Hello People! I'm really sorry that it took this long for me to write a new chapter, but I hope you love it! Two people we all know and love are in this chapter and well, please review. Sorry It took so long!
PS. My Name isn't actually Tamora Pierce.
Lia's P.O.V.
I just stood there in shock for a good ten minutes. Fanche came in eventually looking mildly curious.
"Your sister just ran out of the house and into the woods. You know why?" Fanche asked in a way that clearly said she knew I did and she expected me to tell her, growing up in a diplomats household I was extremely familiar with this voice.
"I might. I might not." I said automatically.
"Cheeky, very cheeky. Reminds me of myself when I was your age. Good, you'll go far." Fanche said, as if the ultimate way to success was being exactly like her. I smiled,
"Oh, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." I said, smirking. She smiled back.
"Good, I always wanted a teenager, and Maura and Liza down there are too young." I looked at her oddly.
"Why exactly did you want teenagers?" I asked, cautiously, it seems that I had found a kindred spirit, and it's always better to tread carefully around people even remotely like me.
"So I could beat them in arguments like the one we're having now." She replied, completely straight-faced.
"Cheeky, very cheeky. What makes you think you're winning?" I asked. She smiled at me.
"You want to know the other reason I wanted teens?" She asked, completely ignoring my question.
"Why?"
"So they could do chores. Come on, time for sewing!" She said dragging me downstairs, I laughed.
"What makes you so sure I'll do it?" I asked, trying to trip her up.
"My house. My rules." She said smirking.
"Well, then I won't stay at your house." I threatened.
"Have fun sleeping on the ground." She said, pushing sewing into my hands.
"Darn."
Toko's P.O.V.
'I probably shouldn't have run off.' Was the main thought that was going on in my head. Fanche seemed like a prideful woman and Lia didn't do well with people who had too much pride. I just needed some time to sort out my thoughts. What if Lia hated me for keeping this from her? No she would understand that. She might not understand the fact that we couldn't go back to the Yamani Islands. And she might be slightly ticked off that I kept the implications of this a secret when I took her on. But, I really didn't want her to say no, so it seemed justified at the time… No, she probably wouldn't understand. How could the younger daughter of a small barony understand the implications of royalty? Now I was starting to sound like my father. I had gotten me and my little brother out of there, and the Shang had adopted us. We have both had successful, happy lives. But there was always that lingering doubt, should we have done it? My brother had started training to be a Yamani knight. He might be the glorious figure of a nation now, rather than be teaching stuck up brats how to fall. I could have been the lady of the nation, full of grace and poise, the envy of the nobility and commoners alike, yet here I was. In a peasant's house in Tortall, running away from my adopted daughter, because my past had finally caught up, and I wasn't ready to deal with it, not yet at least. Not now.
After some time I walked back to the house, figuring that if Fanche killed her or more likely she had killed Fanche, the nearest village was only five miles away, and she deserved to run. What I saw when I opened up the door wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Lia was sitting in a chair mending clothing, with two little girls in her lap pulling her hair, and Fanche standing in the kitchen laughing. I smiled, apparently Fanche wasn't as prideful as I had previously imagined.
"So, you're back. Why'd you run? Scared of the little sis?" That didn't stop her from being horribly frank. Lia turned around and looked at me with understanding in her eyes.
"Hey, Fanche, I'm going to go talk to Toko. I'll be back in a sec. Now, you little howler-monkeys," She said, picking up one of the little girls, than the other and placed them back on the chair, where they giggled and squirmed, "You stay here till I'm back. Then I can finish my sewing. Then, we will play Hide-and-Go-Seek." The girls continued to giggle and push each other. Lia turned to me and beckoned. We went to a small room past the living room.
"I got the full tour a while ago." She said as explanation. I nodded slowly. Lia turned to me and looked seriously at me.
"You should have told me. You should know I wouldn't judge. I understand." She said, staring at me.
"Would you really? Would you really understand what it's like to be the Emperor's favorite? To be the favorite of a nation? To run away with the full knowledge that you can't go back? To have an entire nation trying to hunt you down, all while you are trying to protect another? Do you really understand? How could you?" I said, just rambling, letting my mask come down. Lia was studying the floor intently, and then she looked up to meet my eyes. I almost gasped; even for a Yamani, her face was blank, completely devoid of any emotion.
"I didn't say I had experienced it. I said I understood. When the Emperor put my family in the inner circle, children that had laughed at me and bullied me, suddenly, desperately wanted to be my friends. They would smile at me and the smile would never reach their eyes. They just wanted favor with the Emperor that was it, but it didn't stop me from being hurt when I found out. I was imagining it was something like that on a bigger scale. I said I understood not that I was a miracle worker." She finished sarcastically, and then blinked, and showed more emotion, the main one being annoyance.
"I'm sorry, Lia. I wasn't thinking. You're right." I said, trying to sooth her while half-knowing that the words were true. She smiled.
"It's OK. Just think next time. Now, on to future plans; I think we should stay here for a while. Fanche knows we're Shang and she already named her price for having us stay here." Lia said matter-of-factly. I was slightly impressed before I realized that she was trying to change the subject and there was something I had left to tell her.
"Um, OK. What is it?" I asked, slightly intrigued. We didn't have a lot of money.
"Lessons. For the whole village. On archery. Most specifically Fanche. She says she wants to be able to hit a moving dot that was a couple hundred meters away." She said matter-of-factly. I blanched.
"Really?" I asked. Lia nodded, smiling at me and knowing that I was thinking that this was brilliant, I was planning on doing it anyway. And I didn't have a giant amount of money. Lia looked smug.
"OK, so back to the matter at hand." I said seriously, she had to know; otherwise she might get extremely surprised at some point in the possible future. "Do you realize the implications?" I said, hoping she would get it, but her face just showed confusion. I sighed, sometimes she was really dense.
"OK, let's go slowly now." I said, with what I felt was inordinate amounts of patience, "I am his eldest daughter. He only has two children. We both ran away. That makes me what?" I asked. Lia thought for a second.
"Heir." She said, looking at me strangely.
"OK, so in the royal class and you take on a student that makes them your what?"
"Adopted children." She answered quickly, apparently having figured this one out earlier.
"Good. Now put the two answers together." I said slowly, as if to a five year old. Her eyes suddenly widened to the size of grapefruits. She wildly pointed to herself, than me, than the general direction of Yaman. I nodded, and waited for her to find the ability to speak. She eventually found it, when she was significantly calmer.
"You can't be serious." She said, almost hopefully. I didn't blame her. I nodded, looking at her a little self-consciously.
"That seriously should have been said up front." She said, not hyperventilating even slightly anymore.
"Yah, probably. So, how do you feel about your newly found position?" I asked, smiling slightly.
"Well, now I know why we can't go to Yaman. It was awkward enough when I was just the Emperor's favorite, I can't even imagine how horrible it must be to be heir." She said.
"Yah, well, it was OK when my mother was still around, but since it got kind of lonely. And of course my little brother didn't understand, she died four years after he was born, he doesn't remember." I said, telling her a little more than I meant to, she pulled these things out of people. I think it's the sarcasm.
"Well... Time to train the townsfolk! Remember, moving dot." She said, obviously sensing that I didn't want to talk about it anymore.
Lia's P.O.V.
Well, that was unexpected. First of all, Fanche was awesome, and second, me, as a princess? A heir even? You have to be out of your mind. I was just the slightly clumsy, and impulsive foreigner in Yaman. That's all I ever was, and all I ever would be. I can't be a princess. Princesses are practically objects, to get married off to the advantage of the Empire. I was so not doing that. The idea of going to Yaman was probably ludicrous anyways, I mean I am sort of trying to avoid my family, at least for the duration of my training. Going to the one place that I know they will be might not have been the smartest idea in the first place. Anyway, Fanche was AWESOME, and was turning into a sort of mother figure for me, as time went on. We had been here two months now, and only one thing had really happened, and that was unexpected.
Alanna's P.O.V. *Two Months Ago*
We had waited two days at the inn in the village, it turns out that when you openly announce yourselves as nobles, or the Whisper Man, rooms suddenly open up. I wasn't sure which one did it really. Every day at noon, the village would go to learn archery and other weapons of choice from "the Shang", which we assumed was Tokomara Seastone, and "Fanche's Teen", which we assumed was Adalia, but that one confused even George.
"You ready t' go learn archery, my Lioness?" George asked from behind me, seeing that I was spacing out. I jumped slightly and glared at him, but he just laughed. I smiled.
"Yep. I hope our archery is up to the villagers' standards. I would hate to get run out of town." I said, George chuckled. We went down to the village square, with me getting stared at all the way for wearing breeches. Apparently it was acceptable for Shang, being Shang, but not for any woman from Tortall. It was just annoying. We went and watched as Tokomara taught several of the best townspeople the finer points of archery, while Adalia taught the worst ones the basics on the other side. We decided to join Tokomara's group, who knew when it would come in handy to know the best way to shot a bow. These townspeople have no idea what they have. After Tokomara started the townspeople on their drills she came up to us, looked us up and down once, then did a double take on George and gave us both the Yamani version of a bow. George bows back Easterner style, and I am just left standing there confused. WHY does this happen every time George and I go somewhere? I know he's the Whisper Man, but for the love of the Goddess, really? Just how does he know this many people?
"Hello, there, Mr. Whisper Man. How may I help you and your, I'm assuming, wife?" She said, with the typical expression on a Yamani's face, also known as none.
"Well, you see..." George started, but was quickly interrupted.
"You're here for Lia." She said, not making it a question.
"Lia?" George asked politely. I don't do polite.
"We are looking for Adalia of Mindelan. If we could just talk to her rather than her kidnapper we- I would be much obliged." I said, in a slightly different tone after George elbowed me in the side. Tokomara's eyebrows were raising higher and higher with each word.
"Well, aren't you a feisty one? No, I don't think you can talk to her, since you seem to be confused about the situation at hand. No, I am not a kidnapper," She spat the word out with severe distaste, "I am Lia's reidou. May I ask what relation you are to her?"
"I'm well, I'm here for her, because her family's very worried. And..." I trailed off, George was elbowing me, again.
"Well, your most Imperial Highness. I had no idea that was the situation at hand." George said, as if I hadn't spoken at all, wait, 'most Imperial Highness'? "Now, that we know the situation, could we talk to Adalia, so that she might explain the situation to her parents and sister? They are very worried." Tokomara smiled.
"Yes, you may. But first I would ask that you would explain the situation to your wife, before she gets her sword out. As good as I am I don't think I could handle the Lioness with a sword. Well, if I decided to only use a sword too." Tokomara said, turning to me and bowing Yamani style.
"It is an honor to meet such a famed swordswoman, Lady Alanna."
"Um... You too?" I said, really confused. She smile, nodded, bowed to us both, than went back to her class. I whirled around to face George, who was smiling sheepishly.
"Well?" I asked, fists positioned on my hips. George smirked a bit, then smiled.
"She's the Crown Princess of Yaman." He said simply. I looked back and her, kneeling in the dust readjusting a bow.
"Seriously?" I asked, seeing that she had that same sort of air as Thayet, that air that allows her to be muddy and look terrible, well as terrible as she can, and still look every inch a queen. George nodded, starting me out of my contemplation.
"Well, what does reidou mean?" I asked sighed.
"Well, in Yaman, if a member of the first class of royalty, like the Crown Princess or Prince or the Emperor himself, take an apprentice in the warrior arts, they are pronounced as blood relatives. The tie is actually legal, and binding, in addition to being familial. Its similar to adoption, but to a more extreme level, it is literally like the person was born into the family. Reidou means mother pertaining to this tradition." George said, sounding like he had memorized it out of a book.
"Well, should we talk to Adalia?" I asked, still feeling slightly out of my level. He nodded and we walked over to Adalia. We were almost there when I stopped and turned to him in shock. "Does that mean Adalia is now a Princess?"
"Yep." George said smiling, before walking up to Adalia. Adalia saw him coming and turned back to her group.
"Keep practicing those drills." She announced, before starting to walk over to us.
"And why should I listen to you, girly." One of the older men said with disdain.
"Well, other than the fact that I know about fifty ways to kill you right now, Fanche is glaring at you." Adalia said, with a bit of a laugh in her voice. The man turned to see a middle aged woman glaring at him and quickly turned to doing drills, scared. Chuckling, Adalia headed over to us.
"Hello." She said, obviously not recognizing us, well George. I was behind him, and he is so freaking tall she couldn't see me. I moved out from behind George and she took one look at me and gasped. She promptly dropped down in a curtsy, despite the fact that she was wearing breeches, and gave the proper greeting for a non-heir of a small barony to the King's Champion. She straightened up without wobbling an inch, to my extreme jealousy.
"To what do I owe this extreme honor?" She said properly, causing one of the men from the village to call out,
"Oh, who's gettin' all prim and proper? What's next, you gonna make us curtsy before lessons?" He said, to general laughter.
"Only if you keep your head in your-" Adalia was cut off by the middle aged woman from before coming over and covering her mouth.
"You stop that language in front of nobles, got it? Cheeky is only good if it doesn't get you killed. I'll deal with Hamon." The woman said to Lia softly, before heading over to the man who shouted, who was rapidly running the other direction. Adalia turned back to us with a smile, as if it had never happened.
"How bouts we head out of earshot of the villagers?" George suggested politely. Adalia looked suspicious but nodded. She led us over to the well in the middle of the square, far away from the practice groups.
"To what do I owe this extreme honor?" She asked again.
"Well, we're here because your sister is very worried and-" She cut me off.
"You, as the only female knight, want her to not be worried and to succeed. Well, that's just great for her. Unfortunately, I have no inclination to go home, and I am quite liking having a life of my own, thank you." She said, feigning polite interest.
"Do you know who I am?" I asked her angrily. She smiled that stupid diplomats smile that I have seen so many times, and said,
"Do you know who I am?" I blanched, realizing what she was saying. George started to chuckle.
"You are definitely a diplomat's daughter. Tell you what. You ever want a job you come right to me, you here?" He said, chuckling. She nodded, smiling, and I had to chuckle.
"You're still coming with us." I said, getting serious. She simply stared at me.
"You do know you are being a horrible hypocrite right now, right?" She asked, I blushed angrily.
"No I am not!" I shouted, she simply stared at me.
"Seriously? You want me to go home, so Kel can become a female warrior, right? Because you want there to be more female warriors." She asked. I nodded, wondering where this was going. "But if I go then you're down one female warrior. If I stay then you have Kel, and me." I thought for a second.
"You are absolutely right." I realized. She smiled smugly.
"But you should probably still write to your family." George suggested. She nodded.
"If you guys can wait a day I'll have those done." She replied, she turned back to her group, but I grabbed her shoulder. She turned back with one eyebrow cocked.
"If you are staying here for a while I can come back occasionally and teach you swordplay. The Shang Phoenix may be able to teach you everything else better, but I bet I know more with the sword." I offered, surprising myself, I think. She nodded smiling hugely.
"And you had better rise to one high rank." I said, smiling back.