All at once the anger and hatred of years flared up to Alanna, threatening to turn her whole body in a blazing signal post, the color of her hair. But she cooled her steaming rage, for only stealth would avenge her friends. Swallowing hard she bit back her anger and hatred, her fear and rage, and most of all, her sorrow, because death had taken all she cared for, and she wanted Death to pay.

Chapter Four

Three Years Ago:

The next few days were quiet an uneventful, for Alanna and Jon seemed to have come to a silent truce not to talk, at least, after his first few attempts to make her forgive him. But now that the uneasy peace had fallen over the two, Alanna found that she felt empty without Jon's constant companionship, and maybe even his love.

About a week after their fight, Alanna was going down to breakfast with Gary and Raoul sandwiching her on either side, when they stopped dead and grabbed her arms, quickly pulling her down a side corridor.

"What?" Alanna hissed, craning her neck to see around them. But they were already down the side passage, and she couldn't see.

"Jon's down there," Gary explained. "Alan, this has got to end!" By then Alanna had told them both that she was a girl, but they were still to treat her as if she was Alan of Trebond, Jon's Squire. "You and he have just got to talk it over, work it out."

Alanna crossed her arms and fixed her steeliest glare on her face. "What planet do you live on, Gary?" she spat.

"Planet 'Alan and Jon are Friends'!" Gary retorted with just as much venom.

"Well, I live on planet 'Alan and Jon aren't Friends'!"

"Well you shouldn't! Just talk it out. Get it over with. You're ruining all our friendships, Alan. If you want to stay mad at him any longer, you've got to let Raoul and I out, right Raoul?" Gary glared meaningfully at the bigger knight.

Raoul nodded slowly, his eyes downcast away from Alanna's. "Gary's right, this can't go on, and if it does, we don't want our friendship from the two of you being torn apart by something between you two."

Alanna opened her mouth to scream at both of them, but they shook their heads meaningfully. She stopped, her mouth open, but closed it, dropping her arms to her sides. "You're right," she admitted, "I should apologize and get it over with. I'll stop by on the way to breakfast. See you later!" She waved merrily as the oblivious knights went back around the corner.

"Idiots," Alanna muttered, shaking her head. She turned down the passage she was on, and looked around. It was one of the dark passages, the ones that weren't lit well, and had no windows. "Perfect. Just to make 'em sweat."

She set off down the corridor, her boots resounding off the brick of the floor. As she went on, the passage got darker and narrower, and the stone walls turned to brick, until she was surrounded by it. The doors stopped being there, and the light was so dim she could barely see. She put one arm out to her side and the other out in front of her as she went on. And then she opened the wrought iron door in front of her, and climbed down the stairs into a room built of stone, but so infrequently used that dirt coated everything. Now there were magical lights burning in their holders -- because no one ever came down, they were never extinguished. Alanna had been to this place only once before, when she'd wanted to hide away from Roger when he'd been after her for calling him a 'pig', or something like that.

She took a torch from the pile near the door, and lit it with her violet Gift. Then she set off down the passage towards the dark end in the distance, her purple torch's light fluttering around her.

Alanna spent hours walking through the passage, and finally she went steeply down, and stopped in the cellar door, because she heard voices, and several of them. She extinguished the torch, and ducked behind a shelf of flour, the extra supply the palace kept incase they were ever under siege.

Crouching behind it she strained her ears. "You heard me right, master! The little rat Trebond is getting suspicious. The warriors are all in place, but how can we strike without being seen?" Alanna didn't recognize the voice, but it sounded cruel.

"Calm, Nicholas." Alanna's heart sunk into the pit of her stomach, ice washing over her. That voice belonged to Roger. "We will do this, no matter what. The little Trebond boy can do nothing to stop us, his suspicions must go unnoticed. Understood?" The last question hung in the air, and finally the man named Nicholas agreed, and shuffled through the door from which Alanna had come.

A few moments later Roger followed, and Alanna stepped out into the room, drawing Lightning incase anymore were around. What had they been talking about? What was she getting suspicious of?

She sat down on a keg of beer and paused to think. The room was a big one, perfect for secret meetings, with lots of hiding places. There were shelves full of preserved goods, the floor was littered in kegs of beer, and racks hung from the walls with an assortment of dried fruits and vegetables. Hooks hung in the roof, with pots and pans dangling from them, just incase there weren't enough.

Alanna heard a scrabbling in the hall after she wasn't sure how long. She had been sitting in silence, pondering what Roger and the mysterious Nicholas had been talking about, and hadn't paid the least attention to how long she had been there.

Nearly yelping in surprise, Alanna stuffed Lightning back into its sheathe, and dove behind a shelf full of oats for the horses, and people.

The door burst open and two bodies tumbled in, tangled in one another. Alanna peered through the rack, and saw that the two were obviously fighting. Then another figure burst in after them, clearly trying to calm the two fighting men.

"Stop it!" Alanna's heart stopped as she recognized Raoul's bellow. Then the big knight reached down and forcefully pulled Gary off the other form, which turned out to be Jonathan.

The two cousins were shaking, and their faces were littered with already swelling bruises. "How could you tell her that! It's all your fault Gary, she came down this way because she didn't want to talk to me." He looked so angry he might punch Gary again, but Raoul quickly stepped between them. "She's run away because of you!"

Gary recoiled, picking a pan out of the hooks in the ceiling and threatening to throw it at Jon. Alanna's breathe caught in her throat as she watched the scene, all her fault. She was making the cousins fight. It was her fault.

Feeling cheated and defeated, Alanna came out from behind the shelf behind which she was standing, hanging her head. "I'm right here guys. Stop fighting." Instantly three pairs of arms were flung around her, and she felt herself beginning to suffocate under the choking grips of all three men.

"Guys, you're squishing me."

The three let her go, sagging to the floor in relief, or possibly exhaustion. Alanna sat down on top of her perch, the beer keg, and looked at the three of them. "I was trying to make you sweat," she told them, "Not kill one another."

Jon grinned slightly, but quickly turned it into a grimace, because of the pain shooting through his face.

The silence lasted for a few awkward minutes, then Gary finally snapped. "Will you two please be friends again?"

Alanna and Jon's eyes met, and Alanna felt her stomach twist in knots. They were of fear, anger, and even a feeling that she had only felt when he'd been about to kiss her. . . love. He dropped his gaze.

"I'll be your friend, if you'll be mine."

Alanna stared at the top of his head for another minute in silence, contemplating whether they could really make it work. Whether they could really be friends, or if it would all be ruined again.

"Oh, just say yes!" Gary snapped irritably.

"Fine."

"Good!"

But in agreeing to be Jon's friend again, Alanna all but forgot about what she had heard, and that in itself could lead to even more destruction that had first been anticipated. If only she had said 'no'.

It was short, but I hope you liked it. As always, please review! I'm really having fun writing this story, so I hope you guys are having fun reading it!