Disclaimer: Some of these characters I have made up myself, and some are Tamora Pearce's. But everything else is pretty much Tamora Pearce.
Short History: Aly and Nawat have two children, both girls. Merian is 14, and Desiree is 10. Dove is married to a man named Torance. They have a daughter named Sarugani, who is 11. Most of the servants are still there (those who didn't die in the war, that is) and Saraiyu spends her summers at Rajmuat, and Aly's family come down every once in a while. The lands are in peace, mainly. There are still a few riots on the lower islands, but are only small ones. Nearly all the problems that the Copper Isles had before are gone…
Chapter 1: The Would Be Queen
Aly was awoken from her sleep by a shriek. She jumped out of her bed, trying not to wake Nawat. She runs out of her room, and down the corridor of her quarters. She stopped in front of a door, opens it to find her daughter lying on the floor. The girl sits up, her black hair falling to her shoulders.
"Sorry, Mother. It was just a bad dream, and I fell out of bed," Merian said, in her soft voice. She stood up. Even though she was only 14, she was nearly as tall as Aly. She was a beautiful girl, with almond shaped golden eyes set into her soft pale skin. Aly smiled at her daughter, before lighting a candle on the wall. She walked over to Merian to make sure she wasn't hurt.
"Are you sure your alright?" she asked, touching her cheek briefly. Merian nodded, and yawned.
"Yes, and if I'm meeting with her majesty tomorrow, I best be getting some sleep," she said, and Aly nodded, blowing out the candle, and walking out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind her.
The next mourning, Aly was sitting in her office, reading some papers she had received from her spies in town. She smiled. The only thing they really had to report was a fight over some wrong change in Market Town. There was a knock at the door.
"Come in," she yelled, and the door opened, and there was the queen herself, Queen Dovesary Mintant-Balitang. Her personal maid, Pembery, followed her in the room, while her guard, Fesgao, waited at the entrance to the room.
"Your Highness," Aly rose, bowing, but Dove put up a hand to stop her.
"Aly, how many times must I tell you, do not call me that. My name is Dove," she said, sitting in the chair on the other side of Aly's desk. Aly nodded, and sat at her desk. She moved aside some papers.
"As you know, Aly, today your daughter will be meeting with Sarugani. Sarugani, for some reason, would rather have Merian in her court, and not Des. It is understandable, of course, Merian being the more beautiful, but you well know that I know better then anyone what it's like to have a sister who is twice as beautiful as you. I do not want to wish Des to feel bad about it," she said, her hands running through her long black hair. Aly thought this over. Dove was intelligent, but Sarugani was not stupid. Des was not the nicest girl, especially to Sarugani. For Sarugani to allow Des to be in her court, it would be terrible, not only for Sarugani, but also for the other girls in her court.
"Dove, I do not believe that Des would want to be in Sarugani's court. Des and Saru… They don't get on very well… but I have discovered that it is in Merian's interests to join Saru's court. It must be allowed… Des will not mind," she said, choosing her words carefully. Dove sighed, then nodded.
"It must be then. But if either of them change their mind, we must allow it," She said, and walked out of the room, motioning for Pembery to follow her. Pembery hesitated, but Dove kept on walking. Aly looked up, before nodding to Pembery. Pembery was one of Aly's spies.
"I have news," she said, and Aly nodded again, and Pembery sat down.
"Go on, Pembery," Aly said. Pembery looked nervous; she was playing with her hair.
"I heard from Abaci that Merian has accepted Saru's invitation to join her court," she said, and then Dove called out for her. Pembery waved to Aly as she walked out of her room. Aly sat back in her chair to reflect on what she had just learnt.
OOC: Just so everyone knows, this is chapter 1, the next few chapters will probably Chapter 1 as well. Thank you for reading; please review.
