Well will you look at this. A second chapter to the so-called oneshot. I have absolutely no resolve. Still, it's nice to know that you guys liked it enough to ask for a second chapter. :)
Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce owns the characters, and the Swoop. I just decided to borrow them for a while.
Aly cheerfully plodded through the halls of the Swoop, her eyes shining happily at the prospect of being free of her nursery prison. Today was one of those rare times when she and Alan were permitted out of the nursery, under strict supervision, to roam their home. Aly's weary-looking maid trotted after her, calling weakly for the four-year-old to slow down, but Aly had no intention of listening to her. She gleefully sprinted as fast as she could down the hall, giggling madly as her maid's warnings grew more and more agitated. She had discovered it was fun to make the maids annoyed; it was always so easy to convince them of her innocence with just a simple smile afterward.
"Come now, Alianne, your mother would not approve of you actin' in this way!" the maid all but snapped, finally catching up to her young charge and gripping her shoulder firmly. "What would I tell her if she found you wanderin' about on your own, hmm?" Aly giggled sweetly and gripped the maid's skirts. The young woman sighed, resigned to Aly's ability to melt her anger.
"Alright, enough of that, now," she scolded gently. "Let's have a nice walk outside. I said walk, mind you. I won't be chasin' you 'alf way to Corus and back."
Aly clapped her small hands and skipped the remainder of the way outside, staying at her maid's side. The pair stepped into the bright sun, the maid cursing the glare under her breath, and Aly staring around her eagerly. She was hoping for another peek at the wild girl, Daine, the one who so fascinated Thom, Roald, and Kally. Aly had yet to meet her, only having glimpsed flashes of her through a nursery window, or heard her walking past the door, talking to Uncle Numy. Aly's little girl curiosity was almost bursting after seeing the girl for the first time a few days ago. She wanted to know this Daine, and wanted to know why she glowed so brightly in her Sight.
"It's too gods-cursed hot," Aly's maid grumbled, fanning herself delicately with her hand. "Let's hurry back inside. Maude'll be wantin' you soon enough, anyway."
Aly shook her head fervently. She wanted to see Daine, not sit in the nursery with Alan and Maude. "No," she said. The maid raised an eyebrow, and Aly stuck out her bottom lip. "Please?" she added pleadingly.
The older woman sighed. "Alright. Only a bit more, mind. It is hot."
Content, Aly pranced about the courtyard, keeping a sharp eye out for Daine's blinding light. She didn't see anything, though, only the everyday glow of mildly Gifted people lounging about the Swoop. Disappointment washed through Aly as the maid resumed her complaints about the weather. Would she find Daine before the maid forced her back inside?
Soft voices drifted on a dry breeze to Aly's ears. She looked up keenly, in the hope that one of those voices—there seemed to be two—would be Daine's. One of the voices, the low, rumbling one, Aly recognized as Numair Salmalín, black robe mage, known as Uncle Numy to Aly and Alan, and Thom, when the young royals weren't around. The other voice, higher, more feminine, Aly thought to be her mother. Frustration bubbled up in Aly's throat and she groaned aloud, thinking Daine wasn't anywhere to be found and making the maid raise her eyebrows and tut again.
Before she could scold, three people rounded the corner. The one closest to Aly was her mother, her violet eyes focused on the much taller man beside her, Uncle Numy. Both of them glowed intensely in Aly's magical Sight, but their Gift was nearly drowned out by the young girl walking behind them. The shine from Daine burned Aly's poor eyes, as it had before, so she quickly adjusted her Sight to look closer at the girl.
She seemed intent on whatever Uncle Numy and Alanna were discussing, her pretty blue-gray eyes not leaving Uncle Numy's face. Although she walked behind the adults, Uncle Numy twisted slightly so that he could see Daine's own face. Alanna, too, seemed intrigued by their conversation, but she took in both of them at once, rather than focusing on one, as Daine and Uncle Numy were doing.
Aly's maid had finally had enough. "Come along, Alianne. We've been out here long enough. Time to be getting' you back to the nursery."
"I don't wanna go back inside!" Aly wailed, pouting. Alanna looked up at the sound of her daughter's voice.
"Aly," she said, surprised, "what are you doing out here?"
"Maude said we could walk around for a bit," Aly told her mother cheerfully, skipping away from the maid and into Alanna's arms. "I wanted to come outside."
Alanna chuckled. Aly took the opportunity to peer over her mother's shoulder at Daine, who had stayed at Uncle Numy's side, still talking quietly. Uncle Numy was hunched over slightly, his voice soft and his eyes locked on Daine's face as they talked. Daine was looking back thoughtfully, her blue-gray orbs staring as Uncle Numy spoke. Aly was fascinated.
She had seen her mother and father together, had seen them stealing kisses and embraces when they thought no one was looking, and indeed, in full sight of others. But this was different, more private. They weren't kissing, or even touching. But something about the way they held each other's attention caught Aly's young eye. She saw the way Uncle Numy's hand automatically reached out to smooth a smoky brown curl that broke free of its horsetail, saw how Daine listened intently to whatever Uncle Numy was saying, though small animals were hovering about her, vying for her attention.
Aly watched her adoptive uncle and his young friend for a split second more as they slowly caught up with Alanna and Aly, hardly looking at where they were going.
"Aly?" Alanna called, returning her daughter's attention to their conversation. "What are you staring at?"
"Daine," Aly replied simply, looking at her mother. Alanna cocked an eyebrow.
"And why are you staring at Daine?" she asked, smiling. Daine and Uncle Numy had finally reached them. "Sure she's pretty, but it's not polite to stare."
Aly frowned at her mother, the picture of four-year-old resentfulness. "Uncle Numy's staring at her. Why can't I?" Alanna blinked. "It's true. They can't take their eyes off each other."
Daine's cheeks glowed crimson, but joined in as Numair laughed. Alanna shook her head.
"You, my dear, are quite the storyteller."
Aly didn't think so.
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Needs to remember that oneshots are ONEshots,
Brighteyes