Ahh, you all make my heart sing. Special thanks to you all:
jollyrancher-j2k: I'm glad that you don't think it's moving too slowly, or too fast for that matter. I am quite the fan of fluffy love stories so I have to try hard to restrain myself. Read on, oh reviewer, to find the answers to your questions! Thanks!
Speaky: huggles Glad you liked it. Thanks for reviewing. Here is more, JUST FOR YOU!
piglet12345: Whoa, is there an actual real place called Kent? Hah, I thought I just made it up. It did sound slightly familiar. Anyway, it just popped into my mind. No, wish I could say that I live in England, sadly I live in Oregon, USA, which is quite a dull place. Yeah, it's odd to think of her with anyone else, but I'm going to try my best to make it work. Let me know if it doesn't seem to be working, alright? Thanks for reviewing!
Andy-c.o: Thanks! Hope you'll like this next chapter!
Guacamole13: Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it. Sweet fluff is always good! Hope you'll keep reading.
Pussinboots: It is! Middle name's Rose. Therefore Hannirose. You shall see the answer to your question up next. Thanks for reading!
professionaldooropener: I hope that this next chapter will live up to your expectations. Let me know what you think, okay? By the way, great screen name!
CHAPTER FOUR
"I'm afraid this is the only dress we have for a woman so small in stature, m'lady." The tailor said apoligetically to a disgruntled Alanna. Alanna eyed the dress distastefully,
"It's just rather...low cut." She grumbled. Eyeing the dress distastefully. The tailor shook her head and held out her hands,
"I'm afraid that if I altered it now it would not be ready in time." Alanna sighed and nodded her head.
"I suppose it'll do." She added hastily, "not that it's not a nice dress. It's just...er...not my style." She said with a rueful smile. The tailor nodded, looking relieved.
Gary is going to regret this, Alanna thought grumpily as the tailor carefully wrapped up the emerald colored dress.
Alanna came out of the shop and found Gary looking at swords at a nearby vendor. She gave him the change for the dress and Gary's eyes widened, Alanna, correctly interpreting his look said in a sulky voice,
"They only had one in my size. Be happy with what you have. And Gary," She added with a scowl, "if you ever tell anyone about this I will be forced to castrate you." Gary only laughed and led his disgruntled squire back to the palace.
"Alanna? Are you ready yet?"
Gary called through the adjoining door.
In her room Alanna reviewed her reflection. She looked okay, she had to admit, but it was much too girl-ish for her taste. She stuck her tongue out at her reflection.
"I'm coming," she called through the door to Gary, "but first you have to promise you won't laugh."
Gary chuckled and called,
"Ah, it can't be that bad, 'Lana. Come on then, we'll be late. Please?" Still grumbling, Alanna opened the door and stepped into Gary's quarters. Seeing Gary look her up and down she blushed a deep scarlet.
To hide her embarrassment she spun clumsily and asked,
"Well? What do you think?"
The dress was a deep green that somehow brought out the purple in her eyes. It had a full skirt that accented her waist and hips, something Gary had not noticed before. Unfortunately (for Alanna, that is) the cut was on the verge of dangerously low. Her chest was quite obvious.
Had she been in court at home she would have needed to wear a wig, seeing as red hair and purple eyes were not a common combination. But there were few knights that had come from Corus to test their luck, and none that knew her well. So her hair, although short, fell gently and elegantly on her shoulders. Around her neck she wore her ember pendent given to her from the Goddess, though no one knew that save her.
Gary gaped. How could he never have realized she was a girl? Surely this wasn't the Alan of Trebond her had grown up with. Suddenly Gary realized he was staring and blushed an even darker shade of red than Alanna.
"You look...gorgeous." He said gallantly, albeit quite truthfully.
"Thank you, Gary. You look very nice yourself." Alanna said with a slow smile. And he did look nice, he was dressed in a dark blue tunic with gold brocade frosting it's edges. The color made his eyes stand out brightly.
Then Alanna had a sudden thought,
"Gary! I don't know how to dance like a girl!" She said nervously.
"Oh," Gary said, shaking his head, "I hadn't thought of that. Well, we did learn to dance and even though it was as males, you did have to be the girl pretty often seeing as you were the shortest. I think we'll make it. You'll just have to decline all the offers from all your other court catches." He teased.
Alanna swatted at him. Gary grinned then offered her his arm. Alanna took a deep breath and daintily rested her fingers on his cuff.
"Sir Gareth of Naxen and Lady Alanna of Heather Grove."
The herald announced as Gary and Alanna swept into the room. Alanan was half expecting gasps of horror and to be sent from the room in disgrace the moment they stepped foot in, but of course, that didn't happen. In fact for the most part no one even looked their way.
"Just pretend your facing another Ralon," Gary murmured softly in Alanna's ear as he felt her hand tighten on his arm. Alanna laughed and relaxed her grip on Gary's arm. When they reached the bottom of the stairs a few other knights and their partners surronded them.
"Welcome, Lady Alanna. It is a pleasure to meet you." One of knights said and kissed Alanna's hand softly. "I am Sir. Coulton of Frebridge." Alanna attempted a curtsy and wobbled a bit and hoped no one had noticed. A few of the ladies drew her aside. Alanna glanced nervously over at Gary who smiled encouragingly at her.
"Ooh lady Alanna," Whispered one of the ladies. She was dressed in a blue gown with a gold silk sash and had long blond hair. She was very beautiful. She said in a silky voice, "How did you manage to get such a man as Sir Gareth? No offense meant, but your fief is a small one."
"I-uh-" Alanna stuttered, not sure how to answer. She glanced at Gary, who was smiling politely to the knight, she never noticed how pretty his eyes were. "I think he just likes me for me." She said a bit pertly. The ladies around her tittered.
Another lady said silkily,
"No man likes a woman just for her personality. Only looks, my dear, and wealth matter to them."
Alanna ground her teeth and bit her tongue, but the words tumbled out of her mouth all the same,
"Maybe YOU are incapable of finding a man that likes intelligent conversation, but I am not unlike you lacking in the brains to fulfill the needs of a man the would like that." She smirked at the shocked expressions on the ladies faces and walked over to Gary. She took his arm again, turning her back on the glaring temptresses. Gary turned and smiled genuinely at her, Alanna smiled back at him. He held out his arm and bowed, his eyes twinkled mischievously.
"Would you like to dance, my good lady?" Alanna snorted in a very unladylike fashion and said with a laugh,
"I'd be delighted to dance with a man such as yourself" She said with a teasing tone. To her amusement the young man blushed. Gary laughed, and led her to the dance floor. The first song was a fast gavotte, where they switched partners several times. Alanna watched the other ladies closely with the corner of her eye, and managed only to step on two men's feet. The next dance was a slow waltz, Gary took Alanna's small hand in his large one and rested one hand softly on her waist. Alanna was surprised to feel a fluttering in her chest when he put his hand on her. She lightly grasped her skirts after a quick glance at the other ladies. When she looked back at Raoul she saw the glimmer of laughter in his eyes and she frowned in mock annoyance,
"What, might I ask, are you laughing at?" Gary just laughed aloud and shook his head, then the music started. They spun in a slow circle. After a while Alanna was able to bring her gaze up from her feet and brought her eyes up to meet Gary's.
"Is it too horrible?" He asked her quietly. Alanna smiled and shook her head,
"Not at all. There's no one I would rather be here with, Gary." She said, meaning every word. Gary was silent for a moment, and gave her a considering look.
"Even Jon?" He asked in what he meant to sound like a light tone. "I know that he wanted you to be his squire." He admitted, his eyes straying from her face. Alanna looked up at him confused.
"Gary," Alanna said, looking confused, "why wouldn't I want to be here? Yes, I did wish to be Jon's squire at first. But I accepted you, didn't I? You can trust me when I say that I am proud and happy to be your squire." Gary smiled and tightened his hold on Alanna's waist. When the dance was over Gary released her slowly.
"Would you like to get something to drink?" Gary asked, Alanna nodded eagerly. Gary escorted her over to the refreshment table. He handed her a glass of wine, which Alanna sipped catiously. The taste was foreign, the bite of the alcohol didn't seem very strong though.
Gary opened his mouth to say something, then hesitated for a second and said in a quieter voice,
"Maybe...we coud go for a walk in the gardens?" Alanna flushed and said that she would like that. As they walked out to the garden she caught the eyes of one of the women who winked at her and grinned. Alanna bit her lip but couldn't stop from grinning as well.
Alanna inhaled the fresh night air deep into her lungs. She smiled happily, staring up at the bright stars. She glanced sideways at Gary who was looking off into the distance. They had been out in the night for nearly an hour, talking often but sitting sometimes in a comfortable sleepy silence.
"What are you thinking?" She asked him quietly. He glanced back at her and smiled.
"Oh, I don't know. I have a lot on my mind, I suppose. I mean, believe it or not I am still trying to get use to the fact that you're a girl." Alanna laughed softly and sighed.
"I guess it was a pretty big shock. I'm sorry I had to lie to you, I never wanted to." Gary nudged her playfully,
"I know that, you prat." Alanna grinned and inclining her neck to stare back up at the sky said,
"I can't believe I'm wearing a dress." She said the last word distastefully. Gary snorted and said,
"If it helps at all, you look very nice." Alanna felt her face go bright red and was suddenly very glad for the darkness. She murmered,
"Thank you."
Gary nodded and raised his eyes to the sky as well. He asked,
"So do you like it here? It's not as nice as home, but I like it well enough myself. Corus is...too busy somtimes, if you know what I mean?" Alanna nodded earnestly, and replied.
"I agree. Things move so fast. Seems as if I'll never catch up." Gary looked at her and said,
"You know, it's hard to picture you as my squire. The cranky red-head boy that beat Malven all those years ago..." Alanna looked curiously at him and asked,
"Do you mean that in a good or a bad way?" Gary sighed and ran and hand through his dark hair and murmured,
"Well, mostly just different. I mean, you're still the same person and yet...Alan of Trebond seems a lot different than lady Alanna." Alanna bit her lip and said mournfully,
"I lied to you. All those years." Gary waved a hand, dismissing her words.
"It's not that at all." He said, "It might take a while to get used to, but I will always be your friend, no matter what." Alanna smiled up at him. She said,
"Thank you. That means a lot to me, Gary" Gary smiled and ruffled her hair, Alanna grabbed his arm and twisted it playfully,
"I may be a girl." She said, with her eyes laughing. "But I still know how to defend myself from large men such as yourself."
"Oh, really?" Gary asked with sarcasm in his voice. He twisted out of Alanna's grip, "let's see you defend yourself then," and with that he did something that surprised them both. He leaned down and kissed Alanna quickly on her dry lips. Alanna blinked at him in surprise. She flushed and demanded,
"What wasthat for?" Gary laughed,
"Just seeing how well you could defend yourself. I'd only give you a two out of ten in defense so far. You'd best be careful Lady Alanna or men will be stealing kisses from you all the time" His dark eyes twinkled merrily. Alanna punched his shoulder, and not lightly either. Gary was so big though that he didn't have more of a response than an eyebrow raise. "Am I that bad a kisser?" He inquired mildly, Alanna could tell he was enjoying this. She blushed,
"No," She said, fighting back a laugh. Then she rolled her eyes and said, " C'mon, Master Gary. Let's go back in." Gary hesitated then nodded,
"Oh, well, all right." Then taking her arm led her back into the hall. They danced once more, then the ball was over. Alanna couldn't say that she wasn't pleased by the prospect of return to her room and to more comfortable clothes. Although, she couldn't say that she hadn't had a good time either.
As they walked back to their room Alanna thought back on the kiss they had just shared. She shivered slightly, she remembered the Goddess's words on love, but she had mentioned Jon. Not Gary. Alanna shook her head slightly. Gary had kissed her only as a joke. He was just teasing her, nothing he wouldn't do to one of his male friends. Well, maybe not kiss. Alanna had a sudden thought,
"Gary! They'll all think you're sleeping with me, if we both go into the same room. Oh, Mithros." Gary looked down at her, an amused look on his handsome face. -Wait a second- Alanna thought to herself, -since when has Gary been handsome?-
"Alanna, it's not really unexpected. No one will give it more than a seconds thought. I'm sure more than half of the court ladies will not be sleeping in their own beds tonight." Alanna grumbled,
"Well, I will be." Gary laughed and said,
"And that, my dear, is why you are not just a court lady." He gave her hand a squeeze. It wasn't until then that Alanna realized that she was holding his. She blushed and said in a teasing voice,
"Well, then it is a good thing I am not a court lady or we might both get into trouble tonight." Then she realized what she was doing. -I'm flirting! With Gary.-
Gary laughed heartily and looked down at his lobster red squire and said,
"Ah, but there is still time enough for that." Alanna gasped indignantly and pinched Gary's arm, hard, through his tunic. He winced and moaned as he unlocked the door to his room,
"I am not sure I deserved that." He commented dryly.
"I am quite sure that you did." Alanna said primly and minced into the very messy room in front of them. She turned to Gary and said tartly,
"You need to learn to clean up after yourself, Gary." She picked up shirt and crossed to his dresser. She folded it and turned back to face him. "It makes your squire unhappy to have to work hard." Gary shut the door behind him and leaned against it watching Alanna tidy. He said,
"You're turning into a proper court lady. Any time now you'll be married to an old man with more money than you can count." Alanna glared at his and threw a pillow in his face. She said,
"I will not."
Gary grinned wickedly and took a step forward from the door,
"Will too."
Alanna felt herself move a step closer to him. Was she actually moving?
"Will not."
Gary stepped once more, they were almost in arms reach,
"Will too."
Alanna swayed unsteadily and tumbled forward into Gary's arm. She looked blearily up at him,
"Will n-"
But something happened to make Alanna stop mid-sentence.
Authors Note: Sorry this chapter took me a while to get out. A lot of stuff has been going on in my life lately, so writing hasn't been the easiest. As a reward for sticking with me I promise to update very soon. Depending on how inspired I get I may pump out another chapter today. And yes, the Out-of-Characterness in this chapter is meant to be there and will be explained shortly.
Cheers,
Hannah
