"Enter!" Came the gruff reply. I fluidly turned the elaborate handle, stepped inside, and closed the door silently behind me. The room looked as it always did. My uncle's study was arranged in a casual disarray with books splayed over the floor space as well as his desk. The room was sparsely furnished with only a large rectangular table to accentuate the numerous bookshelves.


Despite all appearances, my uncle was not a scholar. As king of Mei he was expected to maintain a certain literacy, but Raytoo would never keep his snout within the dusty pages of a book any longer than necessary. He often had his more well read advisors handle matters that required such intelligence and left personal study as a last resort.


They say I inherited a lot from my uncle. My sometimes rash behavior and disdain for written knowledge, yet we both possessed a keen intelligence of survival and cunning. He may have divided his time equally, but I knew that I was his favorite niece. Jenna was just too.....like my father I suppose. Where as Uncle may have pulled me aside and asked council on a matter of public disturbance or renegade trouble, my sister tended to spend her days meandering in Father's workshop or reading in Uncle's study.


In all honesty, at times I questioned my Father's ways as well. Craftsmanship and Ingenuity were usually the trade and talent of Those Tied to Water, but her ever continued on. "You never know." he would always say as he tinkered with his projects. I had given up arguing with my father long ago, there was no detaining him. I must allow that every now and then a truly inventive idea was forthcoming, but always more easily conceived than achieved. Most of the products from his research ended up as playthings for the local hatchlings. Many times Raytoo had offered prestigious positions to his brother only to be met with refusal. Eventually, they came to a mutual disagreement.


Pushing thoughts of my father out of my mind, I approached Uncle's desk. He sat, looking rather frustrated, attempting to dissect the meaning of the words before him. He looked up at my entrance and a relieved smile overcame his features. He tossed the book to a far corner of the desk in a most unroyal manner and stood up.


"Tarzmina!" The king of Mei boomed as he crossed the room to greet me.


"Uncle." I responded, touching my forehead in a token of respect. "It's good to see you," I smiled. "How goes your studying?" Raytoo waved a clawed forehand in dismissal at my inquiry.


"None of that, I'll not dwell on the subject moreso than necessary. Dreadful dull things, books." He gestured apologetically to the nonexistent space and told me to simply clear a place to rest myself.