Ash: Well, that last chapter ended on a cheerful note-

Yumeì: Not.

Ash: *clears throat*

Yumeì: Right, sorry. Why did you banish Shun from the room? And not me?

Ash:Well, you said yourself, you're the insensitive one-

Yumeì: Yes, I take pride in it.

Ash: AND, Shun can't go over the...topic w/o getting all moody so...

Yumeì: What topic you mean the topic where-

Ash: SHUT IT!

Yumeì: But I wanna know! Is it-

Ash: YES! NOW SHUT UP!

Yumeì: Fine then...

Ash: My goodness! She's so insensitive, she started laughing at her mother's funeral!

Yumeì: Why don't you leave that explanation to Dreamsy?

Ash: Who?

Yumeì: Dream- oh you know what? BACK TO THE STORY! She doesn't anything except the plot and the OC'S!

Kel's View:

Apparently, they had landed on one of Verithigo's islands. Figures. What she hadn't been expecting was an overly cheerful rider, two rather silent boys, and a sleeping companion. But since Kel had experienced weird things before, she did not stare nor inquire why one of the guards was supposedly sleeping. Or so short at that. The person who had been yelling at the tall boy on the ship had been his twin. At least she supposed. They both had the same build, and almost the same colored eyes. Except boy number two had pure amber eyes, like, with no green specks. Jade-eyes had managed to get Peachblossom off the ship (How she got him off the ship without so much of a scratch flabbergasted Kel, but she did note he looked shell- shocked ). Peachblossom soon came to himself, however, and snapped at Boy Number Two's (Whom Kel called Ambereyes) mount,an ill-tempered pure black Arabian mare. The result had been something like a stallion showdown(except with a mare and a gelding) and they were delayed another thirty minutes. Ambereyes lost it. He muttered something in Verithigese -Kel betting it was nothing good- and rode off with Jade-eyes yelling after him. The tall boy (Kel calls him Greenflecks) shook his head in frustration and exasperation.

" I must have the most dysfunctional family ever."

Kel's eyes lit up in sudden interest.

"So they're family?"

"Act as though you never heard that. Please."

"Fine then."

Kel's View:

Four hours. That's how long it took to get to the capital. That was notably fast, considering it usually took two days to get there from the bay. But still... Jade-eyes had piped up a tune and soon ended up singing in Verithigese. On one certain line, she must have offended Greenflecks and Ambereyes somehow, as Greenflecks yelled something angrily at her and Ambereyes chased her while she was still singing at the top of her voice. What finally stopped him was a crowd of small children from a nearby village singing along with Jade-eyes. He apparently had a soft spot for little kids. But the rest of the journey had been notably boring. Kel still hadn't received their names (Greenflecks said the custom for the royal family is to introduce themselves only when the lead of the house, in this case, the queen, was present.), Dom hadn't even talked one bit (and that's saying something), & Lord Raoul just looked into the distance and occasionally looked at the short, still sleeping, guard with concern. Jade-eyes had caught him looking at the little sleepy guard.

"Don't worry, she's fine."

Lord Raoul raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Eventually, they came across a river. Dom finally spoke.

" Kel, this water is clear. Like crystal clear. But it makes you wonder..."

"What?",asked Kel.

"Is it poisoned?" asked Dom to Ambereyes.

Ambereyes just stared at him, but Jade-eyes answered him.

"Only if you have bad intentions. Then if you drink it, it kills you. But if you don't drink it, and you try to cross, you'll drown."

"Uh-huh."

Dom looked at the water with more wariness now.

"Does it ever make mistakes?"

"Hasn't yet.",said Jade-eyes shrugging. Then she caught Dom's fearful look.

"But you never know. There's always a first." Jade-eyes's eyes twinkled with amusement as Dom drew his gelding back away from the water.

Greenflecks gave Jade-eyes a disapproving look, before assuring Dom the river has never made a mistake, and probably won't for a long time. When they had finally crossed the river the fog and mist, to their utter surprise, disappeared. When Kel turned to Greenflecks for an answer, he shrugged and said,

"There are a lot of mages here and we need the security."

The palace was magnificent. It was a pinkish granite along with set was a beautiful sunset color from stopped before the drawbridge and Kel had to crane her head to see the sentry tower. It was definitely much more lovely up close. She couldn't stop gazing, and wouldn't until Jade-eyes cried out,

"Hey, Tabitha, we missed you!"

Kel looked around and saw a series of flinches go through the riders. Then she looked around to see a young woman, in her late teens or early twenties, emerge from the archway and across the open drawbridge. She was in a golden and crimson tunic with black leggings. Her long black hair was set in place by the smallest of ribbons. Her eye color...Kel internally yelped as she saw the eye color never remained one color.

"I thought you could keep secrets Yumeì."

"When did I say that? I'm blunt and you know it."

Greenflecks glared at her.

"A blunt knife doesn't cut and doesn't end the fight."

Jade-eyes smiled, falsely sweet.

"But a blunt knife, when used in the right way, can cause an awful lot of pain!"

Greenflecks snapped, "And you are a pain in the-"

"Enough.", growled Tabitha.

Kel could easily see this woman had a place of power. Greenflecks closed his mouth. Yumeì shot him a smug look until Tabitha shot her a deadly look. Tabitha then sighed.

"You must be tired. But I do think introductions are in order."

She met Kel's eyes with those strange color-changing eyes.

"I am Thabathera of Vistan and Istè, the ruling Queen here. Friends call me Tabitha. You want to go first, Yumeì? I know you hate formalities, so lets get this over with."

Jade-eyes grumbles then removed her face veil and hood. She had long black hair that was braided, but noticeably messy and quickly done. Her lips were quicker to a smile than a frown, and curved upward slightly on the left side, giving her a look of mischief.

"Name's Yumeì. Okay, that's not my real name. My real name is Ayumana of Vistan and Istè."

"Wait, you're family? I mean...you're royalty?"

"We...all are."

Kel's eyes widened.

"Looks like we have been in the company of royalty without knowledge of it." ,muttered Lord Raoul.

"I hate it when people do that."

Tabitha turned to Greenflecks who gave a cold stare.

"And you are?..." Tabitha started.

"You know who the heck I am, Tabitha."

"But they don't. And be nice, or shut it."

Greenflecks sighed, exasperated. He removed his hood. His black hair was short, cropped just below the ears. It was messy, like he had gotten out of bed with it, and he had a long, trailing hair that looked almost like an antenna. Kel was embarrassed to find herself staring. He was rather handsome.

" My name is Shinoru of Vistan and Istè. Most call me Shin, though"

Tabitha nodded, quite pleased. Then Ambereyes, who had been staring at his horse's mane, looked up. His hood fell off. His hair was like Shinoru's, only he had obviously attempted to get it under control. He growled angrily then took off his face mask.

"Smooth." said Yumeì sarcastically.

"Shut up." ,he growled.

"VOICE BOX ACTIVATED AGAIN!"

Kel covered her ears. She was loud.

Ambereyes looked noticeably annoyed.

"Name's Shun. Shun of Vistan and Istè."

Normal View:

If one had been looking up to the roof they would have noticed a shadow watching their every move. Iyumana sat, watching the newcomers being welcomed. She would have been friendly and said hello. But she was here for more unpleasant business. Iyu felt her heart being broken in two.

You don't have a choice. she reminded herself, It's for my mother...father...

The thought trailed off.

But...is it right?

Yumeì: Lovely. Such a happy ending. Hey...wait a moment...YOU DIDN'T PUT THE TOPIC IN THERE!

Ash: I know. I just said that to keep Shun out. But...it's coming.

Yumeì: You are mean. Not like Dreamsy.

Ash: Now who the heck is Dreamsy?

Yumeì: Dreamflight4798! Duh!

Ash: *sheepishly* It figures. See ya later! Review!