Chapter Five

Hours had passed through the night. And now, it was morning. The brightness of the day shimmered through the tiny holes that served as an air aperture into the dark prison cell that Sophia found herself. She lay unconscious in the thick darkness of the cell. A box-like space with a very high roof . No windows at all. The only trace of light came from the tiny holes that were far away on the roof of the cell. The last thing Sophia could remember happened the previous night was the sight of a hungry haunting quarry. Flashes of the previous night began to make their way to her thoughts. 

" Run, Sophia…. Run. " 

Her lips kept on moving as she urged herself to run. Her reality was still with the night. All she could see was her poor self running for her dear life through the woods and thick forest. The thorns tore and took bits of her soles. But she did not mind. Pushing herself to survival was more important than yielding to rest. 

" Run, Sophia. You can do this. " 

Her numb body kept on trudging deeper in the forest. Her power house was now her will and strong quest to survive. Though she could not explain the mystery behind her current speed, she still had to keep moving. 

" Awaken your wolf. Awaken it, Sophia. " 

She kept on talking. For so many years of her life, she has not been able to awaken her wolf form. While transformation was a pot of juicy wine for her peers and every other member of her pack, it was a log of wood wetted by rain for many ages. The last memory of transformation in her life was at the age of sixteen. Back then, she still had the little will power to fight back when someone tried to humiliate her so much. But as time passed, she began to lose the will to fight. Not only did her willpower leave her, but that the transformational ability was hidden far away from her reach. But it happened last night. That willpower returned. And so did her transformational ability. 

Her thoughts flashed speedily to the moment she found herself in the midst of a very angry mob that only wanted one thing— her life. She had crossed the territory of the death valley pack. As the name implies, the pack was one of if not the most popular pack. No. Not popular but notorious. Through the ages, they had been referred to as many things. Wicked souls, evil incarnates, beasts of the wild, monsters . Whichever the case may be, they could fit in perfectly to it. Right now, the pack is called " Death Valley" . The worst nightmare of any person was to find him or herself trespassing the borders of the death valley back. Numerous alphas , omegas and betas have been buried beneath the soups of the land. They had no sort of diplomatic ties with any other community of their kind. Yes. That was where Sophia found herself. And her reality had gone from bad to worse. 

" Urgh. " She muttered and winced in pain. 

Her eyes had opened. But she was not sure if she had opened them or not. The darkness all around her was too thick. 

" Is . Is ." She struggled to speak. " Is anyone there?" 

She pulled herself up and struggled to stand. All over her body was a liquid but thick substance. It was blood gushing out of every tear in the corners of her skin. 

" Some... somebody he..lp.. somebody help. " 

Her voice was nearly inaudible. There was no strength in her body. Her healing would not come. After a long run and the bites she had suffered moments ago, there was no strength left to push for survival. She pushed her body to stand and staggered through the dark, groping like a blind person. Oh yes! At the moment, she could not tell if she was really blind or the room she was in had no light. Groping through the dark, she staggered and hit herself on a stiff but sticky object . It seemed like a wall. But what sort of a wall was a bit sticky? She ran her hands through it. It was a wall. But the texture was not modern. Tiny traces of dust made their way through her nose and throat and she coughed . At this point, it dawned on her that she was not just in any safe space. She was probably deep down in the earth. 

" So.. somebody…" 

Her attempt to call for help was fruitless this time. Her body began to fail her again. She felt the remaining strength fading away. Her eyelids began to move. They were shutting. With her legs stuttering forwards , she collapsed and fell on the ground. 

Moments passed as she struggled to maintain her consciousness. But it failed. Her world began to change again. Memories from her childhood were returning again. This time, her lips muttered a word. 

" Dad. "

Little Sophia found herself running towards the throne room. 

" Dad!!" She shouted as she ran into the room. 

Her father was having a discussion with someone. 

" Sorry, dad for interrupting your conversation. " She said with a disappointing look. She wanted to show her father something. 

" No. No. No. My princess. " Her father said, gesturing that she should come to him. 

" Alright. " Her father's guest said. " I will do as we have planned. " 

" That will be good. " Her father said. 

The guest took his leave , making room for little Sophia and her father to have their chat. 

" Alright, princess. " Her father said . " What has brought my baby girl to my throne room?" 

" Dad, hope I have not interrupted your conversation. " 

Her father smiled. Though Sophia was a very little child, it never ceased to amaze everyone at the level of development she had mentally. Maybe it had to do with her unique traits that only a certain kind of male child could have. It was a little bit of a mystery how she had it. 

" No, my dear. I will always have time for my princess. " 

She giggled at the thought of that. 

" I came to show you this. " She produced a tiny plant from her clothes. " Do you know what this is?" 

" Uhm. It seems like a herbal plant that is still growing. What herb is it?" 

Sophia also had the ability of a healer. She could identify herbs at a tender age. 

" Dad, I am not here to talk about herbs with you. " She chuckled. " If you can still remember, you gave me a little assignment four days ago. "'

" What?" Her father asked. " An assignment? " He stroked his hair and scanned for the memory in his thoughts. 

" Can't you remember?" 

" Oh.. you mean the one I said you should find weed. Am I right?" 

" Exactly, dad." 

" So, is my princess trying to say that this beautiful herbal plant that could be used someday to treat the sickness of people is a weed?"

She nodded her head. " Yes, dad. This herb is a weed. " 

" Why do you say so?" 

" Because you taught me , dad, that a weed is just any plant that begins to grow in any place that it is not wanted. " 

Her father smiled and stepped out of the throne. Taking the plant from her hand, he smiled and looked at her. 

" Sophia, listen to every word I say to you here. Okay?" 

She nodded in agreement. 

" I know you are too small for my teachings. But my dear one, there is not much time left for me. " 

" You don't have time left. " Sophia said and smiled. " Should I come back later?" 

" Not at all , my dear. " Her father stroked her hair and giggled. She probably did not have even a string of ideas of what her father meant by not having much time left. 

" Okay. I'm listening. Go on." 

" There are two other things I did not explain to you about weeds. The first one is that every one of us must learn from the life of weeds. " 

Sophia twitched her eyes. " Learn from them? They can't talk." 

" Yes, Sophia. However, let me ask you a question. " He paused before continuing. " That you have plucked off this herb, does it mean that another one won't grow there?"

" No father. It can still grow. " 

" That's right, Sophia. Let your life be like that of a weed. You will be knocked down many times. But you must make sure to keep rising. Do you understand?"

The little girl nodded her head. 

" Can I sit on your throne?" Sophia asked, smiling from ear to ear. 

" Oh course, princess. Go and sit down. " 

The little girl climbed the throne and sat down. 

" Sophia, a day will likely come when you will sit in this throne. Not as a princess . But as the controller. " He smiled. " Anyway, let's move over to the second lesson. " 

Her father stared at her for a good while. He knew the future awaiting the little girl was a serious one. But there was nothing he could do. Soon , his path would likely come to an end. 

" Continue with your teaching , dad. " She said. " Move to the second lesson." 

" The second lesson about the weed plant is related to the throne you are seated on right now. " 

The little girl glanced at the throne . What was her father saying?

" Related to the throne?" 

" Yes, princess. This throne is like the soil where specific plants are meant to grow . Only certain people are meant to sit on this throne , Sophia. The moment a person who is not meant for it comes to occupy it, that person becomes a weed. " 

" But why will someone not meant for this try to sit on it?" 

" That person will come for power. To get power, the person will want to sit on this throne of ours. " 

" Dad, you mean someone not meant to sit on this throne will come to sit on it. " 

" Sophia, this throne is meant for you. But someone is about to steal it from me. " 

" Who is that?" She asked, stepping down from the throne. " Tell me the person and I will deal with him." 

Her father giggled. 

" Listen, Sophia. You must build power. Build power. Enough power to take back the throne. Just like you have uprooted this weed plant, you must uproot that person too. Am I clear?" 

Sophia nodded. 

" Yes, dad." Sophia muttered on the ground. 

She was still there, battling for her consciousness. The memories had come and disappeared. Now, she was back to her reality. The dark room was still dark. But beyond the darkness , she had so many other thoughts running through her system. What did she just see? Dad? Sophia had no memory of her father. Her mother too was out of the equation. But it was strange to her. Not only did she see a man she had called dad but that she too was called a princess. 

" No. No way. " She muttered to herself. 

She must have been hallucinating. Those things could not have been real. The image of the throne room was very vivid. It was not just any other throne room. It was the throne room of the same pack that abused her for so many years of her life and finally succeeded in pushing her to her place of death. 

While she was still drooling over her miserable self, light began to penetrate the room. 

Yes. This is hallucination. She thought to herself. 

The light aperture increased and a flash of the morning sun made its way to her eyes, blinding her for a good while. 

What is happening? She questioned her reality. Maybe she was finally dying. 

" Dad. Mom. " Her lips moved. " I am finally here. I have come to meet you both. " 

Still in her state of subconscious living, a being materialized beside her. With hands that felt stuff, the being placed two fingers beside her throat. Was he checking if she could still breathe? Yes. She was still alive. 

" Is she dead?!" 

A voice thundered from above. Opening her eyes a little, she could see the handsome face of a man staringing down at her.