Post by PeroxidePirate on Feb 15, 2010 16:30:16 GMT 10
Title: Traveling
Rating: PG
Length: 350 words
Competitor: Nealan of Queenscove
Round/Fight: 1/C
Summary: Squire Neal thinks of another way to reunite with Kel.
“Lady Alanna?” Neal called, for what could have been the twentieth time that day, or could have been only the fifteenth.
Fortunately they were on a road that day, riding abreast, so she didn't have to stop so he could catch up. “Yes?”
“Will it always be like this? Just the two of us, traveling around?”
“No,” she replied, patiently. “One day, three and a half years from now, this happy experiment will come to an end. Then I'll go back to traveling by myself, and you'll go on to... whatever you decide to go on to.”
Neal thought about that for a moment. “Don't you think it would be educational for me to travel with a larger force some of the time?”
The Lioness gave her squire a look that was just shy of a glare.
“For instance, I know you sometimes ride with the King's Own. I think that could be a very good experience...” He trailed off, seeing her response.
His knight-mistress still held her reins loosely in both hands, but she somehow gave the impression of an exasperated mother, standing with her arms crossed. “Does this, by any chance, have something to do with a certain young woman who's currently squire to the leader of the Own?”
“Possibly,” he admitted.
Alanna arched an eyebrow. “I see.”
“But it's not like that!” Neal insisted, quickly. “We're just friends. Good friends – almost like brother and sister, really. And she's too young, much too young for me to – what?”
Alanna burst out laughing. “My boy, I think you're wrong about that,” she said, when she finally stopped. Then, seriously, she added, “You're a squire: I can't stop you thinking about romance. But if you have time to do anything about it, that's proof I'm not doing my job. Understood?”
Neal ducked his head in an exagerated bow. “Yes, ma'am.” After a short pause, he asked, “So we're not riding with the King's Own, then?"
Rating: PG
Length: 350 words
Competitor: Nealan of Queenscove
Round/Fight: 1/C
Summary: Squire Neal thinks of another way to reunite with Kel.
“Lady Alanna?” Neal called, for what could have been the twentieth time that day, or could have been only the fifteenth.
Fortunately they were on a road that day, riding abreast, so she didn't have to stop so he could catch up. “Yes?”
“Will it always be like this? Just the two of us, traveling around?”
“No,” she replied, patiently. “One day, three and a half years from now, this happy experiment will come to an end. Then I'll go back to traveling by myself, and you'll go on to... whatever you decide to go on to.”
Neal thought about that for a moment. “Don't you think it would be educational for me to travel with a larger force some of the time?”
The Lioness gave her squire a look that was just shy of a glare.
“For instance, I know you sometimes ride with the King's Own. I think that could be a very good experience...” He trailed off, seeing her response.
His knight-mistress still held her reins loosely in both hands, but she somehow gave the impression of an exasperated mother, standing with her arms crossed. “Does this, by any chance, have something to do with a certain young woman who's currently squire to the leader of the Own?”
“Possibly,” he admitted.
Alanna arched an eyebrow. “I see.”
“But it's not like that!” Neal insisted, quickly. “We're just friends. Good friends – almost like brother and sister, really. And she's too young, much too young for me to – what?”
Alanna burst out laughing. “My boy, I think you're wrong about that,” she said, when she finally stopped. Then, seriously, she added, “You're a squire: I can't stop you thinking about romance. But if you have time to do anything about it, that's proof I'm not doing my job. Understood?”
Neal ducked his head in an exagerated bow. “Yes, ma'am.” After a short pause, he asked, “So we're not riding with the King's Own, then?"