"What should we do?" Cancala wondered.
"Revise the plan," Ungora replied. "Keep the hunter. But the weird one gets what we originally planned. Tell the press anything when they show up."
"Very good, sir." He didn't know anything about why the weird one was a threat, Ungora thought. Ungora was wrong.
Cancala moved away and half an hour later was outside, carrying the child that the medic had indicated. He didn't see why he had to kill her, really. He knew she was a threat to Ungora's power, but really, to KILL a baby? Cancala knew the rumors of her fate, but you couldn't kill a baby. It was morally wrong. And stupid. And idiotic.
And just plain mean.
But if he didn't kill her, what would he do with her?
And then it hit him. WHY didn't it occur to him sooner?
Cancala had grown up among the forest dwellers, a group of people who weren't exactly outlaws, but they weren't really citizens of any officially recognized country, either. They lived in no-man's land, which would be the perfect place to take her. She wouldn't be legally allowed to be killed, because Ungora would be after her if she was alive, and would legalize something ridiculous about killing female babies or something, so she would be safe from harm, because she didn't live in Bayast, technically, so he would be breaking the universal code of ethics to be killing citizens of other groups outside a situation of organized war. But since she wasn't living in Bayast, Ungora wouldn't know that she existed, so he might not legalize it for her sake at all.
But then there was the question of who would take care of her. Both Cancala's parents were dead, but his little sister Layla might be willing. She was a cross between a wood elf and a witch and had always wanted children but had never found a mate. That's where the girl would stay.
Cancala entered the woods and followed the path for a time, the birds giving out their dawn calls and providing Cancala with an unnecessary cover of sound. Cancala had been a child of the forest; silence was his best friend in times like these. Since he was a Hunter, that went double-Hunters were trackers, they knew the fatality of being seen or heard. Now it was only a matter of finding the right place to cut off the path and take the concealed path to the camp. Here it was.
Presently, Cancala arrived, the baby still in his arms. He quickly searched the trees for Layla's house. He knew that she had decided to live on the outskirts of the community, since she was a bit of a loner at times.
However, it was Layla who saw her sibling first, having woken up at the crack of dawn, as she always did.
"Cancala!" She stage-whispered from her window, not wanting to wake up the other people in the community-Layla was normally the first one up. "CANCALA!"
When he still didn't turn, Layla hurried down the ladder and darted quietly to his side. "Cancala, what are you doing here?" Her voice was still quiet.
"Layla, do you still think you're up for kids?"
"What? Why? Who is THAT?"
"It's a long story, and I haven't got time to explain it fully. This is the princess-"
"The PRINCESS? Since when has the queen even been pregnant?"
"Since nine months ago. Yes, this is the princess. She was born a couple of hours ago. There's a decoy in the palace that Ungora's taken under his wing-he thinks they're twins, but they're not-the decoy's a mage's daughter that the mage wanted to give up. The decoy is a hunter and warrior but the princess is everything on two legs rolled together into one thing."
"WHAT?"
"Yeah, I know, it's weird, but I haven't got time. Ungora killed the-"
"Who is Ungora?"
"My boss. Her uncle. King Theran's brother. Theran was killed by Ungora along with Ranga. Ungora thinks I'm off killing this child but she's special so I took her here. Will you take care of her?"
"Okay. What's her name?"
"Um...."
"She hasn't got a NAME?"
"Less identity for Ungora to deal with. And there wasn't much time for them to decide on one, anyway."
"Okay, so this is the PRINCESS you want me to take care of here?"
"Yes. She was born at about one in the morning. Now I have to go. I'm due back soon. So you're okay with all this?"
"Yes, I'm fine." Layla took the child out of her brother's massive arms and looked at her. She had a silver chain around her neck with a star-shaped charm on it, but Layla didn't know why. Ungora didn't even know that one child had a star necklace and one didn't, and neither of them knew the significance of the necklace. Cancala knew, but there was no time to explain to Layla, and he was already fabricating something to say to Ungora when he got back.
"Thank you," Cancala said, giving Layla a one-armed hug and turning to leave.
"Cancala!"
"What?"
"Does she....eat like normal babies?"
"I have no idea. I'm sorry. I have to go."
"Okay. Just wondering. Bye, then."
"I'll be back soon to explain. I'm sorry!"
"GO!"
Cancala nodded, turned, and soon disappeared into the trees.
Although Layla had only the vaguest idea hat this child's potential was, she knew enough to guess that she would not be anything close to a normal child.
That's all i'm going to post of the story for now. :) :) :)
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