A True Soul

When I awoke the next morning everyone had been sleeping. My father and Faux fed Dax the rest of my painkillers the night before. They said he’d be asleep most of the day, which did not surprise me in the least.

His wounds were severe enough that he should have gone to the hospital, but in refusing the only choice left was to fix him at home. I didn’t know how well he would heal. My father and Faux were convinced he’d make a full recovery. He was such a jerk the day before that I really shouldn’t have cared whether or not his wounds healed. However, he did prevent the cougar, Makeal, from attacking me. So, I guess I should feel some kind of sympathy towards him.

After I’d cleaned myself in the bathroom, I decided I had better make the best of my brief quiet time. I now knew I was called a True Soul, whatever the hell that was. But maybe I could get some other information from Angel, or better yet, maybe I could talk to the stag himself. It would be nice to know what was actually said between my mother and the stag; however, I had no idea if it was possible to obtain the answers I craved. But I had to try.

Before wandering around this time, I decided it would be best if I put on a heavy jacket and a good pair boots. Fall weather had come in with a vengeance and I wondered if winter would set in sooner than expected.

As quietly as I could I slipped out the door. When I got about ten yards from the house I stopped and turned around. I stared at it, trying hard to study what I was seeing. Maybe I could find some trace of my mother left in the world she created for me.

But it was the same house I saw every day. The garage was constructed of large slabs of stone, which continued along the split second story of the house that was located on above of it. The rest of the house had siding that was a smoky blue in coloring. On the right side of my house there was a big picture window, which let me see into the living room. On the other side, by the garage, I could see the entire kitchen through two large windows. The door had an arch shape and was completely made of glass. Ivy consumed the whole house. The beautiful plant covered everything and was well taken care of by my father.

For the first time I considered what inspired my mother to create such a work of art. Did she know how breath taking just looking at the master piece would be when it was finished? My house may not be large in comparison with most, it only had three bedrooms and two bathrooms, but it was my home. Still no matter how hard I stared, I knew she wouldn’t ever physically be there.

This made me want to find the stag even more. I turned back to my original path towards the woods and hoped that no one would try to kill me along the way. If they did, I had no way to defend myself. Maybe this made me insane, but I had to find Angel and the stag. I had to know what was out to get me and how to stop them.

I closed my eyes as I trudged into the woods. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes to look around. I sensed more than saw all the eyes that followed my every move. But nothing attempted to move towards me. After my short pause I continued to walk forward. I had no idea where to go, but Angel found me last time when I was wandering around, so maybe she’d find me this time.

The only sound was from my feet crunching the dry leaves as I walked. I thought that all this noise might scare the animals away, but I had a feeling that they were keeping a close eye on me, watching my constant movement.

The trees around me began to grow thicker and closer together. I assumed I was getting closer to the middle of the forest. Less light was shining between the almost bare limbs of the trees, but my eyes seem to adjust fine. I’d begun to notice little changes in my senses. I thought it meant that the ‘change’ would happen soon. That idea scared me more than anything though. I didn’t know if I would be ready for something so life altering.

My body lurched to a halt and stopped. I had been wandering for a good 15 minutes now, with only my thoughts to accompany me. Why was I so sure I could find Angel or the stag again?

Slowly there was a whisper that traveled like waves throughout the forest. It was quiet at first, but the sound grew louder and faded away again. I heard it come closer to me and could finally make out was the whisper was. “IT’S HER… It’s Her… it’s her….” The voices faded and came back at least ten times before I could no longer hear it. There was an eerie tone to the sound. This whole idea was just a giant mistake and I was probably going to end up somebody’s meal. Then I heard her.

“Angela? You have come back?”

The voice was familiar, but still too distant for me to be absolutely sure of its identity. “Are you the Raven? Are you the one that helped me last time?”

“First, you must tell me, do you know what you are?”

“It is you!” I was sure it was Angel and I walked in the direction the voice was coming from. “Please, you said to come back, I want to talk to the stag. I have more questions.”

“Ember’s daughter before you continue on this journey, I need to be sure that you know the truth about who you are.” Her voice was on edge with worry. It concerned me.

“Yes, I believe I have.” I paused, but there was no response. “I’m a True Soul.”

The little noise that had been in the woods, vanished. Even the wind stopped blowing.

“Yes. You must come with me now, the stag wishes to talk to you before it’s too late.”

“Before it’s too late? You mean after the change happens?”

“Even now you are in danger.” I heard footsteps touch the ground. “But I am here to protect you. They will not attack you in my presence.” Her voice and the footsteps were getting closer to me.

“Angel?” I steady myself. A twig snapped to the right of me, making me jump. I rotated my body toward the noise and I saw her.

Maybe Faux was wrong, maybe everyone does carry around a bag of odd clothes with them. Her skin was the color of dark coffee, with eyes that were even darker. Her face was somber, but there was no hostility shown. She wore an off white colored dress that wrapped around her body. It had pearls as straps holding the dress around her shoulders. Her feet were bare, but that didn’t seem to bother her.

She held out her hand. “I am the raven, Angel. You can trust me; I do not wish to hurt you.”

“You’re a Natural Born ?” I asked as I walked slowly to her.

“Yes, I thought that by showing you this, I would earn your trust.”

“Are you saying I didn’t trust you?” I stopped walking. I had trusted her, but why had she kept this from me?

“It did not matter if you trusted me or not, everything I said was the truth. You should see for you own eyes that I am not hiding anything from you.”

I took her still out stretched hand. It was like I had crossed some invisible line. I was in her world now, at her mercy. She led me forward with a smile. “You are very much like your mother. You trust your instincts. A very animalistic thing as well, but still very much something your mother would do.”

“What do you mean?” I starred at her confused.

“When I presented new information to you, when I myself to you in human form, you took in the new information with consideration. Yet, you still felt that you could still trust me. That feeling of trust was a gut instinct, always trust it.” A slight smile appeared across her lips, showing gleaming white teeth.

“I didn’t have any reason to doubt you or believe you would turn against me. But why didn’t you just tell me before?” I asked her.

“I live in this forest; therefore I am subjected to whatever the stag decides must be done. Here in these woods, he is held in a place like a King or an Alpha would be, so we under his authority must listen.”

“Why do you stay here, since you’re part human? Couldn’t you just leave if you don’t like how things were going?”

“I like it better here than in the world of humans. Yes, there are still some conflicts and animals are killed from time to time, but it is not in the way humans kill. This is the natural cycle of things; nothing is disturbed and corrupted here. No, it is not perfect and I disagree with many of the opinions, but as the stag’s advisor, I have accepted every creature as they are. Humans cannot do that.”

“I have questions for him; I will be able to speak with him soon?” I asked her. I was still feeling slightly unsure about how to act in front of someone who had such high power, even if she was not the stag herself. She carried herself very confidently.

“He knew someday you would come looking for the answers that would be denied to you by your father in an attempt to keep you safe. The stag also knew though, that for him to keep his promise to help protect you, he could not be the one to tell you what you are. He has been looking forward to the time when he could speak openly to you.” She gently touched my arm to turn my body towards the left. She led me in that direction.

I followed obediently. “So he will see me, and answer my questions?”

“I assume so, yes. He will answer with what his knowledge allows him to.” She said, staring straight into the woods.

“Is this the last time I can come here?” I blurted out the question before realizing it.

“I do not know that either. It is not safe as it is now, but it will be even more dangerous for you after the change happens. While the stag will do everything he can to make sure you stay safe, animals still have free will. But they will be banished if they hurt you in any way.”

“Well, I guess that’s as much comfort as I am going to get,” I said sarcastically.

“You need to learn to protect yourself. At least then you wouldn’t be so… vulnerable,” Angel said as she continued to lead the way.

“I’m sorry you have to risk your life to protect me… I just really need to know… I need answers and clarity in this chaos.” A sigh escaped me, before I could stop it. Truth be told, I really didn’t know why I had to have these answers now.

“You’re need for understanding is strong, Ember’s Daughter.” She nodded at me.

“Um, you don’t have to call me Ember’s Daughter. Angela or Angie works just fine,” I told her.

“Alright, Angela.” She nodded again. “You hunger for answers to these questions for closure. Now that you know what you are, you have a desire for a greater understanding and connection with our world because it is what runs through your veins.” Was that truly what I needed? She seemed to know me better than I knew myself.

She paused and put a finger to her lips. “We are now in the presences of the old stag.” She continued to step forward, with even quieter footsteps.

Between two towering trees, bare of any leaves, was a small opening. As we continued to get closer to a magnificent creature, he lifted his head. The stag’s antlers were enormous. They were definitely the largest I had ever seen. How had I been here so many times and never noticed him?

Angel dipped her head slightly as she went closer to him. “Your grace, Angela Silverwood is here. She is the daughter of Ember Knox and Julian Silverwood.”

“Yes, I know her story well, bring her closer to me.” His voice was deep and wise.

Angel motioned for me to move closer. I felt a little anxious about approaching the old Stag. I know I had nothing to fear, but for some reason I was nervous. I did the same small bow that Angel had, before standing straight.

“You have sought me out. What do you wish to discuss?” He looked directly at me.

“Y-yes…” I stuttered. “I have so many unanswered questions.”

“I am at your service, Angela.” He lowered his head before me now. “You are the one who will bring great change to this world.”

“Wait, what? No one said anything about bringing great change.” Was this old and power stag beginning to lose some of his cognitive abilities?!

“I am sorry if I have startled you with this. I meant no harm by my words. I only mean that you have a greater propose that only your mother seemed to recognize. I truly wish that you follow that path your mother has laid out before you,” he calmly stated.

“Is this something you and my mother spoke about?” I asked him, there was a slight edginess to my voice.

“It was one of many things your mother and I discussed when she was still psychically with us. Her sprit continues to watch over us.” The stag’s eyes traveled towards the smoky sky.

“Ok...” I felt defeated, like I was losing control over my life. I shook those feeling off, I needed answers. So I began again, “What, exactly, was the deal made between you and my mother? Can you tell me?”

“Now that you know who you are, I can tell you without voiding the contract.” He paused, now looking directly at me again. So much for animals not make direct eye contact. “The animals in my presences have a feeling imbedded inside of them that makes them almost need to obey me. It is crucial that I do not abuse this power. I will only press on this need once a life is in grave danger. And I did when your mother asked me to protect you as long as possible.” He stopped once more to make sure I understood everything he was telling me.

“If you can protect me as long as I am in danger, why can you not protect me now? Why will this ‘contract’ be voided once I begin the change?” I wanted to drop on my knees and beg for his protection.

“There was a law passed long before I was left to oversee this forest. So many people oppose the existents of True Souls, which is the one thing that my control does not have an effect on. You see, as long as you did not know you were a True Soul; I could partially sway how others perceived you. However, once you knew, or began the change, any power I of persuasion over your perceptions would be abolished.” He sighed, showing that he held great disappointment in himself.

“Should I leave now? Am I causing either of you to be in harm’s way by being here?” I asked. I would’ve felt even worse if I hurt more people.

“No, there is no threat to Angel or myself by your presences. None of the creatures would try to hurt us. I am as fair of a ruler as I can be. If anyone would try to over throw the current system of things, there is a higher power which rules over all the animal kingdom who would restore the system,” the Stag stated.

I stayed, since the only person I was putting at risk was myself. “Who is the higher power who has control over everyone?”

“She is… What you would call a Queen, or the Alfa of all animals. She leads everyone and has authority over everything. She is the one who keeps the animal systems from going into complete chaos.” He spoke with great admiration of her.

“Can the Queen protect me without endangering anyone?” Maybe there was a way I could protect myself after all.

“If you can find her, it would be in her power to grant you protection. No living creature is allowed to be harmed in her presence. The ones who hunt must do it outside of her main territory.” The stag said. Angel had moved closer to him and rested her hand on a tree.

“Do you know where she is? Is there any way you can help me find her?” I didn’t like the desperation that was embedded in my voice.

“That I cannot do, I am sorry. I have never left the safety of this forest. And even though many have traveled through these woods, none have told how to find her.” He sounded sympathetic.

“Thank you for your help, I’ll find a way to reach her.”

“There are others who may be able to help you,” Angel spoke. This was the first time she had said anything sense the stag had spoken.

“Who? Where can I find them, before someone gets hurt trying to protect me?” What she said was unexpected, but it had put excitement back in me.

She studied my face before she answered, “When the time is right you’ll find what you need to survive. Whether or not it is the Queen’s protection which will be needed is still undecided.”

That really wasn’t helpful.

“I know that does not seem useful at the moment, but try to trust yourself and see what you can accomplish on your own. You may be surprised at what you can achieve when you believe in yourself.”

I forced myself to take a deep breath. There was still one more thing I had to ask, “I want you to know that I do appreciate your honesty but, there is one last thing I would like to know.”

“Of course you have my absolute attention. There is no limit.” He seemed to almost smile, if that was possible for deer or any animal for that matter.

Ok, here it goes. “Do you know who’s trying to kill me?”

The smile faded from his face, “Unfortunately I know more than I would like about that particular matter.”

“So, the cougar named Makeal was not alone?” To hell with my luck.

“He was just a pawn in the Natural Born, Cain, plans. Cain is Dax’s cousin and at one point in time they were inseparable, they were closer than most blood brothers. However, things… changed, and Cain’s goal in life is now to not only to end Dax’s life, but yours as well.”

I felt myself tremble. I was more terrified than I had been in my whole life. “Why?” I my voice trembled.

“You are a True Soul, he believes it is the existents of True Souls that have caused his life sufferings. As for Dax, that’s his story to tell.”

There was rustling on the ground near us. I could distinguish two distinct pairs of paws coming quickly towards me. Instinctively, I moved closer to the stag.

A low growl emanated from the bushes. “You know its rude talk about people behind their back. Sometimes the past is better left forgotten.” It was Dax and his voice had spitefully rage seething in it. He showed us his face through the narrow space between the trees. He was still growling, his lips curled back exposing his fangs.

Faux batted a claw at him, scratching his front leg. “Get over yourself. We’re just glad to see you safe, Angie,” she said as she turned to me.

“IT’s been ages since the two of you have been through this forrest, but this isn’t your territory. Do not disrespect our leader,” Angel said. She was still in her human form and crossed her arms. Her face wasn’t glaring, but it wasn’t smiling either.

“There wasn’t any harm intended by them, Angel, but I appreciate your concern. It wasn’t my place to bring up old family ties.” The old stage looked at Dax, who just made a sighing sound and looked away.

“It’s time to go,” Dax grunted.

“O-Ok.” Was all I managed to stutter.

“Besides you’re starting to have that smell…” Dax spat at me. What little niceness he’d managed to had completely vanished.

“Dax!” Faux looked horrified. “What he means is the change is getting closer… your personal aroma is changing.”

I looked away from Dax, my face red. “I guess we should get going,” I turned towards the stag, “Thank you for everything.” He lowered his head at me and the three of us turned to leave.

About half way back to the house, Faux jumped in my arms and purred. I hadn’t minded carrying her. She’d tried to comfort me because of the hideous mood Dax was in. Which wasn’t about to get any better…

“What the hell you were doing? You could have gotten yourself killed and then we would have been in shit knee deep.”

“So, what you’re saying is that you don’t want me to die because it’ll cause trouble for you? Weren’t you supposed to be asleep all day anyway?” I growled back at him. Faux was trying to stifle a laugh in my arms.

“Listen here girly, why do you think we’re here? That cat there might be trying to be your friend, but I’m not. I’m just trying to make sure you stay alive.”

Faux hissed at him, she looked a little evil with her teeth showing.

“Maybe you should leave, I didn’t ask you to come.” I did my best to muster a spiteful tone.

“Yeah, what was that stunt you pulled back there? Talking about people behind their back? What kind of shit is that?” Darkness lingered in his tone.

Faux hissed again. “Get over it. You’re here for a reason, and I know it’s not because you’ll have trouble to deal with if the unmentionable happens to Angie. You’ll shut in again and leave. You’re good at that.”

Needless to say it had been a long walk to rest of the way to the house.