Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Part 12 Testing Dizyntk (scfi, no sex)





   Feyalisa had been on Dizyn for nearly a month.  She was enjoying the
receptions and parties she was attending.  She sometimes found it hard to
believe that just one cyanka ago she was living on an uninhabited planet
with just her mate and daughter to talk to.  Now she was back among her
people.  She was officially the crown princess and expecting another child.
Of all the other things she was on the homeworld of her race, Dizyn,
reacquainting herself with her extended family at the Imperial Palace.  She
was currently in the bedroom of Jiastenia and Jiatalia who were the
granddaughters of the Empress and the same age as Feyalisa.  Their mother
was the eldest daughter of the Empress and therefore the heir to the
Imperial throne.  She had met the twin girls twice when they had been
children.  They were identical with the golden brown hair and fur of their
mother and deep purple eyes with so much flecking it looked like staring
into a star filled sky when looking into their eyes.  Normally any grown
children would have their own rooms at the palace but the twins insisted on
sharing one when they were here.  Feya had gotten to know her cousins again
over the past week.  The Empress had insisted that there be no more
receptions or parties for Feya after two weeks.  It was all well and good
for the various nobles to meet Feyalisa but the Empress said that she also
needed to spend time with the family as well.  As the twins were the same
age as Feya they naturally grew friendly very quickly.  Right now they were
talking about their families and children as well as joking and having fun.
It was at times like these that Feya was truly grateful that she had
returned to her people and her family.

   Ariarisha had had much more free time than her mother.  She was having
fun exploring the palace and the grounds.  Even after two solid weeks,
however, she knew that she still had not covered even a third of the vast
complex.  This morning she was exploring the huge formal gardens to the
west of the palace.  There were other children at the palace.  Aria thought
them friendly enough but none of them had really clicked with her.  The
same was true at her classes back on Sapphire.  There were almost 40
children there around her age but she was friends with only four of them.
She got along with the rest of them just fine but she was innately choosey
about who she called friend.  Therefore she had enjoyed exploring by
herself.  Aria was almost six cyankas old now.  Her birthday was in a month
and she had wondered if she would have her party here on Dizyn.  Her
thoughts wandered as she walked through the gardens.  She suddenly came to
end of the path she was on and came to a large fence.  She looked to her
left and saw a young Dizyntk sitting on a bench who seemed to just be
staring out beyond the fence.  The girl appeared to be about Aria's age. 
She had long dark brown hair and white skin and her ears were locked
forward as if listening for something.  Then her right ear pivoted towards
Aria.  She turned to look at Aria and she could see that the girl's eyes
were dark blue.  The only thought that was in Aria's head now was how
pretty this girl was.

   Ariarisha stood transfixed for several moments.  She could not believe
how pretty the girl was.

   Finally the girl said, "Hello, is someone their?"

   Arai was confused for a second.  The girl was looking right at her.

   "Why can she not see me?" Aria thought to herself.

   After a moment Aria realized that she should say something.  "I am
sorry; I did not mean to disturb you."

   The young Dizyntk smiled and said, "It is alright, you are not
disturbing me."

   Then she got a puzzled look, "I do not know your voice.  Who are you?"

   Aria took a few steps closer and answered, "My name is Ariarisha.  Who
are you?"

   The girl leaned her head back as she thought over something. 
"Ariarisha? Where do I know that name from?"

   Aria then said, "I was at the reception three weeks ago for my mother
Princess Feyalisa."

   The girl looked back in her direction and smiled again.  "Yes I remember
now, thank you.  I am Lilavasi.  My mother is the Empress' youngest
daughter."

   Aria could tell that Lilavasi could still not see her by the way her
eyes did focus on her.  She then had a thought and decided to ask, "Excuse
me for asking, but can you not..." was all she got out before Lilavasi
interrupted.

   "No I cannot see you.  I have been mostly blind since I was two and got
in an accident." She said all of this while still smiling.

   Aria gasped at the words and said, "I am sorry"

   Lilavasi laughed and said, "Why, you did not do anything.  Besides I am
used to it now."

   Then she turned her face back towards the fence and got a sad look on
her face.  "There is only on regret that I really have." she said almost in
a whisper.

   Aria walked to the bench that Lilavasi was sitting at and sat on her
knees on the ground in front of her.

   "What regret do you have, Lilavasi?" Aria asked as she looked up at the
girl's pretty face.

   Lilavasi looked down at her in surprise.  She had not realized that Aria
had come so close or that she had voiced her last thought out loud.

   She blushed in embarrassment at this stranger having heard her say
something so personal.  She smiled at Aria and said, "It is nothing; do not
mind me, Ariarisha."

   Aria realized that sharing something like that was not the kind of thing
you did with a stranger, so she decided to rectify that.

   She stood and said to Lilavasi, "Can you show me around the grounds? 
You live here and know them better than I do."

   Lilavasi laughed at this and asked, "Why would you need that?  I would
only slow you down."

   Aria shook her head and said, "Because exploring is more fun with a
friend."

   Lilavasi's ears perked up in surprise.  "Friends?  You want to be
friends?"

   "Why not?  I think I like you." Aria said in her normal cheerful voice.

   Lilavasi looked down and her ears dropped.  "But I am just the youngest
daughter of a youngest daughter.  You are the daughter of a princess."

   "I do not care" Aria chirped.

   Lilavasi looked back up in surprise at the quickness of the reply.  "But
I am blind." she said in a sad voice.

   "I do not care." Aria chirped again.

   "Are you sure Ariarisha?" she asked.

   "Aria, my friends call me Aria." she replied with a smile.

   Lilavasi was almost in shock.  She had never really had any friends. 
Other Dizyntk children felt uncomfortable around her.  They did not dislike
her.  They were just unsure of how to act around her since she could not
see.  Now here was this girl she had just met wanting to be friends. 
Lilavasi could tell just from her voice that Aria was energetic and happy.
She probably had many friends.  This was the first time that anyone had
been so cheerful towards her.

   She then stood and smiled at Aria.  "You can call me Vasi." she said in
a nervous voice.

   Aria then put her fingers lightly on the side of Vasi's neck and asked
"May I?"

   Vasi smiled and nodded.  Aria then leaned in and slowly sniffed at
Vasi's neck and cheek.  This was normal among Dizyntk when they made
friends.  There were vestigial scent glands in the neck area that gave off
a unique smell.  These scent glands were as individual as fingerprints. 
Dizyntk had a sense of smell about ten times better than even the best
human.  They also had an incredible memory for smells.  Once a Dizyntk had
committed another's scent to memory she would recognize it for the rest of
her life.

   After Aria finished, she gently pulled Vasi's face to her neck.  Vasi
took one long sniff and then gasped.

   "What is wrong?" Aria asked.

   "Nothing", Vasi answered.  "You just smell good."

   Aria giggled at this.  She was happy that Vasi liked her scent.  This
was very important to a Dizyntk.  If you did not like the way someone
smelled then you would probably never get along well with them.  Aria had
liked Vasi's scent a lot.

   Vasi, however, did not just like the way Aria smelled, she loved it. 
This is what had caused her to gasp when she sniffed at Aria's neck.  She
continued to sniff softly at Aria.  She actually kept sniffing twice as
long as was really necessary.  This made Aria blush slightly.

   Aria finally said.  "Um, Vasi, are you alright?"

   Vasi straightened up quickly and apologized.  "Oh, I am so sorry."

   "That's alright.  I am glad you like my scent that much." she said.

   Aria then took Vasi's hand in hers and said, "Let's go explore."

   Vasi nodded and let her new friend lead her away.



   Michael and Kari arrived on Dizyn four days after leaving Sapphire.  It
had definitely been worth taking the messenger ship to arrive so quickly.
Since the ship belonged to the Royal Guard on Sapphire it was allowed to
land at the spaceport inside the palace grounds.  As Michael busied himself
shutting down the ship's systems Kari left the ship and saw Feya waiting
for them.  She walked quickly to her.  It was all Kari could do to not
sprint to her friend.  Just as she got to Feya, Kari noticed the person
standing next to her.  It was the Empress.  Kari quickly dropped to her
knees and bowed.

   "Apologies my Empress, I did not notice you." Kari was very embarrassed.

   Ziniadyra laughed and said, "It is quite alright.  I am not wearing my
royal clothes and besides, your eyes were reserved for another were they
not?"

   "Yes they were, Your Majesty." Kari replied.

   "Please rise, Sister Velakari.  This is not a formal meeting." the
Empress said.

   Kari did so and said, "It is pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty."

   Kiasyphia looked at her for a moment and said, "So, you are Feyalisa's
new intended."

   Kari looked at Feya and smiled.  "Yes I am, Your Majesty."

   Feya smiled back and added, "Not until my current mate accepts her, Your
Majesty."

   Kari then wrapped her arms around Feya and hugged her tightly.  Feya was
surprised by this sudden display.  Usually Kari was much more reserved in
public.

   "Kari, what has gotten in to you?" Feya asked sweetly.

   Feya did not mind being hugged like this.  She was just curious as to
what had brought it on.

   Kari squeezed Feya even tighter as she said, "He asked me before we left
to come here."

   Feya's eyes went wide at this.  She pushed Kari back so she could look
her in the eye.

   "Really?  He really did?" Feya asked with joy in her voice.

   Kari just nodded emphatically.

   At this moment Michael came out of the ship.  Even from this distance he
could tell that Kari and Feya were excited about something.  He then
stopped walking and braced himself.  He knew Feya well enough that he was
sure she would sprint at him the moment she saw him now.  He was wrong this
time.

   As soon as Feya had noticed Michael she did start to part with Kari to
run to him.  Kari did not release Feya's hand however.  Feya turned to look
at her and Kari gestured with her eyes towards the Empress.  Feya quickly
composed herself and apologized to the Empress

   "I am sorry, Your Majesty.  I almost lost control of myself for a
moment." Feya said.

   "Youth must be a wonderful thing." the Empress said in an amused tone.

   Michael was confused for a moment.  He had been sure that Feya would
come running.  When it became obvious that Kari had stopped her for some
reason, Michael decided to continue towards them.

   Ziniadyra studied Michael intensely as he approached.  She was curious
as to why Feyalisa had found him so attractive.  She was not sure.  While
he was not unpleasing to look at, Ziniadyra did not see what was so
attractive about this species.  She just shrugged and wrote it off to
differing tastes.  There were, after all, plenty of her fellow Dizyntk that
held no innate attraction for her either.  The one thing she did notice as
he drew near was how tall he was.  Michael was a full two heads taller than
she was.  He was also taller than any Dizyntk she had ever met, and she had
met a lot of Dizyntk.  She smiled a mischievous smile as she realized that
he probably would not know who she was.  She knew the only pictures of her
that he had seen would have shown her in her full Imperial finery. 
Currently she was dressed in the very simple type of clothing that most of
her race preferred.

   Michael stopped in front of Feya and Kari.  He smiled at them and said,
"I was sure that you would sprint at me full speed Feya."

   Feya replied, "I was about to, until Kari stopped me."

   Michael looked questioningly at Kari.  Then Kari and Feya both looked
over at the older female Dizyntk that was standing next them.  Michael had
noticed her as he had approached.  She looked vaguely familiar but Michael
had no idea who she was.  He turned his head to look at her more closely.
She was currently squinting her eyes at him and the tip of her tail was
twitching back and forth rapidly.  This was usually done by Dizyntk to show
annoyance.  Michael was confused by this because her lips were smiling. 
Was she faking smiling or faking being annoyed?  Michael didn't know.

   Feya cleared her throat and said, "Michael, I would like to present to
you" she began as Michael turned to face her completely.  He would probably
have to bow after all if she was important.  "Her Majesty, The Empress
Ziniadyra." Feya finished.

   Michael's eyes went wide for a moment before he closed them tightly and
dropped to his knees and bowed his head.  "Son of a bitch." he said in
English as he knelt.

   Feya giggled as she heard this.  She knew enough of her mate's native
language to recognize the curse.

   "Pardon me?" the Empress asked.

   "Nothing, Your Majesty." Michael said.  "My most humble apologies for
not recognizing you, Your Majesty."

   Suddenly Ziniadyra almost doubled over laughing.  Michael opened his
eyes but kept his head bowed.  So she was faking being annoyed.  That
thought was a great relief to Michael.

   Ziniadyra finally stopped laughing and said, "Rise, Lieutenant."

   Michael did so and the Empress gently embraced him.

   "Thank you for taking care of Feyalisa all this time and welcome to my
family, Michael Christopher." the Empress said.

   She then stepped back and asked, "Am I to understand that
congratulations are in order?"

   Michael smiled as he looked at Kari and Feya.  "Yes, Your Majesty, they
are."

   Ziniadyra then looked at Feya and said, "Oh go on and hug him, we are
the only ones here and I AM family."

   Feya then embraced him tightly and snuggled her face to his chest.  "I
am so happy, my love."

   Michael nuzzled the top of her head and breathed her scent in deeply. 
"Yes, I know you are.  So am I."

   After several moments the Empress cleared her throat and said, "We will
begin plans for the bonding ritual tomorrow.  Right now, however, I have
things to discuss with you Lieutenant."

   Michael looked at the Empress then inquisitively at Feya.  She simply
shook her head.  She had no idea yet of why the Empress had wanted to wait
for her mate to arrive before talking with her in private.

   After they returned to the palace, the four went to the Empress'
quarters.  There the Empress told them what she wanted them to consider. 
Over the past several cyankas, there had been four attempts by humans to
enter Imperial territory for the purpose of settlement.  In all four cases
the humans had been sent back to Protectorate space.  They had not been
sent by official Protectorate governments but had been fleeing them.  The
last had happened three cyankas ago, shortly before Dizyntk scientists had
discovered that humans and Dizyntk were genetically compatible.  In the
interim the Empress and her advisors had decided that they would consider
letting the next group of humans that showed up permission to settle on a
Dizyntk world.  That brought the Empress up to what she was wanting of
Michael.

   "If we do let any humans settle on a Dizyntk world we will need someone
to act as an ambassador to them, someone who understands human language AND
culture." the Empress said.

   Then she continued, "This individual also needs to be someone I can
trust to represent the interests of my people.  As it stands right now we
have only one who fits that description in the entirety of the Empire. 
That would be you, Michael."

   Michael was taken aback by this turn of events.

   "Your Majesty, I am a simple pilot.  I have no experience or training
for this kind of thing." he said.

   Ziniadyra smiled and said, "I know this, but we will need your help on
this."

   Then she turned to Feya.  "Do you think that we will be able to coexist
with these humans, Feyalisa?"

   Feya thought the matter over for several seconds before responding. 
"Yes, Your Majesty, I believe we can."

   Feya then took her mate's hand and looked at him.  "You said yourself
once that many of your people are unhappy with your government.  Will you
not help those that wish to try and leave to come here?"

   Michael closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  Then he looked at Feya
and could see the absolute trust in her eyes.  "Alright, my love, I will do
it."

   Then he turned back to the Empress and said, "I will need someone with
experience in diplomatic affairs to assist me for this."

   The Empress smiled.  "Of course you will.  Do not worry; we have many
officials that are competent in such things."

   "So much for being a simple pilot." Michael thought to himself.

   Later that day a dispatch was sent to Fleet HQ to inform them that Pilot
First Class Lieutenant Michael Christopher was to be removed from active
duty and transferred to the diplomatic corps.  Over the next week
discussions were held to determine which planet any human ships would be
escorted to the next time any came to Dizyntk space.

   For the past week Aria had spent most of her days with her new friend
Lilavasi.  Aria had been overjoyed to see her father.  She was even happier
to learn that Velakari would be bonding with her parents.  She loved Kari
very much.  After spending that first evening with her family things had
gotten busy for her mother and father.  Aria was used to such things.  She
knew her parents loved her.  She also knew that they had important jobs to
do.  Spoiled Aria was not.  So she met Vasi every day at the bench where
they had first met.  As Aria approached her friend today she saw that Vasi
had that same longing look as she looked past the fence.

   "I never did ask" Aria said, "What is this fence for?"

   Vasi looked towards her and said, "It is the Imperial hunting preserve."

   Aria's eyes widened.  She loved hunting.  She looked at Vasi and asked
excitedly, "Can we use it?"

   "Well, yes we can, but..." Vasi said as she looked down.

   Aria came over to her friend and asked, "What is wrong, Vasi?"

   Vasi felt herself tearing up.  "I have never hunted before." she
whispered.

   Aria was shocked at this.  She knew now that Vasi was almost a cyanka
older than she was.  Normally Dizyntk children began to learn hunting
skills when they turned four.  They usually had caught their first animal
by the time they were five.

   Vasi continued, "I learned to stalk and listen and track scent but I
have never been allowed to finish a hunt."

   Aria put her hands on Vasi's shoulders and asked, "Why have you never
finished?"

   Vasi hugged her friend and cried.  "Because I am blind.  They were
always afraid I would get hurt."

   "So that was the regret you had." Aria said in a cold tone.

   Vasi just nodded as continued to cry.

   Ariarisha was suddenly very angry.  Not at Vasi, but at those who
refused to treat her as any other Dizyntk.  Before she even realized it she
was letting out a low, deep growl.

   Vasi backed away a bit and asked, "Aria, what is wrong?"

   Aria looked down at her friend and said, "That is STUPID!  You use ALL
your senses while hunting.  Sight, taste, smell, sound, touch, you use them
all.  You are only missing one."

   Vasi cringed back.  Aria realized that Vasi thought she was mad at her.
She wrapped her arms around Vasi's head and pulled her face to her.

   "I am sorry Vasi, I am not mad you." Aria said gently.

   "You were so angry, I was scarred." Vasi whispered.

   Aria nodded.  "I am just angry at those who would not let you finish."
she said as she stroked Vasi's hair.

   Aria then dropped to her knees and put her hands on Vasi's face.  "Let's
go hunting." she said to her.

   "But what if I get hurt?" Vasi asked quietly.

   "Then you get hurt." Aria replied cheerfully.

   Vasi looked shocked at this.

   Aria laughed and said, "Everyone gets hurt sometimes when they hunt. 
You make a bad step and fall.  You twist an ankle sometimes.  The prey
animal might even kick or bite you at the last moment."

   "Everyone gets hurt sometimes." Vasi repeated quietly.

   Aria nodded.  "You should have seen the collection of scrapes and
bruises I got the last time I hunted."

   Vasi giggled a little bit.  "I could not have seen them anyway."

   Aria smiled at her.  "Then you should have FELT the bump I got once when
I got kicked in the head.  That hurt for about a month."

   Vasi laughed at this.  "Everyone gets hurt sometimes when they hunt."
she proclaimed.

   Aria nodded again.  "Yes they do.  So lets go hunting and we can patch
each other up after we are done."

   Vasi stood up quickly and nodded her head.  "Yes, let's go hunting."

   As they walked to where the entrance of the hunting preserve was
located, Vasi remembered something.

   "Only immediate members of the Imperial House are allowed to kill
anything in the preserve." she said.

   Aria shrugged.  "So I will just stalk.  You are the one doing the
killing today, Vasi."

   For the next four hours the two friends stalked prey through the
preserve.  Vasi may not have been able to see but she more than made up for
it with her other senses.  She always heard and smelled things before Aria
did.  Finally they had a small animal, about half the size of the two
girls, in their sights.

   Aria whispered lightly, "It is about twenty strides in front of us. 
Listen for its steps."

   Vasi nodded a fraction as she focused her ears on the animal.  She could
just make out the faint sound as it took a step.

   "If you need to change direction I will yell it to you." Aria whispered.

   Vasi nodded a bit again.  Her heart was racing.  She was more excited
than she could ever remember.

   Aria continued her instructions.  "Do not worry about falling.  If you
fall, you fall.  When you catch it, wrap one arm around its neck, extend
your claws, and rip as strongly as you can."

   Vasi was trembling with excitement.  She tensed in preparation to run.
Then she felt Aria tap her shoulder.  That was the signal and Vasi took
off. She had rarely run.  Now she was running for all she was worth.  She
heard the animal snort in surprise.  Then she heard it start to run.

   She heard Aria yell, "Veer right!"

   Vasi did so.  She could hear the animal's footsteps and its heavy
breathing as it ran from her.  She was getting closer, closer, closer. 
Suddenly she could feel the heat of the animal's body as she was on top of
it and she dove at it.  She felt the impact as she slammed into it.  She
wrapped her arms around it and they rolled three times.  She could hear
exactly where the animal's face was by its screams as it protested being
caught.  She instinctively wrapped her right arm around its neck.  She then
pushed her fingers hard against its neck, extended her claws, and raked
down as hard as she could.  She felt the sudden splash of hot liquid on her
and could smell the distinct and overpowering odor of blood.  The animal
was still struggling.  Vasi then bit down hard on the back of its neck. 
The splash of blood in her mouth was the best thing she had ever tasted. 
After several seconds the animal stopped moving.  Vasi could feel its
heartbeat slow and then stop.  She released her bite and let out high
pitched screech.  She had never felt so good in her life.

   Aria stood back and watched her friend.  She would not get closer until
the killing high subsided.  After about a minute it did.  Aria walked to
her friend and looked her over.  She was half covered in the animal's
blood. Even more was dripping from her chin.  She then wrapped her arms
around Vasi and hugged her.

   "See, you can do it." Aria said to her.

   As they stood there holding each other they both heard a roar close to
them.  They both spun to the direction of the sound.  Aria could see a
Cidnak closing on them.  A Cidnak was a predator that was a bit larger than
a full grown Dizyntk.  It was twice the size of either of them.  As it
charged at them, Aria attacked and tried to swipe at its neck.  The
creature swatted at her and connected, sending Aria flying.  She landed
hard and could feel something snap.

   Vasi heard her friend get hit and charged the Cidnak.  As she felt its
body heat she swiped with her claws and connected with its face.  She felt
her claws hit something soft and dug in with them.  The Cidnak screamed in
rage and swiped hard at Vasi.  She felt its claws slice open her side as
she went flying.  She hit a tree and felt her leg snap.  Vasi raised her
head as she heard a screech from a Dizyntk.

   Aria was up and running despite the pain in her side.  She knew she had
broken some ribs.  How many she did not know nor did she care.  Vasi was in
danger.  She screeched loudly to get the things attention.  The Cidnak
turned towards Aria just as she got to it.  It did not see her at first as
Vasi's attack had destroyed its left eye.  By the time its good eye got
around it was too late.  Aria ducked under its badly aimed swing and locked
her claws into both sides of its neck.  She then sunk her teeth into its
throat and bit down as hard as she could.  At the same time she raked down
with both sets of claws.  She was instantly sprayed with blood.  She
suddenly felt the creature's trachea give way under her teeth and it fell
to the ground.  Aria did not release her bite until she no longer felt the
animal's pulse.

   Vasi could not stand.  She had tried but her leg was broken.  She knew
she was bleeding but she could not tell how badly.  All she knew was that
the Cidnak was no longer moving or breathing.  She had known what it was by
the sound of its roar when she had first heard it.  Then she heard Aria. 
"Vasi, are you alright?"

   Vasi did not know why, but she laughed at this.

   "No I am not alright." she answered.  "My leg is broken and I am
bleeding." Then she asked, "How about you?"

   Aria was right next to her now.  She dropped to her knees next to her.

   "Oh, you know, some cuts and bruises and broken ribs."

   The both laughed for a second before wincing and gritting their teeth in
pain.

   Fortunately the two had grabbed a pack of bandages at the entrance of
the preserve.  After bandaging Vasi's cuts Aria helped her stand on her
good leg.  Despite the pain of her ribs Aria supported her friend and
together they hobbled towards the gate of the preserve.



   Everyone was worried.  Kyrasena, Lilavasi's mother, had come to
Ziniadyra's quarters an hour before looking for her daughter.  She was
supposed to have come to her room for dinner.  When Feya went to see if she
was with Aria she discovered that Aria was missing as well.  It was unlike
either of them to miss dinner.  The Empress had alerted the entire palace
guard to look for the girls.  A quick search of the computer revealed that
Lilavasi had used her access code to enter the hunting preserve some time
ago but had not yet exited.  Everyone hurried to the preserve.  The Empress
knew that several Cidnaks had gotten into the preserve over the past few
months.  Although the staff was getting rid of any they found there was no
way to know if there were any still in there.  Just as they arrived at the
entrance they all saw the two girls limping towards the gate.

   As two healers rushed to the girls and tried to take Lilavasi, Aria
bared her teeth at them and growled threateningly.

   Feya was shocked.  Aria had never growled at anyone before.

   Aria looked up at her mother.  "She is my friend.  I promised her I
would get her out of the preserve." she said through clenched teeth.  She
was sweating and in obvious pain.

   Next to her, Vasi had her eyes closed and was crying from the pain. 
Despite this she nodded her head in agreement.

   Before anyone else could say anything Ziniadyra spoke.

   "Back away from them." she said in a commanding voice.

   Everyone hesitated.  Then she said, "Do I need to repeat myself?"

   The healers and guards backed away.  Then Kyrasena and Feyalisa did as
well.  Feya had to tug Michael's arm to get him to back away.  He was not
sure he understood why, but he did as Feya asked.  It was simply a matter
of honor.  Feya had raised Aria as a Dizyntk.  All Dizyntk children were
raised to be as honorable as possible.  You never made a promise for
trivial reasons.  If you did make a promise, then you did your best to keep
it.  If you died to keep it, then you died.  If anybody there had tried to
help Aria carry Vasi to the gate, even Feya or Michael, she would never
forgive them.  She might actually try to harm anyone who laid a hand on
Vasi before they got to the gate.  Feya quietly explained this to Michael
as they stood and watched.

   It was hard to watch as the two girls slowly made their way that last 50
meters to the gate.  It was obvious that Vasi had a broken leg and claw
marks on her left side.  Aria's injuries were not as apparent but her left
arm was clamped firmly to her side.  Both of them were covered in dried
blood.  They fell twice.  Both times both girls shrieked in pain.  Both
times Aria stubbornly got back up and then gently helped Vasi back onto her
good leg.  Both times none of the Dizyntk moved.  Michael would have had
Feya not locked her hands around his arm and pulled him back.  It took them
five minutes to cover the distance.  As they took a final step out of the
gate, Aria looked around slowly and nodded.

   She said, "We made it out Vasi, just like I promised."

   Then she looked at one of the healers and nodded to her.  As soon as the
healer lifted Vasi up, Aria collapsed and started crying.  She hurt
everywhere.

   The second healer kneeled next to her.  "Where are you hurt?" she asked
Aria gently.

   "Ribs.  Some of them are broken." Aria said through her tears.

   The healer nodded and injected Aria with a painkiller.

   Another dizyntk kneeled down in front of Aria.  She looked up and saw
the Empress.

   Aria looked at her and began crying harder and said, "I am sorry, Your
Majesty, I didn't mean to."

   Ziniadyra looked confused.  "What did you not mean to do, Ariarisha?"

   "I didn't mean to kill one of your animals.  I'm sorry." she said as she
kept crying.

   Ziniadyra stoked the child's cheek and asked, "What did you kill?"

   "The Cidnak that attacked us.  I didn't want to but it was going to hurt
Vasi." she then squeezed her eyes shut and started crying even harder.

   Ziniadyra smiled and gently hugged Aria's head.  "That was not a bad
thing Aria.  I am not going to be mad about something like that."

   Aria nodded and calmed down a little.  Then she asked, "Is Vasi going to
be alright?"

   The Empress looked over to the healer tending to Lilavasi and the
priestess smiled and nodded.

   Ziniadyra then lifted Aria's face up and smiled at her.  "She is going
to be just fine."

   Then she got a very serious look and said, "I am very proud of you
Ariarisha."

   Aria smiled and nodded as the anesthetic the healer had injected took
effect and she closed her eyes.

   They took the girls back to the palace.  The healers assured everyone
that both of them would be fine in two or three weeks.

   As everyone slowly heard what had happened over the next few days, they
were very impressed.  It was considered a challenge for a grown Dizyntk to
kill a Cidnak.  For someone as young as Aria to accomplish it was amazing.

   Vasi begged her mother to not blame Aria for what had happened.  She did
not.  If anything she was regretful about having not allowed Vasi to finish
a hunt before.  She even laughed about how she was going to have to make a
lot of trips to Sapphire over the next few Cyankas.

   The Empress had ordered that the claws of the Cidnak be made into a
necklace.  She then presented it to Ariarisha in the reception hall.  Let
all the nobles know that a child of her family had brought down a Cidnak at
the age of only six cyankas and tremble at what Aria might accomplish as
she grew.  Aria did not know about this reason but it appealed to the
Empress' barbed sense of humor.  Besides that reason, she was truly proud
of Ariarisha.

   That was nothing compared to the pride that Feyalisa felt for her
daughter.  She had been raised with no Dizyntk other than her mother.  She
was only half Dizyntk on top of that.  She had only been living with other
Dizyntk for half a cyanka.  She had already shown herself to be not only
intelligent but outgoing and friendly.  Now here she was barely six cyankas
old and she had already displayed the ability to empathize with others. 
She had shown the ability to undertake difficult tasks on her own
initiative.  She had shown the skill and viciousness necessary to kill a
dangerous predator.  She had shown that she would not panic when faced with
a sudden threat.  She had shown that she was capable of enduring great pain
to accomplish a goal.  She had also fully grasped the concept of what honor
meant among her people.  And she had impressed the Empress with her
bravery. The one question that had worried Feya about her daughter, that
worried any of the Dizyntk royal or imperial lines about their eldest
daughters, was now answered and a lot sooner than Feya could have ever
anticipated.

   Ariarisha would one day make an excellent Queen. . . .









   End of book one. . .  The next part will be skipping forward a couple of
years...