Chapter 16

Alanna opened her eyes the next morning and smiled at the ceiling. Jonathan loved her. He loved her. He loved her. He loved her. The heir loved her. The Prince loved her. The black-haired, blue-eyed prince loved her, redheaded and violet-eyed. His Royal Highness Prince Jonathan of Conté loved her, Her Ladyship Lady Alanna of Trebond. It was almost too much to believe.

Instead of lying about in bed for an hour, Alanna got up immediately. She dressed in a violet silk gown, enjoying the pleasant feel against her skin. Once dressed, she threw open her shutters and welcomed the sunlight, breathing deeply. She took a brush and ran in through her hair, smiling in the mirror. What was that old saying, love makes everything look more beautiful? It was certainly true for her. Her copper hair was vibrant and her violet eyes twinkled.

Alanna hummed a tune and spun around her room, pretending to be waltzing. She spun around in a small circle, watching the white walls of the room blur by. She laughed musically, feeling very young. Suddenly, there was a blue blur. Alanna stopped spinning and saw Jonathan's smiling face.

"Enjoying yourself, Alanna?" he teased lightly. Alanna tried to take a step, but faltered and clutched her head. "Dizzy?" Alanna nodded and Jonathan stepped up to catch her. She smiled at him.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" she asked, looking into his blue eyes.

"My apologies," he replied and kissed her, pulling her back upright. "I hadn't an idea that you were so proper."

"You know the rules of ladies: no men in the rooms. It leads to things," Alanna said, eyes dancing.

"What things?" Jonathan arched his eyebrows. Alanna held up the charm against pregnancy that hung around her neck.

"Nothing that this won't protect against," she replied.

"What is it?" Jonathan fingered the charm. A vision appeared in Alanna's mind: (pg. 175, ITHOTG)

Jonathan lifted the gold charm off her throat, examining it. "What's this?" he asked. His voice was soft and warm.

Alanna was thankful for the darkness that kept him from seeing her blush. "It's a charm to—keep me from having children," she stammered. "Mistress Cooper gave it to me a—a long time ago."

Jon chuckled. "Have you ever tried it out?" he asked, putting his free arm around her. Alanna braced herself against his chest, trying to ignore the silly fluttering in her stomach or the heat running through her body.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked gruffly.

"This." Swiftly he kissed her again and again and again. Alanna felt giddy and was grateful that his tight hold kept her from falling. She was scared. She suddenly realized that she wanted to be the one in his bed tonight.


Jonathan stopped kissing her, only to start unlacing her bodice.

Alanna shoved him away, terrified. "No!" she gasped, grabbing her laces. "I was crazy to think—Jonathan, please!"

The prince realized she was trembling, her hands shaking too badly for her to lace herself. He shook his head and did the work for her.

"You're fighting was has to be," he said, "and you know it as well as I do."


"I—I know no such thing," she stammered. "I promised myself once that I'd never love a man! Maybe I almost broke that promise just because of moonlight and silliness—"

"Stop it," he told her sternly. He made her look up at him. "We belong to each other. Is that silliness? Surely you've realized all along this had to happen." When she did not answer, he sighed. "Go away, before I change my mind."


Alanna ran. Once inside her room, she bolted the door, undressed, and threw her clothes into a corner. This was what came of wearing a dress! Men got ideas when a person wore skirts! George vowed to love you without ever seeing you in skirts, a reasonable part of her mind said, but Alanna kicked that thought away. She paced nervously, snapping her fingers. Where was Faithful? She didn't want to be alone when Jonathan came back to his room.


Suddenly her knees weakened, and she sat on the bed. Of course Jonathan wouldn't come back. He'd go to Delia now. He didn't want Alanna; he just wanted a girl to have fun with. Oh? Said that nasty, unreasonable corner of her mind. Then why did he say what he did? Why did he say you belonged with him?

Hadn't the Goddess told her to learn to love? Did she love Jonathan?


A sound in the other room startled her. He hadn't gone to Delia! He was preparing for bed in his own room, moving quietly so he wouldn't disturb her. He hadn't been looking just for amusement.

Alanna's lip quivered. She wanted Jonathan's love. To be honest, she had wanted that love for a long time.

She rapped on the door between their rooms. "Jon?"

He opened the door. His eyes were bright as he looked at her. Alanna swallowed. "I'm scared. Help me, please."

Jonathan's voice was rough as he said, "I'm scared, too. At least we can be scared together."

"Alanna?" Jonathan's voice grew louder as the vision faded away. "Alanna?" She shook her head, hair swinging. What had that been about? And who was Faithful? What was that about the Goddess? And Delia? What was going on? Why had her rooms been connected to Jonathan's? Only his squire's rooms would do that…

"Alanna?" Jonathan asked, cupping her face. "Are you all right?" He was very concerned. "Your eyes were glassy…"

"I'm fine," she assured him with a weak smile. "I just had a vision…"

"A vision?" Jonathan asked. "Do you get them a lot?"

Alanna tried to remember. There had been those dreams… "I had a few dreams a while back," she replied. "And… that's really it."

"What was it about?" Jonathan inquired.

Alanna's eyes flashed. "Its none of your business!"

"All right," Jonathan said. "You don't have to tell me." He kissed her gently. "Some things are personal."

But Alanna was distracted. What had that vision been about? It was confusing. She had never spoken with the Goddess in her life. And who in Mithros's name was Faithful. And, most of all, why had her rooms connected to Jonathan's?

Author's Note- was being retarded when I wrote this. I apologize if you didn't get review replies, but it wouldn't let me. Now, please REVIEW.

Added later: ah ha! Finally updating this chapter. Evil laughter anyhow. April 29th was my 14th birthday… I saw Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and am now OFFICIALLY re-obsessed. I had front row seats, which were PERFECT. And I just came back from a Ball In The House concert. If you haven't heard of them, I'll put the link to their site on my profile page. They're the "Cool Whip guys" (They're the singers on the Cool Whip commercials) So… DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!