"Tell where the crown is and beg," Fira sneered, "then maybe we free you."

Rokki came to give her a bottle with some sparkling white liquid in it. It glowed, casting a white-blue light on Fira's paw.

"Know what this is? It's the blood from an iceblood death. It makes new iceblood." Then Fira opened the cap. Sovanna shook her head in desperation. No more being queenly, no queen would want this.

But she couldn't beg again. She had to be calm and confident like her sister. Composing herself, she tried hard to make herself sound confident, deepening her tone.

"Stop, Fira," she said careful that her voice wouldn't falter, "must talk with Ogalutha. He can help."

Fira snarled and straightened her back to face the crowd. "Has Ogalutha helped us at all? Has he over the years ever thought about us? Has he ever taken Oolid to help us? Has he ever," She snarled, "care about what happens to lower Kaunlutha?"

The Kaunlutha roared and the fire rose as if answering their voices. Sovanna shook her head again. She didn't believe it. No way was her father careless and heartless.

"You lie!" she shouted, "Papa said he sends Oolid every week to check and he gives food and shares the one from Humans all the time. I saw it. I seen boxes carried to you."

Fira was up in her face again and hissed, spittle flying from her mouth. "You savat," she said through clenched teeth, "We never get enough because they take half back. Does it look like we eat enough?"

She opened her arms wide and Sovanna saw the ribs in her chest. Rokki's backbones were prominent and many other Kaunlutha were more bones than fat. But Sovanna looked down at herself, always scrawny no matter what she ate. Her father was born with big muscles and meda was always eating sugary sweets, so she was fat.

"But, I don't see—"

"That's problem. You don't see. You don't care. Play time is over. Rathana?"

Rathana came forward. Briefly, Tomiki grabbed her paw and shook his head, but then she whispered something in his ear and he let go.

"Rathana, what's going on?" Sovanna whispered, trying to see the sister behind those sunken, furious eyes.

"Bedside water. Ogalutha will drink," she said and Fira gave a nod. She barked an order and two males came forward. She returned the cap and gave them the bottle which was small enough they could put in a pouch. They ran off with it.

"You're not taking that anywhere, not to Ogalutha." Sovanna struggled to stand but was forced back down as the rope went taut. Her heart hammered and she didn't know what to do. She couldn't move, couldn't transform, and her mind couldn't catch up with what was going on. Rathana caressed her cheek.

"I will miss you, but not that much."

Fear rushed to Sovanna's head. She snapped her head forward as hard as she could, headbutting into Rathana's face. Rathana yowled and fell over. Blood seeped form her nose. Her mane flared golden with magick and she lashed out her tail. The fire in the chair blew up around Sovanna.

Sovanna screamed as the fire licked the fur on her arms and burned.

"Where's the crown?" Rathana snarled. "Tell me, savat," she spat, "Where is it?"

I can't give it up, it's mine. She gritted her teeth and tried hard not to cry out. She couldn't let them see her pain too much. The fire climbed up to her shoulders and kissed her cheek. Sovanna could see Fira and Rathana through the wall of flames.

"Rathana, stop, you know he loves you still," she said, but it didn't seem like Rathana heard. Sovanna's head reeled and she couldn't think anymore as the fire closed in on her face. She would die in the fire, the sun princess.

No, I won't. She yanked on the rope and it crumbled away. Sovanna saw the opportunity and threw herself out the fire, rolling on the ground and wincing as the flames still ate at her body. But the dry air didn't help.

"Get her!" Fira commanded and Rathana's yowl sent the flames after Sovanna. She rolled around, trying to dodge them, but they got her tail and face. She screamed as her fur singed off. Everything hurt and stung, but she wouldn't cry tears no matter how much she wanted to.

Then she saw the creature on his feet, hands balled in fists at his sides, and three large Kaunlutha males on the ground, groaning. His fists had a white smoke coming off of them. When he punched the air, a gust of icy wind flung in her direction, putting out all the flames. Another punch struck Fira and Rathana. Then he grabbed a blanket and a Kaunlutha shield and slid on the newly formed ice on the ground toward her.

"T-The r-roach happened?" Sovanna struggled to stand. All her missing patches of fur and reddened wounds stung like bees had gotten to her. She looked around at the half-frozen Kaunlutha, their bodies melded to the ground, but with their noses sticking out. Rathana's mane was glowing and the ice around her began to crack.

"Grab my hand," the creature called and he stuck out his hand as he zoomed past on new ice forming in his path. Sovanna, too shocked to comprehend what was happening, grabbed his hand and he quickly flung her in back of him.

"Hang on," he said, and punched the air, making more icy winds turn the jungle into a frost season she had never seen in her life. As she clung to his back, she shivered for he was as cold as the ice.

"What t-the roach are you?" she whispered as they whooshed through the jungle.

After a while, they were nearing the edge of the enclosure. She could make out the tall, white netting made of wire that surrounded their living space. The creature dug his heels in to slow down the shield. They both stumbled off and fell over on the ground. No one came after them and Sovanna checked her senses and didn't find Rathana. Either she was still frozen or gave up on the chase for now.

The creature was laying on his side muttering something under his breath. His stomach grumbled loudly and Sovanna remembered he hadn't eaten anything. Heightening her senses, she scanned the clearing. By the enclosure fence where Kaunlutha rarely came, some creatures made their home, wherever they came from.

Probably Humans put them there.

She spotted a giant mussa with it's weird two heads. With only her claws, she would have to make do the wild way. Sovanna crouched down low. She sniffed the air and found it stilled and thick with Human smoke fumes. Mussa with their long noses had a good sense of smell, but the smoke could hide Sovanna's scent and even she was smokey right now after her fur burnt off her arms in weird patches.

She stalked the creature and once she was close enough, she leapt and caught it in her claws. Then she bit down hard on its neck for the squeal.

When she returned with pride with the prey, the winged creature was sitting by one of the trees by the fence, making a small fire on the ground amongst some rocks. He looked up as she approached and made a face.

"What's that weird thing?"

"Foof," she said around the prey, "Thayth oot."

"No idea what you just said," He rolled his eyes and stood up to then sit cross-legged.

She still couldn't believe he had magick all this time and never once used it. Then he ended up saving her life and his. Sovanna plopped down next to him and dropped the prey.

"Food, tastes good, what I said," She poked at it, "And you get first bite."

He made another face and picked the prey up in his hands. Then he bit down on it and tore off a chunk right in the middle. "Just like roden," he muttered and wiped the blood with the back of his hand. "Rest is your's," he said and at that moment his stomach growled so loud it was like a beast. Sovanna twitched her tailtip reluctant to do what she knew a good queen would do.

"You can have it all. I'm fine. I ate dinner anyway."

"Without me?" he said and she flashed him a look of open-mouthed surprise because what outsider creature would dine with a Kaunlutha. She didn't even trust him then and no doubt he was crazy for even suggesting that it could have even been a thing.

And I still don't trust him now. She got up and sat opposite him instead.

The creature gave a smile. "Joking, only joking." He devoured the mussa in no time. Sovanna swallowed her saliva as he licked his fingers.

"Why couldn't I tell your magick?" she said. She could always tell Kaunlutha magick and how great or small of a thing it was.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't know you had magick either. Maybe because we are a different species." His eyes grazed her arms and up to her head. "I can heal those for you a little bit."

"You mean your magick on me?" She hugged herself. She would go with blisters and scorched fur. It stung and hurt, but she didn't trust him. "Never. Don't even think it."

He bit his lip. "But I did save your life so I would like to go all the way."

"You command the frost?" she changed the subject.

The creature shrugged. "Not the frost, but ice."

"The same thing. Can you get rid of the fog?"

"No, I can't. Not that powerful."

"But there are others powerful enough?"

"Yeah, but they wouldn't listen to you or me."

"You did run away?"

Now he crossed his arms. "I'm tired."

"I'm not," she countered.

The creature narrowed his eyes. "While you were in your castle all nice and cozy, I was freezing in a jungle and had to stay awake because I kept hearing voices."

Sovanna wondered if Fira and Rokki found the creature earlier and were checking out who had tied him there. When they saw it was her, they took that as an opportunity.

"Ogalutha!" She stood up and whipped around to face the direction home. Her father always had glass of water in the morning. If what was in the bottle was actual diseased blood, he would be infected and die.

"I need to go back," she said and was about to make her way there when the creature grabbed her wrist.

"You'll be caught."

She snatched her wrist away and face him with snarl. "They're trying to kill my father with iceblood. Prove a point or whatever."

Oh, what I'm doing with him? Just go! She growled and let her mane ripple with magick and was about to transform, but nothing came. Sovanna blinked and tried again, but it was like her magick had fizzled out. She didn't feel anything different from normal.

The creature and his ice! She turned him and raised her arm to strike. "What did you do to me?"

He raised his hand in defense. "Nothing! Your body's probably in shock because you're not used to such deep cold. It'll be back to normal in a few hours."

"I don't have few hours." She jumped up and down, trying to warm herself up when the creature stopped her, grabbing her wrist.

"It's internal internal," he said and let go, "Magick is deep within, not like skin and blood. Give it time to warm up again."

But her father's life was in danger. It was better to run back on two legs than stand around here waiting. Sovanna dashed away.

She had to make it back quick. Ogalutha always woke with the sun and the days being shorter, he would rise in an hour. Sovanna growled at herself for being careless once again. She missed all the details, so focused on one thing. But then her thoughts went back to her sister.

I'll kill Rathana. She's not the queen. I am.

Sovanna had never seen her sister in such determined fury as she did back there in low Kaunlutha territory. She knew Rathana wanted the crown and the power of her father more so than ever thought before. The way she had left the castle, denounced her title, Sovanna only remembered some trite words between her father and Rathana, but nothing more than that. Not even an argument. It was as if Sovanna's position was determined a long time ago. Maybe even before she was born.

Rathana would leave Sovanna alone in search for a suitor.

But was it all just that or did she run off to betray Papa?

As she ran, Sovanna tried to think back to anything that happened between Rathana and their father, but she was too young to remember if they ever did argue. She didn't know if jealously toward the little sister would be enough drive. There had to be something else. Something she wanted. Maybe it was a power other than the power to rule?

She shook her head at the thought because while Kaunlutha did rule over their own territory, it wasn't official. The Humans told them they had no authority but could claim their titles if they wanted to. The Humans were the ones that owned them.

Like pets, Sovanna remembered Rathana saying, like the ones Rathana used to have as a cub until the Humans forbade her.

They didn't like the idea of bipedal lions owning poisonous hundred-limbed snakes as pets. She couldn't blame them. Those things scared her with their eyeless faces and long, black tongues. The milky bodies with the bright yellow or red stripes shouted "poison!". They weren't harmful to Kaunlutha, however, because Kaunlutha would only get a slight rash from their poison, but that was deadly to Humans.

Then, out of the side of her eye, something came hurling at her and rammed into her. Sovanna went flying and hit a tree, falling to the ground. She landed on her feet, immediately facing her attacker.

She bristled at the sight of Rokki with his multi-colored mane of brown, orange, and black. He huffed and growled at her, barring fangs. When he roared, his mane rippled with magick, but it was only for intimidation. He didn't have magick. Still, she unsheathed her claws and braced herself for an attack.