I have been forgetting to do my disclaimer for my last few chapters so here it is
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Tamora Pierce besides the plot and a select few of the characters.
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Alanna was so happy about Leland agreeing to teach her how to fight that she was skipping back onto the university grounds. Not really watching where she was going she had to stop and observe her surroundings to figure out were on the grounds she ended up on.
She saw the wooded walls and smelled the musky scent of hay and animals. Concluding on this information that she was in the stables she decided that she would visit one of the horses for a while.
Trying to find one of the stalls she knew that some of the nicer horses were kept. Astounded that this was a part of the barn she had never been in before. 'I guess when you think you know everything about a place you turn around and something slaps you in the face to remind you that you don't.'
She saw that the stalls were made differently. They looked to be constructed out of a heavier wood and were way larger than any stall that would house a horse or other barnyard animal.
The smells didn't exactly match that of a common farm animal that Alanna had ever met before.
Hearing a loud thump in one of the stalls she nervously approached the heavy wooden structure. Carefully climbing onto one of the carts that was set where the wall met the partition of the stall.
Even on top of the cart she couldn't see into the stall. Making a spur of the moment decision she reached up and gripped the top of the stall wall. Grunting as she lifted herself up to the small gap that was between the top of the stall and the roof, and the floor of the barn loft.
The stall had no light in it and the dancing light from the central part of the barn didn't quite light up the large space.
She could hear some sort of animal pacing around the bottom of the pen. By the sound of it there was no hay on the bottom of the pen because she could hear claws tapping on the ground as the animal paced.
Squinting as hard as she could she still couldn't catch a glimpse of what the animal could really be. She was concentrating so hard on figuring out what the animal was that she almost fell in when the unknown creature looked up at her and growled. She could see the glint of long, sharp teeth in the dim light.
She hastily jumped back down onto the cart right as the animal launched itself at the side of the cage. It hadn't gotten close to the top of the pen but Alanna didn't want to take her chances.
Leaning up against the stall opposite the one she had climbed on she waited for her heart to stop trying to jump out of her ribcage.
Not wanting to find out what other kind of dangerous creatures this strange barn held she started for the door she came in and back-tracked her steps until she found the servants entry at the side of the castle that she could use to get into the university.
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The next morning Alanna was doing some of the chores the cooks had set her to do. Since Gregory wasn't that much of a neat freak and liked to be left alone he didn't need two servants. Thom was way enough for his morning chores so she was given out on loan to the cooks.
She was running bucketfuls of water to the kitchen from the well when she heard someone running frantically somewhere behind her. Ignoring them she kept lugging the heavy bucket to the kitchen when that someone knocked into her from behind causing her to drop the bucket and spill it all over her one pair of threadbare breeches that the kitchen staff deemed 'appropriate' for her to wear in the kitchens.
"Oh, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to run into you, Alanna. But I need to know if you got the package delivered to Leland," Arram said hurriedly as he tried to catch his breath.
"Yes I got the package delivered. It was really easy for me to find the inn. I liked to get out of the university grounds. It was a welcome change to the same old place for many months," Alanna rambled on.
"Great, now I will just take the spell off of your slave collar. Then I can get to my classes and you can go on doing whatever you do in the mornings," Arram stepped closer to Alanna and reached his hand out.
"About that…" Alanna started stepping away from Arram's outstretched hand. "Would you leave my collar how it is now?" At Arram's confused look she continued. "I mean would you please keep my collar so I can go out into the city once in a while. I wouldn't run away or anything, I just want a little more freedom."
"I could get into a lot of trouble for tampering with your slave collar. I could get kicked out of the university," Arram said.
"I would never tell anyone it was you who changed my collar radius. And anyway I won't get caught," Alanna pleaded to Arram. "I will count it as your debt to me. That will be your repayment."
"I guess it couldn't hurt. Just make sure no one finds out about me changing it," Arram said. "Now I'm late for my next class. I need to get going. See you later."
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A/N: Thank you for all of your reviews. It really helps me to write faster.
SpectralLady: That is a good point. And I do have an answer. I decided that when Lord Alan found that Thom and Alanna were going to switch places he switched them back and then sent the letters in advance to make sure they didn't switch on him again.
Please review this chapter and I would like you to tell me what I am doing wrong and right.
I am going to be gone starting Sunday so you can expect the next update either late Tuesday night or on Wednesday sometime depending how long it takes me to get it typed out.
ColossalSky