The Seventh Kingdom

I woke up in my bed chamber with golden rays of sunlight on my face. I gave a big yawn and stretched out like a cat on my bed, and mmm, that stretch felt good, like I popped all my joints and filled them with fizzy stuff. I pushed back my white, tie-dyed red comforter and looked around my room.

My enormous room was looking normal with its white walls splatter painted with red and my beautiful antique gold dresser that was my grandmothers sat there with jewelry, and perfume neatly arranged. No doubt that the maids arranged them, because normally when I'm done with using things there,it looks like a tornado hit it. My gold nightstand that matched the dresser, but not quite as old because it was mothers was sitting beside my bed stacked up with books, and a reading lamp. I looked out of my bay windows which are to the right of me, and saw the sun shining on my beautiful garden.

I sighed contentedly. Thankfully it has been a month since the war of the all seven kingdoms has ended in our realm, and everlasting peace should be on the horizon...or not. But the war started a couple of years ago with the first kingdom. I was only fifteen when the war happened and it was not beautiful time. The first kingdom which of course consisted of trolls and nothing, but trolls wanted more land from the seventh kingdom because the seventh kingdom is the smallest kingdom and also their neighbor (I live in the seventh kingdom). Well, of course my father, the king, said no. The trolls had already taken most of our land from a war that was way before my father's time or my grandmothers, but that's another matter to discuss.

The trolls were becoming greedy and they wouldn't stop badgering, and make offerings to my father. So one day the just got pissed, and I mean pissed. They badly wanted a piece of our land, and declared war on us. News, of war spread through each kingdom, and uprising and famine started to take over. People started taking each other's side. Families turning on each other, and people started losing their moral values. The war took a toll on people and it was large fine they paid.

At first, the rest of kingdoms stayed out of the war because it was only a dispute between us, the shape shifters, and the trolls. But we were losing because of how small our military was and how many people wouldn't come to war because they had families. This however appealed to the Lycans, those mutts! They think there's something alluring to a lost cause, if they can get something out of it! So they made a proposition to my father that they would assist us in the war but he must send one of his daughters, one of my sisters, to marry their youngest son because he couldn't find a wife. HA! I wouldn't dream anyone wanting to marry a lycan! I pity whichever of my sisters has to marry the poor fool.

And of course kingdom five or shall I say the blood suckers saw this as an opportunity to lessen the population of the lycans so they sided with the trolls. Vampires and lycans have a very, very bloody history together, one I'd rather not get into.

Then soon after others got involved, kingdom two the humans sided with us, kingdom six the witches, those hateful hags or a-holes for the males, sided with the trolls. Then, that left kingdom four, the children of the plant. The children of the plant are basically plants that walk talk and eat food, and look like humans, and they are extraordinarily beautiful. They are so beautiful that nothing could compare to them, but I still think in battle they are weak. Their vegetarian, and can make plants grow out of nowhere. They stayed neutral during the war and didn't pay attention to the bloody war and went on merrily making elixirs and potions for medicine to doodle around each kingdom.

Just thinking about it made me boil with rage and I shot out of my bed to my bathroom, and vigorously brushed my teeth. I brushed my teeth so hard that my gums started to bleed a bit. I spit out the foamy toothpaste that had stains of red in it, and rinsed my mouth. I stormed to my closet and grabbed a pair of black running shorts and a plain black shirt. I'm certainly not like my five other sisters who wear dresses constantly to please mother and father, and have men fawning over them.

I have three younger sisters Lenya who's ten and has boys all over her, Shanty who's thirteen, she's more conservative and Marina who's fifteen and soon to be wed. I know how shocking, I'm seventeen and my fifteen year old sister is going to be wed in three months. I'm quite happy for Marina, and as long as she's happy so am I. I always see how her eyes light up when Shane comes and visits her, and the good thing is that he's a noble too, so father will allow it. But in a way I'm jealous of her. I remember when she was Lenya's age and she many admirers who followed her everywhere and me I had no one to talk to but my best friend Orlie who was also smitten with my sister's charm and good looks. I've been jealous of that but I've learned to hide it well. Then my other two sisters Janic, who is 21 and has two children keeps harassing me to get married like mother, but lately they've stopped. That's strange, maybe they finally understand I'm destined to be alone...my other sister Ronya is 29 and had four children but she lets me be about the whole marriage thing.

My rage over the war started to dissipate as I started to think about my sister's wedding. I walked to my dresser and started brushing out my unruly, curly dark brown hair and put it up into a messy bun. I swiped some eyeliner and mascara around my dark brown eyes flecked with gold that was the only sign that I'm a shape shifter.

I went down our grand stairway to our soldier training rooms. When the war started and our soldiers had started to retreat more and more often, I took it upon myself to learn how to fight because if there was ever an invasion I want to be able to defend myself instead of a man fighting for me. When I first proposed this to mother she was against this. She said it was not ladies job to fight, it was to keep guest company, blah, blah, blah and I tuned out after that, but Father saw my logic and persuaded mother to let me train.

When I walked In, men were everywhere from all different age ranges from fifteen to as old as fifty or sixty, and the smell of sweat, and guy assaulted me and I almost gaged. They were polishing weapons, fighting in their shape shifter form, sparring, all over the place. None of them seemed to acknowledge me which was good because I don't like yo be disturbed and most of them thought combat training was never a woman's place, those sexist pigs, except for my trainer Shade. He was about twenty and agreed with that women should be allowed to train and do much more for their kingdoms. I looked around the room with its plain white walls and blue mats everywhere with men sparring in their shape shifter forms.

There are generally there different types of shape shifters, the clones, who can look like anyone they want to, The animalia, who shift into any animal of their choice, or the halfers, who can shift into anything human, or animal, sometime even plants, and I apparently am the first halfer in two hundred years. Yet, the treat me like a woman who can't do anything! I bet I could beat half of their sorry asses all they to First kingdom!

I could feel a scowl erupt on my face as I started to look for Shade. Where was Shade anyway? I looked down at my wrist watch impatiently and looked back up and there was Shade right in front of me. I glared at him. When I'm late it's like the whole world shifted position and an asteroid is going to come and kill us, but when he's late the world is still the same as it was yesterday.

"Well, well I see our little princess here is in a mighty fine mood," his voice was full of humor.
I just kept on glaring at him, and giving him the silent treatment. His blonde hair was pushed up in way that looked identically to Edward Cullen; his blue eyes had flecks of gold in it just like mine. He was about 6'4 and had a strong jaw line and broad shoulders with a straight nose.

He just smirked at me and said, "Well, we can sit here and glare at each other all day, which I would be happy to do, or we can start some warm up exercises."

I just nodded and we started going through our daily routine of stretches. I could feel my sore muscles starting to loosen during one of the stretches. It felt good like I was wound so tight and now I'm mellow and all flowy.

"Ok, in the past we have shifted you into many forms, but when you're being attacked you have to find the right form that will put you at an upper hand advantage. First attack me and see what I shift into."

I was about to clip him in his jaw, but he shifted into a leopard. I was about to shift into a lioness but then I heard my name being shouted throughout the room causing everyone to turn to look at the big burly man at the age of thirty-five wearing the royal guard outfit of a plain gray shirt with the royal seal on it and cream-colored cargo pants. We've modernized ourselves since the humans have started this techno revolution... well that what my father talks about and he always wants the latest gear for his army.

"KATSIN."

"Yes sir," I learned from this training that I needed to respect every soldier no matter what level of authority they have.

"Your father has requested your presence in the royal parlor and suggests you dress appropriately."

I groaned inwardly. Damn it! I have to wear a dress and this normally never happens unless there is big news, very big news...panic started to race through me. My mind we reeling at the possibility of such occasion I must wear a dress. My father is almost always happy with what I wear. I wouldn't have been surprised if mother had sent him and tell him that I need to wear a dress but father! I took a deep breath to ground myself. I could feel the gaze of all the men in there on me and I had to act calm and cool. Breathe Katsin it's going to be alright trust me.

"Kat, you ok?" Shade whispered at me.

I gave him a nod and looked back at the soldier I gave him a nod of thanks and he left.