Chapter 2: A Wild Time at the Palace

Aside from the one giggle, Tammi kept to her vow to be on her best behavior as they waited to be shown into the Emperor and Empress.

The Emperor's throne room was a stunning sight for Tammi to behold. The two matching thrones were made of hand carved hardwood and radiated nobility and power. The thrones were displayed in an ornate room with lofty ceilings and fine tapestries covering the walls. It was truly a stately room suited for royalty.

The ladies entered and curtseyed. Tammi's companions let out an almost audible sigh of relief. Tamarilla had managed to keep her bountiful treasures within her clothing. The Emperor beckoned the ladies closer to the raised dais the Thrones were on and leaned forward with a thin smile on his lips.

The Emperor and his wife were older then Tammi but younger than her nana. They were at an age where they could have been Tamarilla's parents, the Emperor being slightly older than his wife. His muscles were evident under the trappings of royalty and his face was weathered, yet handsome. By contrast, his wife looked like she was born to this role. With her stylish blonde, almost white, tresses and cool calculating stare, she wore the title of Empress well.

The Emperor quickly dashed this high-born appearance by jumping up from his throne and rushing to clasp hands with a bewildered, but happy Tammi. 'I guess the Emperor's just a regular guy after all.'

"I've been so eager to meet you and your friends Tammi! Can I call you Tammi? I so do want us to be friends." The Emperor was bubbling over like a pot left too long over the hearth.

The Empress rapidly showed her disapproval with her husband's lack of decorum. She went "hrumph" and motioned the Emperor back to his throne with a sideways nod of her head. This admonishment was barely heard and seen by Tamarilla and her friends, but it was noticed. The Emperor's face assumed a ruddy appearance, and he immediately let go of Tammi's hand and retreated back to his throne. Lori and Lindi exchanged a glance and a thought. 'It's easy to see who wears the crown in the empire!' "My apologies to you my darling wife and Empress, I just get so excited!" The Empress smiled at the Emperor with understanding and love. She then cleared her throat with an obvious "hrumph".

Her husband, the Emperor nodded as if responding to something he had planned ahead. "Well, let's get down to business. Tamarilla, I erm ... we want to thank you and your friends for ridding the Empire of the Army of Change and for exposing the duplicity of the elves. This is just more proof that magic can be dangerous if in the wrong hands." Tammi looked confused, so he explained. "I'm referring to the mask, of course. That is why I had my erm ... our palace protected against magic. But, I ramble on. Did you know that a shipwrecked Sailor washed ashore on the southern coast. He died of his injuries, but not before telling a story of how he had been on a ship from another place that had actually made it through the mist and hidden dangers that surround our land."

The Emperor paused for a moment to freshen his tongue with a drink. It was like a chain reaction; Tamarilla and all of her companions suddenly felt very thirsty and unconsciously licked their lips. Even the Empress took a drink from her cup even though she wasn't really thirsty. She noticed the ladies licking their lips and motioned to her husband to get on with what he was saying.

The Emperor set down his cup as if it had burned him and looked embarrassed. "My apologies ladies. Where was I, oh yes, the washed up Sailor. "Of course, every person living on In-Stablus knows that the mists are impenetrable and I don't usually have much stock in rumors, but I erm ... we thought his story should be investigated..."

The Emperor was interrupted by a soft twang and a thunk as two crossbow bolts sprouted from each throne very close to their occupants! The guards stationed around the throne room leapt into action. Guards ran to shield the nobles with their bodies while the captain of the guard grabbed a near-by crossbow and shot at a shadow he had seen move on the ornate ceiling. A body dressed in black and gray fell from the ceiling and landed next to Lori with a bolt sticking out of his chest. The ladies ran for cover while Tammi just stood open mouthed wondering how the wooden thrones had suddenly grown short arrows!

One of the guards yelled that there were more of them while pointing at the ceiling. The captain of the guards was winding up his cross bow to take another shot and other guards were running into the room with more bows.

The Empress quickly motioned to the Emperor to have them wait. Even he could understand that it would be good to question them. "Hold! Don't kill them. We need to find out who sent them. The only thing is that I don't know how to get them down without having them killed."

A soft, timid voice spoke. Tammi said, "I think I know how to get them down, your eminence." Everyone was talking at once, so the Emperor didn't hear her. She looked helplessly at the girls. Lori and Margaret both waved at Tamarilla to speak louder. Unfortunately, everyone had stopped speaking to draw a breath, so Tammi's voice was now too loud. "I SAID I THINK I KNOW HOW TO GET THEM DOWN!" Lori turned away embarrassed, but the Emperor was tired of all the shouting with no solution. He urged her to go on, but at a much reduced volume.

"Well", said Tammi, "this is just like when my nana used to open up the door and the shutters to try and get a sea breeze in the house. Not that we ever did, you see nana's house was in the middle of other houses and we wouldn't get the breezes. Now, Mama Gurley, whose house was almost at the edge of the cliffs, used to get some fine, cool ocean breezes which she needed because one of her kids had come down with the crud when he was a baby and the cool breezes were just the tonic he needed..." Here is where Tammi took a breath.

Author's Note: There is a very valid reason why men sometimes remark "What Lungs!" when seeing a big breasted woman.

The Emperor interrupted just then saving the junior member of the assassination team from losing his grip as his mind overloaded from Tammi's talking aimlessly. "Tamarilla, tell me how these breezes are going to get the assassins down, alive.

Tammi looked like she was talking to someone who didn't understand simple things. "Well, it won't silly, erm ... I mean your impertinence. I was just getting to that." The Emperor motioned for her to continue and a small groan was heard from the ceiling.

"Like I was saying, nana used to open the house up in the summer. And like I said we didn't get any breezes, we got wasps. Surely you know what wasps can do if they get inside a house?"

"Yes, Yes", said the Emperor, "You don't have to explain. And having wasp inside you nana's house is like my having assassins in my throne room?" Tammi eagerly nodded yes making her boobs dance within her robe stopping all conversation for a few moments. "I know I'm going to regret asking, but would you please explain it to me." With a croaking cry the youngest assassin let go and fell to his death with a thud. Tamarilla did not show that the falling man had even affected her or slowed her explanation down.

"My nana had a cure for those wasps and once a few bees that got caught in the house and you can use the same thing on these assassins." Tammi paused for effect. I'm having so much fun, it's like they need me. The Emperor looked like he was going to beg or something and Tammi knew that would be very mean. So, she told him in a rush of words that was hard to understand, "Youjusthavetosmokethemout!" He looked baffled, so Tamarilla said it slower. You just have to smoke them out.

It was like a light going on in the throne room. Guards ran to get torches and jars of oil so they could make the smoke needed to force the assassins to surrender. The Empress went over to her husband and whispered in his ear. The Emperor had several of the guards pull down two tapestries to use them to catch the falling men once the smoke had caused them to fall.