"Thank you . " she spoke softly but clearly . Her strength returning . The Prince nodded before he motioned to the lion .

"Will he make it?" he asked watching the lion's chest rise and fall but seeming labored . Even he who was more partial to he fox and wolf could tell this great cat was bad off . It was tense and its tail twitched ever so slightly as if in annoyance or pain .

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There was no doubt the Emperor was on his way by now and when he arrived, Alexi hoped it would be good news . The old man was insufferable when one of his pets was injured, more or less dying . Alexi was old enough to understand how this palace worked and knew something was amiss since this started . The problem was he was fairly sure who was behind this… but prayed he was either wrong or the Emperor would never uncover the truth . Even if he did, lienance would be more likely of the Lion survived .

"Too soon to tell . He is stable, at least for now . I won't know more till Mally returns with the antidote . " Kyera replied as a Beauty set a bowl of water and a rag by her . Steam seemed to drift off the surface as if the water just came from the fire, soft purple petals floating in the clear liquid . Kyera looked confused, at least until the girl pointed at her hands . It was a usual practice to Kyera but she nodded and began the long process of removing the blood from her soft white skin .

"How did you know what it was? We have never seen that before our poison master ran to his temple with a sample to find a cure . " Alexi asked, sitting on a chair one of his servants had brought . Kyera still rested gracefully on the ground . She sighed deeply collecting her thoughts and gently stroking the lion's fur, unaware of the looks she got for this . To her it was nothing more than a mere gesture of comfort for the peast and a way for her to connect with him as a healer .

"My Master and I live in the forest . He gave up living in cities to help protect and grow the wild population after all the hunting during the war . So many were killed out of mistaken ident.i.ty that we protect a we can . He teaches me medicine and I hunt herbs and small game for him . "she explained offhandedly speaking soft and soothing as if partially for the lion . "Well, pelt trappers have begun using this green venom to poison their prey . It breaks down the muscle tissue but doesn't do much harm to the skin . It sickens me how such a n.o.ble and beautiful creature can be nothing but a pelt to some people . " Kyera replied, a hint of hatred in her voice . "The meat is destroyed the animal's body is left to rot . Not to mention its a horrible way to die . Writhing in agony with no end in site . "

The fire in her eyes lit up their golden color to a vibrant fiery amber . Tears burned the edges of her eyes but she only allowed one single tear to fall, giving him a glimpse of her tender heart . The grief and sorrow she felt for the victims felt so much realer to him than any other emotion he had encountered from a woman . He was moved to sadness but then quickly to anger and finally shock as he realized he was no longer neutral on the subject of poaching .

To stop her from shedding more tears and wis.h.i.+ng to change the subject he cleared his throat . "So, your Master is… . " he trailed off though in his mind he already had a good idea . After all very few hermits in the forest would take the injuries of trapped animals, and even fewer who would have a female apprentice . The shadows and her knowledge added up and fit in one gla.s.s alone .

"Half Eye, The Shadow Shaman . " Kyera replied a bit of humble pride in her voice . She had learned a lot from that old man, even if the shaman wasn't aware of it . It felt good to name him as her Master, and she knew he would be pleased . He had trained her well in the way of medicine .