Chapter Two-Gareth of Naxen
The carriage ride seemed endless to Alianne, and she was all too eager to got out of the carriage when they finally arrived at the palace two weeks later. Parents and servants were gathered in front of the palace. There was a mixture of palace servants and servants dressed in different uniforms, representing the different families they served.
Soon, Aly found herself spinning in the arms of her father "I missed you Aly" He said, hugging her fiercely
"I missed you too, father" Aly said as he put her down on the ground again. She kissed her mother's cheek "I missed you too, mother"
"Good" her mother said, hugging her "Because I missed you terribly. The house was far too quiet without you"
Alianne smiled at her parents
"Come on" her father said "Let's get all of this up to our suite" He motioned for the servants-both palace and Blue Harbor servants-to pick up Aly's luggage and carry it to the set of rooms her family had in the palace. Once all the luggage was in the room, Aly turned to a palace servant "Where is the Naxen suite?" she asked
"I can show you, if you wish, my lady" the servant said
"Aly, why do you want to go to the Naxen suites? We haven't seen you since summer! Now after five minutes with us you are bored of us?"
"No, mother!" Aly said "It's just...my friend Lianne of Naxen said she'd talk to her parents about us going to the Royal Forest for a picnic lunch"
"Alright" Aly's mother said "Go. Have fun. But you are not getting out of having supper with us, and we want to hear about everything you've done at the convent since we last saw you"
"Thank you mother!" Aly said, and followed the servant
Lianne was sitting down on a very comfortable couch with a tall man with chestnut hair and eyes when Aly arrived. A tall woman with hair that was a darker brown and blue eyes was ordering servant around. Lianne smiled when she saw Aly "Mother, Father, may I introduce Alianne of Blue Harbor. Aly, these are my parents, Duke Stephan and Duchess Elspeth of Naxen"
Aly curtsied "Your graces"
"Hello Alianne" Duchess Elspeth said "Lianne has written about you frequently over the years. It is a pleasure to finally meet you-no, not there, put that trunk over at the foot of the bed" she calmly told a pair of servants who were carrying one of Lianne's trunks.
"Mother, Father, could Aly and I go for a ride in the Royal Forest? We wanted to have a picnic lunch, rather than eat in a dining hall"
"Of course you can" Duke Stephan said
"Yes! Thank you!" Lianne said "Come on Aly"
The two girls were halfway out the door when Duke Stephan called after Lianne "Take some guards with you"
"Aww! Come on father, please don't make us take guards."
Duke Stephan gave his daughter a warning look that dared her to argue with him "No"
Either Lianne missed the warning look in her father's eyes, or she decided to accept the challenge in his eyes "We'll be careful, father, I promise"
"No guards, no picnic" Duke Stephan said sternly
"But-"
"No, Lianne."
Lianne pouted, just as two young men came in the room. One had to be Lianne's brother, Gareth, the other young man had black hair, and blue eyes.
"Hey squirt" the boy who had to be Gareth said
"Don't call me squirt, Gary" Lianne said
"I can call you squirt if I want" Gareth said "I'm older than you"
"You know what Gareth-"
"Children" Duke Stephan said "You haven't seen each other for months, and within the first minute you are arguing? And in front of company, none the less!"
"Lianne, I have an idea" Elspeth said, before the two could continue arguing
"Yes, mother?"
"You don't want to have to take guards on your picnic, right?"
"Right"
"Then Gareth can take you" Elspeth said "Gareth will chaperone yours and Aly's picnic, and-"
"NO!" Gareth and Lianne both said
"Mother, I am not baby-sitting Lianne and her friend all afternoon!"
"Mother, please! Aly and I are capable of taking care of ourselves!"
Duke Stephan stepped forward "Alright, I'll handle this...Gareth, you will take your sister and Lady Alianne of Blue Harbor on their picnic, and Lianne, you will listen to Gareth or in the future you will be forced to take guards. This matter is not up for discussion"
"But dad! I have to practice my swordmanship!" Gareth said
"You are already the best swordsman. A day off won't hurt"
"I am the best because I practice daily!" Gareth said
"Gareth, I don't see your sister arguing. Now do as you were told" Duchess Elspeth said
"I am hosting company! Or did you miss the fact that Prince Roald is with me?" Gareth said
Roald was looking at Lianne, and smiled at Gareth "Let's go, Gary"
"What!" Gareth asked
"Let's take the girls on the picnic" Roald said
"Why?"
"Because"
"Because why?"
"Because!"
"Because why?"
"Just because!"
"I need more than that" Gareth said
"Because..." the prince seemed to struggle to figure out what to say "Because we are gentlemen! And it is our duty as gentlemen to make the ladies happy"
"That is the biggest pile of horse dung I have ever heard"
"Gareth!" Duke Stephan said
"No, Duke Stephan, he's right" Roald said "Alright, the real reason I want to go is my father wants me to spend more time getting to know people who I will one day rule over. I figured these two women would be a good place to start"
"There you go" Duke Stephan said "Now go"
Gareth sighed "Fine. I'll whip Alan at sword practice tomorrow."
"That's the spirit!" Prince Road said "And you know, Alan deserves a day of not having to be creamed by you"
"I'm making him a better swordsman" Gareth said "He can only improve with practice"
"You are making him a target" Prince Roald said "And you have the unfair advantage of being a knight while he is a squire, meaning you have more practice than him"
"He wouldn't be a target if he hadn't spent all his free time in the library. If he wants to read ancient scrolls and books, he should have gone to the University to become a scholar"
Gareth didn't comment. He turned to Lianne "Do we have to stop by the kitchen for food?"
"Nope" Lianne said "This morning, Alianne got up before dawn, and baked a whole bunch of food at the Inn we stayed at. By the way, let me give proper introductions...Alianne of Blue Harbor, may I introduce my brother, Sir Gareth, the annoyance-" Gareth glared at his sister. She ignored it "And his Royal Highness, Prince Roald of Conté, crown prince of Tortall"
Aly curtsied deeply to the two men "Good afternoon, Sir Gareth, your highness"
"Alianne, is it?"
"Yes, Sir Gareth" Aly said
"You made the food for us?" he asked
"Yes" Aly said, and smiled "And don't worry, my food doesn't look or smell poisonous like some of Lianne's food"
Lianne gasped "Aly!"
"It's the sad truth" Aly said with a shrug. Gareth had stumbled over to the nearest wall, and was holding onto the wall to keep from completely falling over from his laughter
"I don't need to know how to cook, as long as I marry a man who can afford a family cook" Lianne retorted
Gareth finally got control of himself "Ok, I'm ready to go...Lady Alianne, will you please do my the honor of escorting you to the stables?"
"Please, Sir Gareth, it is simply Alianne, and the honor would be mine"
"If you are simply Alianne, I am simply Gareth" Gareth said with a small bow before he offered Alianne his arm.
Alianne curtsied, and excepted the arm
"Lady Lianne, would you allow me to escort you to the stables?" Prince Roald asked as he bowed to Lianne
"Of course, your highness" Lianne said, curtsying
"Is this your first time to court?" Gareth asked as the foursome walked into the stable
"Yes" Aly said "Blue Harbor is far enough south that trips here were too expensive to take frequently, and my parents knew once I went to court, I would want to come back...um...If I may ask a question, Gareth?"
"Yes?" Gareth asked
"Why don't you and Lianne get along?"
Gareth looked at her, confused "We get along great. We were nearly inseperateable when we were younger."
"It didn't seem that you two were close, with the way you two were fighting. I don't mean to sound offensive-"
Gareth smiled "I'm not offended. Let me guess, you're an only child, right?"
Aly nodded "How could you tell?"
"Because if you had any brothers or sisters, you would have understood that fighting is just a really unusual way of us showing how much we love each other. It's a sibling thing" he smiled "Besides, If I am your escort, I can get some blackmail on my sister from you"
Aly smiled "I'm afraid she didn't do many blackmail-worthy things. That was me"
"Well, any blackmail is better than none" Gareth said
"Hey Gary! Are we riding, or are Lady Lianne and I just here to listen to you two talk about your childhood!" Roald called from outside the stable. He was already mounted on his horse, and Lianne was mounted on a side-saddle next to him.
"One moment, Roald. Let me help Lady Alianne saddle her mare and help her mount, and then I'll mount up so we can leave."
"Go ahead and get your horse saddled. I can manage just fine"
"Are you sure?" Gareth asked
"I'm sure"
"Alright. If you aren't done saddling your mare when I'm done saddling my stallion, I'll come help you"
Aly's horse was saddled, and she was mounted before Gareth had even finished saddling his stallion.
The foursome rode into a small clearing not too deeply into the Royal Forest, but deeply enough to give them privacy. The boys walked around to make sure there were no real dangers while the girls laid down a huge blanket, and placed the food out carefully. The boys came back and sat down, Lianne picked her food first.
"Please, your highness, Gareth, go ahead and eat" Aly said "The cook should always be the last to eat"
"No, please. You and Lianne should eat first. Etiquette demands ladies are always first" Roald said
"Aly and I don't mind, your highness" Lianne said, giving the prince a small, tentative smile
"I insist that you and Lady Alianne eat first, Lady Lianne"
"Go ahead and start eating, Lianne" Gareth said "If you don't he'll just make it a royal demand, and he hates forcing people to do things"
Aly bowed her head graciously "Thank you, your highness" she said as she picked up a fruit-filled tart.
The afternoon passed quickly as the girls and men compared training at the palace to training at the convent. The food quickly disappeared, and Gareth, Roald, and Lianne all complemented Aly on her cooking.
The girls from the convent were brought a week before presentations, as to allow time to buy last minute accessories for the ladies, and to give the girls a chance to flirt with some of the knights and squires if they wished. That first day at the palace was the beginning of a daily routine for Aly, Lianne, Roald, and Gareth. Aly and Lianne would go and watch Roald and Gareth practice with their swords, and after that, the four would go for a ride or for another picnic, only with the palace cook's food, not Aly's. The day before the girls were to be presented, Gareth and Roald treated the girls to a meal at an eat-house in the city.
Reviewer Reply
Fork and Straw: Well, Alanna had to get her hot-headedness from someone, right? And Lord Alan never struck me as the hot-headed type, from what we know about him, so I figured it had to be her mother. I am glad you enjoyed the first chapter
The-Muse-In-Me: Thanks!
elf warrior princess: Thanks! Yeah, I am going to make Aly remind you of a certain lady knight in a lot of different times in the story.
Merkaba7734: I am glad you are interested in the story
ShadowMoonDancer: Shakespeare? Really? Hmm...interesting. I didn't see anything remotely Shakespeare in it, but hey, maybe you had read it too much recently. I remember reading three of his works in a row, and I ended up speaking like his characters!
Lady Leopard: Thanks!
akjhgliasdhg: Thanks!
middnightblue33: :) I am glad you like it!
anonymous reviewer: Thank you!
dares to dream: The whole reason I started this story was because so few people write any real length of a story! Which means I will rely a lot on what my reviewers want to see (hint hint, nudge, nudge)
Bluelighteninggirl: I'm glad you like it!