|
Fanfic
|
|
Alanna's Dominion
Lady Alanna
Chapter Six: Setting Off and Maggur's Thoughts
Lady Alanna straightened, trying to work out the stiff spot in her back. They had been riding since dawn, and she was getting sore.
"Are we going to stop for mid-day?" Numair asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Get used to the road, mage," Gary teased, knowing that Numair spent as much time traveling as he did. "We're soldiors, hand picked by our dear Alanna, and we don't have to eat at every opportunity!"
"But we like to!" Raoul commented. His ruddy face was tired and pale. Alanna could sympathize. She felt as weary as he looked.
"I'm fair tired, myself. I wouldn't say no to a nap," Daine said, smiling at the lanky mage.
"We'll stop soon," Alanna said, grateful for an excuse not to bring it up on her own.
"Good. I'm famished," Neal remarked to no one in particular. Alanna laughed inwardly.
Their partial squad continued a bit longer before stopping to eat. Alanna dismounted and sat down on a log near the place where Numair was going to start a fire.
"How are you faring, Lioness?" The woman looked up Keladry stood next to her. Alanna winced at the girl's height.
"Poorly," the older woman said. "I'm tired, I miss my children, and I am sick of this confounded war. But no, Jon has to keep sending me off on these idiotic missions. I just want to go home!" She sagged, shoulders slumped.
"It has to be done, Lady. It's nice that his majesty finds you capable of such important duties, isn't it?" Kel asked, hazel eyes fixed on Alanna. The Lioness had to bite her lip to stop from snapping at the younger knight.
"Yes, I suppose it is," she said, watching Neal and Numair argue over the soup they were preparing. The two woman sat in silence as they waited for their meal.
"Soup, Lady Knight?" Neal asked her, holding out a spoon and steaming bowl.
"Yes, thank you Neal," she told her former squire. The man bowed mockingly.
"You're more than welcome, Lioness," he teased, taking a seat next to Kel. George sat on Alanna's other side, while Raoul, Gary, Daine, and Numair sat on the ground next to him.
"Eat your vegetables, they're good for you," Kel told Neal. The other knight rolled his eyes.
Alanna took a mouthful of soup, sighing as the hot liqued slipped down her throat. It filled her with welcomed, renewed strength.
"Are we ready?" she asked Numair as he doused the fire with his gift.
"Stormwing," Daine said unexpectedly, squinting up at the cloudless sky.
"She senses them," Numair explained, catching Gary's confused look. He nodded, and turned his attenion to the sky as well.
"There's only one, and it's right there," the woman said as the steel-winged immortal wheeled overhead. "I hope it's not us he wants to see." Daine sighed, and shook her curls.
"Can't you shoo him off or something?" Alanna demanded crossly. She despised Stormwings, nearly as much as she hated spiders.
"No, mum. He goes where he pleases."
"I, for one, hope he leaves," George remarked, eyes shaded as he studied the lone Stormwing.
"Hello, ground-pounders!" The great immortal swooped down, perching on a tree branch.
"Scram," Alanna murmured under her breath. The thing had a Scanran look to it, with matted blonde hair and seemingly bottomless blue eyes.
"Sadly, I am here to help you, female," he snarled at the Champion. She tensed, hand on her sword hilt. "I am Tollahay, in alliance with King Maggur. Or Maggot, as you southerners so charmingly put it." He grinned, flashing sharp, pointed teeth.
"Got the idea from the late Emporer Ozorne's companionship with Rikash, no doubt," Daine muttered to her companions. Inside, her heart hurt at the thought of Rikash. He had been the one who taught her that Stormwings only acted as their nature made them. He had been her friend after tricking Ozorne into trapping him in Stormwing shape himself.
"Then why help us if you side with the enemy?" Numair asked, plainly confused. It must be contagious, Alanna thought wryly. The immortal shook his head in an irritated manner.
"I'm not helping you, really. More like warning you," Tollahay replied, eyes serious.
"Then warn us!" Alanna snapped, drawing her sword. The big creature irked her, and she was too tired to be toyed with.
"King Maggur wants your blood, Keladry of Mindelan, Protector of the Small. I would watch out if I were you. If you don't, things will get ugly, and fast. Well, uglier, that is!" He chuckled and launched off his perch and into the sky. His laugh followed him into the blue sky, and Alanna swore it carried on far after he'd left.
 |
|
