Title: Trust Betrayed

Author: jessalae

Disclaimer: All the people, places, and things you recognize belong to Tamora Pierce. Aludra also belongs to Tamora Pierce, though her name belongs to Robert Jordan and her personality belongs to me.

A/N: "-…-" is thoughts.

-o-o-O-o-o-

Ladies of the Tortallan court were not supposed to know how to pick locks. Then again, Aludra had never considered herself an average lady. When she was a young girl, she had often used the knowledge obtained from a less-than-honest servant to sneak into her brother's rooms. She was currently reliving her childhood by breaking in once again.

"-Too easy! Well, brothers never learn.-" she thought as the door swung open. Aludra crept inside, slipping her picks back into the bodice of her dress. After briefly glancing around, she stepped towards the bed to start a closer inspection. A book half-submerged beneath the blankets caught her attention. She opened it to find pages written in her brother's untidy scrawl.

"-Oh, Neal's diary! Most excellent.-" she flipped to the last page he had written on, and her eyes widened as she read the entry.

"-Oh, yes. Definitely most excellent!-"

-o-O-o-

Neal raced down the hall, coming to a screeching halt at his door. His alarm spell had warned him the second the handle was turned. "-Who in the world would be breaking into my room?-" He wondered before pushing the door open. "What are you doing in my room?"

Aludra whirled, dropping his diary. "Oh, hello Neal! I was just coming to visit you. Unfortunately you weren't here, so I just let myself in to wait." Her face was the picture of innocence.

"Enough with the theatrics, Aludra. How many times have I told you, don't come into my room! "

"Why must you always get so angry? You know I would never do anything to you. You're the only brother I have left!"

"Aludra." Neal's eyes glinted angrily. "Get. Out. Of. My. Room."

"Fine," she sniffed, flouncing toward the door. "I'll just go visit Lady Keladry."

"Kel? Why would you-" his eyes fell on the diary on the floor. "Aludra, wait!" But she was already gone. Neal swore and raced after her.

"Aludra! Aludra, you get back here now!" Neal turned a corner and stopped suddenly, trying not to run over his sister.

"Oh, of course now you're ready to talk to me."

"Aludra, how much of my diary did you read?"

"Not too much. Just the last entry."

"Oh Gods, Aludra." Neal took a deep, calming breath. "You can't tell her."

"Why not, brother dearest? It's not good to keep your feelings bottled up."

"Aludra, I – she ­­– you can't tell her!"

"Well, what's to stop me?" she smirked mischievously. "Maybe you could persuade me to keep my mouth shut."

"Aludra, I – oh, what do you want?"

"Well, I'm not sure. That Owen of Jesslaw is rather handsome. But I don't know if he has a sweetheart or not…" she looked at Neal with wide eyes. "Could you find out for me?"

"Find out? I can tell you right now, he's unattached. Now, please don't tell any–"

"Not so fast! Since that was so easy why don't we throw in an extra challenge." Aludra twirled a wisp of hair around her finger. "Get him to ask me for a dance at the ball next weekend, and we'll see."

"A dance at– Aludra, you're crazy!"

"Crazy? Could it really be that difficult?"

"Well, I­–"

"What are you implying? Are you trying to tell me I'm not pretty?"

"No, I'm–"

"Well, I am not amused!" Aludra glared at him fiercely. "If you feel that way, maybe I will go and tell Keladry after all!"

"No, that's not what I meant! Stop twisting my words around!"

Aludra grinned. "Just playing with you, Neal. So, can you do it?"

"I– you– fine! I'll do it."

"And I'll keep quiet."

-o-O-o-

"Good morning, Owen!"

"Morning, Neal," Owen yawned.

"Heard about the ball next week?"

"Hasn't everybody?"

"You planning on going?"

"Maybe."

"You should!"

"I should?"

"Yes, definitely! You never know when you're going to meet someone, and maybe ask them to dance…"

"You're acting stranger then usual this morning, Neal."

"Some pretty girl like, say, my sister…"

"You have a sister?"

"Of course! I have two, actually, but Tannisa doesn't matter right now. But my younger sister, Aludra– well, if she wasn't my sister, I would certainly ask her to dance."

"And this has to do with me how?"

"Well, you should ask her, of course!"

"I don't know, Neal."

"What is there to know?"

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but I'm a bit unsure of your motives. I mean, why me?"

"Well, Cleon's married, Roald's married, Faleron's engaged, Merric– well, I'm not sure what the deal with Merric is, but he's unavailable, Kel's a girl– who else can I set her up with?"

"I don't think I like being set up. It takes all the romance out of romance."

"What? But you'll still dance with her, right?"

"I don't know. I'm probably not even going."

"Please, Owen! You have to ask her to dance! Just do it for me."

"What is going on, Neal?"

"YOU HAVE TO ASK HER! PLEASE!" Neal grabbed Owen by the shoulders. "ASK HER TO DANCE!"

"Stop, Neal! Stop!" Owen wrestled out of Neal's grip. "What do you think you're doing?" Glancing uneasily at the staring passers-by, Owen steered Neal away and into an empty library.

"What is the matter with you? Calm down!"

"Please, Owen! Just for me?"

"Why is this so important to you, Neal?"

"Because it is, Owen! Do I need to give a reason?"

"Of course you do, if I'm going to ask some girl I've never even seen to dance."

"I need you to ask her Owen! Otherwise…" Neal sank into a chair, clutching his head in his hands.

"Otherwise what? Will she kill you or something?"

"Worse! If I can't get you to dance with her she'll–" Neal's voice dropped to a low mutter, so whatever he said sounded like "teggel illuver".

"What? She'll take shell all over?"

"No."

"Drag fell in puddle?"

"No.

"Get well in muddle?"

"No!"

"Well what, then?"

"I can't tell you! If I tell you then you'll tell her!"

"What? Tell who?"

"Her!"

"Who is her?"

"Kel!"

"Kel? What does Kel have to do with any of this?"

Neal's eyes widened. "Oh, no. I should not have said that. I really should not have said that."

"Teggel Illuver… oh! Teg Kel – no, tell Kel… Oliver? All over? I lo-" Owen stopped, eyes round. ""You're in love with Kel?"

"Yes. I am. Now are you happy?"

Owen grinned sheepishly. "Never would have guessed that. Why don't you want to tell her, anyway?"

"I just don't! And you have to promise not to tell her, either!"

"All right, I won't tell Kel that you're in love with her."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Thank you, Owen!" Neal gave his friend a quick hug, then dashed away, greatly relieved.

"-I promised not to tell Kel,-" Owen thought. His face slowly spread in a mischievous grin. "-That doesn't mean I can't tell anyone else…-"

-o-o-O-o-o-

A/N: I can hear everyone going, "Neal doesn't have a sister!" Let me assure you, he does. Check your copies of First Test. When he's telling Kel that she's taller that everyone expected, he says he has a ten-year-old sister. Aludra is what I have named her, and how she acts is all my doing.

That's all I have to say for right now, except review, review, review! And enjoy.

-- jessalae