Chapter 27

The Legend of the First Labor

“The way I remember it,” began Ava, “it was as if you’d been hit on your head and suddenly forgot all I’d taught you.”

“Well—in a way, that is what happened . . .”

“All that work teaching you to be selfish, and you chose the opposite.”

“I told you—I didn’t choose it. It chose me.”

“What did?”

“I don’t know what. All I knew was that it was my purpose . . . what I am . . . what I was meant for.”

“Well, whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t me who gave you that idea.”

“In a way, I think you did. Not on purpose, of course. But now that I think about it, I’m not sure it’s a path I would have chosen if it wasn’t for you.”

“Now, you have some explaining to do . . .”

“Look, do you remember my first day of training, the morning after I crawled from the cave?”

“How could I forget? You were so pathetic.”

“I didn’t want to protect anyone then. I didn’t even really want to protect myself. But I learned something that day. Something that stayed with me ever since. You may not have been trying to turn me into the forest guardian, but from the very beginning everything you did was preparing me for it.”

“Atten-tion!” he remembered Ava screaming at him, waking him from his pool of strawberries. Her voice sounded quite a bit younger back then and her fur had much less grey in it. “Now that you’re out of the cave, it’s time to begin your training. Sit up!” she said, dragging him.

“EeEek!” squeaked the boy.

“Open your eyes! Behold, young one, the world you will one day conquer.”

“Wow! It’s so pretty!” The boy couldn’t quite talk yet, reader. But this is what he was trying to say. “Amazing!” His little eyes filled with wonder as he reached out. “I want to look at it!” he babbled. I want to touch it! I wonder how it tastes!” Whatever the big furry creature’s ‘lessons’ were, reader, they could wait. This was far more important to him! Little did he know, however, the first lesson had already begun.

“I’m going to go explore it!” he declared.

“Good idea,” replied Ava.

Following the scent of flowers and strawberries, he started crawling along the terrace, delighting in the way the soft, dewey grass brushed against his fingers. But suddenly the grass ended. He came to a steep, rocky hill.

“EeEek!” he squeaked again, nearly falling off. He looked down, where everything he smelled was laid out in the prettiest of meadows. He tried to reach out and pull it forward, but it was too far. Then he tried yelling down “come up here!” But that didn’t work either.

“Problem?” asked Ava sweetly.

He pointed. “What’s . . . down . . . ‘dere?”

“I don’t know,” she answered. She came a little closer and sat next to him. “Why don’t you go find out?”

“It wooks danger-wous.” He peeked over again and gulped. Then he looked up at her. “Is it?”

But Ava just shrugged.

“Maybe . . . but on the other hand, maybe not.”

He crawled a little further and glanced back up at Ava, seeing if she looked worried. But she showed no signs of it. He asked one more time.

“Safe?”

Ava shrugged again—and then nodded.

“Weally?”

“Yes . . .”

And now you see, reader, why it had to be a wolf who raised our hero. No human mother could have done such a thing! Exactly what you should never say to a baby or let them do, Ava encouraged. The boy listened, crawled forward and, just as you would expect, after a few steps fell down the rocky hill— “EeEek! Oof! OOF! OOF! OOF!”—bruising just about every muscle in his body as well as skinning all his knees and elbows. Naturally, as babies do, he broke into a wail of tears, called up to her for help. “OwWw! Help! Wah! Help! HELP” But no help came. Instead, all Ava did was laugh.

“BAH! HAH! HAH! HAH! Oh my! That was precious! Good fall!” She hopped halfway down so he could hear her better through all his crying. “Lesson number one: be careful! Always mind your surroundings. Not everything is as it seems.”

“But you said—Wah! Wah!—it wasn’t danger-wous! Wah!”

“Lesson number two. Everything is dangerous. The world is a brutal, hostile place. Always assume the worst. Expect the unexpected.”

“But YOU said it wasn’t!”

“I lied.”

“You what!?”

“And that’s lesson number three. Don’t trust others.”

“ . . .Not even you?”

A sinister grin spread across Ava’s face.

“Especially not me.”

What a frightening, terrible world this was, our hero began to think. No sooner had he stepped out of his cave than he wanted to turn back. But there was no going back now. Looking around for a path up and finding none, he started to panic.

“Help! Help! Get me out of here!” he cried, trying to stand, but failing. “Oof! Help! Help! Wah! Out! I want out!”

“Out?” laughed Ava some more. “There is no ‘out,’ child. You are out.”

“But I don’t like that!”

“It doesn’t matter whether you like it. And that’s lesson number four. The world is the way it is. Don’t like it? Too bad.”

“But . . . but . . .” Unfortunately, hearing this only upset the boy more. “WAH!” Which only made Ava laugh more.

“Muah! Hah! Hah! MUAH! HAH! HAH! HAH!”

It was terrible, reader. He was trapped. Even worse, trapped with a complete psychopath. Even when he begged and pleaded, she laughed. He looked up at the birds and cried for help. He looked at the rocks. He called out to the heavens. No help whatsoever came.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Ava finally said to him, noticing some rustling in the bushes.

“Wah! Wahh! Why not? Wahhh!”

“Because . . . someone might hear you.”

“Wah! So what? Wahhh!”

“Fine,” she shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

Then the bushes started shaking. That got his attention. Next, he heard deep, heavy breathing and a growl.

“Eek! What’s that?”

“Something small, cute and cuddly.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Weally? That’s a welief,” he was about to answer. But then he remembered the last time she gave him advice. “Wait! No! You’re lying again, awen’t you?”

“Good, you’re catching on.”

The bushes opened. Out jumped a young, wild piglet. It had big teeth and two sharp tusks with blood on them.

“Agh! Help! Help! Please!” he cried, trying to climb back up again.

“Nope. I told you—you’re on your own. This is your training, remember?”

The beast started growling and drawing nearer.

“RrRrRr! RrRrRr! Ruff!”

“Agh! But what do I do?”

“Figure it out,” she replied. “What do your instincts tell you when you see another animal?”

“I don’t know. Invite them to play?”

“No.”

“Eat stwaberries together?”

“Wrong again. Look out . . . he’s coming.”

“Agh!”

This is how our hero learned how to walk and run, reader. As you can imagine, he got good at it much quicker than most other babies.

“AaAaAagh!”

“RrRrRr! RrRrRr! Ruff!”

“Ouch!”

“RrRrRr! RrRrRr! Ruff!”

“EeEek!”

“RrRruff!”

“Good form!” said Ava, cheering him on. “See, you’re getting the hang of it. One foot in front of the other. One, two! One, two! One, two! MUAH, HAH! HAH! HAH!”

By the end, his behind was so blue with bruises, he could barely crawl. The little boar then jumped on top of him, trying to bite his neck. Surely, he thought as he grappled with it, Ava would come to his aid now. But she didn’t.

“Did you not hear me?” she reminded him. “I said you’re alone. Now, unless you’re not finished whining and complaining, why don’t you try something else?”

“Something else? Like what?”

“You know what! The cave! Remember the cave! That bat! Do you remember? I do! You’re a killer, kid. A natural! I’ve seen it. All you have to do is release it. Do it! Now! Kill! Kill! KILL!”

The boy’s blood started to boil. He clenched his fists. “Grr!” he growled.

“That’s it!”

“Grr! Hiii-ya!”

“Yes! YES! You’re doing it! Bite! Scratch! Jam that finger into his eye, kid. Woo! Hoo! He didn’t like that much, did he? Serves him right. Look, it’s working! He’s relenting! Retreating! Running away like a stinking coward. You see? You can do it!”

“OoOoOo . . .” the boy groaned. “OoOoOo . . .”

“Let that be lesson number seven. No whining or crying! If you whine, your enemies will dine. If you cry . . . you die. Got it?”

“OoOoOo . . .” he continued. “Yeah . . . I think so . . .”

“Good!” sighed Ava, sweetly. “Now, get up! I said GET UP! On your feet, soldier!” She hopped down and kicked him in the ribs. “ON YOUR FEET!”

“OoOoOo . . . OoOo-kay . . .” Slowly, he rose.

image [https://i.imgur.com/k2sHyHs_d.jpeg?maxwidth=520&shape=thumb&fidelity=high]

“Now, let’s have a look at this ridiculous body of yours.” He stood with his hands at his side as she encircled him. “Stand up straight! Shoulders back! Quit wobbling! Close your mouth! Stop blinking so much! Suck in that gut! Remarkable . . . truly remarkable! It’s even worse than I feared. Look at those twiggy little arms! Those chicken legs! That melon head! No fangs . . . no claws . . . no fur. And—wait a minute,” she stammered, pausing as she looked between his thighs. “WHAT IN THE HELL IS THAT!?”

“Hmm?” he answered timidly, glancing down.

“Oh . . . umm . . . well . . . that’s my . . . my . . . my . . .”

“I KNOW WHAT IT IS,” she roared in his face. “I MEAN, WHAT’S IT DOING THERE? YOUR MOST VULNERABLE PART—OUT IN FRONT OF YOU FOR ALL TO SEE!”

“I don’t know,” the boy shrugged. “I didn’t put it there . . .”

“Well, get it out of my face OR I’LL BITE IT OFF!”

“Eek!”

He ran to the bushes and grabbed a leaf to cover himself with. But she still wasn’t finished.

“Hah! Hah! Hah! Look at you trembling there. Maybe you’re right, and I shouldn’t train you. Maybe I should just eat you or leave you here for someone else.”

She drew his attention to some of the other animals watching, hungrily licking their lips. The only reason they hadn’t attacked yet was because of Ava.

“Eek! No, pwease don’t!”

“Why not?”

“Because—I’ll do anything you say! I’ll try harder! I pwomise!”

“Then you’ll be obedient from now on?”

“Yes!”

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Save the ma’am for your mother. You will address me as commander.”

“Yes, commander!”

“You won’t talk back when I call you names?”

“No.”

“No, what?”

“No, commander.”

“You won’t whine and complain?”

“No, commander.”

“You’ll follow the rules?”

“Yes, commander.”

Ava walked closer and glared at him.

“You know, it’s no wonder you were left in the snow. Who could ever love someone so ugly and worthless?” The boy lowered his eyes and started sniffling. “Aw, what’s wrong? You going to cry again, cry baby? That was fast . . .”

“No . . .” he squeaked, wiping away his tears.

“Good . . . because if I EVER hear you cry or whine, or mope, or complain—you’re on your own! If words are enough to defeat you, you don’t stand a chance against a real attack.”

“I won’t!” he promised.

“And if I ever see you flee from battle again—I’ll kill you myself. Understand?”

“ . . .Okay.”

“I said, do you understand?”

“Yes . . . commander.”

“Good,” she answered, finally speaking gently again.

“So . . . what’s the next wesson then?” he ventured.

But the boy soon learned that when Ava spoke gently—or smiled—it usually meant something even worse was about to happen.

“Funny you should ask . . .”

Such was the beginning of our hero’s childhood, reader. And it only got harder and harder. Ava’s schooling was treacherous—lessons with titles like “101 ways to fall down a hill,” “ring around a rosebush,” “capture the stag” and, her personal favorite, “how to take a beating.”

“Oof! Oof! Oof!” he’d muttered as she sat on top of him and pounded his head. “Oof! I . . .don’t think—Oof!—I understand the—Oof!—the point of this wesson—Oof!”

“You’re not supposed to. Now hold still!”

“Oof! Oof! Are you sure—Oof!—it’s working?”

“Yes. Now, QUIET! No talking!”

“Okay . . . Oof! Oof! Oof!”

“Life is war,” she’d yell down at him as he crawled through her obstacle courses in the rain. “The objective of war is survival! To survive, you must be strong! To be strong, you must suffer! To suffer willingly, you must overcome your fear of pain! To overcome your fear of pain, you must become accustomed to pain! To become accustomed to pain, you must experience pain! Lots of pain! That’s where I come in.

“As your teacher, it is my job to accustom you to pain. From here on out, you will never know comfort. Your body will always be bruised. Your elbows and knees, always skinned. You’ll never walk without a limp or see out of both eyes. There will be much blood. And just when you begin to heal and think the pain is finally gone, more and more will come. You will experience pain until you learn to forget pain. Only then will you be ready for the next lesson—fear!

“A creature is only as courageous as when it is terrified . . . only as strong as when its disadvantaged . . . only as wise as when its senses are dazzled or shrouded in darkness! Everyone has a plan until they get punched, robbed, wounded, stranded . . . until they are starving, desperate . . . hunted. If you don’t know what to do under such circumstances, you know nothing of value out here. If you cannot make yourself useful when all you have is yourself, you are useless.

“Make no mistake, young one, I did not take you in out of charity. I don’t love you. I don’t care about your ‘feelings.’ I’m not your ‘ma-ma’ or ‘da-da.’ I took you in to make a soldier of you. You’re an object . . . a tool . . . a means to an end. I’m building a killing machine. If you can’t fulfill this function, then you’re expendable.

“Do not think this path will lead to your happiness. It will not lead to happiness, but to unhappiness. Joy, peace, prosperity . . . a good long life—and all that other nonsense—these are all things you’re going to have to let go of. I cannot give you these things. I wouldn’t know how to give you these things. And even if I did know how, I wouldn’t because, quite frankly, you don’t deserve it. But what I can give you . . . what I do know . . . what I can promise you . . . if you’re willing to stick around . . . if you let go, and embrace the way of the wolf . . . is something far greater: POWER!

“What others believe is impossible, YOU will achieve! Where others fail, YOU will succeed! Your desires, you will MAKE realities. And when you are met with an obstacle—be it an army . . . a barrier . . . even a dragon—instead of crying or curling into a ball, like all the others, YOU will RISE UP, CHARGE FORTH, make that fist of yours and SMASH THROUGH IT!

“But I can only give you the knowledge. You need to be willing to receive it. I can only show you the way. You need to be willing to walk it. Are you ready, child? Are you up for the challenge? The choice is yours . . .”

image [https://i.imgur.com/pfQlVcT_d.jpeg?maxwidth=520&shape=thumb&fidelity=high]