Chapter 17. Thanks for all of your reviews; they help to keep my story on tract! Just a couple notes. Sorry about the definitely, defiantly thing. My spell check seems to like defiantly better and I don't always catch it. As to my French error, oops, pardon! I can't spell in French either, and sadly learning another language is just making me more confused with English spelling!
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or places in this story, they belong to Tamora Pierce.
"And then, you can't forget that walking through mud is an excellent way to work your leg muscles. Who needs all those fancy devices that they're coming up with for country nobles to keep them 'looking as muscular and handsome as a knight in shinning armor'? All a person's got to do a walk out side on a rainy day!" Lani explained.
Daine gasped for breath, laughter filling every inch of her body. She could just picture one of those conservative country nobles in his fancy dress tunic and breeches, scowling at the mud like there was no tomorrow.
It felt good to laugh, but she was laughing so hard it was starting to strain some of her healing injuries. She bent over and bit her lip to stop the peels of mirth from escaping.
"You alright Daine?" Lani asked, stopping to see what had happened.
"I'm fine," Daine gasped, "Just need a second to catch my breath." She wiped the mud from her face along with tears.
Lani nodded and pulled the wooden flask from her side and began to gulp like there was no tomorrow.
"I must meet this Fox someday," Daine said as she watched Lani drink. In her mind she heard several birds cry out in fear at once. Interested, she paid closer attention to their rants. They kept screaming about some fast, killer bird. Turning to search for the bird, Daine found herself starring at an arrow heading right at her. Her body froze with fear, but her mind was racing. They think the arrow is a bird, she realized. It does have feathers and flies
Out of nowhere a flask blocked her view of the arrow.
"Want some?" Lani asked. A moment later, there was a dull thud as the arrow punched into the flask.
Lani looked up in surprise and dropped the water like a hot coal. She turned to the direction from which the arrow had come and like lightning snatched her hand out. When it slowed enough to for Daine to see it, she coolly noted that it held an arrow.
She grabbed Lani's other hand, and pulled her off the road into the forest.
"Come on!" she cried as they dashed for cover. She jumped over a fallen log with a burst of speed she didn't know her wearied body contained. In a moment, Lani fell in stride with her, still clutching the arrow in her hand. Though Daine realized that no one seemed to be following them, she continued to run deeper into the forest where they would be safer with the people to watch out for them.
Finally, she could run no more and skidded to a halt in a small meadow.
Aly wasn't the sort to pray to the Gods for every little thing, but right now she sent a silent prayer of thanks to every god she thought would listen. Except of course Kyprioth, who hadn't even had the decency to warn them not to shoot her own aunt.
"You can let go of my arm Aly, I'm not going to shoot any more," Ulasim muttered. Aly quickly let go of his arm, which she realized she had been holding quite tightly.
"Now tell me, why did we let them get away? You look as though you've seen a spirit."
Aly bent her head and slowly recoiled her bowstring, taking the time to decide how much to tell Ulasim. Veralidaine Sarassi was well known throughout the eastern and southern lands, and so to admit that Daine was her aunt definitely wouldn't work with her cover. She decided to play it safe, saying, "They are the help that Kyprioth promised to send."
"And how exactly did you know that all of a sudden, my dear?" Ulasim asked suspiciously. He studied her face as if trying to see through her.
"The God just told me." She answered pertly, making it quite clear that she didn't want to go into it further. Ulasim got the hint.
"Well, if they're to help protect the Ladies, they won't do much good in the forest. I'll spread the word to the scouts to keep a look out for them." He slid down off the rock, leaving Aly alone to her thoughts.
Wonderful, she thought to herself. Her life, amazingly, had just gotten even more complicated. She could almost see why her parents had never wanted her to have this type of life. Almost. But then again, this was the type of stuff she lived for.
Aly watched as a raindrop slithered down her forehead, glided down her nose and spattered onto the rock at her feet.
One thing became very clear as that raindrop fell: She needed to find Daine before anyone else did, or else the all of Tanair might learn about her interesting family ties. She quickly got to her feet, skidded down the hill and into the forest, fallowing the path her aunt had taken.
Numair groaned as a ray of sun hit his eyes. How could he have forgotten to close his curtains last night? The mage squeezed his eyes tighter, trying to block out the hateful light. Unconsciously, he rolled over and put an arm around Daine. Except his arm met nothing but blankets. Alarmed, he opened his eyes and found that he was not in his chamber at all, but strangely enough, but in the ballroom.
Slowly, he remembered what had happened. Daine was in the Copper Isles and he had passed out.
Outside an explosion sounded. He had passed out? He leaped out of bed and quickly grabbed the fresh clothes that were lying next to his cot.
Numair fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, wondering how the fighters outside were fairing. Had he managed to alert Alanna that his power was failing? He thought he had, but all around him were cots full of wounded. Surely if he had warned her, she could have held the spell until Jon could take over and there would be far fewer wounded.
As soon as the buttons were finished, he strode out of the hall, ignoring the healer who called for him to go back to bed and rest.
Out side, Numair shielded his eyes from the brilliant light and made his way to the wall. There seemed to be a million people everywhere, doing every task imaginable. Numair realized that the entire city must have moved into the protective walls of the palace, and that meant the attack must have gotten worse.
"Incoming! Everybody down!" somebody called from above him. Numair knew what he had to do from his experience during the Immortals War and dropped to the ground. There was a booming crash as a block of rock slammed into Baylor's Needle. The tower swayed ominously for a moment before it settled down to its former calm state.
What was going on? He wondered. Deciding that he had played enough guessing games with himself, Numair slowly climbed the stairs to the top of the wall. The scene that greeted him made him struggle for breath.
The city streets of Corus, which should have been bustling with shoppers at that time of day, was instead filled with warriors dressed in red and black, the colors of the Copper Isles' Army. Some were tearing through shops and houses, taking anything of value. Others were pulling catapults into cleared areas that had once held houses. That explained the flying rock, Numair thought ironically.
A hand gripped his shoulder; Numair turned and found himself looking down at Alanna.
"You're finally awake, huh?" she asked with an exhausted grin. The Lioness looked worse for wear. Dark circles accented her eyes and her left leg was neatly bandaged. Letting go of his shoulder, Alanna motioned for him to sit and did so herself with a satisfied sigh. Numair wondered when the last time she had sat down was.
"So I see the Copper Isles' reinforcements came." Numair said lightly.
Alanna snorted in a very un-lady like manner.
"Mmm," she said, "Four days ago." "Four Days!" Numair exclaimed, "How long have I been asleep?"
"A little over a week, you dolt, you were practically drained! Why didn't you tell me before your gift got that low?" she snapped.
"I got caught up in the spell," he answered sheepishly.
Alanna muttered something about her low tolerance for fools.
"How is Sara?" he asked her, trying to stop her brooding before it got out of hand.
"Don't worry, Tkaa's been watching over her. Princess Shinkokami too, for that matter. The last thing their majesties need right now is to worry about their pregnant daughter-in-law. I checked in on them myself last night. Sara's as happy as a pig rolling around in mud and playing non stop with Kit." She assured him.
"And when did you manage to find time for that?" he teased. Alanna answered with a look that could have killed.
Numair's stomach rumbled loudly, making him realize how hungry he was. He hadn't eaten in over a week!
"Lady Alanna," he said politely as he stood up, "My stomach has just informed me that it wishes to eat now." He reached a hand out to help her up. "And," he added, "It has assured me that's your stomach is quite empty too. Care to join me for lunch?"
Alanna grinned wryly, "Alright, as long as it's quick. I have work to do."
"I'm sure you do," Numair said seriously.
As they began to descend the stairs of the wall, he remembered the blaze balm spell.
"Oh, don't worry about that," she assured him, "Thom is taking care of it."
Numair gave her a questioning look.
"He's holding the spell. Apparently young masters run in the family. Thom had already passed the written and oral exams for mastery when we sent the call for help to the City of the Gods. He said it would be his Ordeal of Sorcery to see if he could hold the spell until you woke up. The blaze balm attacks have lessened since the Army arrived, so he's having an easier time of it than you did." She grinned, "That boy of mine is going to give you a run for your money, Master Numair."
Numair rose up to his full height as they entered a hectic mess hall. "We'll see," he said loftily before Alanna gave him a playful shove.
Lani sank to the ground next to Daine, chest heaving. She still clutched the arrow in her palm.
"What in the name of Mithros just happened?" Daine asked her.
Lani simply shook her head in response. "Somebody tried to kill us."
"Never would have guessed," Daine said disdainfully, to shaken to be polite. Lani didn't seem to notice, as she was studying the arrow. She fingered the feathers and winced.
"Stormwing." She explained.
"How did you catch that thing?" she asked nodding toward the shaft of wood, remembering how Lani had picked the arrow clean out of the air.
"Once a trainee earns their full title as a Shang Warrior, they must go out in the world for one year. If they survive, then they are named. I spent my year in the Jimajing Islands with the Pokinson people. There, arrow catching is a skill that all warriors are expected to learn. I could have either learned that, or how to used blow darts. I thought arrow catching might be more useful. I never realized how much so."
Daine nodded, quite happy that Lani had chosen arrow catching over the blow darts.
"Can I see that?" she asked pointing to the arrow. Lani gently handed it to her by the shaft. Expertly, Daine went over every inch of it. She was a good archer, and not a bad fletcher herself. Her father, Weiryn, was the god of the hunt in the north, and had passed on some of his skills to his daughter. Daine knew a good fletching job when she saw one. This arrow was perfect.
The arrow was flawlessly balanced with a deadly head just the right size. She rolled it over slowly, looking for some sign of who had made it, but to her dismay she found none.
Daine suddenly heard a loud cawing and looked for the source. Looking up, she noted two crows flying overhead.
There are two-leggers! one exclaimed.
Yes, but are they the ones we're looking for? the other asked.
Curious, Daine decided to find out who they were looking for. Crow sisters, she called, Who are you searching for?
She can talk! The smaller one exclaimed as she settled down on a tree branch right above Daine.
Trickster's girl didn't say anything about talking two-leggers, the other one muttered, What is your name?
"I'm Daine," Daine said aloud for Lani, who was staring curiously at her, "and this is Lani."
"Are you talking to the crows?" she asked curiously. She had seen Daine talk to the People before, but it never ceased to amaze her that Daine actually spoke to animals.
"Yes," she said with an exasperated sigh.
Daine? the first crow cried, You're who we are looking for! she let out a shrill caw.
Why are you looking for me? Daine asked carefully.
Aly asked us to look for you, the second one answered.
"Aly?" Daine asked aloud.
"Hey Aunt Daine," a hesitant voice said from behind her. Daine spun and found her niece standing at the edge of the clearing.
"Aly!" she cried in delight. Aly ran over and pulled her into a tight hug, which Daine readily returned. Lani watched on in interest.
Daine could hardly believe her eyes. Aly looked nothing like herself. Her strawberry blonde hair was cropped short and she had lost a lot of weight, but it was really her niece.
Aly pulled away from Daine and grinned at her.
"You don't know how good it is to see you!" she exclaimed. Daine grinned back in response. She did have some idea.
A question tugged at the back of her mind. "Aly, what are you doing here?" she asked.
Aly grinned wryly. "Come," she said looking at Daine and Lani, "Both of you. We've got a lot to talk about on our way to Tanair."
Review to your heart's content and thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or places in this story, they belong to Tamora Pierce.
"And then, you can't forget that walking through mud is an excellent way to work your leg muscles. Who needs all those fancy devices that they're coming up with for country nobles to keep them 'looking as muscular and handsome as a knight in shinning armor'? All a person's got to do a walk out side on a rainy day!" Lani explained.
Daine gasped for breath, laughter filling every inch of her body. She could just picture one of those conservative country nobles in his fancy dress tunic and breeches, scowling at the mud like there was no tomorrow.
It felt good to laugh, but she was laughing so hard it was starting to strain some of her healing injuries. She bent over and bit her lip to stop the peels of mirth from escaping.
"You alright Daine?" Lani asked, stopping to see what had happened.
"I'm fine," Daine gasped, "Just need a second to catch my breath." She wiped the mud from her face along with tears.
Lani nodded and pulled the wooden flask from her side and began to gulp like there was no tomorrow.
"I must meet this Fox someday," Daine said as she watched Lani drink. In her mind she heard several birds cry out in fear at once. Interested, she paid closer attention to their rants. They kept screaming about some fast, killer bird. Turning to search for the bird, Daine found herself starring at an arrow heading right at her. Her body froze with fear, but her mind was racing. They think the arrow is a bird, she realized. It does have feathers and flies
Out of nowhere a flask blocked her view of the arrow.
"Want some?" Lani asked. A moment later, there was a dull thud as the arrow punched into the flask.
Lani looked up in surprise and dropped the water like a hot coal. She turned to the direction from which the arrow had come and like lightning snatched her hand out. When it slowed enough to for Daine to see it, she coolly noted that it held an arrow.
She grabbed Lani's other hand, and pulled her off the road into the forest.
"Come on!" she cried as they dashed for cover. She jumped over a fallen log with a burst of speed she didn't know her wearied body contained. In a moment, Lani fell in stride with her, still clutching the arrow in her hand. Though Daine realized that no one seemed to be following them, she continued to run deeper into the forest where they would be safer with the people to watch out for them.
Finally, she could run no more and skidded to a halt in a small meadow.
Aly wasn't the sort to pray to the Gods for every little thing, but right now she sent a silent prayer of thanks to every god she thought would listen. Except of course Kyprioth, who hadn't even had the decency to warn them not to shoot her own aunt.
"You can let go of my arm Aly, I'm not going to shoot any more," Ulasim muttered. Aly quickly let go of his arm, which she realized she had been holding quite tightly.
"Now tell me, why did we let them get away? You look as though you've seen a spirit."
Aly bent her head and slowly recoiled her bowstring, taking the time to decide how much to tell Ulasim. Veralidaine Sarassi was well known throughout the eastern and southern lands, and so to admit that Daine was her aunt definitely wouldn't work with her cover. She decided to play it safe, saying, "They are the help that Kyprioth promised to send."
"And how exactly did you know that all of a sudden, my dear?" Ulasim asked suspiciously. He studied her face as if trying to see through her.
"The God just told me." She answered pertly, making it quite clear that she didn't want to go into it further. Ulasim got the hint.
"Well, if they're to help protect the Ladies, they won't do much good in the forest. I'll spread the word to the scouts to keep a look out for them." He slid down off the rock, leaving Aly alone to her thoughts.
Wonderful, she thought to herself. Her life, amazingly, had just gotten even more complicated. She could almost see why her parents had never wanted her to have this type of life. Almost. But then again, this was the type of stuff she lived for.
Aly watched as a raindrop slithered down her forehead, glided down her nose and spattered onto the rock at her feet.
One thing became very clear as that raindrop fell: She needed to find Daine before anyone else did, or else the all of Tanair might learn about her interesting family ties. She quickly got to her feet, skidded down the hill and into the forest, fallowing the path her aunt had taken.
Numair groaned as a ray of sun hit his eyes. How could he have forgotten to close his curtains last night? The mage squeezed his eyes tighter, trying to block out the hateful light. Unconsciously, he rolled over and put an arm around Daine. Except his arm met nothing but blankets. Alarmed, he opened his eyes and found that he was not in his chamber at all, but strangely enough, but in the ballroom.
Slowly, he remembered what had happened. Daine was in the Copper Isles and he had passed out.
Outside an explosion sounded. He had passed out? He leaped out of bed and quickly grabbed the fresh clothes that were lying next to his cot.
Numair fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, wondering how the fighters outside were fairing. Had he managed to alert Alanna that his power was failing? He thought he had, but all around him were cots full of wounded. Surely if he had warned her, she could have held the spell until Jon could take over and there would be far fewer wounded.
As soon as the buttons were finished, he strode out of the hall, ignoring the healer who called for him to go back to bed and rest.
Out side, Numair shielded his eyes from the brilliant light and made his way to the wall. There seemed to be a million people everywhere, doing every task imaginable. Numair realized that the entire city must have moved into the protective walls of the palace, and that meant the attack must have gotten worse.
"Incoming! Everybody down!" somebody called from above him. Numair knew what he had to do from his experience during the Immortals War and dropped to the ground. There was a booming crash as a block of rock slammed into Baylor's Needle. The tower swayed ominously for a moment before it settled down to its former calm state.
What was going on? He wondered. Deciding that he had played enough guessing games with himself, Numair slowly climbed the stairs to the top of the wall. The scene that greeted him made him struggle for breath.
The city streets of Corus, which should have been bustling with shoppers at that time of day, was instead filled with warriors dressed in red and black, the colors of the Copper Isles' Army. Some were tearing through shops and houses, taking anything of value. Others were pulling catapults into cleared areas that had once held houses. That explained the flying rock, Numair thought ironically.
A hand gripped his shoulder; Numair turned and found himself looking down at Alanna.
"You're finally awake, huh?" she asked with an exhausted grin. The Lioness looked worse for wear. Dark circles accented her eyes and her left leg was neatly bandaged. Letting go of his shoulder, Alanna motioned for him to sit and did so herself with a satisfied sigh. Numair wondered when the last time she had sat down was.
"So I see the Copper Isles' reinforcements came." Numair said lightly.
Alanna snorted in a very un-lady like manner.
"Mmm," she said, "Four days ago." "Four Days!" Numair exclaimed, "How long have I been asleep?"
"A little over a week, you dolt, you were practically drained! Why didn't you tell me before your gift got that low?" she snapped.
"I got caught up in the spell," he answered sheepishly.
Alanna muttered something about her low tolerance for fools.
"How is Sara?" he asked her, trying to stop her brooding before it got out of hand.
"Don't worry, Tkaa's been watching over her. Princess Shinkokami too, for that matter. The last thing their majesties need right now is to worry about their pregnant daughter-in-law. I checked in on them myself last night. Sara's as happy as a pig rolling around in mud and playing non stop with Kit." She assured him.
"And when did you manage to find time for that?" he teased. Alanna answered with a look that could have killed.
Numair's stomach rumbled loudly, making him realize how hungry he was. He hadn't eaten in over a week!
"Lady Alanna," he said politely as he stood up, "My stomach has just informed me that it wishes to eat now." He reached a hand out to help her up. "And," he added, "It has assured me that's your stomach is quite empty too. Care to join me for lunch?"
Alanna grinned wryly, "Alright, as long as it's quick. I have work to do."
"I'm sure you do," Numair said seriously.
As they began to descend the stairs of the wall, he remembered the blaze balm spell.
"Oh, don't worry about that," she assured him, "Thom is taking care of it."
Numair gave her a questioning look.
"He's holding the spell. Apparently young masters run in the family. Thom had already passed the written and oral exams for mastery when we sent the call for help to the City of the Gods. He said it would be his Ordeal of Sorcery to see if he could hold the spell until you woke up. The blaze balm attacks have lessened since the Army arrived, so he's having an easier time of it than you did." She grinned, "That boy of mine is going to give you a run for your money, Master Numair."
Numair rose up to his full height as they entered a hectic mess hall. "We'll see," he said loftily before Alanna gave him a playful shove.
Lani sank to the ground next to Daine, chest heaving. She still clutched the arrow in her palm.
"What in the name of Mithros just happened?" Daine asked her.
Lani simply shook her head in response. "Somebody tried to kill us."
"Never would have guessed," Daine said disdainfully, to shaken to be polite. Lani didn't seem to notice, as she was studying the arrow. She fingered the feathers and winced.
"Stormwing." She explained.
"How did you catch that thing?" she asked nodding toward the shaft of wood, remembering how Lani had picked the arrow clean out of the air.
"Once a trainee earns their full title as a Shang Warrior, they must go out in the world for one year. If they survive, then they are named. I spent my year in the Jimajing Islands with the Pokinson people. There, arrow catching is a skill that all warriors are expected to learn. I could have either learned that, or how to used blow darts. I thought arrow catching might be more useful. I never realized how much so."
Daine nodded, quite happy that Lani had chosen arrow catching over the blow darts.
"Can I see that?" she asked pointing to the arrow. Lani gently handed it to her by the shaft. Expertly, Daine went over every inch of it. She was a good archer, and not a bad fletcher herself. Her father, Weiryn, was the god of the hunt in the north, and had passed on some of his skills to his daughter. Daine knew a good fletching job when she saw one. This arrow was perfect.
The arrow was flawlessly balanced with a deadly head just the right size. She rolled it over slowly, looking for some sign of who had made it, but to her dismay she found none.
Daine suddenly heard a loud cawing and looked for the source. Looking up, she noted two crows flying overhead.
There are two-leggers! one exclaimed.
Yes, but are they the ones we're looking for? the other asked.
Curious, Daine decided to find out who they were looking for. Crow sisters, she called, Who are you searching for?
She can talk! The smaller one exclaimed as she settled down on a tree branch right above Daine.
Trickster's girl didn't say anything about talking two-leggers, the other one muttered, What is your name?
"I'm Daine," Daine said aloud for Lani, who was staring curiously at her, "and this is Lani."
"Are you talking to the crows?" she asked curiously. She had seen Daine talk to the People before, but it never ceased to amaze her that Daine actually spoke to animals.
"Yes," she said with an exasperated sigh.
Daine? the first crow cried, You're who we are looking for! she let out a shrill caw.
Why are you looking for me? Daine asked carefully.
Aly asked us to look for you, the second one answered.
"Aly?" Daine asked aloud.
"Hey Aunt Daine," a hesitant voice said from behind her. Daine spun and found her niece standing at the edge of the clearing.
"Aly!" she cried in delight. Aly ran over and pulled her into a tight hug, which Daine readily returned. Lani watched on in interest.
Daine could hardly believe her eyes. Aly looked nothing like herself. Her strawberry blonde hair was cropped short and she had lost a lot of weight, but it was really her niece.
Aly pulled away from Daine and grinned at her.
"You don't know how good it is to see you!" she exclaimed. Daine grinned back in response. She did have some idea.
A question tugged at the back of her mind. "Aly, what are you doing here?" she asked.
Aly grinned wryly. "Come," she said looking at Daine and Lani, "Both of you. We've got a lot to talk about on our way to Tanair."
Review to your heart's content and thanks for reading!