George was thoroughly amused when Alanna and Rispah recounted their conversation with Josiane to him later that night.
"How am I going to survive another two days in that coach with her?" Alanna lamented.
"Think of it as an opportunity," Rispah said. "Play her game; use it to your advantage."
"What?" Alanna asked.
"Rispah's right," George said. "Think like a courtier, not a warrior. This lass is anglin' to be Jon's queen. If she should be queen, you'll want a good relationship. If she shouldn't, you'd be doing Jon a service if you figure that out. Then you can talk him out of this one like you talked him out of the last one."
"That girl woulda been a disaster," Rispah agreed with a grin. "We're all in your debt."
Alanna rolled her eyes. "But I don't know how to have a normal conversation with a princess, much less wheedle out her darkest secrets."
"She's not so different from the women of the court of the rogue," Rispah said. "She's just more refined and filtered about it. Just relax. Gossip. Complain about men. She was clearly dyin' for information about Jonathan. Give it to her - don't make that face. Not state secrets, just stories that Alanna woulda heard from Alan about his page days."
George nodded and added, "Everyone likes to talk about themselves. Ask her what she wants to do as queen. She wants to make an ally of you. It won't be as hard as you're makin' it."
"Alright, I'll try," Alanna agreed.
"That's my girl," George said. "Now, Rispah, if you'll excuse us, I've a sacred duty to my fellow common-born men to be my passionate and uninhibited best for my highborn lady."
"I knew I would regret telling you that," Alanna said, even as she slid towards his waiting arms.
Rispah gave them a lusty wink and went off to find Coram.
Talking to Josiane was easier than Alanna had thought when she tried what George and Rispah had suggested the following day. They spoke about how Tortall differed from the Copper Isles and shared confusion over Jonathan's dislike of apples. They talked about how Lianne would be an unusually kind mother-in-law and how boring it was to sit for intricate hairstyles. Alanna even gossiped maliciously about Delia and was pleased to see that Josiane hung on her every word. She didn't learn anything especially useful about the princess, but that day went by much quicker than the last.
That night, after tossing and turning for an hour, Alanna slipped quietly out of bed, being careful not to wake George. She found a comfortable spot leaning against a tree just outside and took a seat.
Not five minutes later, Jonathan joined her.
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked her.
She shook her head.
"I couldn't either."
They sat in silence, staring out into the peaceful evening for several minutes before Alanna sighed. "I'm not sure why, but it's only just now sunk in that we're going to see the men responsible for ruining everything. I spent so long cursing them bitterly and wishing things had been different. 'If only they hadn't taken me. If only Hilam hadn't grabbed me like that. If only I'd resisted the urge to taunt him.'"
Jonathan nodded. "Me too. If only I had gotten there a few minutes earlier, made one fewer stop for water, or found some way to keep the bastards quiet on our return."
Jonathan laughed humorlessly. "I was just thinking about how strange that it could be one of the best and worst days of my life. I won the war and became a hero to my people but lost the very squire I risked so much to rescue."
Alanna nodded. "Maybe it was good for me, too. It's hard not to cling to the idea that I'd be a celebrated knight right now, but who knows? Maybe I actually would have been paralyzed in a rockslide on the way home if we hadn't been sent off early."
"Maybe we wouldn't have caught Roger in time," Jonathan added.
"Maybe something would have happened to our friendship with George," Alanna said.
"Maybe I would have taken you for granted and done something stupid, and you wouldn't even be talking to me now," Jonathan said.
"Oh, yes, definitely that one," Alanna said with a grin.
"For what it's worth, I'm sure the Tusaines' regret sessions are much worse than ours," Jonathan pointed out. "If only we had left that damned squire alone, had delegated instead of talking to her ourselves, hadn't let our guard down inside our own camp."
Alanna nodded. "That's what we're hoping to exploit, right?"
"Indeed."
They were quiet again for another stretch before Jonathan said, "You will be a knight someday, I swear it, just as long as you and I can outlive my parents."
"That could be a very long time."
"It could, but that'll make you that much more of a legend. You can be the first knight to ever have their grandchildren attend their knighting ceremony. You'll be famous throughout the land as Sir Grandmother."
Alanna laughed. "Is that supposed to be comforting?"
"No, just amusing. But we should try to get some sleep. We may have to work hard at that 'staying alive' bit this week."
Jonathan helped Alanna up, and they both headed back to their rooms.
They arrived at the Tusaine palace in the late afternoon the following day.
They were granted three rooms in the main complex and offered space in the barracks for Micah, Keel, and Coram, but all three men opted to stay with Jonathan as they had planned.
While Josiane and Melody settled into their own room, the Tortallans began their security preparations. Rispah and George checked over every inch of the remaining two rooms for trap doors or other surprises while Alanna scanned the room for magic with her ember stone. She found listening spells but nothing more. Jonathan and Alanna countered the listening spells in the room Alanna, George, and Rispah would share while leaving Jonathan's room alone.
Finally, they dressed for dinner and prepared to face their old foes on a very different sort of battlefield.
"Her highness Princess Josiane and Lady Melody of the Copper Isles. His Highness Prince Jonathan and Lord Raoul, Lord George, and Lady Alanna of Tortall," the Herald announced as the nobles entered.
The whole room went quiet as all eyes went to Jonathan as he entered with Josiane on his arm.
"Cousins," a man who must have been King Ain greeted them, "Welcome to my Court. I am glad we can join in peace on this auspicious occasion."
"We thank you for your hospitality," Jonathan responded. "May the gods bless our time together."
Alanna tried to look forward and remain impassive, but her eyes strayed to the man sitting next to King Ain. Duke Hilam's eyes met hers, and a look of derision passed over his face before he schooled his features back to a carefully neutral expression. Alanna was grateful for George's steadying presence by her side and even more grateful that Count Jemis was nowhere to be seen.
When the food and drink were served, Raoul insisted on acting as cupbearer to Alanna and the Prince, sampling their food and wine before they did to ensure it was free from poison. He wasn't showy about it, but he didn't try to hide it either. Coram had also volunteered to perform this service, but he wasn't allowed near the nobles' table during the feast.
"This is very well attended," Josiane said quietly as she scanned the other tables around them.
"That's Prince Ozorne, the future Emperor of Carthak. And that's Princess Thayet of Sarain. Ha! Look at her trying to act like everything is normal, as if her land weren't in the middle of a bloody civil war. I hope she doesn't think she's going to find a husband here. Oh, and there's my brother Hazarin. I'll have to go see him after the feast."
"Who is that lady next to the Sarain princess?" Alanna asked.
A young woman with golden brown skin and thick brown hair sat next to Princess Thayet. Alanna guessed that she couldn't have been more than fifteen, and her attire made her look more ready for battle than for the ball that was to follow dinner. And she was clearly armed.
"That's Thayet's servant and protector or something. She's not really a noble, so they must have made a special exception for her to attend the feast."
As Josiane and the Tortallans watched, the young women took a sip from the princess's goblet that a passing server had just refilled before placing it back in front of the princess.
"Looks like they're just as paranoid as you," Josiane observed.
"With good reason," Raoul said, "if the reports of the brutality of that war are to be believed."
Josiane shook her head. "Imagine letting a young teenage girl act as guard to your princess. No wonder that country is a shambles!"
Jon, George, and Raoul all eyed Alanna nervously, fearing an outburst, but Alanna's attention was still fixed on the young woman.
"Don't count her out," Jonathan said warmly. "Alanna's brother saved me several times before he even turned sixteen."
Josiane looked for a second like she wanted to argue, but then she quickly slipped back into her gracious princess persona, smiled, and squeezed Jonathan's hand instead. "He was very brave," she said blandly.
Alanna bumped her knee gently against Jonathan's to communicate her gratitude before tearing her eyes from the younger woman and focusing on her food.
George remained quiet and sullen throughout the meal and made minor errors in etiquette like using the wrong fork and being slow to raise his goblet during the formal toast. He looked to any casual observer like a commoner dressed up in fine clothes who was immensely uncomfortable at such a feast. His only tells to the contrary were his sharp eyes on anyone who approached the group and his left hand that rested comfortably on Alanna's thigh under the table.
When the meal was over, everyone was ushered into a brightly lit ballroom. Jon and Josiane, Raoul and Melody, and George and Alanna partnered up and headed to the dance floor. As the others glided gracefully around them, George and Alanna bumbled through the steps and made copious mistakes. They tried to look annoyed with each other but almost burst out laughing on more than one occasion.
"I've done my duty, alright? I'm not goin' to humiliate myself with this anymore," George said loudly enough for several people to hear and then scuttled out of the ballroom.
Alanna huffed a loud sigh, and Raoul gallantly asked her to dance while Josiane and Melody gave her pitying looks.
George went back to their room but stayed only long enough to meet up with Rispah and change into servant's garb before heading back towards the palace.
Back in the ballroom, after several dances with Raoul and Jon, Alanna went looking around for the Sarain delegation. Instead, she came face to face with the man she hated most in the world.
"Lady Alanna, is it? May I have this dance?" Jem asked as he bowed and offered her his hand.
"I don't believe we've been introduced," Alanna said tartly, curtsying as shallowly as she dared and taking his hand.
"That's not true, is it, my lady? Well, not by our proper names, I suppose." He led her to the dancefloor as he talked. "I am Count Jemis, at your service."
"Oh, yes, I've heard of you," Alanna said coldly. "I'm told I have you to thank for Tortall's decisive victory at the Drell."
"Perhaps. But for a certainty, I am to thank for your brother's sudden misfortune. My deepest condolences, by the way."
"You're too kind," Alanna said, working hard to keep her voice even.
Alanna had known this would be difficult, but his words combined with his hands on her body were almost too much to bear. She tried to focus on the steps of the dance instead.
"How nice that Prince Jonathan is keeping you close. And your husband seems like a delight - a perfect match for a woman of your poise and beauty," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Alanna swallowed hard. Good, that was what he is supposed to think, she reminded herself. "Will Dain of Melor be here this evening?" she asked. "I'm afraid he didn't enjoy our last dance. I should make it up to him."
"I'm not sure, but you know who definitely won't be here? Big Thor. Such a shame about him too."
That was a blow Alanna had not been expecting. "You are a murder, and you deserve every humiliation we dealt you," Alanna said, barely managing to keep her voice down.
She broke from his hold and walked briskly off the dance floor, shaking with fury. She grabbed a glass of water from a passing server and leaned against the wall breathing deeply to master her rage.
"Is that leg sheath even accessible under a skirt that full?" a voice asked from behind her.
Alanna turned to find the young woman from Sarain looking at her with genuine curiosity.
Alanna knew she should probably lie or steer the conversation differently, but right now, she just didn't want to.
"Not easily, but better to be cumbersomely armed than not at all. We can't all be as openly armed as you," Alanna said pointedly.
The girl just nodded.
"Sarain allows female warriors?" Alanna asked, her curiosity overpowering her anger for the moment.
"Not usually, but my people, the K'Miri, have clung to our traditions zealously enough that those in power tolerate it."
"How did you know about my leg sheath?" Alanna asked.
"I could make out the outline when your dress pulled tight as you danced. Are those customary for noblewomen in your land?"
"No. I'm just more paranoid than most. It isn't supposed to be that easy to see."
The young woman shrugged. "I notice things others don't."
Just then, Jonathan and Thayet swept towards them as the song ended. They thanked each other politely and turned away. Jonathan offered Alanna his arm, and they walked to a quieter part of the room.
"Mithros, she's pretty!" Jon said, "But Josiane is right about that realm being a bloodbath right now." He glanced around to make sure they were alone. "How did it go with Jem? Are you alright?"
She recounted their conversation, and they lingered for a few more songs before finally convincing Josiane it was time to go.
