Chapter 36: Queen Cyilume

"This shapeshifting thing isn't difficult at all, is it Sakay?" "Not in the least, Hush." "Quiet!" The twins snapped their mouths shut, shooting sigh identical glares from where they were hidden beneath the bushes. Shapeshifting hadn't been that difficult, but it had taken them quite a few tries to rid themselves of all their feathers (blasted things kept appearing in the oddest of places). But, finally, they made the transition, with a little helping hand from Cy, and were now prim and proper in human form. Skin as pale as ivory, hair like white lace, and bright blue eyes that crinkled mischievously with their twin grins. And, of course, they hadn't had any clothes. McKale had turned away with a bright red blush (Children waltzing about naked! Honestly!), and Cy had, well, sighed and rolled her eyes before hurrying off to fetch them some clothes. She managed to wrangle up a dress for McKale too, with a quick explanation. If the twins had to disguise themselves, so did he. She. As it were, now that McKale had left her robe behind and donned the rather rummy, and smelly, set of skirts. Cy had led them outside the castle where they crouched behind the foliage, watching and waiting for Prince Brennan to make an appearance. "So let’s go over this again, darling..." "...we wait here until princey comes out..." "...then we all leap out and distract him..." "...or something of the like..." "...so you can nab him..." "...then we take him to his adviser fellow..." "...who's going to be ever so very happy about us subduing the prince..." "...and then he'll find us someone to fix the watch..." "...so we can all get back home again?" "That's the plan, is it?" Cy frowned, wrinkling her nose up in annoyance,” Yes, that's the plan." It wasn't. Cy had a few more ideas up her sleeve than simply nabbing the prince, but she hadn't bothered to inform them of it yet. If McKale couldn't recognize the fellows name from his/her list, then that was her own bally problem, not Cy's. Besides, Cy was bloody tired of putting up with those three...and Shar...and the utter lack of respect and acknowledgement she was getting from everyone. "Oh!" McKale lurched forward, shoving her hand through the pushes with a cleverly pointed finger,” That’s him, isn't it?" Cy shushed her, pulling her back into the cover of the bushes. Shooting the three a frown she leaned over the bushes as peered through them. Indeed, it seemed the Prince had returned from his riding and was ready to enter the stables with the great, black, friesian he had trotting elegantly between his knees. Cy had been expecting something flawlessly white. Shaking the thought from her mind she narrowed her eyes, squinting through the darkness to watch him. Slowly the prince led his horse to a stop and dismounted, handing the reigns over to a stable keep. He waved another servant over him, who proceeded to brush the dust from his clothes. A moment or two passed and he shooed the fellow away, whipping his riding cape back, and striding purposefully toward the nearest set of castle doors. Cy whirled around to McKale and the twins,” Change of plans. You stay here, I'll get the prince and bring him back to you...biff him over the head or something, then we'll sneak him out to the advisers." "Biff him over the head!" squawked one twin, frowning. "That's stirring up a hornets nest!" "Not that we've ever done that, mind..." "...having never run into hornets before." "Quite lucky, really..." "...considering we've spent the last week in the bush." Cy growled, glaring at them,” Biff him over the head, knock him out, something. Tie him up and gag him if you have to." "Why can't you?" "I'm getting the advisors." Her ears twitched at the sudden sound of a door creaking open. She cursed under her breath, whipping around and leaping from the bush in full, ten foot tall, dragon form. "Oh, we simply can't watch,” swooned one twin, perfectly androgynous. "It's too horrible,” cried the other, slapping a hand over each set of eyes. Cy snapped her ears back, blocking them out, and charged toward the prince who was slipping through the door, completely oblivious to her presence. (The stable hands, on the other hand, had dropped everything they were carrying and scurried into the barn with cries of "Demon!"). The doors had nearly fallen shut, Cy was running out of time to catch his attention. She skidded to a stop, recoiling her neck a little, and let out a mighty growl. Or, at least, she hoped it was mighty. Either way, it was loud enough for the prince to hear. The door stilled, and the boy's fingers curled around the edge of it, pulling it open a little more. His head popped out around the corner, narrowed eyes squinting through the darkness,” Who’s that? I shan't have growling in my courtyard. Guards! There's some beastly creature- Oof!" Cy had rushed forward and rammed into him, knocking him to the stone floors. She pressed a paw to his chest and coiled her neck downward, breathing hot breath over his face. "Oh for lord's sake,” the prince pushed at her face as if she were an over enthusiastic mastiff come to greet her master,” Get off me you horrid brute!" Cy narrowed her eyes and growled,” You’ve a nerve to call me that. I could kill you." "Could you?" the prince curled his lips at her, dropping his from her face to prop up his own head,” A tiny little creature like you? Why, you're not even a proper dragon, are you? You're not very big,"he twisted his head around,” Guards! I refuse to be murdered by a miniscule dragon! If you don't come here this instant I'll feed your children to my lions!" He glanced back up at Cyilume,"Do lions like children, do you know? I wouldn't want to feed them anything they won't eat. Absolute waste of bodies, really. I tried feeding horses to dogs once, didn't work at all." Cyilume rolled her eyes. She drew back a paw and smashed it against the prince's skull. He flopped back against the floor, eyes rolling upward and fluttering shut. She cocked her head, stepping off of him and nabbing the front of his shirt in her mouth. She tossed him onto her back with a flick of her neck and strolled out the door. Well, that was two things taken care of. .:.:.::.:.:. Cassander paced the throne room, wringing his hands in the front of his robe. Where was the prince? A quick glance at the window told him it was far passed nightfall, and the winds coming from it were chilly. The moon was full and the peasants were restless. It wasn't safe for him to be out riding this late. The throne room doors smashed open with a BANG. Suddenly the entire room was in a flurry of moments and servants picked themselves up from their loitering and hurried to whatever tasks they could occupy themselves with. Cassander jumped at the noise, whipping around with a relieved smile on his face,” My lor-"he stopped, freezing in place,” What is the meaning of this!" Some woman was waltzing into the room, a peasant by the looks of her dress, and she carried herself much too haughtily for any one of such low stature. Cassander drew himself and strode toward her,” What gives you the right to sully His Grace's halls with your presence?" The woman's hand shot out and grabbed the neck of his robes, dragging him forward with surprising strength. The woman frowned at him, her nose wrinkling. Cassander realized for the first time, after having been nearly drawn nose-to-nose with her, that her eyes had a particularly odd green-ish glow to them. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. "His Grace,"snarled the woman,” Is currently being held captive by me and my...companions." Cassander swallowed hard, bobbing his head as much as he could,” The ransom?" "None,” the woman darted her eyes to the left and right before leaning into him,” I’m doing you a favor, aren't I? Don't you want him gone?" Cassander's eyes narrowed a little. How could she have known about that? He chewed his tongue a moment, staring into those abnormal eyes for a very long moment. Lord Kellan appeared out of the corner of his eye, arching his eyebrows and lifting his head curiously. Cassander caught his gaze and swallowed hard, mouthing,"she knows" towards him. Kellan's brow arched further and he flicked his gaze toward the woman. A smile graced his lips and he nodded to Cassander before turning on heel and heading toward the door. Cassander let out a shaky breath and turned his attention back to the woman,” Yes...you are. If you'd let me go I'll see you're properly taken care of." The woman tightened her grip,” I don't want to be taken care of. I want in." "Ah,"Cassander nodded again,” All right. In that case, I'll....I'll take you to see Lord Kellan." The woman nodded stiffly and let him go. He stumbled backward, collecting himself quickly and brushing his robes off. He shot her a suspicious look before turning and following Kellan out the side doors. The woman followed close behind him. .:.:.::.:.:. "So you've kidnapped our dear prince Brennan...what was your name, dear?" "Cyilume." And damn, if she wasn't getting tired of pet names,"Cy, if you must." "Hm,"said the man with a nod. Not Cassander, the stronger looking one who called himself 'lord'. Kellan, she believed his name was. "And what did you hope to accomplish by doing this?" "You don't want him ruling any more, so I've...taken him out of the picture for you." "You do realize that, by removing a leader, we need a replacement? The people may not have been happy with Prince Brennan, but he was of royal blood. Although the peasants care not for bloodlines, the nobles do." Cyilume stirred,” I’ll take care of them." "Will you, my dear girl?" Kellan snorted,” The same way you took care of the prince? If it were so easy to dethrone a prince we would have done this long ago. As it were, we would much rather you return the prince to his throne and leave us be." Cassander muttered something at Kellan's side before snapping his gaze up at Cy,"We had everything worked out. It would have been so easy...we just needed the knight's loyalty." " I know, Cassander, I know. But this can be remedied,"Kellan pat Cassander on the head before addressing Cy once again,” You will return Brennan to us, of course. If you need payment, fine, name your price. But not a word of this to anyone, or we'll have you beheaded." "No!" Cyilume shot to her feet, grimacing,” If you want your prince back you'll get him on my terms." Kellan let out a sigh and leaned back against the lounge,” Very well. What are your terms?" "You overthrow him...whatever way to plan to do that...and implement me as leader in his stead." "What?!" Cassander stood suddenly, his voice reaching spectacularly high tones,"You, queen? A peasant woman, with no fortune, no title, no blood." No dangly bits between her legs, she wanted to add. "Sit down, Cassander,"Kellan urged gently. Cassander did so with a huff, gritting his teeth and looking away. Kellan turned away from him and folded his hands in his lap,” As much as we would love to comply with your terms, Cyilume, I fear the general populace would not be happy with that particular turn of events. You do understand, don't you?" Cy drew herself up,"No,"she said,” I don't." Kellan arched a brow at her before turning to Cassander,"She is strong willed, we must give her that." "It's not a favored trait in women, my lord." "No, no, certainly not,"Kellan rubbed his head again,” Very well, Cyilume, shall I explain?" "No,” said Cy, wrinkling her nose and grimacing again,” Let me explain." After all, she'd been doing a hell of a lot of shapeshifting the past few days, what was one or two forms more? With a shake she stretched her hands out in front of her, forcing them to go claw-like. Her feet followed suit, and bright, shimmering scales sprang forth from her skin, covering it spectacularly. The shift was quick and fluid, taking mere seconds to complete, and when it was done she dropped to all fours and grinned up at the pair. "You're a demon!" exclaimed Cassander, backing away until his heels touched the wall, his eyes growing wide. "A dragon,” gasped Kellan, stroking his chin with intrigue. Cy's lips quirked upward,” A queen." Queen Cyilume. Had a sort of a ring to it, didn't it? "All right,” said Kellan, rising to his feet,” We’ll see what we can do for you..."he paused, brow furrowed a little. A moment passed in stiff, still, silence, before he turned to her, bowing with a flourish,” My lady." Cyilume grinned as he, and Cassander, scuttled out the door.