Alanna did her best to keep from gawking at the display of wealth in the palace. As they neared the gardens she had already seen three paintings by master artists and a tapestry that she suspected was older that the fife of Trebond. She allowed Thom to tow her down the hallways until they arrived at a small archway that lead outside. They stopped at a stone bench underneath a willow tree. Alanna smoothed her skirts before delicately perching on the cold surface.
She'd had quite the adventure obtaining the dress as well. The nun that had been chosen to ride with them had had no chance when she turned on the charm and used her best concerned look. After all, she couldn't turn up to the palace in a wrinkled dress! Truly, Alanna put her dresses through a lot of wear and tear. Even her nicest ones weren't in great condition. The carriage was ahead of schedule, and when it finally stopped, Alanna abandoned her ladylike behavior and escaped the carriage before she could be helped out, simply relishing her first taste of freedom in years. Saying a polite goodbye to the bewildered sister, she slipped into the streets of Corus. Alanna relished it all: the sunlight, the harsh accents, even the foul smells. It was all so refreshingly different and new. She nearly ran through the streets in excitement.
Some time had passed where she simply wandered before stumbling upon a small tailoring shop. She was greeted by a timid girl, and upon browsing she had seen it. The dress. Her dress, Alanna really wasn't one for pretty things, or little knick-knacks. If she dared to say it though, this dress made her excited about shopping. She hadn't ever seen something so feminine that she actually felt like wearing, but even upon hearing the price she knew she was still going to buy it. Alanna had to have it. Carefully slipping the dress into a bag, she started back to the carriage. Of course, with her luck, it was never so easy. A small boy, poorly dressed and dirty, decided that such an elegant and richly dressed lady would be a prime target, and he tried to snake his hand into her bag to snag her coin purse.
Or, he would have tried to do so if his hand had made it that far. With catlike reflexes, Alanna snatched the offending hand and shoved it in it's owner's pockets. She gave the boy a small shake of her head. She didn't have time to put up with this today.
She caught a glimpse of a roguish grin out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned almost imperceptibly for a better look, the mysterious figure was gone.
The nun didn't have the heart to chastise her after Alanna's over-the-top apology. Inside the carriage she managed to wiggle her way into the dress, which all of the other girls looked at jealously. They would have been horrified to learn that she hadn't gotten it from the main shopping plaza, but Alanna was just glad that she wouldn't be wearing something similar to anything else. After all, she wanted the biggest impact possible from her appearance.
She was taken back to the present when Thom shifted awkwardly.
"Well, this is certainly different than writing, isn't it?" he quipped. Alanna stared at him for a moment before throwing her arms around his neck.
"I missed you," she whispered quietly in his ear.
The twins took a moment to simply enjoy the company of the other. Alanna really had missed him, for all they had written to each other. Letters couldn't replace talking face to face.
Alanna decided to break the peaceful silence.
"How's palace life been treating you, Thom?" she asked with a smile on her face.
"It's been very good to me. I don't really excell at the physical part of it, but the strategy and history are going well," he replied. "And of course, there are my friends, Gary and Raoul and Jon…"
Thom trailed off, going pale before quickly rising from the bench as if to bolt. Alanna reached up for his arm and tugged him back down. Just where did he think he was going?
"My friends are going to kill me! I promised them I'd introduce you first thing…" Thom groaned. She smirked at him.
"We can talk on our way to my rooms. I'm happy to meet them once I get settled, but we've got some catching up to do."
The redheaded pair set out through the hallways, not quite able to tune out the buzz that followed in their wake. Thom opened the door to her rooms with an exaggerated gesture and a spark dancing in his eyes. Alanna pulled him in after her, much to his shock. She gave him a flat look. Sure, men weren't supposed to enter the rooms of the court ladies, but she hardly thought Thom counted. He was her brother, he needn't be so shocked.
Thom's eyes nearly popped out of his head when she opened her trunk and started to hang up some of her dresses to reveal a sword hiding underneath all of the skirts. Alanna laughed and went over to his side, forcibly shutting his mouth. He really should expect something like that from her at this point.
Having rushed through her unpacking, but now assured that at least she would be wearing a wrinkle-free dress to dinner tonight, Alanna grabbed Thom's arm and marched him out of her room. Once in the hallway she allowed him to lead again, but she got a sense of satisfaction each time Thom looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
Thom led her swiftly to the training wing. The small pages openly stared at her (a girl? here?), and she nearly laughed at the others' poor attempts to hide their looks. He pulled her through a large and ornate door.
Alanna was momentarily distracted by the sheer amount of books in this library, and she grew more interested as she glanced at the titles. She almost couldn't fathom this many books on swordplay and battle tactics in one place! Thom was relentless in his task though, and forced her away from the shelves and towards a small group of boys in the back of the room.
They all scrambled to their feet as she approached, giving Thom reproving glares. She looked to Thom for support, but he was too busy cowering under the assault. Unimpressed with her brother, she turned to the group.
"I'm Alanna of Trebond, Thom's sister, though I suppose you already knew that. Thom was going to introduce me to you gentleman. Isn't that right, Thom?"
Thom scrambled to follow Alanna's instructions.
"Gentleman, my sister Lady Alanna. Alanna, Sir Gareth of Naxen, Sir Raoul of Goldenlake, and our very own Prince Jonathan."