Hello my lovelies. I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to update. But here it is, let me know what you think! Also, check out my new story when you get a chance. Right now it's only one chapter but should be pretty good when I get back to it.

As always let me know what you think, R&R!


The day had been extremely long. Dignitary after dignitary, delegation after delegation had come through to meet the Tameranian princess. Hour after hour dragged on with fake smiles and greetings, meeting people from all across the galaxy and beyond, all of whom were here because she had invited them.

Airen sighed as yet another delegation moved on from meeting her. She had a horrible headache and was growing tired of simply standing here meeting all of these people. She felt restless, as though she wasn't doing anything productive. She needed to be far from here organizing people and meetings, writing up legal documents for the upcoming treaty singing tomorrow, working on a way to get her mom out of prison, actively working to protect her siblings. Anything other than just standing here meeting a bunch of people she would probably never see again.

Airen ran through the mental list of things she had to do once again as Tal once again tried to shove some papers in her face to try and get her to work. Seeing that Airen was not actually working and was instead focusing on meeting the delegations, Mi'nah had long ago given up on trying to get her to work. Tal however, was not so observant, or considerate.

"I just need you to look at these forms….." Tal was saying as the next delegation approached.

Airen rubbed her temples trying to dispel her pounding headache. "Not now Tal." She growled.

"Just a quick moment," Tal argued.

Airen didn't have time to argue with him. The next delegation was arriving. She smiled politely and went through the proper and respectful greeting process as the cultural expert next to her instructed in her ear.

"Welcome to Tameran. We are honored that you came. Please enjoy the duration of your stay." Airen said smiling pleasantly.

As the delegation left and the next one approached Airen continued to ignore Tal. After all, so far it appeared to be the only way to, if not to get him to leave her alone, but for her to be able to have some sort of peace with him around.

"For the next delegation, you merely need to lower your head respectfully." The cultural expert whispered in her ear. Airen nodded to indicate that she understood.

The next two people who appeared before her were two of the last people that she ever expected to see on Tameran. Let alone before her in the delegation welcoming line.

"Her royal highness Princess Air'iand'r, Crown Princess of Tameran." The announcer called as the next delegation stepped in front of her.

Airen blinked, convinced that she was seeing things. A woman with gray skin, purple hair and eyes, a red chakra and dressed in a black leotard and dark blue cloak stood in front of her. Next to the woman stood a tall green man dressed in a red and white uniform. He had green hair, eyes, and skin, and his ears were pointed. The man looked surprised and slightly confused while the woman simply looked pleased.

"Their, ahem, their royal majesties Queen Raven and King Changeling of Azarath." The announcer said, his voice a little shaky this time.

Okay, so maybe she wasn't seeing things.

Raven smiled slightly and slowly bowed her head slightly, then nudged Changeling to do the same. Airen shook herself out of her slight daze. She noticed that everyone around her was looking between her and Raven and Changeling with nervous looks on their faces. She could only imagine the stunned look on her face to make them feel so uncomfortable and nervous. Airen cleared her throat remembering that she had a job to do.

"Welcome to Tameran." She said shakily. Suddenly and without biding a pair of intense and striking blue eyes flashed before her mind's eye. Airen took a deep breath to calm herself down.

'Focus. Just because they're here doesn't mean that he's here. Just focus. You have a job to do.'

Despite her reassurances to herself, the pair of eyes remained. She inwardly groaned.

"We are so honored that you came. Please enjoy the duration of your stay." Airen said smiling.

Raven returned her smile and nodded her head in thanks. "Thank you. We are honored to be here and are honored that you invited us."

Changeling looked wildly back and forth between Raven and Airen as though he wanted to say something. Raven didn't give him that chance though. With one final smile and a subtle wink that Airen had no idea what it meant, Raven dragged Changeling off still gapping and wild-eyed.

"What was that all about?" Mi'nah whispered to her as they walked away.

"Nothing just some…unexpected guests that's all," Airen replied. She made a mental note to discuss with her aunt about finding out just how they had received an invitation. She heard the rustle of papers and Tal's voice behind her again. Airen closed her eyes in frustration before continuing to address Mi'nah.

"I want them well taken care of, alright? I want you to find out what delegation they're here with and who their liaison is and see to it that they have everything they need and are kept out of certain peoples' way. Understood?" Airen whispered.

Mi'nah nodded looking very serious. "Yes, your highness."

"Good."

Papers rustled loudly right in Airen's ear and in her face startling her.

"Princess, we need to discuss-"

"That's it," Airen muttered to herself.

She whirled, allowing her eyes to glow green and her hands clutched into tight fists that began to glow green as well. She snarled and snapped at his nose as though she was going to bite it off as she shoved her face into Tal's causing him to back up in a brief moment of surprise.

Tal recovered a few seconds later and pointed at the papers in his hands.

"You need to read these. They are time-sensitive! And you have been avoiding them for weeks now!"

Airen was all ready to respond with a smart-ass quip when she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

The green fire in her eyes and hands died as ice water suddenly washed over her. Her heart raced inside her chest as her stomach leaped up into her throat. The room around her swirled and she felt her knees weaken. She felt lightheaded and dizzy while somehow it still felt like a sledgehammer was trying to bust open her skull from the inside out.

Green and gold eyes clashed with the black and white mask, and she stumbled back a step.

"No," Airen whispered quietly to herself.

'Not him! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! He can't be here! He can't! Oh shit! Oh, holy crap! X'hal! No!'

As she panicked in her head Airen remained calm and controlled on the outside. She merely stood there, pale and shaking staring in shock at the two people standing before her as though she had never seen two people before. Her eyes seemed to be locked with his and it felt as though no one else was there. They were in their own little world of surprise, shock, and disbelief just the two of them.

Around her, the world continued on. The announcer introduced her as the Crown Princess. He then introduced them as Princess Shadow and Prince Black Hawke, the Crown Princess and First Prince of Azarath. The announcer as well as the rest of her attendants were all looking extremely nervous. The cultural adviser was quietly and panickily urging her to respectfully nod and welcome them for fear of insulting them. Mi'nah looked concerned and was biting her lip and, along with Violet, looking between her and Black Hawke. Tal however looked bored and continued to try and talk to her about the papers.

When Airen didn't move, budge or blink, Tal rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. He turned his attention toward Shadow and Black Hawke politely nodded in greeting then turned back to Airen. When she still didn't move Tal stepped closer to her invading her personal space.

Black Hawke jerked out of his trance at the movement and sized Tal up. Seeing him as a threat only because he was in such proximity to his mate, Black Hawke glared daggers at Tal willing Tal to move. When Tal didn't move, a low threatening growl began to rumble quietly deep in Black Hawke's throat.

Hearing the growl Airen shook herself out of her own trance and began to try to do damage control. Still unable to take her eyes off of Black Hawke, Airen stepped away from Tal slightly which caused the low growl to stop.

Like a robot, Airen went through the rest of her greeting routine, all the while never taking her eyes off of Black Hawke.

"W-welcome t-to Tameran." Airen stuttered quietly. She cleared her throat hoping to do a better job with the rest of her greeting. A loud shout prevented her from continuing, however.

"Nightwing!"

The thunderous shout filled the giant room causing everyone to fall silent. Airen forced herself to rip her eyes away from Black Hawke to look over toward Or'ran's group to see what was going on.

Nightwing and Flash stood in front of Or'ran looking small compared to him. Flash looked nervous while Nightwing looked ticked. Or'ran however looked proud and smug, with his arms crossed over his chest and looking down at the two men before him.

"So! The mighty and legendary Nightwing finally deigns to visit us once again!" Or'ran boomed a smile on his face. Airen frowned in suspicion. Or'ran rarely smiled, and when he did it was never good.

"Your skills are legendary among our people! They have been telling stories of your mighty skills for years!" Or'ran snarled. "You made our guards, our military, look weak. You made me look weak." Or'ran smiled again, which made Airen's blood run cold. "But! Our military has grown and improved since then! Come! A demonstration will be given! We shall demonstrate the true power of the Tameranian military." He said smiling evilly.

"Or'ran!"

Airen pushed past Tal and the attendants shouting for the overgrown bully's attention. She had to stop this ridiculous pissing contest before it began. There was no telling what would happen.

Everyone turned their attention towards her. Flash looked relieved, Nightwing, surprisingly, didn't seem shocked to see her, while Or'ran appeared angry.

"Our guests have had a long journey. They are probably very tired and would like to go straight to their chambers for some much-needed rest." She put as much authority into her voice as she could hoping that it wouldn't shake too much.

Or'ran's face turned an interesting shade of red as he made his way over to her. Airen stood up straight and lifted her head to show that she wasn't afraid of him, though her fists were shaking violently. Or'ran towered over her and snarled down at her.

"I am the Grand Ruler and therefore they are my guests, and they will do as I say." Or'ran leaned down so that his face was mere inches from her own. Airen fought the urge to flinch. "And so will you." He whispered. "And I say that you will give a fighting demonstration to show these hefknarbs what we are capable of." Or'ran sneered.

He straightened and snapped his fingers. "Come! We will show you what Tameran is truly capable of!" With that final command, Or'ran pushed past Airen leaving her to watch numbly as his guards and attendants followed.

Airen turned and numbly followed the group.

"You better come on." She muttered as she passed Black Hawke and Shadow.

Behind her, Airen could hear people following her through the halls. Or'ran led them all through the halls to the training arena. Airen followed with Mi'nah and Tal on either side of her. Mi'nah was a nervous wreck, wringing her hands and glancing nervously at Airen every few seconds, but at least she stayed quiet. Tal was downright cherry and had no problem verbalizing it.

"This is going to be awesome!" Tal said gleefully. Tal was also the only one dumb enough to actually talk during their little parade down to the training arena.

As they made their way through the palace people who they came across in the halls all stopped and stared or jumped out of the way in order to avoid getting run over.

When they entered the training arena Airen could hear that someone was already there training. Grunts and shouts were coming from the center of the arena where Mar'i and Ryan were sparing. Their instructor, Master Kap'el stood on the sidelines shouting instructions and corrections at them.

Or'ran started to move toward Kap'el when a messenger came in and whispered something in his ear and handed him a piece of paper. Or'ran and his attendants moved off to the side with the messenger to deal with whatever had come up. Meanwhile, Airen dismissed her attendants to go about their days and finish getting ready for the next day. The only ones out of her group who stayed were her guards, Mi'nah and Tal.

Airen and Mi'nah stepped off to the side to watch Mar'i and Ryan spar while the guards ushered the Earth and Azarath delegations into the stands where they would have a good view to watch the demonstration. Tal joined the delegations in the stands.

Airen focused on her siblings' fight. It had been a while since she had witnessed one of their spars. She was curious as to how they were doing.

Ryan was currently on the defensive. He held up a spear that their palace guards used in order to block a strike from Mar'i. Mar'i ran at him, swinging her own spear at him. Her spear bounced off of Ryan's spear harmlessly barely even making a clanging sound as the two spears connected.

Airen frowned. Mar'i had grown sloppy. She usually put more effort into blows like that, especially since Ryan was so open to any other attack.

Apparently, Kap'el shared Airen's opinion on the twins' fighting.

"No, no, no! You idiots! How many times do I have to tell you!" Kap'el shouted. He raised a stiff rod made of platinum and slammed it into the hard cement short wall that surrounded the main arena. Both Mar'i and Ryan flinched at the action and the sound it made. "Ryan do not leave yourself open to other attacks than the one that is so obviously being used against you!"

"Yes, Master Kap'el." Ryan muttered as he shuffled his feet in the arena dirt.

"And Mar'i! You are sloppy! You are a worthless warrior if you are sloppy! You will do this until you are not sloppy anymore! Now, again!"

Mar'i stood there for a moment glaring at Kap'el as Ryan watched her nervously. Airen took the moment to study her. Mar'i's chest was heaving, and her arms and legs were trembling. She was soaked in sweat and her face was flushed. Airen knew they were tired. They had been training for hours on end and Master Kap'el was not one for understanding training methods.

For a brief moment it looked as though Mar'i's eyes were glowing, but they quickly dissipated.

"Yes, Master Kap'el." She muttered, a hard edge in her voice.

Airen watched as Mar'i, and Ryan separated and went to opposite ends of the training arena. Kap'el counted them off, ending with a shout of, "go!". As soon as he said the word, Ryan and Mar'i ran toward each other.

Spears met as they parried, blocked, and stabbed at each other switching between methods of using the spears like swords, then bo staffs, then axes. The twins danced and whirled around each other, locked in a complicated whirl of techniques, moves, steps, and thrusts. They tiredly went through the motions of tightening the small circle until they were nearly locked together by the spears.

Airen could tell that they were worn out. Both of them were panting and sweat was pouring from their brows. They were being sloppy in areas that they were normally perfect in. At one point Mar'i moved to where Airen could see her back. Airen frowned when she saw the red welting marks from rod strikes on Mar'i's back, back of her legs, and shoulders. Airen rolled her shoulders at the memory of the sting from the rod across her own shoulders.

Eventually, the twins worked their way out of the tight circle again. It was clear that this part of the fighting routine had been rehearsed over and over. Ryan moved back several steps without even trying to hit Mar'i, raising his spear in a defensive position. Mar'i backed up several feet and looked intently at Ryan and Ryan's spear as though willing them to go down by mere thought.

After a moment to take a breath, Mar'i began running toward Ryan. Airen's frown deepened.

"She's not actually doing the…." Mi'nah whispered.

"I think she is," Airen said through clenched teeth.

"Can she even do that?"

"Can she? Yes. Should she? No."

Kap'el shouted critiques and instructions on the complicated move that he was about to make Mar'i do. Mar'i ran faster and faster, adjusting her grip on the spear as she went. Ryan spread his feet preparing himself to take the brunt of a heavy hit.

Mar'i suddenly lept into the air, letting out a full-blown war cry as she went. She did a full flip in the air and was halfway through her second one when she suddenly threw her legs out on either side of her in a middle split in midair. Still letting out the war cry, Mar'i brought up her spear over her shoulder and swung it down like an ax between her legs.

To anyone who didn't know what was supposed to happen, it looked as though it was going well. It even looked cool. But Airen knew better.

"She's got her leg at the wrong angle, she swung too soon, she's too far forward…" Airen was listing all of the things wrong with her sister's battle move under her breath as she watched in horror as Mar'i performed the move.

Time seemed too slow as Mar'i began her landing. So many things went wrong. Ryan took a step back, Mar'i's spear missed his, barely even scraping it as it went down. Mar'i waited too long to try and pull her legs together, causing one ankle to get caught on Ryan's spear, while her other leg that was at the wrong angle went under her and crumpled as soon as it hit the ground. Mar'i didn't let go of the spear-like she should have and ended up hitting herself in the face with it.

What felt like years later when in reality it was only seconds, time resumed its normal speed as Mar'i fell to the ground, one leg bent under her at an unnatural angle and her other one hyperextended in front of her. Mar'i's war cry quickly turned into a scream of horrible pain.

Airen moved to go to her but guards standing at the edge of the arena blocked her way. Airen let her eyes glow for a brief moment before they nervously moved out of her way. By the time Airen got to Mar'i she had managed to straighten out her leg and was lying still on her back on the ground. Ryan was standing over her looking panicked as though he didn't know what to do. Meanwhile, Kap'el was storming toward them screaming at Mar'i to get up.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Mar…" Ryan whimpered.

Mar'i groaned in pain in response. Airen quickly checked her legs and made sure they weren't broken. By some miracle, no bones had been broken but Airen could tell that there were several bad sprains, pulled muscles, and hyperextensions in both of Mar'i's legs. She directed her attention to Mar'i's face where a line of red was quickly making its way down her face from a small gash on her forehead.

"I said GET UP!"

Kap'el was on them and had his rod raised. Ryan flinched away, but Airen stood up so fast she was a purple and blonde blur. She caught his rod hand as he brought it down and snarled in his face allowing her eyes to glow green.

"You. Will. Not. Lay another hand on either of my siblings." Airen yanked the rod out of his hand and broke it in half over her knee tossing the pieces aside as though it were nothing. "Understand?"

Kap'el turned bright red in the face and was approaching purple before he reluctantly nodded.

"Good," Airen said. "You are done for the day. My sister needs medical attention. Now go."

Kap'el stomped off for the sidelines, shouting cleaning instructions to the staff that was waiting for him. Ryan was already helping Mar'i back to where a group of guards, medical staff, and other attendants stood. Among them was Or'lan who was being watched by a maid.

Airen turned to go back to her spot and remembered that they had an audience. Horror and concern were all over their faces. Even Batman seemed more on edge than normal. Airen could tell that several of them had tried to get up and come help, but the guards had blocked them.

Airen avoided his gaze. She knew what he must be thinking. She couldn't handle that, deal with that, right now. Instead, she found Raven and met her eyes. Raven seemed to be asking the silent question of should she go and help Mar'i. Airen shook her head slightly. Mar'i would be fine, that is, as long as she didn't try another move like that again.

Airen silently moved back to her spot next to Mi'nah.

"Why would she do something like that?" Mi'nah asked as she moved to detach Airen's cape piece from her armbands.

"Because Kap'el made her," Airen answered. Once the cape was detached, she reached up and took off her crown and gently handed it to Mi'nah. She then made her way over to a rack of spears like the ones Ryan and Mar'i had been using where an attendant handed her the one, she wanted.

Or'ran finished whatever business he had been dealing with and walked toward the arena. "Kap'el!" He shouted. At the sound of his name, Kap'el jumped and scrambled over to meet Or'ran.

"Yes, your majesty?" Kap'el asked nervously. By this time Airen had made her way to the center of the arena where she waited for her opponent.

"You are going to give our guests here," Or'ran gestured toward the delegations in the stands, "a demonstration."

Kap'el's eyes widened, and he looked over at Airen who appeared to be very bored. He looked back at Or'ran and gulped.

"A-against her, majesty?" He asked.

Or'ran glared down at him. "Yes, against her. Now go."

Kap'el gulped again and bowed to Or'ran. He then turned and made his way over to his assistant who was holding out a spear for him to take. Or'ran turned to face the arena looking pleased with himself.

Airen rolled her eyes. It wasn't like Or'ran himself was giving the demonstration.

Kap'el made his way into the arena opposite Airen. They both bowed together and took up ready stances. Someone from the sidelines counted them down and called for the match to begin.

The two opponents circled each other for a few tense moments, Kap'el gulping and rolling his shoulders, Airen looking bored.

Kap'el typically took on the offensive, so Airen waited patiently for him to make his move. Thankfully she did not have to wait long.

After a few tense moments, Kap'el lunged at her releasing a wavering battle cry. Airen easily dodged him and as he went past, lightly smacked his behind with the flat of the blade at the end of her spear. When Kap'el turned back around his face was red with anger. Airen merely raised an eyebrow at him. He took that as an invitation to attack her again. The next few minutes played out similarly. Each failed lunge made Kap'el angrier and sloppier until he was seething and simply swinging his spear at her wildly. Aired merely toyed with him for so long just for the sake of putting on the show that Or'ran seemed to so desperately want.

Eventually, though she was tired of her game, so she brought her spear around and disarmed Kap'el. In nearly the same move she swept Kap'el's legs out from under him. He landed on the ground hard on his rear and she placed the tip under his chin lightly pressing it against his adam's apple. Kap'el swallowed heavily, which caused the tip of her blade to barely prick his throat. A drop of red bloomed into her blade as he glared up at her.

"I yield!" He shouted loud enough for the whole arena to hear. Airen nodded in acknowledgment and lifted her spear.

Without turning to acknowledge her audience Airen began to move toward the edge of the arena to return her spear.

A scream pierced the air and a cry of "Air'i behind you!" made Airen whirl around. In her fight, she had forgotten to track the one person whose mood determined the lives of them all. Apparently, Or'ran was displeased with her demonstration.

He now stood over Kap'el holding Kap'el's spear inside of Kap'el with one hand and holding Kap'el off of the ground with the other.

"Fool! That is not what I meant by giving my guests a demonstration!"

Kap'el merely gasped, eyes wide in fear and shock, a small trickle of blood coming from the corner of his mouth. Without further comment, Or'ran ripped the spear from Kap'el and dropped the offending training master on the ground without further thought.

Or'ran then turned on Airen and she realized her grave mistake. She had stood up to him, corrected him, embarrassed him all in front of both his subjects and foreign dignitaries. Then she had failed to gauge his mood during the fighting demonstration he had demanded her give. She had failed to put on the impressive show he had wanted and Kap'el had paid the price and now so would she. Responsibility for Kap'el's death lay with no one else but her.

Turning purple and foaming at the mouth Or'ran roared and charged. His charge was so obvious that Airen dodged easily enough. At least that's what she thought. He changed direction to follow her faster than she had given him credit for and with a sharp pain exploding in her right leg she realized her second mistake. With a sharp hiss of pain, she turned her fall into a dive and quickly rolled forward and up. She whirled around so fast she was dizzy but barely fast enough to raise her spear in defense.

Or'ran's spear slammed down on her own and she crumpled down to one knee from the mere shock and strength of such a blow. Or'ran put as much weight into his spear as he could glaring, growling, and spitting at her as he began to scream obscenities at her in Tameranian. Airen's sole focus however was on keeping his weight off of her. If her arms weakened for even a second, she would be a goner.

Airen saw an opening as more weight shifted onto her spear. She calculated whether she could pull a risky move, but decided she had no other choice. Gritting her teeth, she shifted preparing to move. Faster than she had ever moved before she extend her legs into the splits and lowing her arms at the same time.

The move worked. Or'ran's weight shifted, and he was suddenly thrown off balance, shock and surprise overriding his features. Airen quickly shoved upward as she bent her upper body backward effectively throwing him off of her.

She scrambled to her feet quickly, noticing a slight throbbing in her right knee from where he had slammed his spear into her to trip her. Airen moved back several steps taking the opportunity to catch her breath. She shifted her weight in anticipation of what his next move would be. Turned out she didn't have to wait long.

Or'ran lept from the ground looking angrier than she had ever seen him and roared again. This time he didn't bother screaming obscenities at her, he just screamed. He charged her and she moved to block.

They went on like this for several minutes, him becoming angrier and more frustrated by the minute and her becoming more tired and desperate by the second. Airen grew weary. Her arms ached, her knee hurt and she now had several other bruises and two cuts on her face and one on her arm, all of which stung and bled.

With Kap'el she hadn't broken a sweat, but now she was drenched. She forced herself to not look over at his still corpse just a few feet from where she battled for her own life now.

She was getting weaker and slower and with his rage fueling him, Or'ran was getting faster and sloppier.

Airen was desperately trying to think of something to do to destabilize him or at least disarm him when a cry at the edge of the arena caught her attention. She had nearly forgotten that they had an audience.

Airen glanced away for a brief moment to see what was going on beyond her fight. Mar'i stood on the sidelines looking desperate and worried, Ryan holding her back as though she intended to try and help Airen.

This brief moment of distraction cost Airen dearly. A sharp and blazing pain ripped through her right leg once again. Airen let out a cry of pain, just barely keeping it from becoming a scream. She collapsed onto the ground, tears of pain stinging her eyes.

This time there were several cries, many in outrage and shock, but there was one that sounded more like a defiant roar.

Instinct alone saved her. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel the whoosh of air that meant impending doom. Airen rolled and something slammed into the ground next to her head, just barely missing her ear.

Airen opened her eyes and saw Or'ran raising his spear for another strike at her head, a look of glee on his face. That was all she needed to remind herself that she wasn't fighting to wound. She was fighting to kill.

Airen lept up, grabbed her spear, and backed up several steps. Before Or'ran could react she ran straight at him. When she neared enough, she launched herself into the air. She flipped, spreading her legs into a middle split before pulling completely out of the flip and bringing her spear up over her shoulder in one fluid motion. With the last of her strength, she brought the spear down in between her legs as hard as she could.

Not expecting the sudden move, Or'ran brought up his spear in defense with very little strength to back it up. Airen's spear slammed into his own breaking it in two as if it were butter.

Airen landed in the splits, not attempting to land on her feet. She didn't even pause as she quickly swept one leg around and knocked his legs out from underneath him. He landed hard on his back and she jumped up and thrust her spear under his chin, not taking care as she had with Kap'el.

She placed a boot on his chest and allowed her eyes to glow. Leaning in close, she added pressure to both the spear and her foot.

"Do not forget that I could easily kill you. And if you ever threatened another innocent person again, I will. Without hesitation." Airen whispered to him deadly calm. Louder she said, "Yield."

When he did nothing Airen growled and pressed harder. "Yield!" She shouted.

"I yield." He mumbled.

"Louder."

"I yield!"

Or'ran's face was still red, and he glared daggers at her but made no other protest. Considering herself understood Airen stepped back letting him up. He rolled onto his side coughing as she turned to walk away, tossing her spear aside as she did so.

The adrenaline and fear that had been fueling her frenzied fight for life suddenly drained out of her. She managed to remain straight and tall and to walk with barely a limp at all. She would not let her triumph be diminished by physical weakness.

She had just taken note of the long, large, and profusely bleeding gash on her right thigh when yet another shriek pierced the air. Airen tiredly turned to see what had caused the umpteenth cry of fear.

"Air'i!" Mar'i's scream was unmistakable and had it not been for her, Airen's brain might not have registered that anything was wrong.

It happened so fast it was a blur. One moment Or'ran was on the ground bleeding the next he was flying at her with her own spear in hand. With no adrenaline or strength left to defend herself, Airen could do nothing but stand there and watch her own death come for her.

"ENOUGH!"

In a flash of red, purple, and green there was suddenly a shield in front of her and Or'ran was on the ground glaring up at the new intruder.

"You have been defeated Or'ran. You yourself have yielded, now take your wounds and go. There will be no dishonoring of the laws this day." The strong feminine voice commanded.

Airen could only imagine the disdained look she was giving him when Airen realized who it was.

As Or'ran left the whole room watched with bated breath, Airen included. As soon as the doors slammed shut behind him and his attendants, Airen couldn't hold herself up anymore.

She collapsed with a breath of relief and pain. Something caught her, preventing her from tumbling ever so ungracefully onto the ground. She looked up into solid green eyes that were filled with worry and love.

"Mom." Airen breathed the word in relief and thanks before everything went black.