As always, big thanks go out to my beta, SOPROL!
Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Second First Date
As soon as they left the stables, Aly motioned for Gareth to take the lead. He did so and it wasn't long until Aly realized he was leading her to the clearing that they had had picnics with Roald and Lianne in when she was nineteen. The clearing had been the prefect place for them; it was deep enough into the Royal Forest that the four young adults had their privacy, but close enough to the edge that palace guards and knights could reach them fairly quickly if the need had ever arose. Luckily, it never came to that.
Once they reached the clearing, Gareth took the basket from Aly and set it down before offering her his arm to help her dismount.
"There was a time when you'd take my waist and help me down that way." Aly commented, smiling just a little bit.
"Which I shouldn't have done until our courtship was made public." Gareth said, "If there had been more than Lianne and Roald with us, I wouldn't have done it. It was inappropriate behavior."
"You are taking much better care of being chivalrous with me, Gareth. Have you not realized that we are alone?" Aly asked as she laid out the blanket that had been packed on top of the basket.
"I was not chivalrous when I courted you, and it cost me your hand in marriage. After that, I made sure I did everything according to how the Code of Chivalry dictated I should act."
Aly looked down, "I never realized my father had such an impact on your behavior as a knight."
"It was more the king then your father." Gareth said as the two sat down on the blanket and started taking out food. "I loved you so much that I would have gone against your father's wishes and told you to pack your bags so we could run off and get married."
"But you would not do that with the king?"
"He would have sent me away, probably to the boarder, and he would have kept me stationed there until your father married you off to someone else."
"Like Alan."
"Someone exactly like Alan." Gareth said.
A good two hours later, Gareth and Aly were still at the picnic. Gareth was laying on his stomach on the blanket, and Aly was kneeling, with the skirt of her riding outfit fanned out around her.
"The pages are probably burning down the palace in my absence."
"Jon, Raoul, Gary, and Alan thought of everything else, I am sure they found a way to keep the pages in line."
Gareth removed the cover on a small bowl that was the only thing not to be eaten from. Inside, he discovered fruit sprinkled with sugar and pulled out a piece before offering it to Aly.
"Thank you." Aly said and popped it into her mouth. She reached for a piece and offered it to him.
"No, thank you." Gareth said, picking out a piece of fruit and popping it into his own mouth.
"You offered me a piece, why can't I do the same?" Aly asked, "We are suppose to be equals."
"As friends, we are equals," Gareth said, "But I was always under the impression that in a courtship, the man should pamper the lady."
"We aren't in a courtship, Gareth." Aly said.
"That is not from my choosing, if you'd remember." Gareth said. "Not that I am trying to pressure you. I thought since you hadn't chosen Alan for yourself, you'd not have a second thought about moving on. That was inconsiderate of me, and I apologize."
"To be perfectly honest with you, Gareth, I was cursing myself in my room after I told you no." Aly said.
"You were?"
Aly nodded, "I even made a list about why I would have told you no, as I tried to justify my answer to you. However, as I read them over, I crossed out most of them."
"Most?" Gareth asked, "Not all?"
"Not all," Aly said, "There was one justification that remained on the list."
"What were some justifications you crossed out?" Gareth asked.
"That I was too old for a relationship, It would make things awkward between Alan and Gareth if they went from friends to brothers and the same with Alan and Jon being squire and knight-master, and that Trebond needed me to be there to look after it."
"All those were crossed off?"
"All of them." Aly said. "Plus some more."
"What the justification that you didn't cross off?"
Alan is a girl. Aly thought. "I'd rather not say."
"Is it a problem I could help you with?"
"No," Aly said. "It's not a problem. It's more of a complication."
"Maybe it's a complication I could help with." Gareth asked.
"No, I don't think so."
"I could try."
"That's alright." Aly said. "I know that it will work itself out eventually. Don't worry, it's nothing to do with you, and it's not a big thing."
"Is it small enough that you could overlook it if I asked you for the second time to allow me the honor of courting you properly, where the whole court will know about it?"
"I could easily overlook it for that."
"Aly." Gareth said, a small smile on his face. "Will you please do me the honor of allowing me to properly court you, the way I should have all those years ago."
"Don't phrase it like that, you'll make me feel old." Aly said. "But yes, Gareth. I would be a great honor to me to be in a courtship with you."
"Well then, to celebrate will you do me the honor of dining with me in the page's hall tonight?"
Aly smiled, "On one condition."
"What is that?"
"We return to the palace so I can begin making myself look my very best for you this evening."
Gareth grinned and pushed himself up onto his arms. Then he reached up and undid the bun in Aly's hair. She combed it through with her fingers.
"I always did like your hair down." Gareth said. "We would return from a ride, and it would be a bit wild, but that went well with your wild, fun-loving, mischievous personality."
"Well then, I'll be sure to keep my hair down for this evening." Aly said. "Come on, help me pack up this picnic, and we can return to the palace so both of us can be ready for supper."
Gareth nodded and got up. He gathered up the food while Aly folded the blanket. He then offered Aly his arm while she got on her horse.
"I will be glad when our courtship is publicly known." Aly said. "I felt safe and secure when you were helping me mount and dismount by holding my waist."
Gareth kissed her on the hand. "You won't have to wait long, my lady, I promise."
It always surprised Aly about how fast word traveled through the palace. Between the time that Aly and Gareth returned to the palace to the time that she was joining Gareth for dinner with the pages, the entire palace seemed to be talking about the Duke of Naxen, who was courting "the newly widowed Lady of Trebond". Jon, Alanna, Gary, and Raoul had been pleased that their plan had worked out so well. Aly even noticed the pages glance up at the table and then turn to murmur with each other. She saw a few nods and a few wide eyes of shock. Gareth didn't seem to notice, so Aly tried her best to ignore the talk as well.
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Trisana Sarrasri Thanks!
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Lady Andy of California Thank you for the wonderful review! It is so nice to here that my story is one of your favoriates ever.
Litara I am glad you liked this.
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DamageReport Thanks for the fantastic review!
brezzybrez glad you liked it
elfsquire90 True enough, thanks for the review
KateCayce I am glad you liked it.
DomLuver I actually wasn't going to write about the date, but you and some other reviewers really wanted it, so I learned it.
LittleMissGiggles'94' yeah, it was corny, but reality can be corny too, so...(shrug)
song of the knight thanks!
Miakoda of Pirate's Swoop Yeah, I love her stories, and I am glad you liked mine.
Sazerac Glad you liked it.
a happy camper Yeah, they were terrible at matchmaking, but it worked out in the end, didn't it?
xXthenextbookwormxX Glad you liked it!
Dom-Love-Kel Glad you like it, and I don't know if Jon knows he is like Alanna or not.
SarcasticLoner I am glad you like it!