Chapter 121: A Rogue and a fox
It was mid-afternoon in Lycanthria. The sun hung high in the sky, casting steady light over the kingdom. The marketplace below was busy as usual. Merchants shouted their prices. Children ran between the legs of adults and stalls. Carts rolled across the stone paths. The smell of roasted meat, fresh bread, mixed with the least odors of livestock and unwashed bodies. Guards stood at their posts, watching the crowd with quiet alertness.
High above the noise, a raven flew across the sky unnoticed by the crowd below. It held a small vial in its beak. It was not an ordinary raven. Its eyes scanned the marketplace with a certain intelligence that no bird possessed. The bird did not circle aimlessly. It flew with purpose. It tracked guards’ movements, noted patrols’ positions, and catalogued faces in the crowd. When it had gathered enough information, its wings moved with controlled precision as it continued toward the palace.
As it neared the palace grounds, passed the training yards, and entered the residential wing, its gaze sharpened. It slowed slightly and tilted its head; its magical senses reached out, searching for a specific scent. The raven found what it was looking for and followed the trail to an open window on the second floor.
The window was slightly open, just enough for entry. Without hesitation, the raven slipped through the opening and entered the room.
Inside, the air was quiet. The room was simple compared to the rest of the palace chambers. A rucksack lay open on the bed. A few clothes were folded neatly. A sword leaned against the wall. Boots were placed near the door.
The raven landed softly on the floor. It released the small vial it had been carrying in its beak onto the wooden floor. The glass made a small sound as it touched the ground, but did not break.
When the raven spread its wings wide, the transformation was instantaneous. The bird’s shape stretched and grew. Bones realigned. Wings became arms. Within moments, the raven was gone. It shifted completely until a woman stood in its place.
She had ginger hair that fell past her shoulders to her back and sharp silver eyes. She wore a fitted black leather from neck to boots. And behind her, nine fox tails floated and swayed gently, moving as if they had a mind of their own.
She looked around the room and smiled. "Hello, Lucien."
Lucien, who had been searching for one of his clothes, turned slowly at the sound of her voice. He held a folded shirt in his hand. He looked at the woman, then at the tails, then back at her face. His expression was a mixture of annoyance and resignation.
"Really? Zuri. Do you have to make such a dramatic entrance?"
Zuri grinned. It was a wide, genuine smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes. "Oh, wait! I came with the company."
She bent down and picked up the vial from the floor. The clear glass contained a swirling blue substance that seemed to glow from within. She pulled out the cover, and the blue substance inside immediately floated out into the air. It hovered for a moment before expanding and taking the shape of a man. Within seconds, Zephyrion stood beside her, hands locked behind his back. His face was pale. When he swallowed hard, his throat worked against the urge to vomit.
He stumbled forward slightly, covering his mouth so as not throw up. Zuri quickly reached out and patted his back. Not hard enough to be helpful, just enough to be annoying. "You’ll be fine."
Zephyrion took in a shaky breath. "You should have been more careful when flying."
Zuri crossed her arms. "I was enjoying the air. The air in Lycanthria feels warm. Good thermal current."
"You were doing loops," he replied flatly.
Zuri shrugged. "You should be more grateful I got us into Lycanthria without being noticed. If the border guards had caught a rogue male trying to sneak in, you’d be in a dungeon right now, or worse, your head ripped off and left for the vultures to feed on."
Zephyrion wiped his mouth and sighed. "Being locked in a vial for hours is not what I would call comfortable travel."
Zuri walked toward the bed and attempted to sit down, but her nine tails got in the way; they seemed to have a mind of their own, pushing awkwardly against the mattress and making it difficult for her to settle properly. She ended up half-sitting, half-leaning at an awkward angle.
Lucien glanced at her tails. He looked at the ninth tail, which was slightly shorter than the others and had a tiny golden sheen at the tip.
"Congratulations, you gained your ninth tail." he said.
Zuri’s face lit up immediately. "You noticed!" She forgot about sitting and straightened, letting her tails fan out behind her in a full display. "My good deeds have paid off! I am a full shapeshifter now. I can take on any form. Any animal. Any person. Any size. Well, within reason. I can’t become a mountain. But anything else, I can do."
Lucien and Zephyrion exchanged glances. Zuri gasped as if remembering something.
"Oh! I can finally do the nine-tailed fox dance!"
Before either of them could respond, she attempted to demonstrate by performing a clumsy dance. She swayed her hips and waved her arms, trying to make her tails move in a coordinated pattern. The effect was not graceful. The tails flopped and tangled, slapping against each other and against her legs. She nearly tripped over two of them.
Zephyrion burst into laughter first. A deep rumbling sound filled the room. Lucien followed. It was a short, surprised sound that escaped despite his mood. He shook his head at her clumsiness.
When she finished, slightly out of breath, her tails slowly disappeared one by one until they were gone completely.
Lucien set the folded shirt down on the bed. "Did you travel all the way here just to show off your ninth tail, or do you have a more important message for me? Something more important than what I already saw in my dreams?"
Zuri shrugged. She walked to the window and leaned against the frame, looking out at the palace grounds. "Nothing new. No urgent messages. I just wanted to come to Lycanthria. The last time I was here, I was a kid."
He stopped packing and looked at her. "You’re still a kid."
"No, I’m not a kid. You know I hate when you call me that!" Zuri shot back.
Lucien lifted his brows. "Sorry, kiddo." He smirked.
Zephyrion chuckled as he sat on the bed.
"My father brought me when the Queen died. He insisted on offering his condolences to King Alaric in person. I don’t remember much. Just that the palace seemed huge, and everyone was crying and looked sad. Now, it looks quiet."
"You shouldn’t have come here," Lucien mumbled.
Zephyrion looked at Lucien. He studied his friend’s face for a long moment. He did not look satisfied.
He immediately raised his hands slightly. "I tried to talk her out of coming here. I told her it was a bad idea, but she insisted."
Zuri’s head snapped toward him. "Traitor." She started to walk towards him.
Zephyrion jumped up from the bed and met her halfway. "You sly fox! When I refused to come with you, what did you do to me? You turned me into a rat! Then, when you couldn’t lift the rat because apparently I’m a heavy rat, you locked me in a vial and carried me here like a piece of luggage."
Zuri shrugged unapologetically. "You are lucky I did not drop you mid-flight. The vial could have shattered. You would have splatted all over the ground and then reformed into a very flat and very confused version of yourself."
Zephyrion turned to look at Lucien. "Did you hear that? This child has no respect for my age and status."
Zuri tried to attack him, but he dodged until they started running around the room.
