Jonathan was waiting for her when she got back to her room, reading a Bazhir scroll while lounging on her bed. He rolled it up as she entered, then looked up at her with a broad grin.
"I hear you're back to your old heroics," he said.
"I'm happy I could be of service," she responded pertly, climbing onto the bed next to him.
"You're alright?" he asked.
"Yes, Marguerite was the only one hurt, and I believe she'll make a full recovery."
Jonathan pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply, using his hands to verify for himself that she was unscathed.
"Mother was very impressed," he said when they came up for air. "She asked me what I thought of you becoming one of her ladies as a reward."
Alanna sat up straight at this.
"I actually think it could be good for you," Jonathan continued. "To get a better idea of what being queen entails."
"Jon, don't…" Alanna said, shaking her head.
Jonathan sat up himself and cupped her face with one hand. "I love you, Alanna. I've been trying to take this slow because I know it scares you, but I'll need to marry sooner rather than later-"
"Please, I don't want to have this conversation now," Alanna begged.
Jonathan sighed heavily. "Fine, but I do love you, and we will have this conversation again."
Alanna just nodded.
"And don't worry about Mother. I talked her out of it, at least for the time being. I was hoping you would accompany me to the desert."
"Of course, I want to come with you," Alanna said, grateful for the change in topic. "And I've been trying to come up with a good excuse for why I should, but I haven't been able to. From everything we've read, the Bazhir are incredibly conservative regarding how men and women behave. If they think you've brought a mistress, they may not respect you enough to let you become the Voice."
"We could bring Thom and say he just wanted his sister along," Jonathan mused.
"We could...but I'm not sure that showing up with your most powerful and least diplomatic sorcerer would give the right impression."
Jonathan set his jaw defiantly. "It should be enough that I want you with me. I shouldn't need to provide a reason to bring my former squire anywhere." Then he sighed. "We'll come up with something."
He got up and closed her partially open door before turning to her with a wide grin. "For now, allow me to demonstrate my appreciation for your loyal service."
Alanna matched his grin with her own. "As you wish, Highness."
A very pleasurable hour later, Alanna lay with Jonathan's arm wrapped securely around her.
"I love you too, Jon," Alanna said softly, breaking their companionable silence. "I may not be ready to talk about other things, but I do love you."
Jonathan tightened his arm around her. "I know, but I'm glad to hear you know it too."
"You need to hear this part," Thom said as he, Myles, Jonathan, and Alanna sat together in one of their now-ritual study sessions. He began to read aloud from the scroll:
The Nameless Ones were finally defeated in the Spring of 433 by the prophesied Night One and the Burning-Brightly One. They were, in truth, the young Northern Prince Jonathan of Conte and his servant Alan of Trebond. Almost nothing is known about how they vanquished the Nameless Ones, but since their travail, any man can safely visit the Black City and see that it is indeed empty of the evil it once held. While some know the truth, it is more commonly believed that the two young men were disguised gods who have since returned to their places in the heavens."
Alanna groaned as Thom and Myles laughed.
"The Night One and the Burning-Brightly One - I like that," Jonathan said. "We should have those names embroidered on tunics."
"Swear to me that this trip will include nothing worthy of legend?" Alanna pleaded.
"Where's the fun in that?" Thom asked.
Alanna just repeated her groan and hardened her resolve to find a way to not let Jon go without her.
Alanna was as good as her word to Annabella and told the noblewoman all about the strange turns her life had taken.
Annabella was shocked by some portions of the story but overall found it the most fascinating adventure. Yet again, Alanna found comfort in telling the whole truth. She even found herself admitting her romantic relationship with Jonathan. It hardly seemed like a big secret compared to the rest, and it was nice to talk with another woman about it. Thom knew, of course, but he was useless when it came to talking about relationships.
"So do I have the pleasure of sharing tea with our next queen?" Annabella asked mischievously.
Alanna froze for a second, and a look of terror was plain on her face before she had a chance to suppress it.
"Goddess, you really don't want that, do you?" Annabella asked.
"Jon needs to marry for the good of the realm, and that means not marrying me," Alanna said.
"You wouldn't be the most advantageous choice, but everyone knows their majesties wouldn't stop him if he wanted to marry a sufficiently high-ranking noblewoman, which you are," Annabella said.
"Their majesties know about me, though. They would never allow it."
Annabella studied her thoughtfully for a moment. "You love him, I can tell. Are you that afraid of embarrassment if you were found out? Is that what has you so frightened?"
Alanna shook her head. "I've never cared all that much about what people think of me."
"Why does marrying him scare you so much then?"
"I told you," Alanna retorted.
"Those are nice selfless-sounding excuses. I mean the real reason," Annabella pressed.
Alanna took a long sip of tea and looked at her friend. Finally, the words came out in a rush. "I don't want to be queen. I don't want to have to put on a performance all the time. I want to say what I think. I want to travel and have adventures. I want to be with Jon, but at his side with a sword, not smiling for hours on end at stuffy nobles. That sounds like torture!"
Annabella stifled a laugh and nodded in understanding. "At least you know that about yourself. Half the people in this palace can't see anything beyond power and title. And then they wonder why they're miserable."
Alanna left her time with Annabella thinking about her years in the Lower City. There was so much she missed about that life. And the girl talk made her miss Rispah and Eleni. If she missed someone else from the Lower City even more, she made her best effort not to think about him.
"Hello," Alanna greeted Eleni somewhat sheepishly the next morning.
The woman gave her a big hug and ushered her inside. "It's good to see you. No matter what my son does, you're always welcome here."
Alanna smiled in return, feeling guilty for not coming before. "I know. I've just had a lot to figure out."
"Since you are here, I've had an unexpected rush."
Alanna's smile widened. "How can I help?"
After an hour of healing, Alanna and Eleni finally had a chance to talk.
"What did you do for that last patient?" Eleni wanted to know. "I've never seen that method of treating painful joints."
Alanna explained the procedure, adding, "I've been working with Duke Baird. He's incredible, and he's taught me so much."
"I'm glad you're still healing," Eleni said.
Alanna nodded. "He also said the method you taught me for dealing with sick toddlers was ingenious."
Eleni glowed at the praise.
"I don't suppose you'll tell me about how things are going with a certain knight who keeps making house calls?"
"Not a word," Eleni said, but her genuine smile spoke volumes.
They had a pleasant conversation, and Alanna promised to return soon.
"Before you go, I have something for you," Eleni said. "I was going to send it through Myles, but since you're here."
As Alanna left, she opened the small package Eleni had given her. I contained a necklace with a long chain. The pendant was a lovely outline of the Great Mother Goddess, and upon further inspection, concealed a small knife.
A note included in the package read:
We saw this at the market, and Rispah said I had to get it for you.
When you're ready: House Azik, Dog Lane, Port Caynn
Alanna slipped on the necklace and tucked the note safely in her belt purse, trying hard to shove away any emotions it threatened to awaken in her.
"I might be leaving in a couple of weeks, but I'm not entirely sure," Alanna told Duke Baird as they sat in his office.
"What do you have planned?" the Duke asked.
"Jonathan is going on a trip, and he wants me to accompany him. Sort of making up for lost time."
Baird nodded. "And your hesitation is the optics of galloping off with the Prince?"
"Precisely."
"If it's just the two of you, I don't think that can be helped. Even if you brought a few men-at-arms as well."
"Myles is coming, so we wouldn't be completely alone," Alanna explained.
Baird was silent as he gave her an appraising look. "You're lucky that I like you," he said as he reached for a large tome on his bookshelf entitled Tortallan Law: Healing Statutes. "I was rather happy that everyone had forgotten about this - it could become an excessive drain on resources if it starts being consistently enforced, but it might solve your problem."
He paged through the book and then left it open on his desk. "You didn't learn this from me," he said and left Alanna alone with the book.
Alanna scanned through the small print, her eyes immediately starting to glaze over as she read through complicated rules about how government-sponsored healing was to be funded. Finally, something useful caught her eye:
By the Decree of King Roald IV, the law requires members of the royal family must always be accompanied by a mage who is a palace-acknowledged healer whenever they are not residing in an official royal residence.
Alanna noted the page number, closed the book, and rushed off to find Jonathan.
Author's Note - Hello! I'm popping up for the first time in 14 chapters to let you know that the healer law is actually canon. It's mentioned in "Thom's Timeline of the Realm of Tortall" in Spy's Guide, and it made me very happy when I stumbled across it a few weeks ago.
Thanks for sticking with me thus far! Reviews are always greatly appreciated. :)
