The Tiger Within 17 Thirteen Men On Horseback Part 5

"See little one, your okay." she rea.s.sured the child still gripping a long white strand of hair in her tiny fist. Kyera couldn't help but smile gently at those pretty green eyes . They reminded her of the sun s.h.i.+ning through dense leaves in the forest full of life.

The little girl nodded, her little lip still trembling from the excitement of the fight. Kyera's body was sore. Being a tiger she liked to dodge and leap in battle. Staying up right and only spinning and leaning to dodge was a hard feat for such a limber creature. No doubt the child hindered her. Once certain the baby was fine, Kyera looked in the direction of their saviors.

13 men on horseback, 12 with bows and the armour of guards rode forward. The 12 dismounted in the well circle and allowed their mounts to drink before turning to the weary Tigress and the Child. However the woman was unconcerned with them, or at least seemed to be.

The 13th man, the prince with eyes that seemed to pierce into Kyera's soul swung down from the saddle standing a full head taller than her. However she did not back down, meeting his eyes, one hand still holding a sword. Amus.e.m.e.nt in his face, but her confidence was not easily missed. The royal crest of A Paw print and a Sword catching her eye. The silver circlet gleaming as her eyes dashed to seek it.

Kyera fell to her knees, though her body did not like baring its neck to him. So many of her kind fell to their blades… whether at war or for pelts the wild of her kind were nearly wiped out.

The war of Skin Walkers as they called it had seen hundreds of the Shapes.h.i.+fter's fall for greed. The emperor had demanded all s.h.i.+fters be registered and forced to serve his name as pets of the crown. Angry the shapes.h.i.+fters declined and stayed to the woods, unaware he would hunt them there soon enough.

He spent years making Shape s.h.i.+fters seem evil, as though they were monsters who would make off with children. Burn fields and feed on human flesh. They were no more than animals in the eyes of humans by then. The community was powerless to stop it. So when a shape s.h.i.+fter killed a princess… it didn't take much for war to follow on those heels.

Kenya Shadow Paw laid to waste the old king and ended the war, but at a terrible price. So many died and even with the war over the bad reputations of the s.h.i.+fters still excited fear and their coats bore a high price. All that remains of the once proud nations are small bands hidden in the forest trying to rebuild their cultures.

Before she had a chance to finish kneeling two hands shoved her down, one slicing through her cloak to free the child. Meanwhile another grabbed her snow white hair forcing her to arch her back so the princess could be retrieved. She gritted her teeth against the pain shooting through her back and limbs.wounds she wasn't aware of yet made themselves known as she tried not to struggle.

The princess started crying as the last rider walked forward. He motioned to the guards who quickly let go of her as he took the baby from their hands. He looked the child over but she was crying rather loudly reaching for the kneeling warrior still. Kyera just smiled weakly at her, breathless from the brutal onslaught of feeling.

"Shhhh now, the pretty lady is just fine." he coaxed the child who seemed not to believe him. Even at her tender age she knew what 'fine' looked like and this wasn't it. He set her on the ground by his feet and nodded at a young male guard who took her hand, standing with the child.