Author's Note: Just so everyone is aware, the story is still in the month of May, in the year 439 H.E. I do not own these characters. I just kind of kept going with the last chapter and never stopped.
Chapter 5: What Are Friends For?
"Your Ladyship, please stop fidgeting!" cried the poor seamstress for the hundredth time.
"Really, Alanna! It wouldn't take this long if you would hold still!" scolded Thayet.
Alanna made a face. She had been standing on the stool for over an hour, being poked and prodded and pinched as the seamstresses fluttered around, trying to put together this contraption of a dress by this afternoon.
Thayet's fitting had only taken half an hour, leaving the woman in a gorgeous red gown. Alanna had asked her to stay on as lady-in-waiting. At least she was one lady-in-waiting Alanna could trust. All of the other candidates were the sort of women Alanna either despised or couldn't relate to. There were the simpering females who fainted at a drop of blood and who only spoke of embroidery and who had been seen dancing with whom. These ladies were shocked by Alanna's breeches. And there were the Delia-types—manipulative, power-hungry hussies. Alanna, at this point, was not sure which group was worse. Delia and the few like her had thrown enough barbs in public, though were now forced to retreat subtly. But the conservative wallflowers had greater numbers. Alanna sighed. Jon had told her to think of it as strategy in battle, assigning which platoon, no matter how detested, where it would perform best. Alanna had informed him that the best solution would be to hang up her general's hat, if the only troops at her disposal were like this.
"Ouch!" Alanna cried, as she was stabbed with a pin.
"Sorry, your ladyship," apologized the seamstress.
"Remind me again, Thayet, why I am wearing this?"
"The formal announcement of your engagement to Prince Jonathan is tonight, Alanna."
"No, no, I know that. I am not that much of a ninny," Alanna snapped.
Yes, you are.
"I didn't ask for your input," Alanna snapped at Faithful, who was playing with a ball of yarn he had found among the seamstresses' bags.
Well, you got it anyway. What else I am here for?
Alanna ignored her impudent cat and addressed Thayet. "Why am I wearing a gown? Why am I not wearing something like the outfit I wore when I presented Jon with the Jewel?"
"Because it is not appropriate for a future queen to be dressed as such. You have to be presented to the people in the way they wish to see you."
"They wish to see me all fancied up? They know I'm a knight."
"Yes, but you are going to have to learn to make some sort of compromise. You're going to have to learn to wear gowns."
"And you like wearing pretty things, don't you, Alanna?" Alanna, disregarding the little scream of impatience the seamstress made as the fabric shifted, turned to see Eleni Cooper, along with Rispah, standing in the doorway.
"Yes, Mistress Cooper," Alanna admitted, blushing a little.
"Turn back and face forward so this good woman does not feel the need to stab you. And just think of this as playing dress-up as you used to when you visited me." The older woman smiled tenderly on Alanna. Alanna was immensely grateful that Eleni was not cross with her for choosing the prince over—Alanna brushed that thought from her mind. She was marrying Jon.
"Thank you, Mistress Cooper," Alanna said. She turned, surprised that two other voices had echoed her sentiments: Thayet and the head seamstress. Eleni cocked her eyebrow. Thayet and the seamstress looked at each other. Thayet began to giggle. "We're thanking you for making this fuss-budget stand still."
Alanna stuck her tongue out at her friend. "I was only trying to be logical. You can't say I'm not a knight, 'cause I am. And Tortall knows it. Don't think you can pull the wool over their eyes. And I'll be carrying Lightening. It will look odd with Lightening strapped to this great hoop skirt."
Thayet and the seamstress exchanged another look. "Alanna," began Thayet gently, "You won't be carrying your sword tomorrow."
"What? No one told me I couldn't!" Her eyes narrowed.
"I'm sorry."
"Why can't I carry Lightening?" Alanna demanded, looking around the room.
"Men, generally, carry swords. Women do not. It is to show that you are a woman, agreeing to marriage with a man. It's defining the gender roles. So no one can call you a male in disguise and accuse Jon of preferring men…or manly females. It's always showing that he will be the future king and you will be his queen. It's never been said a monarch was the queen's king. But that's only my guess." Thayet shrugged her dainty shoulders. No one else had a clue. Alanna huffed, her foul mood deepening. She had half a mind to jump off the stool and demand of Jonathan why she could not carry a sword.
"That's a load of horse manure. It's because Jon's advisors want to show everyone I'm proper, isn't it? I can read between the lines of what you've just said. That even though I've my shield, I know my place as a woman? I've heard enough talk."
"Alanna, cool your temper," warned Eleni, knowing the signs of the young woman's wrath. "It won't do you a bit of good to snap at them. They won't take it well."
"Have you heard the rumors, Mistress Cooper?" Alanna demanded. "The rumor that I bedded an entire regiment behind Jonathan's back? That I bedded every officer of the King's Own? That Roger was my lover and that I got Thom to bring him back so we could take the kingdom? That I bedded Duke Gareth to get my shield? That I bedded every single one of my year-mates so they wouldn't tattle on me?" Her voice became shriller as she listed things she'd heard whispers of. "That it's my fault Jon's reign is cursed because he encourages a woman to do a man's duty? That my belly was full of child and that's why I went away—that's why I went hunting for the Dominion Jewel, to cover it all up?"
"Alanna, hush!" scolded Eleni. "We know it's none true."
"Since when have you cared what others thought of you?" asked Thayet.
"I have to!" Alanna snapped. "Because it's my job as queen to present a good face to the people, to care about what they think! No, I'm not to care about the people themselves, but only what they think of me!"
"Who, by the Mother, told you that?" asked Eleni, thunderstruck.
"Certain members of the Council of Lords and Jon's advisors," Alanna muttered darkly. "They've been hounding me, every chance they get for the past two weeks. I've been avoiding the fencing courts—it seems like they wait there for me. They're constantly at me, telling me to start acting like 'a proper lady of noble blood' and such like. They tell me to do this and to do that and they have such long lists of what's expected of a queen! And it all repeats. The only things I can make that a queen must do is wear skirts, smile, and have babies! They won't listen when I remind them that I'm Champion as well!"
"Which of them has said that?" asked Eleni. "I can think of plenty of the advisors who aren't all that old-fashioned!"
"There are good, sensible men," Alanna reassured Eleni. "Myles, Gary and his father, my Lord Provost. But there still are others that are much more conservative-minded. Those are the ones that tell me how to do things."
"Alanna, when they suggest something, you should smile at them gently and say 'I will reflect on the good advice my lord has given me.' They'll think you've agreed and you haven't, actually. Then you can think it over on your own time. Giving an appearance of acquiescing usually is enough for old pompous windbags," Thayet told her.
Alanna shook her head glumly. "I'd never have thought of that, Thayet."
Thayet smiled gently. "I only know this because I watched my mother do it."
Alanna dropped her gaze, thinking of the mother Thayet lost and the mother Alanna never knew. "And 'cause you were raised to be a queen." Unlike me. Thayet nodded meekly.
"Any more ideas for this prickly lass to try then?" asked Eleni, diverting the subject. Thayet nodded and began giving Alanna ways for her to appear to agree to what the Council wanted without actually saying yes. Thayet would be rather adept at doing all of this, Alanna noted. She was not talented at seeming—she was too blunt and too forward. Pretending to be a boy was one thing; diplomacy was quite another. Aggravated, Alanna muttered that maybe Thayet should be queen.
"Oh no!" Thayet objected. "I don't want to be queen!"
"Well, I don't want it, either!" snapped Alanna.
"But you're willing to do it for Jon," Thayet said slyly. Alanna looked away from her friend. She was willing to do it for Jon; she was doing a rather large favor for a friend. A friend who loves me, she reminded herself. It got harder to remember Jon's words about love. She knew in her heart that she needed to help Jonathan and that this was the solution they'd found. She knew he needed her, but there was a piece of her that still tugged away. She knew she couldn't be selfish this time. Jonathan was a friend in need.
The announcement came too quickly for Alanna's taste. Dressed in her new lavender gown, she stood nervously behind the velvet curtain, waiting. A part of her scoffed at herself, how she told herself she'd never wait for anyone, especially not for a man. A trumpet sounded and the staff of the herald knocked against the floor, calling everyone's attention. She heard Jon's official voice carry across the crowded hall. Throngs of people had shone up for this: nobility and common, alike. She did not listen to the words Jon spoke, knowing what they were about: how he was destined to serve Tortall, how he knew his duty, and how he had found the right partner to share this power with.
The curtains drew back and Alanna stepped forward. She descended the steps as the herald had had her practice over and over again. Myles was waiting at the bottom of the staircase to take her arm. She smiled at her adopted father and he gently squeezed her arm. Wordlessly, father and daughter walked towards the throne, where Jonathan stood waiting. He gave her a smile and she returned it. As they neared the step, both Myles and Alanna knelt before Jonathan.
"Rise, Sir Myles of Olau. Do I have your blessing and permission, before Mithros and the Great Mother Goddess, to take your daughter's hand in marriage?"
"My liege, you have my blessing to ask of her hand in marriage."
Alanna grinned, knowing that Myles had changed the words of the answer so that Jonathan would have to ask her himself. It was a way of showing the stuffy conservatives that Alanna had a choice in the matter.
"Thank you, sir. Rise, Lady Alanna of Trebond and Olau." Alanna made a bit of a face at 'Lady' but let no one see it. She faced Jonathan. He looked handsome, she thought. His dark clothing made his bright eyes shine. He knelt in front of her, a ring box in his hand. "Lady Alanna, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife and my queen?"
She gazed down at him. She opened her mouth to say her answer that she had practiced in front of the mirror and paused. A face floated in front of her, a smiling face with hazel eyes and a large nose. Jonathan gave her a puzzled look at her hesitation. She pushed the image away.
"Yes."
The sounds of the crowd cheering and clapping startled Alanna. She turned and looked at the people assembled before her, all celebrating. She noted varying degrees of unhappiness in some faces, but the majority was jubilant. They thought this was a good idea. Jon must have caught the zeal from some people, because he kissed her hand repeatedly. He slid the ring onto her finger and Alanna marveled at the pretty thing. This was no trinket, but a real diamond gleaming from its sapphire and gold setting. It was a bit big for her, and not her style at all, she mused, but it was pretty. She looked up at Jon, her fiancé, and smiled. He held up her arm for all to see. The crowd roared and Alanna couldn't help but laugh—the enthusiasm was contagious. Jon must have caught it too because he leaned down and captured her lips for all to see. As they pulled back, Alanna realized that there was no warmth in her heart or her stomach as there usually was—and she knew that Jon had felt none of it too. But there was gratitude and love, their kind of love, in his eyes as he kissed her cheek.
"Thank you," he whispered in her ear.
"What are friends for?" she whispered back. He smiled, and she knew they were on the same page. They didn't love each other, but their friendship was intact. And that was what this kingdom had to lean on: the strong friendship of its king and its Champion.
Things seem to be going well for Alanna & Jon...right now...REVIEW!