Chapter Fifty Five

The guards led them to the entrance way of the Arena. There, they were handed off to a contingent of the royal guard.

Phalyssa gulped nervously, gaining a sinking feeling about the Tournament fight. Her mother took in her white face. "Phalyssa? Do you know what's going on?"

"Um…Not really—at least, I don't think so…"

Jea frowned at the teen, one eyebrow raised. Phalyssa smiled innocently and turned her attention to Aruka. He was playing with Lupin; the puppy was pawing and gnawing on his fingertips.

Phalyssa chuckled. Aruka flicked his eyes at her and the silver haired girl had to stifle a shriek as his tail snaked around her waist, pulling her close.

Wolf snickered from his place at Jea's side and the ranger shushed him with a glare. Laguna watched the guards uneasily. Something was strange here.

The party was led, once again, to the Upper Terrace, right to the palace gates. Phalyssa chewed her lip nervously. —Oh man, I don't think this is good…— Quivering, she followed the party inside, to the audience chamber.

* * * * * *

"Hello, Phalyssa."

The silver haired girl whirled around in surprise. "Xiera Lao?"

The native woman was dressed in gilded gold and red robes, her lustrous, dark hair arranged in an intricate style. She nodded. "I'm sorry for deceiving you—and for…" she trailed off as she stared at Aruka. "Oh! You're okay!" Xiera gave a little half bow to the fuzzy teen.

Aruka whined. "Phalyssa…What do I do? Who is she?"

Phalyssa replied, "Easy. Just introduce yourself to her…As a matter of fact, use your full name. These folk seem to be the formal type."

Aruka's eyes clouded and cleared as his personalities exchanged places again. Without a word he handed Lupin to Phalyssa. Facing Xiera Lao, he bowed deeply with his hands in a clasping position (one hand made into a fist, the other wrapped around the fist front and back of the hand.)

"On behalf of my Tribe," Aruka began, his voice deep and rumbling, "The Cave Lion, Kaver Lyion Yajaru of the Ancient Isle, I, Aruka Karak o Dirimun Kangruu, greet you, in the name of my Ancestors, the Ancient Ones."

Phalyssa blinked, her jaw gaping in surprise. Lupin wiggled in her arms.

Xiera Lao bowed as deep as Aruka had, her voice firm. "I greet you, Aruka Karak o Dirimun Kangruu, member of the Cave Lion Tribe, Kaver Lyion Yajaru, of the Ancient Isle. In the name of my father, Emperor Kaijuu Yamarataichi, Ruler of the Lords of the Empire of the Sun, of the Seventh Dynasty of the family of Hikari, may I, Xiera Lao Yamarataichi Hikari, First Princess of His Highness' Heirs, of the Seventh Hikari Dynasty, welcome you to the Royal palace and offer my apology of misjudgment."

Xiera turned to rest of the group. "May I offer you all our greetings and apologies. My father wishes to rethink his opinion and have another audience with you."

Jea nodded slowly. "There is one thing, though, Princess. I am the leader of this party—not Laguna. I speak for the group."

Xiera thought for a moment. "May I have your name, to further communicate to my father your leadership?"

A look of exasperation crossed her face and was replaced quickly by a feral grin. "Certainly. I am Jea Lyra Kinnaran Kimsteed, daughter of Coleman Kinnaran, son of Alder Kinnaran, former Matriarch of clan Kinnaran; and of Slyvar'Hayr Quickfire, second daughter of Lord Odeus Quickfire of the Grey Elven Nation; wife of Laguna V'Tar Kimsteed: Paladin of the Order of Goku, son of Kironi and Largo Kimsteed; mother of Phalyssa Kironi Kimsteed: First Class Shadow; Lifebonded and Sister to Wolf, son of Starfire, a Bond Wolf of the Ta'ran clan; Sister to Bloodbath, Son of Starfire, Bond Wolf of the Ta'ran Clan; Pupil and Adopted daughter of the Archdruid Oaken Treesong; Ranger and Druid of the First Order of The Lady Istus, the Goddess of Fate; Lady of Forest Keep, in the realm of Maraita, second cousin to the King of Goldenkeep, Heiress of the Barony of Wakit, chosen by the Goddess' Destiny."

The room was deadly silent. Laguna's mouth hung open as the paladin stared at his wife in utter surprise and awe. Ambermist blinked twice in shock, her eyes the size of plates. The rest of the party had been frozen into silence by this introduction of someone they thought they had known so well. The only one who did not seem the least startled was Wolf, but then again, he'd been with Jea her whole life and had already known such things.

Laguna managed to be the first to recover, dimly wondering what other secrets Jea kept from everyone. He stammered, barely in control, "I…I think…I speak for all of us when I say…'Wow.'"

Phalyssa shook herself from her stupor. "Geez, Mom! Where'd you get all that?"

Laguna nodded, now sufficiently recovered to speak straight. "Indeed. You never told me of any of this. Why?"

Jea shrugged, embarrassed. "It's just stuff I picked up here and there. I never told you guys because I never figured it was all that important…"

Ambermist's eyes narrowed shrewdly. "And yet you insist on 'No formalities' all the time…So, how did you get all those titles in the first place?"

Again the ranger gave an uncomfortable shrug. "Most of them just fell into my lap at birth, or by relationships with some people. As for the noble titles…I did favors for the King of Maraita, and he gave me the land and the title. The King of Goldenkeep, had me written into his family registry and adopted by his cousin when I uncovered a major coup de tat and stopped it by myself…"

"And the Barony?" Phalyssa prompted her mother.

"Eh…I trained the Baron's garrison. He's childless, and he named me his heir when his troops repelled an invasion from the Bandit Lands…"

Xiera Lao returned and interrupted them. "The Emperor will see you know."

The princess led them into a small audience chamber. Inside, her brother, Xiao, waited, dressed in opulent finery: silver, black, and blue robes. He bowed slightly to them—Jea in particular, before announcing loudly and formally, "Most Esteemed Father, Emperor Kaijuu Yamarataichi Hikari, Ruler of the Lands of the Empire of the Sun, of the Seventh Hikari Dynasty, may I introduce Jea Lyra Kinnaran Kimsteed, daughter of Coleman Kinnaran, son of Alder Kinnaran, former Matriarch of clan Kinnaran; and of Slyvar'Hayr Quickfire, second daughter of Lord Odeus Quickfire of the Grey Elven Nation; wife of Laguna V'Tar Kimsteed: Paladin of the Order of Goku, son of Kironi and Largo Kimsteed; mother of Phalyssa Kironi Kimsteed: First Class Shadow; Lifebonded and Sister to Wolf, son of Starfire, a Bond Wolf of the Ta'ran clan; Sister to Bloodbath, Son of Starfire, Bond Wolf of the Ta'ran Clan; Pupil and Adopted daughter of the Archdruid Oaken Treesong; Ranger and Druid of the First Order of The Lady Istus, the Goddess of Fate; Lady of Forest Keep, in the realm of Maraita, second cousin to the King of Goldenkeep, Heiress of the Barony of Wakit, chosen by the Goddess' Destiny, a foreign visitor to our lands. Her husband, Paladin Laguna V'Tar Kimsteed of the Order of Goku…" The young prince continued on, formally introducing all of them.

The Emperor stood on his dais. "We greet you, Most Honorable Foreigners." He paused for a moment. "Our offspring have brought to our attention that we may have come too quickly to a judgement." With a curt gesture, he motioned Phalyssa forward. "Phalyssa Kironi Kimsteed, we would like to thank you for honorably sparing the lives of our children and Heirs in honorable combat. In exchange for your display of honor, allow us to extend our hospitality of the palace to you and your companions."

"Lady Jea Lyra Kinnaran Kimsteed, we would offer our sincere apologies for our lack of courtesy to a fellow noble of such high and lofty titles. We did not expect a woman to command such respect from so many lands. Would you be willing to dine with us this evening—perhaps to tell us more of your homelands?"

Jea gave a formal bow. "We'd be honored to accept such generous offers, Your Highness."

The ruler smiled jovially. "Excellent! Servants shall show you to your quarters and attend all your needs." He clapped his hands and several people appeared almost instantaneously.

With a conclusory nod, he dismissed them. The servants led them to an enormous wing. A brief query determined that it was all for them. Jea thanked the men and women and dismissed them curtly.

"Well…this is…nice…" Ambermist said, inspecting the common room of the wing eagerly.

Jea grinned. "Better than our previous accommodations, wouldn't you agree?"

Phalyssa nodded her head. "Yeah, I'll say…"

Laguna peered at his daughter. "What did the Emperor mean about sparing his kids' lives?"

The teenage girl suddenly found a spot of Lupin's fur very interesting. "Um…Well, you see…The last fight Aruka and I were in was a tournament…Xiera and her brother were our opponents. I …Um…decided not to kill them…I unmasked them instead…."

Jea chuckled. "That's my girl! Good job! (I knew I didn't raise a complete moron…)"

Phalyssa snorted. "Gee, thanks, Mom," she said sarcastically. "I appreciate your vote of confidence in my abilities."

Dumbugg looked around, bored with the conversation. "I am hungry…" he said slowly.

Jea started. "Okay folks, time to get presentable. Wolf, take the boys and get them presentable. Girls, our bathroom is through that door. Let's go!"

Ambermist, eager to take a bath and clean the grime off her skin, dashed as fast as her pregnant body would let her to the bathroom door. She scurried inside and the door slammed behind her.