~Aiyenna's Island in Ruins~ ((Semi-lit ~ Always Accepting))

[~Erica~]

Bump.........)

[Vanendra]

Vanendra offered a little smile and held out her hand to the other princess. "Thanks...And of course we are.... We just can't get into trouble or get caught by the guards. Amaali would be disappointed if we don't follow her orders. But what she doesn't know won't kill her." She studied Shaily over, "You might want your sword and dagger though, hunting a panther might get messy." Vanendra smoothed out her dress. "but if you fight better in your tiger form, then lets go." The princess spun around and went back into her room, taking the sheets off of her bed.

((reposting for god-and-angels))

[god-and-angels]

Shaily smiled and nodded, she murmured something under her breath. She took some extra sheets she had packed and a small pillow and stuffed it under the blanket on her bed, making it look like she was there, just asleep. She sighed and grabbed her daggers from her bag and stuffed two in her top of her dress, then strapped some to her thigh and one to her wrist. Sure she might be a good fighter in her tiger form but daggers seemed fun at the moment. "Anyways it is a good way to torture someone" she said quietly tilting her head in curiosity. She flung the knife from her delicate fingers and it landed in her bag, she grinned. Slipping out of her room, she shut the door silently and waited for Vanedra. "The Queen will never know" she thought it her head trying to convince herself.

[Vanendra]

Vanendra glanced over at Shaily, motioning for her to come over. The princess was tying her sheets together. She had just finished tying one end to the bed. "You had a smart idea, but I was always a rebel, I think Amaali expects me to sneak out." The tigress kept her tone hushed and nodded toward the door. "I'm afraid of heights and there are probably many guards in the building. So nobody would expect us two tigers to be climbing down." Vane tried to explain, it all made sense in her head but trying to explain it was becoming too complex. "Besides, that Panther is probably with our men still at the camp."

[god-and-angels]

Shaily nodded, what Vane said maid sense and the Queen would probably expect Vane to sneak out not her. Shaily had more of a responsible, manipulative nature. "I understand, but when we do get to the bottom, there should be guards outside. So we might need to be a little more cautious." she said to Vanendra, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "You'd think they would know there is a panther among them" she scoffed, shaking her head. "Do you think the men will rat us out to the Amaali?" she asked, fixing her shoes

[Vanendra]

Vane looked out her window. "Well we're above thee gardens, so as long as we get down safely, we could sneak around in the shadows" She shuffled over to the bedroom door and locked it. Keeping her tone hushed, she continued, "Theres also another... Adventure... I must do alone after we find the panther..." Vanendra's lips twitched. "I need to talk to him alone... I feel as if he might have updated information about Samson... But I will need you to keep guard when I talk to him of course." The princess let that sink in before climbing slowly out the window.

[god-and-angels]

As that sunk it, Shaily scoffed. "Vane if you think I am going to let you alone with a panther you are wrong." she said while she started climbing down as well. "I won't listen to your conversation but panthers are not to be trusted.." she whispered, not looking down. "Anyways, it might be fun to get answers out of a feisty panther" she said, adding a little giggle.

[Wildmagic_warrior]

Amaali sat cross-legged atop a thin pillow, silken robe loosely sheathing her lithe form. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing steadily, and above all she was listening. She knew, of course, that forbidding a tigress to do anything was the same as leaving the door wide open, and thus she had taken precautions to make sure that the princesses got into no more trouble than was necessary. She had her Queensguard patrolling the outer limits of the palace grounds, with orders to observe but not interact unless something went seriously wrong. Curiosity was a blessing, adventure the food of the soul. Shaily and Vanendra would learn soon enough the pleasures and pitfalls of adult responsibility. They must be allowed to be children, for as long as it was possible.

"Your majesty!" The pounding on the door spurred Amaali out of her meditation. She rose swiftly, gathering her clothing about herself and tucking her hands into her sleeves before calling a stern reply.
"Enter!"

The woman who came through the door was barely out of her wolf form. She took to one knee, head bowed, and announced, "A letter has arrived from the Tiger Queendom. The messenger who brought it was instructed to ride as though the fury of hell itself were behind him, and I heard from the man that it had just arrived off of the fastest courier ship in the Tiger fleet. Still, it must have been at least a week since it was sent."
Amaali reached out and accepted the letter, then placed a hand on Cyndre's head.
"You have done me proud, brave knight," she said. "Return to your barracks. I fear this new missive will bring violence before we see the new day."
"Thank you, my Queen," Cyndre murmured. She changed into her wolf form under Amaali's hand and turned, claws scraping for traction on the tiles as she raced out of the room.

Amaali closed the doors of her chamber and waited a moment, keeping a hand on the door. Turning, she then moved swiftly back to her seat and dropped into a cross-legged position, taking a deep breath before working a fingernail underneath the wax seal and cracking it. She unrolled the letter, hands shaking with trepidation, and read as follows.

Last Will and Testament of Queen Arita Chandler, First of Her Name and Matriarch of the Tiger Queendom;

I, Her Royal Majesty Arita Chandler, do hereby give over all lands, deeds, and properties in the Crown's possession to Shaily and Vanendra Chandler. They will rule jointly until the time of which they shall be married, and the firstborn child shall be first successor to the throne.

My nieces shall be advised by Councillors of mine own choosing;

Sir Galey of Queen's Keep,
Doctor Carraway of Poppyseed Marsh,
Mistress Deidre of Fool's Landing,
and Captain Grace of Port Lamprey.

Following the loss of Sir Sampson Montuanet, I would like to request that the Wolf Knight Cyndre Fletcher take his place as Captain of the Guard.

Amaali put a hand to her mouth, blinking away tears. Once her vision was no longer blurry, she continued reading. The rest appeared to be a personal note from Arita, scrawled on the bottom of the page in a major deviation from her normal strict handwriting. It was the penmanship of a person with very little time left to waste.

To Vanendra, I leave my battleaxe and all of my books. I do not know what you seek, and perhaps neither do you, but I am sure that whatever it is you will find it there.

To Shaily, I leave the traditional Leopardess daggers given to me by Amaali after the Great War. Use them well.

My dears,

the letter finished,

I have very little time. The puncture wound I sustained on our first night of battle has festered. The slaughter here has been wholesale, despite our best efforts to stop it. Much of the palace guard is dead, and I have instructed the residents of Queen's Keep to flee if they are unable to fight. Many stayed, the poor, brave fools. But there will be no peace now, not after this. Amaali will teach you the ways of fighting, and I can only pray that this can keep you safe.

Do not avenge me.
Avenge your fallen brothers and sisters, avenge your home, avenge the land where you were born.

Trust in my wisdom. Trust in my rage.

Farewell, and may Aiyenna guide you safely home, as she has done for me.

The letter ended not with a signature but rather with a hastily scrawled

A

[Vanendra]

Vane just shook her head and jumped down, landing flawlessly on the grass. "Its something I need to do alone, I'm sorry Shaily... But we should probably find him first eh?" The princess smiled and waited for Shaily to come down.

((sorry for such a short post, I had writers block))

[god-and-angels]

Shaily sighed, shaking her head. "Vane.." she started as she looked down, finding a spot to land on. ".. You know what a panther is capable of, you saw what he did to your guard.." she said as she jumped onto the ground, landing right near Vane, she smoothed out her dress. ".. as I was saying, I won't listen to the conversation and I will keep guard, but I want a signal if something happens." she crossed her arms and looked at Vane. "You can be alone with him, but if I suspect anything suspicious I will not hesitate to come in there." she said looking directly at Vane. "Please just agree with me, you know our aunt would not be very happy if something happened to you. And neither would Queen Amaali or I.