Queen Lianne had been battling a cold when Alanna returned to Chorus, so Duke Baird had been seeing her personally. But when she finally healed, Alanna was put back in charge of her care.

"Congratulations are in order!" the Queen said as Alanna walked into her room with her healer's kit.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Alanna said as she curtseyed.

"Are you...is this what you wanted?" Lianne asked gently as she searched Alanna's eyes. "Jonathan says you're happy with the match, but this seems quite a reversal from when we last talked."

"That's certainly true. It all happened so quickly, but yes, I'm very happy."

The Queen smiled at that and then said nothing for a few minutes as Alanna conducted the exam.

"I'm sorry to pry," Lianna said after Alanna finished listening to her breathing, "but I am so curious. I know there was a pardon involved and that your new husband was a commoner with some sort of relationship with my son as well being Myles' new wife's son, but Jonathan has been rather elusive."

"Jonathan and I became friends with George years ago, sort of by chance," Alanna explained as she moved on to checking Lianne's ears. "He's the one who helped me find that healing apprenticeship with Lady Eleni. That's how Myles met her - he was coming to visit me. George, um, had some dealings with the Court of Rogue - that's what the pardon was about - but he's helped Jonathan and me a number times over the years, like when we needed to break into Duke Roger's chambers to... well…."

Lianne nodded knowingly.

"But he's a good man, and he loves me, and he's one of Jon's closest friends."

The Queen sighed. "You think you know your child so well, but then you realize they have so many secrets. A female squire, a friend who's a rogue, disappearing to go become the Bazhir leader..."

"If it's any consolation, I believe those are all of the big ones," Alanna said with a smile.

"You know him better than anyone, don't you?" Lianne asked.

"I suppose I do."

Alanna was packing her bag and heading for the door when the Queen asked, "Do you still dream of being a knight? Now that you're happily married?"

Alanna smiled sadly, "I'm told I have insanity in my family, so chalk it up to that if you like, but I don't believe I'll ever give up that dream."

With that, she curtsied again and left the room.


"I need to borrow your gift for a few days," Thom said as the twins went on a walk together later that evening.

"My gift? Why?" Alanna asked.

"Experiments," Thom said.

Alanna rolled her eyes. "What kind of experiments?"

"You wouldn't really understand."

"Well, you better try to explain it to me if you want my gift."

"It's...for an advanced form of healing that only one sorcerer is thought to have ever achieved before," Thom said.

"Healing is something I do understand. Tell me more."

"It's all very esoteric and academic. I don't know how to describe it."

"Well, the healing I use my gift for is very practical and urgent, so the answer is 'no.'"

"I could just take it if I wanted," Thom said in a huff.

"I don't doubt that, but I also don't recommend it," Alanna said with a pointed look.

"Ugh, you're impossible!" Thom said. "I'll just find someone else."

"Good," Alanna snapped back.

"And don't do anything stupid," she added as an afterthought.


Two days later, George and Alanna followed Coram to Jonathan's chambers, where Jonathan and Myles were deep in conversation.

"Ah, you're here, good," Jonathan said. "We need your perspective on something."

"Always happy to provide it," George said as he and Alanna joined them at the table.

"This is strictly confidential, of course," Myles began, "but we've been hearing unsettling rumors that Tusaine may be plotting some kind of revenge."

"I guess that isn't surprising," George replied. "How reliable - and how specific - are these rumors?"

"Reliable enough to warrant concern, but almost no specifics," Myles said. "I don't suppose you still have your contact that was so helpful last time we were in this position?"

"Mayhap, I could get some of my old network back, but it would take time. I'm afraid I've tarnished my sterling reputation."

Myles and Jon laughed at that while Coram rolled his eyes from the other side of the room.

"The King is hesitant to upset the precarious-," Myles began, but Jonathan cut him off.

"Father refuses to be reasonable and wants to do nothing but wait and see."

"You have other plans?" Alanna asked.

"We have a half-baked plan, which involves the two of you," Jonathan replied. "Tusaine is hosting a big tournament next month, and they've invited representatives from every land to attend."

"You probably already know this," Myles cut in, "but this is quite customary. It's very like the one we held in Corus a few years ago. Much important diplomacy happens at these sorts of events, and the hosts have something of a homeland advantage."

"Tortall hasn't decided who to send yet," Jonathan explained, "but I'm considering volunteering. And as you know, I can't go anywhere without my healer, and it would be improper for her to come without her husband."

"If memory serves, you two cost them a war," George said, looking at Jon and Alanna. "Surely they've figured out who she is by now, knowin' what they know. Do you want to go pokin' that bear? I'd wager some tragic accident might be waitin' for you during the tournament."

Jonathan nodded, "Poking the bear is precisely what I want to do. I'm hoping it will make them sloppy and more apt to discuss any nefarious plans.

And, yes, I'm sure they would love to kill me, but they'd have to be incredibly sneaky or risk starting a war they aren't prepared for. We wouldn't be competing. We'll bring along someone else to do that. And I'll always give Alanna credit when it's due, but in this particular case, it was my actions, not hers, that cost them the war."

Jonathan turned to Alanna and continued, "I believe revealing your secret was something of a consolation prize for them - a way to take me down a peg even as they lost. I don't think they'd want to kill you. Assuming their spies have been reporting on you, I think they'd rather take the opportunity to gloat about the fact that you're so undesirable that your family married you off to an uncouth commoner who came to the nobility through his mother's feminine wiles."

"Charming," Alanna responded.

Jonathan flashing her a grin.

"Not quite how I would have phrased it," Myles said, "but that is how most nobles have been trained to think, and we can nudge that thinking to our advantage."

"So they won't expect the uncouth commoner to be particularly skilled at sneaking around and hearin' things he shouldn't?" George asked.

"That's the idea," Jonathan said." It isn't without risk for any of us, but we would be extremely cautious. Think about it, and we'll talk again tomorrow?"

Alanna and George looked at each other and conferred silently before turning back to the others.

"No need. We're in," Alanna said.

"Excellent," Jonathan replied. "I think this will be fun."


"One minor complication," Jonathan said as he joined George and Alanna a few days later. "Josiane is coming."

Alanna made a face as George crossed his arms.

"It's unavoidable," Jonathan said. "She was hoping to go even before she learned I was attending. It's a major social event as well as a diplomatic one."

"I don't think she'll harm our plans," George said. "We'll just need to be a bit more careful about what we say when she's about. And we can be mostly honest about the reasons for our concern for yours and 'Alan's sister's' safety."

Alanna nodded her agreement.

"On a brighter note, my parents agreed to let Raoul be our entrant in the tournament. So it will be the three of us, Raoul, Josiane and her companion Melody, Coram, Micah, and Keel. Have you asked Rispah yet?"

"Yes, she's in, although I don't know how well she'll pass as a lady's maid if Josiane pays any attention," Alanna said.

"Suggest she got the position through nepotism, and Jonsiane won't bat an eye," Jonathan said with a shrug.

"Is it a good idea to bring Micah and Keel? and Raoul, for that matter?" Alanna asked. "That may be unnecessarily provocative since they all had a role in the rescue."

"Once they shave their beards, I doubt Micah and Keel will even be recognized, and I doubt Roaul's involvement makes him any more of a target than any other Tortallan in the tournament. But I want men who are loyal to both you and me and who know of your significance to the Tusaine, so I believe it's worth the risk."

Alanna and George both nodded their understanding.

"So ten of us, with eight being fighters," Jonathan said. "I think that's good. We leave in two weeks."


They spent the next two weeks planning and scheming. George and Rispah learned every detail they could about the people and the layout of the Tusaine palace. Thom drilled Alanna and Jonathan on warding spells and other magical security measures. Raoul practiced his jousting, and Micah and Keel shaved.


Two weeks later, Alanna, George, and Rispah met Jonathan and the rest of the company outside of the palace stables, where a carriage awaited them.

"Do you mind if I take the bench facing forward?" Josiane asked when she saw Alanna. "I get a little queasy if I go backward for too long."

"Oh, I was going to ride…," Alanna said, gesturing toward the stables.

"On a three-day journey? Don't be silly. You'd be sore and covered and road dust. There's plenty of room for the four of us in the carriage," Josiane replied.

Alanna looked to Jonathan for rescue, but he just gave an apologetic shrug.

"Allow me to help you, my lady," Coram said, offering a hand and a wicked grin.

Alanna gave a last longing glance toward where Moonlight was stabled, then accepted Coram's hand and took a seat on the backward-facing bench in the carriage. Coram's smile turned from wicked to dashing as he provided the same service to Rispah.

"You and Prince Jonathan seem very friendly," Josiane said later that day as the carriage resumed after a short stop for lunch.

"We've become friends as I've served as his healer," Alanna replied.

"I see," Josiane said. "Have you bedded him?"

The abruptness of the question caught Alanna off guard, and she gaped for a moment as she searched for a response.

"That's a yes," Josiane said with a derisive laugh. "I've heard rumors that Jonathan got around. But you're on surprisingly good terms for former lovers. How did you manage that?"

"I never expected to be more than - well, I'm not a princess or the like - and then my brother and my new father-in-law arranged my marriage, and that was it," Alanna stammered.

Josiane nodded sagely. "We women are all just pawns in their game, aren't we? I'm glad that you're honest with yourself about it, though. Far too many women in that Court seem to have deluded themselves about their chances with Jonathan."

Alanna just smiled weakly.

"I am sorry that you got such a raw deal, getting saddled with an up-jumped commoner," Josiane continued. "Is his adoptive father rich?"

"Very," Alanna replied.

Josiane nodded understandingly again. "It's not all bad, though. I think every noblewoman I know has fantasized about being with an attractive commoner. I bet it's a completely different experience than being with a nobleman. All of the passion with none of the inhibition. Your man's face isn't all that remarkable, but those muscles! I'm sure he satisfies you in at least some ways."

Alanna felt herself turning redder and redder as Josiane talked. A quick sideways glance at Rispah told her that the other woman was having difficulty swallowing her laughter at Alanna's expense.

"Um, yes, on that front, I can't complain," Alanna finally managed.

Josiane grinned at her. "And no one can beat Prince Jonathan for looks. So we're both lucky in some ways, even though we're pawns. Neither of us will get stuck with men who are old, ugly, or poor."

Alanna considered pointing out that the Princess wasn't betrothed to Jonathan yet, but instead, she just smiled and nodded. She had been prepared to deal with whatever the Tusaines had in store for her, but she felt completely unprepared for two weeks with this petite young princess.