a proposed alliance

Sam almost couldn't believe it as he saw the proud Beast General enter the tavern with her younger Captain close at her heels. There were butterflies in his stomach as he was sure she had seen him inside the tavern, but as her blue eyes examined the inside of the room, her eyes skipped him altogether. A pang of disappointment hit him squarely in the chest. He put the tankard to his lips to hide behind the wooden brim.

Kiera wasted no time at all and strode towards the back of the room. She stood in front of the barkeep for but a moment before the bearded man scorned her. She didn't seem one bit fazed by the man.

Sam was sure she didn't understand the owner had mistaken her for a prostitute. No respectable Solomon woman would be inside a tavern in the nighttime unless they were being paid to be there.

"I am looking for a man."

He watched as the man behind the counter scoffed.

"Of course you are."

She slammed down her fist, the sound causing some of the tavern's patrons to briefly glance in her direction. They resumed their conversations when they saw a woman's figure as the cause of the commotion.

Sam lowered his tankard onto the table in front of him. He continued watching as he saw Kiera's Captain move closer, preparing to move at the drop of a hat as soon as Kiera gave him the word. By the look on his face, Sam would have presumed that he wanted a fight to break out.

"If you give me a moment of your time. The man I am-"

The man cut off her words. He spits his words into her face and Sam quickly got up to his feet. He froze in place when he saw Kiera reach across the bar to grab hold of the barkeep. With no effort at all, she brought him closer to her face.

The man paled as he noticed her unusual strength.

"I am not a woman to be trifled with. Am I understood?"

Sam's heart quickened as he heard her menacing tone. He thought he must have gone crazy but she looked positively magnificent in his eyes.

"G-guards! S-someone call the guards!"

The man's pathetic cries shocked him out of his thoughts and he quickly made his way to the counter where Kiera stood. His hand went out before he could stop himself. As soon as his hand landed on her shoulder, he noticed how her whole body reacted.

"Excuse me." He tried to keep his voice light. "Is the man you were looking for perhaps me?"

When she turned around, his lips twisted into a smile.

"How about we go someplace else?"

He followed Kiera and her Captain as the barkeep yelled after them.

***

"I take it you weren't at the tavern for a quick drink either." He turned around after dropping the hood down to his shoulders.

Kiera looked around the abandoned house the prince had led them to. It didn't seem like it had been occupied for many years. She glanced back as she heard Jade sneeze. It was amusing to her as she watched her swat at the cobwebs and the swirls of dust that rained down as she passed through the open doorway.

Kiera steeled her expression and readied her gaze at the prince. He met her gaze unflinchingly.

"Does your father know you are investigating?" Her voice came out more rigid than she had intended, creating a cold atmosphere around them.

"Why? Do you think I should let my father know how much I distrust his favorite knight?" He tilted his head, obviously making light of the situation. He shook his head upon seeing her unchanging expression.

"No. As you are well aware by now, my father and I rarely ever see eye to eye. I needed to collect my own completely unfiltered information. That way I can work to draw a better conclusion on what had occurred that night."

"Work?" Cody looked doubtful as he sat down on an old wooden chair. He pulled up one leg, completely making himself as comfortable as he liked in front of royalty.

"Hey, I thought you said he was a useless prince?" Cody shot off to the side without so much as lowering his voice. A very embarrassed Jade quickly looked at the prince as if denying she had ever said such a thing.

Kiera released a sigh before motioning over to Bryan with two of her fingers.

The Bear reached out and smacked Cody upside the head.

"Ow!"

"Please forgive him, Your Highness." Bryan bowed his head to the prince, who was quick to laugh it off.

"Don't you have an aide for all that Your Highness?" Jade raised a good point. Kiera had also been curious about the absence of his stony-faced aide.

"I put Kepler to manage other matters in my stead." `His evergreen eyes shifted over to the side. "He is the type of man that would rather work with paper than with people I'm afraid. Though I'm actually glad our sources led us to the same spot. This way, we can join forces and get to the bottom of this issue faster. No?"

He looked at Kiera with a hopeful expression.

Kiera's face twitched, and her brows began to gather together as all three of her Captains looked to their leader without a word. They were only silent whenever it came down to her to make a decision.

"What do you mean join forces Your Highness? Do you suspect there's something more to the attack that occurred the night of the ball?"

"Of course I do. The Beast King is aware of this as well, seeing as he sent one of his Generals to do some of her own digging."

"Now there's a rumor making its rounds around the palace. They say the Blackcrested Wolf is behind the attack." She hardened her stare, but the prince wasn't dissuaded. "But I seem to recall the General has the very same nickname."

There was an uneasy clenching sensation at the bottom of her stomach and she was taken by surprise by his sharp mind. It seemed as if she was staring down at a man different from the prince she knew. Instead, she was conversing with Sam, a man who was intelligent beyond his years.

"How do you expect to get anywhere in your investigation when you do not know the area nor the people?"

Her brows furrowed deeper on her face.

"I can help you. Unlike Kepler, I do know my way around a conversation." He brought up a hand to his chest, a lopsided grin on his princely face as he wore his mask again.

"I still don't understand one thing Your Highness." He blinked as she neared closer to him, seemingly impervious to his boyish smile.

"Why are you so interested in this case? It doesn't affect you, does it? I'm starting to take your actions as highly suspicious." Her voice was cold, on the verge of being intimidating as she stared down at him.

He leaned his face forward and spoke with an unusually serious timbre.

"After you left me alone in the middle of the ballroom," she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, uncomfortable as she remembered that she had left his side without a word that night, "there was only chaos as everyone tried to rush out of the room."

"Don't you find it all odd, my dear General, that the guards arrived at the gruesome scene last? How was it that the three Beast Generals were the first to make it to the victim?"

She stepped back, her mind registering all of his questions. He was right. There were no guards when Kiera showed up at the scene. Helios and Gaspar were too busy examining the victim and his wounds to notice the lack of security in that area of the palace.

"I have a few theories as to who would be behind such an attack." She lifted her face up at the sound of the prince's voice. The significance of his spoken words was beginning to dawn on her.

"The Human Kingdoms already have a bad view of the Beasts. A gruesome and animalistic attack at the palace where the Beast People are residing? It seems people are already suspecting one of your people did it." He studied her closely for another moment before he continued.

"General, I remember what you had said about the Deranged. Is it possible-"

"No." Jade burst in. Kiera's eyes landed on her as she clenched her hands held up in front of her body. "Our General would have noticed any signs from our people if they-"

Kiera sent a glare to her Captain. Jade, upon receiving a warning from her commanding officer, clamped her mouth shut and dropped her head.

"You said the Deranged were Beasts that had forsaken the Law. What exactly is the Law?"

"No Beast shall hunt another Beast. Unless Beast has broken the Law. No Beast shall steal from another." Kiera began reciting the words of the Law. When she was younger, she would recite it almost every day because the words would bring her comfort.

Prince Sam listened without speaking. To Kiera, it seemed as if was greatly fascinated by her recitation of the Law. "No Beast shall indiscriminately kill. No Beast shall maliciously harm Humans without proper and just cause." She continued.

"Those who break this Law shall be punished in the hands of the great Beast Army in accordance with the gravity of the crime." She heard the voices of her other Captains chime in.

"This is the Law of Beasts, held by all Beasts, and bled by all Beasts. For without Law, Beasts are no different from Animals."

"The Law of Beasts is our Kingdom's most sacred statute," Kiera explained further. "It is said the Law was enacted by the first monarch of our Kingdom. Before the Law and the reign of the First King, the Forest was a nightmarish place unfit for any Beast to live."

"No Beast shall maliciously harm Humans without proper and just cause." Prince Sam repeated, taking a moment to mull over those words.

"Although Beasts and Humans generally do not get along, our people would not harm a Human unless they are prepared to present their reasoning for doing so in front of the Grand Council."

"The Grand Council?"

She nodded at the prince.

"The Grand Council is a board of our people that have made extreme contributions to our Kingdom. They preserve justice throughout the Kingdom by officiating rulings over violent or extreme cases, and they work separately from the King. Higher ranking officers of the Beast Army are also capable of punishing criminals, but in doing so, they must be prepared to be judged by the Grand Council."

"How fascinating." He muttered.

Kiera looked away from him as he was speaking his thoughts out loud. There were a couple of things he still did not know about her people. He did not know how joined in spirit the Beasts really were to animals. At most, the Humans believed the Beast People chose to worship animals. It wasn't known to them that they truly had the ability to transform into said animals.

He also did not know the true reason behind the existence of her people. And of the Deranged.

Would he look at the Beast People in the same light if he knew everything?

"Kiera," his voice brought her back to the present, and she looked back at him. "Are you willing to work with me?"

He stood in front of her, his hand raised in between their bodies.

"I also want to get to the bottom of this mystery, and I need your knowledge of the Beast People to do that. So, what do you say?"

She stared down at his outstretched hand. It was funny to her. A couple of days ago she took the very same hand and let him lead her onto the ballroom floor. His other hand was on her waist and he twirled her around.

She tore her eyes away from his hand.

"I cannot take this decision lightly your Highness. I'll first have to consult with my King."

"I understand." He showed a bit of disappointment on his face as he lowered his hand. He bowed his head.

"Then, I'll wait for your answer."