As the court awaited the formal introduction of the Saren delegation to the court, King Jonathan could practically feel the tension rolling off his wife. He reached over and squeezed her hand gently, communicating his support to her silently. Word had just come that Queen Lorinda herself would be accompanying her son and daughter to Tortall, and Thayet knew Lorinda from her childhood. Since Lorinda had once called her a "dirty K'miri brat," Thayet was understandably unhappy to be meeting her again, particularly since their children could soon be married. However, she managed to give Jon a tight smile before she returned to drumming her fingers on the arm of her throne. Jon looked over at Liam, who looked vaguely bored, and who kept glancing towards a knot of pretty court women. Jon sent up a brief prayer to Mithros that Liam would be able to stop or at least quiet down his nighttime activities now that the Princess had arrived in Tortall.

The herald at last opened the door and announced the Queen. Jon barely kept himself from smiling at the woman's appearance. Everything about her was haughty, from her up-turned nose to the curve of her eyebrows. Next came her son, Prince Zandar, announced as the heir of Saren, followed by Princess Kendra herself. She was a pretty woman, dressed in a delicate pale pink dress. She had creamy skin and large brown eyes and pretty brown curls. More than anything she looked innocent and sweet. As the rest of the delegation came out, Jon could feel Thayet get angrier and angrier. There was one delegate who claimed to have a great-great-great-great-grandfather who was K'miri; there were no other K'miri in the delegation.

After the formal introductions, a ball began with food served by pages and squires on trays. Jon led Thayet out, and was pleased to see Liam quickly move to ask Princess Kendra for a dance. Queen Lorinda came over to speak to Jon and Thayet, and Jon found himself praying once more to Mithros, only this time he asked that his wife behaved, not his son.

"Queen Thayet, so lovely to see you," Queen Lorinda said, kissing Thayet on both cheeks. "King Jonathan it's an honor to meet you."

"Queen Lorinda," Thayet responded through clenched teeth. "I am sorry to see there are no K'miri here."

Lorinda laughed. "We have Lord Valder here. He is part K'miri."

"He was not raised among the K'mir. I had hoped you would bring any K'mir-raised person with you, but since you didn't, I'm going to have to ask that you have the Prince and Princess brought here."

Lorinda stiffened. "If you want a person raised among the K'mir sent for, we will of course oblige. There is no need to bring the Prince and Princess."

"I find your reticence worrisome," Thayet said politely, but firmly. "They are your husband's children, so I am sure they are loyal to the throne, but they also are K'miri and so I feel ready to trust them. If this marriage is to occur between our children, I really must insist that we get to meet with them."

Realizing he could do nothing but support Thayet, Jonathan added, "We hope it is not too much of an inconvenience, but we desire that their highnesses be brought along as soon as possible. I know both of our countries want this marriage to go through as planned, and we will of course have to wait to meet them before we continue."

"Very well," Lorinda said cooly. "I will have my step-son sent for."

"Please have your step-daughter sent too," Thayet said. "I always find a woman's perspective is important."

"Very well," Lorinda said, her teeth now clenched. She curtseyed and excused herself.

Alanna came over to take her place. "What did you say to her?" she asked Thayet. "I thought she was going to break her teeth, she was clenching them so hard."

"I demanded she bring the Prince and Princess here to vouch for the fair-treatment of the K'miri."

Alanna looked at her in confusion. "Her children are here."

"They are not the King's first children," Thayet explained. "His first wife was K'miri. She was beheaded for treason. With her, the King had twins, a boy and a girl. When his son was born to Lorinda, he declared those first two were still a Prince and Princess, but could have no claim to the throne since their mother committed treason. Basically, Lorinda wanted her son on the throne, not a K'miri boy. I want those two here, telling me that the conditions are alright. They should have the full perspective. Since she failed to bring any K'miri, I was able to make my request more specific."

"No wonder she squirmed," Alanna said. "How soon do you think they'll get here?"

"I would guess within a month," Thayet responded. "I won't let her wiggle out it. I want to meet those two."

After the ball, Thayet and Jonathan went back to their bedroom. As always, they dismissed the servants, and Jonathan helped Thayet out of her dress rather then let the maids do it.

"Are you okay?" Jon asked as he undid the laces in the back of his wife's dress.

Thayet sighed. "This is all just bringing back a lot of memories I'd rather forget. And I am worried about the type of person Princess Kendra is, considering who her parents are. And I don't believe that King honestly means to protect the K'mir in any real way."

Jonathan kissed the back of her neck. "I trust your judgment," he said softly. "If you think this is a bad idea, we won't move forward. I just ask that you give Kendra a chance and wait to make your decision until you have all the information. I'm not going to lie to you. This would be good for Tortall, but we can manage if it does not work."

Thayet nodded, leaning back against him. "Thank you," she said, her eyes closed. "I promise not to make a decision before I meet with the twins, and I admit that Liam and Kendra did seem to get along well."

"They did, didn't they? I just don't understand Liam. I know Alanna teases me that he is just like me, but he's not really. He never seems to get attached in any way to any woman. He feels stronger about every one of his soldiers then he does about any of his lovers. He will make a great commander. I wonder at the kind of husband he will make," Jon responded, sliding off Thayet's gown and beginning to take the pins out of her hair.

"He'll be fine. He's sown his wild oats. He knows he has to settle down now, and he will. I don't think he'd ever be anything but a loyal husband."

"And Kendra seems sweet. Maybe she can temper him a little. After all, he didn't even look around at the other women tonight. Maybe there is hope."

Thayet turned and touched her husband's cheek. "Liam understands his duty. He is more like you than you think," she said. Then she kissed him on the mouth, and for awhile they didn't say anything at all.

A month and a half later, the court was assembled once again for royal introductions. Despite much foot-dragging on the side of the Saren delegation, the twins were at last in Tortall. Liam stood with Princess Kendra, waiting patiently for their arrival. While he had refused to give up women entirely, insisting that was unnecessary until a betrothal had been announced, he'd been far more discreet, and his relationship with Kendra was pleasant and seemed promising. Jon hoped that the twins would ease his wife's fear and that then the marriage could go forward smoothly. However, when the door opened, revealing the twins, Jon was fairly certain he wouldn't get his wish. A tall man and woman stood at the top of the stairs. The man wore all black. The woman wore a black gown in a modified-K'miri fashion. The fabric hugged her breasts, the waistline appearing right under her bust. From there, soft flowing fabric clung lightly to her all the way down her body. While most K'miri dresses ended at the knees to ensure freedom of movement, this one ended right above her red heels in the front and then cascaded down in a train in the back. The ribbon straps crossed in the low cut back of the dress, emphasizing her muscled arms and shoulders. Both twins had very dark red hair, delicate noses, full lips, and, most striking of all, large violet eyes.

"By Mithros, Thayet, what have you brought upon us?" Jon breathed out, glancing at Liam, who looked nothing less then predatory as he examined the beautiful woman gliding gracefully down the stairs.

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Meh, unpleased with this chapter but its necessary. Sorry its so choppy. I could have made it prettier by breaking this into a few chapters, but it would have taken too long to get us where I want to go--no point in dragging out the boring part. Gets smoother after this, promise. Review!