The Children of Destiny

Chpater 3 - Uh oh...

When Mom finally reached the nest, she put Kenai and I down and sat in front of us. That's how we knew we were in huge trouble. By this time, all the other cubs woke up and were staring at us in confusion, wondering where we'd gone.

It was Victor who spoke first. "You guys shouldn't have left," he muttered. "Now you're in trouble."

"Oh, shut up, Victor!" Kenai hissed.

I glared at Victor and repressed my urge to strangle him.

"So, I see Kenai's found out how to fly," Mom growled menacingly.

Kenai shuddered and inched closer to me as if asking me to shield him.

"It wasn't his fault!" I said quickly. "I accidentally shoved him over the cliff, so if you're gonna punish anyone, punish me. He was just doing what he had to do to survive, just like you taught us."

"And doing what he had to involved flying right into another lion's den and dragging you along with him?" Mom asked.

"Hey, in our defense, Thorn was really nice," I muttered.

"Don't start with me!" Mom roared.

Spit flew out of her parted jaws and I ducked, covering the top of my head with my arms.

"You flew right into the claws of a very dangerous lioness and could've died if I didn't notice you were missing," she hissed.

"Well, I'm sorry," I quickly got to my feet. "I should have tried harder to convince Kenai not to fly off like that."

"'Sorry' doesn't change the fact that you let your brother fly into a lion's den and get hurt like this in process!" Mom stalked closer to me.

"I can help him," I said frantically. "You... you taught me how to heal other lions when I was younger. He might be blinded in one eye and the wound could leave an ugly scar, but at least he'll survive!"

"No, you've done enough," Mom growled. "Calliope, I've taught you healing, is that correct?"

"Yes, mother," Calliope said, her bright blue eyes flooded with confusion.

"Good," Mom replied. "You will heal your brother's eye. As for you," — she turned back to me— "I'll meet you at the cliff."

I gulped and fell backwards, landing on my back and grunting from the impact.

"Kenai," Mom added as she turned away from me. "I was going to let you cubs learn to fly today, and you would've been the first to fly if you didn't already know how. So, you will be the last to fly, and Victor will make sure of it while I speak to Evander."

"But..." Kenai trailed off when he caught Mom's gaze and stomped away towards Calliope.

I bolted off towards the cliff and slid down the slope. Usually, it would be fun to do this, but now I was in trouble. Now, I felt a lot less excited about sliding down the slope. I anxiously waited for my mother to come down and talk to me as she promised.

She's probably going to blind me in one eye after seeing what Thorn did to Kenai... What I let Thorn do to Kenai...

I couldn't help but think that what happened to Kenai was all my fault. That the whole interaction was my fault. Finally, after what felt like hours, Mom finally arrived. She sat down in front of me and sighed.

"That lioness you spoke to back there," she started. "Did she say anything... peculiar... to you?"

"Well, I guess," I responded. "She told me she knew why my real mother abandoned me."

"I suppose it's time..." Mom muttered. "I couldn't expect to keep this from you forever."

"Keep what from me?" I asked.

"I'm getting to that," Mom hissed.

She took a deep breath to calm herself and continued.

"I don't suppose she told you her name?" she asked.

"She did, actually," I replied. "She said her name was Falcon. Apparently, she's some sort of glorified assassin in her kingdom."

"Great," Mom hissed under her breath. "They know exactly where you are now. They'll be after you."

"Mom, who is 'they'?" I asked. "You're not giving me any answers!"

"You have to get out of here," Mom ignored me. "All I can tell you is that you're a really important child and that every living creature would kill to get their hands on you. You can change the fate of this world, Evander."

"What are you going on about?" I narrowed my eyes at my mother in pure confusion and annoyance.

"Do you remember when I told you about the prophecy stating outcast children would stop the war?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" Now I was really confused.

"Well, you're one of the children of the prophecy, and I was chosen as your protector."

"What?" I searched my mother's gaze to see of she was lying or something, but she seemed to be telling the truth. "But, that means..."

"That your mother didn't actually abandon you. I was given the task of finding a young boy from Kestrel tribe with white hair that fit the description of the prophecy, and you were the perfect candidate."

"How so?" I wondered.

I wasn't at all mad that my mother had stolen me away from my home, just curious about how I could fulfill a huge prophecy.

"Well, the prophecy demands a child seen as an outcast by their tribe that can control the elements," Mom said. "I saw you on a patrol around Kestrel tribe's camp, being whispered about all throughout your tribe for being a child able to control ice, and just knew you were perfect and that my endless search was over."

"I can control ice?" I asked as I thought back to the sharp piece of ice that had just appeared in my hand back in Thorn's den. "That explains why my hands are always so cold..."

My mother nodded; I guessed she noticed I was just trying to process things.

"What of my real mother?" I asked finally. "Is she alive?"

"And well," Mom responded. "But, you are not allowed to meet her until you've fulfilled the prophecy, unless you don't survive."

"What will I tell the others?" I looked longingly over to the other cubs scuffling around in the nest.

"I'll tell them everything for you," Mom said, following my gaze. "Now, go. I'll make sure that you are safe for as far away from the nest as I can see."

"How will I get all the way down there?" I asked, turning to look at my mother again.

"I'll show you," she said, padding towards a strange-looking crack in the rocks.

Mom hooked her claw around the necklace she wore and pulled it off. I'd never paid much attention to it, but now I could see a key attached to the string of the necklace. Mom took the key, stuck it in the crack, and turned it until I heard a clicking sound. Then, she shoved the rock aside to reveal what looked like a staircase and stepped back, staring at me.

"That's been here the whole time?" I stared down the long staircase in surprise

Mom nodded and motioned with her tail for me to leave.

"And when you've gone," she said as I took a step towards her. "Don't come back unless you're dead and someone's brought me your body or you've fulfilled the prophecy and survived."

I shuddered at her harsh words and nodded, turning away from her to head towards the stairs. I looked back at mother one last time before finally leaving and going down the stairs.