A/N: Hey all, here is Chapter 1! I hope you enjoy it, and thank you for your wonderful reviews! In this chapter, you are introduced to more characters, as well as some old ones. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: These characters are mine. Tortall is not.
Flickering Flames: Chapter 1
In the royal stables in the palace of Corus, Tortall, the horses quietly munched on their food, occasionally strewing it around on the floor outside the stalls. Most heads went up, however, when a young man about sixteen years old entered the stable. His attire—Black breeches and a tan shirt—and the fact that he wore no weapons of any kind marked him as Shang. He walked down the aisle, his feet making no sound against the dirt.
The horses, seeing that the man didn't have time for them, dropped their heads to their food again. None of them seemed to be at all afraid of the large gray wolf that trotted calmly next to the young man, sniffing the air with interest. The canine had a wolf's soft, predatory gait, long legs, and a wolf's face: lean muzzle, egg-shaped eyes, keen ears, but there were tawny patches in his coat, and his tail was too bushy to be a wolf's. No, this was not a true wolf, but a wolf-dog.
Reaching the end of the row, the young man paused, hazel eyes sparkling with mirth. Taking care not to make a sound, he peered around the edge of the stall. Beside him, the wolf-dog halted, quivering with anticipation, wagging his bushy tail. When the young man's dark chestnut hair flopped into his eyes, he impatiently brushed it away, watching the occupants of the stall with interest.
A young woman, about his age moved around the stall, tending to a fidgety chestnut mare. Her raven-black hair was pinned into a loose bun, but tendrils trailed down around her face. The girl brushed her hair out of her face, revealing startling ice-blue eyes. On the edge of the stall sat an orange tabby, watching her mistress' movements with interest.
The young man froze as the girl turned his way, hardly daring to breathe. He breathed softly again with the girl turned away from him, combing out her mare's mane. The wolf-dog whined impatiently, and the young man glanced at him sharply. The wolf-dog glanced up at him, brown eyes pleading, and whined again. The young man sighed softly in irritation, but moved away from his hiding place, the wolf-dog following delightedly.
Placing himself directly behind the girl, the young man leaned down, whispering softly in her ear, "Hello," hoping that he would get a better reaction this time.
He wasn't disappointed. His twin jumped a foot in the air and spun around, her ice-blue eyes suddenly shifting to a deep blue. She made no sound, but her murderous glare said enough.
"Shyam!" She hissed in anger, glaring up at her twin. Although Shyam was only an inch below six feet, and towered over his sister by four inches, her glare, so like their mother's, made him feel small.
The wolf-dog, released from waiting, bounded over the girl. Rearing onto his back paws, placing his front paws on her shoulders, he stared at her, panting. Suddenly leaning forward, he licked her from chin to forehead, panting happily.
Grimacing, the girl stepped away from the wolf-dog, forcing him to return to the ground, grumbling under her breath, "Dumb dog." Undaunted, the wolf-dog sat by his master's feet, looking pleased.
"Dani," Shyam drawled, lounging against the side of the stall, "aren't you happy to see me?"
In response, Dani muttered something under her breath, but Shyam could only pick up one or two of the words. He grinned, knowing she was less than pleased, and watched his sister resume her duties with interest.
Danika of Wolf's Peak was a tall, well-built girl of sixteen. She was well-toned from practicing Shang and Rogue arts, as well as being a Queen's Rider. With her raven-black hair accentuating her ice-blue eyes, along with straight black brows, a straight nose, full lips, and a slightly stubborn chin, she was considered by some to be beautiful. At the moment, she was dressed in dark brown breeches with a white shirt under a pale gray tunic. On the tunic was the emblem of Wolf's Peak: A gray outline of a wolf's head on a blue field.
She wore concealed daggers, as well as the one on her belt, but she also had the Gift. On a fine silver chain around her neck swung a copper cat figurine, its diamond eyes glinting in the sunlight that filtered into the stall. Shyam was jerked back to his surrounding by Dani's voice.
"You know," she commented, standing directly in front of him, her eyes a clear blue now, "just because you're the Shang Wolf and a Gifted mage does not give you the right to sneak up on me!"
Shyam grinned. "Of course it does," he told her haughtily, staring down at her. Danika's only response was some curses she had picked up from her thieving relatives as well as their father. Shyam's smile merely widened, knowing that he had won the argument.
Their attention was distracted by the wolf-dog rearing up on his back legs again, bracing himself against the stall to sniff inquisitively at the orange tabby, who clearly did not enjoy the invasion of privacy and swiped at the dog's nose.
"Tahlia," Dani called to her cat, rescuing the dog from her cat's unsheathed claws.
"Mingan," Shyam scolded from where he stood. The wolf-dog dropped his head, looking apologetic, and padded over to lie at Shyam's feet.
Both looked up when they heard a familiar voice ringing through the stables. "Dani? Dani? Where are you?"
Dani grinned, her eyes suddenly changing to a robin's-egg blue with pleasure. "Rhia!" She yelled, causing her mare to spook and Tahlia to hiss crossly. She moved out into the aisle, her brother following with interest. They both watched as Rhiannon of Falcon's Harbor came into sight.
Rhiannon of Falcon's Harbor, or Rhia as she liked to be known, was a slender young woman of sixteen, with long chestnut hair and sparkling green eyes. At the moment, her hair was in a long plait down her back, and her tan breeches and emerald green shirt were covered in hay.
Hurrying up to embrace her friend, Dani told her friend, "We were just about to go down to the Dancing Dove. Want to come?" Rhia's face brightened; she knew Dani and Shyam's heritage, and she loved going with them to the Dancing Dove.
"I have to go get my purse and my daggers," she murmured, turning to head back the way she came. Like all the Queen's Riders, Rhia was taught to use many different weapons, but like Dani, she specialized in daggers.
As her friend hurried away, Dani turned to her twin. Shyam had a dreamy look on his face as Rhia walked away, and Dani had to wave her head in front of his face several times before his eyes refocused. When they did, he found Dani staring at him, ice-blue eyes sparkling with mirth.
"I didn't know you liked Rhia that much," she remarked innocently.
"She's my friend," Shyam retorted, purposely misunderstanding, but he could feel his face heating up, and by Dani's smirk, she could see his blush.
A few minutes later, Rhia was back. "Let's go," Shyam commanded, striding towards the door before Dani could say anything embarrassing.
The Dancing Dove was of course, always crowded. Curses, shouts, and laughter floated on the air, but shouts of welcome rang out as the trio walked in. They were frequent visitors, as Shyam and Dani's uncle was King of the Rogue.
As Dani and Rhia wandered off to gossip with the Ladies of the Rogue, Shyam approached a handsome young man with copper hair and strange gray-green eyes.
"Hello, Quicksilver," he greeted his cousin warmly, slipping into the seat beside him and grabbing a tankard of lemonade. "Any news?"
The thief shook his head. "His Majesty is keeping things quiet at the moment," he said, jerking his head towards the wooden chair that served as the throne that Shyam's uncle now occupied.
Shyam grinned, hazel eyes sparkling. "And how is your mother? My father told me to find Aunt Tahlia and tell her that he congratulated her on becoming Queen of the Ladies of the Rogue."
Quicksilver grinned. "My mother is currently bossing the barmaids around and being the terror she usually is." He paused for a moment, then told the young Shang Wolf, "The only excitement we've had all day would be that stranger over there." He nodded towards the darkest corner of the tavern.
Shyam followed his gaze and could just make out the shadowy outline of a cloaked figure, his hood drawn up to cover his face. The outline seemed vaguely familiar…Shyam frowned and turned back to his cousin.
"Do you know who it is?"
Quicksilver shook his head. "No, but he seemed pretty friendly with His Majesty."
As if the stranger had heard their conversation, he got up and headed towards their table. As he came into the light, Shyam saw that he was heavily cloaked, even though it was almost Midsummer. In the light, the stranger's face was in shadow, but Shyam was once again struck by its familiarity.
"Shyam of Wolf's Peak?" The stranger wasn't a male; it was a female, judging by the light, feminine voice that was issuing from under the hood. Once again, Shyam was struck by a sense that he had met this person before. He looked up, meeting the invisible gaze, but wary, said nothing.
"I need to talk to you," she murmured, bracing her hands on the table and leaning forward. As she did so, the chain around her neck swung forward, and Shyam came face to face with a familiar object: A silver cat pendant swinging on the chain, staring at him with blue-green gems that served as its eyes. The gems seemed to sparkle with amusement, as if the cat knew something he didn't and was laughing at him.
Shyam stared at the figurine in shock. He recognized it, for he had played with it when he was younger. Flashes of memory came to him: Chubby baby fingers reaching for the pendant; a boy's hazel eyes pleading to play with it; handling it reverently, staring at the gems that seemed to hold all the world's answers in their depths. A pendant so like the one his sister wore now…
Suspicious, but almost confident he knew the identity of the stranger, Shyam turned to Mingan for confirmation. The wolf-dog knew friend from foe, and he also knew who Shyam considered family.
Mingan was standing at Shyam's side, staring at the hooded stranger. His bushy tail was frantically waving back and forth, his ears were up, eyes bright. He trotted up to stranger, sniffing deeply at the hem of the cloak. Satisfied, the wolf-dog panted happily.
Leaning against the stranger's legs, he begged with golden-brown eyes to be petted. Although he couldn't see the stranger's face, Shyam could feel her smile. With a smile chuckle, the woman obliged to the wolf-dog's unspoken request. Reaching down with one hand, the woman scratched Mingan's ears; one at a time, then ran her hand along his back, scratching along his spine.
Mingan wriggled with pleasure at having his favorite places scratched, and Shyam smiled, his suspicions confirmed. There was only one person who scratched Mingan that way.
He stared straight into the stranger's face, shadowed by the hood, and said clearly, "Hello, Mother."
Next to him, he heard Quicksilver gasp incredulously, "Aunt Kayla?"
The hood was pushed back, and Shyam came face to face with someone he hadn't seen in over a year.
Kayla's black hair tumbled down around her shoulders, and her blue-green eyes were grave. "Shyam," she whispered to her son, "I need to talk to you. I have a message for you and your sister."
The grave look in her usually sparkling blue-green eyes made Shyam think that he was not going to enjoy this. "Who's it from?" He asked, hazel eyes curious.
Kayla's blue-green eyes reflected his worry as she answered in a whisper, "I have a message for you from the Trickster."
A/N: Cliffy! So, any ideas of what's going to happen next? What does the Trickster want with the twins? How is Kayla involved? Any guesses?Please review, and I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can.