Throne of the Beasts ✔️

The Prophecy

He lead me to the back of the enclosure and sat me down. He brushed his long, black hair out of his face. "I know you must have many questions, and I most likely have the answers." He cleared his throat and fixed his hair again. "But first, I am Dakota. And I assume you've met Biming?"

I looked to my right to, who I guessed was now called Biming, then to Dakota. I nodded and he continued. "Where you are now is our small, slowly growing nation. We call ourselves the Lenai."

"Wha...?" I said, as many questions attempted to fall out of my mouth at the same time. "One at a time, please." Dakota insisted. "Start off simple." I took a deep breath. "Why am I here?" I asked.

"You are part of an ancient prophecy." This peaked my interest. "Elaborate." I blurted.

Dakota cleared his throat and grabbed a book from behind him, resembling a Bible. He flipped to a page near the beginning and began reading.

"When the King and queen
Fall to their knees,
And their son takes o'er,
Know that she will come.
For this new king,
Is not what he seems,
For he is not a king at all.
When he brings war and sorrow,
And many bad things to follow,
Know that she will come.
For she is true royalty,
From a family with little property,
And will bring peace and prosperity
Throughout the land." He closed the book and slid it back behind him.

"What is that? That book?" I spoke up. He picked the book back up, stroking its spine. "This is the book of our people. It is called the Firinne. It is what we abide by. You could even call it our religion."

I nodded slowly. "What's with all the animals you have?" I gestured in an arc behind him, where all the animals were. He chuckled. "That is a long story I can tell you another time." I noticed it wasn't a happy or an amused laughter, it sounded nervous or even menacing. A chill went up my spine.

"So how did you know it was me?" I asked, enjoying the feeling of going further down the rabbit hole of this strange culture called the Lenai. "Because you have an owl as you're animal. It couldn't just be a mistake."

"But what about who I'm guessing is supposed to be Henry, he hasn't started any war yet, or anything bad! Well, he's definitely done some bad things..."

A loud horn sounded through the air, and Alfred took off. "That is how." Dakota said. "Quick, put this on and stay here unless there is an emergency. The rifle is by the door." He tossed at me a neatly folded tunic, hunter's pants and boots, and rushed outside.

Not questioning, I put on the clothes and sat by the door patiently, eyeing the rifle. I had never needed one before- we've always killed our animals using an axe, and we've never needed it against people. Though I've always wanted to try one, I never learned how to use it or been able to afford one.

As I reached my hand to it, my arm was grabbed and I was dragged outside. I looked up and saw Henry, torch and rifle in hand. "No!" I screamed, scrambling back inside to grab the gun. I was quickly dragged outside again, but I was immediately let go of after he saw the shimmering firearms in my and. It was his loss, I didn't even know where the safety was. I pointed it at him, and he dropped his weapon. "Look Eliza," he said, trembling, "it doesn't need to be like this. Just put the gun down, and we'll be on our merry way back to the castle. None of these people have to die."

Ignoring him, I kicked his gun away from him with my heel. We stood for what seemed like hours before he lunged below my feet, tripping me, and grabbing his weapon. "Ok, you and I both know you don't know how to use that thing." He said as my head hit the ground. "This is how you use it." He muttered, putting the barrel against my forehead. "Now, I think you'll be coming with me?" He cocked his gun for extra effect.

I stood up with both of my hands up in surrender. He had won. I didn't want to get shot over something as embarrassing as this. "Good girl."

Suddenly, he was knocked to the side and his gun and torch hit the ground. A small fire formed near his face. Biming was on top of him, wrestling with his arms in order to break them. As they struggled, I backed up slowly and watched as Biming shoved Henry's face closer and closer to the fire. He let out a bloodcurdling scream as I saw half of his face get engulfed in flames.

I looked away- I couldn't handle the gruesome nature of it. I ducked back inside. The sounds of war echoed in here, making it more ominous than ever as suspense built up and my heart drummed loudly through my chest. A familiar gloved hand poked through the tarp and almost inaudibly said, "You can come out, it's safe."

I hesitantly went to the entrance and opened it. No one was there, but I went outside anyway. Biming held the body of an unconscious and badly burnt Henry as he beckoned her outside. "You want to learn to shoot some guys?" He asked sarcastically as bodies flew all over the camp's grounds. I shakily nodded as he tossed me a small pistol.

I barely caught it when he said, "There. The safety is on the side. Just click it off." He pointed at someone firing. After following his instructions, I asked, "Now what?"

"Push that down and pull the trigger. Aim for the chest." I shakily aimed at the person he'd pointed to- he was loading his rifle from behind a tree. I held my breath. "What are you waiting for? Shoot!" Not thinking, I closed my eyes and fired a shot. A loud ringing blocked my hearing for a second and the smoke cleared. He was slumped over his gun, pouring blood, lifeless.

Excitement hit me, then guilt and sadness. I had just killed a man. A man with a family and an animal, wherever that was. All I knew was that they were both gone.

"C'mon, Eliza. There's five more bullets in it, and we need to hurry." He yelled at me. I dismissed my feelings and ran after him, hoping I wouldn't have to kill again unless necessary.