not spell checked. if you wish to feel free to mail me :/ dylexia stinks :P
Summer, age 13, and Kiko, age 11 were standing in doorway. Jazan could see them. practically matching gold eyes. that Kiko looked so much like his children was a harsh reminded of years of inbreeding in his royal family... Kiko was actually a fourth cousin on her mother's side to his own children. that she could pass as one of his own was becoming more disturbing as she got older. it was in the eyes mostly, most of the royal family and a good deal of the court had golden eyes. red fur was common as well. just that she and Summer could have passed for twins. Summer was small for her age her mother had been too aperently, and she did take after her mother mostly. espeshally in the magic department... the shere lack of magic was shocking rely. magic was a dominate trait and Jazan could trace his own magic on both sides for genirations.
Summer had motioned for Kiko to follow her and the two girls were soon going threw a seacrit passage that Jazan knew came out behind a tapistry in the meeting hall. right behind him. the girls were sneeking in the meeting for some reason. not an unwelcomed interuptence, but why they were wanting to hear about the building of new sidewalks was beyond the king's comprehension.
he could feel kiko use an invisibility spell and felt two sets of hands under the table pull at his robes. Jazan smiled, he should rely scold the little angels for interrupting him, but rely he felt like pulling them onto his lap and letting them listen in tell they fell asleep of boredom. they would be too old for such nonsense soon and he wished to enjoy the little bit of the youngest child hood he had left.
rely summer was probably too old now... but she had always been his particular pet.
he reached down putting his hands on their heads and ruffling their hair. he fealt something cold and round pushed into his hands. confused he looked down at his lap and saw what was the reason the two girls had come to see him. eye makeup.
jazan looked over at the counselors arguing about building materials.
"Kiko you rely need to learn to do it yourself or give up" he wispered.
the Poogle girl gave him a cold glare and positioned herself with her face on his lap so that he could apply the traditional markings.
none of his own children had shown interest in wearing this particular piece of traditional attire. Jazan would at times, but always with loud complaining about stuffy get together and not wanting to look like some kind of stereotype qasala prince. The only one other then himself who could actually apply it was Vine. and vine hated Kiko wearing it so she would often make the king do hers if she was going out and about. she did it rather sloppy herself. her one failing as far as anyone could tell, was that she did not like sitting still. actually a trait Nabile claimed was part of the royal bloodline. "Jazan can sit still but he got that from me" the Ixi queen claimed.
Jazan finished up and shoved both the girls out from under the table, the court looked confused as the girls polightly bowed and walked out.
"did you see Lady Kora's face?" Summer asked
"did you see Lord Khal's?" Kiko giggeled back.
the two girls took each other's hands and started toward the palace gates. Vine was already there looking irritated.
"why did you put that shit on your face" He said fanning himself with small clip board.
"Mom says that that is a bad word and your making Ata swear like a sailor" Summer giggled.
"oh Ata has heard worse than my foul moth and our queen knows it. hell she says worse when she stubs her toe!" Vine snapped back.
he was not in the greatest of moods. Jazan had been away for over a week playing courtier in Marridel and recent tabloids had begun rumors of him having a secrit fling of Roberta of Brightvale... Vine knew this was stupid, Jazan did not have it in him to be unloyal. just the same it was not making him happy to hear the court discuss the possibility.
"be nice" Kiko scolded taking his hand and pulling him and her cousin to the gates "lets go shopping! this is the first birthday where we know Jazan won't be peaking at his birthday preasant!" she laughed and dashed ahead of the pair.
Ata sat in his window looking over the city. he could see summer and Vine and the poogle brat at the gates... why did his father let her stay? she was not going to marry Jazan, practically everyone knew that. no one was supposed to know about the crown prince and vine. but everyone could see that Jazan thought of her as his daughter and not future bride. she should have just been sent out, back to her REAL family.
he pulled his knees up to his chin. he wished someone would call him. give him SOMETHING to do. his train of thought was depressing. and watching Kiko, and Vine, and Summer was making it worse.
why were they always so happy? they had all the same rules he had, and yet no one expected them to spend all their time acting like nobility. Summer was the last in line to the thrown and actually not even. some obscure piece of legislature actually stated that if she did not have magic she could not rule.
it was Jazan who was going to rule, but he flownced around with his pretty boy lover and ata was left with the duties of a crown prince and none of the benifits. whats worse his father was always so cold to him. he would joke with the girls, and he and Jazan talked like equals. but his father always spoke to the boy as he did several of his courtiers. polite and judgmental at the same time.
and why? because he SAW that qasala's army was weak? it WAS! and yet his father left Jazan in charge of it despite that Ata was the better warrior.
or that he favored dark magic over fire? so what?! Jazan was an odity being born with fire and light magic. most of the qasala court was dark and fire magic users. its like being left or right handed! he was going to favor ONE of them. and sure dark magic could kill, but it delt with manipulating life forces so it could also heal. though WHY that should be useful he could not fathom.
if an army was good it would not need a healer... not for them anyway. and who actually wants their enimies healed?
and his mother was so... codling! she treated him like he did not know what was best for him!
he was 16 for crying out loud! at his age Jazan had a live in boyfriend and yet his mother still would say "ata dear, your not actually going to wear that sword to dinner are you?"
he put it on right? clearly he was going to wear it!
"whats up moody?" Amber said opening his door.
"bug off" Ata replied not looking at his pink Kyrii sister.
"keep that up and your going to get grounded again, you know Father would not be so hard on you if you would just ACT nice to people once in awhile" she said ignoring her brothers glare.
"father is playing at being a king and risking the safety of our people because of it. he acts as though he can gain respect from the rest of neopia just by being nice, even he has to know that only brute force will gain respect!" ata almost yelled at his sister.
"cool it bro, you know im a pacifist" she said none too delicately
"this whole fucking family is a bunch of pacifist pussies" Ata said stomping out of his room in a huff. honestly why did he bother trying to reason with her? father was letting her train as a mage, she had not had a royal lesion since she was 8. he had just let her do what she wanted, while as when he said he wanted to go to military school his father had flat out refused.
Jazan walked slowly behind the royal cart on the far outskirts of Qasala, depressed, looking forward to seeing Kiko and vine like a starving prisoner looks forward to meal. it was like the only thing keeping him going.
the threat was not an empty one... "marry my daughter next year or ill expose your relationship with that freak".
how did a maridillian knight even get info on Vine? most of quasala did not even question Vine being basically the sucsessor to the night steed. whats more Nightsteed took pains to take Vine to meetings and such to learn what the position of chief advisor intailed. the intention was two fold. one to keep their relationship under wraps, and another that Ata, for whatever reason, would actually listen to what vine said.
Jazan sometimes expected that it was halfway just that Vine had such a short temper. and he was very creative about revenge for pissing him off. interesting how a lack of magic seemed to make you a more creative thinker... he was a lot like his mother in that reguard.
Jazan snuck into the back of the palace and met his parents.
Mom, Dad... we need to move ahead of scheguile. i don't want to tell vine and Kiko yet. i need a break. but we are going to have to do the plan.
okay... so next chapter is going to be kind of short. going to introduce some of my own neopets. and a friend of the family. after that things are going to get a little dark you have been warned.