Alrighty. Me (Alex) n Eunae or eUNAE as she now wishes to be called. (how stupid is that?) have a new thing. I am going to answer the reviews for the chapter i wrote. most of these are answers to INSULTS!!! I mean, since when do we all listen to eUNAE? we all know i'm the smart reliable one. Prettyer too. lol! well answers, thanx to...
HOLD UP!! Eunae here…lol. Okay..the whole eUNAE thing is because were were typing emails in caps…and then I signed my name with my first letter down on shift…but then it turned out like that. And also, ALEX THE SMART ONE? She spelled PRETTIER wrong!! Just thought I might point that out to you guys…..
megster: first of all. sorry for taking so long. sheesh. and i suppose i should continue ur little "thanks" thing. so thanks for saying thanks for saying thanks for saying thanks for saying thanks for saying thanks for reviewing. what was that all about may i ask? did i miss sumthin? probably. Sorry about alanna not being there for the big anouncement but she will find out soon i suppose. And as i was reading this i realized that if you change the e to an a and get rid of the g megster is transformed to master. did ya do that on purpose or what?
(Eunae responds….Alex missed out on our little joke. So…..i just wanna tell you that she's clueless..but she had to type that. But I wanted to..but she wanted to reply. So don't feel bad!! LOL)
AnnaWeb: will do.
Equestrian-babe101: yeah we finally started. glad we did. we had started planning the sequal three chapters in to the first one. seriously.
Insomniac-Reader: Yes! Marriage is good!!
Wild black fire: thanks for telling us what AU means. I didn't know what it was either and now we both know! the enlightenment is much appreciated. hope ur domokuns get plenty of ninjas. I also hope they don't get indigestion.
Wild Magelet: I CAN'T BELIEVE YOUR YELLING AT ME JUST BECAUSE EUNAE TOLD YOU TO!! LOL she promised you a cookie eh? well if you yell at her in your review for this chappie then i will give you not only a cookie but a brownie too. yeah, numy is sweet. luv him for it. i always wanted to do a proposal scene like that. and i'm proud of Lasku. He was the first character i ever made up for a fic.
(Eunae says..thanks a biggabiggabunch for typing that in. it was so funny….lol. I loved Alex's reaction. ;) Thanks again!)
Roherwen: Random is good. and it's not just my fault that it took so long to get the chapter posted! Eunae had it for over two weeks before she stopped being lazy and put it up. (actually, that's a lie but we can always pretend that it was true. lol!)
Goddess of Muffins: wow! thanks for loving this story. here is more just for you (and all the other reviewers.)
um: well, sort of funny. the last time i answered reviews i forgot to thank you. never got to apologize so i will now. i'm really, really, REALLY sorry about that. i hope you can forgive me. just a mistake. i make a lot of those. unfortunatly. and henry and co. are in dunlath. sorry for the confusion.
beckythorn13: yes, yummy... so is this chapter.. (actually, i havn't read it yet but i'm sure it will be.) as for Maura and Lasku, hmmmm. you never know....
Protectress of the Small: uh huh. tangleing them up was fun. why would someone need to tell me my bio sucks? i can read after all! and you betta be joking. I know where you live...
Please Review after you read!!!
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Damien had originally thought of leading his troops straight into Corus, but for the first time in his life, his brain worked and he thought of safety and strategy.
He thought of all the soldiers snickering behind their helmets and thought furiously, Laugh all you want. It won't last long when I am king of both Tortall and Tusaine! Then, you shall fear me!
The king of Tusaine brought his army to a city near the border of Tusaine. It had almost been completely abandoned by Tortallan residents ever since bandits had struck the town.
The result of this was a place that was a ghost town. Damien knew that the Queen's Riders passed by the town of Barad maybe once or twice before. He didn't consider them a threat to the security of his troops, nor to the secrecy of his location.
King Damien had his troops disperse and confirm that there was no one else in the town except for them. When they reported back, with the help of some of his chief associates, he pieced together that this town had not had visitors in quite awhile. Then he left the room and went over to his new quarters that some soldiers had prepared for him, leaving the rest of the dirty work, such as the bunking of troops, to his officials.
The lazy man began making himself comfortable and was pleased to find a mirror with only one insignificant crack near the border.
However, this didn't bother him at all. He didn't care as long as it did not interfere with the reflection of his face.
The vain man began to smooth out his blond hair that was graying, though he adamantly refused to recognize the gray strands in his hair. He was musing about the tales told about Tortall's queen and the one time they had met.
Damien had seen that she was an incredible beauty, and he thought that she would decorate his court in Tusaine magnificently. (a/n: I'm gonna go a bit crazy here) He imagined Thayet as his queen, rather than that pig, Jonathan. Damien could already feel the silkiness of the masses of coal black hair between his fingers, and the softness of her red full lips. Gazing into her eyes sent him into a vortex of greens, and ….
"Your Majesty?" called a voice from outside his room.
Damn it all. Just when I had it going good, he thought lustily. He answered brusquely, "Yes?"
"A man wandered into our camp and was looking for someone, but we couldn't understand him properly. We immediately decided to consult you in this matter."
By this time, Damien had the door open and was trying to comprehend what the man, who was in charge of the infantry, had told him.
"But why would you need me in this? Just send him on his way, but make sure that he says no word of us to any Tortallans."
"Milord, that's just it. From what we have gathered, he is strongly resistant to Tortallans and continues to think we are Tortallans and clearly shows it by abusing our troops. I did not know whether to reveal our identity, so I came to you," the man answered in a servile attitude, pretending to grovel at the feet of Damien.
"You did wise. Bring him to me at once, here."
The man scuttled off to do as he was told immediately. (can't you just imagine it? LOL)
The king sat comfortably in his chair, but almost fell out of it when his eyes rested on the man before him.
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Tristan began walking around the forest to flex his renewed flesh and bones. And with every step he took, he thought of the mage, Numair, who put him in that position in the first place.
And with every pace, his anger began building up, until it was just a blaze of revenge burning throughout him, threatening to consume him.
Tristan sat down a patch of sunlight that shone through the leaves of the trees. Trees, he thought.
Another livid emotion bubbled up inside of him, stirred in his cauldron of emotions by his memories.
Of being a tree, Tristan thought angrily.
His memory reached back to when he was a tree, an apple tree to be specific. He remembered the stiffness, not being able to move, but having the ability to still hear and understand as a human.
Of course, he developed the way a tree did, he lost his leaves in fall. In winter, he was bare in the cold, which to him was like being in a blizzard with no warmth. In spring, he began to grow swiftly again and sprout leaves, and in summer, he was in his full glory, with his apples nice and shiny.
And then, he thought of who had put him throughout this torture, and he only focused on one person.
Numair Salmalin.
Then, he remembered the young girl who had accompanied the mage throughout his travels. And, now as he realized, she was also partly responsible for the pain he had endured.
What was her name again?
He sifted through his mind, trying to remember her name.
Then, he got it.
Veralidaine Sarrasri.
Yes, that was it. She must pay, along with the traitor, the former Arram Draper.
But wait, he recalled whispers that he had heard.
That Numair and Daine had fallen in love and were secret lovers. And that she was the official wild mage of Tortall.
Yes, that was it.
This puts them in a perfect position for me, Tristan considered maliciously.
For he had not sat idle while he was firmly rooted to the ground by Master Salmalin's magic. Tristan Staghorn had stretched his roots far and had learned much lore and magic, even in his form of a tree.
It was a totally unknown territory to him and, yet, he had managed to retain the new kind of magic inside of himself, ready to use whenever needed.
And now, it is time to report to my master.
So he wandered aimlessly for several days, always heading east, though he thought he was traveling west. When he did not meet the sea but found an abandoned city, after many hustling and bustling ones, he thought that this was a perfect spot for him to rest his weary feet.
But even as he walked, unbeknownst to him, many pairs of eyes saw him that belonged to the army of Tusaine.
And just when he was about to find a shelter, he was surrounded by the military. Tristan took it immediately that they were Tortallan troops and began to fight against them.
His Gift wasn't restored yet, so he was easily pinioned. And then, he was brought into an apartment where a pompous man sat idly.
The men holding him roughly made him kneel and stood behind him.
Then, Damien spoke. "Who are you, that you are wandering in this camp?"
"I am Tristan Staghorn, a yellow-robed (?) mage," Tristan answered proudly. "Yet who are you? You are not the king of Tortall!"
King Damien harrumphed, and said that he was the king of Tusaine.
But Tristan could not put the information he had received together and stared blankly at Damien.
Then, Tristan knew where his loyalties lied and said, "I must report to Ozorne immediately, I order you to release me!"
A sneer masked the king's face.
"Ozorne?"
Tristan nodded numbly.
Damien chuckled and replied, "He is long dead. By the wild mage of Tortall."
Then, blackness took over Tristan and he fainted.
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(okay..this is like just outside the lunch room, at Corus)
The group of ladies began giggling helplessly.
"I can't believe I missed it!" cried the redheaded one.
"It's alright, Alanna," replied a woman known as Onua, "I'm sure there will be more displays of affection in the future."
Thayet giggled again.
"I mean, we all knew that, inevitably, they were lovers," said Alanna with an impish grin.
"It was destined by the gods," Thayet responded.
"But I missed the most important part of the day!" Alanna exclaimed.
"You sure did, the most dramatic scene," teased Onua.
"Be quiet, Onua, for the Goddess' sake! It's not my fault that I was helping Jon."
Then, as Thayet, with the help of Onua, began to relay what had exactly happened in detail, Buri came to the huddled group of women.
"What are you all laughing madly about? Do I have gravy on my shirt again?" asked Buri worriedly.
"No," answered Alanna between laughs.
"Then what is it?" Buri inquired again.
"Onua and Thayet were telling me about Daine and Numair. You know, the whole engagement thing."
"I don't see why that is funny," responded Buri, trying to defend her friends.
"Don't you remember? How Numair could hardly keep himself from kissing Daine. And, Mithros bless, they were so engrossed with each other, they were clueless to the rest of us?" reminded Onua.
"Well, it's not that funny," Buri said.
"Oh, well Alanna missed it, also," added Thayet.
"And we were just getting to the part where you burst into tears!" kidded Onua.
"What?" asked the shocked Alanna.
And when the roguish Horsemistress and queen had explained to Alanna about Buri, Alanna began exploding in hiccups and laughs.
Buri just groaned and shot murderous looks to the hysterically laughing women before she left to talk to Raoul.
However, when she sat down next to Raoul, who was still eating, he immediately asked, "Is this true, Buri? That you started to cry when Daine and Numair got engaged?"
Buri just glowed pink red and retreated to her bedroom, cursing the day Alanna and Thayet were born.
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Okay Alex, nice job, NOT! You forgot our byebye message…well I'll do it for you!! So anyways..i hope you guys/gurls enjoyed this chapter.
I just also wanted to tell you that I was "suffering" from writer's block on this fic, so that is why this chapter was shorter than usual. I hope you didn't mind though.
Eunae
p.s. And. C'mon. it's Christmas…..and presents are good. And reviews are presents…soooooooo….
Could you find it in your good-hearted soul to review for us?