Chapter 4: Palace Greeting

I landed soon after dawn. I had flown nearly 24 hours straight. The girls had woken up after only 3 hours of flying. It had been tiring just keeping them calm, but trying to fly on top of that had been completely exhausting. But I had finally reached my destination.

It was a small version of the Keep. With only one floor above the ground, it did not prove to be the safest of places for a queen and her children to escape to, but it would have to work. I knew that we didn't have any other options within Serpentine or Avian grounds.

I carefully landed and let my daughters out of there nests. As soon as they had fully removed themselves they changed back from there dragon form to that of their human counterpart. I then changed shape and the three of us, one of them on either side, made our way towards the entrance of the gypsy's palace.

When we came to the great oak doors that lead into what I could only guess to be their market and courtyard I stopped and looked at my daughters. They were the reasons why I had made that long journey. Those two little girls were the world to me and they needed me to be strong for them. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and pushed the doors open and walked into the courtyard.

Right away I heard the sounds of wings rushing towards us. I looked to the sky and saw about a half dozen of their best soldiers were coming towards me through the air and another half dozen I noticed not long after coming towards me as snakes on the ground. I pulled my daughters in close to me and waited for the first of them to reach me.

The first to reach me was a sparrow by the looks of him. He landed quickly and changed shape. He stood in a strict soldiers attention until the rest of his command was standing behind him. He looked me over quickly and then glanced towards Mara and Maya. I knew that they might cause some suspicion. They resembled me and their father in many ways. The twins were a perfect combination of the two of us and it would be hard for any outside to place them as my children without their father standing on their other side.

The girls and warm honey skin, with long black hair. Mara had my golden eyes while Maya had her fathers warm jewel toned eyes, in green instead of red. There attitudes and behaviors were swift to change and they were swift to show it, when they chose. The girls also were blessed with my avian reserve. They were truly a perfect blend of their two parents.

"What business do you have at the Palacio Gitano?" I watched this soldier carefully as he spoke, hoping to find a mannerism that might give me a clue as to who this soldier is.

"Sir, I mean you and your people no harm. I came here unarmed with two children. I am only looking to talk to a raven that I believe is here. She will know why I am here and will be able to explain it to you better than I will be able to. Please if you could just tell me where I might be able to find Kiera, I would be most grateful.

This soldier watched me carefully as I spoke to him. When he finally did speak I could hear the distrust easily in his voice. "And who might you be?" I should have expected this question but it still startled me all the same. I was not used to having to explain myself this much to a guard in order to get what I want.

Pulling on my avian reserve, and pushing to keep the serpentine habits that I had developed under the surface, I was able to answer him calmly and collected. "My name, sir, is Danica Sharde. I am Tuuli Thea to the avians and Naga to the serpentine. These are my two daughters, Mara and Maya. We are coming for protection from our lands. I need to speak to Kiera and now."

"I am sorry hawk but my queen's guard is not to be disturbed." I could tell that he was getting irritated. His voice was dripping with sarcasm. He then signaled to the four guards behind him and they were instantly at his side. "If you would please show the hawk to a spare room and then report back to me."

The guards walked to my side and began to lead the three of us off towards a closed door. I new that if I did not do something, this trip would be in vein.

"Wait, please I have something, something to show you." I could hear myself begging with this soldier and it almost made me sick. I should not have to do this to get to see a guard.

"What is it hawk, I am loosing my patients with you." And it was true; I could hear it in his voice. I new that if he didn't buy this I would be pushed off into a side room, allowed to rest, and then we would be sent out of the Palace again.

"I was brought this necklace 36 hours ago. I hadn't seen one of this kind in almost two years. This exact necklace was given to your queen 4 years ago by me and my pair bond. This piece was to signify the joining of our two kinds and the protection that we offered to everyone as long as they meant our people no harm."

"Yes and that peace that you tried to create has been destroyed. We are the only people that continue to live as one. You don't even live with your pair bond any longer. These little girls, do they even know their father or there other family? Do they even …"

"That is enough Darien! What is going on here?" I looked towards the voice as the Gypsy Queen, Tisa Drago, walked towards me. As soon as Darien saw his queen facing him he dropped onto one knee and shut his mouth instantly.

"Milady Tisa, forgive me please. I was going to come and find you as soon as our visitor was shown to her room. I had every intention to let you know of Danica Shardes arrival. The queen to both serpentine and avian came to…"

"I know who she is Darien and I would like to speak to her alone. You are all dismissed, now." The air that surrounded her when she dismissed her guards reminded me of my first visit to the serpentine palace. She then looked at me and turned. I knew that she intended for me to follow her and so I took one of each Mara and Maya's hands in my own and we followed the Gypsy queen farther into her palace.

We followed Tisa through the entire palace and finally made our way into what appeared to be the queen's personal conference chambers. She took a seat in the back of the room near the roaring fire. I followed her across the room and sat down across from her.

"Milady Sharde, I am pleased to see you back in the palace. It has been far too long since either you or your pair bond has come to visit us. I must ask as to why you are here."

"Your highness, I was visited in a dream, as I told your guard, by a girl who used to live in the Keep with me. Her name is Kiera and I have been informed that she is part of your personal guard. I need to speak with her immediately. She brought me the protection necklace that I gave to you four years ago. I took that as a sign that I would be welcomed in your lands and that I would be able to take refuge in your lands until it was safe for my daughters and I to return to our home."

"Of course you will be willing to stay with us as long as you need protection. However I regret to inform you that Kiera is out and most likely will be for another week. I am sure that she will be anxious to talk with you when she returns. Until that point you are more than welcome to sty as a guest here in the palace. I will have my personal servant, Shania, show you and your daughters to your room. Please make yourself comfortable and I will have someone come and collect you for the meal, and I will take you on a tour of the palace."

"Thank you, Tisa, your kindness means the world to me and my daughters. I appreciate that you have made room for us in your home." I smiled and then turned to follow Shania.

The room we entered was amazing and grand to say the least. The gypsy's had done a wonderful job of embracing both the avian and serpentine lifestyles. The walls were a rich honey gold. The bed, as well as the dresser and the chest, were carved from a beautiful honey oak. The sheets, however, were a rich, deep red. The two colors played off of each other to perfection. I followed my daughters over to the side of the room and saw their beautiful beds that were meant to be a smaller version of my own, perfectly made to fit their small bodies. I picked up first Mara and then Maya and lay them each into their beds before I walked over to my own bed.

I pulled on a provided night shift and crawled slowly into bed for a few hours of hopefully peaceful sleep before the evening meal and our tour of the palace. This would diffidently be a very long two weeks.

I forgot to add this in the beginning but I own nothing that AAR created. I do however own my characters. So please do not use my characters without asking.

Thank you to everyone who has been so patient with me while I worked through a rather difficult time these past few months. I hopefully will be able to update more often now but I am also working on a few other stories so please just be a little patient with me and I will get another chapter posted as soon as I can.

Lucky Charm