" Ahhhh.... I shouldn't have had to say this.. my little Roe Roe... but since I am your mother, I must... I cannot close my eyes to the truth... "Roe was sitting at her mother's chamber while Lin was with the Wolf King. " What is it? " She asked her mother, without looking up. She was holding her head between her two hands and pulling her hair out. She was trying to think about what she was missing. That's why she didn't go to attend the discussion with her father. " It's clear , isn't it? Why did your sister have to confide in your husband, instead of her own? "The Queen was slowly trying to push her agenda. It was her chance to get her daughter out of the mess. She knew very well what harm awaited all when she did what she was dirtying her hands with. " What are you trying to say? I am trying to figure something out as well. You are confusing me, instead of helping me out, like always. "Roe didn't take the poisonous hint her mother was trying to fees her, so the Queen had to d
Xie's POVI was walking casually back after wrapping up our little meeting with father and Lin. The fox king was also there and we decided that we needed to go check the Western Waters again. This time with reinforcement. I was walking casually back in, that is, till the scent of grime and metallic tang of blood assaulted my senses. I ran towards the chamber where Ruby was and banged the door open. Panic clawed at my chest as I scanned the room, my eyes widening at the horrifying sight. Vomit and crimson stains mared the floor, the walls, and my soul. "Ruby!" I yelled. my voice a desperate, echoing plea. My eyes darted around the room, searching for any trace of her beautiful, ethereal form. My heart raced, and I felt the raw edge of my claws pressing against the skin of my palms.I still tried to believe that she must have gotten very sick and moved to the hospital wing, despite seeing the marks of struggle all over the place. Fear was coursing through me, mingling with the ang
The ocean waters were especially rogue that day. It was hard to say if it was because of the weather or because Akata was distressed. He always used to be with Ruby or Jade or Roe whenever his parents had to go somewhere. Never was he left all alone, by himself, at home. This time, it was very different. His mom and Ruby, were gone. Jade was going to assist in the voyage that the foxes and the wolves were going to embark on, along with her mer-witches. The wolf King was to lead the expedition himself, leaving only the Fox king behind to defend both the territories, if anything unexpected happened back home. " Take care of yourself and take good care of your grandfather. Alright my little warrior? Can I count on you to save the day? "Lin asked, sitting on his knee, looking his son at the eye and holding his shoulder, firm. The boy nodded vigorously. " Yes, father. I will kill anybody who tries to trespass on these lands... "" Whoa! Hold on! Where did you learn that my little
"Make it quick, Shaman, if you want to keep your head. What is taking so long? I am running out of time, can't you see? They might be on us, any moment. The awakening must happen before that. "The Shaman was shaking in fear as he saw how the wolf queen was mishandling the, tattered body of Ruby who was in her mer-witch avatar. "I hope that Fox is able to do his part back there. All useless morons I kept as pets. None of you are worth even the base pay scale. "The Wolf queen murmured as the rogue mer-witch kept watching Ruby's woe with pleasure and smiling to her heart's content. The Shaman had initially agreed to aid the rogues in the lure for short cut money and early retirement. But he was no fool. He could see he was up against something he had no knowledge of but even with his low spiritual power he could tell the sinister forces that drew near. "Well, well, well... if this isn't sweet revenge, then what is? "The rogue mer-witch stroked Ruby down from head to her, barely glo
" Who was it? Who dared to disturb my peace? " The Great Serpent's eyes snapped open, blazing orbs of molten rage. The ground quaked beneath his colossal coils as he let out a thunderous roar that reverberated through the walls of the cave, shattering stones and splashing water all around. The Wolf Queen's eyes were ablaze with determination.She thought she had accomplished what she was working towards. She thought she had achieved her heart's desire.She came forward and bowed before the Great Serpent's majestic form. She raised her outstretched hand towards the form of the Great Serpent. Shadows danced across the ancient mausoleum.She shoved the shaman aside and then began to whisper incantation, her fingertips began to glow with a brilliant azure, and tendrils of raw power snaked towards the serpent's colossal form.It was a tribute. The way to let him know that it was indeed her doing and that she was vowing servitude. " It was me, oh! Great Serpent, your humble devotee. Welcome
" Xie ... Xie my boy, are you alright? "She rushed to his side as he began vomiting blood and foaming at his mouth. Her eyes were about to pop out of her eye sockets. Xie was in excruciating pain but he completely ignored his mother. He pushed her away and stumbled his way forward, towards his beloved. His eyes were flashing with concern even in that state. All that the Wolf Queen could do was watch in agony and jealous rage. Within the next few moments, the cave filled with the rest of the troops. The Wolf King came right at Xie and Ruby and hit them both with the Spirit Conjuring Staff that he snatched from the Queen's hand. It swirled around the two of them for some time and then slowly a greenish fume evaporated from around them. Xie too, fell unconscious over the body of his wife. " Take them back immediately. " The Wolf King commanded as a group of soldiers from the fox and wolf clans,hurried towards them. " Is she alive? " It was Jade who finally joined them. " She is
It was a hard job, convincing Akata to go back to his room. The Fox king had to tuck him to bed, all by himself and he had to secretly promise him that he and Akata would go down the Ancient Well to look for his mother and uncle, together. His old hands patted his chubby cheeks with reassurance. After, he came to his own chamber, he asked everyone to leave, because he was feeling discomfort. " Shall I call the doctors my King? " " No, just leave. Let me be by myself for a little bit. Something is not right in my heart. "His put his sheathed sword down just beside him and sat on the bed with his hands behind his ears, trying to stretch, trying to listen, trying to soothe the unknown aching in his heart. Just then a brilliant flash of light filled the room and it reflected against the window glasses, that was already shinning because of the moon's ethereal glow. " Third son? What a present surprise? Come, sit here next to me. Could you not sleep tonight as well? "The Fox king ask
The ones fighting in the front line had no time to think about the back up that didn't come. They were too preoccupied, fighting that losing battle, somewhere in their mind the fact was set, that they would not leave that hell hole alive, they would all perish and die. Because the more they killed the more they helped the undead breed. Every limb they severed became an addition to their ranks and numbers, with independent thinking. The ones carrying the unconscious Ruby and Xie were not doing fine, as well. Their ships were being dragged down by the myriad creatures from the netherworld that creeped into the ocean. They kept shooting their arrows laced with their spirit energy and spells but it was useless. The ship was going to sink any moment because of the pilling weight that was building under water, trying to anchor them. " What do we do? We cannot move at this rate. The prince and the princess will drown along with the ship if we don't do anything about it. "One Wolf obser
Fast forwarding a few years:Merindale tried to tuck her hair back with her muddy hand, painting her cheeks with mud in the process. Akata rolled over on the other side of the field as he saw her. She had not noticed that he was coming. “ What's so funny? ” she pouted. “ Nothing. I just saw the cutest flower amongst all the flowers in this field. ”Merindale instantly melted. How many times would her man make her fall for him, over and over again. She knew she was blessed and she cherished him. “ Now come on, you worked enough. Wash your hands and come and get some breakfast. I made some fresh pancakes. ”Merindale jumped up at the mention of pancakes. According to herhe made the best pancakes in the world. “ I'm coming, ” she literally jumped over the bushes, trying to hurry up when a certain whoosh of the air made her fall back. She rolled her eyes. The triplets were there again. They never left the two of them alone, barging in their peaceful mortal life, away from the hust
Akata's brows furrowed as the God in front of him pulled out what looked like a luminescent moon from his pocket. The moon swam around Akata, finally coming to rest in front of him, floating in the air. With one swing of the God's hand, Akata saw movements inside the orb. “ Father… ” Akata flew towards it, grabbing it with both hands. He could see Lin, inside the orb, fighting for his life in the midst of those Night Crawlers. He were all over him, in the count of thousands. “ Father… father… you are alive? ” Akata grabbed the orb and shook it violently, smiling through his tear. “ Father, I am coming. Don't worry. I will save you. ” His head swing at the God beside him. “ How do I go to this place? Tell me! ” He demanded. The God smiled at Akata. “ There will be no need for that. I can bring your father completely unharmed over here. Right now. But it will depend on your decision. ”Akata looked at him with suspicion. “ What decision are you talking about?”He asked . “ You
Merindale felt a little nudge at her feet when she looked down she saw a very familiar face. But she wasn't expecting to see that face in this realm. “ You! You are that ghost from my school. What are you doing here? Am I dead? What happened to aunt Mia? “ She paused momentary but didn't wait for the girl to reply. “ Shit! Don't tell me. Are we in the Celestial Realm? ” She looked around amazed, finally realising the heavenly beauty around that place. “ But you are a ghost right? Did they kidnap you as well? ” Merindale quickly turned back to her. The little girl shool her head and for the first time she spoke. “ I am Arawan. I am daughter to Mia and Lin, Akata's sister. ”Merindale’s eyes were about to pop out. “ Akata has a sister? ”“ I was in my mother's womb when the Celestial Beings brought us here. They kept my mother in her Soul form ever since. I was born as a Celestial Creature, devoid of a physical body, just like all the other beings born in this realm. ”Merindale c
Merindale's eyelids fluttered, battling the weight of slumber, as her mind groggily began to piece together the fragmented memories.Her thoughts spiraled in a dizzying whirlwind, voices echoing in her mind. "Where... am I” She murmured as she gradually awakened, her senses swimming hazily. She tried to touch her head because it hurt badly. But her hands weighed down with the weight of the shackles that seemed to be made with light. Merindale tugged at them realizing that she was a captive. But with every tug, those fragile looking shackles became heavier by the seconds. Merindale immediately gave up because she understood that she was making it worse. Her predatory senses kicked in and her eyes began to search for a way out. It took some time for her to adjust her gaze to the overwhelming light condition in the Celestial Realm. She shifted her weight and tried to sit up but she could only position herself on her knees. Her body felt exceptionally lightweight. She could almost
The Wolf Queen stood in the front, looking down at the flame leaping with its vicious tongue towards them. “ Can we believe this woman? ” Roe asked her brother. Xie placed a hand over Roe's shoulder and said, “ I can see something is different about her.I am no saint. Let us give her a benefit of doubt. There is no other knowledge that we can implement at the moment. Let's see if her method works.” “ But what if she tries to manipulate us again? What if we lose more … ”Xie pressed her hand, “ Watch… ”.They saw their mother slit her wrist and then she made a drop of that blood fall in the furnace.The fire reached the height of the heavens. It's color turned the darkest crimson and then it dropped down to its normal height. The fire changed its color a couple of times, matching Lin's changing eye color. And then something miraculous happened. The fire split from the middle, creating a way for them and everyone looked at each other in surprise. “ How did you do that? ” Roe aske
Akata and the old wolf queen helped Xie inside the Bird Tribe. He looked devastated. And the birds scattered here and there at his arrival. Roe rushed to the site and was shocked to find her mother and brother together. “ What brings you here mother? ” Roe lunged at her but she held up her hand. “ I know you don't trust me but I had nothing to do with this. It's about Merindale… They took her as well. ” she spurred. Roe had no time to gasp as they hurried inside with Xie who was almost on the verge of exhaustion. His eyes fell on Lin who was hurdled in the corner. Xie freed himself from everyone's grip and literally ran at his feet. “ Forgive me! ” he began to sob uncontrollably. “ Merindale was right. I never tried giving you my best. I always thought about the safety of my family and my kingdom first but look at the cruel twist of fate. I have neither a kingdom nor a daughter. ”He turned at his mother, “ Turns out I took after you,mother… Is it true that you cheated on m
The soldiers flew on either side, startled as Merindale swung the door to her father's chamber open with a loud kick. Her eyes were blazing with fury as she stormed in, her cloak billowed behind her like a tempestuous wind."Father," she spat, her voice was a mixture of anger and betrayal. "Why did you do this? Since when did you become a coward?” she huffed. “Merindale? ” Xie and Ruby were in their bed. They sat up as she entered. “My dear girl…where are you coming from? What happened?” Ruby tried to ask.“ Don't try to act like you have been doing over the years. I know everything. I saw uncle Lin and what you did to him.”Ruby opened her mouth but Xie raised a hand. “ I acted for your well-being. You cannot fathom the dangers lurking beyond our realm. I know what I did might not have been the best thing to do but that was all I could think of at the moment and as the Wolf King and your father, I am entitled to my decision." He concluded. "Enough!" Her fists clenched as she pac
Boshu was sobbing profusely as he saw Lin's motionless body. He held his hand and cried like someone who had lost everything. “ Forgive me! ” he could barely utter through his whimpers. “ Forgive me for not being able to be with you when you were suffering at the lands of your own people. Forgive me for being so engrossed in my own life that I… that I… ” he was almost on the verge of vomiting because he was crying and drooling so much. “ Papa! Take it easy. Your friend can't hear you. Let him come around first. ” one of the triplets patted his back. He had been guilt ridden for living in ignorance for so long. Besides he had never seen Lin in such a vulnerable state, be it any battle. Akata walked in at that moment. Boshu immediately wiped his tears at his arrival. “Don't worry. He will be up and running any moment, young man. ” Akata watched his father from a distance, smiled at his uncle and then left. Everything about his present situation was overwhelming. It was too much
“ What's going on? Is he not Akata? How the hell did your brother banish him? Why does he call himself Leo? ” Boshu poured his heart out but Roe stayed quiet. “ We need to go back. Let's take Akata to the Wolf territories. We don't have a proper facility to give him the required care. I need to talk with my brother as well. Things don't seem right at the moment. You stay back and take care of the kids, I will leave with him immediately.”*****At the Wolf Kingdom -Roe might have left her lands for love but her land never stopped loving her. Every leaf she stepped on rustled in greeting. Dust danced in the air, and every stone she trod upon seemed to echo a silent welcome.There was a stir amongst the guards as she walked through the gates, with Akata in her arms, going straight towards the palace. The soldiers standing tall and vigilant, softened at her arrival, acknowledging her with a respectful nod. It was as though the very essence of the kingdom recognized her, embracing he