For those who haven't looked, I've added a list of stories I'll be writing in the future to my profile. One of them is already in progress. So that's something to look forwards to (And to bug me about :D).
Disclaimer: I'm not going to say it. We've all heard it enough times.
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Chapter 7: The Lioness' Roar
She had finally made it back. Now she just had to warn them about the Tusanes, although that was easier said than done. Standing just inside the palace doors, she took the time to consider her next move. She had no idea what the Tusanes were doing at that moment. If she wasn't careful, it could turn into a rather ugly situation really fast.
"Alan-er-Alana?" She turned to see Gary and Raoul coming her way. "What are you doing here?"
She had to tell them, they would be able to do a lot more to convince everyone that Tusane warriors were in the palace than she alone. "There are Tusanes inside the palace."
"What?" They looked at her oddly.
"Are you certain, Alanna?" Gary asked, "Are you really sure that they're-"
"Yes! They followed you when you left the camp site!" She cut him off.
"What do they want?" Raoul asked. "The war's nearly over."
"Think about it. What very important family to the kingdom is here? What family controls the fate of Tortall?" she demanded.
They looked at her confidently. "What do you need from us?"
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She had sent them in ahead of her to make sure everything was alright and to tell Jon and Myles about what was going on. No matter what were they to tell Roger of what was going on. She trusted him about as far as she could throw him. Waiting outside the ballroom doors, she guarded it, hoping that their majesties hadn't been so careless as to leave all the doors unprotected.
There was a sound behind her. She was instantly facing that direction and met the full force of someone's fist. Staggering back, she saw pinpoints of light across her vision. She only had enough time to blink them away before realizing that the intruder was about to attack again. Catching his fist in her hand, she kicked his legs out from under him and backed away.
Drawing her sword, she watched his next move intently. He drew his own blade and attacked. She brought her blade up and under, the sharp metal biting into his forearm. She brought the bloodstained blade away from him and took up a guard stance.
He came towards her, his blade swiping madly at her, missing her each time. Blocking a blow that would've ended her life, she stumbled backwards. On the ground, she had little time to get back up. The best she could do was use her sword as a type of shield until she could get back on her feet.
The next thing she knew, her foe was on the ground dead, a dagger in his back. Standing, she took it as a sign that someone else was here. "Where are you hiding?" She demanded. Out from the shadows came George. "What are you doing here?"
"I could hear fightin' all the way from the other end of the corridor and decided to see what's going on."
Before she could respond, the sound of things breaking and people screaming. "Thank you but I need to go now." As she went to leave, he caught her arm. She turned back to him. "Um… George?"
"Just in case I don' have another opportunity to..." He brushed his lips against her. Alanna felt her face grow warm.
"George?" She looked up at him surprised.
"I love you, Alanna of Trebond. Now, if I'm not mistaken, you have some people in there that need your help."
"Right." She turned on her heels and threw the doors open and ran into the chaos in the room.
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Her blade had felled several men that night, but this one wouldn't be easy to get rid of. Quick on his feet, this Tusane warrior was more like a dancer than a fighter. He was starting to get on her nerves, leaping away from her blade and attacking when she missed.
"Dammit!" She cursed.
He grinned. "Tired? Let me help put you to sleep… permanently." She dodged his rapier and struck his shoulder, leaving a deep gash. It was his turn to curse and swear. She brought her blade around again and it plunged deeply into his chest.
Pulling it back out, she watched as the dead body fell to the floor. She knew whoever did the clean up job wouldn't be too pleased with all the blood that stained everything in the room, but it couldn't be heaped.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and for a brief moment, thought it was another attacker. She whirled around, her blade ready, only to find it was Jon, his hands raised and a surprised look on his face. Slowly, she let her guard fall.
"It's over. I wanted to thank you for coming here and trying to help us even after what was done."
"It's nothing. But now I think I'll be leaving." She turned and headed for the doors. Her brother hadn't gotten involved, the war was over, and there was no reason for her to stay.
"Alanna?" She turned back to look at him. His father, King Roald was standing next to him. She realized he was the one who had spoken. "How would you like to become our first lady knight?"
She stared at them. Jon gave her a reassuring grin. This was a great opportunity for her and there may never again be on like this for her. With a grin of her own, she nodded, tongue tied.
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He was in the middle of an experiment when Maude came bursting through the door, causing the delicate spell he was working with to backfire, leaving a layer of smoke and ash all over his face. "What is it?"
She grinned at the state of the new lord of Trebond. Getting her laugh under control before it could spring loose, she said, "She's back, and she's the first lady knight of Tortall in over two centuries.
Thom grinned. So his sister had succeeded with her plan after all. Forgetting about the experiment, he followed her down to the dining hall where a girl width copper hair and violet eyes waited.
Unlike Maude, Alanna burst out laughing at her brother's appearance when he entered the room. He raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"
Not trusting her voice, she pointed to the mirror above the fireplace, urging him to take a look. Grinning himself when he saw what she was laughing about, he used his gift to clean up the mess before returning to his sister. "So, you're the newest knight at court?"
"Yup, and I've heard that you're the new lord here. "How'd that happen?"
"Father passed away while you were gone."
"I see." They turned when the door opened and Coram stuck his head in. "There's someone here to see you, Alanna. He says his name is George Cooper."
Alanna nodded, taking her brother's arm, she said, "There's a friend of mine I'd like you to meet."
END
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I hope you all enjoyed this little fic. So now that the story is over I'll get to work on the fics in the list I mentioned.
Sera dy Relandrant: Glad you like it.
Madame-S-Butterfly: That's what makes it so easy to write this fic, how similar they are.
Lora l. : Well, this one's over now, but there's more fics to come.
