Alliance

Disclaimer: Mozenrath and Xerxes belong to Disney all other characters are mine.

It was a day of celebration. Princess Mekere had been initiated as a full healer. She would go and gather the special herbs that her people held so dear for poultices and bandages. " Have you drunk enough dear sister?" the query came from her twin brother and fellow healer Shianera. "You would think that you were going for a three month mission instead of a three week one with the way you are going at that water skin." Mekere merely smiled and finished her drink. "You never know how long it will take, besides I will have to hunt and change often; I will need all that I just drank."

"You will need more just to be sure!" called Katiena from the side of the well. Mekere smiled to herself; if Katiena decided that Mekere needed something to prepare for her mission then Mekere was going no-where until Katiena was satisfied, but outwardly she grimaced. Drinking was not something a changeling liked to do or could do often. Katiena strode over from the well, water skin all but brimming over with water. "Drink it all dearling or I will pour it down your throat." Was all Katiena said, but Shianera heard the worry in his beloved protectors voice (it was more than just friendship that made Katiena be so protective over Mekere; they were soul-sisters. Katiena and Shianera were CONNECTED so it only made sense that the two were soul-sisters). *She is well trained my love* he telespoke to her.

* I know but we are soul-sisters, and this is nothing like our first mission. Then I did not worry about you because I was there. *

* True, but what about when I had to burrow? *

* When you burrowed I followed your scent so if you got into trouble I could dig you out. *

During this discussion Mekere had been forcing down her drink and taking a last look at her brother and soul-sister. She was like all bird-folk: small and dainty looking. With her long black hair, dark skin, amber eyes, and small bones she looked more like a doll in a bird-healers blue-greens than a fully trained healer preparing for her first mission. Her brother was regal looking in his formal serpent-healers reds, so was Katiena in her formal blacks.

Shianera was tall for a serpentling very tall, his deep green eyes and dark hair were very noticeable against his formal reds.

Katiena was the product of a changeling and demon pairing, and her demon heritage showed today in the light of the camp fire. She had the medium build of a canine bound warrior. Her blue and purple highlights were clear in the constant fire light, her eyes were their predominate violent violet. Finally it was time to leave. Mekere flowed into her hawk-eagle form and headed west.

A week and a half later she was very pleased with herself. She had found plenty of the herbs and had had no mishaps; not even a fouled hunt. She would get back to the village with time to spare. All of a sudden she heard an ominous rumble in the distance which she recognized as thunder. Mekere welcomed the sound, as did all changelings, for storms meant new life and easier game. After checking that the pouch containing her precious burden was secure she flowed to her eagle form and flew east.

She had misjudged the distance of the storm. Frantically she looked for shelter. In the distance to the South there was a dark Citadel, perhaps she could find shelter behind a wall or under a turret. Just as she reached the Citadel grounds the storm broke. There was a great flash of lightning and she felt a jolt of white-hot pain and electricity. She fell to the ground in great agony. The last thing she saw was a full human that reeked of corruption and halted death, rise out of the sand.

Mozenrath sat upon his throne in a state of controlled impatience, he had felt something very powerful enters the grounds with the storm and now his mamluks were looking for it. Xerxes soon swam into the throne room in a high level of excitement. "Well what is it?" demanded Mozenrath. "Eagle, a she eagle" came the familiars reply. Before Mozenrath could further question his familiar a mamluk entered carrying the prone form of a she eagle. She had a jagged hole in her left wing and was barely breathing. Mozenrath took her almost lovingly from the mamluks' hands, and carried her to a windowless room deep in the Citadel, bound her wing to stop the bleeding and placed her in a pillowed basket on a long table.

Two days later just after he had finished changing her bandage in the long table she slowly woke up. Mozenrath watched fascinated as she opened one golden eye then another, as he watched her, her eyes turned from gold to the purest amber. Slowly slower than she should have Mekere flowed to her first form. It hurt (as it should not) but she had to change or else she would never heal properly. Her left arm/wing felt as though a poison tipped arrow had been forced through it. She did not notice her surroundings until she was fully changed. She was in a dark room on a hard wooden table; someone had bandaged her arm. She could smell him, she knew form his scent that he was cunning, a full-human sorcerer and right behind her. "Well I knew that you were powerful, but I would never have guessed that that was what you did. Tell me, are those your only forms?"

"No I have many others but all are bird forms." She was to dazed to think of telling him anything but the truth. "Where are the windows? I need fresh air and light!"

"There are no windows in this room. I would not like for you to catch a chill; after all you can be an useful weapon, and I would not want you to die before I could even test your skills. Besides I would not want you to fly off before you were tamed." Came his smooth reply.

"What?!! You thought of me as only a weapon! I will never be your pet you (here she set lose such a string of curses and insults that made even Mozenrath back up a pace.) you thought that you could tame me?! Well you know what you can do with that fine idea? You can (here again Mozenrath was surprised to hear such language coming from such a delicate young woman; even though he did not show it). Mekere smiled to herself, as she smelled her captor's surprise and decided to give him something more to think about. But what? And how could she be smelling an eel in mid-air? Both of her questions were answered as just then a curios Xerxes swam in to find out what all the yelling was about. Ah thought Mekere a familiar, and it is male, good. During this thought process she had not stopped railing at Mozenrath so she merely changed tactics by telling him to do many physically improbable things most of which included Xerxes.

When she finally wound down it was due more to the fact that she was drained and in pain than the fact that she had run out of new things to say. "Well," he finally said, "if I withhold food from you you will probably die form weakness, but perhaps a while without water will teach you some manners." Mekere fought to not laugh in his face; she had drunk two very full water-skins and would not drink for at least two months, to keep form doing so she spat at him instead. He did not even wipe it from his cheek; he merely left locking her in the windowless room. Mekere listened intently and only after she heard his footsteps fall into silence did she pull out her herbs chew up the roots (which were good for poultices, the stalks and leaves were good for bandages.), undo the bandage, place the chewed up mush place it on her wound and redo the bandage. Just as she finished she heard footsteps coming towards her door. The sorcerer entered with a being behind him just like the one she saw before she fainted, carrying cooked meat land bread. Before Mekere could say anything about this new insult towards her the sorcerer said, "perhaps we started off wrong when you woke up let us begin by exchanging names, mine is Mozenrath, and who pray tell are you?" Mekere wanted dearly to spit in his face again but she was a princess and when courtesy was offered it should be returned so she spoke one word "Mekere" her name.

"Well then Mekere I trust that this food will be to your liking, as you are carnivorous you will see that you have only meat and bread, nothing else."

"Cooked meat?! First you lock me away from the sky, then you insult me by saying that you would tame me, withhold water from me, and then have the almighty gall to offer me cooked meat served by this!"

"What are you a princess?!" Mozenrath asked enraged then his anger turned to shock as she started nodding while smiling in wicked glee, then he realized why she was smiling like that, if she was a princess then there were others like her, and if she was the only heir to the throne then her people would stop at nothing to get her back. " Well your highness, I shall bring you raw meat and any other food you wish."

"Fresh fruit, raw vegetables and bread. I have to keep my human form healthy too."

"Very we-"

"And do not have one of these", she pointed to the mamluk, "bring it. What are they anyway?"

"They are called mamluks" he replied proudly.

"They stink, do not bring them near me."

"I shall bring your food my self."

Shortly after Mekere heard him returning and could smell the raw dear, carrots and bread he was carrying. She thought fast, if he thought that she was the only heir then he would be more careful of her and if he thought that all changelings were bird folk then he would not expect a rescue mission to come in the form of a canine or feline. "I have brought you food your high"

"Call me Lady Mekere or just Lady, only the King or Queen may be called Highness."

"Very well Lady I hope that you will find this meal to your liking."

"Of course I do now if"

"I will sit and talk with you while you eat." Mozenrath cut in before she could try to dismiss him. Mekere merely shrugged, pulled the tray to her said a prayer of thanks to the dear and started eating. "Are all of your people such voracious and barbaric when they eat?" queried Mozenrath.

"Of course we all eat like this, but what do you mean by barbaric, and what are these wooden things for?" she answered a little surprised. Mozenrath almost choked. Mekere had blood all over her face and was in the process of tearing apart a haunch with her teeth.

"You have no idea what eating utensils are for, you use language that would make a soldier in the Sultans army blush, when you eat you get blood all over yourself and you are a princess."

"Our way of eating is merely a reflection of our hunters instincts from our animal forms, and my swearing is a reflection of my friend who is a protector, besides I do not us it often only when I am very angry. He changed the subject.

"Are all of your people bird-folk?"

"Both my mothers and fathers people are bird-folk", which was the perfect truth Shianera was the first in their family to be a serpentling.

So passed her days.

Katiena was happy, a storm was coming, the first storm since she and Shianera could DANCE together. Who knows I may bear him a child on our first storm DANCE. She thought happily. She waited outside of their tent for him like an eager puppy for its master, for Shianera. All of a sudden he was beside her; he had snuck up on her in serpent form. "Shall we prepare for the DANCE?" he asked impishly. "Do let's." Came her eager reply. They went into their bedchamber and undressed. They were both as virgin as the day they were born, but that was about to change; when they first realized that they were CONNECTED they decided to wait until they were wed and their first DANCE came about. They did not have long to wait before the signal for the DANCE to begin was given (the first audible rumble of thunder).

Katiena thought that she would die of bliss when the storm broke over the village. The beginning had been good, but this was what one could only get during a DANCE, all of a sudden Shianera cried out and clutched his left arm. Katiena felt his pain as her own for she knew that what he felt was an echo-pain, fearing that she already knew the answer she asked, "What is it?"

His answer chilled her heart "Mekere is hurt, she was struck by lightning in her left wing."

A week later Katiena and Shianera caught Mekere's scent. They knew that a sorcerer held her captive in a Citadel, she was a pampered prisoner, but a prisoner all the same. It was Shianera who first saw the Citadel, he pointed it out to Katiena and she nodded. He flowed to his smallest form; she took the form of a majestic wind jackal. Shianera made his way between his beloved's fur and she ran towards the Citadel. Right before she reached the grounds she flowed to her human form with Shianera (still in his tiniest form) literally up her sleeve. She was in her formal blacks and armed to the teeth. They were taking a big gamble that the sorcerer would not be able to tell that there was more than one person entering the grounds, or sense Shianera once he left Katiena. The second she set foot on the Citadel grounds a being that reeked, not so much as of decay as it did of halted decay, rose out of the ground. That made her certain that this was where Mekere was held, if someone could defy nature in this way and then sew the poor creatures mouth shut, then they could certainly hold Mekere prisoner; that only made Katiena's fear, anger, and resolve deepen. Fear of what the sorcerer might have done to Mekere, anger at his audacity, and resolve to make him pay if he had hurt her in any way at all. "Take me to your master, and make one false move and I will end your miserable existence for good." She was led to a throne room where she finally saw the one living thing other than a djinn that had the audacity to hold a changeling captive. Mekere's scent was all over him, her fear, anger, and panic was distinguishable form the sorcerer's own scent. The scent of panic only made Katiena madder for only one thing could make Mekere lose all control over her emotions like that and that was being locked in a windowless room.

Mozenrath braced himself for a string of insults, the princess had said that she had learned her mastery of swearing from a guard, and if this young woman was not an angry guard he did not want to meet one. Instead she calmly and quietly said, "I am Katiena, I wish to know who the fool is that keeps my Lady prisoner."

"Who is your Lady and why are you coming to me?"

* He knows my clan-name soul-sister* came Mekeres shaky telespeech.

* Does he know your rank? *

* He knows that I am a princess and thinks that I am the only royal heir, but he does not know that I am a heal, he also thinks that we are all bird-folk*

* Alright love Shianera's on his way to find you so rest*

*O.K.*

Katiena faced the sorcerer and said, " who is the fool holding my Lady Mekere captive? Or more to the point who are you?"

"I am Mozenrath lord of this Citadel. And I repeat why do you think that I have your Lady?"

Good, thought Katiena, he is focused entirely on me and this form of talk can take hours. She gave Shianera the signal to leave and look for Mekere.

Shianera slithered to the ground, caught his sister's scent and followed it. Her scent led him to a room deep in the Citadel. There was a crack between the door and the floor that he could fit through. He went through and almost got stepped on. Mekere was pacing the room as soon as he had a wide enough berth he flowed to human form. Then he saw her arm it was bound tightly and hung useless at her side. "Come my sister can you change?"

"Yes but not small enough."

"Looks like we are stuck then, I will let Katiena know that we cannot get through."

* Shianera, have you found her yet?*

* Yes but*

* Get out he is bringing me to *

The door opened with Mozenrath leading Katiena into the room. Mozenrath took two steps into the room and stopped. There was a young man the same age as the princess standing next to him. * the room*

" Who is this?" demanded Mozenrath.

"I am Shianera, Mekere's brother her twin to be exact. "How did you get in here? The door is locked and you could not have a form small enough to get through, otherwise your sister would have escaped by now." Before Shianera could react Katiena flowed into her most impressive form a golden wind jackal with a silver mane, and back to her human form and said "Shianera?" he responded by taking on his king cobra form with his hood fully spread, and back again. Mozenrath quickly got over his shock and asked " How many of there are you?"

"here or in general?" returned Katiena.

"either, both."

"there are only us three here, but there are many others in the clan." Katiena took pity on the sorcerer and said " we have the power to form an alliance with you in spite of the insult you rendered to my people and Lady."

"very well then shall we sit?"

"No!" all three replied at once.

"we would prefer to be in an windowed room." Explained Shianera.

" of course follow me"

When they were all settled Katiena said " we will aid you in any kind of war fare, but will not harm innocents. Our healers will give you or any living creature in the Citadel medical aid when you need it. All we ask in return is that you aid us in any magical way we need."

"like more storms?" Mekere asked impishly. Katiena and Shianera blushed.

" I do not know why you need more storms but—"

"No, no that would disrupt the flow of nature, but perhaps you have a spare sleeping chamber?" Shianera asked half jokingly.

Ten minutes later Katiena and Shianera were making up for lost time. When they were finally done Katiena merely said to her lover "It was worth the wait my love, it was well worth the wait."

AN: Good? Bad? Don't Care? Shall I write more about these characters? Let me know please Flames will be used to pop popcorn.