Rated 12+ for fantasy and violence.
Missed Parts 1 and 2? Part 1, Part 2.
Both the food and the water burned her lips, but she ignored the pain.
Ignorance sometimes was a blissful thing, and Anna used it to her
advantage. She looked up from her food and drink to see Sympa lying not
too far away. Something about her figure was tense, as if she was
Anna’s mother and had to protect her. It made Anna curious, and since
Magic had left her she decided to talk to Sympa.
“Where did your cubs go?”
“They’re staying with Brassin. I wouldn’t want Cyldaminnie to wander
off and be lost forever.” Her eyes were closed, and Anna wondered if she had actually looked around. They were in a flat savannah with very short yellow grass, the only real form of plant life
the berry bush that resided by the river. There was no possible way for
her cub to get lost. But Anna didn’t say anything.
“Tell me about your husband.”
“What would you like to know?”
“Anything. His personality, maybe?”
“Well, alright. He’s much too stubborn, very savage. Wanted very badly
to kill you when you showed up.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“You asked.”
There was a short pause. “Did you stop him from killing me?”
“Yes. Well. The others and I.”
“Others?”
“Yes, the others. The other animals in the savannah.”
Anna felt like asking, “There are other animals?” but didn’t because it was an obvious question with an obvious answer. Instead, she said, “Why?”
“Pardon?”
“Why did you and the others stop Brassin from killing me?”
She opened one eye to consider her for a second, then closed it. “Because we’re all curious about you. We’re not
sure why you’re here, not sure if they sent you.”
“They?”
“Mhm.”
Anna waited for Sympa to explain who ‘they’ were, but when she didn’t,
she said with anger painting her voice, “Who’s ‘they’?”
“You don’t know?”
“Haven’t we been through this asking without knowing thing?”
It was obvious by the way her mouth twitched that Sympa couldn’t help but smile. “Well, they could still send you without your knowing. It’s a nice, quick process.”
Now she rose her voice by channeling her rage to her voice, as if trying to match the growl of the lioness. “Who’s ‘they’?”
“All in good time, human, all in good time.”
Anna groaned heavily and looked back at the water. She slowly let her hands
touch the liquid crystal, and smiled. She sat there for a while, falling in love with the feel of water running through her hands, then glanced up at the sun to see the source of light enchanting the water.
“Don’t look at the sun, it’ll blind you.” Sympa’s words jerked her out
of her daze, surprising her, and she looked over at her, but the lioness’ eyes were still closed as
she enjoyed the sunlight.
“How did you know I was looking at the sun?”
“Call it mother’s intuition.”
Something about that statement made Anna angry. “You’re not my mother.”
“I might not be your mother, but I know this--there is a reason you’re
here, and while I might never find out what that is, I must protect you. And I will.”
“I can take care of myself,” Anna whispered harshly, turning away from her.
Sympa chuckled. “Can you, now?” She shook her head, and, still grinning, turned away from Anna.
Anna looked away from Sympa stubbornly and glanced at her hands. She suddenly jumped. Her hands were a bright, almost raw, red. She looked to her arms and found with horror that they looked identical to her hands. And then it sunk in--she had been lying out in the flaming sun
for days, and had been sunburned.
She moaned as she understood the stiffness of her body. “May I go in the river, or will something eat me?”
“There’s no telling what’s in the river, but if you want to cool that skin of yours, go ahead in. Just yell if you need some help.”
It perplexed Anna that Sympa knew exactly why she was going in the river, but she decided not to think about it for the time being.
Slowly, she let herself into the hot water, almost shuttering. The water pained her body, but it was a million times better than being unprotected by the sun.
The silence left her alone with her thoughts, and she hated that, so she spoke again.
“How do you know about my burned skin? Doesn’t your fur protect you from that?”
“It does. We figured it out, however . . . well, you know, we do eat
other animals, so once we smelled your burning skin--”
“Nevermind,” Anna cut in. “I don’t feel like being lectured on the
workings of your cannibalism.”
“It’s not cannibalism. You eat meat, do you not?”
“Well, yes, but--”
“There you have it.” Sympa groaned and stretched a little more in the
sun. “And if you’re going to reject what I say, next time, don’t ask.”
“I’m just trying to be nice,” Anna replied sharply. “Why don’t you
think up a reasonable subject?”
“Good idea. Let’s start with questions about you.” She looked at Anna,
interest in her eyes. “Who are you, and where did you come from?”
“Where did I come from? Well, when a mother and father love each other
very much, they--”
“Nice try, human.” Sympa was not amused. “You know what I meant as
well as I do, so I wouldn’t try eluding the question with your silly games. Remember, I’m still an animal, and I could get hungry at any moment.”
“I’m not scared of you,” Anna reminded harshly.
“You should be.” She put one paw on top of the other, showing off her
claws. “But I do believe you are scared of me, nevertheless of what you
say.”
“Why would you think that?” Anna snapped raucously.
“Because you refuse to tell me of your past. And I don’t think it’s
just me. I think it’s everyone. You’re terrified of everyone, terrified
of people hurting you or using you to their advantage.”
A balloon of anger rose up inside of Anna. It was so strong and sudden that she nearly choked on it. “You don't know me--"
“We've acknowledged that,” Sympa interrupted brutally. “I do believe that’s what brought on this conversation in the first place.”
“You know what I believe?”
“What do you believe?”
“I believe you don’t give a care about who I am or where I came from. You’re just trying to show your power and authority over me. You want to play god with me, act as if I’m nothing more than just a toy, a toy whose life who can take away and give. You want me to fear you, because it bothers you that I’m not afraid of you.” She grinned at the silence. “I’m right, though, aren’t I? Every word I’ve spoken is true. I bet this is just a scam to make you feel better. Something happened, and you’re unhappy, so you kidnapped me and told me this lie about how Brassin was going to hurt me and you and the other animals saved me because I’m ‘different’ or ‘special’. It’s all a lie, isn’t it? I bet there isn’t even a ‘they’.”
Now Sympa came alive, and alive with anger. She jumped up from her position in a bound, a leap, and Anna started with surprise. Within moments the beautiful beast was in front of Anna, staring in to her eyes, breathing heavily and shaking in rage. “Don’t you ever say that they don’t exist. Do you hear me? Don’t you ever say.”
“I can say whatever I want to say. I can do whatever I want to do.” Anna paused, and then added rather lamely, “And I could do it to you.”
She seemed amused. “Oh really? And what could you do to me?”
Anna’s expanse dictionary of sharp replies had not even come close to running out. “Haven’t you heard the rumors? I’m a human. Humans alone contain power that has granted them head over every species.”
“Human?” Sympa pretended to be surprised. “Oh, I don’t think you’re just a human.” She gave a large, toothy grin to the young girl, and for the first time since her arrival, Anna felt afraid.
“Do you know what I believe?” she questioned almost maliciously. Anna didn’t respond, but stared in terror and wonder. “I believe you have something to hide. From me, from your family, from even yourself. You’re hiding something, and it’s huge. That’s what makes you ‘different’. That’s what makes you ‘special’. This huge secret, Anna. And for years now you’ve been thinking about it, for years now you’ve wondered why this secret exists, how it could exist. You’ve been trying to figure it out, trying to understand.” Sympa paused as if for Anna to respond, but she didn’t. She couldn’t.
Sympa leaned closer to Anna, so close that their noses nearly touched and Anna could feel her hot breath on her cheeks. “Is this true, Miss Anna?”
