Ch 1
A high pitched scream pierced the air as a small bloody baby is pulled from its mother, the nursemaid taking him by his shoulders and assisting in his escape of the tight confines of the woman's womb. She was drenched in sweat, the bed underneath her slowly becoming soaked in blood from the escape of the afterbirth. A few seconds later and the mothers scream is replaced with that of the baby's, the tiny creature showing off the fact that its lungs worked quite well. Looking up at the mother, the nursemaid smiles, "It's a boy… you have a little boy Miss…" Exhausted, the mother smiles, watching as her baby is wrapped up in a warm but small white blanket and handed to her, still covered from head to foot in blood and other things. It takes a while for him to calm down, the trauma of being pulled from his mother quite upsetting. Eventually he grows still, making soft burbly noises at his mother, looking up at her blearily, blinking his eyes. That was when she noticed that his eyes were blue, but speckled with green, as though the deep color of the ocean decided to mingle with the grass of the plains. They were beautiful, and striking, making the mother smile, feeling only slightly reassured that they were the same color as her own. "Hello, little Shei… it's nice to finally meet you, after all his time…. Heh… so you're the one who's been kicking me… pretty boy." She kisses his forehead, making him blink and look up at her, gurgling nonsense at her in response to her words, too young to really understand what she was trying to say.
Shei was playing with a wooden carved horse, knocking it against a dog as though they were in combat. His two older sisters were playing together, with their pretty dolls, leaving the only boy to fend for himself, which he really didn't mind if he was being honest, being only two, he had grown quite capable of entertaining himself. His parents were quite at ease when it came to their only son, after all, he was already two and his eyes still hadn't changed. His nursemaid was seated in a rocking chair in the corner of the room, watching the three of them play, her eyes ever watchful to ensure they did not hurt themselves accidentally. After a few hours of playing, their father comes home from court, having been occupied for the better part of the day by business with the other nobles, something about the fate of a thief who had stolen from a rather prominent house and had gotten caught trying to escape. The man was tall, well over six feet, with long black hair and brown eyes, his hair done up in an intricate braid, held out of his face. He was rater well dressed, still in his court garments, obviously taking the time to look impressive, along with his title in the court itself. The first thing he does is head straight to where his children are playing, earning a few excited and slightly annoying squeals from his daughters, who rush to greet him, earning hugs and kisses from the man, "Well hello little girls! You didn't miss me did you? Lia, have you been nice to your little sister? Not teasing her too much?" The slightly taller girl with long blonde hair and dark brown eyes nods excitedly, "Yes Papa, Honey and me have been playing nice all day." The smaller blonde girl with eyes like Shei nods at this, "We've been being good while you were gone." This makes the man laugh, shaking his head, his eyes falling to his son, "What about Shei? Have you been playing with your brother?" The two girls look at each other, then back at their father, looking guilty, "He doesn't want to play with us, Papa… he's just a stupid boy anyway." Their father raises his brows at this, "That's not a very nice thing to say about your blood, he's your little brother, you should love him even if he doesn't want you to, like the pretty little ladies you are." Standing up, he finally crosses the room to Shei, who doesn't look up from his toys. "Son?" Shei finally looks up curiously, wondering what his father could want. "Yes, Papa?" The man narrows his eyes, looking slightly stern, but his face is to warm to really convey any truly upsetting expression, so Shei simply smiles at him, "Why don't you play with your sisters?" Shei's smile fades, looking back down at his toys, "Because they're stupid girls and I don't like them." This makes his father laugh, patting his boy on his black haired head, "Even if you feel that way you should still play with them, they're your only blood besides your mother and I, and we're both too busy at court to play with you every day like they can." Shei huffs, looking rather annoyed, "I'd rather play by myself." The man pauses, glancing down at his boy, "Well, I guess I can't force you to do something you don't want to do… but you really should give your sisters a second chance, I'm sure you could grow to like them if you do." With that, the man stands again, heading towards the door, only to be bowed to by the nursemaid, "Lovely to see you Lord Theagan." He nods dismissively at her, exiting the room.
Shei wakes up in the room he shares with his sisters, the nursemaid having been shaking him for several minutes to try to rouse him. Blearily, he rolls over to face her, blinking and looking up at the woman. The response he gets is both shocking and unexpected. She gasps, clutching her throat and backing off hurriedly, "Oh dear Maker, no… not you… not Master Shei… no no no….no this can't be. Not one of them, he can't be… I'm just seeing things…" She steps back closer, taking him by the chin and tilting his head back to get a better look at his face, annoying the boy with how vague she was being about what was wrong. Her hand shakes where it touches the two year old's face, making him even more worried that something was wrong with her. "Oh dear… I'm not seeing things… it really changed… not a graceling… anything but a graceling…" She retracts her hand, still shaking, looking confused about what to do next. Shei was even more confused, what was she talking about, "Fira, what's a graceling?" Fira blinks at this, looking conflicted. Instead of answering, she crosses the room, picking up one of the handheld mirrors that belonged to Lia, sitting on the bed beside him and handing it to Shei. He takes it, looking even more confused. Looking into the mirror at his own reflection, he blinks several times in surprise, holding up a hand to his face. It had changed color, just the one. His left eye was still that deep blue with bright green speckles, just like his mothers. But his right eye… His right eye had changed. It was now a dark vibrant purple, with black specks, looking more like a jewel than any iris. Why had it changed? What did this mean? His mind was far to young to really understand what was going on, so he simply stares at her in confusion, a look of pity mixing with one of fear.
His father was pacing, trying to figure out what they should do. His mother was frozen in her seat, staring off into space. Obviously neither of them had actually expected their son to end up being a graceling, and neither of them wanted to give him up to King Randa. Despite him being a rather stubborn child, they both loved him dearly, as any parent loves their child. How could any parent make this decision, to give up their child, even if his grace turned out to be useless and he was returned to them. But what if he had a useful grace? What then? They would never again kiss their baby goodnight, eat with him, see him grow into a man. They would miss it all. Not even mentioning that the king would use any talented gracelings to further his own agenda, so there was no telling what Shei would be made to do, it would all depend on what his grace was, but there would be no way to tell until it manifested itself. "We can't let him have him, Kira. We just can't." His wife looks at him, seeming confused, "But… we must! It is a royal decree, you know we can not refuse to hand him over. He s graced. His place is with the king." As she says this, her voice breaks, and tears begin to fall down her face, "It is our duty to give him to the king… we cannot refuse…" Lord Theagan shakes his head, crossing the room and taking her hands in his, "What if they never find out he's graced? They would think he was nothing more than our son! He would be able to take his place as the rightful ruler of our house when he comes of age. He'll never get to own a thing of his own if we hand him to Randa… We'll only ever see him when we visit the king, and even then he might not let us speak with one of his graced." Looking desperate, he inches closer to Lady Kira, lowering his voice, "We can hide his grace… no one but Fira knows so far… we can keep him to ourselves…" Kira stares at her husband, looking shocked, "But Kane, it can't be that easy, others will know as soon as they see him that he is graced. His eyes don't lie." Thoughtfully, the Lord pauses, staring at his Lady. After a minute of silence, he comes up with an answer, "What if we hide one of his eyes? The purple one, the blue still looks like yours, if it's the only one people see they will think nothing of it. We can cover it with bandages… people will simply think he lost his eye." Kira looks shocked with the ease of his answer, "You're talking about betraying the king… do you have any idea how serious that is? We could be imprisoned, or worse…" He simply stares at her, desperately, "Are you saying you'd rather risk losing our only son?"
"You can never take this off Master Shei, you must wear it always, no matter what." Fira was twining the bandages around Shei's head, the boy fidgeting under her hands, "But it's itchy… I hate it…" She simply sighs, finishing with her work, "If you take it off the king will take you away from your family forever. Do you want that?" Shei goes still, looking pouty, "No…" He looks in the mirror, staring at the white bandages that covered his right eye, his left still as bright and shiny as ever, more than pretty enough to make up for the ugly bandages. "How long do I have to wear this?" She sighs, watching him as he stares at himself, "Always. You can never take it off, not for any reason. You can also never tell anyone that you are a graceling, you must take your secret to your grave." Shei rubs at the bandages, itching at his eye, looking irritated. She stares at him pityingly, shaking her head, "Besides wearing this, you should have a normal life, no one will know you are graced, and they will treat you just as they treat any other man." Shei sighs, looking up at his maid, "Can I go play now?"
Shei was watching one of the servants bake in the kitchens, standing on a little stool so he could see over the counter, his taller sisters beside him on the floor. He was now five years old, his hair grown out to about shoulder length, the locks a deep dark black, contrasting with the blonde of his sisters. The chief was baking strudel, raspberry strudel for desert after dinner that day, and the smell had all three children smiling. "Can I have a piece before dinner?" Lia asks, quickly followed by the other two saying in unison, "Me too!" The chief smiles, breaking off three small pieces and handing them to the children, who quickly devour them, Shei making a small mess of his face. Almost as soon as it was gone, Honey looks up and asks, "Can I have another piece?" The chief shakes her head with a smile, "No little one, you'll spoil your dinner." The girls look a little disappointed, but Shei is licking his lips, staring at the strudel. "Can I have a piece?" The chief looks over at him, looking slightly annoyed, "I just told your sister no, what makes you think I'll say yes to you?" Thinking rather quickly, Shei says the first thing that pops into his head, "But, you didn't give me one yet." The chief blinks at him, staring at the lying boy for a few seconds, before she says, "Oh… I could have sworn I gave you one… here you go darling." She breaks off another piece, handing it to him with a smile. He eats it greedily as his sisters stare, looking baffled, "But you just said we couldn't have anymore! If he gets a piece I want one too!" The chief shakes her head, returning to her work, "Don't be greedy, he had one piece just like you, now run along and let me work, I need to finish this in time for dinner." The girls glare at Shei, then back to the chief, "But you gave him two! We want to have two too!" Sighing, the chief stops her work, "I said run along, he got one piece just like you, stop trying to manipulate your way into getting more, you'll only spoil your dinner." Looking rather upset, the girls spin around and exit the kitchen. Shei on the other hand, was looking at the strudel. There was quite a lot left, and he was hungry. If it worked once, maybe it would work again. "Can I have a piece? You gave the girl's one, but not me." Looking surprised, she smiles at him, "Oh I'm sorry… of course you can have a piece." She hands him another, not seeming to realize she'd given him two already. This continues for several minutes, him eating the ones she gave him, then asking for another, saying that he'd never gotten one, until the entire strudel has been eaten, and Shei is holding his belly, looking rather sick, his face coated in raspberry. "Now I could have sworn I made more than just enough for you three kids… I guess I'll just have to make another batch." Shei nods at her, stepping off his stool. He takes only a few steps before he's suddenly and violently sick, throwing up a rather large amount of bread and raspberry, earning more than a few disgusted groans, one of the scullery maids coming over and rubbing at his back, "How much did you give him? He's sicker than a dog." Looking rather shocked, the chief stares at her, "Only one piece! I swear, the girl's had one too and they were fine, I swear." The maid looks down at the mess, wrinkling her nose, "That's way too much for just one piece, there's no way, you must have given him way too much." The chief shakes her head, "I swear, I only gave him one small piece, I have no idea why he threw up so much…" She goes silent, seeming to be trying to remember if she had indeed given him more than one piece, but she shakes her head, "I only gave him a little piece, there's no way that's what made him sick." Shei was feeling a bit remorseful for exploiting the chief for treats, his stomach still turning over, though he didn't feel the need to puke again.
Shei was walking with his sisters through the market square, scanning the various goods. He was about ten now, and almost as tall as Honey. He still wore bandages over his eye, hiding his secret from the public. He hung back from the girls, who were now teens and eligible to be married, still not very fond of them, though they were even less fond of him, sticking together in the busy square. As they are walking, they pass a cart filled with jewelry. Shei's sisters stop to stare at the pretty jewels, leaving Shei to stare after them as well scanning the pretty things. His eyes catch a rather beautiful one, and he immediately thinks his mother would love it, especially if it came from him. Without much hesitation, he picks it up, moving to stuff it in his pocket. "Hey hey hey! Put that back young man." The teller walks around the stand and takes him by the wrist, pulling his hand out of his pocket along with the necklace. Thinking quickly, Shei shakes his head, "But I already paid for it! It's mine!" The teller stops, staring at him, "Oh… I thought you were just stealing it. My mistake." Staring at him as he is released, Shei realizes something. Whenever he lied, people always believed him. Smirking at this finding, he decides to test it, picking up a few rings and earrings and putting them in his pockets, "I paid for these too." He says, his voice full of confidence. The teller nods, smiling, seeming happy to have made so many sales to one person, "I hope you enjoy them, I'm sure your lady friend will appreciate them." Smiling and nodding, Shei follows his sisters as they leave. For the rest of their trip through the market, Shei continues to snatch things, simply telling the sellers that he already paid for them, and he gets away with it scott free. Eventually, the three return home, Shei's pockets full of stolen goods, eating an apple he swiped. Their mother smiles when she sees them return, and Shei walks right up to her and hands her all the jewels he stole. "These are for you Ma." He says with a smile. She stares wide eyed at all he has given her, "Where did you get these?" Instead of lying like he did to the tellers, Shei says, "They just gave them to me." Which was somewhat true. Her eyes narrow at him, looking suspicious, "No… no one would give a child all this for free. Did you steal these?" Looking surprised that she didn't believe him, he shakes his head, "No." Suddenly she smiles, "Oh, ok. That's good, you had me worried for a minute there." He looks at her thoughtfully. So she hadn't believed him when he'd tried to tell her the truth, but she easily believed his lie and didn't ask any more questions, seemingly satisfied.
As time goes by, Shei slowly started to realize what it meant to be graced. It meant he would have a single exceptional skill, and master it easily, no matter what it was. Some people had swimming graces, or archery graces. Even Lady Katsa of the kings court had a grace, a scary grace. She could kill anyone with ease, something that both intrigued and terrified him. What if she tried to kill him? She would succeed. He wasn't that hard to kill, especially not for someone who was graced with it. He knew of another boy who had a cooking grace, he worked in the kitchens of the castle for the king himself. He wondered about what his grace was. He had no one besides Fira to talk to about his grace, and she rarely wanted to hear about it, so paranoid that someone would overhear. As Shei grew, he became less afraid of being found out, after all, he was a great liar apparently, so far no matter what he said everyone believed him. Wait, that wasn't quite true, there had been times where he had been telling the truth and had not been believed, so it seemed he was only convincing when he was lying. Was that his grace? Lying? It seemed like a pretty petty grace to have, why couldn't he have a fighting grace? Or an archery grace? Many hours had been poured into his archery practice, but he simply couldn't get the hang of it, always missing the target no matter how long he aimed for. Not to mention, the other boys in the city made fun of him for his bandages, calling him a crippled for being half blind. If only they knew his eye was fine, that he was simply graced. Graced with lying.