The night and morning passed peacefully, as Kyera tended to Rasha's wounds in the Emperor's palace. The wound was healing much better now and he was eating again, making Kyera smile at his progress. Her hands traced over his muscles, making sure nothing was swollen or hot from damage during the night. He seemed fine and Kyera chuckled as she let her hands fall back into her lap.
"Well, It looks like you won't need me much longer Rasha. A few more days and that poison will be gone and I will be able to stitch you up and go on my way." Kyera assured him, scratching him behind his ears. The deep grumbling in his chest caused the maid servant to jump, cold water splashing across Kyera's dress and face.
The maid froze, her eyes wide in shock and fear as she realized her mistake. Kyera wiped the water from her face with a towel next to her. After her face and chest was dry she glanced back at the frozen girl. She was trembling as though she expected to get scolded. The fear was shocking at first, confusing her but then Kyera realized what was going on.
"Girl, What's your name?" Kyera asked her, voice soft and soothing. The girl looked down, snapping out of it as Kyera waited patiently.
"Mei… Madam Kyera…" The girl replied, her voice shaking as she stared at the floor. Kyera nodded.
"First off, I am a lady or I am a Miss. Not a Madam. Second, please be more careful and attentive. Rasha was not growling, he was purring. It sounds more aggressive because he is a big male cat, rather than a tiny house cat like you are use to. If you are going to work with Lions, Tigers, Wolves, and other wild animals you need to learn body language. Sound is a very small part of their communication." Kyera explained, trying her best not to lecture the girl, but also let her know what she had done wrong. Her voice was too gentle for a scolding but still got her point across. The girl's face flushed with embarrassment as she realized what she had done.
"Yes Lady Kyera, I am sorry. I didn't mean to insinuate…" She began to explain but Kyera chuckled and shook her head slowly. It was not a cold sound, and it threw the girl off yet again. Kyera took pity on the child. "I will take any punishment you wish…" she added a bit out of desperation.
"Mei, You do not need to apologize further. Just do your best to learn from this and let's move forward. There is no reason for us to punish you for a innocent reaction. Unless you did it on purpose?" Kyera asked raising a eyebrow at her, and waited on a response. Not that she needed to the horrified shock on her face spoke for itself. There was something about her expression that made Kyera feel uneasy.
"No… Of course not Mam… Miss." Mei replied her lips moving faster than her mouth could catch up to. Kyera nodded and stood slowly, dusting her dress off though she couldn't do anything about the wet blot that turned the blue material nearly black from her chest to waist in a large puddle. 'How had she splashed so much water out of such a small cup!' Kyera wondered in exasperation.
"Good, now then go about your duties while I go back to the Palace and change." Kyera replied and turned to walk back to the palace, leaving Mei to watch her leave. The tigress was unaware of the man standing nearby watching the show quietly.
Mei walked over to where he stood and bowed to the man standing behind the partition. "Did I fulfill your request, Master?" Mei asked looking up at him with hopeful eyes. Prince Alexi nodded and smiled at her, tosseling her hair with one strong hand. "She was really understanding, My Lord." She added with a smile and he nodded.
"Yes, you did fine,my little actress." Alexi praised her, his eyes still watching the receding figure of Kyera walking toward the Winter Rain Palace. His eyes twinkled with curiosity at the pretty young thing that had set the palace on edge.