Betray and Betrayed
Chapter Four-The Ball and the Challenge
Jonathan of Conte leaned against the back of his overly large sapphire chair and thought; I can't believe that Alanna has returned! His heart sped up just thinking about the petit red head. And now this man, who is also the head Commander of the Tusainian army, shows up. He is probably her lover or they are very close. Jon saw the way that he looked at her when he left the ship. His eyes were filled with love, just as his own had been three long years ago.
Abruptly, his thoughts were cut short as his door swung open quickly to let in two men. One of the men had short brown hair and murky brown eyes. Another had curly short black hair and dark eyes that were kind despite his size.
"Cousin Gary!" he said addressing the man with the brown hair, "Raoul! What are you doing here on your day off from duty?"
"Cut the crap Jon," said Gary quietly, "You were thinking of Alanna, just like us."
Jon sighed, "I can't believe that she's back after all these years."
"Not only that but she's also in an important position in Tusaine's army!" exclaimed Raoul.
"True…true," whispered Jon.
"When are you getting ready Jon?" asked Gary.
"For what, might I ask?"
"You do know that there's going to be a ball today to welcome the guests from Tusaine.
Jon sighed deeply, troubled with his thoughts, "I guess I better get going since I don't think that I can miss this ball."
"Can you miss any?" ask Gary pertly. Jon just grinned along with Raoul and Gary.
Jon stood near the throne with his closest friends Gary of Naxen, Raoul of Goldenlake, and Alex of Tirragen watching the descent of the various people from Tusaine. Suddenly their ears and eyes perked up when they heard the announcer say, "Presenting Sir Charles of Finwood, the Commander of the Army of Tusaine, and Sir Alanna of Fire Mountain, his Second-in-Command!"
All the eyes of the room suddenly snapped to the direction of the stairway. Everyone gaped at the figures present. Alanna was dressed not in breeches and a tunic as they all expected her to but rather, she was gowned in a stunning dress.
The violet jeweled gown hugged her figure, and even though she was rather short and had a slightly stocky frame, it flattered her greatly. Her sleeves extended to the ground and swayed as she walked down the stairway. Her neckline was very modest but people can see that her face was blushing almost as red as her hair.
When they started their walk down Alanna was very nervous and concentrated on the steps until Char whispered something in her ear and she relaxed greatly, which caused Jon to scowl.
When they reached the floor level everyone can see that a huge relieved look covered Alanna's face. After they showed their respects to the King and Queen of Tortall, Alanna with a graceful curtsy and Char with an elegant bow, they both made their way over to a corner of the room. Meanwhile all eyes followed them until the moment passed and the conversations resumed.
As Alanna walked down the staircase, she was painfully aware of how all eyes were on her and Char and she felt awkward in her dress, which in her opinion was much too low.
"Just imagine the people in only their undergarments," whispered Char with a mischievous grin.
Alanna returned it and relaxed her grip on his arm. After they paid their respects to the King and Queen, who were both shocked, they made their way to a secluded corner. After a waltz started up Char asked Alanna, "My lady would you care to enlighten my evening with your celestial self in a dance?" he asked with great praise.
Alanna just rolled her eyes and said, "I see that your sense of humor has not changed greatly." But nonetheless Alanna and Char made their way to the dance floor and after three dances; Alanna went to the balcony to cool down after Char got them drinks.
Looking outside into the coolness of the night Alanna closed her eyes and relaxed as she leaned against the balcony, breathing in the fresh cool air.
"Beautiful night isn't it?" said a voice at the doorway. Alanna turned and to her shock saw that it was no other then the Crown Prince of Tortall, Jonathan of Conte.
"You highness," she replied with a curtsy, showing no emotions of pain and sadness in her face, but her eyes betrayed her.
"Alanna, I'm sorry for what I did to you," he said with pain in his eyes, "can't we just go back to the way that things were before you left? I don't know why I did that but I won't do it again and I'm so sorry!" he said pleadingly.
"I'm sorry your highness," she ignored his flinch at the formality, "but you can't just do whatever you want and apologize later when it is at a convenience for you."
"Alanna, please! I never meant to hurt you!"
"Wounds of the body are relatively easy to heal, but wounds of the heart are another matter," she whispered sadly, quoting a famous philosopher.
"Now if you'll excuse me your Highness, I must return to the ball." Alanna swept the graceful curtsy as low as protocol demanded. She had learned it for the court at Tusaine, even though she rarely went. After that, Alanna walked right past Jon and headed towards Char.
She never looked back or else she would have seen the look of deep pain and sadness in his eyes as he walked over to the balcony and stared longingly at the sky, not quite seeing it. The wind blew, tousling his coal black hair as a single tear found its way down his cheek…
For the rest of the evening, Alanna spent it talking to Char and engaged in polite conversations with some of her old friends like Raoul and Gary.
It was getting late and she was about to retire from the present conversation with Char Alanna and the rest of the room heard the booming voice of a Tusainian knight.
"I've heard what you call swordsmanship! Actually to us it looks more like waving a metal stick around!" said a large brown haired knight, his voice deep with scorn and alcohol.
"Char! What the hell is he doing here!" hissed Alanna.
Char visibly flinched and said, "We needed people to defend the ambassadors and he seemed like he wouldn't botch up the job," Char defended himself.
They stopped their conversation as everyone in the room gripped their sword. The Tortallians had prepared their weapons out of anger from the man, who was named Dain, and the Tusainians had their weapons ready since the Tortallians had theirs ready. Alanna mentally cursed herself for forgetting her weapon.
"From what I've seen of your so called fencing it would seem as though it were five year olds playing with a steel pole!" said Dain, oblivious to the others' attitude at this statement.
Jon, who was red with fury said through strained teeth, "Would you care to prove your claim Sir?" he finally got out with great difficulty.
"As a matter of fact I do! How about a friendly competition between the knights of the different realms?" he challenged.
"We accept if it is alright with your Commander," said Jon, looking straight at Char, who was only fifteen paces away.
"We graciously accept your Highness," he said with a graceful bow, clearly trying to end the dispute.
Dain was about to open his mouth to scorn the Tortallians some more, when Alanna walked quickly over to him to prevent it. He saw as she was coming over to him and paled visibly.
"Dain, we have had enough of your unpleasant talk for tonight," she whispered with her eyes gleaming in concealed anger. "You will go to your rooms now or I will deal with you personally, she said through clenched teeth. Her tone was no louder than a whisper but it was enough to make Dain visibly tremble.
"Ri-ri-right aw-wa-way Lioness," he squeaked, well aware of her temper. Turning around he quickly walked, close to a sprint, towards his rooms.
Alanna closed her eyes and let out a breath to try to maintain her temper. She turned to the surprised knights, mainly her old friends, and said, "Sir Knights, I am very sorry for his behavior but it seems that the wine does not bode well with him. If you'll excuse me I must retire for the night."
Alanna swept a curtsy and left with Char. Char's mouth was quivering in badly suppressed humor. Only when she left the room did the atmosphere return to a quiet level of noise.
Gary, Jon, and Raoul just stared at each other and wondered what kind of girl has that much power over the other man, who was a good two head taller than her. All had seen Alanna angry of course, from when she was at the palace as "Alan" and all were terrified of her temper then.
"I guess her temper's still the same," said a surprised Gary, trying for lightness.
"If that grown man was afraid of her, I am almost afraid of what she's like now," said Raoul, also trying to sound light and conversational.
All were thinking along the lines of, What have we gotten ourselves into!
Author's Notes-Many thanks to all of those who review! You keep me going even in hard times! This chapter is dedicated to all of my reviewers! Some keep asking but this is going to be an A/J eventually…
NealsChick-There will be fluff between Alanna and Char but this is going to end as an A/J.
Hugsnissses89xx-I totally agree and since this is when she's younger this is an A/J! I'm flattered that you read my Alanna story compared to when you usually read about Daine! Truly flattered!
Me-Jon all the way!
Epobbp-Thank you faithful reviewer!
X17SkmBdrchiczxx-Yup and now there's the third one-JON! Thanks for the review! You're very supportive and it's people like you that keep me writing!
Dude-Here it is!
Mandie9786g-Many thanks, you're too flattering!
Tiraspy-LOL! Well here is the next installment!
Guess-I love hearing form very supportive readers!
Loverly girlie-Great that you're giving Alanna stories a shot! Personally, I find that they are the BEST and that is basically all that I read on Fanfic!
Random Penguin-Heehee….thanks and I'm sorry, but as much as I LOVE A/G this is an A/J! Personally A/G are my favorite pairings but I felt like I had to do an A/J for all the Jonathan fans out there…Check out my other story if you like George to end up with Alanna!
Disclaimer-All the ideas are copyrighted by Tamora Pierce! All I own is the plotline!
IF YOU HAVEN'T YET…REVIEW! NOW!