"I'm sure I was close the last couple tries, but I'm just getting drained," Jonathan said in frustration as his shielding spell again failed to take form.
"As far as I can tell, you're doing it right. Maybe it is just a power issue," Thom mused. "Alanna, try giving him a boost."
Alanna and Raoul stopped their sparring and walked over.
"You should keep sparring with me while you do it. Then maybe I'll actually have a chance to beat you!" Raoul said.
"My money's still on her," Jonathan said. "She was feeding me power while she defeated one of the Ysandir with her sword."
Raoul swore as Alanna grinned. She called up her gift and gave Jonathan her left hand while she hefted Lighting in her right.
"Just don't accidentally slice me in the process," Jonathan said, taking her hand and intermingling their gifts.
Alanna and Raoul resumed their fight while squabbling about Raoul cheating by moving around when Alanna couldn't.
Suddenly, Raoul sprang back when his sword hit on an invisible barrier as he swung at Alanna. Alanna's intended parry instead met with thin air where Raoul's blade should have been, and she stumbled forward, pulling an intensely concentrating Jonathan into her, causing both of them to fall.
"It worked!" Jonathan said triumphantly from the ground.
"What was that?" Raoul asked.
"An invisible shield that allows those inside to penetrate it, but not those outside," Thom explained.
"Handy," Raoul said approvingly as he offered his hand to Alanna to help her up, "We'll call that one a draw."
"We could finish," Alanna offered.
"Nope, I'm going to quit while I'm ahead. And Jon looks like he wants to try again."
Jonathan, now back on his feet himself, reached out his hand expectantly. She took his hand and gave it a small squeeze. This time, she used her right hand to grip the ember stone as she watched in fascination as a blueish purple bubble appeared around her and her prince.
"May I join you, Lord Thom?" Delia practically purred as Thom and Alanna sat in the Great Hall eating lunch together.
"We'd be honored, Lady Delia," Thom replied immediately.
Alanna finished her meal in record time as Thom and Delia made small talk and then started discussing the magic Thom was teaching Jonathan.
Alanna excused herself as fast as she could, leaving the two of them alone.
"You can't seriously be interested in her, can you?" Alanna asked Thom later that afternoon.
Thom smirked, "No. She's attractive enough, but I really can't be bothered with courtships just now. I did learn, however, that she used to be close to Duke Roger."
"All the more reason to avoid her," Alanna said tartly.
"Think of what secrets he likely left behind! The sweating sickness was a work of art. - I mean awful," he clarified at Alanna's glower, "but truly masterful work. I'm dying to get my hands on anything of his. Delia might be the key to getting it."
Alanna and Annabella were playing cards in the garden a few days later when Jonathan ambled by.
"Lady Annabella, Lady Alanna," he greeted with a courtly bow.
"Your Highness," the two women responded, bowing their heads respectfully in turn.
As he passed, Jonathan tugged playfully at Alanna's braid.
"Careful," Alanna said. "Sometimes I conceal blades in there to discourage just that kind of thing."
"I've been duly warned," Jon said warmly and then continued on his way.
Annabella looked back and forth between her new friend and the retreating prince several times. "Really?" she finally managed.
"Oh, um, yes," Alanna replied. "I was attacked once. The man grabbed my hair. It's okay, I got away, but I developed an interest in concealed self-defense items. It sort of became a hobby."
"Do you actually braid blades into your hair?" Annabella asked, still incredulous.
"Not recently," Alanna said with a smile.
"You seem awfully friendly with Prince Jonathan," Annabella said.
"He and Thom have decided it's very convenient to have a healer around when they try the more dangerous magic, so I have been spending a lot of time with him."
"Have they actually injured themselves that often?"
"No, and I'm not sure how much help I would be if something did go terribly wrong, but there was one day when they both got a little singed. I'm not entirely sure why they felt the need to see who could make the biggest fireball, but they were glad to have me around that day."
Annabella laughed. "Doesn't matter how old, how important, or how powerful, they're all still little boys at heart."
She studied Alanna for a moment before adding, "It seems like your life has gone from very dull to very exciting almost overnight. I'm impressed at how well you're handling it."
Alanna shrugged. "It's been a trade for the better. Now, if only I could get life to be a bit duller in the way of suitors, life would be perfect."
"Someday, one of those suitors is going to sweep you right off your feet, and you won't even know what hit you."
Alanna snorted a laugh. "If you say so, Annabella."
"Alanna, you should actually accept this invitation," Thom said when Alanna arrived back in her room after her time with Annabella.
Alanna gave her brother a dubious look before reading the card he handed her.
Lady Alanna,
I was a close friend of your brother Alan. I was so sorry to hear about his accident and his passing. I have just returned from border patrols, and I would like to make your acquaintance. Would you join me for the string concert in three days?"
- Sir Alexander of Tirragen
"He was Roger's squire," Alanna said slowly.
"Yes, exactly. And one of your friends, right? You should take him up on his offer."
"We were friends...until he almost killed me while we were dueling once. That was just before we went to the Drell. He broke my collarbone and might have done worse if not for Faithful."
"Well, there won't be any swords at the concert. And bring Faithful along again. Everyone has easily believed that you adopted your brother's cat, right?"
"Your concern for my well-being is truly heartwarming."
"Aren't you curious if he knows your secret?" Thom wheedled.
"I hadn't thought of that. Roger might have told him, but maybe not," she mused.
"Good, then it's settled. You'll go and learn his secrets while not revealing any of yours."
Alanna sighed as she went to her desk to write a response.
Alex and Alanna spent a perfectly cordial evening trying and failing to learn anything of value from each other. They shared pleasant memories of Alan, but Alanna feigned sadness whenever they got close to anything too revealing. Similarly, Alex made it clear he was ashamed that he hadn't figured out what Duke Roger was up to and didn't want to talk about the man. The topic of their ill-fated duel never came up.
Jonathan could provide no additional insight. He and Alex had started to grow apart as squires, and their friendship cooled further when Myles warned Jonathan about what Alex had tried to do to his squire. The prince didn't know if Roger had told anyone her secret or not. However, Jonathan did shoot a handful of jealous glances their way throughout the concert, which Alanna had to admit she enjoyed.
A week later, Jonathan summoned Myles, Alanna, and Thom to his rooms, where five large bundles of scrolls awaited them.
"Have you turned scholar on us?" Myles asked.
"No," Jonathan replied. "That's why I need you three."
The prince picked up the closest scroll. "This is a complete written record of the history of the Bazhir, which I requested six years ago on our trip to the desert. And I need to read through it rather quickly because apparently, their Voice of the Tribes has chosen me as his successor."
"The Voice of the Tribes? I've heard of him," Thom said excitedly. "The power he wields is unlike anything else - he communicates with tens of thousands of people all at once as if he's speaking with them individually. The Masters had no idea how it was possible. It was one of the great conundrums students like to ponder during late nights."
"And they want you to be this Voice?" Alanna asked.
"Your confidence in me is truly inspiring, Alanna," Jon said sarcastically.
"I didn't mean-" Alanna started.
"I know," Jonathan interrupted with a smile. "I had the same reaction. But it does make some sense. We've had an uneasy peace at best with the Bazhir for a long time. If they don't accept my eventual rule, there will be bloodshed. This is a way to prevent it. And because of our victory over the Ysandir, they may even accept me, outsider that I am."
"It would be something truly historical if you could achieve it," Myles said thoughtfully. "How can we help?"
"I'd like to leave for the desert in a month's time. That means I need to get through all of this in a month. So I wanted my history teacher, the resident magical expert, and the person I always relied on to help with my history assignments to help me go through it. Would you all take notes and give me the high points?"
Myles and Thom both looked at the scrolls like much-desired midwinter gifts, while Alanna looked a little overwhelmed.
"Where do we begin?" Myles asked.
They opened the first bundle, and after some quick scanning, Myles took the politics-heavy scrolls, Thom the ones more focused on magic, Alanna the battles. Jonathan planned to dedicate himself to the bundle that was purely dedicated to the history of the Voice.
Myles and Thom quickly left to get started, leaving Alanna alone with Jonathan.
"Are you sure you want this?" she asked, looking at the remaining stacks of scrolls.
"I'm not sure of anything, but I'm intrigued. Solving the problem of tensions with the Bazhir would be invaluable. And to be honest, I'm getting restless. Father isn't ready to delegate anything to me, and my education is essentially complete. Now I just attend parties and meetings and wait until the day I'll be needed. I need a new challenge."
"And your new challenge involves giving your secret lover mounds of homework?"
"That it does."
He kissed her then handed her a scroll.
The weather was lovely, and Alanna decided to escape scrolls and healing to go on a ride with Annabella. When they got to the stables, they found that many other people had the same idea, including Queen Lianne.
"Lady Alanna, Lady Annabella, you should join us," the Queen invited.
"We would be delighted, Your Majesty," Annabella responded.
Lianne was attended by three of her ladies and two men at arms, and they shared a charming picnic at a scenic spot by a nearby lake. Alanna listened comfortably to other women's' talk and only chimed in occasionally. She still felt a nagging sense of fear in situations like this that she would give herself away, even though the conversation wasn't that much different from what her male friends might discuss.
Their path home led them through the forest, and they were all silent as they took in the surrounding woods and the crisp perfection of the waning afternoon.
Without warning, a large wild boar charged out of the woods, running straight at them. Alanna went for her ankle sheath, thanking the goddess that she was wearing it. She began throwing her knives at the beast. The first missed, but the second went straight through his right eye. This enraged the beast as Alanna kept throwing. The third stuck into his side. The fourth hit its mark right in the throat.
Even so, his momentum sent him crashing into one of the Queen's ladies' horses. One of the men at arms hopped off of his own horse to finish it off, but the boar was clearly already downed. Alanna dismounted from her own horse to see to Margarite, the woman whose horse had fallen.
"Horse..went down...hard...on my...leg," she groaned out while in obvious pain.
"Hold still," said Alanna. She could tell the leg was broken just by its strange angle. "I'm going to have to straighten your leg, which will hurt even more for a moment, but then it'll start to feel better."
The woman nodded and did her best to stifle her cry of agony as Alanna gingerly moved the leg. Then Alanna unfurled her gift and began quieting the nerve endings in the woman's leg, then slowly started coaxing the bone back together.
Most of their party watched Alanna and Margarite, but the Queen quietly instructed the man at arms to remove the blades from the boar. Annabella took in the whole scene, still in shock over the swiftness of at all.
"It's broken in two places," Alanna said finally. "You'll heal, but it will take time. For now, you should be able to ride back without too much pain, but we should travel very slowly to avoid as much jarring as possible."
When they finally made it back to the stables, the Queen drew Alanna aside.
"Thank you, Alanna. Your quick action saved us from what could have been much worse than a broken leg." She handed Alanna her knives back, wrapped in her handkerchief. "Perhaps the Great Mother led you to ride with us today."
"I'm glad I could be of service, My Queen," Alanna said while bobbing a curtsy.
Lianne put a gentle hand on her shoulder then went back to attending Margarite.
"I need wine," Annabella announced to Alanna. "Lots of wine."
Several glasses of wine later, they sat on the balcony attached to Annabella's chamber talking and laughing.
"Do you remember when Lord Matthew slew that boar, and he brought the head into the Great Hall?"
"Yes!" Alanna said. "It was still bloody, and the head cook came out and railed at him for...oh."
Alanna trailed off as she saw the look of triumph and accusation on Annabella's face.
"I mean, my brother told me about that," Alanna tried.
"No," Annabella said. "You were there. And you were the one I danced with all those years ago. Don't try to tell me otherwise. You talk to the prince like you're old friends, and normal noble ladies don't have knives strapped to their ankles or in their hair. You can trust me, but I want to know the truth. Who are you really?"
Alanna studied the girl for a moment before sighing. "I am Lady Alanna of Trebond. Alan was the lie. I will tell you more, but later, when I've had less of this," she said, dangling her wine cup.
"Fair enough," Annabella agreed. "Your secret's safe with me."
