"Mmhm, Uncle Mordakai said I have a talent for making Medicines." Raina replied proudly and Vivian looked at Clovis with a bit of surprise on her face."She"s right. Shaman Half Eye even said she had the potential to be a medicine woman if she had a mind to." Kyera offered with a bright smile. She was proud of Raina as was her father, but Clovis looked oddly uneasy.
"Its a good ability to have, Grandmother." He reminded her gently. There was a bit of tension but Empress VIvian surprised him with a bright smile.
"As long as she is happy we won"t make a fuss about it." Empress Vivian replied and Raina smiled. "What else have you learned while you were away?" She asked focusing back on Raina.
"Well, I learned history, reading, numbers, balancing actions, Dancing and Sword Play. I did a little music but while Mommy and Daddy were gone I didn"t get to focus on much music so I focused on Swordplay instead." Raina replied excited to share everything with her Great Grandmother. She was speaking almost too fast for anyone to keep up. She even took her sword out of its sheath and showed it to her grandmother who took it woodenly.
"You left Raina alone? How dare you take her from this palace and leave her by herself in a strange land." Empress Vivian growled as she looked at her favorite Grandson. Clovis raised an eyebrow.
"Was I supposed to leave her here, Grandmother? Perhaps you don"t remember that she was kidnapped, and lost in the forest all in the same week. Perhaps you don"t remember her wearing that pretty little face mask to hide the bruise on her cheek. How dare you expect me to leave her here unprotected." Clovis replied his voice rather controlled, but there were hints of scorching fire just beneath the surface.
"Instead you left her alone in another country. Why didn"t you take her with you? If you were going to take the child away from here then I at least expected you to take care of her." Empress Vivian replied honestly starting to sound more sad and defeated than angry. All the things that could have happened were racing through her mind. Kyera took the Empress"s hand and squeezed it gently.
"It isn"t that we didn"t trust you to try and protect Raina, but can you really say you could have protected her here?" Kyera asked seeing the root of the issue at hand. Empress Vivian"s eyes were a bit misty with tears.
"No… I suppose not with the b.l.o.o.d.y mess this palace is in. Some days I wish I could lock the doors and burn it down from the inside." Empress Vivian replied as Raina stared up at her mother in awe. With just a few words she turned a angry h.e.l.lcat into a docile kitten. She was the true temper tamer.
"Then let"s burn it down from inside together. We can right this crazy mess, but it will take all of us to do so." Kyera challenged her, fire in her heart and soul. Empress Vivian smiled, her eyes shone with a bit of surprise.
"I see a lot of Eve in you. That fire in your eyes reminds me of the way she was when this first began. Thank Goodness the man at your side is more intelligent than my son." Empress Vivian replied. Kyera blushed rather brightly.
"Kyera isn"t alone, like Empress Evelyn was either." Lalia replied wrapping her arm around Alexi"s waist. He nodded in agreement.
"We will change this as a family." Alexi agreed and everyone else seemed to agree with their eyes. Linking hands, older with younger, and a gentle tiny hand resting on Kyera"s tummy as they all meshed together. Even the tigers and the panther seemed to agree and become part of the family.
"One step at a time. Tomorrow is the first step. For now, I need rest." Kyera offered and everyone nodded with a bit of a smile.