Chapter 11

Lyra watched as Rayen drew her bow, picked a worn knot on a log, and loosed an arrow. Lyra frowned at the quivering arrow.

"What? That was a good shot." Rayen challenged her sister's expression.

"It was a great shot. It should be at a proper target."

"That would be nice." Rayen loosed another arrow, hitting her mark. "We could make a new one."

"We shouldn't have to." Lyra slipped her bow over her shoulder and started walking.

Rayen watched her sister's determined stride for a moment gathered her fired arrows and hurried to catch up. "What are you talking about?"

Lyra was practically storming down the path to the cobbled road. "There is more than enough money funding the guard for us, the two of us, to have an allowance. We should have the same training tools the men have." Lyra stopped and threw her arms up in exasperation, "I mean we are the Lord's daughter's for crying out loud. Why don't we have any of the funding? And don't get me started on the pay."

"It has been that way for a long time. Why the sudden desire to fight them on it?"

Lyra considered the question. "I am sick of being treated like … like chattel, or brood mares, or just lesser. I want…" Lyra took a deep breath. "It's the way he talks to us. The way he looks me in the eye and listens when I speak. As if…I am…"

"A man?" Rayen suggested

"An equal." Lyra looked her sister in the face her gaze falling on the scars that rested across her cheek. "Let's go demand what we have earned."

A smile spread across Rayen's face. "It's about damn time."

Leonardo stood, with two of his brothers, before Lord Maru.

The morning had not exactly gone as hoped. That strange popping sound have woken him at some point early in the morning. He swore it had even been in his room but couldn't identify the source of the sound. Michelangelo had slept through breakfast offending lady Nakume. Raphael had scared the youngest child, Esra, with a look. He apparently didn't appreciate her spilling her drink in his general direction and had glowered at the child sending her into a fit of tears. Donatello was no where to be found. And so Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo stood before the frowning Lord Maru.

Lord Maru tapped him fingers on his desk while he decided to proceed. It was all so… unprecedented. So… "Who in the hell makes a child cry for spilling a drink?"

Raphael's eyes narrowed. "How was I supposed to know she was going to cry over it?"

"You made a kid cry?" Michelangelo gave his brother an appalled look.

"I didn't mean to!" Raph snapped loud enough to make his brother wince. "I just looked at her."

"She is a child and there for sensitive, man. You must handle them gently." Lord Maru chided.

"I ain't never said I was good with kids or that I even like 'em." Raph shook a thick green finger at the surprised Lord.

"You could still try not to look at them as if you're going to beat them to death." Leo muttered as he frowned at his brother.

"I'm not gunna… why would I… this is stupid." Raph guffawed and then growled as he turned on his heals and started for the door.

Lord Maru gave Leonardo an expectant look.

Leo cringed inwardly. This was not making his clan look good in any way. "Raphael!" Leo snapped.

Raphael's hand poised on the handle of the door.

"We are not finished here."

Raph gripped the handle and clenched his teeth as every inch of him vibrated with defiance. "I get it." He ground out through his tight pressed teeth. "Don't scare kids. Was there anything else of grave importance?"

"You should probably apologize dude." Mikey encouraged.

"I didn't mean to…" Raph started to bellow.

"That is why you apologize." Leo stated as he rubbed his temples in frustration.

Raph frowned at his brother. Crushing him under his intense golden gaze.

But Leonardo, being equally as stubborn, crossed his arms and staired expectantly back.

Mike looked between the two and, holding his breath, took a couple of steps back.

'please don't so this right now, Raph. Not over this, not in front of the Maru.' He willed the thought at Raphael hoping his pig-headed brother would just apologize so he didn't have to berate him in front of the lord.

He must have picked up on it some how because his demeaner softened a bit. Raphael looked at lord Maru, "Sorry I scared your kid."

Lord Maru nodded his acceptance of the apology. Though it was not eloquently spoken he figured he wasn't going to get much more from the brutish man.

Raph looked back at Leo. "Anything else fearless?" He didn't give Leo a chance to do more than open his mouth before opening and walking through the door, slamming it behind him.

"He is obstinate, you allow this?" Lord Maru frowned at Leonardo once again.

"No." Leo stated, "But I do not wish to waist your time while I chase him down and handle it. Was there more you wished to discuss?"

"My wife is upset at the rudeness of your other two brothers. She has gone through a great deal of effort and planning to make sure the meals prepared for your stay here are…"

"That's my fault." Mikey interjected. "I slept through… everything. It was a long trip. I will definitely not miss another meal. I mean I love food!" He smiled brightly at the lord in an attempt to reassure him.

"I thought it was a miss hap when you missed a meal, Leonardo. I did not expect is to be a familial laziness."

Mikey blinked at Leo. "but you are always up before everyone."

Leo refrained from rolling his eyes at his brother. "It won't happen again."

"The other one is still missing?" Lord Maru looked to a servant, who nodded, then back at Leonardo. "Mr. Hamato, I do not know how things are done where you are from but this is not how it is done here. Find your other brother and get your family under control."

Leonardo frowned but bowed. "Of course, sir. If there is anything else..."

"Next time you go on a ride with my daughters, don't forget your chaperone. If there is another offence, I will take it as an attack on their honor."

Leonardo did glare at the Lord then, but only for a second. He bit his tongue trying not to make some quip like 'Yes, I here that is how you get promoted around here.' 0r 'am I supposed to feel threatened with how the first attack on your daughter's honor was handled?' but as nothing like that would help the situation, he kept his mouth shout and simply gave a curt nod.

"That is all." Lord Maru stated.

Watching as the two brothers bowed and exited the room he wondered if he was being too hard on the young leader. He was from very far off after all. Their cultures must be terribly different. Could he really blame them for not knowing how things are done here? Perhaps not. Still, it was causing a disruption in his home.

Leo skulked down the hall next to his brother. One could practically see the storm rolling through him.

Mikey walked next to Leo quietly for a moment. "It really wasn't that bad…"

"Not the bad?" Leo snapped in an exasperated tone. "Really? Were you not in the same room as me?"

"Ya, Leo, I was and."

"He probably thinks I am incompetent as a leader. Don Just disappearing, Raph with his damn attitude. And making a kid cry. Over a spilled drink no less! I mean who does that."

"Well, I mean, He didn't really mean to…"

"I don't care." Leo stated. "This isn't New York. Things are not done this way here. You guys need to get your shit together."

"Starting with…" Mike attempted to lead his brother into telling him exactly what he was supposed to be doing.

Leo frowned. "Starting with finding Don."

"That I can help with." Mikey chirped.

Leonardo rolled his eyes and then led the way down the hall. His brother and two servants trailing behind.

Donatello had not been able to sleep. Insomnia was not unfamiliar to him. He wasn't sure what exactly caused the issue. A lack of melatonin production, the copious amounts of coffee he usually drinks, all the problems he hadn't found answers to yet, or just the inability to turn his brain off. Either way it had led him to becoming board stuck in his room. So, he had decided to explore.

The rain had continued through the night and only began to pitter off after the early morning sun had started to warm the sky. The storm covering the sounds of his foot falls and the occasional item that he distractedly ran into while observing a mural and walking at the same time.

He had spent some time wondering the keep admiring the murals, that showed influence from several provinces and close by countries. He was amazed at how vast the plant life was in the gardens. The botanist that ran them had to be quite accomplished in their knowledge of plants. He especially appreciated the intricacies of the architecture and the way the different influences of the surrounding areas had influenced it. Everything to the structure, to the mosaics, to the finishing flourishes in corners and on trims or pillars. It was all quite lovely.

But all the intricacies of structural engineering had not prepared him for the glory that was the library. It was far beyond anything he could have expected. It had to be one of the largest rooms in the keep going up a full two levels.

"I could spend a life time here and not read everything." He breathed out in wonder.

There were scrolls and books alike. Everything from maps and laws to birds and plant to the exploits of heroes and on and on.

It is true no one has ever managed to read every book in that library. Though there is one who has come close. She only remembers bits and pieces of each book. The brain simply can't hold on to everything. Or so this narrator is told.

These books were the first thing they had in common. Though in this moment it was for different reasons. He was fighting off boredom, she was seeking answers.

Donatello's boredom was far from his mind when the book walloped him in the chest. The unexpected hit had pushed the air from his lungs sending him into a coughing fit as he tried to pull it back in.

"State your business!" A demanding feminine voice broke through the sound of his sputtering.

He looked over at her through watering eyes, raising a defensive hand against her raised book. "Wait, *cough*I didn't *cough* mean to startle you."

"You were being awfully quiet."

Air back in his lungs, Donatello straitened to his full height of 6'9", and whipped the watery tears from under his glasses to see his attacker more clearly. It was one of the sister's, she had been beating on a drum during the little monster chasing parade a fer hours ago. Now she was dressed in brown, with a heavy leather apron across her front and pare of goggle with mor than a dozen ocular loops attached rested on the top of her head. She held a Large, hard cover book over her head in ink-stained fingers, ready to be used as a weapon again.

"We are in a library. Aren't we supposed to be quiet?" Donatello rubbed his chest. "That was quite the hit the chest."

"I was aiming for your head." She said flatly as she lowered the book and turned to a stack on a small table. "You are taller than I had anticipated."

"Oh." Donatello watched the lean attractive woman for a moment while she scanned a couple of pages, looking for something.

"Was there something you needed?" She asked with out looking up.

Done shook his head. Not thinking about the fact that she wasn't looking at him.

She mouthed the word "cohosh." Before looking up at Donatello expectantly.

He Blinked at her. "Not particularly. I am just trying to keep busy… do you need help with anything."

A soft scoff was pushed from her chest as she closed the book she had been scanning. She picked it up and then began walking past Donatello while speaking. "I don't not think you can be of much aid. Your brother lost his stomach when he tried to help me. If your composure is of the same caliber, you will not fair any better. As what I have to do today is much more onerous."

Donatello followed her as she spoke his interest peaked.

She walked quickly from the library and down the hall.

"It depends on the task at hand I suppose. What cause my brother to…"

"Wretch? The cleaning of a cyst on a patient of mine."

"Oh." Don chuckled. "Yes, I can handle myself better than that. The medical pursuits are not among Leonardo's most noteworthy masterstrokes."

"Obviously." The woman stated flatly as she turned down some stairs.

Donatello slowed for a moment as he took in the considerably danker area of the keep. The far spread torches giving the area an ominous feel. Then, noting the woman had rounded a corner up a head, he hurried after her.

"I don't think I caught your name." He stated politely once he had caught up to her.

She rounded another corner. "That is because I did not give it to you nor have, we been properly introduced. And in all truth, sir…" She stopped at a door and looked up at him, her bright eyes practically glowing in the torch light. "You should have an escort or chaperone with you, as propriety dictates."

Don's lips quirked up in a small smile. And for a moment he marveled at how intimidating the lean whisp of a woman came across. "My name is Donatello. It might be easier for us to communicate if we know each other's names."

The woman tilted her head as if thinking, for just a moment. "Min." She stated her name simply then opened the door and entered the next room.

The room was glorious! There was everything from a blown glass chemistry set to a distillery, to… well honestly it looked like a witch's kettle. Things for roasting, things for drying, things for extracting oils and juices. There were shelves covered in jars of dried plants, powders and liquids of all colors and viscosities.

"You're an apothecary." Donatello stated with both surprise and excitement. He picked up a small bottle and read the label 'nux vomica' "You have strychnine. This is highly poisonous. Why…"

Min took the bottle from him and placed it back on the shelf. "Yes, it is. As are most with most things. What determines life or death is dosage." She went to another shelf and plucked a jar from it. "nux vomica, or strychnine as you called it, also helps with diseases of one's digestive tract, eyes and lungs, it can help with cardiovascular disorders, as well as help with nerve ailments, like the type that can cause one to shake, depression, migraines, and menopause."

Donatello nodded. Though he was an engineer at heart, He knew a thing or two about medical procedures, and as a ninja he had knowledge of a fair number of poisons. He could perform some procedures as well. But he needed the aid of pharmaceuticals. Some he could make at home if he had the right compounds and Leo could even make a few infusions and teas but the two of them together could not have properly used half the herbs, powders and other raw materials that lined the shelves of this room.

He looked back at Min as ran her fingers along some lines in her book. Then turned to grab another jar full of an herb suspended in a liquid similar to the first jar she had pulled from the shelf.

"What are you making?" he asked as he continued poking around the room.

"Black and blue cohosh tincture."

Donatello couldn't think of what those herbs were used for. "Hmm." He hummed as he lifted the corner of a sheet that covered something large and oddly shaped considering the other things that filled the room.

"What is that for?" he asked as he examined the edge of some sort of wooden contraption.

"To induce labor." Min looked to the back of the room where Donatello was lifting the sheet. "Oh, that. It was supposed to be some sort of flying machine. A man that had been passing through left it for me a couple of years ago." She stated as she turned back to finishing the mixing of the tinctures in another small bottle.

She placed the bottle in a leather bag with a few other items, some raspberry leaves to make an infusion, a shepherd's purse tincture, and another thin jar of arnica pills, and a small jar sitz bath. The sound of Donatello pulling sheet off the flying machine followed only by what could be described as an excited squeal, brought him back into her focus.

He looked at the contraption, eyes wide with excitement. "Can I fix it?"

"I don't see why you should bother; it doesn't get more than a few feet off the ground…"

"I can make it work." Donatello assured her.

She eyed the tall, lean man for a moment. A wide smile on his face, glasses magnifying deep brown eyes and the dusty sheet gripped in his hand. Min had to admit, she found him… pleasing. "Do what you wish with it. I have no need of it."

With that she removed her leather apron and goggles, hung them up and walked out into the hall.

After a moment, Don realized the gracious woman had left. "Wait for me." He called as he hurried into the hall to catch up.