What happens when you grow up

Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Twelve years ago…

Tigerlily crouched low to the ground, peering through the swaying grass. She could see Little Wolf up ahead, bent over his bow as he worked to restring it. In one season, Little Wolf would embark on his Spirit Quest and become a man, just as 12-year-old Tigerlily would also go on her own quest in a year before becoming a woman. Things would change then. After all, Little Wolf came from a long line of warriors and would be eager to build his own reputation, and Tigerlily was the chief's own daughter. Who knew, perhaps their parents would decide to betroth them. Tigerlily wasn't really interested in all that romantic nonsense, but she supposed she could deal with Little Wolf as a husband.

For now, though, the two of them were the best of friends—though they were also decidedly bad influences on each other from time to time.

Tigerlily crept closer, willing herself to not make a sound. Once, she was afraid Little Wolf had spotted her, but after a searching gaze, he turned back to his bow. Closer, closer she crept, until she was finally… close enough… to… pounce!

"Gah!" Little Wolf cried as Tigerlily hurled herself into him, knocking him onto his back. "What the-!"

"Pinned you," Tigerlily grinned down on him.

Little Wolf pushed her off him irritably, though a smile was creeping across his face. "That's not fair," he protested. "It doesn't count if you sneak up on me."

"You can try again, if you'd like," Tigerlily offered with a cheeky grin. "It'll end the same way, though."

Little Wolf shrugged carelessly. "Nah, I don't see the point…" Suddenly, he launched himself at Tigerlily. She dodged, but he managed to catch her shoulder, yanking her down with him. With surprising agility, she extracted herself and twisted on top of him, pinning him down with her knees.

"Pinned you again," she declared.

"All right, all right," Little Wolf grumbled. "Let me up."

Tigerlily rolled off him, brushing off her dress with no small dose of pride. There would come a time that Little Wolf shot up in height, when his shoulders broadened and his muscles grew, and she wouldn't be able to force him to the ground. She had decided to enjoy herself as much as possible at his expense until then.

"Are you going hunting?" Tigerlily asked, glancing at his bow. She hoped he'd say yes, so she could insist on going with him. She loved to hunt as much as any of the warriors, even if she was only allowed to hunt small prey until she'd passed her initiation.

"Maybe," Little Wolf replied. "I was thinking of going to the glen to catch a deer. My mother would like to replace her moccasins, and she needs more fur."

"I'll come with!" Tigerlily said eagerly, already running towards her teepee to gather her own hunting equipment.

Nana was sitting outside, sewing. "Where are you off to?"

"Just going hunting with Little Wolf," Tigerlily told her grandmother. "We're going to the glen. We won't be gone long."

"Be sure to be back before dark," Nana insisted.

"I promise!" Tigerlily called, racing back to Little Wolf. With any luck, they'd be back within an hour or two. There were always deer around the glen.

The two children raced each other through the forest, hurdling ditches and dodging trees. The glen was only two miles from their village, and it didn't take long to arrive. As they drew nearer, they slowed their pace, cautiously creeping forward with as little noise as possible.

There were no deer in sight, but that wasn't discouraging. They knew that if they waited long enough, the deer would come. A serene silence wafted across the land, settling onto their shoulders like a warm and familiar coat. They were used to silence; they had learned of its importance and cherished it dearly.

"Let's get a little closer," Little Wolf whispered, inching nearer. Tigerlily followed. Suddenly, Little Wolf pointed. "Look!"

Tigerlily followed his finger. There, scattered across the dirt in front of them, were bear tracks!

"They can't be more than half an hour old," Little Wolf said.

Tigerlily studied them nervously. She remembered hearing her father talking just the other day about a troublesome bear that had been killing deer and scaring game away from the village. The warriors who had caught glimpses of it said it was unusually large. Some of the tribal leaders had even been worried, since bears didn't usually come this close to the village.

"I think we should probably go back and tell our fathers," she said.

"By the time we get back with a hunting party, the trail will have gone cold," Little Wolf protested. "This is too good to pass up! What if it's the bear that has been causing all the problems? We could kill it and be heroes!"

"That's big game," Tigerlily argued. "We're not even allowed to hunt that!"

"Oh, don't be a scaredy-cat," Little Wolf snapped, starting to follow the bear tracks. "I'm practically initiated anyway—it's only a season away. And no one will care once we prove we could do it!"

Tigerlily bit her lip nervously. She knew she should go back and tell her father, but she hated the thought of Little Wolf forging on ahead after a bear by himself. What if he got hurt and needed help? But what if she wasn't as much help as he needed?

"Look, if you're that worried, we can just follow the trail to its cave, and then go back," Little Wolf wheedled. "Okay? We won't hunt it. We'll just find out where it lives."

His promise made her feel much better. "Okay," she agreed.

The two of them started following the tracks, cautious to remain as quiet as possible. The trail remained clear for another three miles, leading them deeper and deeper into the forest. After some time, Tigerlily could hear the faint crashing of the sea, and she realized how closely they had come to the shoreline. They weren't supposed to be near the shoreline. There were pirates along the shoreline.

"Little Wolf—" she started.

"Shh!" he hissed. "Look!"

There, up ahead, was a cave.

It was a small cave, at least in outward appearances, tucked in a rocky overhang between some trees. The sound of running water was louder there; apparently, the cave overlooked a decently sized stream that flowed past only a few feet below. Tigerlily would smell the putrid scent of rotting meat from where she stood.

The distinctive smell of death made her mouth dry. "Okay, we've found it," she said. "Now let's go tell the elders."

"We're not sure that this is the right cave," Little Wolf said stubbornly. He shrugged off his bow and threw it to her. "Hold this while I check."

Tigerlily caught his arm. "It's the right cave," she insisted. "Let's go."

But Little Wolf jerked away. "We've come all this way, so we might as well make sure."

For all his bravado, even he appeared nervous as he inched closer… closer… Tigerlily held her breath as he bent to peer inside.

She could see him exhale, out of disappointment or relief she couldn't be sure. He turned back to her, saying, "He's not th—" Tigerlily watched the blood drain from his face as the words died in his throat.

"What is it?" she asked.

Then she heard it: a very clear crack as a twig snapped underneath a very big animal.

Slowly, she turned around—and looked up, up, up… up at the eight-foot-tall grizzly bear staring back down at her.

She felt the blood drain out of her own face as her legs threatened to give out from underneath her. She could never shoot it from such a close range. She took an instinctive step back.

The bear threw back its head and roared. Then it dropped down to all four paws and began to charge.

"Run!" Little Wolf shrieked.

Tigerlily spun around towards her friend. Panic hurled her forward, and she ran towards the overlook without any plan of where to go next. Before she knew it, she had launched herself into space. She fell only a few seconds before landing in the river below. The cold water shocked her back to her senses, but the current was too strong for her to swim to shore.

She heard a splash behind her. "Tigerlily!" Little Wolf had jumped in too.

It was no use to struggle against the current. All Tigerlily could do was try to keep her head above water. Somehow, Little Wolf managed to draw closer to her, grabbing her hand in his. The two of them clutched each other desperately as the water tossed them back and forth. Finally, the river spilled out of the forest, dumping them into a sea via a ten-foot waterfall.

Tigerlily clawed her way to the surface, frantically searching for Little Wolf. He was nowhere to be seen. Desperately, she called his name, but she heard no reply. He had to be here! She sucked in a breath and dove underwater, feeling for her friend. Nothing… nothing… Her lungs felt like they would burst… There! Her fingers brushed fur. She clutched onto Little Wolf's arm and yanked him up, hauling him behind her to until they reached the beach.

Tigerlily pulled her friend out of the water and shook him, but he didn't stir. "Little Wolf! Wake up!" she demanded, fear flooding her veins. She slapped him once, then again, harder this time. When that didn't work, she pounded on his chest furiously, repeating, "Wake up! Wake up!"

Finally, a spout of water shot out of Little Wolf's mouth, and he started coughing. He rolled onto his side, vomited up more water, coughed harder, and eventually sucked in a shaky breath.

"I thought you were dead!" Tigerlily cried. She hugged him fiercely and burst into tears.

Little Wolf hugged her back just as hard. He was crying too.

Suddenly a deep voice spoke up behind them. "Well, isn't this touching!"

Both children jerked around, their hearts filling with a new sense of dread. Standing there was a group of leering six pirates. They all looked wickedly ferocious, with their swords and pistols and scars and tattoos. But the man at the front of the group was by far the most intimidating. He wasn't as rough and ragged as his compatriots; in fact, he was a picture of elegant style, in the black velvet coat that hugged his tall, lean frame, and the leather gloves stretched across his long fingers. In any other arena, he would have been considered quite handsome, with his tousled black hair and piercing dark eyes.

Tigerlily had only seen him once before, but she instantly recognized him, and he filled her with fear.

"Blackbeard."

The man grinned proudly. "I see my reputation precedes me. And you two must be some of those elusive natives. What a wonderful coincidence. We were just going out to find you."

Tigerlily and Little Wolf scrambled to their feet, and Little Wolf stepped in front of her protectively. He brandished his dagger in front of them. "What do you want?"

"My dear boy," Blackbeard laughed, "I rather think you've brought a knife to a gun fight, eh?" Behind him, all his crew members c****d their pistols. "Besides, there's no need to be wary! We simply wanted to talk to your tribe about that pixie dust they seem to be so set on hoarding. It really isn't right, you know, being so selfish about it. I'm sure there's plenty to go around!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Little Wolf retorted, but it was a lie, and everyone knew it. The two children didn't know the whereabouts of the Fairy Kingdom; only the elders knew that. But they certainly knew about the pixies. The entire tribe acted as their guardians.

"I'm afraid I don't quite believe you," Blackbeard said, never dropping that despicably charming smile. "Perhaps we can find a way to loosen your tongue. Boys?

The pirates lunged forward, grabbing the children before they could even try to escape. Two of them held onto Tigerlily, while another two grabbed Little Wolf, wrenching the dagger out of his hand and tossing it to Blackbeard.

"A rather primitive weapon," the captain remarked, studying it critically. "Then again, you're a rather primitive people, aren't you?" Casually, he approached the struggling boy. "Perhaps we'll have to use primitive methods of persuasion." He grabbed Little Wolf by the hair and yanked his head back, pressing the dagger into his throat. "Tell me what I want to know, and I'll let you live."

"I'll tell you nothing!" Little Wolf cried.

Blackbeard sighed, almost as though he was bored. Then he plunged the dagger into Little Wolf's side. The boy screamed in pain, and Tigerlily screamed too.

"Shut up!" one of her captors growled, shaking her roughly.

"You'll live," Blackbeard assured him. "For now. I can slice off quite a few things before it becomes fatal."

"I won't tell you," Little Wolf ground out.

"Are you sure?" Blackbeard asked, and buried the dagger in Little Wolf's shoulder. Little Wolf gasped in agony as the captain began to twist the blade.

"We don't know!" Tigerlily shouted. "Only the elders—"

"Tigerlily, don't!"

That caught Blackbeard's attention. "Tigerlily?" he repeated, seeming to really see her for the first time. "Princess Tigerlily?" Tigerlily felt an all new sense of dread well up within her as the captain approached her. She tried to back away but the pirates held her firm. "Princess Tigerlily as in the sole heir of Chief Great Little Panther?" Blackbeard cupped her chin, tilting her head to meet his gaze. "My, my. Now this is very convenient."

Tigerlily's insides were quaking, but she clamped down on her fear, jerking her chin away. "Yes, I am Princess Tigerlily. And my father will not be pleased to learn of this."

Blackbeard let out a harsh laugh. "Oh, forgive me, princess. I didn't realize I was dealing with royalty." Behind him, his men snickered. "My most humble apologies."

"If you release us, I'm sure my father will be lenient," Tigerlily said stiffly, willing herself to stay composed. That was another lie; her father and the rest of the tribe wouldn't rest until this grievous fault had been repaid. But she was willing to say just about anything if it meant she could get Little Wolf away safely.

"Oh, I rather doubt that," Blackbeard said good-naturedly. "I'm sure he'll want to shoot an arrow straight through my heart." He winked at her conspiratorially. "So I'd better keep some collateral, eh?" He turned to his men. "All right, mates, back to the ship!"

The pirates started to follow their captain, dragging the two children along.

"Wait!" Tigerlily cried. "I'm all you need. Let Little Wolf go!"

"No!" Little Wolf started to protest, but a pirate punched him in the ribs, knocking his breath out.

Blackbeard seemed to seriously consider it for a moment. "You're right," he announced cheerfully. "I don't need him." He whipped out his pistol and shot Little Wolf right through the heart. The boy fell to the ground without a sound, blood pooling around his body.

"Little Wolf!" Tigerlily screamed, struggling frantically against her captors. Part of her refused to believe her closest friend was dead, even as the rest of her grew numb with horror. She was overwhelmed with such maddening grief, she feared her heart would break in two.

"What's this, then?" Blackbeard asked innocently as his men dragged her away. "Why the long face? We're going to have so much fun!"