Broken Arrow
Chapter 1
DISCLAIMER: Any of the characters or places you recognise do not belong to me they belong to the brilliant Tamora Pierce.
* * *
Epilogue
Fire was blazing all around her, her father was carrying her, desperately trying to get out their manor. People were screaming. She could see her mother and sister running behind her, then a piercing scream and a burning beam fell and killed her mother and sister instantly.
The Shang Phoenix awoke suddenly soaked in a cold sweat. The dreams were so real. That fatal night still haunted her, the night she lost her family. It was 23 years ago. She was six. It was the night her life changed forever and her life as a Shang warrior began. She had been living in the Yamani islands with her family, war had broken out between the Yamani and the Rebels. Her family's manor and village was attacked. She was the only one to escape. She watched her family burn to death. She fled into the woods, stricken with grief and pain. She met a woman in the forest, the Shang Wildcat. The wildcat lived there away from the cities with her family. She took her in and called her Beyami, meaning "daughter of sadness" because of the pure sorrow that the Wildcat saw in her dark green eyes that night in the woods.
So the Wildcat became her surrogate mother, her trainer and her mentor. She became the Shang Phoenix and one of the greatest Shang warriors in the land, only the Wildcat could beat her. Just. The Wildcat traveled to the city of Corus is the country of Tortall. She could never return to the Islands, the memories caused her too much pain.
* * *
Chapter 1
Beyami, also known to many as the Shang Phoenix, washed and dressed quickly. Banishing the dream from her mind. It was just before dawn and the palace was in a deep fog only a tiny bit of the suns faint rays could be seen. Using her gift as a weather witch she parted the fog in front of her so she could see were she was going. Beyami hated getting up early and would much rather be asleep but there weren't enough hours in the day to do everything. So she had to rise early. Beyami crossed a courtyard and entered the Royal wing of the palace. She knocked on the door of the royal suit; a woman with ebony hair and of great beauty opened the door and greeted her with the traditional Yamani bow. Beyami did the same. The woman was Queen Theyet. The Queen and her trained in the morning with some other members of the court. "Come in Be," said Thayet. "Thank You," said Beyami as she entered the room. The Queen went to her dresser picked up a hair tie and tied her long black hair into a ponytail. Beyami was wearing traditional Yamani training gear except it was all black which told all Yamani that she was in exile from The Isles. She was wearing a black veil and a black hooded cloak. Thayet was wearing her training gear from the Queens riders. She donned a cloak-said goodbye to her husband King Jonathan and left with Beyami.
They made their way through the fog, with the help of Beyami's gift, to the practice courts. The two other Shang, the Wildcat and the Horse were already there. Beyami opened the gate and entered with the queen. They moved onto the centre of the court. Beyami was paired with Eda Belle, the Wildcat and Thayet with the Horse. Beyami and Eda used very real very sharp glaives. This didn't appear to bother either of the Shang.
Eda trained me, I trust her completely. She has enough discipline and control to be able to avoid seriously injuring me. Tortallans just don't seem to comprehend trust, thought Beyami to herself.
They bowed to each other the traditional Yamani way and circled. Eda feinted high aiming at her head, Be, knowing her style, blocked low to stop the hard wooden shaft of the glaive from breaking her ribs. She twirled the shaft of Edas glaive with her own and suddenly pushed up, bringing her glaive around in a full swing to crack Edas head open. Eda, not predicting this, quickly flipped backward narrowly escaping the blade. Be dropped into a defensive stance knowing what was coming. The complicated pattern that was almost impossible to block. Eda began the Dancing Butterfly. Her blade quickly blurring until it could hardly be seen. Be knew not to watch the blade but the end of the wooden shaft that would soon come to connect with her chest, splintering the bone in the middle of it and killing her.
They had gathered a large audience of pages, squires, nobles and members of the Own. Among these were Raoul, Neal, Alanna and even the King himself.
Be suddenly, very unexpectedly ran forward at Eda in the middle of her deadly swing. She caught Eda's glaive such force that Eda was thrown backwards and Be had the tip of her glaive resting millimeters from her neck. They smiled at each other and Eda said she yielded in Yamani. Be removed her glaive from Eda's neck and held out her hand. Eda took it smiling.
"A first time for everything, hmm birdie?" said Eda, using a pet name Be despised.
The crowd was cheering. They looked around surprised at the amount of people watching. The crowd slowly left seeing that the fight was over. She said goodbye to Eda who said she had to go torture pages. Beyami just laughed and waved as she walked over to were Neal, Kel and some other knights were standing. They were all staring at her, awe in their eyes.
She laughed, " You are impressed easily."
"Easily. Easily," spluttered Neal in disbelief " what do you mean easily! That was some of the most complicated glaive fighting I've ever seen."
Beyami just snorted and smiled saying,
" I got sloppy. She shouldn't have been able to get to the point were she could kill me. It was far to close."
"Whatever you say," replied Neal skeptically.
" Lets get something to eat. I'm hungry," said Kel changing the subject. They all nodded and headed for the dinning hall.
* * *
After lunch Beyami had to go and fetch some third year pages, so they decided to meet up two hours after lunch at the stables so they could talk and ride.
Beyami arrived at the stables to see that only Kel and Raoul stood there.
" Where are the others?" she asked furrowing her brow.
" Well Gary had to go do more paperwork and organise something or another and naturally Jon had to help him. Alanna had to go teach some pages at the last minute and Neal and Yuki had to go and ahh. see Neals father about travelling plans for when they go to the Yamani Isles," said Raoul counting them off on his fingers. He sighed and said looking very proud of himself " Yes, that's everyone."
Beyami smiled and Kel just rolled her eyes at the big knight's childishness, he gave them a cheeky grin and mounted his horse. Kel and Beyami did the same thing.
" Well lets get going then." Said Kel.
They began to ride towards the woods.
" I haven't seen you two in three years and that was only for a short time because you had to leave again for New Hope," said Beyami regretfully.
"It's been too long. We should see each other more often. But I'm not staying long. It was only a short visit to get supplies, I leave tomorrow at dawn," said Kel sighing. Beyami thought about it then said, "Well there's no immediate reason for me to be here, so I suppose, if it's alright with you I could come to New Hope with you." A broad smile spread across Kels face.
" Perfect. Of course I wouldn't mind if you came. I would have only had the love birds to keep me company." Kel made a strangled noise as she put her hands around her neck in mock strangle. " I don't know if I could have survived Neals constant crooning." Beyami and Raoul both laughed at the look of disgust on Kels face.
" And what of you Raoul, were will you go?" asked Beyami.
"I will be going home to Goldenlake with Buri for a much needed holiday." He said sighing and drifting into thought. Beyami wondered of Goldenlake, rest or Buri. The latter was her best guess, judging by the dreamy look on his face.
They rode for a while longer before turning back. When Kel said, looking up at the sky, "It looks like rain." Kel looked at Beyami questioningly, Kel knew Beyami had a gift to do with the weather.
"Hmmm." said Beyami concentrating on the air and clouds around her. " Yes it will rain but not for a few more hours."
A few hours later they arrived at the stables and just got inside before it started to rain.
"That was close." Said Raoul looking out at the Grey sky.
" No it wasn't. It was perfectly timed," said Beyami in a-matter- of-fact -way. Raoul stared at her
" You mean you were controlling the rain so we wouldn't get wet."
" I hate getting wet," stated Beyami simply.
" Oh," said Raoul in awe. Suddenly a messenger ran up to Kel and said, out of breath,
" His majesty requests your presence Lady Kel and Lord Raoul, he says it's urgent!" Judging by the look on Kels face she was definitely worried. All three started towards the king's study. Beyami decided to come; they silently agreed that she should.
Kel didn't even bother to knock; she just threw the door open. What does she know that we don't? Thought Beyami. She gave Raoul a quizzical look at Kels behaviour; he just shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what was wrong either.
" What's happened at New Hope?" asked Kel worriedly.
* * *
Well that's my first chapter. Hope you liked it. Reviews are fun but not absolutely necessary. I won't make threats about not posting if you don't review, unlike some people I know. GEN!
Chapter 1
DISCLAIMER: Any of the characters or places you recognise do not belong to me they belong to the brilliant Tamora Pierce.
* * *
Epilogue
Fire was blazing all around her, her father was carrying her, desperately trying to get out their manor. People were screaming. She could see her mother and sister running behind her, then a piercing scream and a burning beam fell and killed her mother and sister instantly.
The Shang Phoenix awoke suddenly soaked in a cold sweat. The dreams were so real. That fatal night still haunted her, the night she lost her family. It was 23 years ago. She was six. It was the night her life changed forever and her life as a Shang warrior began. She had been living in the Yamani islands with her family, war had broken out between the Yamani and the Rebels. Her family's manor and village was attacked. She was the only one to escape. She watched her family burn to death. She fled into the woods, stricken with grief and pain. She met a woman in the forest, the Shang Wildcat. The wildcat lived there away from the cities with her family. She took her in and called her Beyami, meaning "daughter of sadness" because of the pure sorrow that the Wildcat saw in her dark green eyes that night in the woods.
So the Wildcat became her surrogate mother, her trainer and her mentor. She became the Shang Phoenix and one of the greatest Shang warriors in the land, only the Wildcat could beat her. Just. The Wildcat traveled to the city of Corus is the country of Tortall. She could never return to the Islands, the memories caused her too much pain.
* * *
Chapter 1
Beyami, also known to many as the Shang Phoenix, washed and dressed quickly. Banishing the dream from her mind. It was just before dawn and the palace was in a deep fog only a tiny bit of the suns faint rays could be seen. Using her gift as a weather witch she parted the fog in front of her so she could see were she was going. Beyami hated getting up early and would much rather be asleep but there weren't enough hours in the day to do everything. So she had to rise early. Beyami crossed a courtyard and entered the Royal wing of the palace. She knocked on the door of the royal suit; a woman with ebony hair and of great beauty opened the door and greeted her with the traditional Yamani bow. Beyami did the same. The woman was Queen Theyet. The Queen and her trained in the morning with some other members of the court. "Come in Be," said Thayet. "Thank You," said Beyami as she entered the room. The Queen went to her dresser picked up a hair tie and tied her long black hair into a ponytail. Beyami was wearing traditional Yamani training gear except it was all black which told all Yamani that she was in exile from The Isles. She was wearing a black veil and a black hooded cloak. Thayet was wearing her training gear from the Queens riders. She donned a cloak-said goodbye to her husband King Jonathan and left with Beyami.
They made their way through the fog, with the help of Beyami's gift, to the practice courts. The two other Shang, the Wildcat and the Horse were already there. Beyami opened the gate and entered with the queen. They moved onto the centre of the court. Beyami was paired with Eda Belle, the Wildcat and Thayet with the Horse. Beyami and Eda used very real very sharp glaives. This didn't appear to bother either of the Shang.
Eda trained me, I trust her completely. She has enough discipline and control to be able to avoid seriously injuring me. Tortallans just don't seem to comprehend trust, thought Beyami to herself.
They bowed to each other the traditional Yamani way and circled. Eda feinted high aiming at her head, Be, knowing her style, blocked low to stop the hard wooden shaft of the glaive from breaking her ribs. She twirled the shaft of Edas glaive with her own and suddenly pushed up, bringing her glaive around in a full swing to crack Edas head open. Eda, not predicting this, quickly flipped backward narrowly escaping the blade. Be dropped into a defensive stance knowing what was coming. The complicated pattern that was almost impossible to block. Eda began the Dancing Butterfly. Her blade quickly blurring until it could hardly be seen. Be knew not to watch the blade but the end of the wooden shaft that would soon come to connect with her chest, splintering the bone in the middle of it and killing her.
They had gathered a large audience of pages, squires, nobles and members of the Own. Among these were Raoul, Neal, Alanna and even the King himself.
Be suddenly, very unexpectedly ran forward at Eda in the middle of her deadly swing. She caught Eda's glaive such force that Eda was thrown backwards and Be had the tip of her glaive resting millimeters from her neck. They smiled at each other and Eda said she yielded in Yamani. Be removed her glaive from Eda's neck and held out her hand. Eda took it smiling.
"A first time for everything, hmm birdie?" said Eda, using a pet name Be despised.
The crowd was cheering. They looked around surprised at the amount of people watching. The crowd slowly left seeing that the fight was over. She said goodbye to Eda who said she had to go torture pages. Beyami just laughed and waved as she walked over to were Neal, Kel and some other knights were standing. They were all staring at her, awe in their eyes.
She laughed, " You are impressed easily."
"Easily. Easily," spluttered Neal in disbelief " what do you mean easily! That was some of the most complicated glaive fighting I've ever seen."
Beyami just snorted and smiled saying,
" I got sloppy. She shouldn't have been able to get to the point were she could kill me. It was far to close."
"Whatever you say," replied Neal skeptically.
" Lets get something to eat. I'm hungry," said Kel changing the subject. They all nodded and headed for the dinning hall.
* * *
After lunch Beyami had to go and fetch some third year pages, so they decided to meet up two hours after lunch at the stables so they could talk and ride.
Beyami arrived at the stables to see that only Kel and Raoul stood there.
" Where are the others?" she asked furrowing her brow.
" Well Gary had to go do more paperwork and organise something or another and naturally Jon had to help him. Alanna had to go teach some pages at the last minute and Neal and Yuki had to go and ahh. see Neals father about travelling plans for when they go to the Yamani Isles," said Raoul counting them off on his fingers. He sighed and said looking very proud of himself " Yes, that's everyone."
Beyami smiled and Kel just rolled her eyes at the big knight's childishness, he gave them a cheeky grin and mounted his horse. Kel and Beyami did the same thing.
" Well lets get going then." Said Kel.
They began to ride towards the woods.
" I haven't seen you two in three years and that was only for a short time because you had to leave again for New Hope," said Beyami regretfully.
"It's been too long. We should see each other more often. But I'm not staying long. It was only a short visit to get supplies, I leave tomorrow at dawn," said Kel sighing. Beyami thought about it then said, "Well there's no immediate reason for me to be here, so I suppose, if it's alright with you I could come to New Hope with you." A broad smile spread across Kels face.
" Perfect. Of course I wouldn't mind if you came. I would have only had the love birds to keep me company." Kel made a strangled noise as she put her hands around her neck in mock strangle. " I don't know if I could have survived Neals constant crooning." Beyami and Raoul both laughed at the look of disgust on Kels face.
" And what of you Raoul, were will you go?" asked Beyami.
"I will be going home to Goldenlake with Buri for a much needed holiday." He said sighing and drifting into thought. Beyami wondered of Goldenlake, rest or Buri. The latter was her best guess, judging by the dreamy look on his face.
They rode for a while longer before turning back. When Kel said, looking up at the sky, "It looks like rain." Kel looked at Beyami questioningly, Kel knew Beyami had a gift to do with the weather.
"Hmmm." said Beyami concentrating on the air and clouds around her. " Yes it will rain but not for a few more hours."
A few hours later they arrived at the stables and just got inside before it started to rain.
"That was close." Said Raoul looking out at the Grey sky.
" No it wasn't. It was perfectly timed," said Beyami in a-matter- of-fact -way. Raoul stared at her
" You mean you were controlling the rain so we wouldn't get wet."
" I hate getting wet," stated Beyami simply.
" Oh," said Raoul in awe. Suddenly a messenger ran up to Kel and said, out of breath,
" His majesty requests your presence Lady Kel and Lord Raoul, he says it's urgent!" Judging by the look on Kels face she was definitely worried. All three started towards the king's study. Beyami decided to come; they silently agreed that she should.
Kel didn't even bother to knock; she just threw the door open. What does she know that we don't? Thought Beyami. She gave Raoul a quizzical look at Kels behaviour; he just shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what was wrong either.
" What's happened at New Hope?" asked Kel worriedly.
* * *
Well that's my first chapter. Hope you liked it. Reviews are fun but not absolutely necessary. I won't make threats about not posting if you don't review, unlike some people I know. GEN!