THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE HEIRS

Dragon King 4

Dragon King 

Chapter 4

It was a cold day when the baby was born... an unusually cold day. It was rare that it would be that cold at that time of the year, but a cold breeze had stayed in the wolf tribe and the old people found it odd. The child born was female. And she brought joy to her mother who had the same eyes as hers.
"My beautiful daughter..." said Mala, lying on bed cradling her newborn child.
"Indeed." Said Raya. "She will be as beautiful as you and Irene."
Mala smiled.
"And she will be a great healer like her grandma." Said Mala
A warrior burst inside the tent.
"Mala... you've given birth?" The warrior looked worried.
"My Love... our daughter." Said Mala, smiling at her mate.
The warrior took the baby from his mate's arm.
"Beautiful." He said. "You are beautiful, My daughter....We shall name her... Jisoo..."
"You named her after our mother but she is still alive. What will she say once she finds out?" asked Raya
"She will be pleased. My daughter Jisoo will grow up to be a great healer like her grandma." Said the warrior
Mala smiled.
"The baby has a mark just below her chest though. We have to find out what that mark means. If it is bad luck, we have to counter it." Said Raya
For the wolf tribe, birthmarks are symbolic and could show the possible fate of the child.
"It is just an ordinary birthmark." Said Mala. "It will go away eventually."
"My daughter will never bring bad luck. She is special." Said the warrior.
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Raya went to her sister immediately after she talked with some elders who knew the old ways. She consulted the birthmark of her niece and was terribly worried after she heard what they said.
"Mala... you have to listen... the mark on Jisoo's chest is not ordinary. It is the mark of an ancient creature, a powerful creature of destruction. She will bring chaos and deaths to the tribe if we do not act." Said Raya
"Act? What do you mean?" Asked Mala
"The creature will claim Jisoo in the future. We do not know what destruction it will cause us! Mala the cold breeze... it isn't a coincidence. The creature is from the north... the Elders said the creature will know that Jisoo is his." Said Raya
Irene gasped, she just entered the tent and heard what her Aunt said.
Mala sighed.
"Jisoo is my daughter. She is not some offering to a destructive creature." Said Mala. "My daughter will stay here with us."
But Raya insisted.
"Our clan will suffer because of your daughter, Mala." Said Raya. "Think of everyone!"
"My daughter will not cause destruction. She is only a child!" said Mala, her voice loud.
Raya's eyes narrowed. She took a deep breath.
"Do not think of only the life of one child compared to the entire clan." Said Raya
And then Raya left in anger.
Irene sat beside her mother.
"What you heard isn't true. Your sister is an ordinary wolf." Said Mala
Irene nodded and then she bit her lip.
" Why did you name the baby after grandma?" asked Irene
"Because your grandma is the greatest healer of the clan." Said Mala
"So why did you not name me Jisoo instead? I want to be a great healer, mother." Said Irene
"Irene is my grand mother. She is a beautiful woman who was kind and gentle. We wanted you to grow up like her." Said Mala
Irene pouted. She... likes the name Jisoo more... A great healer.
In only a matter of days, news spread that Jisoo's father died in the battle. A week after, it was Jisoo's mother who died. Wolf mates die shortly after each other. Raya was anxious and scared! Her theory about Jisoo's birthmark proved to be true.
Irene was holding her baby sister, crying, when Raya came in.
"Give me your sister." Said Raya.
Irene gave the baby to Raya, not knowing the danger.
"If we don't do something, there will be no end to the deaths." Said Raya
"What do you mean, Aunt?" asked Irene
"I am taking her to the northern border. That's where she belongs." Said Raya
"But it's freezing there, Aunt." Said Irene
"I am doing this for the Tribe!" said Raya
Raya ran away. Irene did not know what to do? Did Jisoo cause their parent's death? How many more will die if Jisoo stays? But... but she can't let her sister die like that!
It took a while before Irene had the courage to disobey her Aunt. She went to find her cousin. The other warriors knew about the birthmark curse and did not want to get involved. Irene waited for her cousin Jinyoung until that evening. And when Jinyoung came... Irene told everything.
"That is murder! She is going to get my little cousin die in that cold!" said Jinyoung
"Cousin please... save my sister... I only have her now." Said Irene
It took two days before Jinyoung returned to the tribe. And he brought the baby safe home. But the baby was freezing. It kept shivering even when the cold breeze was no longer around. It was only Grand Ma Jisoo who was able to warm the baby. Jinyoung faced the Wolves.
"You have brought the curse back." Said a wolf
"Curse? You blame the child for the death of her warrior father? What can a baby do? Her father went to battle. We get wounded in battle and deaths are normal! Her mother died because she lost her mate. That is normal for wolves! Are we going to blame each death to a baby who knows nothing?"Jinyoung's voice was full of anger. "You almost allowed a infant wolf to die in that cold mountain. You are all murderers!"
Raya was there and she was crying.
"I only did it for our people!" said Raya
"You did it because you lack love! You should be the one protecting Jisoo, not killing her! You are my cousin's Aunt, sister of their mother!" said Jinyoung. "I do not believe Jisoo is cursed. What I believe is that people will die of illness and battles because that is how Vishox is. But I will not allow you to blame a child for the lost lives. I will protect this child and anyone who would attempt to hurt her will go through me."
Everyone became silent.
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