Excerpt: Royal Eye

“We have business,” Duchess Aproch said loudly, calling them to order. Kitti nearly giggled to hear her say it; she’d heard that booming voice say that line all her life. “Princesses, we have place reserved for you.” She offered Kitti her arm, and with Tylaiya’s hand fast in hers, she was lead to the front of the table. Duchess Aproch saw her begin to refuse and smiled chidingly at her. “This is your place. We are your nobility.”
“And we are grateful for what you risked in protecting us, your lesser people,” another man said. He already sat at the table and was observed everyone like a smart scavenger waiting for the wolves to let down their guard. “We are grateful for you action, and the action’s of your brother and the young one’s father. You have our loyalty as well.”
“This is the Coyote,” Danyn said into the uneasy silence.
The introduction of the criminal mastermind would have been a wonderful time for Tylaiya to make a cute and adorable comment, but she was too well schooled in such matters to speak. Though, if she instead remembered that her father had an outstanding order that if the Coyote was brought in, as good dead as alive, the captors would be promoted, landed, and titled, as well as become filth rich.
“I’m certain my brother and her father would be impressed by your generosity,” Kitti said, wondering how stupid she sounded, standing next to her chair.
“Prince Citen didn’t like me, and I didn’t like him,” the Coyote said bluntly, “but he kept the city working. This chaos will destroy it.”
“Which brings us all here,” Danyn said. “If everyone will be seated, introductions are necessary. There are many here Princess Kittinon doesn’t know by name.”
The Coyote wasn’t the only person that Prince Citen wouldn’t have considered an alley. Kitti greeted them all courteously though, because she also knew that he wouldn’t turn down any help to save his city. If he had any principals about saving himself, she didn’t know them. She memorized names and titles, linking them to their place in the city, as they went around the table. She also watched, as she’d been taught, of other’s reactions to the speaker. She’d been playing with her odd talent, of seeing the colors of emotions, and though she was hardly adapt, they gave her an extra edge at this table.
Danyn kept the conversation moving, making certain everyone was introduced, and that Kitti greeted them personally, before any real discussion was allowed. Once freed, it burst like a postural, slimy and ugly. Everyone at the table was angry, but the king wasn’t here and they were quick to point fingers at each other instead. Danyn did the best he could to stop the arguments, but any real discussion seemed to become derailed quickly. Finally, he stepped back.
“Provided none of them draw a weapon,” he said to Kitti, “we might as well let them go at it. I can’t shout them down again.”
“They need a leader,” she said quietly, woefully aware she wasn’t able to step up. She’d tried earlier, and they’d listened, but she didn’t have the stamina to keep up with the arguments. Danyn was seen as her liaison, and a bright young man, but, despite her heritage, they weren’t listening to him either. His mother, after all, was in attendance, so Danyn wasn’t speaking on his family’s behalf. “There’s a great deal to learn this way,” she added. “The Coyote isn’t arguing, he’s listening.” Even though some people were arguing with him.
“They’re scared. This is the first time many of them have attended a meeting instead of sending someone, even if that someone was a direct relative.”
Kitti nodded, and spotted Jaike suddenly as he moved aside. Two cloaked figures had just walked in; fluffy white show was on their shoulders and head and the second was rubbing his arms under his cloak. He still had his scarf on, and the other was just pulling his down as he talked quickly to the inner guards. The other, apparently bored with that argument, turned his attention to the table. Kitti saw his face then, realized he was a female, and then sat up straight when she winked.
In a quick motion, she stepped up onto a vacant chair to give herself enough height to jump up and grab a rafter. She held it only to swing forward, landing heavily on the table with snowy, muddy boots. The tabled shifted, but it didn’t flip; everyone around the table had jumped back, some stumbling over their chairs, and there were weapons drawn now. Several of the guards were moving forward, to pull their lords and ladies back.
Standing on the table, Arrie was entirely unimpressed, revealing who she was when she pulled her hood back and her scarf off. Just like Aunn, she had blond hair, though her was pulled back and now it feel to her back, and the blue royal eyes, as bright as Kitti always remember them.
“It started snowing today,” she said as she glanced at the disarrayed meeting. “That means it’s cold. Really, cold,” she added in an undertone and shivered. No one replied, none of them had moved, which meant she was still staring down at a force of steal. “I suppose you might not have invited me for a reason…” she mussed. The guards, at least, recognized the cue, and backed down. Arrie didn’t wait for the others to react, she turned and walked down the center of the table, leaving wet, dirty foot prints. “Kitti!”
Kitti had been on her feet as soon as she recognized her sister, and now she felt tears on her face as well. Arrie wasn’t dead, and she was back; everything would be better now.
Instead of jumping down, Arrie offered a hand. Kitti accepted it and used her own chair as a step to get onto the table. Arrie hadn’t lied about the cold, she was fidget, but Kitti held onto her as tightly as Arrie did her. They just held onto each other, sharing in the love of family. “Thank you,” Arrie whispered. Kitti chocked on her tears, laughing and nodding, but unable to reply.
“Auntie!” Tylaiya had climbed onto the table as well and tugged on Kitt’s pants. “Aunt Arrie!” The sister’s parted slightly, then Arrie kissed Kitti’s check quickly before giving Tylaiya her attention.
“Aiya!” she exclaimed happily and lifted the girl high into the air.
Tylaiya had no time for such theatrics, she caught Arrie’s sleeve and tugged on it. As soon as she was lowered, she snuggled closer and began regaling her, as she had Danyn a week ago, with everything that happened. This time, however, she seemed intent on including everything.
“Tylaiya,” Kitti stopped her, though not harshly, “how do you know Aunt Arrie?” It was impossible for the two of them to have met.
Tylaiya leaned closer to whisper her reply. “She sent Zack.”
In astonishment, Kitti looked to her sister, who shrugged guiltily. “I wasn’t going to be around so… If anyone else had a kid, I would’ve sent another. Though probably not a purple pony,” she said and began to giggle.
“Arrie? Kitti?” Danyn said cautiously.
“Danyn!” She shouted back happily. “I’ve a gift for you.” Tylaiya squealed as she was tossed into Uncle Danyn’s arms. Arrie offered Kitti a hand, and she stepped back down again. For herself, Arrie jumped.
“By Death, girl,” Duchess Aproch said, “is it really you? I thought you’d died.”
“After interrupting my funerals so many times?” she teased back.
“There is one way to be certain,” Countess Ezilie said. Kitti recognized the glove she wore, and the sphere she pulled from her parcel. “This is-”
“-a child’s toy?” Kitch said, accepting it from the Ezilie in confusion. She pulled off one of her own gloves so she could hold it in her hand. Then she grinned, as she began rolling it from her palm to the back of her hand. She swirled it all the way around her hand. “How’d you get it?”
“You recognize it?” Countess Ezilie asked.
Kitch shrugged and nodded. “I had it when I was a kid. It was great; I could throw it at people and it’d go right through them. Then I threw it at Citen.” She grimaced. “I almost blinded him in one eye. Lor took it away. How’d you get it?” she repeated.
“It’s the Royal Eye,” Countess Ezilie said. “There are several in existence. If you aren’t a Child of Nabicul, they all pass through you.”
“Not the same one I had then,” Arrie said, dropping it back in the parcel. “Explains why it hit Citen, but I didn’t come to play with childhood toys.”
“Mark me if I’m wrong,” Relic said carefully. Not one of the nobility, and with a scar down her face that should have blinded her, she had introduced herself as the head of the shadows. This seemed to mean something to the rest of the table, she was the only non-nobility the Coyote had actually listened to. “But I know you by another name, and not a girl who was born a princess.”
Arrie nodded, and Kitti remembered the insectant who had hidden her. “Teek,” Arrie said. “The plague orphan – I ran around with Capryan, Liynji, Sarvet, Fiona…” she listed them off easily and several heads were nodding cautiously. “I’m as much Teek as Arrie, though I’ve only ever been Princess Kayaria on some pieces of paper. I even go by another name now, but there’s no reason to make it more confusing. Kitti’s the one that got me here. She’s my sister, Citen’s my brother, and Tylaiya’s my niece, so call me Arrie. I’ll try to remember to respond.”
“And your husband?” the Coyote asked dryly. That gained a reaction from the nobility, many who couldn’t believe Arrie would ever chose a spouse.
Herself, Arrie just grinned. “He’s around,” she said vaguely. Kitti hoped so; she’d seen him once, in that strange vision, and she wanted to met him in real life. Especially if he was the reason Arrie never came home now.
“You pretended to be a plague orphan?” Countess Ezilie asked.
Arrie eyed her, then at the rest of the table, and then looked to Kitti. There was a question in her expression and Kitti almost laughed. “Really,” she promised, “they’re worth it. They’re all here for Nabicul, and for Citen.”
“For Citen,” Arrie grumbled in agreement. Taking a deep breath, she faced them again. “I’m not really the royal you want. I’d rather you take Kitti, but she brought me here, so you’ll have to work with me. Yes, when ‘Arrie’ ran away, she normally only changed her clothes and rolled in some dirt to become ‘Teek’ and spend a lot of time growing up on the back streets of Nabicul. But I’ve always been myself, and there’s never any question of where my loyalty lies, or if I don’t hate the king. Now, if you had Citen, he’d have a dozen ways to work this out correctly, if you had Aunn, she would address it directly and formally. The twins would attack the problem exactly the same from different angles, and Kitti would – well, Kitti got me. I’m as direct as Aunn but not nearly as formal. You can either accept me as I am, because I won’t be anything else, or you can leave. I’ve never been known for my patience.”