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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2094342" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 172: Mother and DaughterAfter Shadow had been dressed and her hair ‘fixed’, the attendants slipped out of the small room. As they left, her mother walked in. Shadow did her best not to take notice that they were both wearing very similar things and instead looked back down to the ground again as the two royal guards stepped in behind her mother. The two large guards gave Shadow critical looks, obviously looking for an excuse to use the large weapons they carried. But her mother simply ignored the guards, stepping over to Shadow and putting an arm on her shoulder.    “Something’s bothering you...” she said quietly, almost as if she was keeping the two guards from hearing.    But, of course, Shadow did nothing but stare down at the floor. Her mother let out an audible sigh, and then surprised Shadow by embracing her. Still keeping her voice quiet, the Empress said softly, “I’m so sorry, Marix. I’ve missed your whole life...”    She trailed off, expecting her daughter to simply push her away and keep up her usual ice cold way of acting. But that didn’t happen, and even Shadow wasn’t sure why. She was instead overpowered by a very confusing emotion and buried her face in her mother’s shoulder, crying silently.    Shadow’s mother looked at her daughter in stunned amazement, but very gently rubbed her back, then her ear, until the crying faded into another odd noise from Shadow. It was a soft, but still somewhat pained, purring. Her mother smiled slightly, saying into her ear, “It’s okay...things will work out as they should...”    A buzzing sound from the door jolted Shadow back into the moment. She pulled back from her mother, the emotion completely leaving her face as she said, “E-enter...”    The door irised open and the two guards turned to look at a young Alraxian girl. The brilliant reddish colour her skin had taken easily showed how flustered she was as she bowed, “My lady. Empress, the Emperor...he uh...he wishes you to join him immediately. He said it was...a um, small emergency.”    The Empress nodded her head and smiled warmly to the child, “Thank you, I’m sure everything is fine. If you would clean up here I’ll be on my way.”    As she turned to leave, her mate’s voice sounded through her mind. [Feror...Bring Marix with you.]    [We’re on our way now.] she responded before turning back to her daughter, “Marix, you come, too.”    She then turned back to the door and stepped out, the two guards falling into step behind her and giving Shadow a good push to keep her back. Shadow didn’t react, instead simply following a few paces behind the two guards. Other than her immediate family and a select few others, the royal guards were the only others to know what she was. That had always made them uneasy, a trained killer so close to the Empress, and now they seemed even more on edge than usual.    It was a surprisingly long walk which reminded Shadow just how big Thor was. Immediately, Shadow regretted that thought as it reminded her of Loki. Off in the hands of Nine and Ket...she let out a small sniffle, and in a flash of movement one of the guard’s bladed weapons was at her neck. Hearing the movement, her mother spun around and growled, “What are you doing?!”    Of course, the guard holding the blade managed to look innocent, “I apologize, my lady...I just thought...”    “Thought nothing!” the Empress yelled with surprising force and weight in her voice, “Do not ever turn on my daughter! Do you understand?”    “But, my lady–“    ”Never!” hissed the Empress loudly, causing the royal guard to jerk away from Shadow and continue to look shocked.     He stood up straight before bowing, “I apologize, my lady.”    “You should not be apologizing to me!” she snapped with a sharp glare in her eyes.    “Apologize to...?” the guard’s gaze slowly looked over to Shadow, “But–“    ”Yes!” the Empress growled violently, far past simply being angry.    “Mother...no,” Shadow forced the words out, slowly and quietly, her eyes back to staring down at the floor.    Her mother turned to her with a shocked look on her face, “He treats you worse than a servant, Marix!”    “I know my place, mother,” Shadow responded quickly and calmly before turning to the guard and dropping to a knee, “I apologize.”    Somehow, the Empress managed to look even more shocked than before, “Get up! Before someone else sees you!”    Quickly and strongly, she pulled her daughter back up to her feet and gave her a sharp look that only a mother could deliver. The guards looked to each other nervously as the Empress turned back and stormed in the direction they had been going already. They fell into step behind her, and Shadow sighed inwardly, glad that nothing else had come of that. Though she couldn’t help wondering where her mother was leading them and what this ‘small emergency’ was. She shouldn’t have been needed for this.</blockquote>

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