Chapter 7: escape

Alanna realized very quickly that she was quite far from free. She was still within the walls of the City of the Gods and had little hope of escaping so many mages. Si-Cham had probably already contacted the Gate Mages, and was on his way there himself. But I have to try; she thought to herself, I must escape! Now it's all or nothing.

Alanna tore through the streets, heading for the main gate. Hoping that no one recognized her, she kept her head down to hide her famous violet eyes. She ran faster, hoping that there was some chance she could possibly get away before the mages blocked the gate. No suck luck occurred. As Alanna came within sight of the gate, she saw about ten mages standing shoulder to shoulder in a line in front of it. They had interlaced walls of power ten feet high in front of them. Alanna screeched to a halt and dove into a side street before they spotted her. How am I going to do this? I can't go against ten mages! But, to Alanna, there seemed no other option.

As Alanna was thinking, a figure approached her from behind. When it got close enough, it brought its hand to Alanna's shoulder. Alanna shot upright and spun around, ready to fight whoever, or whatever, it was.

The stranger must have guessed her intentions, for he, she could now see that it was a man, whispered, "Wait, listen to me. I can get you out of here."

Alanna's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "How? Why? Why should I trust you?"

"You never can really be sure you can trust, lass. But, you look like you need help, and you don't have many options. I can help you. Come with me, and you can escape."

Alanna thought about it. She really did not have any other option. She looked the man up and down. He looked about twenty, and was tall and muscled. He wore very nondescript clothing that was loose enough for freedom of movement, but not too loose. He had brown hair that was cut short and a big nose. Alanna looked him directly in the eyes and froze. The man's hazel eyes were locked on her purple ones with such intensity that Alanna could not look away if she wanted to. His bright eyes sparkled as his face slowly split into a wide smile. I don't know why, but I feel like I can trust him. And he's right, I do need help.

"Okay," she hissed, "how are you going to get me out of here?"

"Simple, lass, simple," the man replied, still smiling. "We disguise you. You will be my younger cousin that I am escorting home because your mother is ill. We will walk right through the gate."

Alanna was impressed; it was so simple, yet would probably work because of that simplicity. She decided to go for it. "Alright then, disguise me."

"We need to go somewhere first, just a few buildings to the right. Follow me." Alanna hesitated, but strode behind the man all the same.

When they reached the third house, the man turned left and sauntered up the path to a small, ordinary-looking house, Alana a pace behind the whole way. Upon reaching the door the man gave a three note whistle, a low note, a high note, and another low. The door swung open and he ushered Alanna inside. The outside of the house was absolutely no indication of what lay in the inside. Her eye's widened as she looked around. The inside of the house looked almost as grand as Alanna's old home in Trebond. There was another man slouching against the wall by the now closed front door. He was wearing a similar style of peasant clothing as the first man, and he also had close cropped brown hair. This man's clothing, however, was skin tight and the outlines of sheaths could be detected all over his body. Before she could say anything, the first man had steered her into a room directly to her left. This room looked like an office, but there were costumes and clothing blanketing every surface.

Alanna voiced a question that had been bothering her. "Who are you? What do you do for a living?"

The man looked at her for a moment before answering. "I am George Cooper. I live in Corus. I buy and sell at my leisure. This is the house of an associate of mine." This statement did nothing to assuage Alanna's suspicion, but at least she knew the man's name now.

"I am Alanna. Alanna of Trebond."

"Pleasure to meet you Alanna. Now, about that disguise…"

George dug through some clothing and came up with a pair of breeches and a tunic. The breeches were brown and the tunic was green. He threw the clothes at her and then continued to hunt through the mountain of disguises. Finally, he pulled out a wig of short, black hair and a bottle of gray liquid. These he did not hand to her, but rather set them down on an empty corner of a table.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Put those on," he urged her as he turned his back to give her some privacy.

Alanna quickly stripped and threw on the garments George had given her. When she was done George turned around and walked toward her with the wig. When he got with arms reach, he pulled out a knife. Alanna gasped and went to run towards the door. Before she took a step, George gently but firmly grabbed her arm.

"Cam down lass, you're as jumpy as a sheep in the wolf's den. I won't hurt you. I am just going to cut your hair."

Alanna looked warily from the knife to Georges face and back before slowly turning her back to George. "There now, this will take but a minute," he assured her. Alanna stared at the floor as her long, brilliant red hair fell to the ground. George was finished quickly and handed her a mirror. George had done a good job. Her hair was an even length that ended at about her earlobes.

"Now to hide that lovely, but very noticeable, fire hair of yours," George remarked as he snatched the wig off the table and fit it expertly upon her head. Alanna looked back into the mirror. She looked like a young boy with black hair. "Just one last thing," George said, and he grabbed the vial of gray liquid. "Drink up. It will change your eye color for a few hours. Enough for us to get away."

Alanna took the vial and smelled the liquid. It did not seem to be harmful. So, she gulped down the gray stuff. It tasted like water with a little bit of mint mixed in it. About ten seconds after she drank it, Alanna felt her eyes begin to water. Once more she glanced into the mirror. Her radiant violet eyes were now a dull gray. She looked like a completely different person.

George looked at her, examining the disguise. "It will do. Let's get you out of here."

George walked out of the cluttered room, Alanna exited after him, bewildered by her appearance. George stopped in the hallway by the door and grabbed a hooded cloak from a peg on the wall. He donned the large cloak and checked himself before leaving. He looked just like a monk. It seemed he was a master of simple, but complete, disguises. Alanna once again questioned George's motives, but she figured she could get away as soon as he helped her escape the city.

"Remember the story?" George whispered in her ear as they strode out into the street.

"Of course," Alanna murmured back.

They continued to stroll calmly down the main street towards the gate. Alanna was working very hard to appear calm. George seemed as if he did this everyday. Alanna expected to be stopped and interrogated at the gate, but they passed through without incident. It seemed all too easy, but Alanna was not going to complain.

George leaned down to whisper to Alanna. "Just keep walkin, we will be safely away soon."

"Excuse me?" Alanna retorted. "We? Who said you could come with me?"

"Do you know where you are going? Do you have a place to stay? A means of transport? I'm going to with you to keep you safe and ensure you get to where you are going. In fact, I know where you should be going, and I intend to take you there." George's smiling face put Alanna at ease, but his words set off a flare in the back of her mind. Who is he? she thought.

"Who are you? Where should I be going and why do you think you know that?"

"I already told you who I was, lass. I am George Cooper of Lower City Corus. If you must know, I'm the Rogue, or the King of Thieves of Tortall. I know that you should be going to see your twin brother Thom so you two can work out a plan. I know where Thom is because my people are everywhere and a select group have been watching him for some time. You want to be a knight. I can help you achieve that."

"H-How could you possibly know all of that?" Alanna sputtered.

"All will be revealed when we get to a safe place. Trust me. Keep walking, we are almost to the meeting place."

"What meeting place?"

"All in good time, lass, all in good time," George replied with a smirk.

They continued to walk down the road side-by-side for another half of a mile. Then, George stopped and turned right, into the forest. Alanna scampered behind him, unsure of what was going on and annoyed with all of the secrets. They had walked about two hundred meters when George flung his arm out to stop Alanna. She hit his strong arm quite hard and fell back a step.

"Shhhh, this is it," George whispered so softly, Alanna was not completely sure she heard him. George gave a high, sharp whistle that sounded almost identical to the call of a sparrow. Alanna remained quiet, peering through the trees to try and spot whoever it was George was signaling. Exactly ten seconds after George whistled, the man from the house in the city appeared as if from nowhere, leading two horses gently forward. Both horses were mares; one was a chestnut brown with a black mane and tail, the other was pitch black with a gray mane and tail.

"No one saw me. I packed everything and went as the crow flies east by fourteen and eight," the man reported to George. Alanna did not understand most of it, but assumed it was some kind of code.

"Very good. Return the back way. You know what your orders are. Thank you," George answered. "Ready lass? It's goin to be a long ride."

This is my only chance to get away and find Thom. I have to do it. "Yes, let's go!"

George mounted the chestnut mare and motioned for Alanna to get on the black and gray one. She mounted and took off after George who was riding down a barely noticeable path, deeper into the forest.

(A/N I wanted to leave it there, but I felt bad for not updating, so I'll continue this chappie for all you loyal readers.)

There was not much time for talking as they rode, because the trail they were following did not seem to be used much, and they constantly had to dodge trees and bushes in their way. They continued on the same path for about four and a half hours. Then George stopped his horse and signaled Alanna to do the same.

"We'll break here to eat before we switch trails," George announced, dismounting. Alanna was happy about that, for she had not eaten in a long time from being unconscious in the infirmary. George grabbed a bulging pack from his horse and pulled out enough food and drink for lunch. George smiled as Alanna stared at it greedily.

"Are you that hungry? When was the last time you ate?" he asked her.

Alanna thought about it before replying, "Sometime yesterday."

"Eat up then."

Alanna scoffed down her portion of the food within minutes. George laughed as he took his time eating and told Alanna about the Lower City in Corus.

"I live at a place called the Dancing Dove. That is also where the Court of the Rogue usually meets and drinks. My people don't like nobles much, but we have one come down occasionally for a drink or two. The Rogues all report to me, I get a portion of everything that they steal. I became the Rogue less than a year ago. I tell you all of this in confidence, for many nobles have a high price on me head, and would just love to see me hanging form the noose."

"I won't tell a soul, I promise."

"Good. I like you lass, and would hate for you to be the one to give me up."

Alanna liked George, even though he was a thief. He was easy going and charming, and could make Alanna laugh and smile quicker than anyone else. While Alanna was thinking, George packed up the food and hid the traces of their stop with a practiced ease. Alanna figured that he had to hide his trail a lot. She helped him finish up, and they both mounted.

"Stay behind me," George called back to her. "There really isn't a trail here, an' you wouldn't want to get lost."

They rode deeper and deeper into the forest for two more days. Along the way, Alanna found out much more about George's life, and even slowly gave away a few details of her own. George was a good listener, and easy to talk to. Alanna found herself wishing that she could just ride with George in the forests instead of dealing with Thom and convents. But, she quickly pushed this thought away as silly nonsense.

On their third day riding, George halted them at about noon. "Thom is close, only about another twenty minutes on horses. I jus' wanted to warn you before we got there. Thom has been doing a lot of advanced magic since he ran away; stuff a ten year old should not be capable of doing. My mages have no idea how he is doing it. Just be careful when we get there."

"Wait, George, I've been wondering about this, and it can't wait any longer. How do you know so much about me and Thom? How did you find him? Why did you go looking for him, and why are you helping me? I am not going any farther without answers!"

"Fine, I'll tell you. The palace was in an uproar because their page-to-be went missing. They couldn't find him anywhere. So, I decided to take a shot at looking for this boy. I have the Sight, and something' with that told me to find the boy and it would lead somewhere interesting'. So, I found Thom in the forest, and did some digging on his background. That brought me to you. I traveled to the City of the Gods to talk to you, and when I saw you on the street, I figured you were what my Sight had been telling me about. So, I decided to help you and find out more about you as I took you to your brother. I know you want o become a knight an' I have a notion on how you can do that. But, first we need to find out what to do with Thom. So, let's continue, shall we?"

Alanna leapt back on her horse for an answer. George smiled and mounted; then he kicked his horse into a sprint and they raced through the trees to Thom's hiding spot. He says he'll help me to become a knight, Alanna thought. That is what I will do. I am going to be the first lady knight in a century!