Kaya had talked to the medic in charge of Rahnee, and the news was both good and bad. Rahnee was healing nicely, and was no longer confined to bed, but there was a very good chance that she would never morph again. Kaya had called upon the best medics, some of the most powerful druids, and some of the most talented mages, and all they could come up with was that it most likely had something to do with the flux of power. Staring at Rahnee's deflated form, Kaya felt as if her heart would break. "Oh Rahnee, I'm so sorry. I wish there was something I could do..."

Rahnee glared at her sister, shock turning into anger, and the only one within range to lash out at was Kaya. "Well there's NOTHING! Nothing you can do, nothing anyone can do!" With that, Rahnee turned and ran from the room.

"Rahnee!" Called out Kaya, not knowing what to do to comfort her sister. Sighing deeply, she decided to let Rahnee run. The best thing for her right now was to work it out on her own.

Rahnee ran down the hallway, tears streaming down her face. She ran into several people in the hallway, not even bothering to apologize, she continued on. She didn't know where she was running to, only that she had to get away. Suddenly, two strong arms grabbed her. Ripping her arms free from the grasp, she looked up into Zellir's face. "Don't touch me!" she cried out, then continued running, not caring where she went, or what happened to her.

Zellir on the other hand cared more then he thought he should. Running after her he chased her until she incountered objects to run around. This slowed her down and taking advantage Zellir grabbed her again. He learned from the last time and pinned her to him so she couldn't get loose. Covering her mouth so she would not be able to talk over him he whispered in her ear. "You can kick, you can scream, you bite, you can wiggle, but I won't let you go. Whatever is troubling you can't be out run." He removed his hand. "You want to talk about it or do you want to wrestle?"

Rahnee sagged against the wall, her tear streaked face glared up at Zellir. She struggled for a few minutes trying to get away, but found the effort futile. Finally, she stopped trying to get away, but continued to glare at Zellir. Finally, the tears started pouring forth, and all she could do was cry. Great racking sobs shook her body, and she leaned against Zellir. She could feel his hand stroking her hair, and new he was saying something, but she couldn't hear the words. Just the feel of his arms around her, and the soft sound of his voice helped to calm her.

Finally, when she was able to talk again, she pushed back away from him and looked up into his eyes. "Oh Zellir...I...I can't morph. I may never be able to fly again, never be able to change into pegasus form....I may be stuck being...being...human!" With that, she started to cry again, and leaned her head against his chest once more.

Zellir hugged her unsure what to say. He could not relate to her problem, he could not fix it, he could not even tell her everything was going to be alright. Inwardly he cursed himself for starting to care about a woman, but at the same time he knew it felt good. He decieded that what he could do was be a shoulder to cry on until something else came to mind. Holding her loosely to him him rocked her gently and stroked her hair. He vowed to remain comforting and loving until she needed something else.

Rahnee cried, until she thought she would be sick. She was so ashamed at her behavior, allowing everyone to see her in this state. Pushing herself away from Zellir, she wiped the tears from her eyes. Not good at errecting barriers, she did the best she could. She stared at Zellir's chest and softly said, "I...I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I...I'm fine now, you can let me go, I"ll be fine." She stood there waiting for Zellir to release her. When his arms didn't move, she looked up at him. The compassion in his eyes tore at her, for she mistook it for pity. Not normally given to fits of rage, the anger that sparked inside her was a new emotion to her. "Don't look at me like that! I am not some charity case, and I'm not one of your conquests, so why don't you just go away and leave me alone! I will not be pitied, not by you or by anyone. LET ME GO!!" She screamed, the pain she felt echoed in her words. She didn't want him to let her go, not really, but she didn't want to see that look in his eyes either. She beat against his arms, her puny strength no match for his. Looking back up at him, she said, "Please..."

A hurt look spread across Zellir's face, "You think I pity you? How could I pity someone who's major problem in life is she might be forced to become what I have been all my life. I don't know what it's like to be anything other then human so I can't feel sorry for you. I can't understand your pain. All I was trying to do was give you a safe place to cry and keep you from running off and doing something stupid." He tried to keep the hurt from his voice,"And I would never dream to conquor something so far out of my reach." He let her go. "M'lady," he gave a rigid formal bow and turning around, he began to walk away.

Rahnee felt instantly contrite. Stepping forward, she called out, "Zellir, wait...I..I'm sorry, I know you were only trying to comfort me. I...I just feel so...so helpless. Being a morph is so much a part of who I am, that the thought that I will no longer be able to be who I was has me so confused. It's not being human that I'm afraid of, it's...it's not being a pegasus anymore..." Walking up to him, she placed a hand on his arm, then continued. "Please forgive me, I needed someone to vent my anger on, and you're here..." Rahnee bowed her head, afraid to look up into his eyes. "And umm...now probably isn't the time, but..." with this, she raised her head and gave a half hearted smile, "at least it's something else to worry over...what did you mean by 'something so far out of my reach'?"

Zellir's expression softened, "I'm sorry I should be used to people venting their anger on me." He stared forward, water starting to form in his eyes,"And I meant that I know my limits and servent girls, stable girls, and kitchen workers are it."

Rahnee was taken aback by Zellir's comment. "But..but why?"

Zellir frowned, "It's rather difficult to explain. You see most women of other social classes tend to want to get married, combine their wealth. They want someone from the right family and won't just fool around with someone who won't meet their goals."

"Oh Zellir," said Rahnee, stepping closer to him, "that's horrible. How can people be so cruel. A person shouldn't be measured by their wealth, but by who they are, and..." Stepping in front of him, she looked him square in the eye. Her face flushed slightly, but she had begun on this course of action, and she refused to stop, "I think you are one of the most wonderful men I've ever known." Rahnee dropped her eyes, looking down at the floor. Softly, she said, "I...I should probably go now...Kaya will be worried..."

Zellir grabbed her arm, "Before you go," He started to blush, "That was a nice thing to say. I know you will be miserable but I think the addition of you will be an improvement on humankind."

Rahnee smiled, her own blush deepening. "Thank you." She said, suddenly feeling that being human might not be so bad after all. Feeling very brazen, Rahnee quickly kissed Zellir on the cheek. With her eyes locked on his shoes she said, "I um...I just want you to know, I don't ... I don't care about wealth..." At that point, Rahnee's nerve left her. She had been more forward in the short time she'd been talking with Zellir in the hallway than she had been her entire life. Stammering, she said, "G..good day..." then she ran down the hallway, back to Kaya's rooms.

Zellir watched her go, a smile forming on his face. He waited till she was out of sight before turning and heading on his way, whatever he had meant to do before he bumped into her forgotten as he strolled down the hallway thinking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaya, Queen of Windria, Pegasus Morph

Rahnee, Kaya's Sister

&

Zellir, Knight of Windria, General of the Windrian Army

Authors - Nikkie Quinning and Roni Alsman

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