A/N: Wow, two chapters in two days! Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers, and here's Chapter 5!
Disclaimer: None of this is mine.
A Whole New World: Chapter 5
Time seemed to speed up again as Kiyo grabbed Yasmin by the arm and towed her up the stairs, just as Gavin stepped through the tavern door. Pulling Yasmin along behind him and ignoring her futile efforts to get out of his hold, Kiyo only let go of her when they had reached one of the upstairs bedrooms. Yasmin recognized it immediately as her mother's old room, still untouched, where she had been raised for the first few months of her life.
She whirled around and confronted the shape-shifter. "How are you human?" She demanded. "I thought you were a falcon."
"I was." Was the simple reply. Kiyo's human was slightly raspy, a there seemed to be the echo of a falcon's screech behind it.
Yasmin glared at him, her green eyes flashing. "Explain."
Kiyo sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I am a falcon," he said softly, watching her. "But I also can become a human at will."
Yasmin tilted her head to the side, puzzled. "Why?"
Kiyo smiled slightly, taking her hand in his. "The Trickster declared that I should help, and to do that, I had to be able to shape-shift."
Yasmin glanced at the closed and locked door, as if someone was waiting outside and listening to their conversation. She shivered and looked up at Kiyo, who had drawn closer. She stared up into his strange amber eyes, wondering at how they got so close.
"So you can be a human for a long as you like?" She found herself whispering.
Kiyo pushed a strand of black hair off her face, and she shivered from the contact, surprised at the warmth that flooded her body, as well as the tender look on the man's face. Kiyo's gentle smile dimmed as he replied, "Not forever. Only for a certain amount of time."
Yasmin drew back a little, surprised at their close proximity. She had known Kiyo for only a week, and she was already charmed by his human form. She had an assignment to do!
A knock on the door interrupted their staring contest, and Yasmin glanced towards the door gratefully as her father's voice sounded through the wood. "Yasmin? You can come out now."
Yasmin headed for the door, hissing over her shoulder at Kiyo, "Change back! We can't let him see you like that." Through their bond, she felt him change, and when he was done, she opened the door after stuffing his clothes under the bed.
She opened the door to face her father. "Yeah, Da?" She asked, wishing she didn't sound so flustered. Shadow gave her a searching look but said nothing.
"Your noble friend is gone." He told her, and then turned to go back downstairs. Watching him go, Yasmin jumped as Kiyo flapped to her side and squeezed her shoulder. You'll be missed, he warned her. We need to go. Yasmin sighed, but complied, heading for the yard where her mare waited.
Haunt gazed up at the house, wondering how crazy Malik could be, ordering a raid on this well-protected house in broad daylight. Sighing, she stiffened as she felt something magical nearby. Wheeling around, she searched for it, but she couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from, only that it was close. To her, it seemed as if a fire roared just outside her magical senses, but the day was calm and fair.
The creature stirred eagerly in the shadows of a nearby building. He had risked a lot to come this far into the city, and he needed to make sure his dangerous trip was worth it. The sound of flames came again, and he calmed them, knowing that if he gave away his position, the Gifted woman just in front of him would sense it and run.
He watched her, his dark orange eyes suddenly flashing red. The Rogue of Corus were in for a rude awakening when he once again hit the streets, and this poor woman would just be the first of many. His flames stirred restlessly, and he let them out.
Haunt stiffened as she sensed the strange magic come closer. It was almost like Amadahy's water magic, but it had a different sense to it, like a roaring flame. Before she could have a shield up to protect herself, a magic fire whipped out of the shadows behind her and bound her tightly, making sure she was paralyzed and unable to move. The creature stirred eagerly as he towed his prize into the shadows, and his teeth were bared in a grin. It has begun.
"Shadow?" Shadow looked up as Nara and Lightning approached, both looking worried. Getting up from were he sat, he kissed his wife hello and sat back down, inviting them to join him.
"Shadow, have you seen Haunt lately?" Lightning asked, his face creased with worry and his golden eyes dark. Shadow glanced at his friend and shook his head. He knew that Lightning viewed Haunt as more than a friend, and was Amadahy's foster father.
"I haven't seen her since earlier this afternoon." He replied. "Malik sent her out on a raid, didn't you go with her?" Lightning nodded.
"I did," he admitted, "but she went out to scout out the house herself and she hasn't come back." His eyes betrayed his worry, and Shadow squeezed his shoulder in reassurance.
"We'll send out some of the Rogue to look for her," Shadow reassured him, and Lightning brightened somewhat, and stood up.
"I'll go look for her now," he said with conviction. "If she was taken…" his golden eyes darkened and he shook his head, turning away and disappearing into the crowd.
"Poor man," Nara murmured once he had left. "he cares for her so much." Shadow pulled her closer, kissing her head while wondering what he would do if she was taken from him. Refusing to think about it, he hugged her, deciding to inform her of her daughter's latest adventures at court.
In the palace of Corus, Tortall, there are many surrounding rose gardens. In one such garden, a large fountain sat in the middle of a stone patio, the tinkling of the water mixing with the perfume of a thousands roses and creating a rather romantic setting.
As if to complete the picture, a young court lady was perched on the edge of the fountain, gazing wistfully down at the pool in front of her while swirling her hand in the water lazily. The lady's shimmering black hair spilled down her back, tamed into a simple braid, and a rose, plucked from the garden, was tucked softly behind one ear.
The woman's green eyes were slightly unfocused, and she seemed to be dreaming as she hummed softly to herself and drew her hand back and forth across the surface of the water. Anyone familiar with the court could tell you that this lady was Lady Yasmin of Wolf's Peak, and that the court was abuzz over her sudden appearance.
Yasmin was in fact, not a lady at all, and she felt distinctly uncomfortable in the emerald dress she was wearing. She wished she was allowed to don her breeches, tunics and shirts again; at the Dove, she only wore dresses for special occasions, and having to wear a dress every day now was constant torture.
The sound of wind whistling through feathers interrupted her few minutes of peace and quiet, and Yasmin mentally cursed herself for not paying attention to her assignment.
Talons scraping on the stone of the fountain, Kiyo lit down next to her, fluffing his feathers against the constant spray of water. Yasmin closed her eyes, turning her face up to the fountain and letting the spray mist against her face. Turning away after a moment, she sighed, confused. She was always comforted by the feel and sound of water, and she didn't know why. The sound seemed to draw her mind back to her childhood, but water of any kind had never featured prominently when she was young.
Flower? Kiyo's mind-voice broke into her musings. She turned to face the falcon, smiling as she looked at him. Even with his fierce face, curved beak and sharp talons, she knew Kiyo had the mind of human, even though he occupied the body of an animal.
Yes, Kiyo? She replied, not taking any chances with speaking aloud. The Scanran spies could be anywhere, and all a bystander would see would be a court lady smoothing down the feathers of her pet falcon. Kiyo wore a band that marked him as the property of Wolf's Peak, a simple ruse to carry their charade along a step further.
Is there something wrong? The falcon cocked his head, his dark eyes impassive but his mind-voice filled with concern.
Yasmin shook her head. She gently smoothed his feathers, marveling at their color and smoothness, fingering them with wonder. Kiyo made a sound low in his throat, a sort of chirruping noise that meant he was content. He cocked his head again and studied her dress, his sharp eyes picking up how the embroidery on her dress shown in the sunlight.
His voice became impish as he commented, You should wear dresses like that more often.
Yasmin looked down, confused, and gasped. The neckline of her dress, while modest for court dresses, was too revealing for her taste, and when she leaned over to smooth out Kiyo's feathers, the dress showed, well, a lot.
She swatted at him, straightening hurriedly and blushing. "Kiyo!" She gasped, sounding like a scandalized court lady and speaking aloud. The falcon merely looked at her and said nothing.
Suddenly, the pool bubbled and frothed, its gentle ripples disturbed for waves that splashed over the side. Just as sudden, the stream of water that came out of the top and trickled down changed direction, shooting out sideways and soaking Yasmin.
With a yelp of surprise, Yasmin leapt from her stone perch, while Kiyo took to the air with an indignant screech. Whipping around, Yasmin sought out the culprit, knowing only one person could convince water to do that.
Leaning against a tree and shaking with laughter was Amadahy, clothed in a radiant blue gown. Her eyes had changed to a crystalline blue, and she laughed all the harder at the picture her friend made, dripping wet and looking murderous.
"Dahy," Yasmin said slowly, "what in the name of the Trickster would possess you to do that?"
"The look on you face!" her friend made out, gasping for air. "You looked so surprised, I just couldn't help it."
Yasmin glared at her friend, then sat back down on the opposite end of the fountain, the farthest away from the other girl. Kiyo landed on her shoulder, gripping gently with his talons as he proceeded to preen himself, fluffing out his wet feathers and glaring darkly at Amadahy.
"I'm sorry Yas," Amadahy apologized, coming to sit next to her friend. "I couldn't resist." Yasmin refused to reply, and only turned away. Dahy scooted closer, trying to get a glimpse of her friend's face. "Yasmin?"
Without warning, Yasmin turned and shoved her startled friend into the fountain. Shrieking with laughter and surprise, the half-Elemental forced the water away from her, and climbed out of the fountain completely dry.
Yasmin stuck her tongue out at her friend, annoyed. Kiyo had finished preening himself and began to run his beak through Yasmin's hair, gently untangling the knots with his murderous beak.
Amadahy watched this with interest, and seeing the dreamy look on Yasmin's face as the falcon preened her, smiled. "Who's your friend?" She asked innocently, and was rewarded when Yasmin jumped and suddenly looked guilty.
She shot her friend puzzled look and then indicated the falcon still preening her. "This is Kiyoshi. He was sent to me by the Trickster god to help me." Her countenance became a puzzled frown. "I don't why he did, though."
"Gods work in strange ways," Amadahy's voice, sounding like water, soothed Yasmin, and she nodded, compliant. Her friend's voice, the sound of the fountain, the presence of a thousand fresh flowers, and the warm Midsummer sunlight made her sleepy. She jolted awake as Kiyo gently dug his beak into her scalp, effectively waking her up.
"So how was Corus today?" The other girl wanted to know. With a grin, Yasmin proceeded to fill her friend in on her adventures, leaving out the fact that Kiyo was human. Amadahy was almost doubled over with laughter by the time her friend finished, and she looked at her friend.
"Gavin was looking for you today," the half-Elemental told the thief after she had calmed. "He wanted to know where you were."
Yasmin blushed and looked at her friend, green eyes wide. "What did you tell him?"
"I told him you were busy in Corus and that you would be back later." Amadahy laughed, her blue eyes sparkling. "He wasn't happy about it though. He kept going on about how you should have had an escort and the proper guard and…" the girl sighed. "Eventually I just ignored him and let him talk."
Yasmin giggled at her friend's description, and then sobered as her friend continued. "There's another ball tonight," Amadahy said cheerfully as Yasmin groaned in protest.
"Dahy," Yasmin pleaded, looking up at her friend with big green eyes. "Can we skip this one, just this once?"
Amadahy shook her head, grabbing her friend's hand. "You want to find the spies, don't you?" She asked, and Yasmin growled a curse. With all that had happened, she had forgotten. Sighing, she surrendered and stood up.
"Fine," she sighed, trailing after her friend as Amadahy fairly danced back into the palace. "but I'm not going to enjoy it."
Six hours later Yasmin was once again dancing with Gavin, but she wasn't as enthralled with the noble world as she used to be. Her trip home that day had taught her that she was trying to live in two different worlds, and she was beginning to wonder if she was even succeeding.
"Gavin," she said suddenly, "do you know if there are any spies here at court?" The second the words were out of her mouth, she winced; she shouldn't have said that! Gavin, however, didn't seem surprised at all and merely shrugged.
"No," he replied with conviction, "I'm friends with the spymaster, and he told me that there are no spies here, from any country." Believing him, Yasmin relaxed, staring up into his blue eyes and letting herself get lost in the music. Suddenly, she remembered Kiyo as she had first seen him in human form, and blushed at the memory. She liked Gavin, not Kiyo! Shaking her head, she avoided Gavin's gaze and was relieved when the dance was over.
As Gavin headed off to go find them some drinks, Yasmin looked around, once again taking in the splendor. All thoughts of nobility flew out of her head when a woman's loud voice behind her asked incredulously, "Nara? Is that you?"
A/N: Cliffy! Please review and tell me what you think!