Disclaimer: If I owned these characters, would I be posting here?

Alanna grimaced at the sight of herself in the mirror. She was wearing what could be honestly be described as frills. Thom sat on her bed, peering at the letters that would send both twins on their respective destinies. Neither was thrilled about their choices, a fact that Alanna felt necessary to make vocal.

"Thom, he does not care of what we have to say, all he cares about are his books. His books and his scrolls." She pouted, appearing, for the moment, the perfect picture of lady-like innocence. Not that Thom would mention it out loud, he did, after all, value his life. Alanna continued, oblivious that she had become for a moment exactly what she rebelled against. "Everyone in the fief knows that you are no warrior, and that I am no lady."

Au contraire, Thom thought, but once again wisely kept his mouth shut and merely nodded. "I could," he cautiously began, "I could perhaps become accustomed to the jab and thrust. After all, Father is a knight, so it couldn't be very difficult."

Alanna whirled; an expression of disbelief graced her features. Thom winced at Alanna's reaction, her faced turned red and she looked as if she would burst.

"I could not last one day at that convent! Thom, you of all people should be supportive of me not going. I am your twin." She threw a hairbrush across the room, breaking a porcelain figure sitting on her desk. Thom got up, there was not talking to her now. As he left his sister, who was still ranting in a fit, he stopped at the door, pondering a thought.

"Then don't go." He said softly, and left.

Making his way to his own room, he sighed at the emptiness he found. Placing the last of his items in the packs, he sat down hard on his bed. He was unready to make life-altering decisions at the ripe age of 11 and a half. He wished, at that moment in time, that for once he could talk to his mother, or that his father would come and tell him it would be okay. A knock sounded at the door, and he was hopeful it would be his father or Alanna coming to patching things up with him. Instead it was Corum, his burly frame taking up the entire door. " 're ye ready lad?" Thom took one last look about and nodded, locking his door behind him. As he made his way down the steps he saw Alanna peering out of her door, he face blotchy with tears.

It would be the last time the two of them saw each other in a number of years.

Thom, as was required of him, made his way to the palace in order to become a knight of the realm of Tortall. He was hard of making friends, but gradually he grew more personable and he was approached by the other pages, who needed help with their studies, which then blossomed to friendship. His sharp wit attracted Raoul and through him Gary and the Prince. Though younger, he became a member of their group, and often spent long nights with them discussing matters of rather great import.

Autumn froze to winter, and winter thawed to spring, and before he knew it, it was summer. The years progresses quickly, with each coming right after the other, without hesitation. Thom was a passable fighter, he had no great skill, but he was smart and quick, and so he did well against most opponents.

Little was know of Thom's family, and he rarely mentioned his sister, except for the fact that she existed. Or actually, he assumed she did, as he hadn't heard a murmur from her in three years. He knew one thing; she was not in the convent in the City of the Gods. Quietly Thom would inquire to the newly arrived ladies if they recognized the name Alanna of Trebond, and all would reply in the negative.

Alanna, meanwhile, was about to be sick. Voicing her concern to her companion, she was instructed to do so out of the carriage, as to not ruin the upholstery. She shot her mentor a disparaging look, and he laughed at her face.

"Alanna, I apologize. I know how horrible a long boat trip must be on you, with your seasickness and all. But we are approaching the palace, so we will soon be out of this rattrap. I would normally ride, but there is a lady traveling with me . . ." He trailed off, allowing her to assume the rest of the sentence.

Slighted by his earlier comments, she looked out the window, until he commented about the weather and safer topics. Still in the back of her mind, she was dreading the meetings that she would have at the palace. She hadn't spoke to Thom in years, and hoped that he was still all right, and that he would forgive her for her foolhardiness. She had, in these past few years become much of what she accused her father of. She would often forget to eat or even sleep for long periods of time when laden with an interesting text. The world outside the written word and her painstaking translation from the ancient alphabets would not exist. For all intents, it was as if she had replaced books for human interaction. She would sit for hours practicing spells and stretching her magical limits. It was obvious that she would be nothing short of ecstatic to spend the rest of her days working magic and reading at the Imperial University in Carthak.

She wouldn't be able to do it; she wouldn't be able to face him. Lowering her hand to the clasp that held the door shut, she manipulated it, so that the catch would release. She chanted to herself, tuck and roll, tuck and roll, tuck and roll, tuck and roll, and just as she had gotten the nerve, she caught sight of the castle in all of its glory. The moment was lost, and she was sealed to her fate. The carriage stopped in the middle of the bustling courtyard. As soon as the ponies halted, her companion bounded out of the door, thrusting himself into the mayhem. A group of boys a bit older then herself broke from their paths, led my a tall dark haired boy that carried a regal air. Alanna watched from the carriage as the boy grinned, and embraced Alanna's companion, crying out "Cousin!"