Birthright: Chapter Three
Chapter Three
Lucian sat quietly looking at the book, strumming his padded fingers on the cover. The more he stared at the book's cover the more he noticed small details. It was without a doubt the most unique and beautiful book Lucian had ever seen.
Aside from the leather binding of the book, most of the cover was made of silver inserts.
The decorations on the cover were both simple and elegant against the black leather.
The circle on the cover was outlined with some sort of markings that consisted of odd curves and angels. Over the cover outside the circle there were simple shapes in the leather. Gentle curves that draped themselves across the cover in a strange way that drew the eye back to the circle on the cover.
Inside the silver circle was what looked like a type of cane or branch running down dividing the circle in the middle.
At each side of the divide the image of a rabbit's foot facing the opposite direction sat bound in silver.
Around each half of the circle were more strange marking in the same style as the ones around the circle.
The cover alone was exasperatingly full of curiosity that made Lucian wonder about the contents held. Drifting into thought Lucian began to sort out which of his siblings would have been given the key.
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Lucian had twelve other siblings, he was the thirteenth born. Earning him a nickname that was as much the title of youngest and smallest as well as his fate at getting both, Lucky.
At the height of five and a half feet tall he weighted a small, but well toned one hundred and twenty-five pounds. Lucian was the very living ideal of a runt and being that brought with it all the teasing twelve other siblings could muster.
A lot.
It was one of several problems that ended when he moved out into one of the oldest remaining homes of the Hare bloodline. The isolation and quiet brought with it a odd simple peace Lucian had sought all his childhood.
There were few things he ever needed to walk into one of the remote towns for. He grew all the food and fruits he needed and books kept Lucian fervent company.
Most of his siblings had scattered to all different areas when the Kings Royal Assassins killed their parents.
One of his siblings would have been given the key and of all his siblings Lucian narrowed the choices down to three.
Roland, the fifth born brother, was Lucian's first choice. He was always the logical one.
Roland had always been the most respected among the siblings. He always made the right choices and thought things through. If anyone had been trusted with the safe keeping of a family heirloom it would have been Roland.
The second choice for a guardian of the missing key brought to mind Lucian's sister Ellana.
She had shared Lucian's love of books and had an almost unnatural at times ability to notice more than one would think. As far back as Lucian could remember he had never seen her not watching everyone and everything at every moment.
Ellana was also the second to last kitten born into the Hare family. She and Lucian were the closest before he moved out.
The problem was Lucian had no idea where she was. She would most likely be in a place with lots of furs to notice and those were the places Lucian hated.
Lastly Lucian's sister Pella seemed a possible candidate for the key's location.
Pella was a tinker and lover of everything. It was a trait that allowed her to never get rid of a single thing, ever.
Pella was always fixing something she found in some discarded place. If anyone could be trusted to never misplace something as important as the key to a book Pella would fit that task.
Lucian thought about the real possibilities that it could be any one of his siblings but at least he had a good place to start.
#
Lucian sat resting his paw on the cover feeling the circle and lines brushing the bottoms of his finger pads.
It was strange sitting there with a book so old and full of wonder. It was stranger not having a way to open it.
Standing from the chair Lucian lifted the book and walked from the table to an overstuffed seat near the fire.
This was the spot where Lucian spent most of his time.
This was his reading chair and a place that had let him wander beyond his life to fantasies from far away places.
He sat down and turned setting the book on the arm of the chair. Quickly he jerked his paw away from the book feeling something sting his paw.
Lucian opened his paw pads up to look at his fingers.
Running down the palm pad was an angry red line slowly bleeding into the fur of his paw. He sucked a breath in feeling a stinging in his palm closing it tight to help the bleeding stop.
Quietly, almost unnoticed, the sounds of countless dozens of small gears were turning.
It was a strange sound to hear. So many pitches of clicking together at once gave off a funny trickling click like sound.
Looking down at the book Lucian sat watching as the silver circle on the cover slowly turned like a clock dial. What was even more unusual and unsettling was that the cover of the book's unpolished silver circle was a thin angry line of blood.
Lucian scrunches his brow down closing his eyes letting out a slow breath.
The idea came to him in a sudden flash of insight just after the point of irony.
"The key is within. Within me."
The circle turned several times around before finally stopping. The clicking sound of gears slowed and came to a silence. Lucian stared in wonder as a pale blue haze fell off the book like a fog.
Like the sound of hot water hissing the whole circle on the cover shifted slightly to the left and the book sat unlocked on the arm.
#
As he walked back into the living room Lucian flexed his fingers testing the bandage over his palm. The cut was just deep enough to need a covering. He stopped looking down at the book on the chair.
Lucian decided to take care of the cut before he moved any deeper into the book mystery. The book was both enticing and frightening. After all it had already hurt him and he hadn't even provoked it.
Sitting down slowly Lucian never took his eyes off the book. He lifted it slowly and settled it onto his lap taking a breath to steady his nerves as he lifted the cover open.
The first page of the book had an elegant handwriting inked across it, the same handwriting as the letter.
It read, "You and I will never meet. We will never share a kind embrace, or ever share anger. We will never share warm touches. We will never share so much.
There are some things however we share, a kind heart and a good soul, the passion to understand things unseen in the world, a love of books.
We now share a burden."
The knot in Lucian's stomach doubled over itself and became a tangle of knots.
"My beloved kin it is with loving sadness that I leave this book to you. All the knowledge I have, all that I am, and all that I can help you be is here within these pages. Keep it safe for nothing is more precious, more desirable, and more dangerous than knowledge. With all my love Liandra Morganus Hare."
Lucian sat feeling the texture of the page. Though it never stated whom, Lucian simply knew the words were meant for him. He felt a profound sadness at Liandra's words.
Lucian could feel the love she felt for him. Her sadness at the unknown burden they shared. The way she felt hopeless and alone. As he brushed a tear off his cheek Lucian knew now why her name had been carved differently.
Liandra Morganus Hare was a rare soul.
Lucian turned the first page over and noticed the delicate way in which the words were penned out. The first page was not what he expected.
Scrawled over the page was a series of circles interlacing. Various sizes of circles held other circles in what looked like an endless layer of rings.
Turning to the next page Lucian leaned back setting the large book on his knees reading what seemed to be a sort of fairy tale about a rabbit and darkness. The story was called The Bright Rabbit.
#
Many stories past there was once and isle of never ending darkness. This isle was full of evil.
The isle was home to many generations of hares. Deep under the ground the hares lived in stone and silver caves for none was brave enough to go above.
One day the food grew little in number and the eldest of the hare's chose one among them to go above and find food.
Not one of the bravest fighters would go for they would not fight in the dark.
No hare wanted to risk himself in the darkness so the eldest picked Luc.
Being smallest of size and shyest of voice the eldest, as well as everyone else, always forgot about Luc.
So the eldest sent Luc above the ground for none would notice if he went missing for long.
Luc climbed to the surface as fast as his fear would let him. Stopping only twice.
When the darkness saw Luc climb out of the hole is growled in hunger.
This scared poor small Luc.
Luc did not want to be taken by the darkness. It was true none would notice him, no one ever did. But he would miss them and they would go hungry.
So Luc summoned up all the courage he could and told the darkness to go away.
His voice shone like a light through him and pushed back the darkness. So strong was his courage at that moment did his voice become a spark of light inside him.
#
The story ended there on the pages but inside his mind Lucian knew there was more to the story.