A/n: A quick answer to pixiedust: For goodness' sakes! Alanna is human! She
has emotions! She's not made of stone! All through the journey she's been
excited about seeing her twin brother, who she loves so much, and now he
just pushes her away. Of COURSE she cries. It doesn't mean she's a wimp.
And yes, in ellabelle's words, Thom does have to be a moronic bastard for
his (very crucial!) part in the plot. I've decided against any real fluff
in this chappie, but here's what you get instead...
Alanna slipped surreptitiously into the library, which was empty, just as she had predicted. Concealing herself in a back corner and grabbing a thick volume off the shelves to bury her face in, she let the tears run free.
What has he turned into? She wondered silently, in the anguished emptiness of her mind. What have they done to him, to make him into this? Is he truly the same little boy I used to duck in the duck pond? Her thoughts were blurry, unconfined by the limits of mere words, but she felt betrayed more then anything. She felt stupid; she had been lying to herself so long... Pretending the letters had been stopped, or that he genuinely never had time to write... But no, clearly he had had 'better things to do'. Then there was the anger at her father for making Thom come here, for turning him into what he was... Hatred of their Gift for consuming him; and a terrible self- hatred for letting herself cry. But she could do nothing about it, and the tears streamed down her face unchecked.
Gary approached cautiously, not wanting to startle her. She appeared to be in the middle of a huge volume on the Dark Age Rebellion in the south county Scanra- Gary was sceptical. He enquired cautiously-nervously, though he would never admit it- "My Lady?"
Her head shot up; the book dropped to the floor with a crash. She went bright, bright red. "I wasn't crying," She snapped, trying to lie convincingly with only a half-second's notice, and being totally unsuccessful. "I was, uh, sweating. Yes. It's very hot in here. Is there a window? No, of course there isn't, we're in the middle of the Palace, how silly of me. That's why it's so hot. Which is why I was sweating. Yes. Um, absolutely." Now she was gabbling. In back of her mind, the infinitesimally tiny part of Alanna that was still sane groaned, and offered up a lifebelt. Alanna the Crazy pounced on it hungrily, wiping the tears from her eyes and breathing deeply. She could ger the rest of her crying done later.
"Why did you call me Lady again? I distinctly remember telling you I hated the title. Call me Alanna before I have to beat you up." Placing her hands on her hips, she glared at him. Gary threw his hands up in mock terror.
"Alas! My fainting heart! I cannot refuse the command of so fierce and cruel a tyrant. Alanna it is." Returning to his normal stance, he continued in a normal voice, "So, we've gone and become friends now? Mithros forbid we should ever get to like each other! "
Alanna wagged a finger under his nose, a crooked smile returning to her blotchy face. "Not a bit of it. My friends call me Aly."
"Righto, fair lady, Aly it is!"
"Oh, first I'm a tyrant, now I'm a lady again? Right! That does it! You're going to get thrashed!"
Gary raised one sceptical eyebrow. "Oh yes?"
Alanna threw down her hands. "Oh, alright, you got me. I can barely fight at all. For some reason they never taught us that at the convent. Did Thom..." She stopped, a lump caught in her throat. She continued determinedly, "Did he ever tell you he wanted to become a sorcerer, not a knight?"
"Never in so many words," Gary replied dryly, "But we got the general idea."
"Well, he did. I wanted to be the knight. We were going to switch places, but father found out. So I got convent duty, and Thom got all the fun."
Gary was staggered. "Are you telling me you were going to sneak into the palace and demand they take you? I doubt, somehow, that that would have worked."
"Not a bit of it. I was going to disguise myself as a boy; he was going to forge letters from father saying we were twin brothers. He would have gone to the Daughters to study sorcery, then to the Mithran Priests. But father caught us. All I could ever really manage to do at the convent was exercises-really basic ones for Sword and daggers- and archery practices, horse riding, that kind of thing. And not nearly enough of that. Ask Cythera. It nearly drove her mad."
Gary collapsed into his chair. "You're not serious."
"Deadly."
"Great Mithros," He whistled slowly, exhaling. "That's amazing. And you kept it up?"
Alanna nodded solemnly. "Always. It nearly drove me crazy sometimes, that I couldn't learn properly."
Someone stepped out from the doorway where she had been standing unnoticed. "You nearly drove ME crazy, doing al those incessant exercises. She wasn't exaggerating." This last to Gary. "Morning, noon and night, it's sword, daggers, archery, kicks, punches. A warrior in the city, she skips class, runs away form the convent for as long as he stays and hangs around him until she learns everything he can teach her. She's insane. I've always said it. And she lied."
Alanna spluttered at this, but Cythera continued inexorably.
"We don't call her Aly, not when she's like this. We call her the Lioness."
Gary looked at Alanna again, a strange expression in his eyes. He took a deep breath.
"Would you like to learn?"
Alanna blinked. So did Cythera. In fact, they blinked at exactly the same time. Then they looked at each other, and did it again. Then...
"Properly?" Alanna was breathless with excitement. "You'd teach me how to fight properly?"
Gary nodded. "Sure."
About five minutes later, the librarian came and kicked them out of the library for incessant screaming with delight.
Alanna slipped surreptitiously into the library, which was empty, just as she had predicted. Concealing herself in a back corner and grabbing a thick volume off the shelves to bury her face in, she let the tears run free.
What has he turned into? She wondered silently, in the anguished emptiness of her mind. What have they done to him, to make him into this? Is he truly the same little boy I used to duck in the duck pond? Her thoughts were blurry, unconfined by the limits of mere words, but she felt betrayed more then anything. She felt stupid; she had been lying to herself so long... Pretending the letters had been stopped, or that he genuinely never had time to write... But no, clearly he had had 'better things to do'. Then there was the anger at her father for making Thom come here, for turning him into what he was... Hatred of their Gift for consuming him; and a terrible self- hatred for letting herself cry. But she could do nothing about it, and the tears streamed down her face unchecked.
Gary approached cautiously, not wanting to startle her. She appeared to be in the middle of a huge volume on the Dark Age Rebellion in the south county Scanra- Gary was sceptical. He enquired cautiously-nervously, though he would never admit it- "My Lady?"
Her head shot up; the book dropped to the floor with a crash. She went bright, bright red. "I wasn't crying," She snapped, trying to lie convincingly with only a half-second's notice, and being totally unsuccessful. "I was, uh, sweating. Yes. It's very hot in here. Is there a window? No, of course there isn't, we're in the middle of the Palace, how silly of me. That's why it's so hot. Which is why I was sweating. Yes. Um, absolutely." Now she was gabbling. In back of her mind, the infinitesimally tiny part of Alanna that was still sane groaned, and offered up a lifebelt. Alanna the Crazy pounced on it hungrily, wiping the tears from her eyes and breathing deeply. She could ger the rest of her crying done later.
"Why did you call me Lady again? I distinctly remember telling you I hated the title. Call me Alanna before I have to beat you up." Placing her hands on her hips, she glared at him. Gary threw his hands up in mock terror.
"Alas! My fainting heart! I cannot refuse the command of so fierce and cruel a tyrant. Alanna it is." Returning to his normal stance, he continued in a normal voice, "So, we've gone and become friends now? Mithros forbid we should ever get to like each other! "
Alanna wagged a finger under his nose, a crooked smile returning to her blotchy face. "Not a bit of it. My friends call me Aly."
"Righto, fair lady, Aly it is!"
"Oh, first I'm a tyrant, now I'm a lady again? Right! That does it! You're going to get thrashed!"
Gary raised one sceptical eyebrow. "Oh yes?"
Alanna threw down her hands. "Oh, alright, you got me. I can barely fight at all. For some reason they never taught us that at the convent. Did Thom..." She stopped, a lump caught in her throat. She continued determinedly, "Did he ever tell you he wanted to become a sorcerer, not a knight?"
"Never in so many words," Gary replied dryly, "But we got the general idea."
"Well, he did. I wanted to be the knight. We were going to switch places, but father found out. So I got convent duty, and Thom got all the fun."
Gary was staggered. "Are you telling me you were going to sneak into the palace and demand they take you? I doubt, somehow, that that would have worked."
"Not a bit of it. I was going to disguise myself as a boy; he was going to forge letters from father saying we were twin brothers. He would have gone to the Daughters to study sorcery, then to the Mithran Priests. But father caught us. All I could ever really manage to do at the convent was exercises-really basic ones for Sword and daggers- and archery practices, horse riding, that kind of thing. And not nearly enough of that. Ask Cythera. It nearly drove her mad."
Gary collapsed into his chair. "You're not serious."
"Deadly."
"Great Mithros," He whistled slowly, exhaling. "That's amazing. And you kept it up?"
Alanna nodded solemnly. "Always. It nearly drove me crazy sometimes, that I couldn't learn properly."
Someone stepped out from the doorway where she had been standing unnoticed. "You nearly drove ME crazy, doing al those incessant exercises. She wasn't exaggerating." This last to Gary. "Morning, noon and night, it's sword, daggers, archery, kicks, punches. A warrior in the city, she skips class, runs away form the convent for as long as he stays and hangs around him until she learns everything he can teach her. She's insane. I've always said it. And she lied."
Alanna spluttered at this, but Cythera continued inexorably.
"We don't call her Aly, not when she's like this. We call her the Lioness."
Gary looked at Alanna again, a strange expression in his eyes. He took a deep breath.
"Would you like to learn?"
Alanna blinked. So did Cythera. In fact, they blinked at exactly the same time. Then they looked at each other, and did it again. Then...
"Properly?" Alanna was breathless with excitement. "You'd teach me how to fight properly?"
Gary nodded. "Sure."
About five minutes later, the librarian came and kicked them out of the library for incessant screaming with delight.
