by rochester. » Sun Sep 02, 2012 7:24 am
Once, Many Hundreds of years ago, the great beings called Hypsi-Rexes roamed the earth. These kings would make even the strongest warriors like you, Brooklyn, bow down. You see, their tears were the only source of water to be found.
"But Papa?" Brooklyn asked the same question every night. And her father would reply with the same answer. "How did we defeat them?"
"Listen, child. This is your legacy too."
Once there was a ferret named Thunder, and he was stronger than the currents. And he had a brother, Lightning, who was faster than an giant eagle catching you in it's talons. Together, they herded the Hypsi-Rex race back into the earth from whence they came.
"But Papa? Didn't they die?"
"No, Brooklyn. Listen, my dear."
They cowered in fear and gave up their secret to us, finally. So Lightning and Thunder put the Hypsi-Rexes in the sky as constellations, but they had to use their life to make sure that the Hypsi-Rexes stayed where they belonged. So sometimes you can hear Thunder and Lightning reminding you of the sacrifice that they made.
Brooklyn sighed and switched off the tape recorder. She missed her home, but it was better than the alternative. The lion padded up to her. "Hey. Brooke."
"Hi, Desiree."
"Listening to your dad again?"
"Yeah. Oh Dezi!" Brooklyn began to cry. "I miss him so! I wish I had never come to the land of Chicken Smoothie!"
"Now, Brooklyn Costella! You do not mean that! You love your owner!"
"Don't use my old ferret last name! It only reminds me of-" She broke off into high pitched wails.
"I hate my life!"
"Brooklyn. Let me tell you something. About my family."
The sad girl looked up. "I thought you swore never to talk about them again!"
"I know. My last name was McManus. My mother was named Hope Desiree McManus. I am Desiree Hope. My father, Jylo McManas, forced me and my seven sisters, Arana, Alia and Amia, Zoe, Lillian, Kalindi, and Sage to work on our farms til we reached the age of twelve, where we would be sold as slaves."
"WHAT? That's outrageous!"
"My two brothers, Omega and Arlin, had been sold. Arana went next, then the twins- Alia and Amia. Then my father killed my mother because she was too old to produce more children and married a cruel, evil women that believed in whipping us when we didn't do something right on the farm. I was to be sold next. I just couldn't let that happen. By this time, I had two new brothers and two new sisters: Alexander, Johannes, Viktorea, and Kristiana. They were not to be sold. So I was officially put up on the market."
"And you didn't try to run away?"
"I did. And got us all whipped- Except for my family's newest arrivals- harshly, for two hours straight. A horrible man named Mr. Jonnethen Yarbot came and said that I would be renamed Margie Smith and serve as as slave until his son, Garrison, was old enough to marry, and then I would be renamed again- Vivian Royala- and would be married to him! So than I did the most horrible thing possible."
Desiree looked at her paws. "I killed them. I killed my stepmother, I killed my father, and took Zoe and Sage with me and ran for my life before father's loyal bodyguards could catch us. They did catch the rest. Sage died of cold, thirst, and hunger. Once we reached Chicken Smoothie Zoe ran away. That is my story. Tell me yours, Brooklyn Costella."
"Wow. I have to say, Dezi, Wow. I didn't know you had been through this much! Now I shall tell you my story."
"Very well."
"I lived in the harsh mountains, taken there by my kind (not evil, I am not being sarcastic) stepmother after my father died to live with her, to be out of the war zone, where there was no food at all and even less warmth. Wait- Perhaps I sould tell you about my old life first.
I used to live in a strong wooden house that was warm and we had goats, too. Cheese and milk! My father, who was a rich merchant, read us children and my mother books. All I remember about my mother was that she had a tinkling laugh. When My sister, Lydsal, was to be born, my mother, Kat, short for Katlyn, died, and so did Lydsal. So my father married a pleasant, kind-hearted young woman named Dela, short for Dolores Delphine, (That is her first name alone) but then my father, Lysdor, was shipped off to the army by the order of General Talon, because we were at war. He died in the first battle. And then our enemies were spotted heading to destroy our city. So Dela took us to the only safe place: The mountains.
I had three brothers- Nathan, Austin, and Diego- who were already shipped off to their jobs. Nathan was a cook. By that, I mean he heated snow over a (very rare and small) fire and barely cooked our day's portion- Half a salmon each. One meal per day. Ten minutes by sitting by the fire a day. Diego would spear fish wish some other male. If all of them combined spears, maybe they could catch a whale. But that usually happened every six years. We treasured our whales, though. Austin became a guard, killing anyone that came near our town that wasn't supposed to be there, asking questions later. I was a apprentice to Nathan, which meant I got to sit by the fire more. But than the avalanche hit and killed everyone- Except Nathan and I. But as we hiked out, Nathan's horrible burns and our lack of food made us prey to a mountain lion. Nathan (with only one arm and one leg) and I escaped. But after then remains a complete blank in my mind. When I woke up, I was in a hospital in Chicken Smoothie. They said I had been lying on the sidewalk. I had had a concussion. Nathan was not with me. And that is my story."
"Wow."
"We pity each other now."
"But now we are home."
And then they said together, "And that's the way it should be."
