Chapter Eight ~ Hangover Night
At the crest of the hill between the seaport and capital, Alanna drew up her horse and unmounted. Her violet eyes glinted with some previously buried feeling as she took in the sight of the capital.
Corus lay on the southern bank of the Oloron River, towers glinting in the sun. The homes of wealthy man lined the banks to the north; tanners, smiths, wainwrights, carpenters and the poor clustered on the bank of the south. The city was a richly covered tapestry: the Great Gate on Kingsbridge, the maze of the Lower City, the marketplace, the tall houses in the Merchants' and Gentry's quarters, the gardens of the Temple District, and the palace. The last was the crown and the city's border, beyond it, the Royal Forest stretched for leagues.
She eyed the palace in a mistrusting way, "How well is the palace guarded?" she wondered aloud.
"You won't be thinkin' about breakin' into the palace, would you now?" George asked her as he pulled up beside her. "Will you be leavin' us here or are you enterin' the city?"
She shrugged and turned on him, still regarding the palace coolly through the corner of her eye. "Whatever's going to be convenient. I have to meet some people, re-supply, and--well, I have certain things to do."
George chuckled. "Mayhap some of those certain things isn't stayin' within the law? Tell me, lass, I can help."
She focused her eyes on George. "I'm sure you can," she drawled, "But I'm not exactly trustful, am I?"
"I never expected you to be. Are you comin'?" he asked again.
"I guess," was the emotionless reply.
There had been a stream of people entering Corus for all that it was already late afternoon. George and his men had blended right in, but Alanna was more noticeable. Her well-tanned skin [she had been in Carthak after all] made her stand out a bit more along with her more exotic aura and looks (George told her not to try and disguise her looks, and she had grudgingly obeyed). George had instructed everyone to give their horses to Grayson while the others tried to 'mingle' more with the crowd; there was no need to draw unnecessary suspicions. Alanna had scowled in frustration but did see the sense in it.
So now when the rogues had faded in with the others, George had expected her highly trained eye to be able to follow his movements, but Alanna had a lot on her mind and it took mere seconds for her to loose them in the dense crowds.
She felt someone tug her braided hair. She turned to face a large man with chestnut hair and eyes, she could smell the lurid scent of alcohol, and he was clearly drunk. She arched an eyebrow and him, donning her cold and distant expression used on strangers.
"What's a pretty face doing in breeches and shirt? Your hair and eyes make you stand out," he said, grinning strangely.
Alanna's eyebrow arched higher. Terrin had made her more aware of speech and this young man clearly spoke like a noble. A sly smile crossed her face as she put a hand on the wrist holding her hair. "It's what I'm comfortable in," she replied coolly.
He frowned, then smiled again. "You--"
He was interrupted in mid-sentence by a call of, "Gary!"
Yet another large--or rather, even larger--man pushed his way to them through the crowds. He had tightly curled brown hair and coal-black eyes. "Gary, what in Mithros' name are you doing?" Alanna's eyes glittered with amusement. Another noble? She hadn't expected Corus and Tortall to be like this-- not saying she liked it here, of course.
The bigger of the two young men looked very flustered when he reached them. He placed a large hand on Gary's shoulder and nodded an apology to her. "I'm sorry, miss," he apologized politely, embarrassed for his friend. "But he got drunk and left the Inn before I noticed, and--"
"It's quite alright," she answered in the same cold tone of amusement she had used on Terrin upon their first meeting. "But could he please let go of my hair? I find it quite--distracting."
"Huh?" the man named Gary seemed to have taken a shock of reality. He let go of her braid and clutched his head, pulling out of Alanna's hold. "Raoul? Where am I?"
She grinned, "Thank you." She looked to black-eyed man and tossed her head at his drunk companion. "Try to keep him out of trouble. I'm not sure he would have liked the outcome if you hadn't come."
Raoul frowned, what did she mean by that? He decided to forget it. "Yes, of course. Very sorry about Gary here, he sometimes drinks more than what is good for him."
Gary jerked his head at the mention of his name and resumed staring at Alanna. "She looks like...someone we used to know," he pointed out.
Raoul shook his head but looked Alanna up and down. "I apologize for the inconvenience he might of caused," he said again.
Her icy violet eyes continued to dance in the rapidly fading light of the afternoon. "You already did--more that once in fact."
"Oh." He was at a loss for words. "Uh, what's your name?"
Alanna froze, then smiled, almost as if she were shy. "Hunter."
"Hmm? That's a strange name, did your parents name you that?"
"No. But no one calls me by my real name," I don't think many people even know it anymore, she thought. "Everyone calls me that, so..."
He nodded and clapped his friend on the back. "Well, it was nice meeting you, um, Hunter. See you around?"
Not if I can help it, no. I hope I won't ever be seeing you again. She returned the nod as he pushed his companion in the general direction of the palace.
"Hunter? You actually told a complete stranger to call you that? You must be slipping, my dear."
Alanna sighed. "Again, Terrin? And stop calling me that, while you're at it."
He shrugged even though he knew she couldn't see him since he stood behind her. "Didn't I tell you it's fun to tease you since you react the way you do?" He paused and waited for her to reply. When she didn't, he went on. "But then, just watching and following you is such fun; trouble always seems to be finding you, isn't it?"
"Of course," came the icy reply.
Terrin clicked his tongue. "Come on, Hunter. You haven't use that tone on me for a long time."
She turned and looked at him in a mock-sweet way, fluttering her eyelashes. "Oops," she said dryly. "My mistake. It seems that you'd better get used to it from now on."
"Ouch."
She continued walking, hoping to loose him. No such luck for her, he followed with ease, people seemed to part for him, even though that didn't really happen. Alanna supposed it was just his way. After five minutes, she stopped, wondering where she was and where she was going.
"Not lost are we?"
"Perhaps. It's none of your business." she snapped.
"Of course it's my business. It's time to meet our employer."
"Where?"
"At the palace."
Alanna opened her mouth to reply, but closed it on second thought. "Oh."
"Hello Raoul, Gary," a black haired young man greeted his friends when he saw them in the hallways.
His cousin stared at him, lolling before the light of recognition dawned upon him. "Hi Jon! We saw a pretty face that looked like someone we know."
Jonathan blinked and looked to Raoul for console. "Did he get drunk, again?"
Raoul nodded gravely. "He ran out of the Dove before I noticed and when I found him he was holding the hair of an annoyed young woman. He said she reminded him of somebody, but how many purple-eyed, red-headed women can there be?"
Jon looked at Gary and frowned thoughtfully, running the faces of all the ladies he had met quickly through his head. "None that I can remember. Her name?"
Raoul grinned. "This is the part that gets me. She said her name was Hunter, or at least that's what people called her. So there's no way we could have met her, I think Gary's just muddled from all that ale. Though I think she might just have the tiniest bit of Carthaki-ness about her, I'm not sure."
"Carthaki? Wait, I think there was something mentioned about an assassin during Reports in Council today. One of their 'important' traders apparently--to us, he's just a slave trader. But he was killed a few weeks back, assassinated is their guess. There was a rumor that it was at the hands of a the rumored 'Hunter,' but he's supposedly a man. We're suppose to be on the look out for him, they're putting a reward up. He's suppose to have killed al lot; very dangerous."
Raoul shrugged. "Maybe she just heard the rumors and was a bit wrong in the head. Don't bother yourself about it, we have more important things to figure out. Mostly what we're going to do when Gary wakes up with his hangover. We can't get Duke Baird because then..."
"But I'm not asleep!" Gary protested.
"You will be."
An elbow was jammed against her ribs and she lashed out at its owner. They were squashed in a dark, tight hovel, waiting.
"Ow, what was that for?" her nemesis shot back
"Everything. Why are we waiting here? I can hardly breath, though of course if you were dead it might be a little better," Alanna retorted.
"Haha. Very funny. For your information, we are staying here for your pleasure until they change guards."
"What? In a temple cellar that's suppose to be used for who knows what? I thought you were some expertise at spying. And I'm sure I could get past those guards."
"Will you just shut up!?"
Alanna blinked, Terrin had never lost his composure before, so why now? She shrugged and leaned further against the wall.
"The guards are leaving, let's go." He kicked open the small door and pushed himself out. Alanna could only guess how he could crawl out through a minute hole elegantly and without getting dirty. She wiggled out carefully, but still ended up with a dirt stain on her Carthaki-styled tunic.
She looked around for Terrin, but he had disappeared. She rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall impatiently. "Terrin, come out now or else I'll--"
"You'll what?" He appeared in black; his commoner's garb changed and his sword clipped by his side. He held another bundle of black clothing in his hand. "Go get dressed, cream shirts stand out too much at night, and you don't fit in with Carthaki clothes. He threw her the bundle.
She caught it effortlessly but frowned. "Where did you get this? They were locked in chest and no one can open that!"
"It wasn't. You left it in your saddlebags so I took it from that Grayson man. By the way, be careful where you leave your sword, I couldn't get to your daggers so I got this instead; I hope your good enough with it."
"Oh, no. Of course not, how could I after a week of you drumming it into my head," she answered, the tiniest bit of sincerity mixed in with the dryness.
He shrugged. "I trust you have a few daggers, so go change. We don't have much time."
"In front of you? Gods no!"
"I'm not asking you to change here. There's an alcove back there where you can have some privacy. Just hurry."
A few minutes later she reappeared. "Where do I put my clothes?" she asked calmly. Terrin was surprised; he had expected her to at least yell at him for digging through her things.
"Just throw them in the cellar, it's not like you'll be wearing them again." He waited until she was ready before speaking up again. He snapped his fingers and a wall of black fire sprung up, encircling them.
"You have the Gift?"
He shook his head. "No, of course not. I bought it from a friend of yours while in Carthak."
Her forehead creased in thought. "Friend? Oh, you mean him. He's not a friend, just an acquaintance."
"And pray tell, am I an acquaintance?"
She thought about it for a moment before smirking. "No, you're just an annoyance I have to put up with until I get this job done. Hopefully I'll never talk to you after tonight."
"Enough. We've already wasted too much time. Let's go."
Alanna rolled her eyes and followed him to the wall. He scaled it gracefully and with ease. At the top, he tossed a smiled at her, "Come on, the footing's fine."
"I'm sure it is," she muttered under her breath and began to climb. It wasn't all that hard, but near the top, she slipped. A hand grabbed her wrist and hauled her up.
"I didn't need your help!" Alanna protested. "I could have gotten up by myself!"
"I'm sure you could have. Come on, time is running out." He vaulted of the wall, landing without a sound. Looking up at her he smirked, "What? Too high for you, do you need help?"
She shot a glare at him and proceeded to do a back flip off, landing beside him silently. She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Mature, aren't we?" he remarked.
She grinned good-naturedly. "Of course, what else could I be? Though, you, are a different matter--no, don't look at me like that--Now, where to next? I guess I could make an exception and let you lead this once."
Terrin returned her comments with a wry grin. "I guess I could, but only if you can keep up." He began walking quickly through the gardens, maneuvering carefully in the shadows of bushes and trees.
Alanna followed close behind, but she had to jog to keep up with him. At the entrance of a courtyard, he stopped. "Not so easy now, is it? Too bad you're so short."
"Being short doesn't mean of weaker," she threw back.
"I wasn't implying that. We're almost there, he's waiting."
The meeting was a short one--it had been arranged so they could not see each other. Instead, they spoke through their Gifts, making sure the other did not see their face. Terrin had waited patiently while they conversed. When Alanna put out the violet globe in her hand, she was fuming.
"This is ridicules!" she hissed. "I'm not suppose to even go looking for him until he decides." She pulled out one of her throwing knives and slammed it into the wooden door that kept the two rooms--and her employer--separate from each other.
Terrin looked on, amused. "You go on ahead. I need to talk with him now." He waved her off and pulled her dagger out of the door. He tucked somewhere and pushed the door open, letting it close behind him. Alanna imagined bother of them burning up and was a bit consoled by that.
She turned her heels and strode out of the room, forgetting that she was not suppose to be in the palace. She walked aimlessly for about half an hour, trying to burn off the rest of her anger and resentment, playing with one of her daggers as she did. How dare he tell her what to do like she was a child and scolding her when he rebelled against his 'plan' and--
There was a small stab of pain in her palm and she looked down. Her angry thoughts had led her to nick her hand, and now a pool of blood welled up from the cut. She sighed and returned the dagger to her boot, calling upon her Gift to close the wound.
Looking up, she found that she was now truly lost. She had never been to the palace before, leading up to the fact that she didn't know her way around the it. As luck had it, the door on her right had been left open and a soft moaning sound came from it.
She entered cautiously, afraid she might be intruding upon something. Instead, she saw that it was a private suite she had entered and the chestnut haired man she had met earlier--His name was Gary, wasn't it?--was sitting propped up in his chair, suffering from what she expected was a hangover. She sighed and closed the door behind her.
"You really shouldn't have drunk so much today, and don't you have healers here you could see here?" she asked curiously.
The man looked up at her with a puzzled expression on his face. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" he demanded.
"You've met me before, don't you remember?" She walked closer.
"Oh, it's you." He frowned. "What are you doing here?"
She shrugged. "Things," she answered blandly. "Hangover?"
"The worst, and I can't see a healer because I wasn't suppose to be drinking."
Alanna pulled a guess out of thin air, "A squire?"
He laughed softly and shook his head, wincing as he did. "No, I've been a knight for a few years."
Alanna raised her eyebrows. "Why worried then? I never heard there was a rule against knights drinking."
He smiled weakly. "There isn't, but my father would tell me off for drinking anyway."
"And who's your--never mind." She thought for a few moments during which there was a pause. "If you have some water and a pot around here I could make you a cure--"
"How? You don't look like a healer to me; dressed in black and sneaking around the palace in the dead of night, but then--" He gave a small, strained laugh. "For all I know you could be an assassin trying to kill the King."
Alanna smirked, oh how close to the truth that guess was! "I might be, but do you want the cure or not?"
"Well, my head seems to be splitting in half...what do you think? But I can't get any water for you, and the only pots are in the kitchens...I could get Jon and Raoul to get you some but..." he groaned.
Alanna calculated what she had to gain or loose by this, but nothing came up. "Can they be trusted?" she asked abruptly.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean can they--"
The door opened and two men stumbled in. Raoul was one of them, he had his sword halfway drawn by the time he regained his balance. The other man had coal-black hair and brilliant sapphire eyes. His elegantly carved mouth and straight nose made him one of the most handsome men she'd ever seen. His hands, too, went for his sword. Both were dressed in ball time finery.
Alanna crossed her hands over her chest. "Your friends?" she asked Gary. He nodded stiffly. She turned to Raoul and grinned slyly. "We've met, who's your friend?"
Have you noticed that Alanna's not so cold to everyone and spending less and less time brooding about her past? Okay, I admit she still thinks about it when she sees a few certain people but not so much as the beginning? Do you think she's actually *gasp* loosening up?
And wow, she actually got to Corus and met Jon & co.! And Roger. Except she doesn't know it's Roger. And Gary with a hangover, and Jon's going to-- oops, I'm going to give too much away. ^-^
So how did you like that chapter? I think it was okay only because it moved the plot forward (finally).
Questions & Answers Time:
Question: When is she going to get to Corus and meet Jon?
Answer: I just answered that...
Question: Is Faithful going to make an Appearance?
Answer: Yes, of course. What will my story be without the know-it-all cat? Oh, unless his Royal Cat-ness doesn't want to, of course. I can't do anything about that because none of the characters obey me when I want them to. Hmph!
Question: How about Liam?
Answer: Your guess is as good as mine.
Question: Is Alanna's father still alive?
Answer: No, He died the same time as in the real series.
Question: If he's not, then who's running it?
Answer: That would be Coram.
Question: How did they win the Tusaine war without our beloved Alanna?
Answer: Big plot twist here. Since Roger didn't help the Tusaines (or whatever you call them) because his plans weren't as 'destroyed' as it would have been if Alanna were there. Since she wasn't he decided that he would just wait a few years to take the crown, but just as a caution. So without his help, the Tortallans won. And you know what he tried next...
And then there was a lot of questions about Terrin that I will so evilly ignore....That and the pairing questions. You all just love to make my life and conscience horrible by asking those don't you all?
....Okay, not exactly, but you all get my point. Don't you?
Mailing List URL won't show up so just e-mail me and I'll add you myself. If you're actually an active person, a few mouse-clicks gets you to my bio page and a link to the list's sign-up page.
~Reaya
P.S. Here is where I insert a plug and scream at you to join the Dancing Dove Forum whose link is also on my bio. But of course I won't do that because you will go and join, won't you? It's fun over there!