Needs a Man (Alan(na))

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Jasmine was nearly ready to go to the island. She had just been looking around at her home before she left. One thing that really caught her attention was how few men she had seen. There were only a couple all day. They were probably getting ready for the coming war, but that meant there were probably going to be even fewer at the island.

So, Jasmine had decided she was going to get the next boy she saw to go with her. Lots of the boys had horses, so this was going to be a great place to look. Now, she just had to actually find one.

Jasmine heard some hay rustle. It was probably a horse, but she was going to be hopeful. "Is anyone there?" she asked.

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As it so happened, Jasmine was both in luck and out of it. In because someone was there. Out because the person in question was Alanna of Trebond, and though she looked and acted like a boy, was a woman. Jasmine might never know that, so perhaps we needn't even include the bad luck involved.

The fact was, Alanna tried her best to act a boy because only boys were allowed to become knights. No matter what she was born, Alanna's heart and mind were set on winning her shield, no matter what it took. She'd already been working for five years and had only four more to go. She was more than halfway to her goal, and she wouldn't let anything stand in her way. Especially not her gender.

She stood from where she'd been bent to check Moonlight's hoof and looked towards the source of the voice. What she saw was, she supposed, a very beautiful young woman. For a moment, Alanna even felt jealous. "Can I help you?" she asked the girl who had spoken.

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Jasmine smiled. She had found her prey. Now to set the trap. Hopefully the boy in front of her would take the bait. There was only one way to find out.

"Hello. I was just saying goodbye to this place. It's nice to finally se a boy. I haven't seen one in a while. What are you doing here, anyway? I thought all the boys were getting ready for the war in some way," Jasmine rambled. Her thoughts didn't quite get out the way she had wanted them to.

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"Goodbye?" Alanna questioned, tilting her head. She had an irking feeling that this girl was looking for mischief. She had the same look that Lady Delia of Eldorne had when she flirted with every young knight and squire in the palace. Of course, only Alanna had noticed what the girl had been doing, since the actual boys had been infatuated with her.

"Part of getting ready is training, I suppose. I'm here to get my horse," 'Alan' answered, taking a few steps towards the stall where Moonlight waited.

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"Yes, goodbye. I'm heading off to the island soon. I just can't bear to see this place at war. Of course, it will be pretty lonely at the island. I bet most people want to stay and fight," Jasmine said with a little fake sadness in her voice. She hoped that would wear down the boy. No boy could bear to see an unhappy girl.

"You have a horse? We really saw horses where I'm from. Aren't you worried that it'll get hurt?" Jasmine asked. She could only hope that that would work if the pretend sadness didn't. Who would want their animal hurt? She certainly wouldn't have wanted Rajah getting hurt because of her.

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"It won't be at war if we win," Alanna pointed out. "Running will just mean we can't ever come back." Not to mention it will mean we're cowards, she thought. "Not everyone can be a fighter, though. I get that. I'm sure there will be plenty others with you." Some people don't take chances

Alanna pet the golden mare between the eyes. "Moonlight's been trained, and we'll have armor. If they even let us fight. She'll be alright." The horse whinnied, bobbing her head. "I'm sure no one is cruel or stupid enough to target a horse anyway. Horses don't fight, and they're much stronger and harder to bring down than the people who ride them."

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"Running can be a tactical thing. You don't have to fight to win. I guess running is only for the girls. I can't fight quite as well as you men can. It would be nice if at least one accompanied us," Jasmine said. She was not going to be dismissed so easily.

"I didn't know horses could be trained for war. I hope she does well. It seems like it could be easy enough for someone to accidentally hurt her," Jasmine said. That was obviously a lost cause, but it might wear the boy down. Well, she could only hope.

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"You do have to fight to win, running is only tactical if you fight another day," Alanna pointed out. "And I'm sure some boys are going." They couldn't send people without guards, could they? Surely some people would like excuses to leave. Some might even be going for lovers, she knew it wasn't entirely out of the question to find romance here. She was very glad for her disguise in that area. She didn't want boys trying to seduce her, and at least she was immune to the girls.

"Yeah, that's where the term warhorse comes from. She was raised by the Bazhir, who train all their horses. Horses are much tougher than you think, it's much harder to hurt a horse than it is to hurt a human, and it's rather difficult to accidentally hurt people unless you're just being foolish," 'Alan' said. Only stupid people accidentally hurt others, all the other times it wouldn't be an accident on the attacker's part, it would be a misstep on the defender's.

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"Those of us that go to the island can fight another day. I'm not that much of a fighter, but I could escape the gaurds of my own kingdom. I could do all kinds of things most of the men can't. And it wouldn't hurt to have more boys there so if our forces need help, we'll have some unscathed people to assist them," Jasmine said in her most convincing tone. She really wanted the boy to come.

"Interesting. We never saw warhorses in Agrabah. It was always a nice surprise to see a normal horse. I guess they had to be tough just to take their rider to my homeland," Jasmine said. She was rather amazed by the horses. They were quite amazing.