Sorry it's taken me so long to update – it's been a crazy past few months. I hope my FEW loyal reviewers enjoy this latest instalment.

CHAPTER 7

The sound of laughter around the table suddenly died. As Lana looked up from laughing at a tale Raoul was telling about his, Gary's, Jon's and Alanna's squire years, the laughter caught in her throat and her blood ran cold. Duke Roger was standing next to Jon, just 2 seats away, looking straight at her. Behind him, hovered Lord Thom.

'Cousin, will you not introduce me to your new friend? It's not often we acquire such beauty in our humble home.'

At his words, Lana could feel the colour draining from her face, the anger radiating off of Alanna, and the tension in the air. Even though she had heard nothing about this man except a warning to stay away, she knew he was evil. The feeling of wrongness oozed from his pores, and she knew that practically everyone at the table felt the same.

'Roger, this is Lana, a friend from the city. Lana, meet Roger, and Lord Thom.' Thom gingerly lifted a hand to Lana, but Roger never took his eyes off her. Jonathan's brusque tone had no effect on him – in fact, he didn't seem to notice, or hear.

'And what brings you to the palace, my dear?' he said with a lazy smile that he probably thought was seductive. It made Lana feel sick. But before she could muster the wit to say something, Alanna broke in with a scathing remark of her own.

'What business is it of yours, Roger? You have nothing to do with her, nor will you. She's here on a personal invitation from Jonathan and myself. That's all the information you need. Now if you'll excuse us, we'd like to finish our dinner.' Her words finally made in impact on the Duke.

'Hmm…what a shame you keep such an unbecoming acquaintance, Lana. I would've thought someone of your obvious intelligence and grace would have kept better company. Still, I'd love the chance to chat and get to know you better while you're here, so don't be a stranger now, will you?' And with a last glance at Alanna that could have melted ice, he left with Thom trailing after him.

'I wish you wouldn't let him get to you,' Jonathan said quietly to Alanna, 'you know he only speaks like that to rile you. Lana, take to notice of Roger. He only acts that way because he knows it will get under our Lioness's skin.' He added with a smirk. But as much as Lana wanted his words to comfort her, they didn't.

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Promising to come see Lana first thing in the morning, Jonathan and Alanna left Gary and Raoul to walk the newcomer to her rooms. After they had all finished their meal, they had continued to sit there regaling the girl with funny stories about their training. They had been sitting there for nearly 3 hours before Geoffrey had realised the time, and sent them all on their way.

'Can I ask you something?'

'You want to ask us about Roger, right?' Gary immediately answered.

'Yes…why is it that he creeps me out? And why does Alanna hate him so much? What did he do?' The words spilled out of her before she realised that they might be offensive. 'I'm sorry…that was probably rude of me, it's none of my busi –'

A large but reassuring hand on her shoulder stopped her mid sentence. 'It's fine, Lana.' He looked around before continuing.

'Listen. What do you know about Roger?'

'Nothing other than he's Jon's cousin, Alanna told me to stay away from him, and that he used to be a powerful mage, but isn't anymore. That's it. Why?'

'Well…um, Gary, how do we say this?'

They stopped in the middle of a hallway. 'Lana, the Duke plotted to kill King Roald, Queen Lianne and Prince Jonathan, so that he would be the next in line for the throne. Alanna was the one that uncovered his secret. For some reason, she never trusted him, even when she was a page, and it seemed she ended up having a reason not to.'

'When Alanna announced Rogers treachery, the Duke challenged her to a duel in front of the entire court. He lost.'

Raoul and Gary paused, letting this information sink in. But the girl was confused.

'But – I don't understand. How did he not get into trouble? I mean, plotting to kill the royal family…'

'No,' Raoul said gently, 'you don't understand. When you're challenged to a duel, you fight to the death. The Duke lost. Alanna killed him.'

'But…' Lana looked up at the big man with more confusion than before.

'I don't blame you for not understanding, Lana. You obviously come from a different place…your customs must be much different from ours. But what we speak of is the truth. Duke Roger died that night. We all saw Alanna kill him.' Gary said, trying to make her believe.

Still she looked at them with wide eyes. 'But you said he died. How? He spoke to me!'

Now Raoul's face changed to one of disgust. 'Lord Thom, Lady Alanna's brother.' He nearly spat the words.

Gary explained for her. 'Thom is a very powerful sorcerer. We believe after Roger's death, he was persuaded to try something only very few mages could ever attempt to do, for it takes an immense amount of power. So he tapped into every person with the Gift, and brought Roger back from the dead.'

Lana's stared blankly at them both, not quite comprehending what she just heard.

'Brought Roger back…from the dead?' No wonder he creeps me out…

The last thing Lana remembered before passing out was being caught by strong hands and being carried off to her room.

I know this is a short one guys, but please review it anyway. I love hearing your thoughts on this fic.

elspethana