A/N-I think I'm recovered, at least temporarily, from by bout of insanity. (See my fic 'Bored'.) Anyways, on with the show!
Disclaimer-No, I am not Tamora Pierce…. therefore the characters aren't mine.
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Lukiem Hashamr slammed the door behind him as hard as he could.
He was not in a good mood. Then again, he was never in a good mood. But he was in a worse mood than before.
And it was because of the wench, Kalasin.
He paced around his quarters. Because of his high position in the Council, his room was more lavish than most. Both the floor and walls were marble, and the lanterns placed at intervals around the walls gave it a shiny reflection. It was rather large, and a delicately carved bed, and an expensive desk covered most of the space. He plopped himself down on the chair in front of the desk.
That female! He thought. Thinking the she's ever- so -perfect! She can't insult a member of the Katchéà family like that!
He knew he had to dislodge the she-wolf from the throne.
And he would use any means possible.
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Stupid slave, Kalasin thought. She was trying to talk with the girl, but her only words were stuttered and ended with 'Nobility'.
Nobility. Nobility. If Kalasin ever heard that word again, she thought she would scream.
They were walking along the palace halls, trying to get to Kalasin's new room. Trying. The slave said that she should not walk in front of Kalasin, so whenever they came to where they could turn Kalasin had to turn around and ask where to go.
The tapestries were…interesting, to say the least. They told stories of blood, war, fire and famine. Hopefully Kalasin would change that.
From the arrow slits Kalasin could tell that it was getting late, and finally, they arrived at massive doors, guarded by two fully armed guards.
"Halt!" the one on the right shouted. "Who goes there?"
"Me," she said.
The guards exchanged glances. No one had ever said that before.
"Your name?" the other one asked.
Behind Kalasin, the slave fidgeted.
"Why would you care?" Kalasin asked. She loved making peoples lives harder with stupid questions. She loved the looks on their faces.
"We care because it is our duty to serve and protect the Emperor!"
"And not the Empress? I would have thought you would have cared more about her!"
The guard on the right stepped forward. "Just who do you think you are?"
Kalasin sighed. Carthaki's lacked common sense.
"Me! I am I!"
Only years of discipline kept the soldiers from laughing. They had obviously figured that this girl meant no harm, since it would have been impossible to get past the other guards.
"You am 'I'?" the soldier on the left said. "I thought you were 'me'!"
"Of course I'm not you! I'm Kalasin, the princess. You know, the Empress-to-be?"
The soldiers were obviously confused, until the words of her last sentence worked it's way into their thick heads.
"Princess," they both muttered, then bowed.
"That's me. Can I go in? I've been instructed by my lovely servant here," she gestured, "that these are my new quarters. Is she correct?"
"Yes she is, Nobility. Do you wish to enter?"
Not…the word Nobility…Kalasin thought silently.
"Yes. Please allow my servant to follow as well."
They both nodded and opened the massive doors.
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Nothing could have prepared Kalasin for what she saw. Nothing at all.
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A/N-How was it?
I'm really tempted to bump this up to 'T'. I was unbelievably tempted to swear in this chapter, especially in the part with Lukiem. But I didn't. Is it ok if I swear and bump it up? I don't know if it fits the characters well enough.
Please review!