Chapter Three ~ The Stable boy
Alanna leaned back on her velvet-lined chair, feeling a bit queasy--a bit was an understatement. Never, ever again would she set foot on a ship. Having not been on one for a long time, she had forgotten that she was very prone to sea-sickness.
After her talk with Stranger, she had left the Dark Bar and headed back to her hidden room. There, she packed everything into three chests, leaving out some coins and the materials needed for her disguise.
The man had given her fare to cross The Great Inland Sea on a great ship called, The Sea Queen. She had found that the majority of passengers were successful merchants who thought very highly of themselves. So she had dressed as a stuck-up fur merchant's daughter who was traveling to Tortall to see a cousin. She had put an illusion over her eyes to change them to a pretty blue and she had a blonde wig for her hair. It would have worked very well, if it hadn't been for the young men stalking her and the sea sickness.
Those young men had been foolish, but then, all men were like that-at least in her view. Even her brother, and especially the Prince. She wouldn't have been surprised if the one who sent the Sickness was a male too. She didn't hate men, not exactly. They just didn't appeal to her, like love didn't appeal to her either.
Oh, well, that part of the journey was done and over with, and she had no regrets. She was thinner, and a bit tired, but she had time. Arriving in Tortall two days after she had set out, she hired a local man to carry her things to an inn nearby; she could have done it herself, but rich merchant's daughters did not carry luggage.
So here she was, in a rich suite of rooms, brooding in an uncomfortably soft velvet chair. Pearlmouth was not so bad. It was warm here, but not so hot that the heat was unbearable--like in Carthak.
Alanna sighed and got up, pushing the satin drapes away from the windows. Her rooms face the west, and a brilliant sunset was lighting up the sky just now. She stood by the window admiring it's beauty and vibrant colors.
When she finally managed to tare herself away from it, twilight had come. She walked over to her chests and slipped out of the dress and into her black clothing. She pulled off the wig and dropped the illusion spell and transferred her daggers and knives onto herself. Making sure to pack everything away and locking them, she let herself out of the window.
Being on the third story, it was a pretty long drop down. There were no holes or cannies for footing, but there was a vine. She tested it, it felt sturdy and she began to climb down. She dropped on the last few feet, landing softly on the stone of the courtyard, her boots making barely a sound.
Shadows had increased in size and darkness, and she was once again in her element. She left for the inn of the Singing Bard, at the request of Stranger.
Stranger tapped his fingers impatiently on the wooden top of the table. His russet blond hair still damp from a sudden shower on his way there. When was she going to show? His note had been clear; she was to be here by Twilight. Twilight was almost gone, and she had not appeared. He sighed, he had probably been duped, he should have known better to trust a street beggar and a girl dressed in black.
"Are you thinking about me? Worried I wouldn't show, hmm?" the Hunter's cold voice whipped through his thoughts.
Startled, he found himself looking into the cold eyes of the woman from the Bar in Carthak. Standing up graciously, he gave her a polite bow. She just laughed and dropped down into the chair beside him. The room, which had gone unusually quiet when the veiled lady had entered, resumed it's usual noise level.
"So," he said slowly. "I guess I underestimated you."
She snorted softly, "You would."
"But there, you are wrong. Who are you exactly?"
She gave her cold smile. "I would like to ask you the same question, but I presume you wouldn't answer. So will you politely keep all questions you would not like to answer likewise, to yourself?"
He looked at her sharply, this one was clever. He had to be careful around her. "True," he said. "But that does not mean we are both not curious.
"Tomorrow, at the crack of dawn, you shall set off for Corus in a caravan of merchants. You should fit in pretty well?" The only answer he received was a small nod. "At the capital, you know what to do."
She gave a cruel smile. "Of course."
"Will you be up to the journey? You didn't seem to be...well on the ship."
She stopped smiling, and in the icy tone she had told him to leave in Carthak, she said: "I am an assassin. You understand that, don't you?" Her voice was soft and dangerous.
A sly smile touched Stranger's lips, and in the elegant way he had of doing things, stood up and dropped a copper for his drink onto the table. He regarded her through green-flecked gray eyes, she was now toying with yet another small dagger, this one seemed to be less finely made. Her figure, he noticed once again, was almost flawless. True, she seemed to have lost weight on her journey, but otherwise she had not changed.
Her eyes were bright, yet cold; he guessed her to be pretty young, he couldn't tell with her veil. I wonder how she looks without her veil, Stranger thought. "I do not know what to call you," he said suddenly.
She looked at him and blinked once. "We get along pretty well without names."
"Maybe to you, but I, personally, am more comfortable when I have at least something to call someone by."
She gave him a half-smile. "I suppose that's because people like you like to be in command of everything." A pause. "I was like that...once. I've changed, if not for the better." Another lapse of silence, longer this time.
"'Till next time then," he said finally and left.
At dawn the next day, Alanna made her way to the edge of the city. Her distinct copper hair hidden behind a blond wig. The veil covering her hair gave her a shy look; yet the quality of the satin dress she wore and the seal on the letter she bore showed her to be the daughter of a merchant. Her satin dress in a deep fawn color, and richly embroidered cloak showed that she was a the daughter of a very rich merchant.
An old porter and his assistant followed behind with her chests and belongings in a cart, wondering why this woman chose to walk and not ride. He thought it even stranger that she was so rich, yet traveling alone. Well, at least for the present, she said she would be joining the caravan to Corus. But still the old porter wondered, there was a strange aura about this one.
In front of the stables, Alanna signaled the assistant to halt before entering the musty smelling place. It didn't take long for her eyes to adjust to the dimmer light inside. She grinned as horses of all colors and types stuck their heads out of the stall to see who was bothering them this time.
She looked around and found a sleeping stable boy. She kneeled beside him and shook him awake. "Fetch your master," she instructed him. "I have business for him."
The boy jumped up and nodded, embarrassed to be found unaware and asleep. He ran off as quickly as his legs could carry him after saying "Yes, ma'm."
Alanna waited, bored, for the stable's owner to show. When five minutes had passed and here was still no sign of them coming, she took a step towards the horses, her eyes searching.
She found what she was looking for in a nearby stall. A -- mare stood inside, snorting at Alanna when she dared enter. Clucking softly, she petted the mare's nose and producing a cube of sugar from nowhere. The mare only snorted again as if to tell her, don't try to by me off, because it won't work, but inclined her head to lip the sugar in her hand anyway. Alanna laughed as the sugar disappeared and the mare nudged her for more.
Footsteps behind her made her whirl around quickly, her reflexes as an assassin taking over. She relaxed when she saw that it was only the stable boy and his master. She gave them a half grin and flipped a copper at the boy and turned back to petting the horse.
The owner cleared his throat loudly and growled. "Ye be da one ta be lookin' fer me?"
Alanna nodded and turned, fixing her illusioned, blue eyes on the big man. He had muddy brown hair and a wart growing on his chin. He seemed the kind of man to treat his animals and servants unkindly. "Yes."
The man shifted a bit under her glare, he thought he saw purple under the blue. But no one had purple eyes, except for that rumored assassin down south. He shook his head, no, it was probably just the light playing tricks. "what tis it ye be wantin'?" he asked roughly.
"I'd like to buy a horse from you. This one, I think," she told him and turned back to petting the horse.
"She ain't fer sale," came the barking reply.
Alanna turned again, resting an arm on the mare's back. She raised one eyebrow elegantly, "Oh? Is that so?" She put on a fake pout, "But I thought you were selling her, this being a stable, you know."
The stableboy looked at her with awe-filled eyes. No one dared speak to his master like that, nevertheless a woman. He plucked up his courage and said, "But she tis for sales, ma'm. We was tryin' te sell her just yesterdays."
A heavy blow landed on the boys back, causing him to lose his balance and fall. "None's fer sale unless I say so!"
Alanna frowned deeply and helped the boy up. "Go stand behind the horse," she told him and returned to the stable master, looking up through blazing eyes. "I am going to take the horse, whether you want to sell or not. You don't deserve servant or beast with your soul manners." She swung around and saddled the horse, who waited patiently for her new mistress to mount.
She felt a hand grab her shoulder roughly. "Ye want want her?" he sneered. "Gi'me the money. Three 'undred gold 'obles fer 'orse 'n tack," he said and shoved her against the wall.
She twisted out of his grip and kicked him, within moments, she had a knife unsheathed and pressed against his throat. "Watch it," she told him harshly. "Next time, don't be in such a hurry to attack strangers, and be particularly careful with you manners in front of them too. Do you understand?"
Muffled curses answered her and she applied a bit more pressure, making a drop of blood ooze out. "Do you understand?" she asked coldly.
The man had gone rigid when he felt the blood ooze out, finally realizing that he might be in danger. He nodded very slowly and carefully.
"Good. And don't let me find that you've hit another servant for saying the truth." She stood and returned the knife to it's place. "Get up, and go, before I change my mind about letting you go."
The big man scrambled to his feet and left hurriedly, knocking down the stable boy again on his way out.
Alanna scowled at his retreating back and extended a hand to help the fallen boy up again. She looked down to see the boy watching her with admiration. She gave a half smile and handed him a purse of coins. "Keep it," she told him. "Find some other place to stay, I don't know why you put up with him."
"Maybe because he has to," a familiar voice said from behind her.
She whirled around, her dagger drawn. "You."
Stranger chuckled. "Yes, me. For someone who's an assassin, you know oddly little about a commoner's life and harships, milady."
Alanna glared at him. "And where is it your business to question what I know?"
"Don't like being surprised do you?" he asked. "Especially not when your helping someone out. So the 'Hunter' has a heart after all."
Alanna scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. In the time that had past, she didn't notice her veil had fallen off her head, revealing her bright, coppery locks. "What are you doing here in the first place?"
"Call me Terrin, it's my name," he told her, choosing to leave her question unanswered.
"Your name," she said, disbelief sounding clearly in her voice. "Since when did we start using names?"
"Since I decided to tell you." A small pause. "It is my real name, you do know that. I don't plan to stay a stranger all my life, even if you do."
She snorted. "Go away, Terrin," she said, noticing that the stable boy was following their conversation with intense interest. She looked at him now. "Aren't you suppose to leave now?" she snapped, not in the best of moods. "Go before he comes back and hauls you away."
The boy nodded and scrambled to his feet, skipping out the door with his new bag of money clutched tightly in his hand. Alanna watched him go, a funny feeling arising in her.
"Take the horse, 'Hunter'. The porter and the caravan are waiting. And while you're at it, leave some money for the poor man."
"Poor?" Alanna sneered. "You expect me to feel sorry for that good-for-nothing stable owner?" She flipped her hair out of her face and covered it once again with the veil. She swung herself onto her new horse and dropped a small bundle of silvers on the stall floor. "Is that efficient, my lord?" she asked.
Terrin gave her a half grin. "I'm no lord--but did you know you look cute when you pout?."
Alanna snorted loudly again before guiding the mare out. "Are you flirting with me? Because if you are, don't expect to live much longer," she told him matter-of-factly and left to join the waiting porter and his assistant
What am I babbling about here? Sorry, but please Review!
Kay, here are the questions and answers for the last chapter:
Question: How old is he [Numair/Arram] at this time? Also, who is Stranger?
Answer: Lotza people mentioned this. Hmm...Tamora Pierce mentions somewhere--or at least hints, that he's younger than Alanna. And he's in his late twenties in Wild Magic, and Alanna was in her--I think--early thirties. So I think he's maybe around 14-16 years old right now. And as for the second question, this chapter answers some of it. ^-^
Question: "This story isn't really this best idea of a story- mainly because this Alanna is unidentifiable to to the readers. In that case, she couldn't be called Alanna, right? Just a little tip. Alanna is NOT in character. Most of the Alanna-no-in-character stories usually don't survive..."
Answer/Reply: Not exactly a question, but I wanted to talk about this anyhow. It's quoted exactly from A Little Bit Off's review. She mentioned that Alanna is unidentifiable, that she shouldn't be called Alanna, and she's not in character. But since different things have happened to her, she would have a different personality, wouldn't she now? Nothing much meant by this, Just wanted to mention it.
~Reaya