Thread: The Shifter's Claimed Bride-Mate (Ruphhausin & darkangel76)

RE The Shifter's Claimed Bride-Mate In the dining hall, Brian was finishing his meal. He had been waiting for the moment for many months, especially after his cousin, who could afford to risk being discovered, introduced him into the court of Altair, King of the Northeastern Kingdom of Lass. He had been in the position of senior guard for over a year, and as the king, queen, and their daughter left the dining hall, he knew that the small dose of the sleeping herbs that he mixed in with the seasoning of Elanas food was already working. The two pinches were without any real flavor of their own, so the normal herbs and spices that went on the meal would hide them. He didnt want her completely out, rather he wanted it where she would not be able to physically stop him from removing her from her room. It was about so much more than one wedding, his plan to abduct Elana, rather it was about three generations of disgrace that his family of shifters had to endure from humans. It was something that was not told in the humans history at all. His great grandfather was the proud negotiator who had thought that he had bartered a fair and just end to a war that never should have happened in the first place, over land that didnt belong to either human nation. He nodded and gestured almost as an afterthought to the other three men who were with him, and they all began to move. Tonight, they would never be here again, and now was the time to act. Soon, the daughter of the daughter of the daughter would be married to the prince of the Southwestern Kingdom, and they would be done with both nations for the next century. Brian was one of the major leaders of his race, the Shifters, though they called themselves the Blessed. They had for many centuries, too numerous to count, had the power to change into animal forms and to be in touch with the natural world around them. They were far more civilized that the humans in their kingdoms could handle, but they were not the only humans. Entire clusters of humans, from all levels of civilization, freely traded, negotiated, and even married with his People. They had much larger possessions f land than others thought they did. From the peeks of the Mountains of the Mist to the shores around the Jade and Onyx coast and as far out as the Isles of Coral, they numbered legion even in their smallest settlements. The other races, not just humans, intermarried and communed in other ways with them as well, so his brethren blended. The haughty ones, who falsely believed they really ran the world, had no idea that the Children of Selene and Arun were as numerous and organized as they were, spent far too much time shining their armor and fighting each other. Tonight, however, he was going to close a chapter on their dealings with the haughty ones, and then he was going to return his great grandfathers honor. He just never understood why his great-grandfather had never said much about it, and it never hindered his rise to the Council of Grand Elders, but he also didnt understand why also his great-grandfather, if he didnt care, returned to confront Elanas great-grandmother about what she did. Something he would use Elana to get an answer for, but for now, as he moved up to Elanas room, he would wait on that. He now slowly opened Elanas door, using a tool set his people had perfected. He soon was inside of her rooms, her sleeping for there in her bed. He smiled, knowing that if he timed it right, she would not wake until it was too late. He soon was binding her wrists and ankles, her sheer sleeping gown distracting to say the least, but he expected that. She was beautiful, but he had been able to distance the thoughts from his mind. He was going at the right pace for getting her bound. He also made certain to make sure that he had a fast way down, the rope that he had hidden in the vines by the window pulled out and ready. Her rooms had a window that was overlooking into the courtyard, and near the stables. He would not leave his faithful mount Dancing Wind, and he had her over his shoulder and sliding down where he was soon sprinting across to the stables. The guards had left the gate up, as the nightly patrols had to move about. He had Lavender Mist ready, the horse surprisingly cooperative after he told him what he was going to do. His People could speak to horses, and perhaps his explanation of his cause was just. The other three were already there, their own horses mounted as they got on, Brian securing Elana to her horse with her draped over it. He then heard her stir, knowing that any moment she would realize and he was getting up onto his mount, wanting those in the castle to know she was taken. His hair, braided and off to the side as was the custom of a Warrior Chief, was brown under the lamps of the stable. His green eyes scanned around, judging precisely how far they had to go to the gate. His lithely muscular body, like that of the cats that were his primary forms group, was tight and lean as he moved his horse out and then pulled Lavender Mist along by the lead he had bound to his saddle. His dark studded armor, a blend of leather and flexible hide, was more than adequate for this escape. One of his men took the other lead, binding it to his, and they formed a quarter around her, and the moment was almost there. The moment she woke and made the alarm, they would go.