Chapter Eleven
Stubborn Monkey-Face
“Sam, if you keep pacing, you’re going to wear a hole in my floor,” said Chung playfully.
Sam stopped and turned to him. “I’ll do whatever I like.” She turned and resumed her pacing. She was confused, angry, and still in a state of shock. It had been a few days since Dakota and the two others ran away, but the shock of it all still lingered in the air. Also, Fudo was gone. After the fight at Chung’s, Soren was furious with Fudo. He banished him from the household (with much protesting from Etera), saying he would not allow him to come back unless he had recaptured Dakota and four other Chosen Ones, or showed an act of great loyalty towards him, Soren. Sam knew Fudo could do neither of these things, and so was not worried about him returning. Aldrich said he would go along with Fudo to monitor his work, but Sam knew better than to believe that. Aldrich would help him in any way he could, within reason.
“Sam, Master Chung is right. Pacing will get you nowhere,” said Etera calmly.
“How could he be a Chosen One? How could he be a Chosen One?” Sam muttered to herself. It just didn’t seem right that her little brother, whom she had only known for a year, was a Chosen One. He was right under their nose all this time and they didn’t realize it!
“Sam, are you alright? You’ve been in your room for the past few days and as soon as we get you out, you start pacing and ignoring us,” Etera said, her voice filled with concern.
“How could he be a Chosen One? It’s impossible,” Sam said more to herself then Etera. That was all she could think about. She was mentally scolding herself for not realizing there was a Chosen One living in her household.
Etera shook her head and turned to Soren. “What are you going to do?” she asked him.
“He must be captured and killed, there is no alternative.”
Etera’s eyes widened in shock. “Soren no, you can’t kill him! He’s our son!”
Soren closed his eyes and sat down on his marble throne. “We have to. He knows too much. He has been living with us for the past year. He knows all our plans and strategies and he could tell them to anyone at anytime. And since he’s with those two from the Water Tribe…This is why I didn’t want him to stay here Etera, now do you understand?”
Sam stopped pacing and turned to her father. “So if you knew it was such a bad idea, why’d you agree to it in the first place?” She highly respected her father, but sometimes he made no sense to her. Why did they adopt Dakota in the first place? Was it so they could have some more help around the house, like a servant? No, Etera would have never allowed that kind of thing, Soren knew that. Was it because they didn’t want to look too suspicious, so other people would think they were just a normal family? That didn’t make much sense either.
Soren’s head whipped around to look at her. “Well—“
But before he could answer, the front door to Chung’s house opened and Karan walked in, and following behind him was a bear-coon.
“Ah, Karan, I’m glad to see you,” said Soren, standing up. Karan bowed and walked over to him, the bear-coon on his heels.
“Do you have any news on the Chosen One?” Soren asked.
“Oh please, Soren. Can’t you at least call him be his name?” Etera said impatiently.
Soren ignored her and turned back to Karan, who continued as though Etera had not spoken. “No I’m afraid not, sir. But I do have a suggestion.”
“I’m listening.” Karan pointed to the bear-coon. “Ah, yes. Why didn’t I think of it before? We can use the bear-coons,” said Soren.
“Yes, the bear-coons will work perfectly, none of them should be able to see them,” said Karan proudly.
“Fool, the girl can see them, remember?” snapped Sam; she couldn’t believe Karan’s lack of memory, or even common sense. The two of them had never really gotten along, both jealous about how much Soren liked the other, and they turned out to be rivals, even though they were both working for the same person.
“Of course princess,” said Karan through gritted teeth. Sam smirked in satisfaction, glad that she had been able to put down Karan’s plan so quickly. But this pride quickly vanished as Soren nodded his agreement.
“That’s alright though. All we need to know is where they are, and where they’re going.” Sam hung her head down slightly; angry that Soren would still use Karan’s plan. There was no way it could work. Soren continued, “Karan, do you know how to control those?” He pointed to the bear-coon, who was sniffing at Karan’s feet.
“Yes sir, I can get it to do whatever I want,” declared Karan proudly, just as the bear-coon nipped at his ankle. He let out a cry of pain and hit the bear-coon on the head. It recoiled for a split second before a deep growl sounded in its throat.
Soren raised one eyebrow and said, “Yes, I can see that.”
Sam shook her head, Karan was not the brightest person in the world, but she expected that even someone as dim-witted as he would know never to assault a bear-coon, no matter how mad they made you, or you could regret it. Why does he trust him so much? Now that I think about it, Mai’s right. He does look like a monkey, Sam thought with a laugh.
Etera chose this moment to speak up. “Soren, I will not allow you to do this! He’s our son! Just look what you did to Fudo! And what about Koria? Try to remember your days as a Caller; would you have done this back then?” Her gold eyes were sparkling with tears.
Soren’s face suddenly filled with grief, and his eyes flashed from dark orange to gold, then back again. “Don’t try and bring up the past; it won’t work this time.” By this time, Sam had decided to stop pacing to listen, and she noticed Karan was watching with interest. Sam did not hear her family talk much about their pasts, and she realized how very little she knew about her father. Had Etera just said that he, Soren, had been a Caller? Sam did not believe her ears, was it true, had Soren really been a Caller? She highly doubted this, and soon forgot about it.
Etera stood up suddenly, startling the bear-coon. “Listen, Soren, you are turning into a monster. Is that what you really wan—”
“Silence, I will not have you interfering anymore!” His voice echoed off the high ceiling. Etera gave him one last meaningfully look, then sat back down and lowered her gaze. Sam smiled. This was starting to get interesting.
“Now, as I was saying,” Soren continued, “tell it to follow them, but not harm them. It can not be seen, or there could be dire consequences. Once you’ve located them, capture them, or at least the Chosen One, and bring them to me.” Karan nodded, bowed, and turned to leave, signaling for the bear-coon to follow him. Chung got up and showed them out.
“Soren, do you really have to kill him? Can’t he be spared?” Etera asked softly. She was always like this; she always had been, for as long as Sam had known her. She just didn’t seem to understand the demands of war, and it was becoming very frustrating for Sam and her father.
Soren looked at her carefully then said, “I guess if that is what you really want, then I will take him to Lascelles prison instead.”
Etera gave him a small smile and muttered, “Thank you.”
As soon as Chung sat back down Sam said, “Father, why do you trust him with such a big job?” Soren smiled at her.
“Well, out of all the dim-wits I have working for me, he’s the least dim-witted.” Sam smiled, but Etera remained quiet. It made Sam very happy to hear Soren call Karan a ‘dim-wit’ and it made her swell with pride.
“Now Sam, why don’t you go make yourself useful?” Soren said, lacing his fingers together and putting his thumbs on either side of his head. Sam nodded and made for the door. “Make sure to stay out of General Karan’s way,” she heard Soren call as she closed the front door.
There’s no way that Karan can handle something this big, I will do it myself, Sam thought as she made her way along the sidewalk. But I will need help. A fifteen year old girl (even if they are as powerful as me) can’t do this alone. She thought for a minute. “I think it’s time I visit some old school friends,” she said aloud. “I will need all the help I can get, so hopefully I will be able to gather them all. I just hope that two of them aren’t busy.” She took off at a run down the street. As she rounded a corner she bumped into a tall, thin man who was looking at her curiously.
“Cute little dress. What’s the hurry?” he asked playfully.
“Silence, commoner!” Sam snapped at him. She pushed past him and took off again, leaving the man with a bewildered look on his face. When she finally made to her first destination, she walked up to the front door of the house, and rang the doorbell. It was a while before someone answered. As soon as the door opened, something came hurtling out at Sam and attached itself to her, squeezing her so tight she thought that she might suffocate. “Mit-zu! Mit-zu-get-off!” she managed say
Mitzu let go of her and stood back. “Oh Sam, it is so good to see you again! It has been too long! What are you doing here?”
Her voice was just as high pitched and girly as the last time Sam had seen her, which had been nearly a year ago. She had shoulder length, brown hair with bangs. The top half of her hair was pulled up in a ponytail and the lower half was left down. She was wearing a red dress with a gold hoop around her hips. She was also wearing three gold bracelets and a very excited expression. The only thing that confused Sam was that she had violet eyes, instead of gold or orange ones, like all people from the Fire Tribe had.
“Well, do you remember Dakota? It turned out he was a Chosen One.” Sam said, examining her fingernails.
“Really? He is a Chosen One?” Mitzu asked in her girly voice.
“Yes, and that’s why I’m here. He has run away with two others from the Water Tribe. He knows all of our plans, and he could tell those two. Plus he could round up the other Chosen Ones as well.”
Mitzu’s face suddenly filled with concern. “We sure don’t want that,” she said, shaking her head.
“I need your help. Your powers could come in handy.” Mitzu had extremely unusual powers, and she was the only person Sam knew that had them.
Mitzu smiled. “I haven’t been able to use my powers in ages. That would be great! I’d love to help you!” She ran forward and threw her arms around Sam again, but Sam pushed her off.
“But you have to not do that,” Sam said, brushing herself off. Even though Mitzu was almost fifteen years of age, she acted much younger. Though sometimes her personality changed rapidly, from being extremely hyper, to being completely exhausted or depressed. It was strange, everything about Mitzu was strange.
“Oh…right. Sorry,” said Mitzu with a shrug, backing away from Sam, her face flushing.
“I’ll come by later, after I do a few more things.” Mitzu smiled again. Sam never knew anyone who smiled that much.
“Goodbye Sam, I will be waiting!” She waved to her and Sam raised her hand as a quick wave, turned and started walking away. She heard the door closed behind her then said, “The things I put up with.”
Sam started walking to the stone archway that lead out of Fire Pit, and when she got there she saw Karan standing right under it, the bear-coon at his side. She walked up to the archway and was about to go through it but Karan held out his arm to stop her. “Where do you think you’re going, Princess?”
He had a triumphant grin on his face. “That’s none of your business, now move aside.”
Karan’s smile grew wider. “Oh, I’m afraid it is my business. You see, the Fire Chief doesn’t want you leaving this neighborhood.”
Sam scowled, pure hatred running through her veins. “What are you talking about, you liar?”
Karan bent over and scratched the bear-coon on the head. “I just got a messenger bird from your father saying to take the Chosen One to Lascelles prison, and that you are not allowed to leave the neighborhood.” He leaned over so they were face-to-face. “For once, I got the important job, and not you. I am obviously passing you up.”
Sam blew a puff of smoke out of her nostrils, making Karan cough. “Maybe, but not even you can make lightning.” She held up her hand and made a small ball of lightning. Karan frowned and Sam extinguished the glowing, white ball.
“Admit it, your father trusts me more than you, and he obviously thinks I’m better for the job. Why else would he ban you from going anywhere?” Suddenly the bear-coon leapt at Karan from behind, knocking him flat on his stomach, where it pinned him and started licking the side of his face.
“Yes, well as you said, you’re obviously better for the job,” Sam sneered. Karan struggled against the bear-coon, but it was too strong. “Well, have fun.” Feeling satisfied, Sam turned and left, leaving Karan trapped beneath the bear-coon. As Sam walked back home she thought, Stubborn Monkey-Face.
Email this story 
Print Story 
Add to reading list
