Wow, what's this? It's Chapter 2!!

I'm sorry this has taken so long! I actually finished the first half or so of this chapter a few months ago, but got swamped by uni work and other stuff, and only just had enough time to finish it. If there are any terrible spelling mistakes or something, please let me know, because I haven't checked it because I was in such a ruch to get it up here!

This chapter is slightly longer than the first, and hopefully the following chapters will be longer still, once we get into some action.

Please comment!

It had been a whole week since George had discovered the unwelcome news about Tusaine, and he and his wife had yet to discuss it. They did not avoid each other, no, that would be foolish with only another week together. Rather they avoided the conversation that was, without question, inevitably going to arise.

It was late one night, a night where the cold found a way into every inch of the Swoop, when George found himself awake in bed with no notion of what it was that had woken him. Rubbing his tired eyes with one hand, he sent his other hand in search of Alanna (and her delightfully warm body) only to find that she was not there beside him. This startled George for a moment, before he heard a faint clunk clunk clunk echoing from outside the bedroom door, and remembered that only moments before something had awoken him from a very sound sleep. Thankful for his habit of sleeping in breeches, a habit he couldn't quite give up despite the number of years that had passed, George pulled on his boots and quietly made his way to the bedroom's door. All the while, the clunk clunk clunking had continued, a noise George was keen to put a stop to since he was getting a bit of a headache. Trying to mentally will away the growing pain in his temples, he closed his hand around the doorknob. He could feel that it was Alanna making all that noise, he didn't need the Sight to be able to put two and two together. Slowly opening the door a crack, he saw that it was indeed Alanna who was stomping up and down the corridor. Taking her in, he couldn't help but smile. She was dressed in her nightshirt and boots—the source of the clunk clunk clunking—as well as a huge padded coat, woollen gloves and padded hat sporting earflaps. It was the most peculiar, and adorable, sight he had ever witnessed. He opened the door wider and Alanna looked up. He could see that he had startled her, though she hadn't shown it. She was still shivering despite her warm attire.

"Did I wake you George?"

George opened the door fully and walked the few paces towards her, putting his arms around her. Her arms went around his waist too, though she had an easier time of it: her coat was so large that with his arms wrapped around her, his hands couldn't meet at the back. He managed to suppress a chuckle at Alanna's dislike of the cold. Alanna manoeuvred her head until it was resting under his chin, her hair tickling his chest. He breathed in the smell of her, relishing in what little warmth he was getting from their embrace.

"George?"

"Mm?"

"I'm sorry."

"What have you to be sorry for, Alanna?"

She looked up into his face, "I'm sorry that I have to go, to Tusaine."

Looking down into her sad purple eyes, George felt like his heart was breaking.

"I'm sorry too, love, I'm sorry too."

The next few days passed quicker than both would have liked. Each time they sat down to dinner their food went cold because they had spent the whole meal simply looking at each other. Every afternoon they went on a long ride along the coastline, and George would watch his wife's long red locks flying behind her as she galloped ahead of him. And every night, they would go to bed, savouring each other's body heat during the chilly nights, and endeavouring to relearn every inch of their bodies before they would be separated in a few days time.

When the morning finally came for Alanna depart, things went very slowly. Though they had both decided to get up early in order to go over her supplies one final time, for many minutes they simply laid in bed holding hands. In the darkened bedroom, George brought Alanna's hand up to his lips and kissed it slowly. She sighed.

"I wish I didn't have to go, George," she said softly. After a moment, she added, "This is the first time I've ever seriously considered deserting Jon and shirking my responsibilities, just so I could stay with you." That made George chuckle, and he leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.

"I know, lass," he replied, "If there was a way for you to stay a while longer, I'd take it."

They looked at each other, silently, for a moment longer, before Alanna finally pulled out of her husband's embrace to get up and dress herself. George stayed in bed, chin propped up on his hand, watching her tiptoeing around on the cold floor. It was still dark outside: there would be at least two more hours until the sun rose, and then she would set off for the city to meet with the other knights who would be leaving for Tusaine.

After Alanna had finished dressing, and had packed what little number of personal items that were not yet with her other gear for the journey, George jumped up. Dressing quickly and throwing a handful of water on his face to ensure he was fully awake, he then grabbed his wife's waiting hand and they made their way down to the dining room. Breakfast has already been set out on the table for them; Maude must have gotten up very early. George made a note to thank her later, once he'd come back from seeing Alanna off. But for now, they ate their breakfast alone, talking about simple things such as the horses, what needed to be repaired around the Swoop, and what Coram was up to. Coram had left the Swoop a few months ago to settle down properly at Trebond with his new wife, Rispah. When they were saying their goodbyes all those months ago, Rispah had good-naturedly whispered in Alanna's ear that it was about time that she had Coram all to herself. Despite the father-daughter relationship she had with Coram, Alanna couldn't help but laugh. She had finally grown used to Rispah's animated personality, and actually enjoyed her companionship.

Having finished what would be their last meal together for a long time, Alanna and George headed out to the stables, where the horses had been prepared and were waiting impatiently, a few servants milling around and talking amongst themselves. George would be the only one to accompany Alanna back to Corus, where she would meet up with the other knights (and possibly some of the Riders too) and a few final details would be given out, and then on to the border between Tortall and Tusaine.

Unfortunately, George would not be travelling with the group all the way to the border, as that would risk giving some of the uninformed knights and Riders time to figure out who exactly he was to the Crown. George and Jonathon had spent quite a few hours debating this, with Jonathon finally overruling, naturally. They both knew it was extremely unlikely that anyone would discover George's true identity, but the King preferred to alleviate problems before they had a chance to occur. In truth, George knew Jonathon was making the right decision, but that didn't change the fact that his early removal from the riding party meant less time spent with Alanna. They were not yet certain how long the Tortallan group needed to be in Tusaine, which made George even more nervous than before. Alanna was completely capable of taking care of herself, but she had a temper on her, and you could never account for unhappy accidents of surprises.

By this time, both Alanna and George had saddled up, the servants double-checking that their saddlebags and Alanna's weapons and shield were firmly attached. When they were sure that everything was as it should be, the servants moved away from the horses, allowing George and Alanna to walk them out of the stable. Coming to a stop, they edged their horses around so Alanna could address the gathered workers.

"Thankyou all for your help," she began. George could hardly suppress a smile: having ensured the smooth running of Fief Trebond for quite some time after her father's death, Alanna had grown to be quite the expert at running the Swoop.

"I'm not sure yet of how long I'll be away for," she continued, "But I'm sure you'll be able to keep George on his toes until I return." There was a ripple of laughter at that comment, and George raised an eyebrow at his wife. She seemed very amused with herself.

"I hope you will all keep up the fine job you've been doing here, while I'm away. As you know, the situation in Tusaine has grown serious. No doubt, there could be a few raids by Tusaine aggressors near the border in a few weeks. Being situated where we are, there should be no trouble, but that does not mean you should let your guard down. Be safe. Thankyou, once again, and I hope to see you all safe and well in a few months," she finished with a smile.

There was a polite smattering of applause, a few people yelling out messages of luck or "Goddess Bless!" as George and Alanna turned their horses once again and set them walking out of the Swoop.

The sun would rise in an hour's time, and they would be well on their way to Tortall. Once the Swoop was barely in sight anymore, they stopped so Alanna could have one last look at it. She would certainly miss being home. As something squeezed her heart in her chest, an overwhelming feeling of loss surged through her, an omen of something dangerously dire in the near future. George looked at her, his face blank, though she knew he had read the worry on her face and was trying to hide his own discomfort. She forced herself to smile, and urged her mount onward.