Alanna's first month back in the city was a whirlwind. Not only did she have a lot to learn about healing, but she also had everything to learn about being a commoner and a girl.
She couldn't have asked for a better guide than Eleni and quickly found in her the mother figure that she didn't realize she had been missing. For her part, Eleni found Alanna a great help with her work and an ongoing source of amusement as the girl found the most mundane things new and exciting.
The freedom was something Alanna was unused to as well. One week in, Eleni had to explain to Alanna that as long as she finished the work she had agreed to, she didn't need to keep asking for permission to go out.
At first, Alanna occupied her new-found free time by wandering the market and building up her previously non-existent female wardrobe. When that got old, she found herself spending more and more time at the Dancing Dove. That was a whole other education on its own.
She had spent time there before, of course, but this was different. She was one of them now and a woman. The other women gossiped with her, and the men flirted with her with varying degrees of lewdness. Alanna reacted to such attention at first with disgust mixed with a little bit of relief - it was nice to know that she was, in fact, desirable. But she soon learned how to deflect these comments or tune them out. Much to her own surprise, she even flirted back or gave tit for tat on a few occasions.
However, the more inappropriate of the comments dropped off quickly as George made it clear that she was his personal favorite. He always made sure there was a seat for her next to his and went out of his way to see that she was entertained. He also began flirting with her more and more brazenly. Before long, she went from tolerating it to enjoying it.
The healing itself ended up being more of an adjustment than Alanna had anticipated. She thought her time aiding the battlefield medics would have prepared her for the gruesome things she would encounter, and it helped, but not entirely.
As a city healer, she encountered not just wounds but infections and illnesses in everyone, from babies to the elderly. Some of these were disgusting or exhausting, but the worst were downright heartbreaking as she saw too-thin children in pain and watched Eleni tell women that they had miscarried their babes.
Aside from these bitter moments, she quickly learned to enjoy the work. It was incredible to see the intricate things her gift could do, and it was deeply satisfying when most of her patients left feeling much better than they had when they arrived. It was not quite as satisfying as charging into danger to save her prince, of course, but she did feel useful, which raised her spirits significantly.
She saw Jonathan frequently in that first month. Gary and Raoul had been sent on border patrols as soon as they returned, and the rest of the army was still camped at the Drell as the peace was carefully negotiated. Jonathan was bored out of his mind.
"How are you?" he asked her somberly as they wandered through the market together three weeks after her return.
"Exhausted!" Alanna responded. "I think every ten-year-old boy in a five-mile radius decided today was the day to climb too high or run too fast. I think I healed no less than 6 broken bones!"
Jonathan smiled weakly at that. "I mean, how are you doing with...everything?"
"Honestly, I'm alright. I mean, I still wake up most mornings hoping against hope that this was all a bad dream and that I was still your squire, but there's no sense in continuing to mope about it. I like healing, far more than I thought I would. And I don't... hate living life as a girl. There's something very freeing about learning that."
Jonathan tried to look happy at this response, but his eyes revealed how conflicted he felt.
"Please don't feel sorry for me and stop feeling guilty!" Alanna pleaded. "Look, I'm your vassal, and I always will be. And I know you feel responsible for me. But for now, can we just be like - like you and George? Friends who spend time with each other just because they want to?"
Jon sighed. "Not feeling guilty may take some time, but you're right. Moping won't change anything. Friends it is."
"Good. Now tell me some fun and flippant palace gossip, or I shall be forced to regale you with a detailed account of Mr. Tanner's toenail infection."
Jonathan laughed and obliged her with a tale about some of the few remaining eligible bachelors at the palace literally hiding from a gaggle of over-eager new arrivals from the convent.
A few nights later, Alanna was walking back to Eleni's from the Dove when two drunken men that she vaguely recognized appeared from around a corner.
"Well, if it isn't his majesty's pet," one said.
"I bet we could find some good use for her," said the other. "He might be more willin' to give us a real share of last night's haul with a little...persuasion."
Alanna considered pointing out that there was no way taking her would gain them anything good from George, but they were clearly too drunk and angry to be reasonable.
She wished desperately for Lightning but drew the knife she carried in her belt and considered her options.
"Oh, look, she's going to fight us off with that wee blade. Why don't you just give me that, little whore, and no one will get hurt."
He reached to take the knife from her, and she slashed the side of his hand. The cut wasn't deep, but it shocked him, then further enraged him. He charged at her, this time managing to grab a handful of her hair and grip it painfully before trying again to take the knife. Alanna twisted and jabbed up hard, slicing his tricep.
He let go to clunch his wounded arm, and his companion was too shocked by what he had just seen to do anything but gawk.
Alanna took the opportunity and ran. She had been about halfway home, but she didn't want to lead these goons to Eleni's doorstep. Instead, she ran back to the Dove, managing to stay just barely ahead of the men who eventually pulled themselves together enough to draw their own blades and chase after her.
Their wits finally kicked in as they realized where she was leading them. At first, they chased her that much harder, then gave up and ran the other way when the Dancing Dove came into view.
Alanna burst through the door into the still busy tavern. George got up immediately, took a look at her panting and the bloody knife still clutched in her hand, and asked in a dangerously quiet voice, "Who?"
"Two men," Alanna said between gasps. "They were in here earlier. One big and blond, the other medium with dark hair. Said they wanted to use 'his majesty's pet' as leverage to get a bigger cut of some job."
"Did you see which way they went?"
Alanna pointed.
"Stay here," George commanded. He then nodded to three of his men, and they all raced out the door.
The four men returned less than 10 minutes later, carrying a small bag that looked about the size of two ears. Alanna decided not to ask.
"I'm getting rusty," Alanna lamented as George walked her home. "And I need to figure out how to carry more than just that belt knife."
"I think those two men would disagree about your level of rustiness."
"Will you train with me again, like you did when I was a page? Teach me how to be more effective with knives?"
George flashed her a wolfish grin. "'T'would be my pleasure."
They walked in silence for a little while before George asked softly, "They called you my 'pet,' did they?"
Alanna nodded slowly.
"I'll lay off if you want. I'm sure you hate that. And tonight, it put you in danger."
They had reached the wall outside Eleni's home. Alanna leaned against it and looked up at George. "I can handle some danger. And I don't like the name - I am no one's 'pet!' - but I don't want you to lay off," she admitted softly.
George raised one eyebrow in an invitation for her to continue.
"Don't make me say more than that," she pleaded.
"Oh, I have every intention of makin' you say more, Lass."
"Fine." She put a hand haughtily on her hip as she had seen the other women doing when they wanted to make a point and looked into his laughing hazel eyes. "This whole situation is strange and wrong, and I should hate it, but I don't. I'm not ready for anything serious, but I like being able to spend so much time with you. I like being your favorite, and I like it when you flirt with me. Are you happy now?"
"Positively giddy." He leaned down and kissed her warmly.
Alanna responded in kind but broke it off before it could progress to anything more.
"Goodnight," Alanna said when she pulled away. "I'm going to hold you to your word about training me."
George gave her a low bow and then disappeared into the night.
