Sorry for taking so long!!

Thank you to:

BACswimma, Aly-Of-Tortall 13, Kiley 1 09, Lady Knight Jocelyn, LadyKnightOpal, Rogue-Storm-Rampant, Shang Leopard, bloodsucker13, destinystar105, half-demon priestess, henrychick, addicted2TPierce, LadyReaderofBooks, kittylitious, Dragonfly257, Lilly Romanov, Jezebel Montgomery, Lady Leopard, Faia Sakura, LadyPirate13, gaya2081, Tamora Pierce Junior, Lady Kale, Kate of Carlay, fox-siren, PeytonPaigePatriciaHalliwell, Mickeygee, Ally-Marty, ILoveCockatiels, qtktkat and inktounge58
For the Story alert

And again to: bloodsucker13, LadyKnightOpal, Gallan Princess, dares to dream, Lady Knight Jocelyn, destinystar105, Dragonfly257, Lady Leopard, ILoveCockatiels, Litara, Tamora Pierce Junior, Lilly Romanov, LadyPirate13, PeytonPaigePatriciaHalliwell, fox-siren, kittylitious, Aly-Of-Tortall, qtktkat and to Kiley 1 09
For the favorite story!

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I nodded too, I knew George wouldn't do anything stupid, they would realize that too tomorrow, when they came around. Besides, this was important, the future of Tortall rested in whether they would believe him or not. They had two choices, believe or not believe. They had two decisions to make, fight or die.

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We walked quickly to the dancing Dove. Johnathan and Lilia were called the king and queen but they hadn't been crowned yet, they were technically king-and-queen-to-be, it was easier for them to escape the palace unnoticed.

'Johnny' as he went in the city and 'Lily' as she went were accompanied by the four knights to the city. They were dressed as civilians they attracted too much attention if they weren't.

They reached the Dancing Dove and were ushered quickly by Solom into the top levels, into the king's meeting room. King of thieves that is.

George was standing near the window, staring out. He turned around when the door opened, he smiled mischievously.

Alanna strode forward and braced forearms as old friends and William clapped him on the back. The rest of the company stayed at the back looking wary, they didn't trust him, yet.

George worked around his friends and went to stand before the other king in the room. He bowed mockingly and smiled;

"Your highness."

Jonathan raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow; "Should I not call you the same thing, King of Thieves?"

George smiled wider, "So you do know who I am."

"I sat on my father's council and now it is my own, it would make me a poor listener indeed if I did not recognize your description and that of your inn."

George bowed his head in respect, "you know why you are here then?"

"I know there is something important for you to tell me, Alanna would say naught else."

George turned to Alanna with a raised brow, "That's all he knows?" He asked sharply.

Alanna jerked her head in a nod; "I thought it'd be best if he heard it from you, and there was no place I felt safe enough to say it in the Palace, the walls have ears."

"So you brought him to the rats' den." George replied teasingly. The tease didn't reach his eyes, there was a slight tension in his voice.

He beckoned them to the chairs that stood about the warm fire that warmed the cold hearth.

They sat, still wary but a little warmer to this known thief. they didn't fully trust them but what had they said the night before? A friend of Alanna's is a friend to them too. Alanna wasn't stupid, she knew there were people she couldn't trust, knew that far too well, for her to trust the king of those people, he must be someone special, or a good player.

"You are here to discuss somethin' very important with me. Somethin' that will chan'e the fate of Tortall forever. Somethin' that will change the fate of this worl' of ours in a much worser way."

He waited for everybody's reactions then proceeded.

"Maren is falling to hunger" Alanna and William nodded, "Tyra is over-swept by rebellious waters. Tusaine is being torn apart by winds from East to West and North to South. Carthak is prey to earth quakes and the Copper Isles are burnin' alive. Tortall, Tortall is a mouse in th' dark. The hawk watches it from above, ready to strike. As you know famine is starting to brew in our South too, or water is dfryin' and our crops are failin'. Somethings wrong, everywhere. As for the mouse bit, Tortall is going to fall, soon."

The occupants of the chairs were wide eyed with the exception of William and Alanna, who did not know this but were expecting something similar.

The knights and the queen all knew about these things, but hadn't heard them so severe. they knew of Tortall's problems, but they hadn't expected quite so drastic. George wasn't done though.

"Thousands march towards us as we speak. Gallans, Carthaki, Copper Islanders, Tortallans and Tyrans. People of Maren, Scanrans and of the Yamani Islands. Commoners and people who have escaped from their prison sentences in the mines people, my spies have come back, well, their heads. . They all want something, it will start with Tortall. Convicts and players, thieves and murderers. I've tried to infiltrate the mass, my spies have come back, well their heads anyways..."

This time Alanna and William's eyes were wide too.

"And they're coming here? Why?"

"Had I answers to your questions we'd be better off. No? All I know is that they're bound for this glorious land and they are well equipped with numbers. People desperate enough to get work that they'd join and slaves, guided by their collars."

"How big are the numbers?" Jonathan asked somewhat fearful of the result of the question he posed.

"Many more than I or you for that matter, can believe. Hundreds of Thousands."

"Hundreds of thousands?" Alanna whispered.

George nodded sadly.

"Tortall can;'t even begin to protect itself. There's no possible way to outstand them. There are too many."

"Can we not ask help from other countries?" Raoul asked in shock.

"Didna hear me lad? They're bein' torn apart from the inside out. They couldna help us if they wanted to. They have their own problems."

"What are we to do then?" William spoke for the first time.

"We will fight." Jonathan answered.

"And we will die." George said quietly.

"Then we will die honourably." Jonathan countered.

"Where's the honour in fightin' an invincible enemy? Where's the honour in killin' our families to protect somethin' we can't possibly protect? Where's the honour in telling thousand of women that their husbands have died fightin'? Will they see the honour? Will we?"

"There is nothing else to do! We cannot evacuate the entire country. And if we could, which we cannot, where would we go? You said yourself 'the other countries are being torn apart from the inside out'." Jonathan quoted his earlier statement.

George's eyes were hard. "We will fight, but there is no honour."

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Yay, I'm still under shock, I won two awards at my graduation!! The Creative Writing Award, for a story I wrote in twenty minutes.. teehee... and the history award!! And then, I graduated from middle school!

High school here I come!! And in the mean time, summer and more updates!!

Hope you like it!

Review!

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Keep Reading,

xxTunstall Chickxx

26/06/08