Chapter 1

Introduces the second main character and some others too.

Far away from where Evelyn sat watching the man through a small window she had opened, Prince Poquen Tuhilani Ahkan sat on a high back chair, his powerful shoulders appeared relaxed, yet tension racked his body. Flicking his long dark hair out of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of the King and Queen leaving the room. It was dishonorable to not rise when their Highnesses' did, however the family knew that hostility in the room was at unbearable levels. Poquens' fingers twitched occasionally to the sword that hung at the right hand side of his belt, though not once did his chocolate brown eyes leave his brothers face.  His Royal King-In-Waiting Josiah Rellan Ahkan, was sprawled across his chair at the opposite end of the table. Around him, the court ladies and their associates clambered to get his attention.

"Ladies, ladies! There is no need to rush, so please calm your affections. I have more than enough personality to go around. And can't you see that you're making my wonderfully inattentive younger brother stressed?" Josiah drawled lazily. "Then again, his mind is probably back in the library, stuck in some book about Kings and Queens who have been long dead. Perhaps that is where he should return, if we can see his eagerness so clearly?" Poquen had taught himself at an early age the signals that his relatives used to show that he had been dismissed. As the second youngest in the family, Poquen was not allowed to leave a room before his parents, the King and Queen had departed it, and even then, he had to wait until his brother had dismissed him.

"Yes Raqa Josiah, thank you for your leniency." Poquen hissed through his teeth. As the King-In-Waitings' blood relative, Poquen had the right to call him Raqa; he had just added the unnecessary 'Josiah' in his haste to leave. Anger boiling hot in his veins, he let the heavy wooden chair scrape the floor as he stood up. The grating sound it created caused even the blank faced guards by the doors to screw their faces up in horror, before quickly dropping their facial features back to their normal alert positions. If offence was taken by Josiah, he had the ability and right to punish Poquen for such a careless act. Cautiously lifting his eyes from the scratch marks the chair had made on the floor, Poquen saw that the King-In-Waitings' only change was a raised eyebrow, both questioning the actions he had just committed and confirming his suspicions. Quickly spinning on the spot, Poquen stalked from the room into the long hallway that lead to the Palace libraries. Josiahs' habits had never affected him before, however today the thought that all of the women he had just seen would bed his brother sickened him. 'If only mother saw his flaws the way the rest of us do,' he thought. 'Then he would be punished, and forced to take responsibility. When Josiah becomes King, I fear the bonds that our predecessors have made to the residents of this country will break.' As Poquen ghosted down the long corridor, the luscious carpet seemed to grasp at his feet, slowing his movement. The heavy drapes that helped warm the palace became confining barriers that made the air feel thick and claustrophobic. Although the hallway in which Poquen walked went almost as far as the eye could see in either direction, and was at least ten average sized people tall and two wide, he felt as if he were walking through dense honey. Slowing to a quiet dawdle, Poquen noticed a flash of silver from the corner of his eye, then heard the faintest clicking of a door being closed. Curiosity lead his eye to follow the sound to a door that lead off the main hallway. Carefully, he maouvered his way behind the door, so that when he opened it, the occupant would not be able to see him. Edging the door open a crack, he peered inside and was unpleasantly familiar with what he found.

Author's Note

Again, any feedback would be really great. For anyone who is wondering, this is going to turn into (hopefully) a novel size book (around 250 A4 pages) with possibly a series following it. :)

Reviews

[Cassie]

Haha, they're pronounced exactly as they sound. :P Yeah I will, I have a heap more written but I'm only uploading it a bit at a time. :)

[Jennika has a short att..]

I probably can't pronounce any of the names, just sayinn' xD Haha, the guards remind me of the British ones in the Garfield movie xD I laughed xD This is definetly(sp?) going to be an interesting book. Hopefully you'll update soon so I don't have to figure out this cliffhanger. Good job!
Jennika