It was nearing the time for the meeting.  I moved around the room, setting up a table and two tall stools designed with a back to wrap around the user’s lower back.  A human would have thought them to be odd looking, but they were a common sight in my people’s chambers.  If the backs were any higher and it would prove uncomfortable for geludraco and phoenix wings.  Like most rooms in the geludraco fortress, the room was a marvel of architecture, with delicately curved walls of stone interlaced with ice and marble in swirling patterns.  The room was an offshoot of my master’s suite, a smaller room for more intimate meetings.  

My master and Emperor, Ventari Kolori, was quick to occupy one chair, his scaly black wings folded loosely against his back.  He watched the door carefully, almost nervously, as I removed the chess set from its box and set it upon the table.  I set the black side to Ventari, the red to the opposing chair.

“Will you require anything else, my master?”

“No, thank you, Yashira.  However, I’d like you to remain by my side in case my… guest… would.”

“Of course, my lord.”  I bowed, my white and blue hair concealing my face, before moving to stand a step behind him and to the side.

As if on cue, there came a knock at the door.  At Ventari’s call, the door opened and a geludraco servant poked his head inside.  “The Chieftain is here, my Lord Emperor.”  Ventari nodded and the servant opened the door fully.

Tamana Te’atta, the phoenix chieftain, entered the room like she owned it.  Her thick, long, red-gold hair was brushed back from her face with her own feathers tied into it.  Her wings were gold with crimson bands, and she wore a rather revealing red and gold dress.  Behind her was another phoenix, whom I recognized as Tobast, one of her favorite guards.  He was huge, easily 7 and a half feet.  He was all bronze, bronze feathers and skin, with dark brown hair cropped short.  He only wore a pair of white pants, from which a bird’s talons showed.  His chest had painted red designs on it.

They seemed the complete opposite of myself and my lord.  I was very short for my kind, only a little over 5 feet.  I wore a short skirted light blue robe with a harsh steel collar around my throat, and my hair and wings were white with blue streaks.  Ventari was a pool of darkness, pale skin with black robes, wings and hair.  He was well muscled and had two long black horns sweeping back from above his temples.

Tamana sat on the stool, ready to begin their usual game of chess, while Tobast stood in a position similar to mine.  As usual, the air was charged with tension, not surprising, considering our races had been at war only a few years ago.  Tamana had attacked the geludracos soon after the birth of Tamana and Ventari’s daughter.  Tamana had named her “The Night-slaying Fire,” and considered winning custody of the child a good omen.  Whether it was or not, I will never know, but both sides had sustained heavy losses.  At least for now, we were at peace once again.  This chess game was more than just a game, it was proof that relations were still neutral, and that the cease-fire was still in effect.

Tamana as usual, went first.  She immediately moved her ruby pawn two spaces forward.  Ventari did the same with his obsidian pawn.  The room was silent for a long time, the clicking of the game pieces the only sound in the room, neither players gaining much ground.  Ventari finally broke the silence, “So tell me, Phoenix Queen, how fares your daughter?”

“Chieftain, not queen,” Tamana replied curtly, not even bothering to acknowledge his question,  “and if you don’t mind, I think it’s about time you offered some hospitality to your guest, particularly one whose very essence does not agree with your icy palace.”

“Of course, how could I forget?  Do forgive me.  Yashira,” Ventari beckoned me to his side. “If you would, please retrieve some refreshments for myself and our esteemed guest.”  

“Of course, master.” I bowed and turned to Tobast, standing beside his chieftain.  “Would the good sir Tobast be so kind as to assist me?”

Tamana irritably waved him away, scowling at the chessboard, and he followed me to the kitchens.  There he looked around the room dubiously, wondering about his purpose.  

I smiled and reached to pat him on the shoulder, “Good sir, I will only need your assistance carrying the wine and perhaps a bread basket.”  I winked at him conspiratorially, “and I thought perhaps you might have needed a quick departure from that room.”  

He chucked, a low rumbling in his chest.  “Now, now, mah lady.  How many times must I tell ye,” He shook a large finger disapprovingly at me, “ Mah name be Toby, there be no need for sirs an’ airs.”

I laughed and grabbed the finger, my hands just circling it, “And how many times must I tell you, my good sir, that we have served and soothed our masters together too long for you to be referring to me as your lady.”

Toby smiled and patted me on the head surprisingly gently for one of his size. “That be true, that be true.  Now go on and fix meh chieftain’s lunch, afore she starts gettin irritable-like.”

“Getting irritable?  And here I thought that was just her default expression.” I replied dryly, before walking into the storage room.  

The storage room was a huge cylindrical chamber made up of shelves that stretched up easily forty feet.  A human would have found it difficult to retrieve anything, considering there were no ladders or stairs.  I, on the other hand, had no difficulty with it.  A quick jump and a flap of my wings carried me to the appropriate level, and I grabbed onto the edge with my claws.  After securing the cheese, I used the scales on the bottom of my human-like feet for traction and jumped to the other side to find a suitable basket of bread.  After that, a quick glide down and I was back in front of Toby.

  “So, my good dear sir,” I said stubbornly, slicing into the cheese, “How is my master’s daughter?”

Toby leaned against the counter, his face beaming with affection.  “Ah, she be teh sweetest thing.  Meh chieftain is havin ta raise her inna human’s form, so dere was some trouble at teh start.”

I nodded, confirming what I had been told.  Normally, in both phoenix and geludraco races, our young are hatched and raised in our true forms.  When we are old enough, our parents teach us to condense our forms into that of a human’s and taught the human common tongue.  In these forms, we require less room to live, food to eat, and are capable of communicating with other magical creatures and races.  In our native tongues, Tobast and I would not have understood one another, the roars of a dragon and cries of a phoenix not exactly be translatable. We also receive the surprisingly useful gift of hands, which has opened more opportunities that we could have originally imagined.

Due to Nightfire’s (as she was commonly called) special circumstances however, Tamana forced her to assume the form of a human to restrict her powers and protect her from them as well.  What powers a child of fire and frost would have, we could not know.  Unfortunately, raising what amounted to a human baby as her own would be difficult for the proud chieftain, considering the different needs.

Toby’s voice brought me back to the present, “But now she be a healthy lil toddler.  She learned ta walk recently, and I been chasin her all over.”  He gave a sigh, but the smile never left his face,  “She kin talk a little, barely words o’course, but she be a quick un.” He talked of her like she was his own, with a happy and proud expression on his face.

That brought another question to my attention, as I arranged the tray of food. “That’s excellent news.  Do… do you have any idea if, perhaps… She’s never met him, and...” my voice trailed off, and the image of my master’s lonely face filled my vision.

The smile faded from Toby’s face.  “Tamana be guardin Nightfire from our entire tribe outta fear fer her safety, but don‘ let her know I sed dat.  Teh odds of her lettin’ the Frost Emperor visit his lil ‘un are slim. I argued long an’ hard wif her about it, but I think she be afraid of the lil spark gettin attached to ‘im.”  He sighed and took the tray from me as I grabbed the nearby wine bottles.  “I be doin the best I kin, Yashira, that I be, but I kin not be dat lil girl’s father.”

I swallowed long and hard as we reached the chess room.  “ I know, Toby, I know.”

When we entered, it was Ventari who was staring long and hard at the board.  He absentmindedly took some bread and cheese from the tray.  Tamana had her arms crossed triumphantly, a glass of wine in her hand.  Finally, my master moved his knight forward and sat back quietly.  In a flurry of movement, Tamana rushed her bishop to take his rook.  “Check,” she declared superiorly.  

Ventari’s hand twitched momentarily, before raking  his long black hair back from his face.  He finally sighed resignedly, knocking his king over.  “I forfeit, you win, Tamana.”

“Of course.” Tamana smirked and stood.  Without another word, she turned to leave, Tobast following quickly in her wake with a quick wave to me.

As I quickly and quietly moved to clear the tray and glasses, Ventari moved his queen to take Tamana’s bishop, murmuring to himself softly.  “Checkmate.”