Here is the next chapter. I have it set back in Tortall.
Enjoy!
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Lord Alan of Trebond,
We had heard news of a son that you were sending to train at the Royal Palace to be a knight. This news came to us in a letter that was signed personallyby you.
Your son, Thom has not arrived here yet and it is well into the new season of page training.
If you are still going to have your son attend our training this year please send us another letter along with young Thom. If he is not going to attendplease send us a letter in your next post to the city.
Sincerely,
Duke Gareth the Elder
'What in the world. Why am I getting a letter about Thom not being at his training? I sent him to Corus months ago.' Lord Alan thought confusedly.
He briskly walked out of his cluttered office and down the hallway. "Walter!" he yelled looking for his personal serving man.
"Yes, my Lord?" he said looking at Lord Alan quizzically. "What did you need me for?"
"Walter, did I remember to send Thom to knight training? I would have sworn that I did. It must have just slipped my mind." Lord Alan said running his hand through is thinning reddish brown hair.
"My Lord, you sent young Master Thom away almost a month and a half ago. He didn't want to go, but I made sure he was well on his way. Mistress Alanna went to the convent at the same time. Don't you remember?" Walter intoned giving Lord Alan a look that clearly meant he was deciding if he should sent him to an institution in his old age.
"I have just received a letter from the man who trains the pages and squires saying that Thom has not yet arrived," Lord Alan contemplated. "I wonder what happened."
"Sir, maybe you should send a letter to the convent to see if Mistress Alanna has arrived there yet. If not then you at least know that both of them are missing. And they are probably together," advised Walter. "I will go and get your writing supplies out of the drawing room so you can compose the letter."
"Yes, that is a good idea. And while you are at it, go and get my traveling cloak. Also, ready my bags for a long trip. Then have one of the stable men ready my carriage. I need to go to Corus to meet with Duke Gareth," Lord Alan ordered as he walked down the hall to get some of his traveling things ready. "I will want to leave immediately," he called over his shoulder.
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The headmistress of the convent saw a letter on her desk that had an unknown seal on it. Opening the letter she found out that it was from Lord Alan of Trebond. 'Strange, I do not think that there is even a Lady of Trebondattends theconvent at the moment," she thought.
As she quickly read through the letter she got more and more confused. Throwing down the offending piece of paper she got out her own parchment and prepared to send it to Corus as the letter from Lord Trebondspecified.
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Lord Alan looked over the hill and onto the great city of Corus. It was just as he remembered it. With the winding city streets, the temple district leading up the hill, and then the Royal Palace crowning the hill in all of its magnificent glory.
With a sigh he signaled to the driver to head up to the palace. Then with a jerk the horses started to pull the carriage onto the main road into the city of Corus.
It was strange for a man who has not been in a room with more than six people at once in fifteen years to be suddenly immersed in the bustling marketplace of Corus.
The horses obediently pulled the small, wooded carriage all the way up the road and to the gates of the palace.
The guards at the gates quickly recognized the Trebond seal on the side of the horse drawn carriage and opened the gates wide enough to let it through. Then the driver steered the horses over in front of the stable yard.
As the Lord Trebond was helped out of the carriage he found a serving man and marched right over to him. "I need to see Duke Gareth immediately," he commanded the man.
"Do you have an appointment to see the Duke, sir?" the man asked. "He has not said that he was expecting anyone."
"He is the man that is in charge of the page training, is he not. If that is so I need to speak to him concerning important business that he has written me of," Lord Alan said pompously.
"Right away sir. Just follow me," the man said. "We will have to see if he is busy or not. If he is busyyou will have to wait until he is ready to see you."
The man led Lord Alan down a maze of hallways. Even though Lord Alan had spent his own time as a page and a squire training in the palace he was soon lost. When they started to get to doors that looked like offices of some kind Lord Alan started to look around hoping to catch sight of the Duke.
"Here is his office. He is not busy so he can see you now," the man said.
"Thank you," he said to the man that had helped him. Then he pushed into the office door. "Duke Gareth I have just received a letter from you that concerned me. I sent my son, and onlyheir mind you, to you for training almost two months ago. What in the blazes do you mean he is not here?"
"Alan, I am sure that he never arrived here. This is surely troubling news. The only conclusion that I can come to is he must have been attacked on the way here. And was…waylaid," Gareth the Elder said.
"Well something must be done about this…this horrible occurrence," Lord Alan all but yelled.
"I will get My Lord Provost to have men search for your son as soon as possible. We will find out what happened to them," Duke Gareth said determinedly.
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Ok, that was the next chapter. Not very exciting but it needed to be there. Is it just me or did I use the word carriage way to many times. I could'nt think of a better word. Oh well.
I loved all of my reviews. You guys keep me writing this. Thank you so much for doing that for me. And all of you, who read and don't review, please review! It would make me so much happier
Please send me constructive criticism. (CC) I'm too lazy to type it from now on!
SpectralLady: Thank you for the CC. Next time he fits into the story I will try todescribe him more.And you will see who Leland is!
On top of cloud 9: I love your story, I can't wait for the next chapter. Thank you for reviewing my story!
random89: Thank you for reviewing! I am trying to make the plot as origingal as I can. I am tired of reading the same plot over and over just with one different twist.
Do any of you think that I should go back and fix my first few chapters? I know that my borders didn't show up and I probably have horrible spelling and grammar mistakes.