Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Shape Shifters and Redheads

The next day dawned bright and clear, with no trace of the troubles of the day before. Thayet rose and peered through the filmy white curtains at the hills and stables ahead of her. She turned sharply at a knock on her door. Opening it she smiled graciously at her servant and loyal friend Buri, from the days before she married john.

"Queen," her loyal servant smiled, "you look pale today, you must get outside and put some colour in those cheeks." She pulled a pair of soft white breeches and a warm, beige sweater out of the closet and handed them to her queen. "I've drawn a bath for you and master Numair is ready to heal you if you would go up there after you are dressed." With a little nod and a smile she left the queen who submerged herself in to the warm waters of her bath and sighed, dark squires! She must have imagined it, even though, it had all sounded so clear.

***

Thayet glanced at Numair and sighed, smiling. "Many thanks to you Numair, I'm afraid that this sore would have caused quite a stir up among the ladies, they can except Alanna on the terms that she must be crazy, or summoned to do the gods will. Yet their Queen fighting imposter's and getting scars is something I'm sure many of them will never come to terms with. Sometimes…

She looked up to find her friend looking down at her with laughing eyes. "Queen, some of the things that have happened in these past few years have caused more of a stir – up then King Roald ever had to deal with. I'm just glad to see that you have kept up with your king and aren't troubled by events involving the Castle.'

"Not troubled?" Queen Thayet gasped, if Numair only knew how many nights she had sat up troubled by the goings on of her court.

He glanced at her demurely and she realized that he must have been playing with her. "Hence Queen, I suggest you venture to the stables, I feel the Lioness might have arrived."

In the courtyard Thayet smiled with joy as she watched the fire haired maiden dismount from her favourite ride, a copper coloured horse named Moonlight. Forgetting all the withdrawel to the Lioness she had felt the night before, she whooped with joy and headed over to Alanna.

"Thayet!" The purple eyed girl called, pulling back the hood of her burnoose. "Queen! How have you faired? I have heard much of your adventures from the previous night. was is really as thrilling as John made it sound?" She smiled and Thayet drew her in for a hug. This was one of her closest friends, how she had thought that Alanna would turn against her made her feel foolish, Alanna would never do anything as dishonourable as she had imagined!

"You must tell me, how was your time with the Bahzir?" Thayet cast her sparkling green eyes over her friends dirtied white burnoose.

"As it should be expected, life continues as usual, the shamans continue to work sucessfully I am proud to say. now Thayet dear friend what is it that happened, Johnathon in his typical manner only mentioned that you had fought off some men and that it was essential that I come quickly."

Thayet gazed over the castle lands as she retold the events of the previous night. When she had finished she looked over at her friend who was sitting on the fence beside her.

"Thayet the dark squires? Are you quite sure? I haven't heard of them in many years." She sighed. "Mind you after the immortals war, I should not be questioning things coming back."

"Come you two, what is your business sitting on the fence letting life pass you by as if there is not a trouble in the world?"

Thayet turned to see Daine, one of the few people in the court with wild magic heading towards them. "Come now you two," she smiled, "this is no time to be resting on your laurels, there is work to be done, I know stephan in the stable is looking for some eager hands to help muck the stables, he would never mention it but he's not moving as fast as he used too."

"Well then Lioness, duty awaits, I guess you won't get a chance to find out any more about our resident problem with The DS."

Ten minutes later Thayet arrived back at the castle laughing and out of breath. Alanna had taken a detour to visit with Stefan the groomsman. Heading up the stairs from the squire levels Thayet was nearly bowled over by a young boy with blonde hair being chased by a viscious looking squire named Keladry of Mindelan.

"Easy now Kell!" Thayet called fondly smiling, "Neal would like to keep that precious hair of his for the Midwinter feast!"

Kell smiled at her Queen but kept up her chase. "It's all right Thayet, you've tried, she's a tough one that Kell." With a whoop the young squires sped off down the corridor.

As she reached the King's chambers Thayet was pleased to see that the Kings orderly was all ready settled on Jonathon's left and right were Gary the court prime minester, and now on the left Alanna sat, the King's champion. Also present were Raoul Captain of the King's own and the leader of the Queen's riders. Finally settled at the other end of the table was Numair and his partner Daine . Alanna's husband George, her father miles of Olau and the Lord Provost were in the midst of the city searching out the supposed dark squires.

"Now that I see the last of our happy little group has arrived I suggest we get settled and begin." Jon smiled up at his wife and turned back to the group. "Last night Thayet was lucky enough to hear a plot of two men in search of a book to bring back for there master, the dark squire." There were collective gasps, groans and sighes from the group assembled around the table.

Thayet sighed. "I'm sorry, really I am, but last night as I was heading to the library which Miles had left unlocked for me I found that I was not alone. Next thing I knew I could hear two men insulting Miles and cursing for they were not able to find a book they wished to obtain. It was then I heard it. They wanted to find it to bring to their master, the Dark Squire. What can I say, I sputtered with disbelief and one of them heard and came after me. Luckily, thanks to my time before I was queen, I could handle my own. These men fought like commoners, with hardly the speed of a rouge and no rythem that would be found in a noble.

"I managed a punch in the eye for one of them; the other was knocked out cold. Jon, you thought you could catch them today if they had lots of bruising around his eye, but you have forgotton, Dark Squires apparently have an incredible source of Magic, surely with amount of that magic in there power it would not be a problem to fix something as simple as a blacked eye?" Thayet sighed, "I guess that takes us back to square one then doesn't it?"

Numair smiled at his Queen and pout a large musty book on the table. "This my lady might solve all our problems." As the group peered over the dark volume numair continued. "You see I'm quite sure this is the book our Dark Squire friend sent his men for. Thankfully Jon had me keep it in my possesion. It is a book of no title, therefore it has always been reffered to as the nameless book. This is a book which the spell Alanna's brother used on Duke Roger to let us say, return him to this earth. It has many dark magic spells ones that many power hungrey mages have lost there lives too. I have found in my accounting of this book that King Roald, as well as four King's precessing him thought it would be better for the Kingdom if this book were burned or inacessible. Yet if you destroy something of this value how can you learn from it how to put things right? If you let me keep it now I think I shall be able to establish just what spell it is the Dark Squire was after."

"All right Numair, you may continue to study that book on the condition that no one knows it is in your possesion and that no one, I mean absolutely no one may perform a spell, is that understood? Good, now put it away and no more will be spoken, we shall hide this book at all costs."

Unfortunatley for Jon, and all of Tortall, a solitary rat. sat in the dark corner of the room absorbing the information it heard it's yellow eyes glittering, no longer would Daine be the only shape shifter in the palace.