Chapter Twenty-One: Letter from Home

Aly was packing her trunks under the careful eyes of a guard when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Aly called. She heard the door open, and turned to see Gareth standing there with Alanna and Jonathan.

"Gareth, Jonathan, Alan, hello. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Aly said, abandoning her packing momentarily.

Gareth turned to the guard. "Leave us." he ordered.

"Your Grace, I have orders to-"

"You have new orders." Gareth said, handing over a piece of parchment that hosted the royal seal on it. "As the queen's brother, the king trusts me to be a suitable guard for Lady Alianne and Page Alan."

The guard looked at the parchment, and then nodded. "I'll wait outside the door then."

Gareth nodded, and watched him leave. Once the door was closed behind him, Gareth turned back to Aly.

"This is a really stupid question." Gareth said, "But how are you doing?"

"How am I supposed to be doing when I am being treated like a criminal for a crime I didn't commit?" Aly asked angrily.

"I know you didn't commit it, but this won't last long." Gareth assured her. "Since you are innocent, it will be a very quick search, and then you'll be back here with your friends."

"I just wish I didn't have to go through the process of an investigation when people know I am innocent."

"While all of us believe you, Aly, we still need to take all accusations seriously." Gareth said, "For security purposes."

Aly sighed, knowing well that there was nothing she or anyone could do at the moment. "I understand."

"Oh, and for the record...Alan and I are the only ones here." Gareth said.

"What?"

Jon smiled. "Neither you or Alan are allowed near anyone in the royal family...Alan has to have private lessons so that I am not in the same room as him."

"Then what are you doing here?" Aly said, raising an eyebrow.

"Making sure you know that the royal family doesn't believe you or your sons had anything to do with the Sweating Sickness." Jonathan answered simply.

"Well then, perhaps you better leave." Aly said. "I never thought otherwise, and if you are found in here, it means big trouble for Alan, Gareth, me, and you."

Jon nodded and left. As he was leaving, a messenger arrived.

"Lady Alianne, there is a letter for you." the messenger said.

"Thank you." Aly said, taking the letter. The messenger left and Aly shut the door, looking at the seal with surprise. "It's from Trebond."

"Open it." Alanna urged.

Aly opened the letter and read it. "It's from Maude."

"What did she say?" Alanna asked.

"It...It's about your father." Aly said, looking at Alan. "He's very sick. He keeps saying it's nothing, but he is getting weaker by the day. Maude thinks he's dying. She is saying I should return to Trebond." Aly scoffed. "As if I have a choice in whether or not to go to Trebond, I am on royal orders."

"You're worried, aren't you mother?" Alanna asked.

"Of course I am worried! He's my husband! You should be worried too; he is your father, after all." Aly said.

Alanna shrugged. "He was always distant."

"Alan!" Aly scolded, knowing that it was true.

"He was," Alanna said. "You know he was."

"Look, it would take too long to explain everything," Aly said. "But I promise-when I return after this whole thing has blown over, I will explain everything to you."

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Aly said, feeling like she has said this before too many times that day.

Roger walked in and nodded to everyone in the room. "Lady Alianne, Alan, Duke Gareth."

"Lord Roger." Aly and Alanna acknowledged.

"Lady Alianne, you know why I am here," Roger said. "Might I suggest you sit down? The Dampening spells will leave you dizzy for a moment or so. Sitting down will make it easier on you."

Aly nodded, and took a seat on the couch. Roger walked over to her and said the spell Aly knew to be the strongest Dampening spell yet to be created. Aly fought a wave of dizziness after the spell was finished being recited. Roger checked and made sure that Aly was alright, and then left.

"Are you alright, mother?" Alanna asked when Roger was gone.

"I'm alright, Alan." Aly said. "Just dizzy, like Lord Roger said I would be."

Review Reply

inktounge: I am glad you liked it!

appleeater123: You'll just have to wait and see how they get out of this.

Khelc-sul-Renai: I am glad you liked it.

spazzysassyangel: Sorry, I have Aly going back to Trebond. It is a big part of my overall plan.

dares to dream: Glad you loved it.

epobbp: I am glad you liked it.

elf warrior princess: I shocked many people with the last chapter. Which is good, because that is what I was aiming for.

s: hehehe...I love confusing you with chapters I didn't tell you about.

LittleMissGiggles'94': I am glad I managed to work you up. To me, that means this was a good chapter.

internal_failure: I am glad you liked it.

Sazerac: Yeah, the last chapter was really rushed, and that was mostly because I was going away for a vacation, and I wanted to post before I left.

ShadowMoonDancer: I am glad you liked this chapter...and don't worry, Aly and Myles are just friends, and that is all they will be.

brezzybrez: Sorry about the long wait...I kinda forgot about this with school work. Yep, now Aly has to deal with Alan.

chiilachic: Glad you liked it.

Miakoda of Pirate's Swoop: I am glad you liked it, and no, he didn't put the wax dolls in Aly's room.

zropin: I looked for the names of Ralon's parents and couldn't find them, but that doesn't mean I missed them. I was skimming the book. Oh well, it is too late to do anything about it now.

Dom-Loves-Kel: Glad you liked it.

Lady Zarobiti: Glad you liked it.

a happy camper: I am glad you love this story, and if any of your questions weren't answered in this chapter, they will be answered in the next few chapters.