Eh… ok so this one to me seems a bit hectic since it's so many characters that I had to handle all at once but at least gave me some "experience" at it.

By the way, when I post the next chapter, it will be found on the Kiesha'ra section on Fan-Fiction which is only a few titles under In the Forests of the Night.

Adralan had slept well, despite her nervousness at what would await her the next day. She was sure that she could carry through it. After all, what Bastian asked of her did not seem to be a difficult task. As soon as she had woken, a servant had come into her room carrying a set of Avian clothes and said that Bastian had sent them for her to wear. Adralan knew that it was all part of his plan. She needed no assistance in putting on the Avian clothes which came as a relief to her. Though she was used to wearing slacks as they were also fashionable around her pack both for comfort and convenience, she was glad that the simple cotton shirt was uncomplicated when it came to putting it on.

After she was dressed and ready, Adralan went down into the reception hall of the palace to meet up with her brother. He studied her close as she came down, no doubt wondering why she was dressed in avian clothes when she had packed enough of her own to last her their entire stay. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and smiled.

"Adralan," he said as he held her at arm's length to study her, "why are you dressed this way?" he asked in amazement.

"Don't ask." She said as she smiled.

Before her brother could question her more, their father came down to greet them as well before he set out to leave Wyvern's Court. They were to stay for a week, longer than the usual two day stay which was customary.

Adralan could feel her father studying her closely and knew he too was silently questioning why she had dressed in that manner. Though she had prepared an answer for him just in case he asked, he said nothing. As soon as he was done with his advice on how to handle the matters of trade and a short blessing, Ulrik kissed Adralan's forehead and hugged his son warmly. Both Adran and Adralan stood to watch their father leave but instead all of their attention focused at the small disturbance at the door. To all of their surprise, except for Adralan's, they saw as Oliza, the Wyvern Queen, made her way into the palace.

She looked exhausted, no doubt from the tiresome flight from the Serpiente lands. Oliza rubbed the side of her forehead in an attempt to be rid of the small headache that began to grow. She was not due at Wyvern's Court for at least another week but Bastian's small "scandal" had brought her stay there short. It didn't matter; the Serpiente Palace was running smoothly and her son needed her more. She grabbed Nicias' arm in an attempt to steady herself but her small gesture worried him and he quickly asked her if she was ok. She smiled and nodded in reassurance and then sent one of the guards behind her to go fetch her son. She needed to speak to that boy.

What Oliza did not expect was the sight of Ulrik walking towards her. She tensed and was sure Nicias felt her do so as well. As soon as Ulrik noticed that it was she standing before him, he froze in his steps looked at her.

In that small second where they looked at each other, she saw all the years that passed by but what flashed into her mind was not the past they shared, but the face of the child between them. Oliza smiled at him, betraying all the emotions that ran through her body and mind and the anguish she felt at the thought of that daughter. Oh yes, for that daughter was still alive.

"Ulrik," she said gently and smiled. She knew that inside she was battling all sort of emotions and remorse but to the eyes of everyone, Ulrik was nothing more than an ally and a friend," it is good to see you here again."

Ulrik gave her a short bow, something that was custom in his pack. "Milady." He said curtly and then turned and extended his hands toward Adralan and Adran who walked toward Oliza, "this is my daughter Adralan," he said as he pointed at the pretty young girl with dark hair and silver eyes, "and my son Adran." The other had nearly the same features as his sister but his eyes were dark and his features masculine.

"I was just on my way back to the Lupine Lands but it is good to see that you are well." He said and gave her a charming smile. His silver gaze had the faintest trace of what could have been anger or jealousy at the sight of Oliza holding on so close to Nicias. Ulrik gave Nicias a short nod in sign of recognition. The time that they had met had been the time of Avaram's untimely death, something that had tainted Wyvern's Court for Oliza.

The mood was tense; there was no doubt about that. So when Bastian came to greet Oliza back from her trip she felt it somehow lift. She hugged him and had to stand slightly on her toes to give him a small kiss on the cheek.

Bastian looked at Ulrik and noticed that he was dressed once again to travel.

"Leaving again?" he asked. "But you just got here yesterday?"

Ulrik chuckled. He had seen Bastian since he was child and since he often stayed at Wyvern's Court when Oliza was away, Ulrik had seen him grow into the young man that he was. "I have business to attend to with the other leaders… But I shall be leaving them in charge." By them he meant Adran and Adralan.

"I was just mentioning to Adralan last night of how much I wanted to see the Lupine Lands…" It was out before he said it and Adralan closed her eyes at how imprudent his words sounded.

Ulrik turned to his daughter, looked at her clothes once more, and she only shrugged innocently. She did not want to think of what was going through all of their minds. She tried to hide behind Adran not only to avoid her father's stare but also to avoid Bastian seeing her and saying something that would only make things worse.

Apparently, Bastian did not notice the discomfort he had caused for Ulrik and maybe even for Oliza and he continued. "I was thinking that I'd like to go visit there sometime seeing as to how I have never been there before."

Ulrik nodded in agreement. "You are free to visit any time that you'd like." He then looked at Oliza and added, "As long as you agree of course. Auria would be pleased to see you again and if you'd like you can come after Adran and Adralan return. Now if you excuse me, I must be leaving." He flashed another charming smile at Oliza and then headed out of the room.

It seemed as if a huge weight had been lifted from Oliza when she had finally laid eyes on Ulrik after so many years. He had so artfully avoided her all those years, planning his trips whenever she was not at Wyvern's Court. Even this one he had planned though he did not count on her early arrival which had put a stop to all those years.

Adralan and Adran excused themselves from the queen before they too headed out of the room. Whatever she needed to say to Bastian, it was something that only family should hear. Even Nicias, who had been a close friend to the family and had seen Bastian since he was born, left the room. Meanwhile, Bastian braced himself for the reprimands to come.

I was looking through the layout of this that I made and figured that I have about 30 chapters left to go before this story is over. As you know, the chapters here are very very short so this story is basically almost over.

If you are curious to see what is custom dressing style in Adralan's pack I was bored and decided to design something according to what I imagine she would wear. If you go to my profile there's a link to it.