Disclaimer: I do not own the name nor the places only what happens in the realm that I have created. everything else belongs to Anne Bishop

A thousand years have past since the death of Jaenelle. Daemon still greives as the family tries to move forward as much as they can. or as much as thier knowlage of things that Daemon hadn't been told about will let them. the knowlage they have...... before her death the Living myth made a very speacil web, a web that could never be made again.... a web to bring her back to Daemon..... or she was thinking to bring a shuck to Daemon that he could satified with.

so now a thousand years later will Daemon fall in love with shuck or will it tear apart what is left of his sanity?

the forgotten realm ( 1000 years after the final death of witch)

She sat in the tower looking through tear glazed eyes out the tiny slot that was her only window. Looking out the slot where an archer would stand if he was taking aim. Tried to look at the barren countryside to ease her troubled mind.

It wasn't the first time that she had been locked up here alone in the empty room. Wasn't the first time that she sat and quietly cried herself out. However it was the first time that she believed with all her heart that it was justified.

Her life started just under twenty years ago and had started out wrong the moment that she was born. For her father was expecting a son , a true male heir to his throne. A son that he could be proud of in these troubled times. A son that would share his beliefs that woman were useless and were nothing more then passions to warm a man's bed and to bare him children.

Oh he had three sons already but none that suited him. All three were very charming and handsome men. Strong and knowledgeable about the land and people. And all of them compassionate , even to the women that they were to detest. Or rather were suppose to detest. No they all were an embarrassment to him and thus he had sent each of them away to live the life as poor cobblers in some other area of the kingdom. In some remote area were no one would care if they lived or died. As such when she was born her mother had been thrown out for baring such an atrocity and she was given the title of a worthless maid who would wed a baron on her twenty birthday.

Her life till the age of six hadn't been hard. She had been kept in the castle so that she could learn the role women were to play. She would sit in the laundry room and play with scarps of fabric as the women washed and mended . Would be taken to the kitchen to eat while others would prepare the kings meals. Had sat outside in the cool spring days and had been allowed to let her black hair blow in the wind before she would be forced to pin it back up and brought inside.

No those had been her days for her first six years. Had been till she became old enough to learn how to be useful and then her life turned bleak. She would be woken up an hour before the roosters crowed so that she could go out and look for kindling with the kitchen workers. Though her arms were tiny she tried very heard every day to carry one more twig more then the day before. And had done just that till she was carrying more then the kitchen maids were themselves. ( though that had taken a few years for her to do.)

It wasn't until her youngest brother was born on the eve of her seventh birthday that she began to see how different she was from the rest of the women. That she began to see things differently. Ethan's mother had nearly died from fever right after birth but it was her knowledge of plants that save the woman's life though that had been kept ever so quiet. It was then she started to tech herself to read so that she could one day hope to become a midwife if nothing else. It was then she began to find hope as she read the stories of when women were equals to men and that was when she made a plan to teach her brother this. Though it would have to be more quietly then anything else she did. Had to so that her father wouldn't try to say that she was a witch and have both her and her dear bother killed. She knew he would kill his last son on the pretense that he wouldn't be truest because he had been bewitched as a child.

Is was when Ethan began to walk when she started to learn how to use a mace and sword. Had learned so that she wouldn't seem so weak. Had learned because despise her being female it was a written in law that all royal children learn to defend themselves. It was a law at the age of eight she challenged being the first female born in the family for nearly ten generations. Of course as punishment her father had given her the harshest of teachers. He had been a very strong looking man with broad shoulders and muscles that ripped with every movement. His voice was always harsh and he never gave praise., but she did learn. Had to learn because she knew she would be defending herself against men like him. And with in a year she had proven her worth by putting him to the ground with every weapon he had given her.

By age nine she was beginning to correct the tutors that were teaching her brother and was correcting her father when ever he told a story of the family and would boast about something that could be proven wrong by the archives in the grand library. It was those times when she would be taken to the tower and locked away till she remembered her place. Remembered that she was nothing but a female and would be nothing more then a bed warmer to a man that her father choose ….. When he decided that she was old enough to bring wealth back to his name.

At age sixteen she had given up dreams of ever being anything but a lowly slave who had little to offer to any man that ever peaked her interest. Knew she would never be with one of those men. Couldn't be because her father had already decided that she would wed one of his political advisors sons. Would wed a man who would beat her if she dared spoke. If she dared let her long black hair been seen by any eyes but his own.

And that was how it had been till now. No, today was her twentieth birthday. It was the day when she would meet the man who would control her life till she either died from him beating her or till she found away to take her own life because that would be much easier then live a life that she knew she wasn't destine for.

Kaeleer

Daemon sat in his work room again making a tangled web. A web to hold a dream that had been plaguing his sleep for the past twenty years. Had been waking him up more and more over the past year. And was now tormenting him because he could see the face of the woman who was calling to him.

No it wasn't his dearest Jaenelle's face. Not her blond hair or pale skin. No this woman had the tan Hayllian skin. The black hair that was common of the three long lived races.. But those eyes…. Those ancient haunted sapphire eyes….. Those were witches eyes , Jaenelle's eyes. It was the dream that he had been waiting for. The promise that Janelle had made to him in her last breaths. Her last words spoke to him, " I will find a way to come back to you. It won't be this skin …. But you will know it is me. The dream will be able to be with you for as long as you walk the realms. I swear I will come back to you." those had been her words . Her promise . Her final terms to a web that she had started to create several years before. A web their daughters had helped her build. A web built from his own dreams.

A tear rolled down his cheek remembering those words but it frustrated him as well . Frustrated him because he had searched all three realms looking , searching. Had made his brother go with him because he had thought that maybe he was over looking something. But Lucivar didn't help, couldn't help because he didn't know what he was looking for. Couldn't know because Daemon didn't know either.

He was lost in his web. Lost recalling every detail of both that dream and his memories of his wife. What lost in his own memories when a very soft voice called behind him, " Papi?"

Only one of his daughters had that soft of a voice. Only one would dare disturb him while he worked on his web. In a horse whisper he said, " Ledia" he paused to get his wits then continued, " your up late."

" well I wouldn't be if a certain warlord prince would get a good night sleep."

He winced. He should have know better then try to hide anything from her. Even without a ring she always seemed to know what his mood was. Always knew when he he was missing her mother. Knew when it was something else. " do you remember your mother's eyes?"

She came closer and sat at his feet. She was his queen but tonight she was his daughter and that would get her more answer's then a queen could ever get from him. " Of course I do. I remember her horn too."

He smiled. Yes she would know he was referring to witch and not Jaenelle, and that made this easier. He gestured at the small tangled web, " will you tell me what you see lady?"

" Papi , your asking me? Really? I'm shocked I usually have to have uncle Lucivar threaten to ….. Well I'm not really sure what he says but I know he threatens you with something."

" if you don't want to read it……"

" no….. no …… It's just…" she looked at him and knew he was just starting a slight game of snip and snarl . Knew that always cheered him up on nights like this.. " is it complete?"

" I wouldn't ask other wise."

Her eyes shifted as she focused on the web. The spiders had taught her as they had her mother. Unlike her mother she saw between the threads. Saw what would only be seen by some one in the twisted kingdom. Saw things as her grandmother saw them. Some times twisted , some times in a straight line but she saw…. She gasped then hurried to her feet. Remembering where she was and who she was with used her queens voice, " you need to go to Ebon Rih."

" lady?" he noticed to tone of her voice. Was worried by her reaction.

" now prince Sadi. Get your ass there and keep it there till I send for you."

Daemon began to growl. Saw the intense look in her deep sapphire eyes. " your bother's will stay close to you? It wasn't so much a question but a confirmation.

" and my coven." that included her younger sister and slightly older cousin.

" in that case. I'll stay with your first escort."

" send uncle Lucivar my regards and have his beast of a son meet me at the keep I have something his talents would be useful with."

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Wouldn't ask. Didn't dare ask. His queen was calling for her most strongest allies ….well all of them except the three that were the most deadliest. No she was making sure her steward, and first escort were close but not close enough and was…. " will the high Lord be joining me?"

" no….. he will have other matter's to handle…. Don't worry Papi this shouldn't take more then a few days to set to rights. " she kissed his cheek almost forgetting that she had ordered him to leave. Almost forgetting one more thing, " and wear your ring. I so hate needing to use craft to tell your mood."

At that he did snarl. After a 1000 years he had been finally been told how she knew his mood and was sure he didn't like it.