[Prologue]    [Chapter 1]   [Chapter 2]    [Chapter 3]    [Chapter 4]    [Chapter 5]    [Chapter 6]    [Chapter 7]    [Chapter 8]    [Chapter 9]    [Chapter 10]    [Chapter 11]    [Chapter 12]    [Chapter 13]    [Chapter 14]    [Chapter 15]    [Chapter 16]    [Chapter 17]    [Chapter 18]    [Chapter 19]    [Chapter 20]    [Chapter 22]    [Chapter 23]    [Chapter 24]    [Chapter 25]    [Chapter 26]    [Chapter 27]    [Chapter 28]    [Chapter 29]    [Chapter 30]    [Epilogue]
   

Chapter 21

    “I felt a little sick when I got back to my quarters. I was supposed to work that day, but good, reliable Saren came to my rescue. She came in a bit before lunch. “A little under the weather? I’ll take up your duties.” “Thanks,” I said and I was really thanking her. “You’ll need to be better tomorrow,” she told me. “What happens tomorrow?” I asked. “Huge party. Ingree will present his girlfriend. No one knows who she is you see, a lot of people think it’s Marlee.”
    “So I went along the next day, not enjoying myself as usual. A Senior Doctor told me that when I had the chance, I should go to the Government Labs to give a blood sample. Wasn’t bothered to ask why. My parents were allowed into the exclusive party for, well, being my parents. There was also the fact that my father used to be a General. Don’t think I told you about that did I? Anyway, they found me with Saren.
    ““Big news!” Father said when he got to me. “In less then 5 minutes, we are going to see our future queen!” “Who do you think she’ll be?” Mother asked. “Many say Marlee, I agree,” said Saren. “I think it’s Kina, she’s the prettiest thing in the palace,” said Mother. “It’s more likely Kayla,” said Father. “Unlikely, she’s a bossy boots,” said my other parent. “Which makes her all the more likely,”  Father said. “If it is Kayla, I swear I’ll die,” said Saren. As far as I know, she isn’t dead yet. It may be because my son killed that Queen.
    ““Who do you think it is Balka?” Mother asked me. “Don’t know, don’t care” was my answer. “You’ve got to care, it’s your job to give them their blessings at their wedding,” Saren told me. “You tell me this now?” I asked. She giggled.
    “Trumpets were heard, the doors opened. In walked Ingree, wearing gold and his crown, holding the hand of Kayla, wearing an orange bodysuit with a velvet orange belt. I was expected to do my part. I stood in front of their thrones. I said to the entire room: “All people, in this company, treasure this moment! You see now, future Queen Kayla, Woman of the Catlans!” They all clapped and cheered. The fools. I really wanted to get out of there, so I sneaked out of the party. I went to where I felt most at home: the desert.
    “Years passed. Kayla and Ingree got married. The whole city celebrated. It was about 10 years after the Wedding, that I was told my DNA was chosen to breed the strongest interbred Dog-Catlan...to put it simply, my daughter Kuni here.” Kuni giggled and put her head on her Dad’s shoulder. Balka-Rae stroked her hair.
    “I went to the labs to meet the mother. Doglan of course. She was a white-head called Jorea. The guards didn’t go too near her. They knew she could hurt them and they couldn’t grab the forever dagger. When they tried to grab it, their hand went right through it, as if it was invisible. When I was able to hold it, everyone thought that I was Fera’s 'special one’ and no one even dared to hate me...until I freed the Doglans of course.
    “It was also at that point that I was ordered to plan an attack to enslave Tyrony. Please don’t be mad at me Tyrons. So I spent the next 5 months in my quarters almost the whole time, looking after Jorea and planning the attack. She kept telling me stuff like: “You will have to sacrifice this power for a greater reward” and “you will one day be with your lost treasure again”.
    “I knew what she was talking about...
    “Planning the attack was easy, but what was hard was to make sure there was a time delay so that Tyrony could make a plan to survive, like...say...sending Zana across carrying 5-day-old Jaron. You were spotted Zana, but I ordered them not to go after you.” Balka grinned. “Aren’t I nice?”
    Most of the Talkans looked quite surprised and shocked. “Well, Kuni was born. Jorea died while giving birth. I kept Kuni in my home and raised her. Took me a while before I could think of a name for her though. I also got a secret message. It was from R-my former lover, telling me how my son was.”
    “Why doesn’t he tell us who his lover is?” thought Jaron.
    The story carried on. “So then, 2 years later, the attack was ordered on Tyrony. I was good...the country didn’t stand a chance...I had left Kuni behind. I didn’t stay in Tyrony long, I saw...Zana’s mother quickly before I left. I then took Kuni on her first trip to the desert.
    “Years passed. I never went to Tyrony unless I was ordered to...and whenever I did, I visited my partner. I was ordered to go and attend: 'the wondrous birth of Dira’ and Dira’s Christening.”
    “I remember that day,” said Rida. “I was offered as a Christening present.”
    “You never told me that,” said Jaron.
    “You never asked,” told his brother.
    Balka grinned. “That was how I convinced Kayla to take Zana’s chain off.”
    “That can’t be true,” thought Zana. “Kayla took it off because she got tired of me.” Balka carried on with his story.
    “Then the fateful day came: Tyrony was given back to the Tyrons. That was a day I was truly celebrating.”
    “We were celebrating Father,” said Kuni, raising her head off her Dad’s shoulder.
    “Of course, my daughter helped,” said Balka-Rae.
    “I remember you showing it off the whole time when we ran from Catlans,” said Yanthro.
    “Now that was true,” said Balka-Rae to Kuni. A few Taklans giggled. “Now, where was I? Oh yeah, when Ingree came home, he wore black for months on end, mourning for the death of his Queen-thanks to my son over there. I suppose he did love Kayla after all. He wasn’t the only one wearing black either, most of the Catlans did, mourning for the death of the Queen and Dira being locked away in prison. I then set plans to free some Doglans. I wanted to free as many as possible, but I realised that the best plan could only free one hold. There’re 11 holds in all.
    “I passed a secret message across to the Doglans telling them that the Doglans in Hold 1 were to be freed in a few hours. So a lot of child Doglans were put in there as Doglans were allowed to go to any hold they liked. One of the child Doglans was the 9-year-old Yanthro.” Yanthro smiled. “I knocked out all of the jailors and guards in the area, then me and Kuni led the Doglans into an underground tunnel, at the side of the city. That’s the tunnel that we get into the city with later. We both had weapons and mines were laid in the sand above us. The tunnel we went along wasn’t explored very well, so when we found a new tunnel, it always came as a surprise.”
    “Oh no, not again. Please, not again,” thought Zana. He was getting what seemed to be more of Balka-Rae’s memories. Balka and a crowd of Doglans were walking in a cave when out of nowhere, there were explosions outside and bits of rock fell. “They know we’re in this tunnel, they’re trying to attack us!” shouted Kuni from the back. “The rock shouldn’t break, so it’s better not to worry!” Balka shouted. They carried on walking, but the Doglans looked a little more scared than they were a few minutes ago.
    They kept on walking until they went into a large cave. It had a small waterfall and a pool of water. “We can wait here for a few minutes,” said Balka. They all rested and drank some water. Some of the younger Doglans had a bath in the pool.
    Then there was a very loud explosion. A few screamed, a small Doglan cried. “Out,” said Kuni quietly. Everyone picked up their stuff and ran into the next tunnel. Balka checked to make sure everyone was out, he saw a grenade fall down the waterfall. He ran. The cave blew up. Then the soldiers ran through the door they made into the cave.
    Everyone was scared and kept running as fast as they could. Some of the soldiers started shooting them. Balka dropped a mine. He could hear it blow up behind him as he ran. He dropped 2 more grenades but someone then shot his arm. It hurt. Balka ran on, holding his arm. Zana-seeing all this-thought his arm was hurting so he held it. Kuni saw what he did.
    “Zana..?” she tried to ask.
    Zana saw Balka fall down, he felt his leg was hurting. He knew he was shot. Zana fell down too.
    Everyone quickly ran to Zana. He was lying, holding his arm, had his eyes closed and was saying: “Kuni, why’d you come back? Go away.” Kuni and Balka looked at each other.
    “You remember that happening,” said Jaron.
    “It looks like he’s been living my memories,” said Balka.
    Zana’s eyes opened. But they were white, not blue. He grabbed Balka’s arm. When he talked, it was strange. It wasn’t just Zana talking, there were hundreds of other voices. He told Balka: “Zana has been a loyal and faithful person, but his eyes are diseased. I had to show him your memories, you show him the way.” Zana was then asleep.
    ...Nothing happened...no one knew what had happened...Corina shivered.

©Ruth Amy Louise Hüneke 2008