Alanna

Chapter 15

All characters and anything recognizable belongs to Tamora Pierce. Anything unfamiliar and the plot belongs to me. :)

(Alanna and Leo)

"Leo! What are you doing here?" Alanna exclaimed, a bright smile plastered firmly on her usually serious face, as she released her grip on the other Shang warrior.

"You're sad to see me?" Leo teased, as his mind churned up an excuse.

"Very funny," Alanna muttered.

"No, its just that I felt so cooped up back at the village, so I decided to come here and see whether I can put my expertise to good use. I was thinking of seeing how good the famed Tortallan knights are," Leo said, his eyes glinting.

"You'll thrash them," Alanna said seriously, taking in the amused glint in Leo's sparkling eyes. "I did," Alanna added in as an after thought.

Leo stared at Alanna carefully before breaking into a proud smile. He had known for a long time that Alanna planned to return back to Corus to seek vengeance of some sort, namely to embarrass the Tortallan knights but he was still wary about how Alanna would cope with her sudden return to a place which held many memories for her.

Alanna seemed to be more solemn, her eyes serious and her smile grim. There was a definite edge to the way she looked and acted- as though she was on guard or fearful of something. In addition, she seemed sadder all together, as though she was renewing her past connections with Corus- a place she swore to forget.

"No surprises there, you were thought by me after all," Leo said dryly, but his smile told the true story- he was proud of his protégée. "You've been practicing I hope?"

Alanna nodded fervently. "Let's get your stuff- you can stay at the castle if you want."

It had been Shang tradition, and unwritten law, that all Shang warriors who stepped into Corus had to pay tribute to the king. The Shang had always been independent people, and they refuse to bow to any person, noble or not, but they did pay the king more respect than they did with other people. Leo had yet to meet the King and without a doubt, he knew that he would probably stay at the castle, training the pages and squires for a few weeks before moving on to wherever he was headed to.

Grabbing his hastily packed bags, Leo checked out of the inn and followed Alanna on foot. The castle was a few miles away but to Alanna and Leo, it just seemed like a leisurely walk, given their tough training as a Shang.

"Wait, what happened to Sugar?" Alanna asked suddenly, remembering Leo's faithful horse.

Leo looked down at the cobbled path, his eyes glistening and his fingers clenched. "Some attacker killed her," he said bitterly. "I was attacked."

Alanna instantly fell silent. She had never been a person who dealt with such difficult circumstances well and she paused for a moment before saying softly, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Leo said shortly.

"I'm sorry," Alanna added.

There was more silence, before Leo nodded.

(At the castle)

The first introductions had been made. Leo was garbed in attire that looked out of place in the grand dining hall, but exceptions had always been made for the Shang. Alanna had taken him around the castle, introducing him to various people.

The king had greeted him with a cordial smile and shook his hand warmly after Leo had bowed respectfully.

"Welcome to Corus," he had said amiably, though eyeing him warily.

The king had asked the servants to prepare Leo a room to stay in, which was where Leo was going to reside in for the next few weeks. Leo had volunteered to help out in the training of the pages and squires, and the king had jumped to that idea instantly.

Whenever a Shang offered to give training, it was taken up without hesitation because such opportunities were rare and most of them only lasted a few days. The Shang chose to roam about the lands freely and hated to be tied down in a place for more than a few months. Leo was no different- the culture he had been brought up in had taught him just as much.

Alex, Roald and Gary had welcomed Leo with open arms after finding out that he had been Alanna's trainer. They opened up immediately and within a few minutes, they had begun to joke around with each other, as though they had been long lost friends. Secretly, Alanna let out a sigh of relief. She had been afraid at first that her ex-friends would not accept Leo but her fears had proven to be false.

For that at least, Alanna was glad.

Thom had greeted Leo cryptically. He had looked at Leo from head to toe and nodded understandingly, for a reason Alanna could not perceive. However, he had treated Leo politely, even to a point of being brotherly, which for Thom was exceedingly rare. Thom rarely opened up to strangers and Alanna was surprised that her reclusive brother had treated Leo the way he did.

She was pleased of course, that her friend and her brother had gotten along so well. Thom had mumbled under his breath, "so you're the one…" but his words had been inaudible to all except himself. Alanna had faintly heard him but when she asked for a further explanation, Thom had brushed it off as her imagination.

Jonathan however, had been jealous. He had treated the close relationship between Alanna and Leo with a hidden envy, though he was all smiles at the open. He had been thought from young to hide all his negative emotions and that training had it had served him well this time. Alanna had not seen anything out of the ordinary but Leo had.

Leo had stared at him queerly, no doubt wondering what was there between the Prince of Tortall and Alanna, the exiled and infamous page. However, he had been perfectly respectful and courteous, and Jonathan had left the meeting with a mindful of thoughts.

Had the Shang warrior seen through his façade?

The first taste of Magic

Alanna yawned wearily. Her clothes had been drenched with sweat- she had spent the whole afternoon fencing with Alex, who had casually demanded a rematch. She had won of course and Alex had bore no grudges, saying that he had expected to lose anyway. She had kept Amayaa glued firmly by her side, using Lightning instead when they were practicing sword fighting.

The sword had been charmed to be invisible, but it had still been physically present and was very uncomfortable. Any slight movement made the sword bang against her thigh and she now had a big bruise and a sore spot.

Pushing aside all other thoughts, Alanna concentrated on her gift. She felt power swirl through her as she directed her gift onto the bruise. The bruise cleared, and the familiar aftereffects of healing magic faded. However…

There was a sudden explosion of power. Amayaa started to vibrate, and the long blade turned a dark black. It began to radiate rays of black like substance which was visible to all, and a sudden cloak of magic flooded her room and let out a weird, metallic sounding noise.

There a second explosion and Alanna was thrown off her feet as Amayaa was suddenly levitated in the air, spinning wildly and radiating more power. Alanna shielded her eyes as a bright light suddenly filled the air around her. After a while, it cleared and all fell back into its original silence.

Amayaa suddenly sped towards her and Alanna tried to duck but something forced her clenched knuckles open and the sword gently placed itself in her outstretched palm.

"Goddess! What have I done?" she said, her mouth agape in horror.

Fleeing

The door was thrown open.

"Alanna!" came an exasperated and urgent voice, "What have you done?"

It was Thom and he was sweating profusely, as though he had dropped down whatever he had been doing to rush to her. His face was contorted into pure urgency and tension marred his usually clammy face, which was screwed up with weary lines.

"I told you not to do magic with the Amayaa!" Thom said angrily, berating his twin.

"I forgot!" Alanna said hysterically.

"You have to leave now!" Thom continued, "half the sorcerers in this land are chasing after you now!"

"WHAT?" Alanna shrieked.

"Just leave! Take your money and pack some clothes and go with your friend, Leo, you have to LEAVE!" Thom yelled furiously, as he hastily threw open the cupboard door to fling pieces of clothing into a bag that had been conveniently left open by the side of the bed.

Alanna was shaking with fear- she had never seen her brother so worked up before. Nodding her head, she was about to help when Leo entered the room.

"What was that?" he said expectantly.

"She'll explain later, go pack your stuff, you're leaving NOW!" Thom shouted commandingly, as he slammed the cupboard door shut and zipped up the traveling bag.

Leo had seen many strange things occur in his life and he had been in urgent situations before. Something about Thom's demeanor struck Leo and Leo found himself nodding and fleeing to his room to pack some clothes. It was very queer but Leo did not have time to ponder about it, instead, he was rushing to leave.

Leo and Alanna left the castle five minutes later, on the run, fleeing for their lives. Unwittingly, they had become the center of a vicious web of murder, lying and deceit.

Author's note: I have decided to shorten each chapters to about this length, maybe slightly longer, so as to ensure the frequency of my updates! Thank you!

TPfan333: blushes Yes, I think I misspelled it. I'm really sorry about that, I'm not a real stickler for such facts but I will make an effort to change it! Thanks very much for pointing that out!

Lioness Fury: Thanks a lot! Yes I do use modern words, and I'll try not to in the future chapters. Thanks for telling me that. I know that Alanna only fell in love with Jon in the second book, and this fic occurs somewhere after the first, so its kind of twisted- the facts that is. This is to ensure that it goes with my plot :) Thanks!

Kore Yan: I'm so sorry I took like a month to update. So I'm shortening the chapters for more frequent updates and I'll just compromise by having more chapters. Thanks!

AJ 4eva: I'm sorry to hear your grandmother's ill. My grandmother died somewhere this year, in June actually. She had a stroke and we thought she had recovered. We were on holidays when it happened and my mother was distraught. Hope she gets well! :)

MangosamMy mum doesn't ground me- she docks my pocket money :) Thanks for the review!