A/N: Welcome to Chapter 1 of Whispering Winds! Thanks to all my reviewers for the wonderful reviews! In this chapter, you will see many familiar faces, as well as some new ones. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: It's all Tamora's.


Whispering Winds: Chapter 1

In the royal wing of the palace of Tyra, a bedchamber lay empty. A bed fit for a queen crowned the room, covered in goose down pillows and silk sheets. The rest of the furniture was simple, yet elaborate. On one of the small tables, an unsheathed dagger lay, glinting in the sunlight. Two windows opened onto a large courtyard, were grooms and stable boys could be seen leading horses across the smooth stone.

This idyllic scene was interrupted by the door of the bedchamber bursting open. The door slammed off the wall and bounced back.

Framed in the doorway stood a young woman, about sixteen. Her raven black hair was tumbling out of its loose bun, and her green-flecked, deep blue eyes flashed in anger. Her chin was set stubbornly, and blue fire streaked with green surrounded her hands. On a chain around her neck, a silver cat pendant swung, the blue-green jewels in its eyes shimmering with the same blue-green light. Stalking into the room, she was followed by an agitated silver tabby, its fur fluffed out.

Leaping onto the bed, the tabby unsheathed her claws and hissed. The hiss seemed to break through her owner's rage, and as the girl stopped pacing to grin at her offended cat, the green-tinted fire died, receding into her body.

Princess Kayla Aceline of Tyra flopped onto her bed, her eyes still flashing in anger. Dressed in a simple shirt and breeches, the girl didn't look like a princess, or the daughter of two of the world's famous monarchs.

"Have you cooled down yet?" Someone quipped from her open doorway.

Kay sat up, ignoring her cat's offended hiss as she almost sat on the tabby's tail. She glared at her cousin, who was lounging against the doorframe, grinning.

"What do you think, Koen?" She snapped in answer, glaring. Kaelyn's only son continued to grin.

"You need to calm down," he advised, still grinning. Still glaring, Kayla pushed herself off the bed and stalked towards the door.

Pushing past her cousin, she muttered, "I'm going for a ride." Seeing Kay exiting the room, the silver tabby hopped off the bed, and stared up at Koen with wide blue eyes as she passed.

"Are you going to keep her from going mad?" Koen questioned the cat, who stared at him for a moment more before bounding down the hallway after her mistress.


Entering the royal stables, Kayla breathed in the comforting smell of horses and leather, and began to calm down. Walking down the central aisle, she petted and complimented each horse that thrust its head out to watch her.

Nearing the end of the row, she called, "Whirlwind!" In answer, a black-and-white head popped out of the far stall, regarding Kayla with inquisitive dark eyes. Kayla smiled and petted the mare, reaching beneath her man to scratch Whirlwind's favorite spot. The pinto mare leaned against the stall door, nose pressing against Kayla's chest.

Laughing, Kayla gently pushed the mare's nose out of the way and let herself into the stall, grabbing a plain leather saddle as she went. Although she could have had the most expensive saddle in the kingdom, Kayla preferred the plain, undecorated leather.

Saddling Whirlwind, Kay led her pinto mare into the courtyard and mounted. She guided the mare out of the palace gates, where the guards let her through with a nod, and turned off the well-beaten dirt path for the extensive fields beyond. A dark line of trees, the beginning of the Royal Forest, crowned the horizon.

Hearing hoofbeats behind her, Kayla turned in the saddle. Two guards traveled at a safe distance behind her, charged with watching her if she ventured outside the palace walls. Grinning, Kayla booted Whirlwind into a gallop, eager to feel the wind across her face. Her mare seemed to agree. With a snort, the pinto took off, leaving the two guards to follow.

Kay didn't pull Whirlwind to a stop until a rabbit bolted from beneath the long grasses of the meadow and shot out under the mare's feet. The mare slid to a stop, breathing hard. Seconds later, a falcon appeared, diving for the rabbit, talons outstretched. Recognizing the bird's plumage as it flashed past, Kay waited until the falcon had killed the rabbit before whistling softly.

The falcon looked up in interest, and Kayla dug into her saddlebag for a leather glove and a piece of dried meat. "Come here, Areyn," she murmured to her father's falcon. Areyn ruffled his feathers but stood protectively over his kill.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kayla saw a silver form bounding over the grass. She grinned as Danika scrabbled up onto the saddle, and the silver tabby seemed to glare at Kayla as she sat down on Whirlwind's back and proceeded to wash.

Areyn had hissed as the cat passed him, but now he folded his wings and stared up at Kayla in interest as she held out her fisted glove, and the piece of dried meat.

"Areyn," she crooned to him softly. Areyn stepped away from the rabbit, and lifting his wings, settled lightly on Kay's gloved fist. Petting his chest feathers softly with her bare hand, Kayla fed him the meat, and he tore it in pieces, gulping it down, all the while regarding her with intelligent black eyes.

Kayla was about to send him into the air again when the sound of horsemen met her ears. Gazing towards the forest, she noticed a company of noblemen riding towards her, her father at their head.

King Jamal of Tyra had aged over the twenty years he had been king, but even though his hair was lightly streaked with gray, he did not carry himself like an old man, even though he was nearly forty. He carried himself the way he had at his coronation, with dignity and sensibility.

Slowing to a stop two feet away, Jamal glanced at his daughter in surprise. Behind him, the noblemen bowed in the saddle. Kayla didn't return the gesture; she found royal protocol a waste of time and only did it when it was required at state meetings.

"Kayla, what are you doing here?" Jamal's voice snapped Kayla out of her musings, and she stared back at her father.

"Riding," she said, shrugging.

Jamal called softly to Areyn in a low whistle, and after the falcon had returned to his fist, and the rabbit had been collected, he said calmly, "You shouldn't be out here." Seeing his daughter was about to protest, he swiftly added, "Your mother called a meeting, and it's this afternoon in the stateroom."

Kayla nodded, but without much enthusiasm, and Jamal saw her glum expression. "Come on," he coaxed, "it won't be that bad."

Kayla snorted in disbelief, and remained looking unconvinced. Sighing, Jamal leaned towards her. "Race you back to the palace," he whispered, his brown eyes gleaming mischievously.

Kayla grinned, and before her father could straighten in the saddle, she booted Whirlwind into a gallop, heading for the palace. She heard her father's exclamation of surprise behind her, and she grinned broadly, enjoying the feeling of the wind brushing her face as her father raced behind her, trying to catch up.


After unsaddling Whirlwind and rubbing her down, Kayla made her way to the royal stateroom by taking her customary shortcut through the kitchen. As she made her way through the large room, many of the servants called to her, some just to merely say hello.

Escaping the warm, thick air of the kitchen for the cooler breeze of the hallways was a blessing. Kayla was close to the stateroom, and she quickened her pace. From what her father said when he found her rubbing Whirlwind down in the stables, she was going to be late. She was halfway down the hallway when she heard her name called. "Princess Kayla!"

Kayla turned, and found Rhia—the "commander" of the servants in the palace—towingKayla's eight year old cousin, Adrina, after her. Kayla looked from one to the other. Rhia looked frazzled, as if she had been in the middle of planning something when Adrina interrupted. Adrina, on the other hand, was pouting, her blue eyes mulish. Her black hair tumbled about her face, as if she had been exploring.

Kayla took another look at Rhia's exhausted face and extended her hand. "Drina," she asked her cousin, "why don't you come with me?" Adrina shook her head stubbornly, still pouting, and leaned backwards, trying to release her hand from Rhia's grip.

"Come on," Kay coaxed, but Adrina shook her head again. Kayla was about to give up, but then she had an idea. "Adrina," she whispered, as if it was a secret, and the little girl had to lean closer to hear. "If you come with me," Kayla continued, "we'll go see Aunt Ani, and I heard that she just got some new shipments of cloth. I bet if you asked nicely you could play with some."

At this, Adrina brightened, and wrenched her hand from its hold in Rhia's. Quickly hugging her cousin, she whispered, "Thanks, Kay!" and ran off down the hallway, disappearing down the next.

Kayla glanced after her, and bit her lip. She hadn't made the cloth part up, but she wasn't sure if her aunt had the time to keep Drina occupied. Duchess Anielka of Trya used to be of the Copper Isles, but after her brother took the throne, she accepted his invitation to live in the palace and arrange the social events that were too extensive for the monarchs to handle with their other duties. The thirteen-year-old girlthat Kaelyn had once known was replaced by a beautiful woman. Kayla smiled at the thought her aunt. Anielka may be beautiful, but she still had time to play with her nieces and nephews, and she knew how to arrange a perfect feast.

"Your Highness?" Rhia's voice snapped Kayla out of her musings, and she turned to give her friend a sharp look.

"Rhia, how many times have a told you not to call me that?" She asked sternly.

Rhia grinned. "Sorry, Kayla."

Kayla nodded, satisfied. "What were you doing when Adrina interrupted you?"

Rhia glanced at Kayla quickly for a moment before answering, as if unsure. "I was preparing a feast for tonight, Princess."

Kayla frowned, but not at the title. "A feast for tonight?" She echoed. "Why would we have a feast tonight?"

Rhia dropped her gaze to the ground, shaking her head. "I don't know," she murmured, but her eyes told a different story. When she glanced up, Kayla saw Rhia was giving her a pitying look. Kayla was about to ask her something else when Rhia pointed out, "Your Highness, you'll miss the meeting if you don't hurry."

Kayla cursed under her breath, using a few choice words that she had picked up from her thieffriends in Tyra. She turned and sprinted down the hall, only pausing once to yell, "Thanks, Rhia!" over her shoulder before turning around and hurrying off.

Kayla turned down the last corridor, and she could see the large oaken door that led to the stateroom. She quickened her pace, hoping she wasn't too late. She was halfway down the hallway when her name was called again. "Kayla!"

Cursing, Kayla slowed to a stop, ready to turn and give whoeverhad stoppeda few choice words. Turning, her sullen face cleared, and she grinned at the tall figure that was making his way towards her.


Shyam Alden, the Shang Wolf and resident Shang master of the palace, was striding towards her. Kayla had known Shyam her entire life, and she viewed him as more of a favorite uncle than her Shang teacher. In the twenty years that he had been at his post as Shang instructor, Shyam had changed. He streaked hair was now steadily growing gray, but he still was limber and fit. Kayla's mother, Queen Keianna, insisted that Shyam was getting old if she could beat him, but Shyam insisted that she was getting better.

"Kayla, don't you know there's a meeting, and you're late?" Kayla almost screamed.

"Yes," she said, fighting keep her voice calm.

Shyam stared at her for a moment, and then did a surprising thing: stepping up to her, he bent down to place a chaste kiss on her forehead, like an uncle would do. "Gods all bless, Kayla," he whispered solemnly. In the next second, the seriousness was gone, replaced by the customary twinkle in his hazel eyes as he added, "You're going to need it in there."

With that, he turned and strode back up the corridor, leaving Kayla behind him, wondering what that was all about. Shrugging it off, (she would think about it later) Kayla entered the meeting she was supposed to be at a half an hour ago.


Glancing around the room, Kayla almost cursed, but keep her mouth shut. It was one of those meetings. She settled for glaring at her parents, who sat in chairs behind the two people that stood at the head of the table. Next to her, Koen looked bored, and across from her, Kayla's sixteen year old cousin and best friend, Kyianna, gave her a smile as she sat down.

"Glad you could join us, Kayla." The voice did not come from Kayla's parents, or even the other two monarchs, Alec and Kaelyn. The voice came from Kayla's nineteen year old sister, Aurelia.

Years ago, right after they had taken the throne, Keianna and Kaelyn had decreed that their first-born children, whether male or not, would have a joint rule, as they did. Keianna's first daughter, Aurelia, had dark brown hair with a faint golden tint to it. Her brown eyes were warm, but she had inherited her mother's temper as well as her beauty, and was fiery when angered.

Kaelyn's first daughter, Leila, had honey brown hair, and amber eyes. She was kind and gentle, and would balance out her cousin's hot headedness. She was also what Kei called a "court beauty," and already had had many offers from noblemen's sons. Her parents had refused, telling her that her consort needed to be able to help her, not adore her.

These two were being prepared to take over for their parents when the time came, and that's why they had these meetings. It was a chance for Aurelia and Leila to practice working with diplomats and ambassadors, as well as their own council of advisors. Right now, there were no diplomats, ambassadors, or advisors; just their siblings and cousins, but onlythe ones who had been presented at court.

At the moment, these meetings were merely just to discuss family news.

"Koen, as punishment for pulling that prank on Kayla, you will be confined to your room for the next two days." Leila announced, glancing at her brother sternly. Koen looked like he was about to make a rude reply, but the presence of his parents in the room stopped him. Kayla tried not to grin, but she couldn't help it. He was getting what he deserved. Koen shot her a dirty look, and then went back to looking bored.

The next announcement was from Aurelia. Kayla, too busy mentally gloating that her cousin had gotten punished, didn't hear it. She looked up when the room fell silent, and she found everyone staring at her.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" She asked, watching her sister. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Kyianna giving her a sympathetic look, and next to her, Koen looked sick. The only people in the room that showed no emotion were the four monarchs, and the two heirs.

Aurelia cleared her throat and gave her younger sister an "I'm sorry" look. She repeated what she had said before, and Kayla could only sit there stunned, her mind spinning.

"Kayla, you have been chosen to go with the peace delegation to Tortall as the future bride of the youngest Conté, Prince Jasson."

Kayla sat, frozen and staring. Things began to fall into place: her father offeringto race—which he never did, Rhia's pity, Shyam's kiss, Kyia's sympathetic look. They all knew. They all knew. The walls seemed to close around her, and Kayla got to her feet. Glancing around, she saw they all looked concerned. Without a word, she turned and fled the room.


Back in the stateroom, Queen Keianna looked at her husband. Jamal stared back, his brow creased with worry. Kei sighed, then murmured wryly, "That went well."


A/N: So, what'd you think of Chapter 1? Good, bad, needs some more depth? Tell me what you think!