A few minutes later, Gianna was standing in the gardens. Only, there wasn't any snow (as in the present), and there were actually people in them. Of course it was cold, but it seemed everyone was anxious for a little exercise after the winter snows had subsided. She spotted Grandmother with the gardeners, no doubt discussing how the gardens were to be opened for the spring and how they should be managed.

If there was one person that Gianna could not stand, it had to have been Alex Rawlings. But if she had to pick someone else, the honor would have fallen upon Lord Anthony Lang. At first, she thought that he would have been an interesting person. She didn't know many people of the nobility, and this fellow had rank and money. He also had a singularly slicked-down hair style that was hard to ignore.

And then she ignored him. After that night, she tried to keep away from his very presence; if she saw him coming, she ducked in one of her many hiding places throughout the house and lawns. Though she was successful most of the time, there were times when she couldn't help avoiding him. Such times were meals.

I realized that Gianna has been almost ENTIRELY left out of the story for months now- and this is a serious problem, because she's really important in this tale. To ameliorate the situation, I'm writing just what the title says- 'What Gianna Did'. As what I'm posting is merely a very raw first draft, all the plot holes and such that you've no doubt noticed so far are going to be smoothed over and fixed.

But for now, this is my solution for the Lack-of-Gianna problem. Put yourself just before the first ball (in Midwinter) so that this part makes sense.

~~~

The dancing went well into the night. There were many different dances; waltzing, jigs, bouncing lines and slow, dignified ones that were almost like taking a refined walk. Millie didn't know all of them- but her partners (and there were surprisingly many) were always willing to guide her through them. It was towards the small hours of the morning when Millie noticed that the Doctor was not amongst their number. Though she was enjoying herself immensely, such an observation cast a dim cloud over her fun.

Hello all, and a blessed season of Advent to everyone! I am so sorry for neglecting to post here... the Taverner Chronicles is almost finished, but I've been posting the chapters on my blog, www.charlieandmewrite.blogspot.com
You can finish it there if you can't wait to get to (almost) the end, or you can watch it slowly trickle here. :)

~~~

Thanks for reading! I'd love a comment =)!
----------------------------------------
Revealed

Tears from heaven
Run across skin
Mingle with tears

The noise of the drops is like a drum beat
The rhythm slowly sings a song of defeat

Blackness hides me
I become nothing
Just another drop

The best of my life is around me in this rain
The worst is sung softly in its rhythm of pain

Searching for “end”
Wishing for “purpose”
Cliché’ desires abound

O, Scotland, what hast thou done with thy noble sons?
And with thy daughters, for they, too, are gone from thee.
Thy gibbet has robbed thee of thy worthiest ones,
That loved ye, labored, aye, toiled for your good.
Ye have sent them to the grave with your wicked guns.

Notes:

   This has been very much revised compared to my first draft. If you haven't read my first draft, don't; at least not until you've read this one. I am leaving it on apricotpie only for history's sake.

   Thank you Anna for your comment, it has helped me improve this story a great deal. I have hopefully gotten rid of my major problems and added a few characters. (Well, I had them planned before, they just didn't appear until a latter chapter)

There he is sitting all alone,
Desolate, sad, and Depressed,
He is a veteran and now he is home,
But the world doesn't seem to notice.

There's a frail, poor kid in Africa,
Someone gave him a gun and told him to fight,
So to his Mother he says "goodbye, I'll never see you again"
But the world doesn't seem to notice.

There's a beautiful, rich teenager,
Who sits alone on the porch swing,
Her parents, unavailable, are making her die inside,
But the world doesn't seem to notice.