ALANNA'S POV
Alanna watched the girl sleep in a seemingly restful peace. She studied the girl for the first time. She had light tan skin and black hair. Full dark lips complimented the dark eyes that were now hidden. Alanna couldn't help but wonder about this girl. She said she was the queen of a gang, but yet she knew of no gang called the Deadly Rose. She shook her head bewildered, she was entirely and utterly confused. The girl didn't carry any weapons, but did carry strange pieces of metal. Maybe she had magic. No, the girl had said the word like she had no idea what it even was. Then there was her wound; it had a small bit of metal in it and Alanna guessed that was what caused it. She stood up, she would get her answers later, but right now she had to report to Jon.
MARA'S POV
Once again Mara woke up staring at a white ceiling, a soft pillow under her head. She smiled and snuggled deeper into it, only to bolt up.
"Okay, where am I?" she said quietly to herself. Throwing back the cover on her bed she she got up. Her feet met a cold stone floor. Her eyes roamed the room, alighting on many, very old fashioned, things. Uhg, she thought it's like I've traveled back to the medieval times. She then stopped short, remembering the two people she had talked to before drifting back into sleep. Oh, my god! Duke Baird? Lady Knight, Alanna?!
"Oh, SHIT!" she screamed. The door burst open and there stood Alanna.
"Oh, good. You're awake. Are you feeling alright?" Mara nodded "Okay then. Lets get you dressed and off to see the king." Alanna walked to the closet and pulled out a wine red dress and black bodice.
"Whoa! What?! You are not getting me into that thing! I don't do dresses." Alanna gawked at her "What? I don't see you wearing a dress. Now if I can have my clothes and weapons back please, that'd be great." The lady knight looked quizzically at her.
"Weapons?" she asked "What weapons?"
"Oh, God damnit. Here just give me back my stuff and I'll show you."
"You're clothes are covered in blood. You're blood." Mara flinched. "And, I don't know exactly who you are and whether or not you'll hurt my king, so you may not have you're weapons back. But, I'll see if I can find you some breeches and a shirt."
"Fine. Thank you."
Ten minutes later Mara stood outside the king's door in black breeches, a creamy shirt (sleeveless, Mara had ripped the sleeves of, much to Alanna's surprise) and brown, knee high boots. The door opened and Alanna ushered Mara in. Behind a desk sat the most handsome man Mara had ever met. Black hair and intelligently snapping sapphire eyes graced the man she assumed was the king.
Alanna spoke up. "Jon, this is Ana-Mara Julio, Queen of the Deadly Rose Gang."
"Ah, I see. Please have a seat, Miss Julio."
"Call me, Mara and as for the seat, no thank you."
"Err, Mara? This is Jonathan of Conte, the King of Tortall." Alanna told her.
"I know. I'm not an idiot. He carries himself just like Rodrigous." Two pairs of eyes, one blue, one purple stared at her. "Rodrigous is my boyfriend, he's also the King of the Deadly Rose. But, he doesn't have more power than me." Thinking of her love, Mara started to cry. This startled Alanna and Jon, the girl seemed so strong.
"Mara, what's wrong?" Jon inquired.
"I'll probably never see him again. Everyone probably thinks I've been dragged off and killed by Ninth Street. I can't live without him!" Mara looked up, eyes full of panic and fear "Please, just give me back my guns and I'll leave! I'll go away and find a way home! Just give me my things and I'll go!" Alanna shook her head.
"Lass, I know you want to be going home, but we can't let you go by yourself. It's dangerous for a young girl like you, without protection."
"Ha!" Mara barked harshly "I have protection. I have weapons and I can take care of myself. If you give me my guns I'll show you. And give me your best hand to hand combat fighter."
"Weapons? I didn't know you had weapons. All Alanna told me was that you had pieces of metal."
"Those are my weapons. They're called, guns, and I can kill a knight, in full armor with them." she stated. Alanna snorted.
"Yeah, right!"
"I'll prove it."
"Okay." this time Jon spoke "You can prove your weapon and you can fight someone in hand to hand combat. Alright?" Mara nodded "Then let's go."
They lead Mara down a maze of hallways until they reached the archery range.
"Will this work?" Jon inquired. Mara nodded. "Alright, then. There's a suit of knight armor down there. You need to pierce it in a way that would kill the man in it." Alanna handed Mara her gun and Mara took her stance. Bringing up the weapon, Mara knew from experience what to do. She fired six times. Each bullet tore through the metal right where the heart would be. She looked over to the king and the knight, they stood in awe, hands over their ears to drown out the gunfire.
"Wow." they said in unison. Jon cleared his throat.
"Well now, let's go find the Shang Wild Cat. Good fighter there." The three set off again. This time they entered a practice court where a middle aged woman was practicing martial arts. Mara smirked, this was going to be easy.
"Eda Bell, this is Ana-Mara Julio. She wants to fight you." Eda looked Mara up and down before finally speaking.
"You know how to fight?" she asked.
"Yup. Best in all of the U.S." at the glances she got she explained "It's the country I live in. The entire name is The United States of America. You can call it the U.S.A. for short or the U.S. or America."
"Oh. Well on with the match now. Eda play nice. I want to see her skill, fight at her level." Jon ordered.
The Wild Cat went into her fighting stance and Mara went into hers. Mara made the first move, kicking towards the woman's abdomen. Eda blocked only to feel a sharp pain at her temple as she dropped to the ground.
Alanna and Jon looked from the fallen woman to Mara and back.
"Great Goddess! That was fast!" Alanna cried, and whistled her appreciation for the speed. Now Eda started to stir.
"Gods, girl! You're unbelievable! I've never lost that fast since I first started training."
"Well, I told you I was good! Now that I've proven that I can handle myself, may I please go?" Mara said.
"No." everyone turned to the king.
"And may I ask why not?"
"Because, it's still way to dangerous and before you even think of going of like that, you should at least have a remote idea of how to get home. Do you know how to get home, even the slightest idea?"
Mara blushed and looked away. "N..no."
"Didn't think so. Now there is a ball tonight and I would like you to be there. You will be properly introduced to the court and be escorted by Raoul."
"Okay, numero uno, how do I get properly introduced? Numero dos, who is Raoul? Numero tres, do I have to wear a dress? And numero quatro, can I carry my guns?"
"You'll find out when you get there. Raoul is a knight and a dear friend of mine. No, you do not have to wear a dress, but I would like it if you did. And yes, you may carry your weapons." Jon answered back, completely unfazed by the questions.
"Great." Mara mumbled "I get to look like an idiot in front of a bunch of criticizing people.