Chapter Two: Practice, Practice

Two years later:

The young girl was sitting on a high stool with a strange type of flute pressed lightly between her lips. Its appearance was more like a recorder but had three pipes that came down off of it. She was playing a shrill song as she had yet to master to the strange flute called the Frulion, or at least that was what she wanted her instructor to think. She wouldn't say that she was the best at playing it but she had learned how. Her flute made a sharp note as she pulled it swiftly from her lips.

"How much longer do I have to keep practicing this?" she asked with a loud whine, slapping the frulion down into her lap.

"Until you get it right!" the large male teacher shouted as he slapped a thin reed across her back making her flinch and take in a sharp breath. He was a muscular man of six feet, medium length spiky black hair that was attempted to be tamed by being pulled back into a ponytail, wearing a slightly dusty button down gray coat and tan pants, with a furry brown tail flicking back and forth behind him. He swatted her again and then grabbed a hold of her hair.

"Ow let go! You're hurting me!" she yelled as she grabbed her hair just under his hand to try and lessen the pain. It didn't work and she ended up dropping her frulion out of her lap.

"You worthless little brat!" he screamed. "How dare you drop such an amazing instrument."

He twisted his wrist and threw her to the ground hard. She barely had time to catch herself on her hands and knees. She sniffled as she picked up the flute and clutched it to her chest. She let loose a loud cry and tears burst forth from eyes as the instructor landed a direct hit across the back of her neck slicing it a little from half way around the right side to the nape. She clutched her neck and flute and ran from the room.

"If you come back next week and haven't improved I'll never teach you another thing again!" He threw the music stand at the door just as she had made it out. Their instruction time was over. He huffed heavily as he sat on the stool and waited for his next student.

Her feet slid a little as she ran out the door and took a sharp turn to head down the hallway. With her eyes blurry and her head down she never saw the young boy walking in front of her. The boy never saw her either, as he was walking with his own head down and following the feel of the presence of the body guard he had with him. She ran into his chin knocking his head back and making both of them fall over. Too scared to stick around she got to her feet swiftly and took off running around the corner. The little boy turned around only in time to see the end of a brown tail going around the corner.

"What in the world was that all about!" he shouted angrily as he got up and went to look around the corner. "No apology and no respect!"

His bodyguard grabbed his shoulder and prevented him from going back. "Your highness you will late for your lessons if you chase after her."

"Her? You mean to tell me a –girl- knocked me over?"

The bodyguard just nodded and started to walk again but stopped when he realized his charge was not following him. "Your highness…?"

The young boy was squatting over a carelessly left behind frulion. He picked it up and looked it over. Realizing there was a little bit of blood on it he sneered in disgust before sniffing it.

"Interesting…it's still fresh." The young boy grinned and placed the flute between his body and his furry brown tail and squeezed it tight to his body to make sure he wouldn't drop it. Only then did he get up and start to walk towards his lesson again.

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The girl ran all the way back to her quarters. She slammed the door shut and locked it before swiftly moving to the bathroom. She sucked in a deep breath at the sight of her shirt and neck. Blood had stained the entire right half of her collar and was slowly taking over her right sleeve. She cried as she took off her short plain dress and panties to climb into the small tub of water that she was provided once a day. She hated bathing so early but this was necessary. She carefully cleaned herself and was especially careful to clean her neck. When she was finished she climbed out and with a little trouble dragged the water to the hole in the floor and dumped it out.

She walked into her room again and found some clean panties in a drawer that was a little to high for her and put them on then went back to the bathroom to put a bandage on her neck. She seemed to be wandering aimlessly for a moment as she went back in and slipped on a new dress. She pulled back her wet pale blue hair into a low ponytail then tied a bandana around letting it fall back. Sighing she left her room to go about and do her daily chore. Today's chore was to scrub the main entrance hallway. She had never been called a slave, but since she was too young to be paid, she was given a small room and food for her services. She rubbed her nose on her sleeve and went to the servant's station to get her bucket and rag.

They were handed to her by a gentle old woman who had been watching over her since she was brought to the palace two years ago. She carried it down to the main entrance with quite a bit of difficulty. The bucket was full and the sloshing water was making it awkward to carry. She sighed as she finally reached her destination and let the bucket down with a loud thunk. Taking her rag, she dipped it in the bucket and set it down then with her tail high in the air she took off running down the entrance cleaning the floor. Every now and then she would slip, but she was used to the bruises on her knees and elbows. The entrance way was long and wide. She would be working for a while.

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Meanwhile, the young boy was sitting on the high stool with his arms defiantly folded across his chest. He rolled his eyes as the instructor praised him time and time again. He hated coming every week to hear the same thing over and over again.

"What is the point of me learning to sing? Isn't that a girly thing to do?" the young boy frowned as the tip of his tail twitched against the flute.

"Ah your majesty, being able to sing is considered a very cultured thing. Besides you have a voice unlike any that I have heard before." The instructor struck a key on a piano.

The young boy ran a hand through his thick black hair that defied gravity as if he had been hanging upside down all his life. He took a deep breath and mimicked the note. As the instructor played a tune the boy began to sing. With a young voice, he sounded like a song bird on an early spring morning.

"Blood on the river

Death on the banks

My armor in slivers

No more tanks.

Fighting is what I live for

How I long to be a warrior…

I can't stand this…any song I come up with stinks…" He growled and jumped down off the chair. "Why do my songs stink? I can sing…I know I can, and I don't need you tell me I can. I just can't think up any songs!"

He punched the stool, splintering it all over the floor. The instructor sighed and closed the piano. "We'll try again next week, your highness. For now why don't you think about an emotion that you can connect with to come up with better songs?"

The boy sighed and stamped off out of the room, closely followed by his bodyguard. They walked all the way to the front of the palace, when the boy stopped and looked out a window.

"I want to go outside and train for a bit. Come Nappa." He turned toward the main entrance and barely acknowledged the brown tail that went by him as he left out the door.

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Tired the young girl wiped her forehead as she paused halfway done with her chore. She blinked as she noticed a noise outside. Loud shouts and the sound of skin contacting skin rang through the air. Quickly, she ran over to the window to look and see who it was. Her mouth opened into a small O as she watched a small boy with electrified hair and an extremely large man racing across the ground to punch and kick at each other. Watching them for a few minutes made her feel energized again and she puffed up her chest and made fists.

"Alright let's do this!"

She ran back to the spot she stopped at and grabbed the rag. Slamming it down in the water, squeezing it out, and then slapping it down onto the floor she took off at high speed trying to finish her chore as best as she could.

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Yay! I got another chapter out, and in not very much time. Whoot! Please review. I usually never get a lot so I'll keep asking!