“Perfect answer. Now are you going to go get me a drink?” she mock demanded. He mock bowed and left to go get her a drink.
She sat down next to one of the young ladies who were talking earlier called Dafeenie. “Lady Dafeenie was it?” She asked politely.
She nodded, “You of course are Lady Lanna, Squire Alan’s cousin, the envy of most of the women here,” she smiled kindly. Alanna blushed.
“Sadly,” Alanna shuddered. When Dafeenie looked at her curiously Alanna replied, “I’m already taken.” At that moment Jonathan came back holding two cups. He gave one to Alanna and offered the other to Dafeenie, she declined saying she already had one.
“We’ll leave in half an hour is that ok? Alan will kill me if I don’t get you back to your rooms. He won’t speak to me for at least a day,” he said jokingly.
“Ah forgive him his temper gets the better of him he can’ help it,” she said sticking up for herself. The three of them spoke for a few more minutes before he left.
“He’s taken to you, you know?” Dafeenie pointed out shrewdly.
“He’s already taken, and so am I,” she defended.
“That’s what I’ve heard also, but the mystery is who,” Dafeenie told her conspicuously. They continued talking until Jon came and led her away. She learned what the women all thought of herself, Jon, Gary and Raoul.
When they got to Jon’s room they checked to see if anybody will see him going into his rooms the coast was clear and they went in. Alanna turned and closed and locked the door.
When she turned round she was gently pushed against the door and kissed very passionately, she raised her arms and put them round his neck. After quite a few minutes he whispered hotly, “I have been wanting to do that all night.”
“Oh really, well you aren’t the only one,” She told him pulling his head down to kiss her. He started to undo the back of her dress. She pulled away from him and said, “So mote it be.” She ended the spell which held the wig in place and through it to her right. She pulled his head back down to hers and carried on kissing him. He guided her to his bedroom. She shrugged out of the dress and picked it up with on hand and threw it onto a chair all the while they were still kissing. She pulled his tunic off and pushed him onto his bed. And that was how they spent the night.
****************
“Roger, who is that lady dancing with Jonathan?” King Roald asked leaning to the side of his throne at the head of the room to speak to his nephew.
“I haven’t seen her before Uncle. I will go and find out for you though,” Roger got up and went over to Delia to ask who the woman was.
He came back and sat down next to his uncle again. “Her name is Lanna of Juvat. She is Squire Alan’s cousin from Galla, I believe she is only staying in Corus for a day before she goes to Tyra,” he told King Roald and Queen Lianne.
“Master, I have some information you would like to know.”
“What is it Delia?” Duke Roger of Conté asked the woman.
“It’s about Jonathan. I overheard him speaking to Raoul about a woman he was seeing. Raoul was telling him not to do anything with that new woman at court, Squire Alan’s cousin. Jonathan said he wouldn’t cheat on her. Raoul then said that she’s his friend as well and that he wouldn’t want to see her hurt because of something that he did because everything would be horrible.
I did some fishing because I wasn’t alone when I found that out I was with another woman and she went and told all the unmarried. The thing is no one knows who it is. It isn’t one of them, none of them would have been able to hide it if it was,” she told him before coming to sit in front of him.
He put his hand on her head and said thoughtfully, “That would explain a lot. You had him in the palm of your hand then all of a sudden, you did not. Try to find out that it is and I will also try. You may leave now.” Delia stood up and left.
I wonder who she is thought Roger. He stood up and went into his workroom. Once there he got out a scrying crystal.
Roger tried looking for her; all he found was mist that he couldn’t get through. Damn it! He thought the same God or Gods are protecting her as Jonathan.
He tried a little harder thinking it was going to be futile but he may as well try again, you never know what’s going to happen. The next time he tried he saw; a woman in a room sitting at a table beside a window reading. He couldn’t see her face, he could only see her from the side but she had red hair past her shoulders and was on the petite side. He heard a little girl’s voice say, “Mamma, when can I see Jon?” the woman put down her book.
“You can see him after he finishes his meetings. Being King keeps him very busy. But he tries to see you when he can when you’re here. You know he loves seeing you, it’s just hard,” the woman said kindly. Her voice was quite rough but when she spoke to the girl it softened as she spoke and was sympathetic.
The girl now came into view as she went over to the table. Now that Roger could see the girl, he saw that she was about seven years old. She had blondish-brown hair down to the small of her back. He could see that she was dressed very well even for a noble in dark indigo blue velvet, while the skirt had silver embroidery on it ¾ of the way down.
Roger couldn’t stop looking at the image. Where they talking about Jonathan? They just said that he was King, does that mean that he won’t be? Roger thought. The future is never certain he remembered.
The woman picked up the girl and put her on her lap and tickled her until she was giggling. When the girl was being tickled Roger got a better look at her. She had dark blue eyes, a small pert nose but didn’t look to small on her, a small mouth that is always willing to smile. She looked familiar but he didn’t know where to place her.
There was a knock on the door, both of them looked at the door. The woman put down the girl and she ran to the door, he still couldn’t see the woman’s face.
The girl opened the door to reveal a page. He looked to be slightly awed and scared. The woman got up and moved towards the door. She was very short and was quite stocky for a noble woman she was also wearing breeches and shirt. What is she doing wearing male clothing, no noble lady does that Roger thought.
As the woman was walking towards the door the page bowed and looked even more apprehensive.
“My Lady, Sir,” he said bowing to the girl then the woman. I never saw a knight there thought Roger leaning closer.
“I have a message from your husband,” he carried on. She took the letter he handed her. It read,
Dearest Love and little Phia
I’ve been held up longer than I thought I would. I have some things to sort out here at home. I got held up longer in the south than I would of expected. Don’t glare the weather wasn’t that great it rained most of the time I was there. I got lots of presents though.
I stopped of at the Bloody Hawk on the way. It is quicker to go through the Desert and I didn’t stray too far, I wasn’t using the road. They all send their regards. The school there is doing well as you know. Kara and Kourrem seem happy. They want to know when they will next see the two of you. They are complaining that they haven’t seen Thom yet and he is almost a year old, but expect you in a couple of weeks due to the weather. You probably already know all this. It can be so handy being friends with the Voice
Anyway, I got into the Swoop on Thursday. Everything is fine here. I need to stay here for a few days but I should be in Corus by Monday.
All my love
George
The vision was replaced with mist again.
Who is this woman? The Bloody Hawk? They must mean a Bazhir tribe if they live in the desert. What does he mean the Voice? It sounds like he was referring to a person, I wonder who he means. Her husband says that he is writing from home, which he calls the Swoop that must be its name. I wonder where it is. I’ll have to find out. Who is this woman? And the little girl there is something about her as well. The power coming off them both was staggering, Roger thought.
Roger stayed up for hours thinking about the vision. He was sitting in his favourite velvet chair when he remembered that he had a book that could help him. He got up and went to his bookcase, after several minutes of trying to find the book he found it. It was one of his more recent books, most of the ones he had of any importance were over a hundred years old, and this one was not. Delia had found it, which surprised him when she gave it to him, she actually knew where and what a bookshop was, he chuckled at the memory.
This book was only a couple of years old it was an updated version of a book, which was published in his grandfather’s time. It was maps of Tortall showing where all the fiefs were, but it also had family trees, family histories of well-known people who came from them.
He eventually found the place, on the coast; it was near to Corus, a couple days ride away perhaps. He looked up the history of the family. There was only one famous person to come out of that fief and they were famous for having the lands revoked by the crown meaning that nobody was living there.
Remember that the vision was of the future not the present, he told himself. He would keep a check on the place, someone might be granted a pearage. Now all he needed to know was who were the woman and the little girl to. (AN: A line I borrowed from the wizard of Oz) The woman seems so familiar.
****************
The next day….
“Has anybody came up with who it might be, yet?” one of the ladies called Cressidda asked.
“Well it isn’t Lanna, I don’t think,” Dafeenie told them while stitching a flower on her embroidery.
“What makes you think that?” Lelinor said putting her embroidery down on the table. The women were sitting embroidering at the table.
“I was speaking to Lady Lanna and I told her that the prince was taken to her,” Dafeenie said.
“And?” one of the ladies asked.
“I was getting to it. She said he was taken and so was she. That’s all she really said about it. Are you all happy now?” Dafeenie demanded getting back to her flower.
“I wonder who it is. I wish I knew.” Ethalynne said wistfully.
“We will find out soon enough. He will probably go off her like he did Delia,” Carowline said, the women laughed. None of them liked Delia of Eldorne that much and all thought that she deserved what happened to her.
“She could have been the reason he went off her. We could still try and get it out of Gary and Raoul. Tonight everyone try and get lots of drink down them. We could all say we saw Jonathan with a young woman and they seemed friendly. We could also say that she seemed familiar and ask them what her name is,” Cressidda suggested.
“We would have to make sure they’ve got enough drink down them though, “ Ethalynne said thoughtfully.
“But where would we see the prince with her?” Dafeenie asked.
“We could say that we saw him in the city with her,“ Carowline said.
“But we would have to make sure which day we saw him with her and make sure that he was in the city that day,” Dafeenie pointed out.
“ I was with Matalie last Friday in the Queen Sadíl garden and we saw him go to the city on his own, out one of the small south gates. Then we went up the wall and watched him go into the city,” Kience, one of the quieter women said. Matalie was her younger sister by a year.
“Very well, we will say that all of us saw him with a young woman who we all thought was familiar but can’t place her. Oh, I just thought they might ask what she looked like and we wouldn’t know. What would we say?” Ethalynne said worried.
“It was raining last Friday,” Dafeenie said amused. The women looked at her with slightly confused looks. When Dafeenie saw that none of them would get what she was hinting at she said exasperated, “Her hair would be wet or her cloak would be up so we wouldn’t be able to see what colour her hair would be.”
“Oh right! So is everybody agreed that we say that her cloak was up so we couldn’t see what colour of hair she had. We saw her and Jonathan kiss goodbye for several minutes and then they went in separate directions and when the woman walked past us we saw her face and that’s how she seems familiar. Everyone agreed with that story because we have to stick to that story if we saw something else it might be a little bit suspicious?” Ethalynne asked. All the women nodded.
“How are we going to play with them?” Raoul whispered sharply.
“I don’t know, “ Gary said defensively.
“Well you were the one who came up with the idea to play with them, not me! You should of came up with what we were going to do,” Raoul snapped.
“What? I have to come up with everything?” Raoul glared. “I thought we would just come up with it as we went along,” Gary whispered.
Raoul was about to reply when a voice they recognised said, “Hey guys, what you arguing about?” They lifted their heads quickly towards the speaker it was Alanna.
“Nothing,” they both said quickly at the same time. She raised her eyebrows in disbelief about to reply when Jonathan found them.
“There you lot are. We’ve been looking for you. We’re going down to the Dove are the two of you coming?” Jon asked smiling oblivious of what had been going on before he came.
“I’m not busy. Raoul?” Gary said looking at Raoul; he shook his head.
“By any chance will we see your cousin Lanna? “ Raoul asked as they walked down to the city.
“Sadly no,” Alanna said smiling. He let out an audibly noise of relief. “What’s wrong with my cousin?” Alanna said defensively stopping to look at him, everybody stopped in the middle of the road down to the city.
“It’s just…” Raoul trailed off. Gary hid a grin by looking away from the pair.
Should of known he would do that, Gary thought. It’s working though. He made a sound of a held in laugh. Jon looked at his cousin and caught his eye. They both smiled and Jon had to turn away also to stop himself from bursting out laughing.
“Well come on what’s wrong with her?” she snapped impatiently.
“She was, I kind of thought she was throwing herself at everyone,” Raoul said carefully know what the outcome to that would be. He tried not to let a smile come out when she did exactly what he thought she would.
“So does almost every women at court!” she said outraged.
May as well put my input into this, thought Gary
“They do?” Gary said in an oblivious tone that if she wasn’t angry would know it was teasing.
“Well of course you wouldn’t notice since you’re one of the ones who they’re throwing themselves at,” she said know directing her anger towards Gary.
“Ah, yeah,” he said in a misty voice and glazed look in his eyes before saying normally. “ I rather think they throw themselves at our darling prince than myself.”
Gary smiled at his cousin. Jon narrowed his eyes and glared at him for bringing him into it.
She turned at Jon and glared. “What? It’s not my fault. I can’t help it if they go for me,” he told her throwing out his arms in defensive putting on t he most innocent look he can.
“Doesn’t mean he doesn’t enjoy it though,” Raoul muttered to Gary.
“I would to,” Gary told him. Jon and Alanna looked at them silently. Both of them looked like they wanted to kill them.
“You better not,” she told him sternly losing some off her anger.
“Don’t fret I’m not interested in any of them anymore,” He told her sincerely. She looked at him sharply and he said “Oops.” Gary and Raoul sniggered into hands.
She shook her head and walked off ahead of them muttering something about men.
“What did you do that for,” Jon asked them.
“Relax, she’ll calm done soon, you know hat she’s like,” Gary told him unconcerned before quickly walking after Alanna.
“And what wrong with her cousin?” Jon asked Raoul.
“Nothing,” Raoul smiled. “ But she wasn’t there now was she? She doesn’t know what happened.” Raoul quickly walked off after Gary and Alanna leaving Jon to think what he about what he meant.
Jon stood for a few moments thinking about what Raoul said before he called, “Wait for me!” running to catch up with them.
**************
At the Dancing Dove…
“Hello, and who are all of you?”
“Nice to see you too George,” Alanna said smiling.
“I’m sorry I still don’t know who you are, I must have forgotten,” George said sincerely.
“Alright we haven’t been here in weeks but we are busy people, “ Jon said sitting down at the table in George’s room. The other three followed.
“So, so has anything happened that I don’t know about since I last saw any of you?” George asked having no idea what he was going to here next.
They all looked at Alanna. She sighed resigned to what will be coming and nodded. George frowned and looked at them curiously.
“We know,” Gary said excitedly.
“And you what precisely? How to count?” George said smiling.
“About Alanna,” then a few minutes later. “Hey!” They all laughed apart from Gary who looked a little hurt.
“How’d you find out?” Alanna and Jon were red tinged with embarrassment. Raoul and Gary couldn’t contain their laughter anymore and laughed until they had tears in their eyes.
“We caught them in the act,” Raoul said in between laughs. George laughed.
“That’s how they found out?” he asked Jon and Alanna.
“No, that was not how they found out,” she said stubbornly. “They didn’t catch us in the act. They didn’t catch us doing anything.”
“That wasn’t what it looked like to us,” Gary said.
“Then obviously you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jon retorted. They all snickered apart from Gary who was glaring at him.
“That was a good come back,” Raoul said ignoring Gary.
“I was quite pleased with it myself,” Jon told them.
“Well then, what would you call it?” Gary asked trying to get them off the subject of that line.
“Sleeping,” Alanna glared.
“Is that how you normally sleep?” Gary asked knowing that it will trick her into saying something.
She opened her mouth to say yes, when Jon said, “Don’t say anything. Either of the answers will look bad for a noble Lady unless they are married to the person.”
“Really?” she snapped standing up and getting her cloak. “Well, just as well I only have a few more months until I leave. After all it’ll me make me look bad anyway, who needs that to make it even worse and lets not forget stupid.” She turned and left putting on her cloak as she went.
They all looked at Jon. “Oops. I shouldn’t have said that. It all came out wrong.”
“We aren’t the ones you should be telling this to. The one you should be went out that door,” George said pointing to the door Alanna left from. Jon looked at the door then got his things jogged after her.
The three men watched him go then continued talking like they normally would do.
He got out onto the busy street and he could see her several metres in front of him. Except there were dozens of people walking between them. He fought through the people to get to her. But she was too quick and had the advantage of already gotten past the crowd and could now walk easier.
He managed to catch up to her outside the palace walls after running after her.
“We need to talk,” he told her breathlessly grabbing her arm. She shrugged it off and glared angrily at him.
“I would of thought that you’d already said what you wanted to.”
“It all came out wrong. Let’s talk. But not here, back home,” he said looking around him.
“Fine!” she snapped walking ahead of him.
When they got into Jon’s rooms she went to the window seat. She moved all the cushions to one side, so she can use it as a pillow against the wall. She sat with her arms crossed looking outside the room. He sighed knowing that it was going to take her a while to calm down and closed the door and locked it. It wouldn’t do if someone walked in on the conversation that they’re having.
“All I meant was that either answer you could of said was one which…. This is coming out all wrong again.”
“Yup.”
“Imagine you were your ordinary court lady. If you had said yes to that question think what that would mean. I’m not meaning that they would think that, they’re your friends and already know but, it’s frowned on isn’t it? And if you said no, then it would suggest that it was a fling and that is considered even worse.”
“I know but it was like you were saying I wasn’t respectable or wasn’t a proper lady. I haven’t been to the convent or anything but it doesn’t mean I’m not one either. Just because you don’t see me in a dress doesn’t mean I don’t like acting like one in that sense, or being treated like one because I do.”
Jon sat beside her and took her hand. She tried to pull it away but he carried on holding it. She let him hold it when he started talking.
“I do respect you, you know that. Think what it’s going to be like for women in the future because of you. You’ll show them that women can fight just as well as men, if not better. You deserve more respect than any of those women; look what you’ve gone through to get to where you are. You’ve had to work so much harder than the rest of us. I do remember you are a lady. How can I forget?” He kissed her hand giving her a sly smile.
“But you never treat me like one. I saw how you treated other women and you’ve never done that to me. Do you have any idea how that hurts?” She said leaning forward. She stood up and turned from him to hide the tears that were silently following in floods. She pulled away her hand. Jon stood up and reached for her shoulders, pulling her round to face him.
He saw that she was crying and pulled her into an embrace. “I’m sorry,” he kept murmuring stroking her hair.
When he heard and saw that she had stopped crying he handed her a handkerchief. “I love you, you know?” he told her kissing her on the forehead.
She looked up into his eyes and said, “You do? I love you too.”
“That’s where I put it!” Jon exclaimed. “Wait a minute.” He went over to his desk by the other window. He pulled one of the drawers out of the desk. Alanna could see a small blue velvet bag attached to the outside of the drawer at the back. It was the bag that Jon wanted. He took it off the drawer then put the drawer back into the desk.
He came and stood infront of Alanna. “I meant to give you this for your birthday but, well, I forgot where I hid it from you.” He handed her the bag. She frowned and opened it. Alanna gasped.
Inside the bag was a small six point star pendant on a fine silver chain. The pendant was silver with a smaller star in the middle made of black opal. In the centre of the opal was an amethyst that matched the colour of her eyes. From each corner of the opal there was a silver line going to the amethyst that was at the cross of all six.
“Jon I can’t…”
“Of course you can. I want you to have it. Here let me put it on you. As soon as I saw it I thought of you. I went looking for something and saw the amethyst and I saw your pretty eyes. There, go see in the mirror.” Alanna left to see herself in the mirror in another room. Jon came followed her.
“It doesn’t look right. It looks like a boy wearing women’s jewellery. But oh, it’s so pretty!” she said in wonder fingering it. “Thank you!”
“I thought you said you couldn’t accept.”
“I did. But I had to say that.”
“You did?”
“You don’t really understand women do you? I had to say it, it looks so expensive and you’d already given me a present! But that doesn’t mean I won’t accept it,” she told him. Jon came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on her shoulder.
Alanna leaned into him and yawned. “I’m so tired.”
“Have a lie down.”
“That would be nice. Can you take it off me please?”
“Why? What’s wrong with it?” he asked worried.
“Nothing is wrong with it. I love it it’s just that it is very girlish.”
“Did you see the inscription?” He handed her the necklace after taking it off.
“ Dux femina facti
Fama semper vivat
Sic itur ad astra,” he recited. Then both of them said together.
“ A woman was leader in the deed
May her fame live forever.
Such is the way to the stars,” he told her kissing her on the forehead. “It’s from the east, near the Roof. A seer there said it, hundreds of years ago. I thought it fit you. The man, Malchi, goes on about someone, a woman doing a great deed. Saving a nation from a great evil. I wonder who the evil is? Doesn’t it make you curious?” Jon grinned.
“Yeah, I wonder who it is,” she said smiling tightly thinking of Roger. “ I’m going to bed.”
“On your own?” he asked kissing her on the neck.
“Yes, I’m tired. But. Jon I am tired. Well, maybe a few, quite a few minutes won’t make much difference,” she corrected after a few more minutes of his kissing. Jon guided her to the bed. “Door locked?” she asked.
“Mmmh, Mmmh. did it earlier.”
“You planned this?” she asked pulling away from him. By now they had each other’s shirts off.
“No, I…” he stammered.
“Teasing,” she smiled, pulling him towards her.
“So have the two of you made up yet?” Raoul asked Alanna on her way back from the mess hall. It was very late; most people had already gone to bed. They hadn’t had a chance to speak during dinner. Alanna was busy serving people, some of the other squires were sick so she had extra duties being a senior squire.
“You been waiting on me?” she asked him still walking down the corridor towards her room.
“Yeah, we feel guilty. If the two of you had real big row because of us, then, well we’d never forgive ourselves,” he said looking upset, which knowing him he would be. He was walking slightly behind her.
She turned, so she could speak to him face to face and carried on walking only ht is time it was backwards. “Don’t worry we’re fine,” she smiled. Just then she fell backwards.
She fell and skidded along the cobble stone floor. When she fell they had almost reached a small spiral stairway, which span all levels of the palace. Unfortunately they were on the 2nd floor with 4 levels below ground as well, 7 floors to the bottom of the stairs.
“Alanna!” he called moving forward, but it was too late she had already tumbled down the stairs.
She knew she had to curl in a ball to protect herself. That’s all she had time to do. Alanna rolled past doorways, she lost count how many she past.
Eventually she stopped rolling. Finally she thought and then it all went black. Alanna was sprawled on the ground at the bottom of the stairs. On the lowest floor the stairs went to. She had fallen 7 floors.
*************************
“Lanna,” Raoul ran to her, going to his knees beside her. He took her hand, “Wake-up! Please wake-up! I’ll be back with help.” Raoul ran off, back up the stairs he had came down.
There was a haze surrounding her and lots of faces, that’s what Alanna remembered about the bottom of the stairs. Raoul had gotten help at the healers and they had come.
After checking her neck they had moved her up to the infirmary. Duke Baird lifted up her shirt to check her ribs to see if they were broken. When he did so, she started wriggling away from him and hitting out, still unconscious. Baird stopped trying to see her ribs and took tried to steady her to stop her form hurting herself.
She stopped fighting and wriggling when he took her hand to search and see what was wrong with her. He checked her head it had a large concussion. Her right arm was sprained and her left elbow was fractured. When he checked her back it was here where he started to run into difficulties. He managed to check the top of her spine and that was only bruised, but when he checked the lower of her spine it was getting harder and drawing more energy than it should from him. He checked her lungs, which were fine then moved onto her ribs, testing them this time with his gift. She had broken 3 of them and cracked another 12. None of these injuries were life threatening, he would heal them after he found out how the rest of her was.
The problems were after that. He tried to find out if her other organs were alright. It was then that he encountered a barrier. It was not what he would of expected, other than it was there. It was made of a white gift. So it wasn’t made by Alan he thought. Why would someone make a barrier? It might kill him. He probed the barrier and his strength was almost all sucked out of him. He pulled away breathless and gasped.
“Timas! Come here please.”
“What is it?” She had long blonde hair that was up in a bun. She was a tall woman in her early twenties, with grey eyes, a smallish nose, pale lips and creamy white skin.
“He’s got a concussion, his left elbow is cracked, right arm sprained, 3 broken ribs and 12 cracked ones. I’m not sure about his abdomen, he won’t let me near it to examine it and when I did it through his hand there was some kind off shield. It’s taken most of my strength I can’t heal his other ailments. There are a lot of bruises. Heal the rest of him but leave the abdomen. I’ll speak to his friends.” Baird left her with the young healer.
Jon ran into the waiting room with Gary and Faithful close on his heals. Raoul jumped up from his chair when they came in, he was distraught.
“What happened?” Jon demanded frantic.
“She just tripped and fell backwards, then skidded towards the stairs. There was nothing I could do. She fell 7 floors, Jon!” Jon sat down on one of the chairs dejected. He lent forward and put his heads in his hands.
“Gods!” Gary breathed, shocked. He paled visibly. Just then Baird came out, looking very worn.
“How is she- he. How is he?” Raoul asked.
“He’s got a concussion, his left elbow is cracked, right arm sprained, 3 broken ribs and 12 cracked ones. I don’t know about his abdomen, I couldn’t get a look at him. There was something stopping me. I physically tried to see but he wouldn’t let me, he was hitting out injuring himself even more so I looked magically and I got stopped by a white barrier.”
“Can we see him?” Jon asked looking up.
Baird looked like he was going to refuse but when he saw their faces he agreed. “But only for a few minutes. There is someone tending him.”
All of them went in to the room where she was. There was someone sitting on the bed beside her, Timas. She never looked up when they came in, she was to busy concentrating on healing. Jon sat down on the chair by the bed while the others stood and Faithful went onto the bed beside her.
After about 10 minutes the woman looked up and noticed that people were there.
“How’s?” Gary asked.
“Not good. I think there’s internal bleeding in his abdomen but neither the Duke nor I can get near enough in both terms to check. It doesn’t look good. I’m sorry.” She looked down and left. She closed the door as she left leaving them on their own with Alanna.
Jon moved his chair forward and took her hand staring at her face. It was so pale he thought. While Gary moved to stand infront of the door so no one could get in. There was a white flash. The three of them turned to see where it originated from and saw Faithful. He had his paw on her stomach.
She is beyond my ability to help. You know what you must do, he told them looking at Jon.
“Can’t you do that? You’re more able than me!” he said pleadingly looking from Alanna to the cat.
Do not be afraid she will listen to you. You have done it before you remember that. She will know it concerns Alanna and come. She will not want Alanna to die she is too important. I cannot contact her because that would mean I would have to cross over and I cannot go there and come back again. She needs me here, he told them mainly looking at Jon.
“Will one of you ask Baird for some vervain please? Tell him it’s to do with the barrier.” He looked at Gary while saying this. Gary nodded and left to speak to Baird.
“What are you going to do?” Raoul asked cautiously.