Disclaimer: All of the recognizable characters and places in this story belong to Tamora Pierce.
A/N: I'm really not too sure on the details of how Alanna contacts people using her gift, but even if I got it wrong, I figure there must be more than one way. I based what I used on the way Onau contacted Alanna when she found Numair, in bird form, hurt and dying. Either way, this is my own story so if this is how I want to have Alanna and Jon to be able to communicate while far away, then I have the right to do this.
I want to apologize for the length of this chapter…It's so short! I meant to make it longer but really I had nothing more to add, and besides I'm getting a little sick of Pirate's Swoop. I mean, after all Neal has the next four years to get to know the place, and Alanna never was one to stay in one place for long. So for now, please don't hate me for the length of this chapter. I really will do better next time.
There is one other matter I want to discuss here. So far I have only used characters that are in Tamora Pierce's books. In future chapters this is going to change, and I am going to introduce some of my own characters; however, I am still going to stick basically to the outline of these years that Tamora Pierce provides. Perhaps in other stories I'll prove more creative. Anyways, please, please review!
Chapter Four: An Infant Griffin
The fire slowly turned purple, and Alanna called into it, "Jon?" Alanna waited for a minute, before exclaiming angrily, "Mithros, Jon, stop behaving so damn immature!" Neal could tell that her anger with the king had not totally evaporated, yet she was willing to reconcile with Jon if he could give her the information she wanted. Neal suspected that Alanna also wanted her friend back, from the hopeful look in her eyes that she was trying so hard to conceal.
There was silence on the other end, but finally the fire started turning blue. In the fire you could see the king, sitting in a large chair by a fire, looking exhausted. When he saw Alanna, he smiled slightly. "You didn't call me away from some work just to yell at me, did you?" he asked warily. "Because if you did, I don't care how boring the work is, I'll do it and not complain. I've been yelled at enough for one day, thank you." The king sighed heavily, opened his mouth to say something more, and then closed it.
Alanna scowled at Jon. "If you behave like that, I might just," she threatened, but then her voice softened. "Jonathan, please…look, perhaps I did overreact a little bit, though I can't say you behaved particularly maturely either."
Jonathan looked at Alanna in surprise. "A change of heart?" he questioned. "Have you decided to always forgive me so easily from now on? I doubt it," he added ruefully. "Either way, I'm glad you're talking to me again. But, Alanna, don't expect me to believe you contacted me just to apologize. I've known you for too long to believe that."
"Jon, stop it. Just because I'm forgiving you does not mean that you can tease me," Alanna warned, and in a quieter voice continued. "What happened to Squire Keladry? I'd contact Raoul directly, but he doesn't have the Gift. Neal here," she pointed to Neal, and Jon nodded—he'd already seen Neal, "Got a letter from a certain cousin Domitain. The letter said Kel got hurt, and since the letter implied I'd know, I figure it must be pretty big news. I'm not normally one for court gossip, as you know."
"Domitain?" Jon questioned.
"The one Raoul thinks is such a talented commander. You know the one—he's a terrible flirt, and perhaps worse than Neal here at keeping his mouth shut."
Jon smiled. "I do know him." Neal scowled, slightly offended.
"What happened, Jon?" Alanna demanded. Her purple eyes sparkled, and both Neal and Jon could tell she was trying to keep calm. Neal could never quite figure out how Alanna and Jon could be such close friends when they spent half of the time furious at each other; perhaps it had something to do with their relationship when Alanna was a squire, Neal mused.
"I've heard from Raoul," Jon said slowly, "that she got in a battle with a centaur. The centaur had an infant child, and Squire Kel would not let it get away with that. Only after she had killed the centaur—and gotten hurt in the process—did she realize that the centaur was not only carrying an infant, but also an infant griffin." Neal gasped, and Alanna swore. "She's fine now, and Daine is looking for its parents. I've heard the griffin is a real little beast," Jon finished.
Both ends of the fire were quite for a minute. Neal was horrified. Kel always had a knack for getting into trouble, but a baby griffin? What if Daine couldn't find the parents before they found Kel? Neal stood stupefied, making little gasping noises, and swaying back and forth until Alanna grabbed him and pulled him into a chair. Kel was his best friend, and if something happened to her, Neal couldn't imagine what he would do. He glanced over at Alanna, and saw her staring at Jon, her expression one of absolute horror and anger.
"If you had let her be my squire, this wouldn't have happened!" Alanna exclaimed, suddenly livid. "I told you time and time again that I could help her, I could teach her what it meant to be a lady knight, and I could keep her out of trouble! Now look what happened?"
Jon's voice stayed calm as he answered Alanna. "Calm, Alanna," he told her. "You know just as well as I do the reasons why you can't be her knight-master. I know you wanted to, Alanna. Dreams die hard—I know that better than most. However, this is better. Don't you see it?"
Alanna frowned, and looked at the ground, her purple eyes shining bright with restrained tears and dreams. In an instant the look in her eyes was gone, but Neal still felt as if he was intruding. He got out of his chair and walked to the door. Before he exited he glanced back at the fire, where he could still see Jon. "Goodnight, Squire Neal," Jon's low, musical voice called after him. Neal hurriedly wished Jon a good night using all of the proper formalities, and left to go to his own room, cursing whatever had possessed Kel to tangle with a centaur.
Right as he uttered a particularly vile curse, Neal saw George out of the corner of his eye. "Do you know where Alanna is?" George questioned, worry in his eyes. "I have something to discuss with her."
"She's in the study I was using earlier," Neal answered. "Alanna's talking to the king."
"She hasn't come up with another name for you to call her yet?" George asked, his eyes twinkling. "What was that you were saying about Jon? They made up?" George questioned, curious. "Surely it wasn't Alanna who apologized, though. She never was one to make apologies."
"It was," Neal said with a grin.
George looked only slightly taken back. "She does new things to surprise you every day," he said, impressed. "Either way, I'm glad. I never do like it when she and Jon are mad at each other. I'm going to intrude on their conversation—what I was going to discuss with Alanna we had to discuss with Jon anyway, and I'd better do it now before they're at each other again." With a big grin at Neal, George bid Neal goodnight and went to find Alanna.