Shay'Telnira smiled across the table at Tyrastan. He chuckled and picked up his fork and stabbed a small piece of meat with it. She cocked her head, an eyebrow raising.
"What are you planning on— Mmmph!!" While she had been talking, he moved with lightning speed and stuffed the fork in her mouth. She mock glared at him and took the fork, eating the meat bit that was on it. Tyrastan grinned in triumph. She smiled at him.
"You know," he started, taking the fork back and cutting her another piece of meat before stuffing it between her lips whether she liked it or not, "you don't spend enough time with me." He looked genuinely sad, and Shay'Telnira's eyebrows knit together in concern.
"I'm sorry, Tyr, but— No! Don't stuff that in my mouth! I'm done, thank you." She shook her head as he put the fork down.
"I can't help it," she continued. "I have to watch over the brothers. It's one of my duties, and Mother won't let me out of it."
"I understand," he sighed, "I just feel kinda left out sometimes, you know?"
"I'm sorry." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll do what I can, okay?"
"Thanks," he smiled down at her gently, and scooped her up against him in a hug.
The vampires saw less and less of their hostess and baby-sitter, and when they did see her, she seemed distant and lost in her thoughts. More often than not, the brothers ended up with Ker'orin who scowled after where Shay'Telnira had disappeared. Melchiah seemed sad for a while, then he began vanishing off for long periods of time. The rest of the boys spent their time playing cards listlessly, not even getting into their normal arguments and fights.
"Good evening," Shay'Telnira greeted them happily as she walked in, her feet apparently on a metaphorical cloud. The brothers looked up at her.
"What's with all the long faces?" she teased. Even Ker'orin glowered at her from his corner. Fed up with this, Raziel stood.
"Shay, may I speak with you for a minute? Privately, please?"
"Sure." She led him out into the empty hallway, curious at what he had to say, and shut the door gently. She turned to him.
"What would you like?"
"Shay, hasn't this gone far enough?" he demanded bluntly. "You've been completely ignoring us, and been spending all your time with that male."
" 'That male' is my friend, Raziel, and a possible fiancé."—Raziel's eye twitched, but Shay'Telnira didn't notice it.—"Don't get me wrong, I'd love to spend more time with you—"
"Then do it!"
"I CAN'T!" She bit her tongue and breathed in deeply, restraining her annoyance. She didn't want to unleash her fury on Raziel; he wasn't truly the cause of her anger. It was just that he was bringing up her clashing duties to the dragons.
"I've come to the point where I'm going to have to be engage and I need to spend time looking for possibilities."
"And that's more important than us?"
Shay'Telnira sighed. "It is and it isn't. But would you have me unhappily wed because I spent all my time with you?"
"I would rather see you married to anyone else but him!"
Her anger exploded again. "And what is wrong with him?!"
"He's no good for you!"
"And how would you know what's good for me and what's not?!"
In their argument, their faces had drawn inches away from each other, both glaring at the other with teeth bared in a silent snarl. Shay'Telnira snorted and twisted, storming away from the vampire and down the hall, knowing if she didn't calm down she was going to do something rash she would have regretted later. Then again, with how much he was getting involved in her love life recently, she might not have regretted it.
Raziel growled low in his throat, then it died out and he sighed deeply. He had done the exact opposite of what he had wanted to do. He hadn't intended to get Shay'Telnira angry with him; he had just wanted to try to make her see that Tyrastan wasn't good enough for her.
Suddenly, he felt a clawed hand grab his shoulder and slam him up against a wall. He found a pair of furious glass-colored eyes glaring at him. Talons touched the vampire's neck gently in a silent threat as Tyrastan growled at him.
"You will leave her alone, boy. She may not understand that you want her, but I do, and she is and always will be mine! And if you tell anyone about this, I'll kill you." Tyrastan rumbled lowly in his throat before dropping the young vampire and racing down the hall after Shay'Telnira. Raziel stared after the dragon-male in surprise, then his eyes narrowed and his claws clenched into a fist. He snarled, but kept himself in check. After all, unlike Tyrastan, Raziel was diplomatic and remembered his manners. It seemed this male did not and needed to be reminded of where he was on the social ladder.
Raziel turned back to the door and walked into the room. He grabbed Ker'orin by the arm and dragged the Guardian to his feet and into a side chamber.
"What can I do for you, Raziel?" the Guardian inquired. Raziel turned to him and told him what had just happened with Tyrastan. A frown tugged at Ker'orin's lips as Raziel began his tale, and by the time he wrapped it up, the frown had embedded itself into a wrathful scowl. Raziel knew that Ker'orin had no love for Tyrastan and thought Shay'Telnira could do a lot better than him.
"I understand why you told me, but why not Shay? She'd like to know something like this, and she'd probably believe you."
"Yeah, she probably would have," Raziel sighed with a slight bitter chuckle, "but a few seconds before we had just gotten into a fight about him."
"Oh." He rubbed his chin. "Shay's usually pretty good about listening to friends, but she has a tendency for being rather vindictive and cruel should she feel she's being lied to. And she probably would have in that situation." He sighed deeply. "Well, I can't tell her either."
"What? Why not?!"
"Do you really think she'd believe me on the topic?! She already knows my opinion of the boy. If you really want to make her believe it, you're going to have to find proof." He paused and grinned, leaned forward, and grabbed the vampire's ear.
"Listen up, this is what we're going to do . . ."
It took a week to put it all together and get everything ready. Raziel had recruited his younger brothers to help Ker'orin and himself to set the situation up and find incriminating evidence. Zephon had grinned widely at the prospect of sneaking into the dragon-male's home and happily took the job. They set their ideas into action, and Raziel had been the one who had to deal with the hardest job: approaching Kain asking if they could stay the week. The vampire lord had merely waved a claw at his eldest son, acknowledging his request.
"It's going to take longer to set up this Treaty than I had originally projected," he had stated simply, dismissing the boy. After Raziel had left the room, Kain glanced across the table at the Empress who nodded solemnly. Kain smirked. (A/N: Does it seem like they know more than they let on?)
Seven days and nights passed, and on the seventh night, Shay'Telnira found herself accosted by several vampire children who hugged her and demanded a story. Shay'Telnira sputtered an answer; she had been on the way to meet Tyrastan for dinner. But Melchiah quickly climbed up into her arms and hugged her, asking, "Pwease?"
She sighed deeply and nodded. Perhaps it wouldn't take them too long to fall asleep and she could just be a bit late. She followed them into her chambers and stopped at the door, surprised. Raziel, Turel and Dumah all sat at a table with grave expressions, and Zephon and Rahab quickly went over to join them. Melchiah stayed in her arms and she walked toward them slowly.
"Please, Shay, sit," Turel entreated, indicating one of the chairs. She slid into one of the seats slowly, eyeing the brothers with a mixture of worry and curiosity. Raziel set something on the table and pushed it across to her.
"We found this and thought you might like to look at it."
Shay'Telnira picked it up, blinking at them for a long moment, then flipped the book open to the first page. She recognized it as Tyrastan's journal. Her gaze lifted to the vampires again.
"You stole his journal and are now giving it to me to read?" She closed it and set it down. "I will not. I will not invade his privacy like that, and furthermore, you will put this back."
"Shay," Ker'orin's voice came from the door to one of the further in chambers, "see the read silk bookmark? At least read that page."
Her eyes narrowed into slitted glaring orbs of amethyst and he sighed deeply, pleading, "Please."
"Agh. Fine." She flipped the book open again, knowing that she would never hear the end of it from her charges and Guardian if she didn't. The mark was on a page near where he had stopped writing, and she quickly read down his elegant scrawl.
Shay's everything I could ever dream of and more. I never thought for an instant when we were little that she would grow into such a woman. Of course, I had other things on my mind then, like actually beating her in a wrestling match. Speaking of which, I still haven't tried that recently . . . But I'd almost be ashamed to lose or win. The actual fight, however, would be most magnificent, getting that close to that gorgeous body of hers, and every aspect of her, from her legs to—
She broke off reading the book as he went into details about her body she'd never thought anyone would compliment or like, and looked up at the vampires again.
"Is this what you want me to read? His interest in me?"
"Keep reading," Rahab answered. She sighed, rolled her eyes, but looked back down at the page.
—body, but it seems I'm not going to get such an opportunity just yet. She's apparently been assigned to watch those little brats, who are supposedly, as the Empress puts it, "this world's guardians." Bah! They're parasites, plain and simple. I do not like them, nor do I think Shay should have to deal with such vermin. She's better than that. I especially don't enjoy her choice in company of the eldest; she may not understand how he looks at her, but I do, and he can keep his thieving hands off her.
Shay'Telnira's hands clenched on themselves, fighting against her growing rage. Those "parasites" were her little vamplings, her friends, and to know that the person who's been the light of her days for the past few weeks bares them so much ill-will . . . She bit her lower lip as she read on, and Tyrastan continued about finding some way to get her away from their corruptive influence. It seemed that his commenting to her about her not spending enough time with him was only to get her away from the vampires. She slammed the book shut at the end of the page, unable to read any more, and closed her eyes, her clawed fingers curling around the book. Dumah looked like he would have said something, but Ker'orin tapped him on the shoulder lightly, silently telling him to not speak. When Shay'Telnira opened her eyes again, there was a hard light in them, and the smile that stretched her lips was anything but loving and caring.
"Ker'orin, go retrieve Tyrastan of the House of Glass for me, please."
"As you wish, my Lady," he responded, bowing low, and knowing the anger in her eyes. Tonight would not end well for the young House lord.