Alanna
Chapter 9
Author's Note: Sorry I took so long to update... I try to alternate between this fan fic and my other one- Harry Potter and his Destiny. So yea, it does tend to take a little long that I would have hoped for.
This is for the benefit of an anonymous person named 'Maria'. No, I have no intentions of making Alanna a love-sick girl. I am trying to build her complex character, which isn't working out right now, but I will try anyway.
All characters except Leo and the plot belong to Tamora Pierce. Credit to her!
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Alanna could scarcely believe her eyes. Thom! Her twin brother Thom! The person she least expected to see, here at Corus… Alanna rubbed her eyes and pinched herself, just in case. Yes, he was still there- coppery red hair, a little pasty skin and shining purple eyes. He was Thom all right.
Alanna immediately leaped forwards and enveloped her brother into a tight hug. She distantly heard the rip of a material which she suspected was her once beautiful gown (but now slightly ruined and crumpled) but she did not care. All she wanted to do was to hold on to her brother- tight. She noticed how skinny he was, and mentally promised herself to remind him to eat more. Pushing aside that thought, Alanna let go of all her emotions except happiness as she tightly embraced the brother she had not seen for a long time. After a while, they grudgingly parted.
"Thom! Is it really you?" Alanna exclaimed.
"In the flesh! And how are you, dearest sister?" Thom asked.
"More later, come into my room, we need to talk." Alanna said, as she gently dragged Thom into her chambers.
Alanna immediately flopped onto her bed and crossed her legs in a very unladylike behaviour. Thom chose to slump on a chair near the bed. "So why are you here? Where have you been for the last few years? How did you get here? How are you?" Alanna instantly let out a barrage of questions.
"One by one, sis. Firstly, I obviously came here magically, which is the fastest and more convenient way, but a little draining, and currently no one knows I have come. Secondly, I have graduated after completing my black robe." Thom paused for a moment.
"Black robe? But I thought it was very hard to get and needed years and years of study!" Alanna exclaimed, awed.
"Nah, not really, it isn't very difficult, but anyways, now to the most important thing- what about you? What have you been doing? I have been watching you occasionally, but I still need to know the finer details like how you got kicked out of the knight training." Thom asked. Alanna stiffened and a wave of anger immediately flashed past her face. Thom noticed it immediately. Clenching her fists for a few seconds before relaxing, Alanna took in a gulp of air.
"I was kicked out because of that idiot, Roger. " Alanna spit out the name as though it was the most toxic of venoms. "After a trial, I was exiled for two years. I thought I was going to die. It was my dream, my passion to become a knight and now this!" Alanna stopped speaking, lost in a reverie.
"And then?" Thom prompted.
"I traveled to the Shang village of course. Nearly got myself killed with a fight with the Shang Dragon, but he finally accepted me. I was taught by Leo, the Shang Tiger." Alanna's bitter voice softened a little but stiffened again. "Then, I came here, after the two years. I needed to prove to them that I was still a knight in my own right, a better one. And I did it, I won." Alanna's voice was flat, devoid of happiness that was to be expected of one in her situation.
"Alanna, you still haven't told me why."
"Huh?"
"You haven't told me why you came back. Why you're so angry. Why you're so bitter." Thom said gently and frankly. Hearing Thom's words, Alanna was shocked for awhile. Why had she come back to a place that would only provoke more memories? Why? There was silence for a moment. And then Alanna knew it.
"I came back… for revenge. To show them that I could do it without them. To show them what they lost. To avenge the shatter of my dream!" Alanna burst out in a rage. Thom stared at her weirdly. He had never expected her to garner such anger. Alanna took a deep breath and calmed herself.
"And why are you here, Thom? Why did you come back?"
"Simple. As I told you before, I have been watching you occasionally. Recently, I have had this instinct, an instinct that you were in danger. So I came back to Corus, to keep an eye on you, just in case." Thom said simply.
"I am not a child Thom! I don't need to be protected!" Alanna said, more harshly than she had expected.
"I know, sister. Just take it as a precaution eh?" He replied, his voice a little faint. "I need to sleep; I am feeling very weary now. The spell was quite draining."
Alanna nodded and pointed to her bed. "Sleep here tonight and tomorrow, I will announce your sudden arrival and you will be allocated a chamber." Alanna said.
Nodding, Thom instantly flopped onto the bed and within a few heartbeats, lay in his dreams. Alanna stared at her sleeping brother for a moment, before smiling slightly. Then, she headed to her washroom, changed out of her uncomfortable gown and flopped onto the armchair in her room. Within minutes, she too was sound asleep.
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The curtains fluttered like a butterfly as a soft gust of night air blew past the window of a castle in Corus. The sky was still swabbed an ebony black and it seemed as though all the contents in the castle was sound asleep, except for one particular soul. Alanna woke up just seconds before it turned five. She yawned and stretched her lethargic body before stumbling into the toilet. Alanna hastily threw on a tunic and a pair of breeches. Grabbing her trusty sword- Lightning, which was placed against the wooden closet, Alanna crept out of the room and shut the door behind her.
Once, about two years ago, her body screamed for sleep at this time of the day, when Leo had to drag her out of her bed and force her to grudgingly follow him to train. Now, however, her body was accustomed to the timing and was as accurate as a clock when it came to waking up. Five in the morning sharp she would be up, heading towards the outside to train. Quietly, she sneaked out of the castle, careful not to rob anyone of their sleep.
Alanna walked towards the training grounds in the castle. It was a place she knew very well. She had spent months there, training. She cool night air caressed her cheek as she strode forward. An owl was hooting somewhere and the wind howled softly, but aside from that, nothing could be heard. (Her footsteps were noiseless.)
Alanna situated herself under the lunar orb in the sky, her silhouette faint in the weak moonlight. However, Alanna knew the steps by hard and did not need light. Seriously, she leapt into a few warm-up strokes before dwelling into a series of complicated swirls, jabs and blocks. Over and over again, lightning swung into the air and whacked an imaginary opponent fatally. Finally, Alanna stopped for a moment to catch her breath. Her palms were sweaty, and she accidentally dropped Lightning onto the floor. There was a dull thud.
Alanna cursed under her breath and picked her sword up. Placing it aside, she walked towards a nearby tree and began to practice her punches and kicks. Repeatedly, she punched it multiple times, swung into a painful kick suddenly and back to punches again. It was a tedious process, one she was used to. It had long before been booted into her system.
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Hundreds of miles away, Leo easily lifted a sack of mismatched items onto the top of his horse, Sugar. Then, he swung himself onto Sugar's back effortlessly. The horse began to trot- away from the Shang village.
"Goodbye," he said silently as he turned back a final time to look at the slowly diminishing village. He was headed for Corus, and sway off his decision he would not.
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Author's note: I cut short this chapter and moved it to the next one… I didn't expect her to talk to Thom for so long! :D Weird how words just flow…
Check out the next chapter, should be up in 1-2 weeks…
The plot begins to thicken, and soon you will know why… :D Ok so not soon, but in a few chapters time!
Thanks for reviewing!
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Credits
I will not go into details to thank every single person who reviewed, but I will like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone! *hugs* Thank you!