The King and The Deliverer

Chapter 6

That very night, Natsu experienced a peculiar dream. He envisioned three wolves: a male, his mate, and their pup. They were being pursued by an old, decrepit lion with a bad eye, yet he remained a formidable threat. The male wolf bravely stayed behind to confront the lion while the female attempted to flee with their pup. However, members of the lion's pride soon pursued her. Realizing escape was impossible, she hid her pup in the tall reeds by the river and led the lions away.

Then, Natsu saw a lioness and her cub approach the river to drink, only to discover the hidden pup in the reeds. The lioness immediately began to groom the wolf pup, allowing him to play with her cub as if he were one of her own. Soon after, a younger, stronger lion appeared—her mate and the father of her cub. He regarded the pup with fear and distrust, growling as he approached. But the lioness rushed to protect the pup, and after a silent exchange between the two lions, he relented and allowed them to be.

Finally, Natsu watched as the lioness attempted to nurse the hungry pup, but she could not. None of the other lionesses in her pride could feed him either. Just then, the pup's true mother—a female wolf—was brought before them, and the pup joyfully suckled against her as she nuzzled him tearfully.

"It was so strange, Mother," Natsu told Mirajane the next morning.

"Dreams often are, my son," she replied.

"But what made it so strange wasn't just the dream itself; I had this odd feeling that it meant something."

"Oh? You think it could be a vision sent by the gods?"

"Maybe."

"What exactly happened in your dream, my son?"

"I dreamt that a pride of lions was trying to kill a family of wolves. They hid their pup in the river, among the reeds. Then, another pride found him, and the mother lion took him in and raised him alongside her cub, but she couldn't feed him. Only a female wolf—the pup's real mother—could nourish him. But none of the lions knew that. Isn't that strange?"

Mirajane's expression shifted, as if she had seen a ghost. Her sun-kissed face paled, and a slight tremor coursed through her.

"Mother, are you alright?" Natsu asked, concerned.

"I'm fine," she said, though her voice trembled. "I'm just a little weak from hunger. I should know better than to skip breakfast."

"You're shaking."

"I will be well once I've eaten my fill. But tell me, where is your brother?"

"Studying scriptures, as always."

"Why aren't you studying with him?"

"Because he's studying Hebrew scriptures," Natsu said thoughtlessly.

"What?" Mirajane's eyes widened.

"Oops. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about that," Natsu panicked, realizing his mistake. "Please don't tell Father! It'll only make him harder on Gray than he already is!"

"Oh, I most certainly will not tell him. But how long has this been going on?"

"It started when he was five, when Levy began teaching him about Hebrew culture."

"Levy? Your nurse?"

"She didn't mean any harm, Mother. It's just that she knows, as the second-born, Gray won't have as much of a purpose here as I do. She wanted him to be able to go out into the world and make something of himself if he couldn't do it here. That's why she taught him about other cultures. I know it's forbidden for a slave to share any beliefs or cultures, but she never let it interfere with what our tutors taught him. She never made her subject sound superior and always advised him to pay attention to our own culture."