Chapter 13

Nyesh turned away from the window and sighed, closing his eyes. As footsteps neared him, he seemed to come from a daze and, when he turned around, he was surprised to see his daughter standing in the doorframe. Karma was surprised at the dullness in his eyes and of his blank expression. It was like he knew she was hiding something.

"I saw you in the garden dancing." His voice was as emotionless as his face. "You truly are a lovely dancer, Karma…"

Karma smiled, "Thank you." She looked down at her feet at the flagstone floor, the fire in the hearth crackling softly in her ears. She nodded, "I've had a lot of practice, and Acelan said," Karma laughed softly, "I have a legacy of dancers in the family."

"That man's playing with your heart, Karma." Nyesh replied.

Her head shot up. "What?"

"It's what they all do." Her father whispered, "Dancers are players at heart."

They'd never spoken of this before. "Not this one, da. Not Acelan." Karma shook her head, confused.

"Then why, Karma," Nyesh's violet gaze was unnerving but Karma forced herself to hold his eyes. "Why did he not take interest in the other dancers?"

Now Karma was really confused, "I don't understand."

"He's a half-blood dancer." "The other dancers are either pure serpiente or avian…He only wants one thing from you, understand?"

Karma shook her head again, "He does not want anything more then a relationship!" "Why bring this up now and not earlier?" Karma demanded. "Why now after ma's death?" Her breathing was ragged and nearly hysterical, and her eyes seethed with frustration. "Why are you so concerned about whom I love?"

Nyesh suddenly bowed his head, his gaze softening, "Your mother was raped at sixteen and beaten by Ralon Copelass, she suffered much more then you do at her age and..." He shut his eyes tight as he remembered the night Rose had been kidnapped and abused and opened them to find tears in his eyes. "You're all I have now, Karma, all I have of Rose. I'm just trying to protect you." He sighed, "I don't want you to get hurt."

Karma calmed down, but only a little before turning to the door, "Are you going to use that excuse for everything now?" "I'm fifteen and I'm living my life—not yours. I don't need a protector, I need only to be free." Karma stared at her father for a moment. Nyesh met her gaze and she sighed tiredly and strode out the door.

"You still don't understand do you?" Nyesh whispered to her retreating form.

A/N: If this sounds familar, it is. I changed a few things though.

Eyes staring blankly at the flagstone floor, Karma looked down watching her boots take one step at a time. Left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot. Left. Right. It was a constant rhythm, almost like the throb of a drum and she sighed softly, remembering how easy it was to just lose oneself in dance.

Suddenly, her eyes blurred and the black silk she wore reminded her vividly of the blackness of Ecl. Images flashed before her eyes, not only images, but feelings as well.

"Ecl" she thought. She could feel the water choke her again; hear the ice break, her smothered breathing as the water filled her lungs. The phantom pain of Ecl taking her made her double over in the hallway, and she cried out softly, breath hitched as the pain worsened. Black spots danced in her vision; in the spasms of pain she had forgotten to breathe. "Help me," she moaned her voice barely a breath as she reached out for someone, anything to stop this. She then shook her head violently and dragged air into her lungs as she leaned back against the cold wall, welcoming its solidness and the feel of it against her sweating skin.

She wanted to cry, to flee back to the Nest. But instead of the Nest, she fled down the hallway, back to her rooms.

Once inside the safety of her chamber, Karma let out a long, shaky sigh. Leaning against the wall she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. "Just shut the door." She shut it softly and carefully, and began swiftly untying the laces at the back of her gown.

She stripped herself of the despised black silk; it didn't matter why she wore it now. Instead, she pulled on a simple cotton gown, white, with very simple silver embroidery. White was pure, white was the color of her mother's face in death. It smelled like her mother's lavender perfume and it made her feel safe to lose herself in the cloth, almost like her mother's warm embrace.

She missed her mother desperately and wished she could go back to that fateful day. She could have said something, done something, anything, to her mother. But no, she had run from the room and pretty much panicked. Who wanted a leader that panicked at the sight of danger? Who wanted a tri-blood as their leader?

After the funeral, Sheila revealed the cause of death: Heart attack. People were then suspicious that it was a plot for the Lupine throne: that Karma had used Ecl to kill Rose in order to have the throne.

She watched the stars from her window, with the gaze of someone much wiser, much more exhausted, than the girl she'd been as a golden phoenix landed on her balcony. She opened the two doors that led to the balcony and let him in.

Shifting back into his human form, Karma saw how handsome Acelan's phoenix form looked under the moon. In his human form, looked stunning in a deep blue shirt and black slacks, and brown boots, but Karma had no eyes for that. She stared blankly at her friend, at the young dancer, and said nothing, the silence soon turning to tension.

"I'm sorry." Acelan finally said, "I heard your father and you from the hall and…"

"He's only angry," Karma replied, standing. "Overprotective." She added

Acelan smiled softly, "I realized." As he embraced her tightly, he let his wings grow and enfold her. She smirked and stroked the feathers of the wings, soft beneath her fingers. She felt him shiver beneath her touch and rested her head on his chest. "I wish I could fly." She murmured.

Karma led the man onto the balcony and let the silence linger between them. She closed her eyes and felt Acelan's lips on her own, letting him kiss her before she pulled away and grinned.

Acelan chuckled, "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Nothing in particular." She murmured, leaning against the balcony railing staring out at the great expanse of sky.

Acelan wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close, "Someday you and I will dance upon that dais, not as friends, but together." His words made her shiver delightedly.

Karma looked into his eyes and sighed heavily, "Someday…" she echoed.

With that, Acelan gave her another kiss, and shifted into his phoenix form, taking to the skies.

A/N: It may seem like I've developed their relationship a bit, but I wasn't trying to. Just needed a little fluff.

Even though I wrote it, I LOVE this part; it's good, simple imagery:

"As he embraced her tightly, he let his wings grow and enfold her. She smirked and stroked the feathers of the wings, soft beneath her fingers. She felt him shiver beneath her touch and rested her head on his chest. "I wish I could fly." She murmured."

I actually found a piece of artwork on the internet, called "My Golden Bird" and it gave me the idea for Acelan's phoenix Demi-form and for that little tidbit.