Unexpected
Disclaimer: All characters and locations herein are the property of Tamora Pierce. The story itself, and its wording, are my own.
I used to think of myself as an animal lover. Certainly, when I was young, I was partial to petting the cats and dogs of the palace. I asked my father for a dog several times that I can remember, as well. When I was older, I met a girl that exceeded every idea of animal loving that I knew, putting my petty sort to shame.
Hers was a love that knew no bounds. She had no qualms about animal or bird messes, and she never minded their smell, no matter how strong it was. She treated all equally. It was very odd indeed to speak to someone who seemed to be on the sides of predator and pray simultaneously. She would heal and defend either with equal vigor.
Hers seemed a magical gift, indeed. To speak to animals, what a blessing! Just think of all you might learn from them! This ability tainted her every dealing with two-leggers, as she slightingly referred to us. Every other word she spoke to me was about her furred and feathered friends, it seemed, defending them valiantly under any and all verbal assaults. I'll never forget her tone of voice as she defended her best friends from being called "vicious".
She was proud, as well. Proud as a queen; Queen of Beasts. Her pride did not allow her to be slighted, and she defended herself quite as well as them. She had the skill with which to do so, too. She never allowed anyone to tread on her pride, at least not in my presence. That's an admirable quality, to all opinions.
Her pain clenched my heart. I'd never before attached the cost of friendship to anyone but myself. Death is inevitable, especially to short-lived animals. I saw anguish flicker in her face whenever any animal around her lost its life. I wish I could help her with that pain, and with the evident pain of her past.
Her existence flared as it brushed mine, for a mere moment in the grander scale of time. Still, she is not one to be forgotten. She is a charmed one, and I rather wish I could marry her. But I've known my entire life that an Emperor did not have the privilege of making that choice.
