Chapter 18: Heavy Wears the Crown

7.8K 424 15
                                    

It had been a restless night for the snow lioness as she kept tossing and turning relentlessly. The revelations of last night weight heavy on her mind, and it was only a matter of time before Noble and her little brother was going to be hunted for their power.

It had made her fears worse because Helena walked into the living in the middle of the night as she almost knew that Lily had been awake for an important reason. She walked in with a motherly smile on her wrinkled lips only to place herself next to the restless lioness on the couch.

"Child, are you okay?" Helena asked politely, rubbing her fingers into Lily's back. Her muscles tensed at the sudden touch but soon fled when soothing circles were rubbed into her back. It had been such a long time since she had been pet or rubbed like that. The last was when her mother was still alive on the night she was murdered and poached for her skin.

"I am okay. No need." Lily whispered quickly. Noble and Raja was all she was worried about.

"Is it about his majesty?" Helena hunched over to gaze into Lily's blue eyes, "What's his name this time around? Nimble? Oh! Noble!"

Lily gulped and started to sweat in her own spot. She could feel her tail whip around behind her because of her anxious ways of turning when nervous or scared.

"Why do you act so surprised?" Helena laughed quietly, "Anyone can see that he is His Majesty, Leo. The mark on his face was, in fact, the one he created himself when Luna first branded him as her child. I've lived long enough to know that for sure, sweetie." She sighed, placing her hands in her lap, "There is a monastery on top the mountain with a meadow called Whisper Meadows. I use to be Priestess there."

"Don't you need to have a dragon to enter that high?" Lily questioned as she raised her posture up. She gazed straight into Helena's eyes which held amusement.

"That's correct, but when it was first built, there was a hand select of people to serve Luna in exchange for delayed aging. As you can see, I've grown old, meaning I've lived too long for a natural life span." Helena giggled at her own words, the twinkle in her eye telling Lily that she was thinking back on old times, "I wasn't there to meet the original Leo and his lion, but I met the third, fourth, and fifth before I met my husband. I guess I can check off the tenth now, huh?"

"What do you know about him? Noble and Raja, my brother . . .?" Lily was hesitant to ask, but any information for the two to use in the near future would give the little group an upper hand. They needed to get to the castle quick. The Mistress of Midnight was priceless, and more than anything, it was the woman that raised Noble from birth.

"Well, you know the story? In the Lunar text, Leo 12, it says that once Tharros and Leo become one again, that's when Leo will be able to get his power back. Tharros, the first time around, was very weak since he was split from his more powerful, more stable soul. They loved each other so much! Leo did the most courageous act and bestowed Tharros with his power while Leo was able to still obtain a physical form. Leo, however, began to die since his life force was stripped away, so Tharros ran, ran and ran to Luna for her to revive Leo from his illness and weakness." She crossed her legs, gathering Lily's hand in both of hers.

"That's when Luna proposed a deal? She would be able to revive him but at a dear cost." Lily continued, "It explains that Anazella's son, Noble, was very weak for the first nineteen years of his life. When he joined with Raja, however, that's when he took a more mature, stronger physical form."

"You're a very smart young lady," Helena complimented, "In my days, I've seen his Majesty take many environments with Tharros adapting to his own. Hikari and Inzei, his most recent life, were born next to a volcano, hence why Inzei could walk on lava without a hiss or grunt. Hikari had such beautiful but deadly fire magic, I must say. But . . ." Helena paused as her frown altered to a frown, "Hikari died much earlier than he should have. For that, it completely messed up the whole Rebirth process."

The Great White LionWhere stories live. Discover now