Hope

Chapter Twenty-Four: In the Dragon's Lair

We were all assembled in front of the great gate that led into the palace. Even Zack was here because he insisted on coming. "After all, my people have a stake in what is being discussed," he had told us. Tasha allowed him to come and now he was holding my brother Tornheart, who was still in cat-form.

/How long are we going to wait?/ Tornheart wondered. /Generally, tribe leaders want to know what the problem is immediately./

"This isn't a tribe," I informed Tornheart. "They do things differently here. But some of the concepts are the same."

Tornheart snorted. /No doubt. It's Shadeclaw all over again around here. Do people ever learn?/

Before I could reply, the gate rose and we were admitted inside. Tasha winked at me, which meant if you're going to shift, do it now while no one's looking. I obliged her by shifting into cat form and sneaking off into the shadows. Tornheart didn't follow me, preferring to remain in Zack's warm arms. I didn't blame him. Elves are very cozy.

I watched from the shadows as Tasha and the others waited in the courtyard for the king to receive them. I was behind a large stone pillar and low to the ground, so it was unlikely that any human was going to notice me. I had also noticed several cats hanging around the palace. These weren't shifters, so they wouldn't be much help if I got into a scrape. But the presence of other cats meant that it was more likely that I'd go unnoticed within the palace walls.

Finally, some guards came and opened the doors that presumably led to the throne room where the king would receive them. I had my doubts about this part of the plan. I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to get into the throne room without being seen. But then an idea came to me in the form of a memory.

Daystreak and I were sitting in a tall pine tree overlooking the border between Ice Tribe and Night Tribe. We were looking down at the single border watcher on the Ice Tribe side and I was wondering how we were going to get across. However, Daystreak had done this before and knew what to do. /You know the really annoying thing about border watchers?/ Daystreak asked me, a glint of mischief in her eyes. /They always forget to look up./

I eyed a trellis supporting some sort of sweet-smelling flowering vine. It was tall enough to reach the roof and it was right next to a bit of the roof that stuck out. My whiskers twitched. Us tribe shifters knew better than to build anything like that. It provided too much opportunity for mischief-makers like myself.

I then sauntered over to the trellis like I belonged here. If the guards saw me, they gave no indication of it. I then started to climb the trellis, wary of where my paws landed. I didn't want to slip on the vine and I didn't want to unbalance the trellis. But I was soon within reach of the roof. I dug my claws into the wooden shingles and pulled myself up. I then licked my fur into place and padded over to an open window, set in a part of the building that rose up out of the roof and was enough room for at least another story. I peered in and saw that it was open to a curious little room filled with boxes. I jumped in, making sure to not land on anything. I then picked my way to the other side, noticing that the door was shut and locked. But the door could be opened from the inside, so I briefly shifted into human form to unlock and open it slightly. I then shifted back into cat form and nosed the door open enough so I could get through. I saw that on the other side of the door was a sort of balcony that looked down into the throne room. The balcony ended with a railing on my right side and on my left it circled halfway around the room and turned into a flight of stairs that ended behind the king's throne. The king was just looking up from a piece of paper to notice Tasha's presence along with the others.

This is going to be interesting, I thought. The king looked rather young. His eyes were a calm ocean blue and his hair was light brown. He had a small beard and moustache, making him look like a stereotypical king. He was wearing a crown that looked too heavy for him and there was a large ring with his seal on his finger. But he looked rather nervous and fidgety, not like a king at all. He didn't seem entirely at ease on his throne. I wondered why. I then stuck my head between the railing's bars to have a better look and to hear them better. I felt a growing sense of wrongness in my heart, but I ignored it. There wasn't anything I could do at this point. My usefulness started only once Tasha and the others got into trouble.