It seemed to Duo that the entire world had gone mad.
An older man ran into his horse, snapping some insult at him then disappearing into the rest of the swarming, heaving mass of people. Duo blinked--it had all happened in less than a second.
Admitted, he thought, he hadn't seen much of the world. And Corus seemed like a huge place compared to the small house he'd lived in for much of his life. That place he would always remember with a mixture of fondness and anger; he'd had his best times and his worst times there.
He looked over at George, who didn't appear the least bit perturbed at the commotion, the hustle and activity in the streets, although his head did jerk up suddenly once or twice, then settle back down, though his eyes still twitched, scanning the crowds.
Beside him, Solo was barely able to stay awake in his saddle. Gods, it had been a long ride to Corus from Pirate's Swoop! If he'd known that, he would have forced Duo to pick some other noble, closer to Corus...
But then, there had been no one else. None of the other nobles would even have given him a second glance; only the Lioness, who understood what it meant to be scorned for no reason other than something predetermined like gender or class, seemed a possibility.
In a way, Solo was almost upset that Alanna had agreed to help him. That day had changed his small friend. The old, complancent, soft-spoken Duo was gone.
Alanna smiled as she saw Duo's open mouth. "Shut your jaw, boy; it's just a city, and there's larger ones elsewhere," she said gruffly. George snickered silently at her; she made a face at the thief turned nobleman and dug her heels into Moonlight's side--she didn't have to sit here with these men and take that kind of abuse!
George grinned as her horse was swallowed up in the crowd. "She's just embarassed 'cause she did the very same when she was your age," he confided. Duo grinned.
"I don't know; you've both seen much more than I have. She must have been more traveled than I even when she came as a page." George looked at him sharply, then relaxed. Sometimes it was hard to remember that her gender was no longer a secret--whenever he came back to Corus, he settled into old patterns. It was like the place was timeless, extraneous from the rest of the world. Even the gossip was unique, he thought with a smirk.
"...Dragon of Shang..."
George's eyes perked up when he heard that phrase, and looked around out of the corners of his eyes. Mayhap he'd misheard.
"Dragon of Shang...! Alive?"
"Saw him at the Palace..."
"...died...c'nnae be alive..."
Or mayhap not. He signaled the boy and his friend; Alanna had bandaged his wounds herself. They all knew that Liam was dead, and his lady would not be pleased to hear folks telling otherwise. They raced after, towards the Palace, towards their past.
Step, kick, punch.
Step, kick, punch.
Over and over. Sweat dripped down his forehead--the heat in the practice room was overbearing. Yet he kept going through the kata, kept pushing himself beyond his limits. It was the only way to become stronger.
He couldn't allow himself any weakness, now that he had proclaimed himself the Dragon of Shang. There would be challengers, fool-hardy idiots putting pride before reason.
Pride was always a weakness. He had no doubts in his mind that he was the very best at what he did. but he knew that he could be be defeated through sheer numbers. It was why he had come to the Palace, to train, and learn, and make some allies. Liam had taught him that allies were a fact and necessity of life. He disliked making them, but knew they were necessary.
The Dragon had taught him many things.
He shivered as he landed gracefully on the mat, kata finished. It was one of the easiest he knew; good for meditation purposes and nothing else. He needed to clear his mind. Did he have what it took to live with a target emblazoned across his back?
He wasn't sure.
There was no room for weakness.
Step, kick, punch.
Step, kick, punch.
Alanna sighed as she rode through the crowds, feeling the wind rake through her hair. She needed to get away from her life for a while--surely George understood that feeling.
They'd been married mere months after the attempted assassination. Alanna had never been happier; it seemed that her days of recklessness were over, now that she was 'settled' down.
Well, she was having none of it. She was still a knight, still the King's Champion. And that meant she had to keep in peak physical condition to fight, something she'd been neglecting. Lightning was growing cold in its scabbard.
"...Dragon..."
Her head whipped around.
Then she laughed.
They couldn't have...
No.
The Dragon was dead.
She'd seen his body herself, seen the arrows, the broken bones. He'd died saving Jon's life...a cause worth dying for. Even she understood that, now. She hadn't, then. But then, she grown up in a lot of ways since meeting Liam.
She smiled as she slowed Moonlight to a canter, remembering the day they'd met, how she couldn't muster enough courage to go over and talk to him. That wasn't her anymore, although sometimes she wished she still possessed that idealism of youth.
She had to admit, she wasn't young anymore. None of them were.
And some day, she would be too old to defend Jon, and would have to step down as the King's Champion. It was something she'd been thinking about a long time; she wouldn't be shoved out the door. Alanna would leave with grace and dignity, and retire to her home at Pirate's Swoop. As much as she hated the idea, it was necessary. Pride could not come before his safety.
Alanna shivered again as she heard the word again, floating on the breeze.
"...Dragon of Shang."
That got her attention.
"What?" She looked directly at an old beggar woman. "What's this about the Dragon of Shang?"
"He's back in the Palace, m'lady," the woman croaked, hiding her eyes beneath tattered robes. "As strong and as healthy as he's ever been. They say he's come back from the dead years younger."
Alanna's heart nearly stopped.
Could Liam be alive?
More importantly, if he was, what did that mean to her? To her new life? Lady Alanna's life had no room for rugged, handsome journeying Dragons; only Sir Alanna understood the need to roam that burned deeply within one's blood.
She stopped Moonlight and stripped off the soft leather gloves hiding hands that were callused from work. Next went the fancy cloak, too long to be comfortable in a fight, and then the decorative jewelry.
Alanna gave them to the beggar woman, thanking her for her help. The old woman stared at the gifts, disbelieving, then shuffled off into a cobwebbed alley.
Either way, she'd been a lady too long.
It was time for the Lioness to show exactly why she'd been given that name.
George swore as he stabled his horse, seeing Moonlight already groomed and gnawing on a sugar sube. He was too late, then; Alanna must already have heard the rumor.
Duo looked questioningly at the old rogue. "Where's Alanna?"
"She'd gone and done some fool thing," George sighed, and went to find his wife, leaving Duo and Solo with Stefan the old hostler.
"What're ye doing here?" he asked, noting how closely Duo resembled Jonathan.
"I came with George," he replied simply, and Stefan laughed.
"Cautious, ain't ye? Ye kin never be too cautious." With that, he limped off, presumably to get some hay to feed the horses.
"Duo," Solo muttered. "I don't like this."
The violet-eyed boy shrugged. "We're here, Solo," he said. "George's just worried about his wife, s'all."
Solo sighed, pulling Duo into a hug. He had a feeling that things were about to change, very quickly. He wasn't sure if he wanted them to, though it could only benefit Duo.
"You're a good kid," he whispered softly, wishing he could say more, wishing there was something more to say.
"Jon!" Alanna waved the young King down, flying at him as she wove her way through random chairs in the conference room. Gary and Raoul snickered behind their hands at the fervor in her eyes, then froze as she spoke. "What's this I hear about the Dragon of Shang being back in Corus?"
Jon gulped. "Good morning, Alanna. How are you? Thanks, I'm fine. It was good of you to ask." He sighed. "About your Dragon.."
"Not my Dragon," Alanna replied automatically, then scowled as the King smirked.
"Habit, Alanna. There *is* a Dragon in Corus; staying here, actually. But he's not the same person--"
"That is, the Dragon of Shang is a boy," Gary interrupted. "'Bout the size of my little finger--fights like a demon." A cold fury filled her; how dare some impostor take the name of her dead lover, making a mockery of all that he stood for? It took decades to reach the rank of Dragon; the boy must have been a fool to think that he could get away with calling himself the Dragon of Shang.
"He's the real thing," Jon said softly, reaching out a hand to her shoulder, as if reading her thoughts. "Best in Court; best anywhere, I'd say." Slowly, the metal hissing against the leather, Alanna drew Lightning.
"Doesn't matter," she said absently, eyes blazing. "We'll see how good he really is."
He awoke to the sounds of feet heading towards his door, and a servant mumbling, "You can't go in there, Sir Alanna!"
The doors burst open, and he yawned unceremoniously, blinking up at Alanna. "Are you lost?" he asked bluntly. The woman's face became drawn, and she pointed her sword at him.
"I challenge you to a duel," she hissed softly, violet eyes flashing.
"Well then," he yawned. "I'd better get going then, shouldn't I? Fifteen minutes. Practice courts. I'll be there." The Dragon smirked. "You'd better be there too."
"I will."
She took one last long look, then exited swiftly, silently.
He watched her go, a small smile playing on his lips.
This would be...interesting...
End Chapter Three
Ariana
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