The Labyrinth Queen

4. Supernatural

Jason

She woke with a start and stared at me. “Wh… What are you doing here?” she stammered.

            “I thought you would like a nice warm breakfast” I replied.

            “Why did you follow me?”

            “I told you, you need me Little Flower.”

            “Alright, let's get one thing straight right now! My name is Leilani, not Little Flower! And I most certainly do not need you or your help! I am fine on my own, I have been on my own for a long time, and I will find my grandmother without your help!” She said stamping her foot with her hands on her hips.

            “Hmm… well, that’s at least two things maybe three. You may be Leilani, but I will call you Little Flower. Like it or not you DO need my help as I know things you do not. You are most certainly NOT going to find your grandmother because she died before you were born, and I know more about you, your end goal, your family, and your future than even you do. Stop trying to run from me and I will tell you what I know and help you. Continue and I will follow you and protect you, but either way, you are stuck with me. Also, did you know you’re cute when you’re angry?” I smiled sweetly.

            She slowly made her way to the fire and gingerly took some eggs. As she began to eat them, she thought. Finally, after finishing her breakfast, she looked at me and said, “so talk.”

            “What do you want to know?” I asked hesitantly.

            “Why?”

            “Why what?”

            “Why would you care, why would you follow me, and why are you so determined to protect me?” she demanded.

            I knew my speech went too far. I should not have gotten so irritated with her and told her that she was stuck with me, but it was too late now. I had to respond, but maybe I could put it off, though everything had the same potential as a powder keg. So, after looking at my hands, I said “if I don’t protect you, she will kill you.”

Leilani

            I woke with a start. There he was, making breakfast. He was not asleep at the other campsite. Did he get any sleep at all? He pretended well enough, but he must have followed me in the dark. Here he is as if this was where we decided to stay the night, fixing breakfast, and acting as if nothing happened. What is wrong with this guy? Why is he so determined to be a thorn in my side? Why must he follow me even when I clearly do not want to be followed?

            I stare at him for a bit before asking him “Wh… What are you doing here?” I know he should be either searching for me or moving on. I’m sure I ran far enough that he would not be able to find me, but he must have followed me.

            “I thought you would like a warm breakfast.” He answered casually as if he did this every morning.

I ground my teeth together and asked, “Why did you follow me?”

            “I told you, you need me Little Flower.” He answered simply.

            I can feel my temper rising and I know I need to set the record straight, so I try again. “Alright, let’s get one thing straight right now! My name is Leilani, not Little Flower! And I most certainly do not need you or your help! I am fine on my own, I have been on my own for a long time, and I will find my grandmother without your help!”

            After thinking about it for a few seconds he replies “Hmm… well, that’s at least two things maybe three. You may be Leilani, but I will call you Little Flower. Like it or not you DO need my help as I know things you do not. You are most certainly NOT going to find your grandmother because she died before you were born, and I know more about you, your end goal, your family, and your future than even you do. Stop trying to run from me and I will tell you what I know and help you. Continue and I will follow you and protect you, but either way, you are stuck with me. Also, did you know you’re cute when you’re angry?”

            How in the world did he know? How does he know so much about me, I have nothing to tell anyone who I am or where I came from? What could he possibly know about me, my family, my past, my plan, or my future? He is no one to me. He is a guy I met on the road. I slowly sit down and start thinking while I eat my breakfast. I have so many questions, but I want him to start and to tell me everything. As I eat I begin to realize that he is waiting for me to make the first move. I take a breath, “so talk.”

            “What do you want to know?”

            The only thing I can think to ask is “Why?”

            “Why what?”

            Why what? Why follow me? Why help me? Why am I important? There are a million why’s I could ask, but I settle on, “Why would you care, why would you follow me, and why are you so determined to protect me?”

            “If I don’t protect you, she’ll kill you.” He answers.

            “What? Who? Why? What?” I stammer in surprise.

            He takes a big breath and pauses as if to figure out how to answer my questions. Then he says, “As I have already answered the first part of your questions, I will start with who. The Labyrinth Queen has ordered your death. The day you were born the oracle had a vision. You will be the one who will not only find the information that she needs, but you will also escape the prison. To escape you will also be the one who kills her and topples her rule. So, she sent her most elite guard, Peter, to follow you. He followed you until you were 16 when he got the order to kill your parents. That night he turned into a wolf and raced into your camp, killing both your mother and father. I was sent three years ago to assist Peter in his mission. My job the night your parents were killed was to wait and follow you until I received other orders. For the last three years, I have followed you.”

            He has been following me for three years… creepy! Wait, that means I never had the chance to escape. He will follow me no matter what, and he can do it. Then, it hits me… if he has been following me without my knowledge for three years, then what changed? Why is he no longer following me? Shouldn’t he have killed me? As my heart rate and my mind begin to race I have to fight back my fear before I can ask “What changed?”

            He sighs and says, “my orders.”

            “Okay, your orders? What, are you supposed to help me suddenly? Why?”

            “You misunderstand, yesterday, I was supposed to kill you.”

            “Kill me? Kill me?” I stammer as it sinks in. I am about to die. Maybe if I can stall, I can figure a way out of this mess. “So, you could have killed me at least a hundred times yesterday or let the boar or the bear do the job for you. Why did you save me?”

            “Yes, that’s true, but you see, I had lost sight of you in the morning. I got a little confused and made the mistake of stumbling into your lunchtime resting area. As I stood there staring at you, I realized that I would never be able to kill you. I will never be able to live without you.”

            “What? Why?” I ask surprised. This was so not what I thought I would hear.

            He sighs and says, “this world is not what you think it is. There are things out there that you know nothing about. You are learning so quickly, or you would not have been able to survive this long on your own. I am one of those things that you are know nothing about. Just like Peter, I am a werewolf. When I saw you and I caught your scent, my wolf went crazy. He recognized you as our mate. I could never hurt you much less kill you. It would be worse than hurting myself.” He dropped his head, waiting for me to respond as he looked at his toes.