Roger was laughing over something now; the man he was talking to was familiar. Hatred rushed through Alanna, hatred almost worse than her hatred for Roger. Her grip on Lightning tightened .

Chapter Fifteen

One Year Ago:

What happened next was blurry. Alanna barely remembered waking up and asking where Jon was--ordering the Duke was more like it, actually. The Duke replied that the Prince would be alright--eventually. This made Alanna pester him for a while longer, until he told her that he had to see to Jon himself.

Alanna grumbled after him, her tongue sharp. "Fire-Top, you shouldn't sharpen your tongue on the Duke like that."

Alanna turned stiffly to see Gary walking towards her, his face a little less dull than it had been the last few weeks. He pulled up a stool and sat down, staring at her bandages, his eyes growing sleek.

She touched his arm gently. "I'm sorry about your father," she whispered, trying to keep him from sinking back into depression.

Gary shook her hand off a little roughly, shrugging. "No one could have done anything." She noticed his voice was hollow. "He died doing what he loved--helping people."

"Any word on who the new training master is?"

"I don't know." Gary looked away from her, refusing to meet her gaze for several long minutes. Finally he said, "The King's thinking of appointing Lord Laycon of Tirragen."

"Who's he? Is he related to Alex?" Alanna asked, frowning. She didn't recognize the name.

"Some dried up crack-pot fool friend of the King, no doubt. Yeah, he's Alex's uncle."

"Gary!" Alanna gasped.

"He's lost his edge, you know it."

"Maybe he has, but he's still Jon's father! Speaking of Jon, how is he? Have you seen him? What happened?"

"No, I haven't seen him. And no, I don't know what happened--you'll have to get the story from Jonathan." Again Alanna heard the bitter hollowness in her friends voice, and the way he was acting made her wonder even more.

"Are you alright, Gary? You're being really weird." She put her hand on his forehead, feeling for a fever. Absently Alanna touched the ember-stone. Gary pulsed with yellow magic, tinted with orange.

Alanna yelped in horror. Violet fire lanced from her fingers; her head began to pound. She wouldn't break her concentration though. She fought all of the boundaries on the magic, shoving them away. With an inward snap, they broke off with a sound of cracking bone.

"Alan?" A firm hand was rested on her shoulder, shaking her softly.

Alanna opened a pair of bleary eyes, and met Gary's dark eyes squarely. He moved his face away from hers, sighing with relief. "I thought I'd lost you just then, Fire-Top."

Now she sighed. He was back to normal. "Gary, just a little bit ago, did you feel weird or anything?"

He frowned, running a hand through his hair. "I dunno. I don't remember what's happened for the past few days as more than a blur really." His face hardened and Alanna saw his eyes were sparkling. "The last thing I remember clearly was Father's funeral. For a while before that and since then everything's fuzzy."

Alanna nodded solemnly. Then a thought came to her as she glanced at the bandage around her wounded stomach. "How did they--you know--?" She gestured towards her torso, feeling stupid.

"What? Oh." Gary blushed fiercely. "The Duke knows, remember? Last year when you saved Jon? I guess he's willing to protect your secret--or the Goddess wipes his memory--or something." He looked away, his cheeks flushed crimson.

Alanna couldn't stifle a laugh at the color of Gary's face. "Jon didn't blush that much when he first saw me naked," Alanna whispered into Gary's ear.

That earned her a laugh from the big knight. "So it's true?" Gary teased. "About the homosexual prince and his squire?"

Alanna snorted, slapping her friend playfully on the arm. Good times, she thought, a little sadly. He's back to normal. . . But how's Jon? And how long will this go on? What happens when I go through the Ordeal and get my shield? Then I have to leave. . . And I lose my friends--but at the price of what? And what about Roger? And Nicholas, the yellow magic bearer--and Dreke, whoever he is. Because I'll eat the Goddess live if he's just Nicholas's brother. She frowned, drawn out of her thoughts by a repetitive tapping noise.

"Squire Alan?"

Alanna peeled tired eyes open, realizing that he must have fallen asleep thinking. Duke Baird stood above her, tapping a piece of charcoal on a notepad. "You wish to see the Prince, you said."

Alanna disentangled herself from the blankets, crawling out of the bed, thankful that all the palace night-shirts were at least five sizes too big for her. She followed Baird into a small room in the back, the same one Jon had been in when he had been blinded. The Duke opened the door and let her in.

Alanna shut the door behind her, then turned to the room.

She winced. Jonathan was wrapped in bandages along his upper right arm, lower left arm, stomach, chest, and both legs. His face sported a bandage wrapped around his head, pushing his hair away from a forehead wound. Sitting next to his bed on a chair was the raven-haired red-eyed 'Dark Goddess' Alanna had met once before. She was wearing a silk black shirt, with only one button done right between her breasts, and a tiny red skirt that went just low enough not to show her privates'. She was wearing black boots that went to her knees with horse-boot heels made at least five inches longer.

The woman frowned at Alanna, pursing her ruby lips. "What're you doing here?" she demanded icily, standing up.

"I came to see Jon," Alanna replied, determined to keep her voice from shaking. "I should ask the same of you though."

The Dark Goddess paused. "You're a clever human--I must say. I came for payment." She smiled broadly, showing her shark-teeth. "By the way, I might as well tell you since I told him. You may call me Kirasarra."

"Whatever pleases you," Alanna murmured, thought inwardly she was boiling with anger.

"But it seems that I'm cheated today. Who injured my Prince so that he could not give me that which I love?" Her voice was pleasant--cheerful now. Alanna almost felt sorry for Dreke and Alex. She nodded. "I see the images in your mind, squire-ling. They will pay--somehow. But what about my payment? I want it tonight. . . What about those other friends of Jonathan's? Ah, yes. Gary and Raoul. Gary is his cousin, is he not? And Raoul comes from one of the most prestigious families in Tortall. Goldenlake."

"Leave them out of this," Alanna growled. "You made a deal with Jon, the deal must remain there. By the code of honor," she added when the Dark Goddess opened her mouth to interject.

The woman laughed, cold and high. "Oh, dear! The gods' have no need to hold up the 'code of honor'. It's a chivalrous thing and therefore must only be looked at by mortals. Now, it's your choice. Who shall I pick? Or should both be tortured?"

Alanna gaped, open-mouthed. How was she supposed to pick which of her friends the Dark Goddess slept with? She tried to imagine both of their answers, and received no help. They'd both do it to keep her secret a secret.

"They would, hmm?"

Alanna had almost forgotten the Dark Goddess's presence. Slowly, she smiled. "I have someone else for you. Someone just like you."

The Goddess's red eyes brightened. "Oh?"

"Alexander of Tirragen."

"One of the ones who harmed my Prince?"

Alanna cringed when the woman called Jon 'my Prince'. She nodded. "Yes. Couldn't you return the favor, harm him back?" Great Mother let me know what I'm doing! Alanna added silently.

The Dark Goddess smiled coldly. "You are wise indeed--especially for being so young, squire-ling. I will harm this Alex, and take payment from him. And I might just do the same to Roger, Dreke and Nicholas. The others who harmed my Prince."

"You do that now," Alanna said sweetly. The Goddess vanished. Alanna turned back to Jon, moving next to him. She knelt on the stone floor, ignoring the pain that spiked through her knees.

"It's all my fault," Alanna whispered, stroking his sweat-soaked. She touched his forehead, worried. "Ouch!" Alanna yelped, drawing her hand hurriedly back. He was burning up!

She touched the ember-stone at her throat. He lit up with gray magic; it pulsed gently around him, targeting his wounds. Alanna gulped. She was tired already, to use her magic again would mean over-reaching, but what choice did she have?

Steeling herself for the exhaustion and nausea to come, Alanna thrust her magic outwards. The wards on the gray-caster's magic was strong, but she shoved through them with brute force. Slowly she used her healing under the magic.

Alanna opened bleary eyes, meeting Jonathan's. He smiled weakly. "Uh-n." Alanna collapsed on her side, unconscious before she hit the floor.

Please review! More soon. Sorry it's been SOOOOOOOO long! I'm really sorry. But volleyball's almost over, then I'll have more free time--maybe. BYE!