Humans throw colourful parties Naerie thought to herself as she watched from her position, chained in the corner of the room near the bastard kings throne. She sat on her haunches in her animal form as women in bright gowns twirled on the dance floor. Some dresses were so bright she thought she would be blinded. Many people would spare glances at her form with curiosity. The had probably never seen a Tiagon before let alone been this close. Let them come closer, she thought, I'll bite their hands off. The king had thrown at least six parties already and Naerie was tired of being on display. And she was hungry. The staff rarely remembered to feed her and even when they did they were too scared to actually give her the food. Admittedly, her growls don't help.

Just as she began to drool at the thought of gnawing off one of the kings legs, a loud bang resounded in the hall. The doors had been thrown open and someone was now walking in her direction. Even the music had stopped at this point.

This is interesting. No one so far has ever shown up late to one of the kings grand celebrations. This person must be very bold. I like them. She watched with interest as the crowed parted for this one person. A young man. He didn't even bow to the king as he approached, but he simply nodded.

"Namjoon," the kings voice boomed, hinted with annoyance, "what brings you here?"

The young man, Namjoon, smirked. "You invited me, did you not?"

The hall was silent from the shock that they felt. This man had openly disrespected the king. Certainly he would be severely punished. But to Naeries' surprise the king did nothing. He simply glared at Namjoon, it was as though he had no power over the young man. "I did." The king finally replied. "But you're late." The king was angry. That was obvious and the man standing before him was the cause. Naerie suddenly realized herself what the kings anger meant. He would take it out on her since he seemed unable to touch this man. She growled under her breath. Suddenly, she didn't like this Namjoon as much.

"I would have been on time, but something came up. I brought a 'guest' with me." He waved towards the entrance and another young man stepped from the shadows. This one was shackled but he held his head high anyway with his disheveled brown hair falling into his eyes as he walked to Namjoons' side. He made eye contact with the king and it was as though the blood had been from the kings face. He gripped the arms of his golden throne with white knuckles.

"What have you done!?" The king cried, outraged. Before him stood not a man but a creature rumoured to strike fear into the heart of gods. The only telltale sign though were his eyes which held an array of shades like a rainbow.

From where she sat she could feel the power rolling off of him. It was true that he could take down empires. But how could he get captured by a human?

"I caught him." Namjoon shrugged. He then ascended the stairs to the kings throne, the guards becoming even more wary as they readied their weapons. The king waved them off with a ring-covered hand but they still stood, ready to attack.

Namjoon glanced at Naerie and she didn't miss the anger and sadness in his dark eyes. Then, he leaned towards the king so no one else could hear, but Naerie with her keen ears caught the spoken words.

"I came to remind you that you're not all-powerful."

The words, though not intended for her made her shiver and she had been so focused on the exchange that she hadn't noticed the other man approach her until she felt his warm hand running through her thick fur.

Her body jolted and she met his gaze, getting lost in his beautiful eyes.

He whispered to her before taking his hand away and wandering back to his former place, causing a spark of hope to ignite in her soul.

"You will be free, Naerie. In time."

~~~~~

Both men had left soon after but the party was ruined. The king sent the guests away and the staff stood by with their heads low, waiting for his next order.

The king threw his hand in Naeries' direction, still chained to the floor. "Take it to the chambers!" He roared. They all knew what that meant. It was time for the coward king to beat a chained prisoner. For once Naerie was glad to be trapped in this form or else she may have egged him on and blown her (extremely weak) cover. Although he probably wouldn't have noticed her lack of complacency. He was a dense king, after all. His anger and embarrassment blinded him and he failed to notice most things. One of the male guards approached her and she growled at him. They both knew she couldn't do anything to him but it still effectively intimidated him. With shaking hands he released her from the floor and gripped the thick chain leash in both hands. Too afraid to walk in front of a predator, he waited for her to take the first step and followed as far behind as possible.

Just as they were about to exit, the king spoke and stopped them. Naeries' shoulders tensed.

"Actually, I think I've tired of my parties for now. I no longer require its presence." An evil smile ghosted his middle-aged face as he made eye contact with Naerie. "Take it to the Underground."