"Raina, you might have to explain your reasoning." Kyera suggested, her eyes dancing with amusement as she looked at her befuddled Mother. Granted; the word was coming much easier to her than it had in years passed, Kyera realized.
Raina nodded and offered a reassuring smile to her grandmother. "You see, Kyera is a beautiful white tiger. Though beauty doesn't make a Princess, I know her by how she moves. All shifters move differently. It also stands to reason if your Mommy's Mother then you must be a shifter too. Grace is a white tiger, Mommy is a white tiger. Mommy and Grace don't like each other and Mommy really doesn't like her Mother." Raina explained further surprising both of them with her young mind's thought path. People who had studied the shifters never realized that they moved differently.
It was true, shifters knew they could pick each other out of a crowd by their walk. It was a skill most adults trained just in case they were ever in need of assistance surrounded by humans. Most children however never noticed…and then it hit Kyera.
"Your lessons with Daxin have been most useful. I was curious as to what your training focus was. Apparently it's more broad than I expected." Kyera smiled in pride at her daughter who beamed back. Little Raina was a smart child and knew when to use the magic of her mind.
"You are letting Daxin teach her as he wishes? She's human." Akira reminded her daughter with a bit of a scoff. Kyera turned her attention back to her mother.
"The clan have accepted her more fully than if she truly was a shifter. She's part of the family, Akira. Do you remember the sworn duty of the Forest Guard and its Knights?" Kyera asked raising an elegant eyebrow. This was a loaded question, considering Fantasy had written the Forest Guard guidelines when Akira was young.
"Yes." Her answer was short but Kyera paid it no mind. It was understandable for her mother to be a little uneasy. The Forest Knights were once her brother hood, and now none of them would even acknowledge her if she attacked them. She was nothing to them, betrayal did that sort of thing. Once proven capable of such a heinous act, people believed you capable of things perhaps you didn't even know you were able to do.
"Good, Raina trains among our children. She is an amazing learner and accepts us as we are. She is a bridge for our people and a leader in the darkness of hatred. You would do well to respect her intelligence, Mother." Kyera warned her with a gentle smile. It was clear she had no intention of letting her mother underestimate Raina. Too many people in this palace did. It was their loss.
"I see. I knew you were bright, child but I didn't realize how bright." Akira tried to be genuinely kind though her heart was gnawed on by guilt. The brilliant light in those blue eyes had almost been ended by her own orders. She was careful to hide the emotion from her expression but it still burned her deep down.
"Thank you, Lady Akira. Mommy and I were going to get a bath." Raina said simply, her patience was wearing thin. She wanted to talk to Mommy before she tried to get to know this lady more. Kyera nodded in agreement.
"That I did, Princess. Also, Mother, Kendrick gave up his birthright and came home to us. I suggest you go greet him." Kyera told her, taking Raina's hand again. Akira's eyes widened in shock and she turned and ran toward the courtyard. Kyera sighed deeply and took her daughter away from the hustle and bustle. The baby in her womb was restless, having had so much excitement in a short time, she could only imagine how insecure the little one must be feeling. Her spare hand gently caressed the bulge, as tiny as it was in human form.
"Is little cub okay?" Raina asked in concern, seeing the look on Kyera's face. Kyera smiled brightly.
"Don't worry, Raina. Mommy will protect little cub just as she does you. That is what I do best." Kyera replied as they reached the bathhouse. Kyera sent the servants away as she and the child disrobed and slid into the bathing gowns provided for them. It was a far cry from bathing in the woodland streams, but it would have to do for now, Kyera thought.
The bathing house was more like a hot spring surrounded by thick bushes and, just behind those bushes covered in ivy to create a more natural feel, was a stone wall. It was the type of wall, built so long ago but so sturdy that no one would have dreamed a single block could be removed without disturbing the long standing ivy. The way the ivy draped made it hard to see out, for beyond the wall was the lush green forest like garden. However, seeing into the bathhouse was a much easier feat if you knew where to look. Two blue eyes could just barely be seen in the shadow of those vines, the owner of those two pools was lost in thought.