Dearest Alanna,
I hope this letter finds you well. I'm very pleased to tell you that I have officially passed the written exams for Mastery. All that remains now is the oral exams and the Ordeal of Mastery. If all goes according to plan, I will be done by midwinter. I plan to come to Court immediately after, as you asked.
I am formally requesting you to join me. Coram keeps pestering me about finding you opportunities to live as a noble, and I think he may be right. You should at least give it a try.
I thought we could be officially presented to the Court together as brother and sister when I arrive, and you can experience what it's like being Lady Alanna for a little while. If you hate it, you can always leave, but it would be nice to spend some time together after so many years apart.
All my love,
Thom
Alanna read the letter then handed it to George, who had delivered it to her moments before. He read it and then refolded it carefully, his face revealing nothing.
"Do you think I should do it?" Alanna asked quietly.
He studied her carefully for a moment before answering, "I think you should give up on being a noble, wed me- no," he said as Alanna would have interrupted. "You asked my opinion, so you're going to get it. You should fully embrace your life as Ella, wed with me, and become a great healer in your own right. Otherwise, you're going to keep makin' yourself miserable wishin' for a life that isn't coming back."
Alanna sat silently, considering. "I'm not ready to close that door yet."
"You can't stay split between two worlds forever, Lass."
"I know, I know. I just need more time to figure things out."
"I think it's an excellent idea," Jonathan said. "There is much more to being a noblewoman than clothes and courtships, and I'm sure your brother wouldn't force you to go to all the balls and parties the way I did."
"You really were the worst that way," Alanna said matter-of-factly.
"And I make no apologies. All part of the unparalleled delights of being my squire," he said with a grin. "But seriously, you may find it's not quite so awful as you imagine, and it would be good to have you back in the palace. I'll do what I can to help you prepare if that's what you decide."
"Prepare?"
"The proper curtsies, dancing like a girl, how to dress for different occasions, that sort of thing."
"Are you an expert in proper curtsies now?"
"No," Jonathan said with a smile, "but I can get you books of etiquette, and I can help you practice dancing as the follower."
"I hadn't considered that," Alanna said grimly. "Maybe I should just join the thieves. They have far less etiquette to observe."
"Nonsense. They have their own rules, only they don't bother to write them down in helpful books. Don't let this deter you - you really should at least see what it's like before you write it off."
"Why can't you just skip straight to whatever it is you wanted to be doing in the first place?" Rispah asked as she braided an extremely sharp metal comb into Alanna's hair. "Do you need someone's permission to go off and do great deeds and serve your Prince?"
"I need the credibility," Alanna explained. "If I'm a knight, it means the crown trusts me, so other people will trust me too. If I'm just a heavily armed woman traveling alone...I don't know what people will think, but it won't be positive. It's hard to do great deeds and help people if I have to spend all my time convincing them that I'm not completely mad, dangerous, or both."
"Aren't you, though?" Rispah asked with a grin as she finished the braid.
Alanna grabbed the braid gingerly and was pleased to find that the comb's spikes concealed within prevented her from getting a good hold. "I'm mad, certainly. Dangerous, when necessary. That's why I need all the help I can get."
Rispah laughed, "Well if all else fails, I think you and I could have a very bright future in the novelty weapons business."
Alanna looked at her hair in the mirror and was pleased to see no trace of the comb. "You aren't wrong," she said with a smile.
A week later, Alanna was helping a young woman at the Dancing Dove with a sprained ankle.
"Are knives actually helpful?" The girl asked as she noticed Alanna's arm sheath peeking out from under her sleeve. "I heard that a male attacker can easily get the knife away from you, and then he has a knife, and you're worse off than when you started."
"That certainly can be true. You have to know what you're doing and be willing to do it - cutting through flesh at close range is not for the faint of heart. George has been teaching me how to use them effectively, though."
"You're so lucky," the girl sighed, then winced as Alanna readjusted the ankle. "His majesty really is the full package, isn't he? He's smart and funny, rich obviously, and treats people well as long as they play by the rules. I mean, he isn't much to look at, not like his friend Johnny. But Johnny's out of our league. You can just tell he's loaded, and with that face, I'm sure his family is trying to get him wed to some noblewoman whose family needs the money. That's gotta be why he spends so much time with those knights. But a girl can dream, right?"
Alanna just smiled as she finished applying her gift to the ankle. Then she glanced over at George, who caught her looking and winked.
"Ugh, see what I mean? What more could you want?"
A month later, Alanna was no closer to a decision when Myles came with some bad news. The Queen was quite ill. Jonathan didn't come to their training sessions after that, and Myles explained that the Prince spent much of his time at his Mother's bedside.
Alanna started writing encouraging notes or sending small gifts back with Myles when he left their teas, hoping to lift Jonathan's spirits. He rarely sent a reply, but Myles encouraged her to continue, saying he believed Jonathan had started to look forward to them each week. Eleni quipped that they would make a gentlewoman of her yet if she had mastered the art of such genteel letter writing.
Three months later, Jonathan finally returned to the city and called on her one afternoon at Eleni's.
"Mother is in bad shape. Every once in a while, she'll have a few good days, but then she relapses. Baird has been able to help ease the symptoms, but the cause seems to baffle him."
"I'm so sorry," Alanna said. "I wish there was something I could do."
"That's what I came to see you about. Will you see if there's anything you can do for her?"
"I've seen what Duke Baird is capable of. He's far, far ahead of me when it comes to healing. I don't know what I could do that he wouldn't have already done."
"You healed me," Jon said quietly. "When no one else could."
"That's because the sweating sickness drained all of the other healers, and even then, the gods did...something to help us."
"Then maybe they'll help again."
Alanna looked at the desperation in her Prince's eyes. "If you can get me to her, I'll do my best, but it's a long shot."
"Thank you! I'll figure out the details of getting you to her, but thank you!"
Alanna watched him go, chewing her lip worriedly.
Three days later, Alanna met Jon at a side entrance to the palace late at night, wearing a maid's uniform that Jonathan had pilfered for her. She carried a stack of linens, and Jon led her to the Queen's bedside without anyone batting an eye.
The Queen was sleeping fitfully. Alanna started by using some of her gift to draw the Queen into a deeper sleep to ensure she wouldn't wake. Alanna examined her with her gift and saw signs of symptoms but not a cause. She probed a little deeper, but still nothing. Finally, she stepped back and gripped the ember stone as she tried to think of something else to do.
Suddenly the Queen glowed a pale orange all over with a bit of purple around her temples. Alanna stole a glance and Jonathan, who didn't appear to have noticed anything. She let go of the ember stone, and the glow disappeared. She tried this experiment three times over, and every time, the ember stone revealed the same orange glow along with her own purple-colored sleeping spell. She quietly signaled to Jonathan that it was time to go.
Two days later, Alanna, Jonathan, Myles, and George sat around Eleni's kitchen table.
"I'm sure it's magic. There's no other explanation. And I know what I saw," Alanna said.
"What color is Baird's gift?" Jonathan asked. "Maybe it was some kind of healing spell left on her."
"Dark green," Alanna responded. "I saw it many times at the Drell."
"One of the healers in his crew then?" Jonathan ventured.
"Stop ignoring' what's right in front of you," George said. "Who do you know has orange magic?"
"Roger wouldn't do this," Jon said definitely.
"She is one of three people standing between him and the throne," Myles said reasonably.
"So he has an orange gift and a possible motive. That's hardly significant evidence," Jon shot back.
"Then let's weigh what else we know," Alanna said gently. "You've heard the speculation that the sweating sickness seemed unnatural, and the last person to become ill was also one of the three people in line for the throne. Then he dared you to go after the Ysandir, and it's a miracle that we survived."
Jonathan set his jaw as Alanna continued, "I told you about my conversation with him right before I was captured by the Tusaines."
"And he was only too pleased to be rid of Alan, your most ardent protector," Myles added.
"That's still not hard evidence," Jonathan insisted.
"No, he's too smart for that," Alanna agreed. "But are you willing to let us look for evidence, at least?"
Jonathan looked at the set faces of his companions before he relented. "What did you have in mind?
