only she thought to herself) time in her life, but she caught sight of her twin, who was beaming at her with pride, and saw next to him, Jonathon, Gary, Raoul, and other young men she didn't recognize. Would I have been friends with those very squires and knights if I had gotten to stay and complete my training? Or would they have hated me, and bullied me? I guess I'll never know. Alanna's thoughts had become melancholy and reminiscent as she finished descending the seemingly never-ending stairs, but at the bottom, all thoughts escaped her head as the tall, handsome Prince took her hand, kissing it and said, "You look absolutely lovely tonight, Lady Alanna, and I would appreciate it greatly if you gave me the privilege of having this dance."
She could feel herself blushing deeply as she consented, and he lead her out on the dance floor, where they began the lively waltz which left them both out of breath after it was over. She wanted to stay with him, and talk, but she was immediately swept away by Raoul, this time into a slower minuet. "You look divine, Lady Alanna," he remarked with a twinkle in his eye.
"Oh really?" she cheekily questioned, sensing the amusement in his voice.
"Actually," he replied, "Any improvement at all over your previous state this afternoon would have been quite divine," he laughed. "However, it seems I'm not the only one to have taken notice of the drastic change," he continued as Alanna glanced over his shoulder at Jonathon, who was laughing at something his dance partner had just said - who she was horrified to see was Thalia. He seemed to feel her looking, and he glanced up and held her violet eyes with his blue ones. She had to break the gaze for it was so intense.
"Well, to be frankly honest with you, Sir Raoul, I feel much more comfortable in that slightly less-than-lady-like state than I do now, in this "divine" one."
He beamed at her, and said, "Please call me Raoul, I have the feeling that you and I will get along quite well." And for all the teasing in his voice, she sensed a deep sincerity behind the façade.
After a few more dances with various other knights, including Sir Gary, who had also asked her to keep to a first name basis, she began walking towards a corner where Thom was standing, conversing with a very tall, very handsome man with dark features, who had been catching her eye all night. Inexplicably, she felt drawn to the knight, and was very intent on meeting him until the Prince walked into her line of view and propositioned some very appealing alone time. "Shall we go on a stroll through the gardens? You can consider it the grand tour," he joked merrily, and she readily agreed, forgetting in that instant about the dark man who watched her leave through a side exit with Jonathon.
The man turned to Thom, and queried, "Your sister and the prince seem to be getting along well enough, but aren't you afraid he might use her like the others?"
Thom shifted uncomfortably and replied, "Jon knows better than to do that with my sister. He'll respect me, if not her."
"I don't know, Thom. Someone as beautiful as she is…" his voice drifted off in a insinuating manner.
"No, Alex. I'll remind him of our friendship. He wouldn't want to do anything to ruin that, now would he?"
The dark man shrugged, and walked off to proposition a young lady into a dance, leaving Thom alone with his thoughts. No, Jon won't do that. He won't.
Alanna was perched daintily on the edge of a stone bench, listening to the Prince chatter on about court, his parents, and friends. The nuns at the convent had taught her how to look attentive without hearing a word spoken. Good thing too, she thought. 'Cuz this guy is way boring. Hot…but way boring. "But anyway, enough about me, (A/N: riiiight) tell me something about you, Alanna - it's ok if I call you Alanna right?"
Alanna sighed inwardly at his childishness. "Of course. There's not really much to say about me - life is pretty dull when you're raised in a convent." He laughed. She assumed he would. They talked for a while longer when Alanna, tired of the boring, polite conversation she was being forced to make, suggested that they go back inside, lest their friends become suspicious.
"Oh yes," he agreed, his eyes shining. "We wouldn't want that to happen now would we?" With that he took her hand and kissed it lightly, for the second time that evening, and the following eye contact made her shiver. He might not have been blessed with brains, but the boy was certainly blessed with looks. She took his arm as he led the way back to the ballroom, and upon arrival, Raoul immediately asked for a dance, and as she let him lead her back out onto the floor, she thought she heard Jon muttering something under his breath about wanting another cream puff…but certainly that must have been her imagination.
A/N: haha in case you're wondering about the cream puff part - that was for George's-Secret-Lover. Yes go read her story, New Definition of a Lady. It's very promising, and very good. I feel so bad for Jon. I have to make him all stupid and dull. Ok that's a lie, I don't feel that bad for him. Hmm….unfortunately as you will see in later chapters though, he isn't as stupid and dull as I've made him out to be - - in fact quite the opposite. But like I said, you shall see. That is, if you review.