My God. I feel so old. My time is so long gone. I'm still reliving the old fandom days...

Well. This is the story. Insanity happened, I decided to revamp this, and I'll see how long I can stick it out. :)

In the first book SOTL, after Alanna and Jon valiantly battle the Ysandir, Tammy never mentioned HOW Alanna gets back her clothes. In fact, she never mentions THAT Alanna gets back her clothes!

Thus, this is what the story is about...

The Ysandir have fallen... however, Alanna has bigger problems to worry about. Her secret has been uncovered...

The Alternate Story

to 'In the Hand of the Goddess'

Chapter One

Alanna closed her eyes and exhaled heavily. She understood one thing implicitly. The charade was over. She was to be sent home.

Even after the Ysandir had vanished, her clothing had still been missing. Jon had given her his tunic, but as inadequate and unwomanlyas she was, there were some things that couldn't remain hidden.

The ride back to the city was inevitable, and from there, the fateful sequence of events followed.

In vain, Alanna had attempted to return to her rooms during the revelries celebrating the Ysandir's downfall. However, her luck had run out. She ran into Duke Gareth. From there, came the hasty ride back to Corus. The shame. The disgrace.

And the sterile, white room.

Now.

She lay on the floor, and stared up at the white, white ceiling.

What was she to do? What could she do?

The answer? Nothing.

Meanwhile, in the throne room, the debate was just beginning. The King resided on the dais, his Queen on his left, his son on the right. Jonathan, who had been white-faced to begin with, was starting to redden with anger.

"There is no argument," Duke Roger said impatiently. "She is a GIRL. She cannot remain as a squire. It is utterly ridiculous."

Duke Gareth sighed. "Shouldn't we give her this chance? Her presence has always been... highly unusual. She is a dedicate student. She has the aptitude to become a great warrior."

"But she is female!" A conservative, Sir Kalavan said. "She will do more harm than good."

"It is a disgrace," rumbled another. "A girl doing what men do. Think of how this will appear to Tuisane... or Carthak. They will think we haverun out of able fighters."

"It is a political embarassment!" Duke Roger said, conclusively.

The King had been silent throughout, eying his equally silent son. Now, he stirred. "The decision is clear," he said. "Alanna will be dismissed."

The room rumbled with agreement.

"Father, may I speak?" It was Jonathan.

The King nodded.

The room silenced. All eyes turned to the young Prince, whowas still a squire and not yet a knight. His father had only let the boy sit in the negotiations to observe the workings of the court. No one had expected Jonathan to speak up in any way.

Jonathan's voice was shaky at first. "Alan-na has proved her worthiness time and time again. Male or not, she is more capable than many others. Boy or girl, girl or boy... even if she's a dancing bear..." His voice was gaining confidence. "Has she notgiven us enough credit? She saved me from the Sweating Sickness. I would have died in the Black City if I had gone with anyone else. Isn't that alone enough to say that she - even if she isn't a boy - is worthy to be a squire?"

"Cousin," Duke Roger said. "Think of this in a larger scale. It is a controversy. Not everyone is as... open minded...as you are. Reconsider, Cousin. Think of the consequences. What if this girl fails? She will ultimately have her flaws -"

"As we all do," Jonathan interrupted tersely.

"-But in the end, it will be seen as unfair," Roger finished. "Special considerations will have to be made for her. Bathing arrangements, camping arrangements." Suddenly, an idea came to him. "Mithros! What has she seen in these past years?"

Jonathan almost purpled as the room beganstir."Alanna's always taken measures," he said hastily, over-loudly. "She knows where she stands," he said to the Duke. Then, he addressed the rest of the room. "Before we headed to Persopolis, Gareth, Raoul and I were discussing selecting our squires. Naturally, we all wanted the best, and it became clear that the best was Alan - Alanna. She is excellent at archery, jousting, swordplay, and if she finds a weakness, she always attempts to overcome it. She is a good student. Her teachers will vouch for that..." He looked at the cluster of Mithran priests, who made grudging noises of agreement. "As a page, she has been as good, if not better than most. Feminity regardless, she is a good warrior. The mere fault of her gender - whichis not hers to blame- should not condemn her from achieving her dream."

"Your highness," blustered a nobleman. "You've entirely missed the point! This is not about..."

"It would be the same as declaring that noble families from the Book of Silver is not as good as the Book of Gold, because of the youth of their titles," Jonathan cut in angrily.

Nearly half the nobles in the room shouted in outrage. Many of them were in the Book of Silver, or even lower anthologies.

"Jonathan," the King warned.

"Father," Jonathan said, his eyes pleading. "Think of all that she hasdone! It would be unfairness to deny her this chance."

It was a long decision, but finally, the King relented. "Very well," he said wearily. "The lady shall stay on - but," he said, raising his voice so he could be heard over the shouts of protest, "If she does anything to withdraw Our approval in this matter, she shall be abruptly exiled."

"But Father..."

"That is final," the King said.

How long had she been in this cell, and why were the walls so white?

Alanna scowled, flopping onto the hard, white mattress. She longed to hit something, punch something. She yearned to just get out. There was a limit on how much how much white her eyes could take. She swore her eyes were going blind.

Then suddenly, the silence broke. Outside the room, she heard a voice. It was blurry and incomprehensible through the walls.

She held her breath and hoped.

The white door opened. A black head poked in. It was Jon.

Alanna stood shakily. "Jo... Your Highness," she whispered, wobbling slightly. "What have they decided?"

He had a funny look on his face. "What do you think?"

She swallowed and looked down to her feet. "Well," she began slowly, sucking back tears of disappointment. "I am not really surprised. After all, it was to be expected, and I was a fool to think that-" She paused, and glared at him suspiciously. "Why are you smiling?" she snapped.

"You're staying, you idiot!" he crowed.

She froze. Emotions swamped her. Happiness, shock, amazement, surprise... "You have to be joking."

"I am not," he assured her. "You will stay. You have to stay. I need you as my squire."

"Oh Mithros." Between laughing and crying, Alanna couldn't really choose. In the end, she couldn't stop herself. She cried, and Jon held her.

"You're wetting my tunic," he said softly.

"I'm sorry," Alanna sniffed. "It is just too overwhelming. I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything," Jon said wryly.

Pushing herself away from him, she knuckled away her tears and gave him a hard look. "But now I'm a girl, confirmed and all, you better not start treating me like one," she said grimly. "And you better tell the others that as well."

The scowl on her face was very fierce, but instead of getting the reaction she had hoped, he ended up laughing. "Of course we won't," he said. Putting a companionable arm around her shoulder, they marched out of the room.

My muse thrives on feedback. So quick! Ignore the fact there's another chapter, and press that loffly purple button that says 'GO'.

Oh, and then read the other chapter. More prompts there...