Disclaimer: All characters are mine so far but the kingdoms are not

Laius of Conté, younger prince of Tortall, rolled his eyes at the fancy ice sculptures that littered the Maren palace. As he was introduced to the Marenite King, Niar, he murmured small praises and then offered his arm to Niar's queen, Lorda. He followed King Niar into the Great Hall, still disinterested in this whole thing. The hall was well-lit and was filled with the soft music of a harp.

The music caught his bored attention and Lauis's head swiveled around, trying to find the source. A woman with red-gold hair sat near the thrones, her long fingers winding their way gracefully through the small hand harp that she held. He gazed, as if in a trance, at the young woman who did not even look up to watch the delegation enter.

A poke on the arm brought him back to the real world and he turned to glance distractedly at the Queen. Seeing that they had arrived at the table, and seeing that Lorda was glaring at him, he pulled out her chair and then pushed her in. Inwardly grumbling, he moved down to his assigned seat. With a small smile he noticed that he was sitting closer to the mysterious woman who had still not raised her head to look around.

A flicker of movement near the lady's feet caught his attention and he strained his eyes to find what was lurking in the shadows. It was a black crow, larger than normal, and it seemed to sense that Laius was looking at it. It turned its head to look at him and Laius only felt a slight shock when he noticed that its eyes were a smoldering purple. The crow opened its wings and then shut them again, never losing eye contact with Laius. Deciding that he was up for a staring contest, Laius settled down to lock eyes with the almost-human creature.

A high-pitched giggle, right next to him, broke his concentration. A plain-looking girl with land brown hair was sitting extremely close to him and in the few seconds she had been there she had already accomplished being on his nerves. She had better not be Iriana. The single thought crossed his mind just as she introduced herself, holding out her hand. "Prince Laius? I'm the Princess Iriana." With an inward groan, Laius took the hand and swiftly kissed it. Iriana giggled and he clenched his teeth as she tried vainly to flutter her eyelashes.

Laius looked away as a servant came around with water, filling the goblets. After she had left, he looked at his glass in front of him. Imagining what would happen if he dumped the contents of the goblet onto Iriana, who was now clutching his arm, he missed the music ending. The clearing of a throat broke his concentration, regrettably he had lost the chance to dump the goblet of water on Iriana, and he looked towards where King Niar had stood up.

"Ceremonies and other boring businesses will be attended to tomorrow." Niar announced, his brown eyes focused on the Tortallians. "For now, let us eat and rest up for the joys that the future will bring." Niar raised his wine goblet, the filling having been missed by Laius. "I propose a toast to peace and to the wonderful music of our harp player, Rhea." As the guests all raised their goblets and drank, Laius looked towards Rhea who was still looking down but had a small smile on her face.

Rhea picked up a lively tune suddenly and as they ate and drank, they all seemed to forget about the war brewing between their countries and instead focused on having a good time.

Some hours later, a young woman with thick blonde hair entered the hall and curtsied to the King and Queen before taking the harp out of Rhea's hands and leading her away. Laius watched the crow take off and follow and smiled, forgetting about Iriana who was telling some absurd story. Ignoring the princess, he got to his feet and excused himself to Lorda and Niar.

With a bow, he swiftly left the room to follow Rhea and the other servant who had disappeared into a side garden. Not caring if he got lost, only caring about catching up to the two women, Laius followed the sounds of their footsteps. An angry caw and then a scream split the peaceful air and he drew his sword, running towards the source.

He slowed down and then crept the last few steps, trying to find what had caused one of the women to scream. A disgusted look came into his brown eyes as he observed the scene. Two men were forcefully handling the two women, stopping them from screaming as one of them drew a knife; Rhea was sobbing while the blonde-haired woman fought like a cat. A patch of moonlight shone on the face of one of the men and Laius's disgust grew. He recognized the man as a Tortallian man-at-arms or at least a former one.

Stepping out of the shadows behind the man, he brought his sword up to press against the man's throat. "What are you up to, Neal?" Laius inquired, voice icy. "Nothing, Prince Laius." Neal replied, a slight tremor in his voice. "Then put her down."

The man complied, putting the blonde-haired woman down. Then with a snarl, Neal swung around and brought a dagger to try and strike Laius. Laius drew his sword back and then swung up into Neal's armpit. The man groaned and sank to his knees, dropping the dagger and trying instead to stop the blood.

"Maia?" The scared question came from Rhea who was starting to fight back. As he saw the man's face, Laius sighed. It was another guard, this one named Lane. Lane snarled and then slapped Rhea who had just bitten down on his arm. Rhea cried out and Laius lunged forward, sword ready. A dagger flew past him, striking Lane in the thigh. Lane grunted and then fell forward, releasing Rhea.

Maia dashed past Laius, kneeling down to speak softly to Rhea who had crumpled to the ground. Ignoring the soft curses of Neal and Lane, Laius spotted a crow lying in the grass and went over to it. It was the crow from before, its purple eyes as fiery as ever. Picking it up, and praying that he wouldn't get slashed for it, he carried it back to Maia who had helped Rhea to her feet.

"Raedeshe?" Rhea inquired, clinging desperately onto Maia's arm. The crow in Laius's arms gave a soft caw and Laius carried it over and gave it to her. Rhea smiled and looked up at Laius. He caught his breath as the moonlight hit her face and stepped back a step. Her eyes were milky white, the only thing that marred her beauty. Rhea's eyes dropped and she pulled herself free of Maia's hold. Rhea inclined her head and then fled, almost running.

Laius watched her go, eyes straining to catch even a glimpse of her in the darkness. Feeling a prickle on the back of his neck, he turned to find Maia glaring at him. Maia sighed, shaking her head, and then turned to leave. Unfastening the pin that held his cloak, Laius reached out and grabbed Maia's arm. His eyes widened as the muscles in the woman's slender arm flexed and she pulled herself free.

"M'lady Maia," Laius said, catching the woman's blue eyes. "Would you give this to Rhea?" He handed her the cloak pin and watched her eyes for her reaction. Maia's eyes lit with amusement for a second before she dropped into a curtsey. "As you wish." With those words, Maia was gone, running after Rhea.

Feeling as if he was floating on clouds, Laius walked slowly back towards the castle, forgetting about the two former guards that he had left wounded in the garden.

AN: R&R!hmmmmmmm...what shall happen?