REBORN QUEEN

CHAPTER TWO – I Call Upon Disaster

PRESENT DAY

Lila had always been drawn to the past, as her presence was filled with strife and rejection. Many nights she had slept at the valley museum, and it had felt like home. That was what she wanted to show her middle school students, that they belonged to something bigger and greater than themselves. But the sheriff had imposed a 24-hour curfew in the valley after a boy of fifteen was found in a pool of his own blood. His heart had been ripped from his chest. She hadn’t realized until later the consequences it would have on the compulsory field trip time, and by the time they found a reservation in the museum, it clashed with the scheduled renovation. Now she sat at the steps of The King's Museum, along with twenty of her students, a bunch of 12-13 year excited olds. She has promised them a trip to the museum if they did well in their midterm to see all the ancient markings of Old Caraxes.

The carvings in the museum held drawings of all the creatures that had lived in Caraxes as old as the 7th century. There were pictures of men as werewolves and foxes, banshees and witches, wizards, and gnomes. Caraxes Valley had been a home for the most powerful werewolves in ancient times, until the great rebellion which had led to their present state.

"Do you know, we all still have the blood of Old Caraxes running through our veins even though we can't turn," she had said to the fascinated students in class.

They were all excited to see the markings, as their parents, farmers, and storekeepers, treated the tales like old folklore instead of actual history.

Now though, she would have to disappoint the students, a thought which most distressed her. They all had hats in the shapes of werewolves and banshees, all sorts of colorful creatures with small ears and cute noses. She jumped off the steps on sighting the museum manager appear at the door. The portly man looked pleasant in his tweed suit.

"Excuse me, sir. A word?"

"I in fact would like a word with you young woman. I hear you have been harassing my staff."

She hadn't harassed the doorman, only asked quite persistently that he let them into the building.

"You do know the building is currently under renovation?"

"It's just 20 children sir' She didn't understand her desperation to show the students. Maybe it was her dismay at the ever-waning memory of their history as a people, or because she just didn't want to go back to the dreary school building with its grays and hues.

“What is your name? Just in case I need to report someone to the authorities for harassment.’ He pulled out his phone in waiting.

She hesitated, ‘Lila Sir. Lila Jones.’

He raised an eyebrow before writing. It wasn’t a reaction that surprised her as she was someone infamous in Caraxes although not exactly as a result of anything she had done or accomplished. In fact, one of the reasons for her popularity was the collective belief that she hadn’t achieved anything at all despite her prominent family name.

After much persuasion, he finally caved, "Okay. ten minutes tops, and no loitering!"

Grateful, she bundled the children into the building ordering them into a single file. The teaching assistant, Anna lagged behind and Anna had the strong desire to leave her there, if that wouldn’t also mean managing all the children herself.

"Could you keep that phone and help me? If you don't mind"

The girl looked up apologetically and smiled.

‘Very sorry Miss Li.’ Lila was not much older than the girl 19 years, but she acted like another one of the students with her lackadaisical manner.

As they passed through each of the halls, she showed them the figures drawn by the Alphas of that time to preserve their memory. The museum was built in a circular fashion and this gave the drawings a smooth transition from wall to wall. Some drawings were of small animals on even small but fully developed trees. There were other drawings that spanned half the length of the entire hall of werewolves running on rivers and the four alpha packs of Caraxes. She paused to give students a lecture.

‘Caraxes is the only werewolf civilization in Drastaros with not just one but four packs living in harmony with no one oppressing the other. It was the idea of King Araxes in order to create a settlement that would be strong enough to resist all attacks. No Alpha was to be answerable to another but they would all follow a few set guidelines that would govern the entire valley. It was an idea that would preclude organized civilization in Drastaros.’

They went down the stairs and through a series of caves that led to the hall of the great Rebellion. It was a wide hall with markings on every available space, some even reaching up to the roof. The walls were painted a dark blue so the carvings on them were as though they glowed, giving the entire room an almost magical feel. It told the story of the beginning, from the time when peace reigned in Caraxes then to the point where some wolves left the pack, and finally to the great rebellion.

A child, small for his age and smart as a whip raised his hand

"Yes, Carl?"

"Why did the first werewolves leave the pack?"

"Well Carl, they wanted to find their own way."

‘They shouldn’t have! Maybe we would have won and now I will have my powers.

Another child spoke up. He was big and in bright red from head to toe, giving him a certain shock value. "How do you know that? It's not written here."

"It's not drawn, dummy."

"You are the dummy."

"Okay children," she said trying to calm the situation before it escalated. "I know because I'm an adult, right? Let's move on."

Finally, they got to the werewolf King. He had the whole back wall all to himself, his jet-black mane swaying as if in the wind. The carving was of him howling as though in mourning and he stood as though ready for battle. It was a beautiful picture, eliciting so many emotions that tourists usually stood at this spot for hours taking it in.

"He is magnificent," Carl said.

Lila touched the drawing, "yes he was."

Lila faced the students, this was the star of the show and the main reason she had fought tooth and nail to get them there.

"He was called Araxes and he was the last king in Caraxes before the Great Rebellion. He was the most powerful werewolf in all of Caraxes and, legends have it, all of Drastaros."

Murmurs of wonder from the crowd filled the air, Lila saw the teaching assistant from her peripheral vision leaning on the left wall which was the one that broke and begun the renovation. It still had one crack that went from the floor to the other end of the hall. She wanted to call the girl to order, in fact, she should have, but she was too excited about telling the students all about their history. Two minutes, she thought.

"Isn’t a king supposed to have a queen?" a red-haired girl said.

"Yea," Carl said accusingly, "where is his mate? Alphas are always supposed to have mates."

"Yes he had a queen, Queen Selene but not much is known about her. It is as if she dropped off the face of the Earth. There are no books about her, no songs to sing her praises, and no children to continue her bloodline."

‘That’s sad,’ a child said.

‘Indeed.’ She dropped her voice to a whisper. ‘There are rumors, they say her soul lives, moving through lifetimes in waiting. So anyone of you could be Queen Selene reborn!’

‘Waiting for what?’ Carl asked.

Lila felt a stream of sand coat her face. Above them, a widening crack continued to release rocks and dangerous sounds.

‘Okay children,’ she said. ‘It’s time to go now.’ Exit-bound and reluctant, the children moved slowly.

Another stream of sand coated her face, this one much bigger than the last. ‘Hurry!’ Lila shouted. Maybe it was the fright in her voice or the force of all the children’s quickened steps. At that moment the left wall where Anna had stood only a minute ago collapsed on itself and the terrified screams of middle school kids almost drowned the sound of the crumbling building.