Celestial Intervention, Book 1: Ania

The White Lion *roughdraft* *like sandpaper rough*

Kimba peered out of his porthole to see land in the far distance, sure that they would make it before the sun went down.  It had been a long month and a half of living on a merchant’s ship, trying not to be detected had cost him most of his sleep.  He had lived off of biscuits and dried meats, living in the lowest parts of the ship where it was darkest.  It wasn’t as bad as he would have expected, but he had lived on the streets his whole life, the only difference here was that it was wet and smelly, and though he never got seasick.  What would he do when he got there?  He had no idea, the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind.  Emotions of relief, fear, and wonder coursed through him, the unknown land in the distance putting immense pressure on him.  Something towards the left of the land caught his eye, a dot in the far sea.  He strained his eyes to get a better look, though it didn’t help much.  He dismissed it as probably another ship and sat back down on the floor, nibbling a biscuit.  

 

The sounds of footsteps and crates being moved came down from the top deck, letting Kimba know they were about to dock.  It had taken longer than he expected to get to land, and the sun had started setting.  He peered out the porthole again to get a measure on the distance, the land coming up by the second.  To the left, he saw the ship again, it was bigger than the one he was on and also bore the merchant flag.  Kimba didn’t understand why the flagged the fact that they were merchants, seemed like a big arrow for pirates to hone in on.  A plan started scrambling its way into his thoughts as he tried to figure out a method to escape without being seen.  The sun was going down, but it wasn’t nearly dark enough to prevent him from being spotted.  He could try to make a run for it while the crew was distracted.  Nervously biting more into his biscuit, Kimba slid down to the floor and anxiously waited.

 

-

 

Khonsu saw the land fast approaching, the almost two month journey including stops finally coming to an end.  He had become good friends with both the captain and Til, but some of the captains words still haunted him from the second night he had joined them.  “Nothing’s going to happen the way you think,”  She had said, “The world has a way of kicking you in the ass when you try making a life for yourself, and just when you think you’ve got it, everything you’ve ever accomplished is diminished, pieces of what you thought was real fall through your hands like grains of sand.”  He shook his head of that day and looked forward to the land, a new future ahead of him.  Though he had no idea of what would happen next, the inspiration that came with exploring an entirely new world was exciting to him.  He was eager to meet the kingdom that bore an entire population of these odd pink people.  

 

-

 

Now! Kimba sprinted up the steps and past the crew, the entire ship folk holding a dumbfounded look on their faces.  “Get him!”  He heard a deep voice cry, with heavy footsteps soon following.  It was then in there that he made a promise to stop getting himself into these situations  He ran onto the dock, his footsteps echoing across the piers that surrounded him.  Glancing back to get an estimate of his situation, he saw that he had a decent lead on the fat sailors, but he kept sprinting.

 

-

 

Khonsu stepped onto the dock and took a deep breath, his lips forming into a helpless grin.  He heard footsteps that he recognized as Til’s behind him.  “ Careful out there.”  Khonsu turned around to see Til hunched over and nervously rubbing his hands together.  “Tis not what ya might think it ta be.  T’ere’s corruption ‘round every corner.”  Khonsu walked up to him and held out his hand, now accustomed to the formal greeting.  Til smiled an open smile and took it firmly.  “You’s a good man, Khonky, destined ta be a great one.”  Til’s blue eyes shined as he said those final words, then he walked off to find the local tavern.  Shortly after Til walked off, Khonsu felt Lonya’s hand on his shoulder, and he turned around to say his goodbyes.  “Thank you.”  He said, his voice shaking.  “He speaks!”  Lonya let out a free laugh.  “I don’t do goodbyes, but maybe we’ll see each other again sometime.”  She planted a kiss on his cheek as she brushed past him, her scent making the blood rush to his head.  Khonsu looked at the ship one last time before turning around and walking towards the kingdom with large stone walls surrounding it, gates open to let traders in.  

 

Something from the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he glanced over to see a boy sprinting from the ship that had docked the same time his did, with large men chasing after him.  The boys skin wasn’t pink like the rest of the people here, it was pure white, something Khonsu never imagined possible.  The boy had long black hair that seemed to spike up,looking like a mane.  But his eyes were something else entirely, they were a storm colored shade of blue, and seemed to hold repressed emotions bottled up inside of them.  Khonsu watched as three men that were guarding the entry to the gates of the city sprinted towards the boy, cutting him off from any escape.

 

-

 

Kimba saw three armed and armoured men ahead of him, his blind rage building up once again.  He pulled out a steak knife that he had found on the ship, bringing it up to his chest in a tight grip as he charged the first man.  The guard swung with a short sword as khonsu ducked out of the way, the steel above him slicing his hair.  The guard looked down to see a hand reach past his face and grip the back of his head.

 

-

 

Khonsu was frozen as he saw the boy use the guards head as leverage, bringing himself up to eye level with the tall man and burying the knife in his chin.  The first armoured man fell, and the white boy scrambled as the other two men gained on him.  He reached for a box to throw at them, but was caught from the back by the sailors he had been on ship with.  Khonsu got closer as he watched the boy struggle to escape, his squirming and twisting doing him no good.  Khonsu knew the boy was captured, and with the strict pink laws, the boy was surely to be executed.  

 

-

 

Kimba was yelling and squirming, but the sailors hold was too tight.  He could hear the armoured footsteps of the guards getting closer to him, not too pleased about what he had done to their friend.  He knew this crime wouldn’t go without being punished, and he also knew that they wouldn’t hesitate to kill a boy who was foreign, had no family, and was homeless.  He stopped struggling and glanced back out at the sea, wishing he had stayed, wishing he had not killed the people he had.  He wished his sister was here holding him in her soft yet protective embrace.  What really made his stomach churn was the fact that he was going to be killed by the same people that had killed his sister.  He looked to the sky, tears coming to his eyes as the sailors and armoured men spoke, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying, he didn’t care.  Then a black figure caught his eye, and was surprised to see that the black figure was actually black.  It was a boy his age, with skin as dark as Kimba’s own hair, and the midnight flesh was decorated with white ringlets.  The boy was watching him, a staff on his back that was nearly twice his height.  Something about the strange boy drew Kimba’s attention.

 

-

Khonsu’s eyes met boy’s, and Khonsu suddenly knew what his meaning of being here was.  The boys blue eyes held a lost look to them, like a stray and angry animal.  The White Lion.  It all made sense to Khonsu now as the boy was being dragged away, kicking and screaming.  His hair was a mane, and his fighting spirit resembled that of a lion.  His eyes told of treacherous trials and lost loved ones.  Khonsu was certain the boy had no one else in the world, and that this was part of Ania’s plan, so he swiftly followed the strange boy and the men that dragged him.

If you liked this chapter don't forget to vote! :) And feedback always helps!