Mariyah’s feathers twitched in the wind around her body as she soared above the trees. She dove down after a few moments, perching up on a branch and taking a look around below the canopies. She narrowed her eyes as she made out a large wooden structure through the trees in the distance.
On Mariyah’s back, Marcy as a mouse, fidgeted with her small piece of paper and tiny pouch filled with ink that she’d asked Evelyn to sew up for her. She dipped her small feather into the ink as she finished jotting down the last camp they had spotted. “So we have three more camps in this southern area. And a bunch of starving villages. Hopefully that’ll be it for around here,” she said in a cheery voice.
Mariyah shook her head. “It isn’t.” She pointed her wing in the direction she was looking before taking off again and flying closer. Ahead of her in the distance, she made out a tall wooden building, with two towers and torches hanging from the railings that surrounded it. She could see moving bodies, assumed soldiers, and hear the shouting and laughs. “What is this…?” she whispered.
“I’m on it.” Marcy looped the handle of her small ink pouch around her mouse shoulder and set her paper in her mouth, before sliding off Mariyah and making her way down the tree, off to get a closer view. When Marcy returned, she relayed the information to Mariyah exactly as how she’d seen it.
“A lot of soldiers, Mariyah…Like a lot. There are some slave Shifters in there- horse shifts, hounds. It looks like it’s the base for the territory. They have their weapons, food supply, sleeping area…just looks like a fortress.”
“Lovely.” Mariyah nodded. “Larger than the gladiator arena?”
“Not larger, but much more fortified. There has to be double the soldiers.”
“I see. Thank you." She blinked blankly at the intimidating news. "I wonder if there are more…”
The meeting room was lit up with torches hung in every corner. All of those who fought with her in the arena and at the slave camp sat around the table or gathered against the wall, all eyes on Mariyah who stood at the head of the room, in front of a large sketched out map pinned to the wall. “There are four territories- forgive me if this is information some of you already know… but I need to lay it out for everyone in here. There are four territories. We are in the Southern. In our territory alone, there are four slave camps, a gladiator arena, and a fortress. We’ve taken out the arena and one slave camp, leaving us with three camps and a fortress left.” She pointed to the poorly drawn map. “Kai, if you slander our drawing, you’re getting bitten by a very angry mouse. That is just a warning.”
Kai pinched his lips shut with his fingers, and Mariyah continued.
“Directly above us is Seenparay’s castle. To the left and right of the castle are the Western and Eastern ones, and of course above is the Northern. Each territory has an arena and a fortress, save for the Northern. There is no arena there. Each territory also seems to have slave camps.” She turned and pointed to each area, explaining further. “The Eastern has four camps along with its arena and fortress. The Western has five, and the Northern has six. The Northern is the largest in terms of camps, but again, with no arena.” She looked around at her people who stared back at her quietly.
“What are you saying?” Sare asked finally.
Mariyah gave a guilty looking half-smile. “We could end this.”
Gil narrowed his eyes as he sat beside Cal. “End this?”
Mariyah nodded. “If we take out territory by territory, we will free each camp. We’d rescue our people, and this persecution would end.”
“That’s a lot of work…what is that?” Kindrick mumbled to himself as he counted. “Eighteen camps and four fortresses? And two more arenas?”
Mariyah nodded. “It’s to save our people.”
“I see that, but if we want to make the decision to push back, why not go to the heart? Why not take out the king?”
“The king has large numbers in these territories. If we simply take him out, it won’t do anything, there will still be many soldiers left to attack us. And our people who are captive will still be captive. Our priority isn’t killing Soliath, it’s saving our people. And when we finish with each location, then we can talk about our move on the castle.” And I know if we have any chance at coexistence, raiding the Naturals will ruin that.
No one spoke for some time, each looking at each other or staring at the map. And Mariyah let them, in silence. She breathed nervously, awaiting their response.
Sylve shook her head. “The king will not be happy with this. This is war, Mariyah.”
“I don’t expect him to.” She didn’t. And she remembered his threats. “What is our other option?" She waved her finger around. "Allow this to continue?”
And there was no answer.
Cal stood up finally. He stared ahead at Mariyah. “I’ll fight.”
Gil stood up beside him, and David too. Kindrick wasn’t hesitant to follow, and neither were Kai and soon all of the others. The entire room was looking at her, and the entire room was vowing to follow.
Her heart lifted at the sight, and she could feel tears sting at her eyes as she almost smiled. Each of their faces were so dear to her, the expression they held and the desire that almost mirrored hers. She loved them. She loved them all. “Thank you,” she said in a quiet voice. “Let’s plan our next move then.”
-
Mariyah’s face peered between two bushes as she stared out into the illuminated campsite from torches surrounding it. “Only seven soldiers,” she said with a smile, turning around to the group behind her. This was their second camp in the Southern Territory. “I don’t think we need a fancy plan for this one, who’s ready?” She tilted her head with a smirk.
Mariyah led the large group on Lius’s back, the rest charging as animals into the camp. She spotted a man running towards her from a distance, and pulled her arrow back as far as she could, until she let go and watched it fly into the neck of a sprinting soldier. She tightened her legs around Cornelius’s tiger torso as he sprinted throughout the camp carrying her. Fossil pounced on soldier after soldier, ending each one and Cal did the same. With all of Mariyah’s fighters, including the new ones from the previous camp, this one was taken in no time. Again, it was no competition. And again, Mariyah ensured none of her friends’ lives were lost.
Rose and Marcy assisted Mariyah in leading the others to the Dome where they patched up any wounded. As Mariyah led any wounded slaves to Rose, a tall and broad shouldered boy a bit older than her approached her.
“I wanted to thank you for what you’ve done.” He bowed his unmarked head. “The lives you’ve saved do not go unnoticed.”
Mariyah smiled, noting his thick accent and slow speech. “Thank you very much. I’m glad you’re okay.” She looked at him closely and observed his thick and long jet black hair, and his tan complexion, not much darker than her own. His prominent nose and sharp eyes locked her attention. “What’s your name?”
He nodded. “I am Thrine.”
She smiled. “Nice to meet you. I’m Mariyah.” She tilted her head. “Your accent…I don’t recognize it. And you’re unmarked? Where are you from?”
“I do not stay in one place, I’m a Natural and I travel from country to country along with my companion, Stal, learning language after language. I was in this village when we were raided. We vowed to stay by them until our fates met us. It seems as if there was a brighter outcome than I expected.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Mariyah nodded her head. “Thankfully so.” She smiled at him with wide eyes. “You're brave to willingly stay here as a Natural.”
“I shouldn’t be given special treatment. And I won’t watch Stal suffer alone.”
She gave him a big smile and nodded. “That’s very kind.” She looked away for a moment, and then back at him. “Maybe one day you can teach me some of these languages you’ve learned.”
He smiled in return. “With pleasure."
A week passed and things continued on smoothly for the Domers and all Shifters surrounding them. Mariyah had implemented the idea of sending small groups to deliver food and crops to villages in the Southern Territory. After seeing how many were starving on her scout with Marcy, she knew they needed to help keep as many villagers as she could alive.
Mariyah’s name had begun to spread throughout the Shifter villages, even more after the third raid and the news of her and her people feeding the other villages. Mariyah and the Domers. The rebels. She passed her days by playing with the young children, some were survivors from the arena and others were from the slave camps. She’d dance with them as Pyle played his instrument along with Kindrick who always played beside him.
Mariyah had a discussion with Rose about creating a Mending Station for the wounded and teaching more of the Domers how to tend to wounds. In case any more wounded showed up, there would be more trained medics in the Dome. Rose happily agreed and soon there was a designated group called the Healers. Most consisted of birds, for easy transportation, along with a few wolves and feline animals. Rose took charge of the Healers, with a newcomer named Jord who joined the Dome after one of Maryah’s food deliveries.
Mariyah was sitting around today, poking fun at Lius and Fossil who were wrestling as their shifts. “That’s cheating!” she called out to Lius as he shifted into a human and crawled onto Fossil befores shifting back.
Fossil grunted underneath the weight of Lius. “Thank you. I agree-” He yelped at Lius’s push and the two were rolling around again.
But a sound drew her attention away for a moment and she stood up. What was that? She listened closely.
“MARIYAHHHH!” a faint scream was heard from deep in the woods.
“Did you hear that?” Mariyah asked, getting up on her feet.
“MARIYAAAAAH!!” There it was again.
Lius shot up to his feet and Mariyah spun around trying to hear what it was coming from.
“I’m right here!” she shouted back. “Hello?!”
A few moments later after more shouting, Kai swooped down and shifted into a human in front of her. “They’re attacking one of the villages!”
Mariyah’s eyes widened. “What?”
“One of the villages we bring food to.” He panted as he tried to catch his breath. “Rose was delivering supplies when she saw the soldiers- she rushed back to-”
“Take me to them!” She shifted into an eagle and quickly raced behind Kai to the neighboring village.
As she arrived, she landed roughly and shifted into a lioness, opening her jaw, releasing a piercing roar. The villagers around stepped back in fear. A few soldiers stood behind a line of knelt down Shifters with their hands resting on their heads.
“What are you doing?!” she demanded the soldiers.
Kai shifted as a human and stood beside her. He lifted his brow and pursed his lips at Mariyah's shouts. "Uh oh.."
“This is none of your business!” a large guard shouted, storming up to her. “These people are criminals, and they will pay-”
“What did they do?!”
“They hunted in the king’s forest! Leave us be. We will not hesitate to kill you as well-”
A tiger's roar was heard from beside Mariyah as Corenlius arrived next to her, panting.
“They look for food and you kill them for it?” she asked, stepping forward. Hunting? They’re bold enough to start hunting again? A sprout of joy filled her chest at that small hint of bravery and hope. They’re following the lead of pushing back...
“They were stealing,” he replied, pressing a knife against one of the Shifters.
“They were starving.” She stepped forward once more before lifting her lips to expose her fangs. “If you do not release these people now, I will kill every one of you.” She looked into each of their eyes with fiery intensity.
“And if you don’t step away, we’ll kill you along with all your people.”
Mariyah breathed in deeply before suddenly springing at him, and tackling him to the ground.
“AYE, WAIT!” he shouted as he hit the dirt, looking up into the terrifying face of a leopard. “We’ll leave, we’ll leave!” he stuttered.
Mariyah climbed off of him and paced around the guards as they quickly mounted their horses and rode off. She then directed her attention to the Shifters who were almost killed. “Are you all alright?!” she asked urgently, shifting back and helping them each stand up. “You all started hunting?”
“We appreciate your supplies...but we didn’t want to trouble you anymore, Mariyah.” A young girl said quietly. “We wanted to start getting food on our own.”
“Trouble me? Who do you think I am? I want to help you all.” She gave her a small smile and looked at the others in the village. “And even if it were to trouble me, it’d be much better than getting killed.”
Lius nodded his head to Mariyah as Cal arrived. “They ran off,” Lius said to him. “She ran them off.”
“What were they doing here?” Cal asked.
“The villagers hunted on the king’s property,” Cornelius answered.
A tall man stepped forward to interrupt, his eyes a dark blue. “We shouldn’t have been so foolish. I’m Potter, the leader of this village.” He held out his hand and shook Mariyah’s. “Thank you for coming here. We might be dead if you hadn’t.”
She looked up at him and gave him a gentle smile. “I admire you all for being brave enough to hunt. But please, let us take care of it.”
Mariyah looked behind as she felt a tug on her tail. “Miss,” a small high pitched voice called out. “Miss, are you going to leave us?” Her big golden eyes looked at her with worry.
Mariyah asked quietly, looking into the child’s fear filled eyes. “I am, back to my own home. Why?”
She nodded her head. “What if they come back?”
Mariyah bit the inside of her lip in thought, and looked at Cornelius and Cal both. “She’s right. I don’t know if more guards will come. I’ll stay for the night.”
Cal replied, “And if they do?”
Kai lifted his hand. “I’ll stay as well. I’ll alert you all if they do.”
Mariyah nodded. “We’ll send for help.”
“I can stay as well,” Cal offered.
She frowned. “I need you three at the Dome. You’re some of the strongest. If the soldiers are scouting Shifter villages, they might find us. I need you there.”
“Implying I’m not strong?” Kai lifted a brow.
She giggled a small bit and shook her head. “No, no!”
“Be careful,” Cornelius said to her.
“Be fast if they do come,” Cal said to Kai. “Come get me.”
Mariyah nodded her head. “I will,” she said to them.
She turned to the little girl after Cornelius and Cal departed and shifted into a human. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Sophie,” she said quietly. “You can be a big cat?”
Mariyah smiled and nodded her head, crouching down to the young girl. Her face was lit by torches set up around the village. “I can. What are you?” she asked, observing the mark on her forehead.
“I'm a cat as well!” the young girl said as she shifted into a precious small Siamese cat.
Mariyah giggled and clasped her hands. “That’s amazing!”
“I’m going to fight like you when I get older,” she said to her, lifting her teeth and showing off her centimeter long fangs.
Mariyah’s laughter faded for a moment, but she kept her smile. “I dream that you won’t have to fight when you get older.”
Sophie’s long brown hair draped over her shoulders as she stared at Mariyah who was the only thing that brought the child hope. Mariyah patted her shoulder gently before standing up and saying goodnight to her. She found some empty mats beside a fire where she and Kai fell fast asleep, until she woke up the next morning to the subtle smell of smoke filling her nostrils. Someone must have put out the campfire.
Her eyes fluttered open to bright sky above her, then to dead fire that must have been out for quite a while, as it wasn't smoking at all. She winced and sat up, looking around at the villagers who had begun to start there day. How long did I sleep in? She looked over at Kai to see him still fast asleep as well. Snoring and his mouth wide open. She looked around at the villagers walking around the unlit campfire, taking glances to the snoring boy, and snickered to herself. She nudged him gently, and then more aggressively, until he finally jolted up.
"Calm down, calm down, I'm up!" he muttered, rubbing his eyes.
She smiled. "You were giving everyone a beautiful morning tune."
His face turned pink and he waved his hand at her. "You're welcome."
She turned her head around, looking up at the sky after smelling more smoke. She narrowed her eyes as she made out a large cloud of smoke in the distance, black and thick. She looked at Kai, tapping his arm and pointing up. "What could that be?"