I Command You!

"She did what?!" Ifira exclaimed after a guard unwillingly confessed to her daughters' thievery. "Why did you not tell me this sooner? I would have immediately returned it!"

Lady Ophelia sat across from her. Her long legs crossed, and hands placed elegantly in her lap, her expression didn't waver. She had a slight smile on her beautiful face and her head was bowed gracefully.

A week had passed since the dinner at the banquet hall and the two ladies thought that it was in due time for them to resume talks of adopting a guardian for Cat. Ifira had sent a message carrying hawk to Lady Ophelia with a date and place for meeting. After reciprocating her desire to meet as well, they ended up at a new Inn in Ipreya that only the elite in the city could enter.

The inn was lavishly decorated in gold and white, for purity. Upon entering, there was a large fountain located in the center of the room, with four statues of lions on either side shooting out water. The calming sound of the water splashing was quickly masked by the intensity of chatter throughout the inn. There were two stairs that let either side to the second floor where there were rooms for entertaining.

The two women were dressed for the occasion. Ifira in a fire red gown the draped down past her feet and trailed along the ground. Her arms were bare and adorned with bracelets of gold displayed from her wrist up to her forearm. Ophelia adorned a dazzling green frock that pooled around her ankles. A slit ran up the right side of the frock, daring to show skin from her thigh. They wreaked of high class, making every soul turn and bow towards them as they had entered the inn. This discomforted Ophelia and so she asked for a private room on the entertainment floor as to not be bothered.

Once the ladies made it to the room, they began discussing selecting a guardian for Cateile. Lady Ophelia's confession of what her daughter had done, shocked Ifira. Her daughter had stolen a guardian! Unheard of! It had been nearly a month since they had been to Eve. A month that she had kept the cub hidden! This little one was clearly out of control and needed to be punished for making her mother, the Helias of Kajor, out to be an accomplice!

"It is fine, My Queen, truly." Lady Ophelia's voice was very gentle and low. She only smiled gracefully at her.

"No! It is not! I told her that she could not get the sickly beast and she betrayed my trust in this manner? Kilik even told me she had dared to sneak off the night of the banquet! I already have enough to worry about with one child…" Ifira was slowly pacing back and forth when she had stopped abruptly. She had almost let out a little too much information on what was going on in the palace. She peaked over at Ophelia to see if she had noticed. Though she tried to hide it, Ophelia's eyebrows were slightly raised, but quickly returned to their normal state.

They had built a bond over the past five years since Ophelia had come to Eve. Ophelia was the next thing closest to royalty and often got invited to every engagement that the Queen had gotten invited to. Seeing each other so often prompted for more conversation, building a closer bond with one another. Eventually Ifira started to see Ophelia as a close confidante.

"It's about the first princess, isn't it?"

"I can't hide anything from you, Lady Ophelia. Yes. Yes it is." Clutching one hand in another, Ifira sat back down. She reached for her goblet just as a servant finished filling it to the brim. With one wisk of her hand, she summoned the room to leave. She left no one to pry into their conversation.

"She has been here for more than a fortnight and nothing….she's done nothing." Lowering her voice, she leaned over to Ophelia, taking deep swigs of the wine afterwards.

"Well, isn't it…alright for her to do nothing?"

"One should believe so, but I am not fool. She didn't come for the yearly festivities right after murder…..murdering her husband. I'm sure you have overheard the gossips."

"No, it is no longer mere gossips. She was made ruler…and not because her husband died accidentally." Ophelia leaned slightly forward at attention as she gazed into Ifira's face. Genuine concern shined from those golden-brown eyes. "Why do you believe she is here?"

"I am not sure, but we have certainly kept eyes on her and she has not made any pretentious moves, as of yet. We have our finest guards tracking her throughout the city. But so far she has only kept to the market." Ifira leaned over to gently grab her dear friend's arm.

"I know she will soon enough. We have our second festival tomorrow. At the hunting grounds. You will come, won't you?"

Ifira smiled after Ophelia gave a confirming nod and she could feel relief wash over her at the thought of another smart mind accompanying her at the hunt tomorrow. She would need all the help she could get in figuring out why the first princess was here.

"You are getting out of control!" The Helias was pacing back and forth shaking her head. Cat and Nara were kneeling before her with their hands raised in punishment. They both made faces at each other, hoping one would tell the other why they were being scolded. Saith sat behind his frantic wife, arms crossed staring out in deep thought. Cat was not even sure that he was paying attention to them.

"You STOLE a cub and you hide it for her."

They both gasped in shock and immediately sunk their heads. Cat didn't expect that she would get caught seeing as how the small cub was sickly. She believed the Lady of Eve would just think it have went to a corner to die and that would be that. Nara never meant to hide it, but the previous few weeks of festivities made her forget about the little cub.

"Not only that! Xilias you quite enjoyed yourself in the city during the festival, did you not?"

Nara's head jerked up, eyes wide at the mention of the banquet night. She couldn't believe Kilik would tell their mother about Cat sneaking out. He had never told on anything Cat had done unless it was something that would put her in danger. Nara suspected that that night was no less.

"You knew?" Ifira was now staring at Nara who had forgotten to hide her expression.

"I just wanted to see the lanterns." Cat intervened, trying to save her sister from a fact that even she hadn't known. She figured she would question her later on how she knew and why she didn't tell her.

"Hands higher!" Ifira was still yelling at Nara and meanwhile jerked her hand up to silence Cat.

"Lie to me again….and I will skin your hide."

Ifira's stare was ice cold. She glared right into Cat's soul as she anticipated an answer that looked like she already knew.

"I was following Cobrantes."

The room went silent as Saith suddenly jolted his head towards Cat. He was at attention at the slightest mention of his first daughter's name. Cat could tell that he was fuming. His nostrils flared and his hands clenched the chair's arms as he rose.

"You did what?" Saith was now towering over his daughter. His fists were clenched so hard at his side that veins rippled through his arms. His chest was heaving as though he were trying to catch his breath.

"Kilik told me that she had met with Cobrantes at an Inn." Ifiras voice was low. Her hands placed on top of her husband's now as she attempted to calm him down. The two both stared at each other for a minute before Saith turned back to look down upon Cat.

"You are never to speak to her again."

"It was only innocent speech! Nothing more!"

"YOU ARE NEVER TO SPEAK! TO HER! AGAIN! I COMMAND YOU!" Saith's eyes were bulging out of his head as his voiced stormed through the halls. His voice roared so loud that it shook the furniture! He startled both Cat and Nara into a dead silence. Tears welled up in Cat's eyes. She couldn't understand what she had done that was so terrible? Why won't her father ever tell her where she went wrong?

"Leave." Ifira, slightly shaken at the sudden uproar. She urgently pressed for them to leave.

The two young girls without a second thought scurried to the doorway. Cat overheard the Heliar ask for a guard to summon Kilik right away. She turned around one more time to see Saith with his back towards them and his head down. Why was it such a big concern? Had she really done something so terrible?

Ifira waited for her daughters to leave the room before she turned back to her husband. Her hand helped brace him as he plopped back down in the chair in defeat.

"What has she done?" Saith looked up at his wife and grabbed her hand. He gave a gentle, almost apologetic squeeze for having yelled earlier. He hated to see her shaken by his fierce presence and meant no harm to any of his children. He didn't know where he had gone wrong with his first born either.

"We need to prevent anything from happening to her. She is mischievous but she has your nature."

"And your spirit." Saith breathed in deeply and exhaled. Ifira brought her hand up to wipe the worry lines from his brow.

"I don't like the way she looks at Cat."

"I don't either, my love." Saith grabbed her hand and looked towards the door. He could hear footsteps approaching from the other side.

"Do you think she knows about Cat?"

"That was no coincidence that they "met" after the banquet. I am almost certain she knows now."

And with that, Ifira excused herself from the room as she heard Kilik's knock. Brushing past him, she made her way to the West Palace…where the dungeons were just outside those walls. She still had time to protect her daughter. She will protect her daughter.