The Truth in Lies
#3 of Choices
Celena and Tyre approached the city of Everen cautiously. They could see what appeared to be the entire town guard as well as small groups of soldiers from Mount Dune, the King's personal fortress, standing at attention. King Galareon ruled over Everen and several other cities; the small village in which the panthers and Garen had lived was on the outskirts of his land.
As they drew closer, they were quickly noticed by the guards and promptly surrounded. While Celena stood by her husband nervously, Tyre explained to the guards what had happened and that they needed to enter Everen. After a time they were let go, although none of their questions were answered.
They entered the city hours later than they had planned, being stopped by the guards several more times before being let through. Celena let out a pent up breath at being past all of the soldiers and Tyre simply smiled at her reassuringly. Tyre had been born in Everen, and knew the town well, although Celena had never seen it. He almost laughed at her childlike curiosity for the various shops and houses, all much larger and better maintained than she was used to.
Tyre had a brother, Firce. He had always had a great relationship with his brother, so he knew it wouldn't be a problem for them to stay at his house. He took his still-staring wife by the paw and pulled her along after him, chuckling at her interest in the city.
Celena was very curious about everything. She had never been in a town any greater than the village, so all of the large buildings and furs milling about surprised her. As they walked, the crowds were talking, and only one word was on their lips. Rebels. She managed to piece together what had happened by listening to various conversations, and the news shocked her.
Overnight, it seemed, a group of rebelling furs stood up against the King. The descriptions of the rebels' attacks disturbed her greatly, bringing visions of her farm to mind. It was apparent to her that the rebels had come across their small village and destroyed it in an attempt to fight against Galareon. They were led by a vicious killer named Cecil. The bounty for his head was higher than she could count.
She hurried after her husband faster than before, wanting to get out of the buzzing crowds and to Firce's house. Tyre led them through a short alleyway between two shops, and up to a modest house. To Celena it was a mansion. He knocked, and waited for his brother to answer the door.
***
Garen was just entering a small clearing in the woods when he froze, hearing the sounds of approaching footsteps. He hurried to hide behind a tree, drawing his dagger. Only one fact kept flashing in his mind: The forest never had visitors. Not once in his life had he heard of anyone coming to their village. In effect, they were isolated. Situated in the middle of a dense forest, few knew they were there. Fewer knew how to find them. The only reason he could explain there being furs in the woods was that they were the one's that killed his family and destroyed his life.
The footsteps stopped inside the clearing, and he heard voices. He peeked around the tree, and the sight made his heart miss a beat. Wolves, over a dozen of them. He had never met a wolf before, but he knew them to be barbaric by nature. Stories told of evil creatures that murdered furs in their sleep and feasted on their remains. He knew the King was against the wolves, and he could clearly see why.
Each was at least two feet taller than the fox, and nearly twice as wide. They wore mismatched clothes and armor, erring slightly with the stories. He had been led to believe that they wore nothing but scraps of cloth around their waists, if that. But that did not matter to Garen. He was now sure that these were the ones that had killed Kiri, there was no one else. However, he noticed something else that completely caught him off guard.
There were two foxes on the far side of the clearing, talking with the wolves and even laughing. Something was very wrong, but before he could figure it out he was roughly grabbed by the scruff of his neck and his paw was twisted until he dropped the knife. He struggled and fought with his captor, snarling loudly. The whole group had gone silent, watching the fox fight against the wolf that held him.
One wolf approached Garen, a solid white instead of the mixed grays of the other wolves.
"Stop struggling, fox. What is your business here?"
Garen slowed down before stopping completely, panting and exhausted from trying to fight off the stronger wolf.
"Kill me if you want, just like you killed my family."
The white wolf seemed surprised, looking up at the one holding the fox.
"Are we too late?"
The wolf looked back down at Garen, looking concerned.
"What happened to your family? Tell me."
Garen glared at the wolf, almost snarling out his words.
"You killed them, took away everything I had. You killed Kiri!"
The wolf leaned back from the enraged fox, who was once again fighting. He spoke with several others in low voices, including the two foxes. After a few minutes, in which Garen had still not calmed down, he walked over and slapped the boy hard across the cheek.
"Enough! We are not your enemy! We have slain no one."
Garen stared at him, on the verge of hysterical laughter.
"No one? Was my brother no one?! My family?! The whole village is gone!"
The wolf visibly cringed, turning away to snarl at one of the wolves.
"This shouldn't have happened! You were supposed to ensure there was nobody that could be hurt!"
The wolf looked upset, staring at the white one with fear.
"I-I did... We didn't know..."
The white wolf turned back to Garen, staring at him angrily.
"Listen to me, fox, and understand. We did not kill anyone. Barik was supposed to trick the King into thinking we went here, to mislead them, only we discovered about your village too late. The ones that slew your family was the King's soldiers, trying to kill us and anyone that supported us."
He turned back to the rest of the group, calling out.
"This is yet another reason that the King must be brought to justice! An entire village, save for one small boy, slain because of a mere suggestion."
The wolf looked back at Garen, looking grim.
"If you despise us it is well deserved, for it is indeed our actions that caused this, though our paws are free of blood. I am sorry, young fox, for what has befallen you."
Garen barely even noticed the wolf releasing him. His thoughts were scattered, one unanswered question after another.
'The King did this? How can I know the wolf is truthful? What will happen to me now? Kiri died for nothing? Who is this wolf?'
He looked up at the wolf, just staring at him, the last questions tugging at him.
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
"My name is Cecil, and we are the rebel faction against King Galareon."
***
Celena waited with her husband, making herself smile at the panther that opened the door. Tyre greeted him warmly, hugging him and walking into the warm and happy house. From the way Tyre was laughing and talking with Firce, it would appear nothing at all was amiss.
"Tyre, you old weasel, where have you been all these years?"
"Married, as you can see. I'd like you to meet Celena, my wife."
Celena awkwardly shook the panther's paw, smiling again. In truth, she did not like the other panther. He was slightly overweight, and exuded an air of calm indifference. He looked as if he had never worked a day in his life, and in her eyes that did not make someone to respect. Firce smiled and winked at his brother, making Celena cringe inwardly.
"Any cubs yet? I assume you've been trying."
Celena almost slapped the panther, but stopped herself just in time. Tyre sensed her discomfort and answered quickly.
"No, not yet. But, we need a place to stay for a few days. Our home was destroyed."
Firce immediately stopped smiling, looking between the two.
"Was it the rebels?"
Tyre nodded awkwardly, rubbing his arm. Firce looked angry for a moment, then calmed down.
"Damn rebels... They've been destroying the surrounding houses and villages over the past month. I should have thought to warn you. They've been getting worse recently, and the King sent his soldiers to secure the city. I'm glad you're safe, and you can stay with me as long as you need."
Celena inwardly considered finding a room somewhere else, but Tyre made up his mind.
"Thank you brother, but we'll be staying only a few days. We will try and find a place of our own soon. There was a fox traveling with us, but he... got separated. We were wanting to stay in town for as long as we can in case he comes here."
Firce smiled again, grabbing Tyre by has arm and pulling him across his house to the guest room.
"It's no problem at all brother. For now, this is your room. I'll leave you two alone."
The panther left Celena and Tyre in the room, and the pantheress audibly sighed with relief, making her husband chuckle.
"Don't worry dear, it's only for a few days."
Celena spoke under her breath so her husband couldn't hear.
"A few days too many if you ask me."