A/N: Okay, so I admit it, I've got toooooooo much conversation this time too. I just couldn't really be bothered changing it so that it wasn't as talkative. Sorry about that. Anyway, this continues from where last chapter left off so enjoy.

Thanks: I don't need to put this here but it's kind of a habit now. So anyway I posted this the same night as last chapter which means I ain't got any reviews yet. Advanced thank you for anyone who reviewed chapter 5.

Disclaimer: It's all mine looks around furtively and beckons you to come closer actually, if you must know most of the people and places are Tammy's but don't tell anyone I told you, okay? If you want to borrow anything just ask, not that there's much to borrow.


Chapter 6: Court

"Jon! Are you in there?" she called through the door of the Prince's royal suite. The door opened and had barely been closed behind her before Jon was kissing her.

"Well hello to you too." She said to him once he'd stopped for breath.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself." He said sheepishly, avoiding her eyes.

"That's okay, but can we have a chat?" she asked him.

"Sure, come on. Take a seat." He said, showing her to the lounge chair before the fire.

"I had that talk with Will. I looked for you down in the gardens but you weren't there so I came here. I figured that even if you weren't here there would be someone I could leave a message with." She told him.

"True, if I'm not here there's always a maid or someone about. And most of the time young Geoffrey of Meron is in his room." Jon told her.

"So that's who your squire is? Thom never actually mentioned it to me." She commented.

"Yes. But anyway, how did your talk with Will go?" he asked.

"It went pretty good actually. He was a bit disappointed but he understood what I was trying to say and even though I don't think he's a noble he was gentleman enough to still talk to me after I'd finished." Alanna said with relief.

"Does that mean no one's courting you?" he asked eagerly.

"Maybe." She said evasively.

"Don't be coy, give me a straight answer." He pleaded.

"Can you not guess?" she teased laughingly.

"I could but you'd have to give me some indication if I were getting close to the truth." He said.

"Don't worry, I will. Start guessing." She ordered him.

"Okay, you're not being courted by Will or Geoffrey; otherwise you would have known that he was my squire." He said and Alanna nodded.

"Could it be Gary?" he asked, Alanna shook her head.

"How about Alex?" he suggested, Alanna again shook her head.

"Raoul?" but Alanna just laughed outright at this.

"I don't know. Who else is there?" he asked in defeat.

"You're very silly sometimes my Prince. Did you never think it could be you?" she asked him before kissing him on the lips. He kissed her deeply in return, wrapping his arms around her.

"I suppose one could call me that, although most wouldn't get away with it." He said before giving her another kiss.


"Alanna you have to come to the ball tonight, remember you're being announced at court." Jon told her a week later.

"But I don't have to do anything at the ball do I?" she asked him anxiously.

"No, just dance once or twice with me and then you can do whatever you want." He said.

"You're sure? Cause Sam says all these things which she thinks are wonderful about balls which I think are absolutely horrifying." She told him fearfully.

"Just come, I could be announced with you if you like." He offered.

"No, that's too controversial. Besides, you're parents should at least have warning before you make a public appearance with someone like me." She said.

"I could go tell them right now that I'm courting you, they won't mind at all." He said.

"But they haven't even met me, sure they've met Thom but not me and we're completely different, for all that we are twins." She told him.

"I know that and they must know that too. By now they would know that you are the Shang Dragon's apprentice as will everyone else at court." He said.

"Then maybe I should be announced with other Shang. I should go in with Liam, Kyliah and Will, not you. Besides, if I go in with you then everyone will be talking about us for weeks on end and neither of us will get any peace about the matter." She said in exasperation.

"I don't mind."

"But I do. I'll go in with Liam and the others and I'll see you once I'm inside." She told him.

"Alright, but you've got to promise to dance with me." He said.

"Do I have to?" she whined.

"Yes, I have to dance with every lady at the ball, the least you could do is promise to dance with me both first and last." He told her.

"Oh alright, I think I can do that." She agreed reluctantly with a smile.


"Alanna I'm going in with Kyliah." Liam told her that night just before they were to be announced. They were waiting in the small antechamber outside of the ballroom where that night's ball was being held.

"Oh, whom I gonna go in with then?" she asked him.

"I guess you'll be stuck with Will." He said with a smile before walking off to join Kyliah. Alanna looked around the room but found that she didn't know anybody but Liam, Kyliah and Will so she walked over to join Will.

"Hello gorgeous." He said. She looked down at herself. She was dressed in a purple gown with a not too modest, but not too low, cut dress which matched her eyes.

"What? I look gorgeous?" she asked him.

"Well I think you do." He said.

"Thank you Will. And I hate to break the bad news but it looks like you're stuck with me on your arm. Liam decided he'd escort Kyliah in." she told him.

"I don't mind." He said with a shrug. The doors opened and the herald announced Liam and Kyliah. Once the doors had closed he motioned Alanna and Will forward. They were ready to go just before the doors opened again.

"Master William Smyth apprentice of the Shang Unicorn, and the Lady Alanna of Trebond apprentice of the Shang Dragon." The herald announced this time. Alanna and Will entered the ballroom and made their way before the throne. Alanna curtsied very deeply to the King and Queen as Will bowed to them.

"Lady Alanna, your brother is known to us and we can only hope that you are well disposed to the royal family as he is." King Roald told her. (A/N: does that make sense?)

"Thank you your Majesty. I can assure you that I am as well disposed to your family as he is." She told him before moving away when he dismissed her and Will.

"Now was that so bad?" Liam asked her, handing her a glass of white wine.

"Not really." She said.

"Good, get used to it. You're a noble, you'll be doing it often." He told her.

"Thanks for the info but I think I already knew that." She said.

"Well enjoy you're evening, I'm going to socialise with Kyliah." He said before wandering off. Alanna scanned the crowd of courtiers for a familiar face and saw both Thom and Jon at the same place, talking to their usual crowd of friends.

"Come on, I know some of these people." Alanna said, dragging Will behind her to join the group.

"Why hello Lady, how are you this evening." Thom asked.

"Fine thanks Thom, here you know Will." She said, pulling her friend forward.

"So we meet again. The last chat we had was rather interesting. Shall we continue it?" Thom asked the other apprentice. Alanna left Will there to talk to her brother and made her way to the other side of the group where Jon was.

"Hi." She said shyly.

"Hello Alanna. You look absolutely wonderful." He told her, causing her to blush.

"Don't be so silly Jon, you're just not used to seeing me in a dress." She told him.

"Dress or no you do look rather stunning Lady Alanna." Raoul told her.

"Why thank you kind sir." She said. Jon tapped her on the shoulder.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, indicating the dance floor where others were already dancing.

"I suppose so." She told him with a smile. They went over to the dance floor and started to dance the waltz.

"So why did Will escort you in? I thought Liam was doing that." Jon said.

"So did I until about ten minutes ago." She told him dryly.

"Well what happened?" he asked.

"Liam decided that his attraction for Kyliah could overcome him for one night." She said with a smile.

"He told you that?" Jon asked in surprise.

"No but I'm a woman and we sometimes know things by pure intuition. I mean look at him, he's staring at her as though she was the whole world to him." She said, nodding her head in her master's direction.

"Maybe she is." Jon said simply, gazing deep into her eyes. The song finished. Alanna withdrew her arms from Jon.

"I think I need some fresh air." She told him.

"I think I'll join you." He took her arm and walked out onto the balcony with her. She stopped at the edge and lent against the balustrade, Jon settled next to her.

"So how was your day?" he asked.

"Quite well thank you. How was yours?" she asked.

"Fine. How are you?" he asked.

"A little flustered, I'm not used to balls." She admitted with a glance inside.

"Is this your first one?" he inquired.

"Yes actually. I never attended one when Liam and I were here the first time because I was too young." She told him.

"Well you're obviously not too young now." He said.

"No, apparently not." She replied.

"Is it a bad thing that you come to the balls now?" he asked.

"I don't quite know. I don't particularly like them. Maybe you could say I would prefer to hide in the curtains or in an antechamber like Raoul does." She said.

"But then you couldn't save me from the countless number of women mother tries to get me to marry and I couldn't see your radiant beauty." He told her softly, putting his arm around her.

"What radiant beauty? All it is is a dress and a little rouge and eye powder." She told him.

"No, it's what inside the dress and under the powders and rouge, it's you." He said, giving her a kiss.

"Not here Jon, not in front of everyone." She told him, pulling back.

"Why not? It's not as though courting someone's a crime." He told her.

"But I think gossiping is and everyone in that room will be talking about us if they see. Besides they wouldn't distinguish me from any of your other conquests." She said.

"Well then we'll just have to give them the truth. Besides they'll talk about us anyway. Like you said before, women know some things from tuition but some women just catch every little thing that happens at court. Do you think they won't notice that I'm infatuated with you? It'll just make them talk all the more." He told her seriously.

"Very true." She agreed. He lent down and kissed her long and hard.

"Maybe we shouldn't do it just in case." She suggested hesitantly.

"But they'll still talk." He told her.

"Well then I'll just have to go, then they won't have anything to talk about." She told him. She pecked him on the cheek and then made her way down some stairs of the balcony into the garden. Jon followed her and caught up to her in one of the alcoves where she was sitting, gazing at the moon. He kissed her on the mouth and this time she gave no argument seeing as they were out of sight.

"Don't expect this to happen at every ball we go to." She told him.

"Would I do that?" he asked.

"Knowing you, yes." She said, smiling.

"Well if you didn't leave the sight of others I wouldn't be tempted to follow you into the night and kiss you." He said teasingly.

"No, you'd just kiss me in front of them all." She told him.

"I promise I won't at the next ball." He swore, and then kissed her again, quite passionately.


A/N: Aww, how sweet! Anyways, you guys know the R/R drill. Tell me what you think. Is my romance writing going okay? Or is it just crap? I can handle the truth so just let me have it, okay? Anyway, if anyone wants to email me they can. Cya later.