Out of the Mountain

by Violet Chastain

  “Everyone, go,” Farran said quickly to the novices. and I turned on him.

  “You want to take them from me?” I snarled angrily when they started to comply. My friends were the only good thing that had happened to me since I left that mountain. There was a little voice in my head telling me that this wasn’t right, that I wasn’t thinking rationally, but I couldn’t hear it over my own snarling. I heard their breathing quicken and felt their fear as I turned on them. I liked that fear. Silas shifted in front of Adelaide when my eyes stopped on her.

  “Vivienne.” I heard Rowan growl as he moved, blocking my line of vision. I could feel the pressure in my chest building. My breathing sped even faster as I faced Rowan down, not sure if I wanted to flee or fight.

  “Here, kitty, kitty.” I heard Farran laugh, and when I turned on him, he ran . . . bad decision. My muscles sprang forward, and I jumped for him, body erupting in pain that split from head to toe before I fell to the ground and landed on four paws.

  Disoriented, I looked down at my white fur and dark stripes. My senses were bombarded all at once. Sight, smell, sound . . .it was all brighter, louder, overwhelming. I blinked, shaking my head as I did so. I felt so off balance. Right before my eyes, Farran shifted into a beautiful orange-and-black tiger, his body growing and shifting within an instant. He stood a head taller than me; his blue eyes shined bright, and he was magnificent.

  “Hey, pretty kitty,” I heard in my mind and stiffened.

  “Did you just . . .”

  “Talk in your mind? Yes . . . it’s something Shuni can do,” Farran replied as he pounced on top of me, big body knocking me to the ground.

  “Hey, ow!” I complained, swatting his nose with my paw, and he hissed comically. Don’t ask me how he managed that. It was Farran, after all. I attempted to relax and let instincts figure out how to manage going from two legs to four. I tried to roll him over, but his tiger was smarter than me and leveraged my weight until I was on my back and pinned under him again. I pushed him with my back legs and nipped his ear, surprised when blood filled my mouth, and he roared in shock before he was knocked off me and onto the ground by a huge lion.

  “Sorry, sorry!” I told Farran. “I didn’t realize how sharp the fangs are,” I continued, bumping Rowan aside to lick Farran’s ear on instinct.

  “Eww, why did I do that?” I complained, shaking my head, and then watched in awe as the wound on his ear closed up.

  “Feels better already,” Farran said, and I turned to look at Rowan.

  “Did you see that?” I asked him excitedly, and he jumped back from me startled.

  “What? What happened?” I asked, and he looked at Farran.

  “How are you speaking into my mind?” he asked, and his voice in my mind was enough to make me purr. The noise came out a much deeper, broken sound than I had expected, but the point was the same.

  “What do you mean? Farran said it was something we could do,” I replied, turning back to Farran and rubbing my jaw to his affectionately. It felt comforting; my tigress was so happy to be out. I could feel her instincts warring with mine for control.

  “That is sweet, Vivi, but I think you’re making Rowan jealous, even if you are my niece. Lions are the more cuddly species.” I heard Farran’s laugh in my mind even as I heard Rowan rumble low in his chest.

  I loped over to Rowan and stopped in front of him. His lion was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. His mane was full and robust, eyes big and bright yellow. I rubbed my jaw against him and he returned the gesture timidly. I heard a whistle and turned to our captive audience.

  I had completely forgotten. I ran toward them and stopped in front of Briony. I was tall enough to meet her eye to eye. I rubbed my jaw against her too, and she laughed. I fought the urge to wrap my paws around her and pull her to the ground playfully. My tigress didn’t know its own strength, so I made sure to sit perfectly still instead. There was a collective release of breath and everyone relaxed.

  “So absolutely beautiful,” Luca said as I turned to him. He reached out to touch my face, and I leaned into his palm. He smiled openly as I leaned forward and touched my nose to his. I was reveling in the freedom of my tigress. It felt like a barrier had been broken. I noticed Farran and Rowan were back in human form now that they were certain I wasn’t going to eat anyone.

  “How do I change back?” I sent the thought to Rowan, and his eyes widened.

  “She is sending me thoughts,” he said out loud, and everyone’s jaw dropped.

  “While you’re human as well?” Farran asked in disbelief.

  “How else am I supposed to communicate?” I sent the thought to Farran, and he didn’t respond.

  “Hey, why can’t Farran hear me anymore?” I asked Rowan.

  “She wishes to know why you can no longer hear her,” he said to Farran, voice wary.

  “Our family bond allows us to communicate while we are in our tiger forms only,” he said, eyes sad.

  “Ask him why you can hear me.”

  “No,” he said, and I hissed at him, literally. He glared at me in return.

  “She wants to know why I can still hear her.”

  “I’m working on a few theories.” Farran puzzled.

  “She doesn’t know how to change back.” Rowan chuckled, and I swatted a paw in his direction.

  “You just will your own form to return,” Farran said as if it were simple.

  “If I could control my magic that well, we wouldn’t be in this position,” I growled to Rowan and concern filled his eyes.

  “Try it,” he said, and I did. I pictured myself back in my own body, visualized it, wished for it, and willed it . . . nothing. I started pacing, panic setting in.

  “She can’t regain her form.” Rowan frowned and everyone else followed suit.

  “It is possible her tiger needs more time to assert itself. It has been cooped up for far too long,” Silas said thoughtfully.

  “I didn’t think of that, but you could be right. I suppose all we can do is wait and see . . .” Farran frowned.

  “So the two of them are related?” Adelaide remarked, gesturing between me and Rowan.

  “What?!” I practically roared.

  “No. We are most definitely not.” Rowan frowned at me. I breathed deeply but started pacing again. My tigress was restless.

  “You must be if you can share thoughts,” Adelaide said.

  “He is blood-bound to her,” Farran said as if it was an obvious explanation.

  “I would prefer to keep some things unknown to the public as well, Prince,” Rowan snapped, and Farran shrugged in response.

  “What does that mean?” I asked Rowan, and he ignored me.

  “How is that possible if they only just met weeks ago?” Malachi asked.

  “It is of no concern to you all, but as a child I took a blood oath to serve and protect the princess. King Killian had Queen Isadora make . . . adjustments to ensure its success.”

  “He made you swear a blood oath as a child?” Tamora balked.

  “The king made me do nothing. I volunteered. It was the highest honor to receive.”

  “But as a child you wouldn’t have understood fully what you were agreeing to.” There was a moment of silence in which Farran and Rowan exchanged looks.

  “I knew full well what I was agreeing to. That is the end of this discussion.” He growled to make his point.

  “What does that mean?” I asked him again.

  “We will speak of it at a later time.”

  I tried for a mental sigh, and his look told me it had went through loud and clear. The others dropped the topic, but I could tell more questions were arising behind their eyes. I had known that he had sworn a blood oath, but not that there was a difference in his.

  It seemed with every answer I received, another question arose. My tigress was restless and frustrated. I turned away from the group and ran, needing to let off some steam. I tested my agility, trying to adjust to being on four legs instead of tw
o. Inspiration hit as I began to sweat, and I dashed across the field heading for the road. I heard shouts of protest, but I didn’t stop to listen. I dashed through the streets and people gawked as I passed. It was odd to see a Shuni in the streets, mainly because it depleted their power after so long. In case of an emergency, magic was used sparingly. I was stuck this way for now, but people didn’t have to know that. Let them think it was because I had power to waste.

  I saw a hawk flying above me as I made the turn into the cornfield. I paid Finley no mind; he wouldn’t hurt me, and they would have found me anyway. When I saw the pond I dashed and jumped into the water, quickly cooling myself and having a little fun too. I could tell my tigress was enjoying this. I started to feel more sympathetic to her. I knew what it was like to be locked up and hidden away.

  I swam for a while before Farran joined me in his tiger form. He helped me to adapt to my tigress’s powerful form as best as he could manage. I was having trouble recognizing my own strength, but he was more than patient with me. The others returned to their duties, and I was glad they hadn’t come to gape at me. I was embarrassed I couldn’t control my own magic. This was something they had all learned to do as children, but I hadn’t had the choice or the chance.

  “You have to allow your power to flow through you and around you in order to conjure your original form,” he was telling me, now in his human form and conjuring our dinner. “Everything that you conjure already exists. You can’t simply make things sprout into being. For example, all this food was in the palace. I took what I knew was there and made it appear here for our enjoyment. The same thing applies for clothing and weapons. Also, if you don’t direct the clothes you are wearing to go somewhere, they will return to where they were originally conjured from. So you would need to think that these new clothes are appearing on your body, as the old ones are going to the dirty clothes basket. The more details you observe of your surroundings, the better. It becomes a sort of card catalog in your head after a while.” I thought about that for a moment and realized something.

  “So, that first night we met, the lacy nightgown you dressed me in belonged to whom exactly?” I thought, but I remembered that he couldn’t hear me and huffed.

  “It’s not as simple as knowing you have it and willing it to come either. You must know that you have it and how it looks and feels to you. Dressing someone else is quite a bit more difficult but most can get the hang of it. The more you know about the objects, the better the results will be. A mistake one might make would be to conjure a sword; instead of appearing in your hand . . . it would appear through your chest. There are nuances that must be learned . . . ,” he said, eyeing me warily.

  “The simplest thing to conjure is your original form. You have lived in that skin your entire life; you know how it looks and feels by simple instinct. It is ingrained in all of your senses.” I plopped my head down onto my paws. Why couldn’t I do it? I tried it once more, and when I failed I covered my head. I was going to be stuck like this forever.

  ***

  Rowan appeared in the clearing as night was falling. He tried unsuccessfully to hide his disappointment to see my tiger sprawled out on the grass. I turned away from him, huffing out a sigh.

  “I suppose I cannot make you return to your room in the palace for the night?” he asked timidly, and I turned away from him.

  “I figured as much,” he complained.

  “So what are we going to do?” Farran asked to break the silence. I knew what I was going to do. I was going to lie right here. I was too tired to move. I yawned, placing my head back on my paws and closing my eyes. My tigress was content with my decision.

  “I guess we’re camping.” Farran conjured a tent and went inside, bidding me good night. I blinked my eyes in return before closing them again. I felt magic in the air and peeked an eye open to see the lion that was joining me.

  “You don’t have to sleep out here with me,” I grumbled. He didn’t reply.

  “Fine, have it your way.” I turned toward the pond and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

  CHAPTER NINE

  I was shivering. I reach for my covers and found none. Why was I so cold? I opened my eyes to see the sky full of stars slowly fading into morning light and remembered I was sleeping outside. I stretched my arms above my head and winced at a kink in my neck. I massaged the spot with my hand for a moment before I realized that I wasn’t still in tiger form.

  I froze, looking down at my naked body. I needed to conjure clothes! Rowan was still in his lion form sleeping nearby, and I was terrified he would wake at any moment. I tiptoed my way over to the big tree by the pond and hid behind it. Pushing my hands against the tree to ground myself, I centered my mind, closing my eyes and concentrating. I thought of a simple cotton dress I had seen in my closet that would be easy to slip on and cover all of my body. I willed it to come to me. I saw the blue color in my mind and felt the soft material in my hands. I felt the flare of magic just as I heard movement from the campsite and panicked, opening my eyes. When I saw that the blue dress had actually appeared and was stretched to its limit around the thick trunk of the tree I almost laughed, before I let out a groan and jumped into the pond with a splash.

  “Vivienne?” I heard Rowan’s confused tone, and I tried to keep my cool. Which was harder than you would think in the freezing water.

  “What’s going on?” I heard Farran as he appeared next to Rowan on the bank.

  “You’ve regained your form. Well done!” Rowan praised me, and I blushed. Awareness dawned on his face, and Farran stifled a laugh behind his hand.

  “Oh my, our skinny-dipping princess will be the talk of the town!” Farran burst into laughter, and I slipped under the water’s surface, mortified. I held my breath as long as possible before I came back up, gasping for air. Rowan was gone, and Farran was holding a robe in his hands. He closed his eyes, and I climbed out of the freezing water and donned the robe as quickly as I could manage. The sun was rising, and I was glad to be back to normal.

  “I didn’t think of it, but when you will yourself back into your original form, you also will it to be clothed,” he joked and I glared at him.

  “I didn’t do it myself. I woke up lying naked and freezing in the dark. I did manage to dress the tree though,” I grumbled, pointing to the tree, embarrassed. His shoulders were shaking with the force of trying to hold his laughter in, and I couldn’t help but crack a smile as well. It was kind of funny.

  “Don’t worry, Vivi. You will get the hang of it soon, I expect.” He smiled and I tried to think positive. He conjured my training outfit, and I secured my wet hair into a high ponytail before we made our way to the guard buildings.

  ***

  “There’s our girl!” Luca was sitting on the edge of the large table where everyone seemed to be gathering in Guard HQ.

  “I knew you would figure it out.” Briony smiled. I hadn’t, in fact, figured it out, but no one needed to know that just yet.

  “Thanks, guys. I’m feeling pretty great,” I admitted.

  “You look it too.” Luca winked and I smiled at his compliment. He was pretty cute.

  “Luca, get off the table before I remove you from it myself,” Silas barked, entering the room. Luca jumped down immediately, throwing a sly grin my way.

  “Have we found any with the mark yet?” I wanted to be filled in on everything I had missed yesterday as soon as possible.

  “Two unfortunately,” Silas said, and my eyes widened. Two had been found on day one?

  “And not during the screenings, these were found when Adelaide caught them hiding in the bushes watching the proceedings.” He continued.

  “Can I see them?”

  “No,” Rowan said from the corner, and I frowned at him.

  “Why not?

  “There is no need,” he replied, and I stiffened before turning to Silas.

  “Take me to see the prisoners.” I was happy to use my title as princess. People had used it against me s
ince I got here anyway. He looked around for help for a moment before Farran spoke up.

  “If you don’t take her, I’ll just do it anyway,” he said honestly, and I smiled at him. He was the best.

  “Very well then. Follow me, Princess.”

  I was surprised when instead of walking out of the building, he led me farther into it. There weren’t any decorations on the beige walls, and the floor was smooth tile. It was all very plain. The hall we walked into was lined with doors that were all numbered and closed. Behind the last door was stone steps that led us downward.

  The walls were lined with stones that were damp to the touch. It wasn’t hard to discern that we were underground. The musty smell wasn’t pleasant. There was a guard I had never met before on duty waiting at the bottom of the stairs, and he stepped aside to allow us passage into the wide corridor. There were a series of doors down here as well, and Silas walked to one, unlocking it with keys pulled from his belt.

  “Be cautious.” I heard Rowan behind me, and I jumped.

  “Don’t sneak up on me!”

  “I have been directly behind you the entire time.”

  “It’s true, he was,” Farran said from in front of me, causing me to jump all over again. These men were going to give me a heart attack.

  When I entered the door behind Silas, I saw a series of cells lined down a long hall. The smell down here was even more unpleasant, and I wrinkled my nose. Silas led me to a cell near the middle and stopped. The cells were sparse with only a cot and small toilet in the corner. I spotted a man sitting on the edge of the cot with his head bent. I moved toward the cell to get a better look, and Silas caught my arm.

  “It is better to keep your distance, Princess,” he warned, and at the sound of my title the man in the cell’s head popped up, eyes glowing red. I backed into Silas’s giant frame, holding his arm as if it were a life line.