One night in November, Alanna was sitting with two other women admiring Rispah's beautiful new bracelet that doubled as a full set of lock-picks when a couple of thieves burst in covered in blood. Apparently, a pair of dogs did not take kindly to their master's home being invaded. Alanna got to work immediately, stopping the bleeding and patching them up the best she could.
On her next visit to the Dancing Dove, a young woman she sometimes joked with timidly asked her about an infection she had been too embarrassed to seek help for. Not twenty minutes later, a middle-aged man asked her about remedies for an old injury that never healed properly. Three more such requests followed those. A week later, a trio of young men asked if she would stay at the Dove late, just in case their job went awry.
"Not that I mind the company," George said as the midnight hour struck, "but you don't need to do this. You aren't officially a part of the Court of the Rogue, and these aren't trivial favors."
"They need the help, and I can give it," Alanna replied simply.
"Soon, everyone is going to be askin' for your help, at this rate. Your gift has its limits, which you, Mistress, are very bad at accepting. You can't say 'yes' to everyone."
Alanna considered for a moment. "Maybe if I just make myself available at predetermined times then?"
At George's skeptical look, Alanna continued quietly, "Let me do this for you, for your people. You've done so much for me for so long, and all I do is bring you more trouble."
George sat thoughtfully for a moment, gently running his hand through her hair. "Set a time then. We'll draw up a contract, and I'll pay you for it."
He put a hand over her mouth to stop her protests. "It'll make it easier to set boundaries and navigate the politics of it." He grinned at her. "And I promise to pay you far less than you're worth. Deal?"
She smiled and shook his hand. "Deal."
Alanna was drowsing on George's shoulder when the thieves finally arrived, fortunately, all in one piece. They thanked her for waiting and offered her a stolen necklace in gratitude, which she declined. They handed George his portion and dashed off to celebrate their ill-gotten gains.
"Time to get you home," George said with a yawn.
Alanna looked out into the chilly night and then back at her warm companion.
"Could I stay here tonight...with you?" She asked timidly. "We're training tomorrow morning anyway, so it wouldn't make sense for you to make the trip twice."
George brightened considerably. "As you wish, m'lady."
Myles continued his weekly tea times with Alanna, but she wondered if she was really his main reason for visiting anymore. She made a point of being far from the door when Myles was soon to arrive, and she noticed that Eleni always found an excuse to be near it. Alanna enjoyed watching their growing affection for one another, even though they still made a pretense of mere politeness whenever anyone else was present.
George was only an occasional attendee at their teas, but when he was able to join, the two men clearly enjoyed each other's company immensely.
"About 7 in 10 of the entries in my ledgers are actually quite accurate," George was explaining in response to Myles' question. "Every time I sell something, I record the sale just as it happened. And I don't just acquire things the illegal way. I've come to have a good eye for what things are worth, so when I see a bargain, I buy it and make a profit the old fashioned way. Much like I did with your Moonlight," he said with a wink for Alanna. "The best lies have an element of truth. And the local authorities are far less likely to be suspicious when you're good for a handsome tax payment when they come collectin'."
"Except that you took quite a loss on Moonlight," Alanna pointed out. "It took me a couple of years to realize it, but there's no way you got her for less than twenty gold nobles, and you only charged me ten."
George grinned. "On the contrary, that ended up being one of my most valuable dealings. Yes, she did cost me more than ten, but Jonathan gave me a ring with one of the finest sapphires I've ever seen to cover the rest of her price and Darkness's. That ring was worth at least another horse besides."
"How did I not know that?" Alanna mused.
"You were too busy admirin' the mare. And I don't think Jon wanted you to know. Don't tell him I told you."
Alanna was still processing this when Myles chuckled. "You know, there's a new political philosopher that refers to taxation as 'legalized plunder.' By his logic, I suppose your cut as rogue would also be considered a form of plunder. Institutionalized plunder, perhaps."
George grinned. "So what you're saying is when I pay taxes to the magistrate, he's plundering me on the plunder I plundered from plunderers?"
"Exactly."
The two men laughed heartily as Alanna just shook her head.
Soon Alanna had her first night of being officially employed as a healer to those sealed to the rogue. She and George agreed that she would be available to any who needed it for a few hours on the first day of every week and present to help after dangerous jobs when George deemed it necessary.
Like the first time, her second time waiting for a dangerous job to be complete was mercifully uneventful - just one deep scratch from a broken shard of glass that needed to be stitched.
"Could I stay here again?" Alanna asked George when she was done.
He nodded. "Let me finish settling up with these lads, and I'll meet you upstairs."
The last time, she and George had been truly exhausted and had immediately gone to sleep with Faithful curled up between them. This night wasn't nearly as late, and the cat was nowhere to be seen.
George came up shortly and leaned on the door frame to study her as she sat on his bed. "So, Mistress, is tonight to be another friendly sleepover where you cruelly test my self-control? Or did you have something else in mind?"
He saw deep conflict in her eyes when she finally met his gaze. "I had something else in mind, but I'm scared."
He sat down beside her, "And here I thought you were fearless."
"If only that were true."
"Tell me," he said gently.
"My father lost a piece of himself when he lost my mother. I don't believe I ever saw him whole. I promised myself once that I would never love a man because it would never be worth the loss.
Nothing about my life now is what I expected, and my future is uncertain enough. But your life is constantly in danger. One wrong step would be enough for someone to kill you. Loving you is a terrifying prospect."
He nodded in understanding as she continued, "But, gods curse you, George Cooper, you're hard to resist, and I don't think I want to resist you anymore.
"Is Alanna the heartless considering giving love a chance?"
She made a face at him. "Yes, you unprincipled pickpocket, I'm considering it. But I'm still not ready for... bah! Love is such a confusing word! It means too many things. I'm not ready for that kind of love, the forever kind, but I think I'm ready for the...other, less serious kind. Does that make sense?"
"I think so." He stroked her hair thoughtfully for a moment before taking her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "I want that kind of love from you, Alanna, no matter how uncertain the future may be. But as I've told you before, I'm a patient man. For now, I'm content to take what you're willing to give. More than content, in fact," he added with a grin. "I won't push farther than you're willing to go."
She gave him a sincere look of gratitude before returning his grin. She slid into his lap and looped her arms around his neck. "Alright then, king of thieves, I'm yours. Do your worst."
"As my lady commands."
Alanna very quickly decided that she preferred Geoge's warm bed to her own and spent the night with him every excuse she got. For his part, George had never been happier.
Jonathan was more distant than usual during their training session the first time he saw them arrive together at Eleni's early in the morning, but he didn't seem surprised.
All was well until one morning in January. While working for Eleni, Alanna opened the door to find Duke Roger standing on the threshold.
"Welcome," she said, raising her voice an octave and praying she didn't sound like herself. "Please come in."
He followed her in, studying her intently.
"What can I help you with today?" She asked, as cheerily as she could.
He smirked and continued to appraise her. "You've already helped me a great deal. I wondered why my cousin was sneaking off to the city early in the morning so often. Now I know."
He lifted a lock of her brown hair and examined it. "This is good work. I wouldn't have recognized you had I only been passing you on the street."
"I'm not sure what you mean, my Lord," Alanna said in her still falsely high voice.
"I thought we were done playing games with each other, Alan. You were quite blunt at our last meeting. Or, what is your real name again?"
"Ella," she said stubbornly, but back in her typical pitch. "Last time I was blunt with you, I ended up being captured not more than an hour later."
The Duke continued to smirk. "Quite the unfortunate coincidence, that."
"What are you doing here?" Alanna asked flatly.
"Just what I said. I wanted to see what my cousin was up to, leaving so early and then coming back looking flushed all those mornings. I was expecting a girl. There had to be some reason he had stopped...well, I admit, I wasn't expecting you. You are attractive enough, though, dressed as you should be. And I suppose you never were one to go quietly."
"I just couldn't stand being so far away from you," she said with mock sweetness.
"Ha! I have to give you credit - I pride myself on being very rarely surprised, and you've managed to surprise me more times than I care to admit. I'll have to make a point of not letting it happen again.
So what is it you and my cousin get up to here?"
"Sparring, my Lord."
"Sparring. Is that what the young people are calling it these days?"
Alanna shrugged, "It's what a knight typically does with his squire, isn't it?"
"Poor Squire Alan," Roger taunted. "You made it so far only for a torn shirt to give you away. You know, my offer of friendship stands. I'm impressed in spite of myself, and I can still give you everything you want in exchange for a few favors."
"My answer hasn't changed," Alanna said coldly.
"Pity. Well, let me know if you decide you want to be more than just a common healer and the prince's 'sparring' partner."
"Pigs might fly."
"Good day to you then."
Alanna sat down heavily in a chair. Her time as a squire may be over. Her tangle with the Duke was not.
