Author's Note One: Once again, I am very busy this weekend, so I know I won't be able to update tomorrow, on my usual day, so, just like last weekend, you get the update a day early. Don't you all just love it when I am so busy I have to update early?
Authors Note Two: Once again, many thanks go out to my wonderful, amazing beta, SOPROL!
Chapter Five- Decision
Aly walked slowly to her family's room with Gareth, Roald, and Lianne right behind her. If it hadn't been for Gareth, she wouldn't have gotten as far as she did-he gently forced her to turn around and keep walking each time she tried to run back to the forest.
She sighed when they reached the door, and listened for a minute. It sounded like everyone was still there. She heard her grandparents, and her parents talking to a pair of voices she didn't recognize, and she heard Jane's voice.
"It sounds like they are still all there."
"Good," Gareth said, "We don't have to wait for Alan's family to come before we announce our courtship."
Aly took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, and then opened the door.
Everyone looked at the door when Aly walked in with Gareth, Roald, and Lianne right behind her.
Jane was the first to speak, "Well, look who came back."
"Jane!" the Lady of Trebond scolded.
"It's alright, Lady Alanna. After the way I behaved, I deserved it." Aly said, "I am very sorry for the way I acted when I was told about the betrothal. I meant no disrespect to your son or your family."
"Yet another thing you need to work on," Jane said.
"Jane!" her father, Lord Bradley, scolded. "Apologize to Lady Alianne!"
"Sorry." Jane said, not sounding sorry in the least.
"Lord Bradley, Lady Alanna, Alan, mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, perhaps if I tell you why I acted the way I did, you will all understand."
"Explain, then." Lord Thomas said to his daughter.
Aly nodded, "The reason I reacted so poorly is because I already have a suitor."
"No, you don't!" Lord Thomas said "How dare you lie to Lord Bradley and Lady Alanna!"
"She's not lying, Lord Thomas." Gareth said, "I have been courting her for over a year now. We kept it a secret until now. The only ones who knew besides us were Prince Roald and Princess Lianne."
"Sir Gareth, you need not lie to cover for my daughter."
"It's not a lie, Lord Thomas" Roald said.
"You're highness, I mean no disrespect, but do you honestly think me fool enough to believe my daughter would be able to keep a courtship a secret from her mother and I for over a year?"
"If you wish, Lord Thomas, we can all go to the chapel dedicated to Mithros, I will place my hand on his alter and swear by his name it is the truth." Roald said.
"Lord Thomas, I know that I am suppose to ask for permission to court your daughter before I do, but-"
Lord Thomas interrupted him, "You knew you had to ask me before you courted my daughter, and you went ahead with it anyway? Without my permission?"
"Father, don't be angry with Gary," Aly said, "I asked him to keep it a secret. If you are going to get mad at anyone over this, get mad at me."
Lord Thomas gave Aly a cold look, "You showed a serious lack in judgment by not informing me of this courtship, Alianne. That was your first mistake. Your second mistake was your behavior earlier this evening. Not only did you insult Sir Alan and his family by saying you refuse to marry him, but you turned a yelled at me for doing what was for the best of you." he looked back at Roald and Lianne, "As for the two of you, your highnesses, I will be requesting a visit with King Jasson in the morning to inform him of how you put favors towards your friends above your duty to your subjects. As soon as you knew of this courtship, you should have told me. What if Aly and Gareth had decided to run off together, and Gareth was the last person anyone saw with her? I would of accused Gareth of kidnapping Alianne, and their majesties very easily could have ended up with a blood feud on their hands."
"Yes, Lord Thomas/" Roald said quietly.
"We're sorry, Lord Thomas." Lianne said, just quietly.
"Gareth, I will also be speaking to your family and telling them about how you turned your back on tradition and courted my daughter without my permission."
"Yes sir." Gareth said.
"As for you, Alianne," Lord Thomas said "Since Gareth of Naxen didn't ask for my permission to court you, I am going to ignore the little fling between the two of you-"
"It wasn't a fling!" Aly yelled.
"Silence, Alianne! You will marry Alan in six months."
"But-"
"No!" Thomas snapped, "If Gareth really cared about you, he would have come to me and asked to court you, as is proper."
"He does care about me!" Aly yelled "He was going to ask me to marry him tonight!"
"And I would have told him no." Lord Thomas said.
"Then we would have ran off to get married, and by the time you found out about it, it would have been too late!" Aly yelled, "Their majesties had already approved our marriage! You can go ask them!"
"I'm not going to listen to any more of this tonight." Lord Thomas said. "Go to bed, Alianne."
"No!" Aly said, "I am not a little girl. If I want to talk about something that you don't want to talk about, you can't just send me to bed."
"We'll talk about this in the morning, Alianne." Lord Thomas said, "Now go."
"And if I refuse?" Aly asked.
"Then I will force you into your room and lock you in there until the morning!" Lord Thomas said, "Now tell your friends good-night, say good-night to the Trebonds, and go to bed."
Aly turned to her friends, "Good night Roald and Lianne."
"Good night." Lianne and Roald said.
"Good night, Gary." Aly said.
"Good night, Aly" Gary said.
The three of them left, Aly said good night to everyone except her parents, and then went to her room.
(Aly's POV)
I was still awake when my parents went to bed that night.
"Aly seemed really upset" I heard my mother say in a low voice "Maybe we should talk to the Trebonds and cancel the marriage agreement between Alan and Aly. What is wrong with her marrying Sir Gareth? They are already in love, and with Lianne of Naxen being the next queen, the joining of our two families will make us more powerful. Isn't that what you wanted? Power in court?"
I sat up in bed quickly. Could my mother persuade my father?
"No, Jennaya." my father responded, in a voice just as low,"If Sir Gareth had gone about this the right way, and asked to court Alianne, this would be a different matter, and they would have had my blessing."
What's the difference? I thought as I quickly snuck over to my bedroom door to hear them easier What is so horrible about us not getting permission to be a couple that makes you not want us to be married?
"The boy make a mistake," I heard my mother said, "Are you going to penalize both of them for their whole lives over one mistake?"
"He is not a boy, he is a fully-trained knight, and a gentleman. He was raised in court, he knows the traditions behind a courtship. To call off the betrothal and allow Alianne to marry Sir Gareth..." Lord Thomas stopped for a minute "The entire court would start rumors as to why we called it off and had her marry Gareth. The gossips would have her being pregnant with Gareth's child, or something else that would ruin both our daughter's reputation and our family name."
What if I was to tell you I don't care about my reputation? No one would gossip with me as the sister-in-law to the next king and queen...and our family name would be quickly defended by Gareth...he's the best there is with a sword. Aly thought, wishing her father could hear them.
"Thomas, so few couples these days marry for love, and it is such a rarity in court. Who are we to squash the little true love there is?"
Exactly, who are you to squash the little love there is in court!
"Jennaya, you will not turn me into the bad guy here!" Thomas whispered harshly, "Alianne will marry Alan of Trebond...and she'll thank me for this marriage one day."
"The question is will she thank you for it before or after you die an old man? And what of your relationship with your daughter until she does say thank you? Do you just plan to...to pretend that you two were never close? Aly has a temper, and she will not hold back her temper just because you are her father."
That's right, father, I wouldn't hold back...and I would NEVER thank you! I heard my mother was still talking, and listened.
"...and even if we must force Alan and Aly together, does King Jasson really need to know? Why get Prince Roald and Princess Lianne in trouble? They were only trying to help their friends."
"Jennaya, our marriage was arranged. There is nothing wrong with it."
"No, there is nothing wrong with arranged marriages, and I love you Thomas, but Aly is our only child! If you don't mend things with her soon, she will shut you out of her life, and in the process, she'll be shutting me out."
"Aly's problem is we gave her too much freedom and independence. She isn't used to being told she couldn't have every little thing go her way. We've spoiled that girl, Jennaya, and we've protected her from the realities of life."
"What is that suppose to mean, the realities of life?"
"Aly thinks I did this just to ruin her life. In reality, I am protecting her. If she didn't marry soon, the gossip would start. Her reputation would be ruined. As soon as she learns that, she'll thank me for her marriage to Alan." I heard my father's footsteps walk away, and a minute later, I heard my parent's bedroom door slam. After a few moments, I heard my mother sigh, and go into the bedroom.
I crawled back into bed, discouraged. From eavesdropping on arguments between my parents when I was a little girl, I knew that sigh my mother had made. It was the sigh of defeat, and I knew she was probably telling my father that he was right...I was going to have to marry Alan of Trebond.
(Gareth's POV)
I said good-night to Roald and Lianne, and then went to my room. Mother and Father had tried to talk to me as I walked to my room, but I blocked them out.
I kicked my trunk as hard as I could, and swore as a dull throbbing feeling hit his foot.
"Gareth? Are you alright?"
"Yes mother, I'm fine!" I called back to her.
I limped over to the bed, and laid down.
Stupid! I mentally scolded myself. Maybe if we explain everything, your father will understand...yeah right, and maybe Mithros isn't a real god. I groaned as he thought of Lord Thomas' threat. If he tells King Jasson, he will know I left out the fact that our courtship was a secret...he won't be happy. Neither will mother and father. They don't joke around about tradition. When they hear that I didn't get Lord Thomas' blessing before officially courting Aly...
I shuddered at what my parents would have to say about that bit of news.
I should just go to sleep. I decided. Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and find out that this whole night was just a dream.
Review Reply
Kate of Carlay: Thank you! Yeah, I feel sorry for Aly too, but you know, no one has a perfect life
SOPROL: I am so very thankful for all the work you do for me! I am glad you liked this chapter, and I will have chapter six to you by Tues. or Wed. I hope!
xxTunstall Chickxx: It is a little sad that Aly has to marry Alan, but you see, if she had married Gareth, the story wouldn't be the Lady of Trebond, it would be the Lady of Naxen, wouldn't it? Plus, it would be kinda hard for Alanna to be a knight. The Naxen family is well know, and seen everywere, everyone would know there is no "Alan of Naxen". But don't worry! I have plans for Aly and Gareth! You have to keep reading and reviewing to find out my plans though, hehehe
Lady Leopard: Thank you! Yeah, this is why (in my story anyway) Gareth doesn't like Alan
Elfsquire90: Hey, when you are my sister, and the person who I bumped ideas off of before going to college, I can't help it that you know what happens in the beginning. I will let you know when I get to things you haven't read yet if you want to save you valuable time by not reading what I wrote, but I have a beta now, so some things might change.
dares to dream: Everybody loves romance! Plus, I don't think I have ever seen anything like this, so I thought it would be fun (however, there isn't much about Alanna's mom, either)
LittleMissGiggles'94': Hey, nothing is official yet ;) That is all I am saying on that matter, for fear of spoiling the story for you.
Fork and Straw: I am glad that you didn't styop reviewing because I had written a horrible chapter that turned you off! I can understand being busy.
The Shang Kudarung: Um...wow...your review was kinda random...but that just made it more awesome! This world would be boring without random people in it! Thanks for reviewing!