The Reunion

By CitrusFruit


My friend (Confusedknight) said that all the way through the Tricksters Series, she had been waiting for a huge reunion between Aly and her family, but Tamora Pierce didn't write a reunion, so I'm writing this short little one chapter ficlet on the reunion just for my little hyper buddy!

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of this story.

Aly was getting dressed thinking about the celebration taking place of the raka at the accomplishment of the luarin conspiracy. All those years, the raka and their God Kyprioth had been planning the reclaiming of their lands, and all it took was one nineteen year old girl to complete their task.

Aly always knew that someday she would have to see her family again, her father would be happy for her, but what about her mother? Her mother, the fiery Lioness did not want her to be a spy in the first place, and she had not left on the best of terms. And when she returned, how would her parents react to her new relationship with Nawat, a crow turned human?

She had achieved all that she wanted to achieve and she even found love on the way, but she was sad, and scared on how to break the obvious answer to the question Queen Dovasary asked her to her mother.

She knew in her heart, that time was looming, that the dreaded horses of her mother and father and perhaps her brothers had turned in the front of the Palace at a canter. Her mother's short, red hair flaming and her father twinkling green eyes shocking the maids of the Palace. There was nothing else she could do but wait.

She could tell that they had arrived. The rare silence in the Palace always meant that either something bad had befallen on them, or something astounding.

She put on a simple necklace with a blue butterfly on it, given to her by Nawat which coincidently, looked particularly like the colour of her hair when she had dyed it blue. She tied her hair up into a ponytail, she wanted her appearance to tell her mother, I know what I want to do in life, and I intend to do it.

The time had come, she could see the shadow of a short, stocky woman leaning on the doorframe to her rooms. 'Alianne,' she was all she said. It pained Aly that her mother had used her full name, her mother always had a fondness for her full name, but knew her dislike for it and so rarely used it.

Aly turned around and saw her mother for real, her flaming red hair in all its glory, her purple eyes that could that could change from normal to anger at the blink of the eye.

'Mother' Aly replied silently. She hadn't said a word to her mother for so long, and she didn't think it right to call her Ma.

'How are you?' The Lioness said after her daughter said nothing.

'I'm fine. And you?' Aly replied courteously, she didn't know how to react. Neither mother nor daughter were ones to apologize.

'I'm fine too.' Alanna replied quietly, not really meaning the words she said. She loved her daughter more than anything and she really wanted apologize, over and over again, to tell her daughter how much she loves and missed her. 'Are you going to stay here in the Copper Isles? I'm sure I could persuade Jon to give you a place in his government.' She continued, she now knew that nothing was going to stop Aly from becoming a spy, but she hoped that she would at least be a spy for her own country.

'I helped put Dove on the throne, and many other things too. I- I think I deserve to stay here, Mother.'

It was true, she probably did deserve to stay there, she HAD put the twice royal on the throne, she had been offered the post of Spymaster and she had found love in the Copper Isles.

'But Tortall is your home-' Alanna blurted out after a couple of seconds that felt like minutes.

'I achieved more in my life here than I did in Tortall. I put Dove on the throne. All I managed to do in Tortall was break a lot of poor boys hearts!'

'That's not true Aly of Pirate's Swoop.' Alanna said quietly. Aly perked up at the use of her preferred name. 'You made your father's life and my life more interesting, and gained our hearts, and it never broke no matter what you did.'

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a tear falling down from her mother's eye, something her mother rarely did. This sudden emotion, this rare emotion enticed the feeling that was already building up inside Aly.

All at once, she got rid of the space between her and her mother and said 'Ma, I missed you, and I love you.' She hugged her and then added 'too'. Already knowing that her mother loved her, and that her mother did not like saying or having displays of emotion. Since Alanna had started to cry, Aly felt that it was enough on her mother's part.

They both expressed their emotions now, tears freely falling down from both faces.

'Come on Aly,' Alanna finally said, wiping tears away from her face. 'Your father told me that I need to meet someone of yours who lost all his feathers? Whatever that means.'

Aly laughed, then also wiping her eyes in the same way her ma did, taking her hand. 'Of course, I suspect that Thom would really like to study him and write an article for the University!'

With a look of confusion, Aly chuckled, walking hand in hand with her mother to the Grand Hall of the Palace where Nawat and her family were hopefully talking.

THE END

Hope you like it Hyper Buddy! I wrote especially for you!

And everyone, please REVIEW! I hope I filled in the gap of the REUNION between Aly and Alanna in the Trickster's Duology!