"Raina, darling girl the people as a whole do not want to cause you harm. They hide because they are afraid of being hunted again. A few small groups act out against humans but are stopped and controlled by the royals." Kyera tried to explain. She felt trapped between a better future and the law. If Raina understood the truth perhaps there would be hope.
"Then how did they nearly take me away?" Raina challenged softly. She was not seeing Kyera's point.
"They broke the laws. That's why i protected you. You never would have made it to the market. You would have been another little girl rescued by the forest rangers if i had not been there first." Kyera replied gently.
"Oh…" Raina whispered quietly and Kyera frowned. She could feel the child's insecurities radiating from her.
"Raina, as long as you wear that crest on your ear, no one will harm you from the forest. The Shifters know its meaning better than anyone else. If you ever need help, or need me that crest will protect you in the forest. Even some areas of the village answer its call. So relax, and take comfort in it " Kyera reminded her, gently tracing the earpiece. Raina smiled softly.
"Thank you, Kyera." she murmured and Kyera grinned at her.
"I am your warrior afterall." Kyera teased as Raina stood up and smoothed her skirts.
"Oh, and Daddy wanted to see you. Do you think you can come to my house for dinner?" Raina asked as if she just remembered. Kyera nodded, picking up her Zither and shrinking it again. The little pin holding it into her hair.
"I suppose if the princess makes the offer i should not refuse." Kyera replied with a grin as she stands up. "Afterall, I have been gone for a little while. He probably needs to scold me for taking your education too lightly." Kyera's words were teasing but the Princess did not seem to take it that way.
Raina dusted her dress off, smoothing the fabric around her legs. She then clasped her little hands at her waist one over the other, as she rose to her full height. At a generous three feet tall, she was almost more adorable with that confident challenging expression. "If My father wants to be mad at you, then he should talk to the tudors The Emperor arranged." Princess Raina spoke with a tinge of sadness as she started to walk back up the trail she had come down.
Kyera frowned, noticing Raina's response and change in her glow. There was more of a sadness and sense of longing that was a bit out of place. "Raina, why do I get the feeling you and the tudors don't get along?" Kyera asked as she walked with the princess, dusting her dress off as well. Swirling her hair up into a soft silver mound on the back of her head, securing it with the zither pin.
"No… it is hard not to get along with someone who pretends you don't exist." Raina's words were simple and there were signs that she attempted for them to be emotionless. Yet, she was just a little young to exercise that amount of control. Her emotional distress though complicated, lent itself well to her words.
"Pretend you don't exist?" Kyera prompted her with a small frown. There was a certain amount of concern in her voice as well.
"Yea, he focuses on my cousins educations. I am not old enough to truly understand." Raina replied sighing. Kyera frowned, thinking for a long moment, looking her over. If she remembered correctly, Raina was the eldest of the Emperor's Grandchildren. Why on earth would they not teach her first?
"Raina, correct me if I'm wrong but you are seven years old. Your cousins are between 6 and 3 correct?" Kyera asked, deciding perhaps she had something wrong. Raina stopped for a moment. It was as though that thought had never crossed her mind.
"Yea, you're… your right. I am the eldest." Raina seemed to have a realization and Kyera smiled softly. It warmed her heart to see this child who had been so beaten down suddenly filled with some of the light a child should have.
"Then perhaps, wether Prince Clovis scolds me or not, it's time you have that conversation with him, hmm? Your old enough for your father to listen to you." Kyera pointed out with a reassuring smile. Raina fell quiet, seeming to consider her words as she lead the way toward the house.
"I suppose you're right…" She whispered and Kyera smiled.
"That's my girl." Kyera replied winking at her. Surprise seemed to flash across Raina's face for a mere moment before she smiled back. Together they passed into the Palace of the Dancing Wind's courtyard as the sun met the horizon.
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AUTHORS NOTE
Hello Everyone, I am only posting one chapter today. I couldn't fit this in the authors note box so i wanted to add a section on here to clarify.
I ended up going back through a few chapters and fixing a few inconsistencies. I wanted to spend time on that today rather than writing a new chapter building off the old mistakes.
So for clarification: The 13 Men on Horseback Chapters have been adjusted to reflect Princess Raina's actual age. She is seven years old. because of this that fight scene had to be adjusted and there were a few things along the way that I had to fix but nothing that would change the tone of the story itself.