" Welcome. Welcome. Welcome. "The Wolf King could not believe that the Fox King had come to meet him in person.They had never talked face to face except for in battlesIt was an overwhelming situation for both of them.In fact it was overwhelming for both the tribes ." Never had in my wildest dreams did I think that we will get to meet in circumstances like these. "The Wolf King was unsure if he was supposed to hug or shake hands with the Fox King.The Fox King smiled at his hesitation.Then embraced him into a bear hug." There is no more need for any formalities. We are in-laws now. Our ties have been sealed with blood. "The Wolf King laughed." Ha Ha !How have the times changed.Wasn't this the very reason why it had all began. "The statement made both a little uneasy.Lin and Xie came forward to fill in the awkward moment." How are we planning our defence against the onslaught? "Xie dared to immediately bring up the question. Afraid that the discussion might trigger misund
The next morning Mia called her aunts." Aunt Jade.Aunt Ruby . Will it be possible for you two to take my baby for a tour of the outside? Show him around the mer-word? I feel too tired all of a sudden. I would like to get some sleep. "" Of course we can. "Ruby patted Mia's head." It's natural to feel exhausted. You had such a difficult child birth. Don't worry. We will take good care of him. You can take some rest. "Jade kissed Mia on her head." You promise ? "Mia implied a promise that was deeper. But none of them understood." Of course silly girl.We will. Why do need to be so dramatic? " Ruby tapped her head with her hand. Mia smiled.She pretended to go to sleep as they went away with her child.Mia stayed like that for sometimes, before quickly getting up and heading for the stream that was beside the ridge. The ridge where Lin had hidden her inside a barrier. Mia sighed. Those days seemed so long ago. Back then she was hopeless. Back then also she was alone.Hiding, scare
" Got you! "Mia swam behind it and tackled it without notice.The weird little squirms were what Mia thought were his giggles." How have you been? I have missed you! "Mia squeezed him hard. He too held Mia's hand back." My son is born you know. You and Anjana will no longer need to live in fear. The queen too loves him so much. I had not anticipated he would have had that kind of an effect on them. "Mia could not help but share the news of hope with the little one. But the mention of the queen immediately made him reel. Reel back in fear." Don't be scared. Little one. Don't be scared. Trust me. I saw her take care of my son with with my own eyes. I understand how desperation might have driven them. But now they too can see past the gloomy situation. "Mia tried to cheer the poor thing up a little. But it seemed way too scared just by the mere mention of the queens name." Never mind. Never mind. I have something important to ask of you. Do you remember the place you took me to t
Lin and Xie were hard at work. Their brothers had also given them much helping hand. It was way too much work to bring their entire populations in one place. That too within the constant protection of the barrier." HEAVE- HO"They pulled the make shift tents up, one after the other. There was no time to build anything at that point. It was also of no use as concrete and fabric, both stood between the grudge and them, in the same way. Their only protection against it was their barrier. They toiled day and night to keep it up. Strengthen it and make it as inclusive and wide spread as possible ." Do my brothers need any help! "Roe jumped in between Lin and Xie as they were immersed in discussing a structure." Gosh! Roe. You scared me to death. ".Xie exclaimed with his hand over his chest.Roe poked him right at the place." Ouch. ".Xie exclaimed.Lin smiled. It was amusing to see this duo fight. He looked here and there." Where is that useless bird? " He asked." Boshu you mean? The
" Jade. Jade. I cannot find Mia anywhere. Jade! "Ruby came rushing like a maniac for help when she realised that Mia was missing." What rubbish? Where could she go? "Jade was crying her baby in her arms." It's been a while. We need to find her before the baby starts getting hungry. "" But I searched everywhere. She is not anywhere near. "Ruby protested. She was getting paranoid." Ruby. " Jade paused with horror. " Do you think, by any chance, she might have gone to the shores? Perhaps to meet her husband? "" No. Oh! Noo!It's suicide. That abomination born out of the curse is lurking to catch her. If she went there, there is no way she will be able to get away.What do we do now? "There was fresh horror in both their eyes." Should we ask the queen for help? "Ruby asked.Jade nodded. She was the last person to go to the Queen for help." I guess we have no other choice. Let's hurry. Let's hurry before it is too late. "They went towards the palace without further ado." Let
Mia found herself standing in front of the great old tree.It however looked very different this time.It had shades of grey between it's leaves. Mia rubbed her eyes to check properly if indeed it was true or was she seeing things.Suddenly she felt a strong pull. She tried resisting with her hands by ended up being tangled in the branches that were coming down like creepers that were mobile. It was like Mia was getting sandwiched between the ground pushing her towards the Tree and the vines trying to tangle her in its grip.She fought for a few minutes, then realised that there was no use. She had willingly come there. She had willingly promised to sacrifice herself in exchange for her boy's life. This was the end of her life.The realisation made her give up. She stopped struggling. The vines slowly weaved a web around her when she suddenly realised that she had not asked the Tree of Knowledge how it was going to save her boy and her family from the curse." Hey. Hey. Stop. Please s
" Nana. How was your day? "Lin jumped beside Nanako, kissing her on the forehead before laying down on her lap. She stroked his forehead with a smile." The work on consolidating the barrier is almost done. Have you been able to implement it? "Lin nodded." Yes. We were able to cover most of the place that we mapped under this project. "Lin sighed, " I just hope we are able to save as many lives as possible. "Nana nodded." I am still working on the riddle. I thing I found something one moment, the next moment it starts to seem absurd.Isn't it funny my dear boy. I myself don't understand what I had said. "It made Lin chuckle, " It wasn't technically you. It was the Oracle. "" Hhhmmm. A part of the curse that fell on my share. "" It was also a gift. Wasn't it? "Lin tried to make her see the positive." Nana, " Lin suddenly turned to face his Nanako, lying on his chest, " Have you ever wondered how your life must have turned out if there was not this misunderstanding. If you ha
" What? Mia can traverse the under current? "The queen sat back on her throne fixing her nails as she received the news." That's big news. " She said to herself." I dare to disagree Your Majesty. The big news is not that Mia can traverse the undercurrents. The big news is that we picked up the presence of not one but two males of our species from direction in which Mia traversed. "The entire courtroom went up on their tails.An instant murmur erupted.The queen however seemed very calm and poised about the matter.Just then Jade and Ruby arrived at the place." Really? Has Mia been conspiring this whole time against our entire race? She went in the direction of the undercurrents when our males are hiding.Do you understand what it means when we say males? "There was no answer. Only murmured that grew louder." Makes implies my mate and the mate of our beloved Crystal whom we had been searching for ages.Apparently Mia knew his location. He mother's mate. How touching must have be
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