How We Came to Be

Chapter 6 - Lyca

As we ran I could tell we weren't going to make it. I shifted leopard and growled at Jacob. He understood and grabbed my fur pulling himself onto my back. We ran from the woods to a clearing "lycastus we have to split up!ill meet you at the cabin tonight!" I tried to reject but he jumped off of my back and ran through the woods ahead. Maybe they can't find me. Best I keep running. I started running again and noticed the area I was in." I haven't been here in years. WAIT this is near elainas home" with this I ran faster hoping to find their home. What I found was disheartening. The home had been burned. Ashes still laid around the door. Barely anything was left. Some tables had survived but fallen apart. I shifted back and looked around. The smell of smoke still filled the air sucking the breath out of my lungs. As I entered a room I tried to picture the house from memory . The place was fairly large. I think I'm in the kitchen. I followed the floor plan to elainas room. Her toys still sat on the floor,her favorite, a small brown bear , had been burned a little more than the others as if to insult her memory.  I slowly stood up looking around more ,trying to reconstruct my memory of the home. "if I remember correctly the fathers study was over here" I said walking over the remains of a burned down wall. I slowly put my back towards the remains of the front wall to see how the room was. "lets see. the desk was here. and the bed right..." I looked around more and finally saw the remaining cloth of the bed "there, and closet was right there where the burned rags are now. hmmm " I said to my self as I rummaged around the pile of ashes "what's this" I asked myself pulling out a book with half the cover burned off and the edges of the papers charred. "his journal, perfect." I opened the leather bound book and read the first page

"day one: Elaina seems very happy with her shifter friend. I believe they will be friends for a long time. taxes grow stronger as the new king gains power. he needs money and troops. we all fear what will happen as his power grows. I feel something moving in the background. the last kings death was untimely they say he caught the fever but I don't feel it so. I fear the new king does not want the alliances of the old king.  he is taxing the magickals more than the humans. I fear oppression will return. my biggest fear is for Elaina. she doesn't know he potential yet. the kingdom will fall on her shoulders one day and I fear what will happen if the king finds out the gravity of her life he will surely end it."

"He must mean me when he said shifter friend. if only he knew how right he was. but what did he mean with the gravity of Elaina. more and more questions."  the next few pages had similar things but growing with anxiety. I hid the book in my coat pocket and started walking home remembering the soldiers searching I made sure to hide my tracks well as I walked home. I could see the smoke from a good distance and tears filled my eyes once again as I ran to the house. "halt!" a soldier yelled as I ran through their guard and tried to run inside for Jacob but they grabbed me by the arms before I could get in. "what's your name boy?!" the captain  asked but I didn't dare reply as they put my knees to the ground. "alright boy. I see. " he turned to the soldiers holding me " take him to the castle" he ordered them as I tried to fight back. "JACOB!!!" I screamed as they chained me and started to drag me away. "shush b-" the captain started to say before a arrow poked through his throat.  the soldiers dropped me immediately
 (not caring of being gentle) and ran towards where the arrow came from. I smirked as I shifted to cat form and slipped from the chains and ran off to elainas house "jake will have to fend for himself sadly" I said to myself before saying a silent thank you to him.

a book found. a house burned. some clarity made. many questions arisen. whats next? find out in the next chapter!