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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2109666" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 176: SummonsThe Empress and a few others had already arrived at the palace earlier in the morning, and so as Shadow and Akan walked down the access ramp there they all stood again. The Empress, the Emperor, a cadre of royal guards, and a couple other Alraxians. One, a deep ebony skinned Alraxian with only slightly lighter hair and an old look to his face, caught Shadow’s eye, if only for a second. Recognizing him right away, and not ignoring the two child guards flanking him, she quickly looked straight to the Empress again. Ignoring him wouldn’t make him go away, but right now it was the best she could do.    The Enai simply inclined her head to them with a smile before falling into step in front of them. She and her mate led Akan, Shadow, and the guards through a series of green courtyards and fountains and everything else Akan associated with those cliched tales of royalty. There were Alraxians all over the place, all with different markings and colours, and every time that Shadow was spotted there was cheering. So much so that Shadow was having trouble fighting back a blush.    And then they were inside the corridors of the huge palace, weaving through hallway after cream colour hallway. They passed doors with markings on them that Akan didn’t recognize, though he assumed it was the written form of the Alraxian language. Eventually, the Empress led them to a section of the palace where none of the doors were marked. Akan had gotten good and lost by now, having taken so many turns this way and that, that he wondered if he could every escape the place and see sunlight again.Then, almost suddenly, they stopped in front of a door. Shadow’s mother turned and smiled warmly to the two of them, “Here we are. Clothes have been made in advance for the both of you so that shouldn’t be any problem. The jai is already with the other children in the nursery. If you require anything, well...I’m sure you know how to use the palace, Marix.”    Shadow nodded instinctively, turning to the door which irised open as she approached. She didn’t even look at the familiar blankness to her old room as she took a step in. A thought crossed her mind, and she stopped, turning around to face her mother and Akan who was still standing in the hallway looking lost, “Wait...mother. Where’s Akan staying?”    It was one of the few times that she had ever seen a blank, almost confused look on her mother’s face. That wasn’t a good sign, “...mother?”    “Come now, you two are keeping us waiting,” the Empress said, putting a hand on Akan’s shoulder and prodding him through the door.    “Oh...” was all that Shadow managed to say before Akan was inside and the door shut behind him, nearly catching his tail in the process.    Shadow managed a sigh and grumbled something about hating her family under her breath. Akan took the time to look around the small, blank room. It definitely fit Shadow well. Nothing on the cream walls. Only one piece of furniture, a wardrobe like on the large ship, and that probably had rarely been opened. There was a closet that was probably just as unused, and the bed gave off an aura of emptiness. In fact, the whole room did.    She wandered over to the closet and opened it to have a quick look in before sighing. The thing had been filled with clothes for the both of them. No surprise, really, but that didn’t change the fact that it was disheartening. She turned back to see Akan still standing there at the door looking lost. Rolling her eyes Shadow said, “Planning to just stand there for the whole time we’re here?”    “It feels safe right here,” Akan said quietly, noting the irony that he was in a room alone with Shadow, of all people, and he felt ‘safe’. There were a thousand things wrong with that, none of which needed to be pointed out. Even Akan wasn’t that daft. But either way, the comment made Shadow’s tail twitch. She wasn’t even sure why, and got slightly annoyed by it.    But for some strange reason, a grin slowly crept onto her face. At seeing that, Akan could only react as any sane person would and look terrified, “Oh, no...what did I do now?”    The grin just grew, “Such an ego. What makes you think I’m grinning at something you did? I could just be grinning because you’re making a complete fool of yourself...”    Akan opened his mouth to counter that, but Shadow stepped forward and cut him off, “Oh! And did I happen to mention that your tail brushed up against the wall a ways back and all your fur is standing on end?”    “Huh...?” he reached around to grab his tail, giving it a critical look, “Hey, there’s nothing wrong at—AHH!”    In his moment of defenseless, he was pounced. It was almost like old times as they struggled to ‘win’, with Shadow cheating by tickling him instead of using claws. But she was getting the upper hand, and as she was trying to pin him and claim victory, the door opened up behind them.    “Marix! I’ve come to welcome you home!....” there was a long silence then as everyone froze. Shadow’s twin brother, Alyx, coughed politely before blushing, “Um...I’ll um...save it for later.”    Quickly, Alyx retreated and the door irised closed again. She was sitting over Akan who was tilted his head back all of the way to look at where Alyx had been. Shadow had a horrified look on her face, and Akan just looked confused. Mainly confused because watching Alyx walk away upside down was...well, confusing.    “I really hate my family,” Shadow whimpered, still staring at the now closed door.    Akan could only manage a nod. For a moment, he thought about taking advantage of the situation and ‘winning’ their little contest, but there was a beep from the door. So someone had the decency to at least knock before entering this time. Quickly, both of them got to their feet. Shadow then called to the door, “Enter.”    In the usual way, the door irised open. Standing there was a young Alraxian girl, probably only a few years older that Tobias. But there was an empty look in her eyes, and Akan couldn’t help but be reminded by Shadow...at least, how Shadow had been at one point. She also was missing half of one ear, and didn’t even speak. Instead, just stared knowingly to Shadow.    Shadow nodded and then looked to Akan with a dangerously serious expression on her face, “I...I should return later...”    And then she left. Staring at the closed door, and not liking this at all Akan said quietly, “You’d better.”</blockquote>

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