Disclaimer: The entire original cast belongs to Tamora Pierce, but I get to do what ever I wish to mine. Tehe.

Chapter 4: Royal Visit

The guards started pissing me off after a few questions, so I just kept silent. Now that they were agitated, I thought that they would finally leave me the hell alone so that I could go check on Sosonokatsu. I thought wrong...

They led me down winding hallways, turn after turn after turn, until we came to a double door room. They pushed me into it. It was a conference room... full of people. I blinked before my cold, serious, businesslike mask slipped on. I don't really like people.

The sudden intrusion makes four people's attention I really did NOT want to focus on us; although everybody's attention was on us, they didn't matter. Although I was outwardly calm, inwardly, I was shaking like a new born kitten. I glance down at my body. I'm drenched in blood, my aqua blue kimono is officially ruined and I'm a mess. This only succeeds at pissing me off even more.

I'm horrid! Those stupid bastards! Couldn't they just let me clean up and change first? Maybe I should tear their livers out and eat them for lunch.

"Majesties, Ladies, Lords, I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but there was an assassination attempt upon Prince Sosonokatsu. There were ninja and she may be one of them." I look at him in disgust. "In disguise. Two lay dead and she’s splattered in blood, like how she is now. She's also refused to answer our questions, and keeps silent."

"Thank you Captain. That will be all." He hesitated a minute, thinking he didn't have to leave. "That will be all captain."

"Yes your majesty." He said as he bowed out the door. It was all I could do to not roll my eyes and snort at him. Kiss up.

"Excuse me ladies and gentlemen. I must leave this meeting for now. In my absence, my husband will be taking over."

The queen gracefully got out of her chair and came over to me. I hear a few more chairs scrape on the floor and look over. Lady Alanna, Lady Keladry and two more people I don't know, get up and come over to us. The queen then gently takes my elbow (not covered in blood... somewhat) and led me out a different door.

"Please, sit."

I look up and notice that I was in a really nice sitting room. I then look at the queen in horror. I, sit on these... The furniture is really nice and expensive looking.

"Go ahead. It's all right. We could get the blood out."

I sit on a comfortable, but inexpensive looking, couch. I make sure that I'm on the edge, so not to ruin it anymore than I am.

"So... you were involved in the assassination attempt."

I shake my head.

"You weren't?"

I open my mouth as if to say something, but I close it back up. For some reason I can't talk to her. I was raised royal, but I was mostly with my brother and the “peasants” and “servants”, as my mother called them. I didn't speak to many royals outside my family, except for those my mother tried to marry me to.

"Here, why don't I try?" Lady Alanna crouched down in front of me, eye level. Her purple eyes reminded me of something that I hadn't seen in a very long time. Something from my childhood.

My mother! Her eyes are the same as my mother's, my eldest sister's and my dead sister's. They're the same color as mine also. Well, that is if I don't try to keep them human, except that they're a dark amethyst, darker than even Mother and Alanna, like blood red compared to red.

"Who's your mother?"

My question seems to have surprised Lady Alanna a bit. It was a random question. She swallowed before answering.

"I don't know. She died giving birth to me and my twin."

"Who's your twin?"

My questions seem to confuse her. "His name was Thom. He died some years ago."

Great, now see what I did, hit a sore spot. Hafta change the subject.

"How did your mother and father meet?"

"I don't know. Why are you asking me all these questions?"

I got to change the subject.

"I was not involved in the assassination attempt on... Prince Sosonokatsu. Well, not until after I killed the ninja that sliced a sword through his stomach. I killed another before they ran. Your guards were awfully slow at coming and could've been faster at getting to the healers. I had to use my Gift to slow the bleeding until they came, they were that slow."

"Are you suggesting bribery?"

"Implying, I said nothing of bribery."

The personal questions I asked earlier seemed to bring back painful memories to Alanna, so I jumped from them, also to avoid why I was asking them. There were rumors of my great hanyou aunt having a lost grand child that was mostly human.

"Allow me to examine her to see exactly what gifts she actually has."

"Is it all right if Numair here magically probes you?"

The idea of someone else's magic makes me blanch a little. Mine was perfectly fine, but I've seen what strong magic can do. Blowing people up or just simply drop dead, latterly, because of a spell gone awry. But I've heard of Numair. He's a palace and battle mage who is one of the only black robes, which only two of my people have ever achieved. He was supposed to be a professional... right? I gulp before deciding...

"Alright. He can, but when I want him to stop, he's got to stop."

"I would never think otherwise."

He was so tall. I had to crank my neck up pretty far just to look at his face. Just as my neck was starting to hurt, he pulled a stool up in front of me and sat down. I thought he looked funny because his knees went up, up, up. He then magically adjusted it and looked fine.

"Now close you eyes."

I did as I was told and sat as still as possible. A large hand was laid upon my small left one and two fingers on my right temple. Coolness trickled downward from where those hands were. Suddenly I could see. There was like a spider web of colors all around.

He, while "holding" onto my hand, traveled on one of the lines to my center, which was a pillar of rainbows with many colors in it. My personal light, dark amethyst/silver swirl was most of the pillar, and a green/white/blue/red swirl taking up some of the rest. The last was a copper that swirled around all of them. He "caught" the many colored one, them being my "human" gift; fire, healing, speaking and what not. He set it "free" and "caught" the coppery one and set it "free" right away, me guessing what exactly it was. Just as he "caught" my purple/silver light, I knew I didn't want him to; less he would get hurt and/or find out what I am.

Heat seared through me and I jerked away crying out shortly in pain. Opening my eyes, I look at Numair while rubbing the spot on my hand where we were connected and seeing that he was burnt too. I glance down at it. If was head as if I had spilt hot grease on it. My right hand, three fingers; my pointer, middle, and ring; the middle had a black opal. It was glowing and caught my eye. I forgot what the sickly green color was meant for, so I put it out of my mind.

"She has an assortment of Gifts; one being elemental; fire, water and such. Another is a quite strong and active wild gift. She also has another, but it seems it wishes not to be known for it burnt both of us and kicked us out."

The woman, who was with Numair, whirled her head to me. I saw the coppery light coming really bright from her, so I knew that she had the Wild Gift too.

"Yes I'm positive Daine. It is almost as strong as yours and may get stronger if she works with it. It does seem as if she has almost complete control of it."

"Yes, I do. It runs in the family; my mother's side. All of my... people... have it. Our... community... is based on the animal life around us. Although I haven't learned to transform yet, I speak perfectly well with all animals. I get my, what did you call it... oh yeah, elemental, Gift from my father."

"What is your other Gift?"

I do not wish for him to know yet, know that they should not know until the most opportune moment. I wish to avoid the conversation when I suddenly remember what the green color glowing on my black opal meant.

"I got to go!"

I get up and run out the door to the railing. What a convenience.

Haku: white

Hanyou: half-breed

Inu: dog

Katana: a type of curved sword that Japanese samurai use, or in this case, Yamani samurai

Kimono: a Japanese out fit that girls mostly wear

Kobudou: fighting in close combat with weapons

Obi: the tie around the middle of a kimono

Sakura: the blossoms of a tree

Sensu: a flip fan used in Japan

Youkai: demon