Alanna would have been a little unimpressed by the dumbfounded looks she was receiving from the so-called gentleman if it hadn't been exactly the effect she was intending to produce. As much as she may not like it, ladies were judged almost entirely by their looks. First impressions counted for a lot at court, after all. She wouldn't be able to get away with nearly as much if she didn't establish her reputation from the outset. Time seemed to be frozen. Alanna felt stuck in a curtsey, unwilling to lift her gaze from the floor. Perhaps she had been too forward in forcing the introduction. She could sense her brother Thom shifting by her side.

"A pleasure to meet the sister I've heard nothing of!" Gary volunteered, cracking a lopsided grin. "I mean, Thom's not my squire, but these things usually come up. Five years Thom's been here… I spent a year as your page sponsor, laddie, and not even a peep until this morning!"

He stepped forward and Alanna belatedly extended her hand which he kissed with great ceremony, eyes twinkling when he looked back at Thom. Alanna could feel her concern melting away. Here was the Gary she had heard about in those early letters- kind-hearted, though one to tease.

"She certainly looks the part, Thom. The hair and the eyes are uncanny!"

Raoul seemed to be taking the news with good humour. The prince remained silent for a beat too long.

"A pleasure to welcome you to the court." Jonathan's voice was even but almost cool. Something in his eyes was different than she had expected, for some reason, although why she had expected anything was beyond her imagination. Thom wasn't one for describing the eyes of his friends or acquaintances, just as Alanna wasn't one for reading such descriptions. Still, as she blinked almost stupidly at the prince, she felt an overwhelming sense of dejá vu. Such a unique blue… but so strangely familiar, the way a fragment of a dream began to disappear just after waking up. She blinked before settling her wandering mind back into her body, inclining her head again and sketching another curtsy.

"The honor is all mine."

The silence of the library was uncomfortably apparent and Alanna's instincts began to war with the social niceties that had been stamped into her for five years. She felt like a bug under a magnifying glass, almost bare where her purple dress clung to her figure. She felt small, even with Thom at her side. It was a queer feeling– she was usually so sure of her skills. She had worked so hard to breeze gracefully through introductions with the sisters and the other girls, only for her sharp tongue and usually boundless nerve to fail her in her moment of need! She tugged (hopefully surreptitiously) on her brother's sleeve.

Finally, her brother was spurred to action! He had never been naturally good with people and social situations. Apparently time at the castle around boys his own age hadn't totally cured him. Still, he twitched again and opened his mouth.

"If you'll excuse us, I am sure that my sister is tired after her travels, and likewise, I believe we all should begin our preparations for the dinner and ball this evening."

The other men nodded graciously despite her brother's wooden delivery, allowing the pair to take their leave. Thom seemed to almost run from the room, and Alanna scrambled to keep hold of his arm in an attempt to maintain some level of dignity as they exited. Goddess knows they were already flirting with the dictates of polite behavior.

The pair tore back through the halls towards Alanna's chambers. Alanna rushed them inside, shutting the door firmly before leaning back against it.

"I don't want to think about how we could have mangled that any worse," she moaned, cradling her head in her hands.

Thom smiled, almost despite himself.

"Relax, Alanna. That hardly reflects on you now, does it? I'm the one who surprised them with a secret sister out of nowhere."

The spark jumped back to Alanna's eyes lit by the gently glowing coals of her anger.

"Care to explain that to me? I know over the course of the years I've happened to mention you to my friends, just once or twice." Her voice had gained a sharp edge again. This was the girl that would push her brother right into a pond.

"Lucky you, making friends left and right," Thom bit back. "You know I've never been much for socializing and gossip, all the manners and making nice. If not for Gary, I would never have been swept up with that lot in the first place." He began to wander around her room as she talked.

"I'm not exactly popular here. Sure, I outperform the other boys with the Mithran priests, but at first I could hardly keep them from taking their revenge in the practice yards. Half the time I think my friends only stuck around out of a sense of obligation to protect a scrawny little boy. I started out hanging onto their every word, listening, trying to find a way to make it as a knight. I've spent so long listening that I guess I forgot to interrupt."

Alanna snorted as obnoxiously as she could.

"If there's one thing you were not, Thom, it's a good listener. You get so focused on yourself that you forget about other people. Let's hope for my sake that you have more friends than enemies here in Corus."

"You don't need to worry about me staining your reputation, Alanna," Thom smirked, "at least, not tonight. I've arranged a little surprise for you."

'Thom' and 'surprise' were two words that Alanna had never thought she would use together. Despite how much time he spent with a nose stuck in a book, she wasn't quite sure he knew what a surprise was supposed to be. He had always been a planner, after all. She reassured herself that while something at dinner might come as a surprise to her, to Thom it would seem like a patently obvious favor to offer. She sent up a prayer to whatever gods would hear her.

Thom gestured to where her dress hung before he led himself out the door. "You should get to it then. You know I don't jest, so I wasn't joking when I told the others that you should start preparing yourself." Alanna froze as his footsteps echoed down the hall. Her brother's brand of surprise was the last thing she needed on top of the events of the day.