Chapter 5

"You do know that she would never really hurt any of her blood relatives, right?" Tara asked after several long minutes of wandering outside in silence.

"Umm….not really. So far, she has given me no reason to trust her."

"Do you trust me to not harm them?"

"To a higher degree yes, I mean you are Eyrien and Saetan trusts you."

"You mean he doesn't trust her?"

"Not that I can tell. But I haven't really asked him about it."

"Well then, maybe I should give you a chance to learn to trust Shai," she mused to herself. All of a sudden she grabbed his hand and physically dragged him back to the Hall, surprising him with how much strength she possessed.

"First step, I have to get absolutely positively drunk….

Later that night, "Tara is that you?" whispered Shai.

"Aye," shouted Tara.

"Why are you shouting? There are children sleeping nearby, we should try to be quiet," Shai whispered. Suddenly a winged shape flung itself on top of her pinning her to the bed. The form then kissed her very softly, gently coaxing her mouth open. When she began to respond, her tongue slipped into the form's mouth to entwine and to create the passion she was taught to ignite.

'Wait! This tastes like alcohol…and it's my sister!' Shai thought as she sensed the psychic scent from the form.

"Tara," she moaned. "Tara!" she shouted as the form tried to kiss her again. "No. You're drunk, you know I don't swing that way, even for you."

"I want to join with you…please," Tara begged.

"Fine, but let me." Before Tara could try to kiss her again she forced her to melt into nonexistence again. Unfortunately this also forced her to get the after effects of being drunk.

"Great," she whispered, causing herself to cringe because it sounded like shouting and felt like it was going to rip apart her skull. She got up slowly and headed for the kitchen.

Upon arriving she proceeded to bake herself to sobriety. As the sun was just beginning to rise from beneath the edge of the land, Mrs. Beale appeared. As she was rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she saw what was laid out on the table and counters. Her jaw dropped just as Shaitara turned around because the door had squealed slightly causing her to wince.

"Why…when…how…why…" sputtered Mrs. Beale.

"Because there was no way in Hell I was going to able to sleep with the amount my sister drank and then chose to gift me with last night. I suppose I owe Lucivar for this…" she whispered. "Doesn't matter why really, I just did." She continued as she headed for the coffee which was sitting over a tiny tongue of witchfire. "Feel free to take the morning off, breakfast is prepared and won't be getting cold anytime soon. I imagine your husband would appreciate a nice morning like this given the correct incentive," she suggested quietly before she strode out the door leading to the practice yards.

Mrs. Beale just sat there for a few seconds before comprehension came to her, with a slow seductive grin she arose and turned to head back to where her husband was laying in his usual sleeping attire…nothing.

Three hours later, Lucivar left the kitchen with a mug of coffee heading towards the practice grounds only to find that for once he was not the first one there. He saw a slender figure just standing there looking at him as if he had interrupted a practice session. As he approached he saw that apparently he had because Shaitara was standing there in a breast band, and short skin tight pants which had been hacked off at just above the knee, sweating slightly.

"Good morning," he said politely.

"Only for those of us who slept," she snapped.

He frowned, he thought Tara had said that Shai would be more agreeable in the morning if he could only coax enough drink into Tara. "What's got you in such a snit this morning?"

"Let's see," she began as she also began her warm-up again. "Someone, who shall remain nameless for the time being, got Tara drunk last night and being the sister she is she came back to our room last night and remelded with me and now I get the glorious aftereffects of being drunk without the joy of the inebriation period," she said with increasing volume until she shouted the last five words along with a flourish finishing her warm-up.

"Ah, you look like you are warmed up, would you like to have a go with me? I have to be warm before the rest show up."

"No, thank you," she said as she began to leave the circle.

"Please?"

"Oh, alright, I owe you for getting Tara drunk anyway," she quipped. "One or two sticks?"

"You can fight with two? I didn't know that was a method that was taught amongst Eyriens."

"It's not. The question still stands, brother, please answer it."

"I only know how to fight with one, though I would like to learn how to fight with two at some point, if you are willing to teach me."

"Maybe if you prove to have enough skill with one stick," she said before she tossed him one of her sticks.

They took their stances and as he began to advance she completed some move so fast he opened his eyes to blue sky as he was falling back to meet the ground.

"You have to do better than that if you want to learn how to dual wield."

As he was groaning his way back to vertical, the rest of the First Circle and their children were beginning to show up for practice. Neither he or Shaitara saw this, they took stances again. This time they just kept going through the movements of stance after stance. Blooming Lotus…Blade cleaving water…Crane flying south…they just kept attacking and defending. Once all of the First Circle and most of the Second Circle as well as all of the children in the court had arrived and had been watching them for around half an hour Lucivar saw them out of the corner of his eye. 'An opening!' thought Shaitara. She spun a fake, reversed once he had set himself to take the blow and swiped his feet out from under him, his stick flying . She swiftly moved to pin him there.

Suddenly a roar of applause erupted from behind her, causing a smile to creep onto her half-brother's face and a look of terror on hers.

"What? You thought the rest wouldn't begin to show up for several hours yet?"

"Yes," was all she said before she got up off him and began to gather her sticks and head back to her room to clean up for the day, and maybe take a nap.

"Where do you think you are going, witchling?" enquired a very stupid male, also known as Lucivar.

"Where do you think I'm going, to clean up. Since I can put you in the dirt, and I have already had my workout for the day," she continued while plucking at her breast band to illustrate her point, "I don't believe I need to stay here any longer."

"But, I want to know how you did that," said a young female voice from behind her. She turned around to see a young Dea al Mon Queen Black Widow approaching her.

"And who might you be, Lady?"

"Titianna," came the reply resulting in a growl from a middle-age looking Warlord Prince.

"Prince, calm yourself. She has committed herself, foolish though it may be at this time. I give you my word I will not harm any of those that Jaenelle loves."

She could feel the tension leave all of the males. She spun around, "Did you all trust me so little that you risked her life?" she shouted at them.

"Fine. You trust me that much, lets see how you react when I teach all of your daughters all that I know."

"Daughter, wait," came the voice that had guided her through so much of her horrible childhood. Once she had paused he continued, "What of the boyos?"

"They must earn my trust before I will even consider teaching them. All men are the same, cruel sex crazed creatures. That includes you, Father."

Suddenly there was a whooshing sound and a second form identical to Shaitara's except for a pair of wings, was standing next to her with growing solidity. Once it was entirely solid, Shai swayed where she was standing.

"I thought you wanted them all to be prepared for this war, Shai."

"I do but the men must prove themselves first."

"How is that remotely fair?"

After careful consideration Shai responded, "You're right, its not. Still it's the way I feel."

"If I vouched for them Shai would you teach the males, as well as all of my court?" came the voice of the one being who was able to ground her.

"Yes," came the simple reply. Then Shai turned to Tara and said "I'm going to need you to come back here if I am to accomplish this."

"Very well." Then she vanished into a mist which was then absorbed back into Shaitara's body.

After her senses returned to normal, Shaitara turned to those around her, and more particularly to Jaenelle. "Is all your court on the premises ma'am?"

"No, the kindred are elsewhere."

All the acknowledgement this produced in Shaitara was a grunt. Then she closed her eyes and compacted all the fighting, Craft, and basic survival knowledge she had into a little bundle which she then sent in a vast blanket all over the Realm of Kaeleer.

Around the silent form of Shaitara, all those who wore a Gray Jewel or Darker felt a familiar blanket of Dark power much like that Jaenelle used to wield. It was just as suddenly reabsorbed giving Shaitara a jolt which caused her to land on her butt in the center of the practice ring. She got up slowly rubbing her behind and began to leave to ring for the comforts of the kitchen and her room.

"And where do you think…" began Lucivar as understanding suddenly began to fill his mind of how his half-sister thought, and why. "Oh, Shai, why didn't you tell us?" was all he asked causing her to explode rather violently into tears and blow up several of the trees nearby before she turned tail and sprinted back to the Hall built by her father.