The Kiesha'Ra: Reprise

Randomhouse laughed at my pathetic bid for the rights to The Kiesha'Ra. So, until I come up with some more money, I do not own the original. Heck, I don't even own the idea for the fanfiction, I just own my interperetation of the characters.

Chapter 1

I faded into the shadows as the avian princess and her guard entered the clearing, I knew it was the princess' habit to wander among the dead and dying of both sides. I could only imagine what she gained from it. Perhaps she gloated over the dying Serpiente? Maybe she kept a private account of the dead. Either way it was my brother she knelt before, cried over, sang to.

It was all I could do to remain hidden when she pulled out the knife, even though I could not hear the words, I understood the emotion in my brother's voice and face. He was asking the enemy to kill him. It was logical, he would not survive the wounds and the pain was likely to be excruciating, but I did not like the idea of this gilded statue of a woman ending the life of my last remaining brother.

An argument passed between the princess and the guard, it seemed my brother would die slowly and in pain after all, though not alone. I would rush to him the moment the princess and her escort turned their backs on a fallen foe. But no one made the move to leave. For five hours the heir to the avian throne, famed for emotionless reserve and icy poise, knelt in the blood and filth of the battlefield. For five hours the princess held the hand of a young enemy soldier as he died. For five hours Danica Shardae sang of a lifestyle that had been denied both of our peoples for millennia at least. Not once did she shrink from the scent of decay that now clung to her, and not once did she protest the surely uncomfortable position she must have been in.

Finally, as afternoon progressed into evening, my brother's chest ceased to rise and fall. The princess stood and turned away, wiping her face clean of the tears she had allowed and gathering her poise about her like a cloak, and once again surrounded by her guards flew toward the heavily guarded Keep where the remnants of the avian royal family resided.

I waited a few minutes to ensure they were really gone before rushing to my brother's body. The look on his face was almost peaceful; in fact he wore the look of pure infatuation I had seen on him in the past. I suppose it was not surprising that a dying man – boy – would, in his final moments, come to love the woman who comforted and eased his suffering, but something in my chest objected to the subject of my dead brother's ardor.

"Oh Gregory," I whispered to ears long past hearing. "I wish I knew how to keep the promises that I made you." Then I began the long task of bringing the body of the second to last prince of the Serpiente back to the palace – and our mother.

I had brought a horse and tied her to a nearby tree, far enough away not to panic or be discovered, but near enough that I easily carried my brother to her without feeling winded. Very gently, I hauled my brother's body across the back of the horse and secured him in a way that I hoped would not distract or inconvenience the mare. Even walking beside the horse the journey home was not in itself long. The brief miles were stretched in my mind by my own grief and guilt, but I had not been walking long when I sensed a pair of my people in the woods.

Having instinctually changed into my half-form at some point during the day, I recognized both serpents by scent. They were twin white vipers, and the most trusted and highest ranking of the Palace Guard. I had recently begun a tentative courtship of Adelina, the female twin and a formidable sparring opponent. Adelina sensed us first and nearly propelled herself into me. Without restraint she kissed me hard on the mouth, in front of her brother. Something I'm sure the avian princess would never have considered doing. As an afterthought she regarded my mare's burden.

"Gregory!" She gasped and her hand flew to her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes. Absentmindedly she stroked the corpse's hair, almost like Danica had earlier before gently touching her heart then her lips with her left hand then "with gentle Brysh may you find rest," she whispered, it was a type of prayer, one the white vipers had for the dead that was not shared with the rest of the Serpiente community. Throughout the exchange Adelina's twin, Ailbhe had maintained a respectful silence. Now he spoke.

"Sir, your mother sent us to find you. She worries." Ailbhe always did have a knack for understatement. Likely my mother was frantic and grieving having feared the worst and already lost three children to this war.

"Thank you." I didn't know exactly what to say to my guard and lover's brother at this moment in time, and so said nothing. "I should give her the sad news then." Somewhere in the back of my mind a plan was formulating. Long ago I had promised my younger brother and sister that I would find a way to end this war, that they would know peace in their lifetimes. Other than employing a few reluctant avian spies, I had done very little to secure that bright future I had promised them as children. Now Gregory would never see it, but I could still make peace real for Irene.

Over and again in my head I ran through scenarios. Sometimes I killed the avian Tuuli Thea and her daughter in their beds, though my conscience struggled with Danica's murder – she was not a soldier, she had not ordered any deaths, and from what I could tell was as unsettled by the constant destruction as I was. So no, I could not kill them in cold blood. Perhaps one of my spies knew something; one particular young woman had been close to the princess as a child and might be persuaded to impart some vital knowledge. Otherwise, my only other option was to employ outside assistance. My older brother had tried that with the Falcons, our ancestral cousins who now sided with the avians in this war. There was always the Mistari, I had already sent a messenger asking for advice and they'd agreed to meet with both sides of the conflict. I'd just need to send another messenger saying we accepted and were attempting to convince the avian royals to agree to meet us on their lands.

Before I had fully completed my plans we had reached the stables just outside the Palace. My sister was stroking the neck of a roan gelding and trying not to look as if she had been waiting since dawn. "Irene?" I called gently, I wasn't sure of she'd sensed us coming and didn't want to startle her. She jumped in surprise anyway.

"Let me see him." Irene demanded before the mare carrying Gregory had even been led inside. "I don't care how bad it is." With her arms crossed against her chest, feet apart and chin thrust in defiance, she looked so much like the little girl I remembered. I saw the girl who used to demand to be taken along when Anjay and I snuck out of the nursery at night. She was the trouble maker who always convinced Carson and Gregory to sneak out and follow us, the little girl who decided to teach herself to use a blade. Too bad there were no light hearted pranks or childish revelries to be had here. I nodded and stepped aside, my sister rushed past me and I could hear her begin to cry in earnest. Her little brother was dead. At least this time it was my fault.

"Huh?" I asked stupidly, while I had been reliving painful memories, Irene had been pelting me with questions. Suddenly my train of thought from earlier caught up with me and I shushed my sister impatiently. "I'm thinking," I told her holding up a single finger. The Mistari would not refuse us, in fact they had repeated their invitation several times in the last four years, if I sent a messenger to the Disa and Dio today, then another to the avians the day after Gregory's funeral we could have peace before the month was out. It would be too late for my brother, but I could still keep my promise to my sister.

"Devin?" I called to a messenger boy who was almost always found near the stables. "I need you to take a message to the Mistari, tell them that we are accepting their invitation to a peace talk and have sent someone to the avians. Tell them we are sorry for the rush but are quite sure the avians will want to meet as soon as possible." I dictated when the boy jumped to attention before me. I turned to Irene to explain, "The avian princess lost her brother in that battle as well, and I have it on good authority that she at least may be willing to negotiate peace."

Devin had already disappeared and Adelina was staring at me slack jawed. "How do you know they won't just kill the messenger without waiting to hear the proposal?" She asked, in her straightforward way.

"I'll go myself. I am more than capable of evading the incompetent guards the Tuuli Thea employs."

"They'd kill you the moment you walked through the doors!" She protested.

"So let them. Maybe then someone will be satisfied and this damn war will be over." If that was what it took I'd be a willing martyr, but I hoped to live to see the goal I was working toward achieved. "If that is all, I have to go break my mother's heart, again."

I was halfway down the familiar path to my mother's chambers when I heard light footsteps rushing after me. I turned, prepared for a fight, to find my sister looking stern and out of breath.

"You know, you have really long legs," she commented as she pulled even with me. "It makes running you down difficult, especially if I give you a head start." She grinned and swept some hair behind her ear.

"You could have called out or something," I replied falling easily into our old habits. "So what's burning?" I teased before biting the inside of my cheek. Fire was a touchy subject with Irene.

"You will be if you go through with this suicidal plan of yours." She retorted hotly. "Or is that what you want? Are you planning to leave mother and me completely alone?"

"What? No! Of course not, I'm just going to -" I attempted to explain before getting cut off.

"You are going to get yourself killed!" She interrupted. "You know they won't stop to listen to you, they won't even confirm whether you're armed or not. You are the Arami to the Serpiente. They would be glad to get rid of you. And then what would your people do?"

"They're your people too," I acknowledged.

"But you are the one who has been leading them for the past few years. You're the one they look to. No way am I letting you do it. I'm going." The way she said it, I knew there was no arguing with her, not that I didn't try.

Of course we had been walking as we argued and had been standing in front of my mother's door for the last few moments of our discussion, nonetheless we both jumped in surprise when the heavy wooden door opened and my mother asked "Going where?"

We both turned to look at her guilty and ashamed. It was obvious she already knew about Gregory, doubtless she had guessed when he hadn't returned for a night and day after a battle from which the wounded had long since limped away. She had lost another child, we had lost another brother, and here we stood arguing like children who both wanted the last pastry.

"Going where?" She repeated, sounding more like a stern matriarch than she ever had when we were young and always getting into trouble. I looked down at the familiar tone, but two fingers under my chin forced my eyes to meet hers. "Don't make me ask again," she warned.

Before I could answer, Irene did what could only be described as tattling. "Zane wants to personally deliver an invitation to a peace conference to the Tuuli Thea."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." To my mother I continued, "I already have an agreement with the Mistari, I just need to get the avians to agree to a meeting. And a royal's the only messenger they'll listen to."

"I'm listening," Mother said turning to Irene.

"They'd kill Zane on sight! But it is well known that I'm not a warrior, besides even an avian would hesitate before killing a woman in cold blood. Even if they suspect a trick they'd still hear me out."

To my surprise my mother nodded and asked Irene when she was going to leave. I protested, Charis may be my mother, but according to Serpiente custom I outranked her.

"You aren't honestly asking me to send my baby sister alone, unarmed, into the enemy's headquarters. Are you?" I looked from one face to the other wondering if they had both recently gone mad or it had been so gradual that I only just noticed. Irene placed a hand on my arm and I suppressed the urge to shake it off and leave for the Keep immediately. Instead, I waited for her to say her piece.

"You know my arguments are sound. Besides, I'm a better negotiator than you are." Instead of answering I turned to leave.

"I'll speak to you again after Gregory's service." As I put distance between myself and my mother's chambers I heard my mother and sister continue speaking as if they were having a pleasant conversation. I was sure I had lost this argument. Some king I'll be.

When I reached my own rooms, Adelina was there waiting for me. Despite my initial misgivings, we had developed an intense emotional relationship as well as our physical one. There was something dark in her that unnerved me sometimes, but then there was hardly anyone alive that darkness had not touched. And Adelina comforted me like no other.

Afterward we held each other until sleep sent us to our own separate worlds. I had heard stories of lovers visiting each other in their dreams, it was said to be the mark of a truly intimate relationship. Adelina and I had been together for almost three years, and in that time the only ones to visit my dreams were the dead.

Gregory was berating me. I should have been the one on that battlefield, I should have taught him better, I should have kept my promise sooner, I should have avenged his death. I should. . .

My father smiled at me, I tried to jump into his arms as I had when I was a child, but the moment I touched his flesh the skin began to sizzle. He turned to ash in my hands.

Sisal wept, there was a bloody gash across her abdomen and her guts spilled onto the dirt in front of her. A tiny infant lay lifeless in my sister's arms. I tried to comfort her but she didn't notice me. I tried to pile her intestine back into the gaping cavity, knowing it would do no good. She shot an accusatory glare in my general direction, but did not look directly at me. "I was going to name her Hope," Sisal whispered to no one in particular. My father and brother joined her, both bloated corpses now. As a unit the three turned to approach me, Sisal still cradling her murdered daughter.