Hey people, alright this is question and answer period!
This is when the group is already in Galla, so they've gotten to the compound and they're heading off to dinner. I had to skip because I'm too lazy and it would be REALLY boring to write about all of that.
I'm not sure a/j or a/g still, so you can ask but I'll tell you the same thing, I don't know. The same thing with Ali's father...I don't know who her daddy is ... :D
This is going to be a decent chapter, not spectacular, I'm warning you now! But still review please!
-MK
The hall that the congregation was led to was through a series of tunnels. All lined with white marble and white candles, it was almost ominous. Alanna wondered what the halls were made of, and what lurked behind the polished wood doors.
Ali was curious too, and she walked unsteadily with Alanna's hand in hers. The little girl was quite happy with her new dress. She spoke incoherently to Alanna. They had been able to find their rooms and were now being carted off to dinner.
"Ali, I'm going to carry you, or else we're going to fall behind." Alanna explained as she picked her up.
Ali often tried to be fairly independent, wishing to try things on her own a lot, but this time she let her mother carry her.
Jonathan walked beside Alanna, "You look nice Alanna."
Alanna lifted a copper eyebrow. It was probably true, since Cythera had made her wear silk, something that she loved for the texture and hated for the way it snagged on everything. The dress had a modest cut, and was accompanied by a pale purple scarf around her neck. Ali was wearing a pink dress, which was filled with lace and frill.
"You do too Jon." She said smiling. The king had worn simple black breeches, slightly long, with a white shirt. He looked extremely comfortable in his surroundings, something that Alanna was trying (and failing to emulate).
"If only George were here..." She smiled slightly, and Jon smiled back.
A tall man leaned on the wall, waiting for them. He had golden hair, and blue eyes. His skin was tan and his body muscular. He smiled, showing perfectly white teeth. Gary instinctively held tighter to Cythera, so he moved to look at Alanna.
"Ah! The Lioness, an honor indeed," He murmured. His gaze dropped to the flower pinned at her ear, and then he gave his arm to Alanna.
"Please follow me." He called to the others.
"If only George were here…" Jon muttered.
The dining room held three tables, all equal in length. There were thrones for the King and Queen on the table closest to the door. Rikal held her hand still and lead her gently. Something about his manner scared Alanna, but she wasn't allowed to be rude to anyone, so she put on a smile and tried to act as ladylike as possible.
The man, Rikal, grinned at Alanna, "So how has your stay been?"
"Peachy." She sighed.
"You aren't enjoying Galla?"
"I'm enjoying Galla, the boat ride I'm not crazy about, neither am I crazy about the dress or the heat." She said quietly, she knew Jon was probably glaring at her for this.
Rikal simply laughed, "It's true, I too am not a fan of the heat. There are several ways to lessen it though, you can lose a layer of clothing..." He had a slight drawl in his voice. Alanna felt a chill go down her spine at the obvious innuendo. He took it the wrong way of course, she could see it in his eyes...She turned away to break eye contaact and look for her seat.
Rikal then led her to a seat that had her name printed on it.
"I will see you later Lioness…" He said in a low voice, which would've sent chills down a normal girl's spine. Alanna however shrugged and said, "Bye!"
"He's flirting with you." Jon muttered.
"He is, and I have a fiancé so I'm not worried." Alanna noticed the small seat for Ali that was placed beside her.
They waited for people to slowly trickle in, dressed in finery, silk and satin, gold was even evident. Jon and Alanna had been separated from the rest of the congregation, who were put on the second table; the third table at the end was already filled up.
Lillane sat beside Alanna, she shared a smile with her.
"Don't worry I don't bite." Lillane smiled.
"It's not that, I'm surprised that you look so…"
"Clean? In the heat it's hard I admit but I have to try…" Her black hair was swept up into a simple hairstyle and her honey coloured eyes were brought out by the amber coloured dress.
Alanna nodded slightly.Lillane smiled, and then pointed to the far side of the room.
"You see the tables? It's representing where everyone sits with the queen. He wants to get to know the king of Tortall, but the rest of the congregation are the lower class nobles. The people on the table in the back are those who have fallen out of favor, but have enough money to sit at the table."
Alanna smirked at this, "That's awfully frank."
"I like to be frank." Lillane shrugged.
This was when Mimrath sat in her spot and Mitroth in his. Silence fell as everyone's eyes turned to the royals. Mimrath simply nodded and a parade of people came in. Dressed in green and silver they carried out platters of appetizers. It looked to be some kind of cold vegetable with a creamy dip, the smells were tangy and almost sour and it tasted...different from what Alanna would expect. Alanna mimicked Lillane trying to eat it like a lady.
Lillane laughed, "You don't need to eat like that, eat like you would normally."
Alanna lifted an eyebrow, "But isn't it improper?"
She shook her head, "Those who will gossip, will gossip. It doesn't matter what you do. Look, see that girl on the second table with the pink bow in her hair?"
Alanna nodded. The Lady was getting very cozy with Raoul, she noticed, and Buri was obviously struggling to not strangle her.
"That's Orlenne the Man-Eater. You have to watch out for her." She gestured to Jon. Jon turned into their conversation.
"Why? She seems nice…" Jon frowned slightly.
Alanna rolled her eyes, "You thought Delia was nice Jon."
"I also thought you were nice." He muttered.
"I'm not nice anymore?" Alanna gave her most innocent look.
"No…no you aren't." Jon then turned back to a conversation with Mimrath. Alanna kicked him under the table.
"Anyway, Orlenne was from a wealthy family, and she came to court to…place a rock on her finger. Apparently there's inbreeding in her line…"
Alanna smiled, "All right, anyone else who I should look out for?"
"The king is very nice, once you get to know her…"
Alanna shot a look at Mimrath. She had grey streaks that lined her dark red hair, and wrinkles creased her forehead. Her skin looked leathery and tough, but her green eyes crinkled with laughter. Alanna decided that Mimrath may very well be a nice person.
"Is she a fighter?"
Lillane laughed, "I would hope so, considering she hasn't worn a dress in over fifty years, I would say she is."
Alanna smiled, "What about you?"
"I'm simply an ordinary court lady…you see the girl two seats from the queen?" Lillane lowered her voice.
The girl in question had amber eyes that flitted to them for a second, and then passed to look at others in the room. She had red hair, similar to Alanna's, which was coiled into a bun. Wire rimmed spectacles lay on the bridge of her nose. An aura of intelligence surrounded her, she seemed haunted...tragically beautiful.
"Yes?" Alanna turned back to Lillane.
"That's Liya, she's the head mage. A beautiful girl, smart too, however she's quite shy. She looks up to you…"
Alanna paused for a second and then stared into Lillane's honey eyes and asked, "Why are you being so nice to me?"
Lillane laughed, like bells tinkling, "There are many mean people in this court Alanna, many that don't think highly of you for becoming a knight. I'm not one of them, I'm intrigued by what you do, and I wish that I was as strong as you are…"
Alanna smiled, "So will you help me find my way around?"
Lillane gave her a clear look of shock, "What did you think I was doing?"
Alanna laughed, "It's good to know I have at least one ally in the court."
"You do…" she smiled.
Alanna was about to say something but the next course was served.
"That was long an uneventful…" Alanna sighed. Ali was playing at her feet with Mika. Lillane had been introduced to Buri and Cythera and they were chatting quietly.
"Because you didn't get to whack anything." Buri teased.
"Yes, but I'm considering taking that stress out on you soon…" She growled.
"So Lillane, what's life in Galla like?" Cythera asked, using her best court smile.
"There are certain people to be wary of, Mitroth is vile if you're a lady, he constantly is trying to…well if I may be frank, take every lady he sees to his bed…"
The ladies looked slightly unsettled by this, but they said nothing.
Lillane smiled and was about to say something when a knock came on her door. Two ladies came in, Alanna recognized Liya and another.
"This is Liya and Halise… Liya is the king's mage, and Halise is a simple lady, like me." Lillane was challenging them to say something.
"We were wondering where you have wandered off to, the king's been looking for you…"
"I'll go, I will talk to you later my friends…" Lillane then picked up Mika and glided out, shutting the door quietly.
"What?"
"I think that they're all kind of odd…" Buri said slowly.
Cythera nodded, "Something about Lillane, she's taking great liberties to hide something, and I'm not sure what."
Alanna smiled, "I picked that up too…" She took her daughter and bounced her slightly
Buri yawned, "I tired out from the boat ride, I'm going to retire…" She grinned slightly.
Cythera smiled, "I was planning to help Gary look up the Gallan history, I'll see you two tomorrow."
Alanna then followed her friends and locked the door.
Indeed Galla was pretty, and the people were nice…but something lay beneath the happiness of the court. When did it not, even at home nothing was perfect. But home was worse that Galla...so far. All the people in power seemed nice, Liya, Lillane, Mimrath...but why did she have this sour taste in her mouth?
all right, you may not understand the last part, if you don't I'm going to nip it in the bud. She's suspicious of WHY Lillane is being nice to her. I think that Lillane knows something that she doesn't, and I might include it later ... :D
REview soon!
-MK