Chapter 11 The Royal Family of Panthers

Atouk brought me to another room with seating for non-cat guests. We began to chat away the time. He told me many things about the city. Places to go for certain needs. Food and trade for useful goods. Places to avoid as they were not for outsiders.

One such place was the temple of the King. No outsiders were allowed without permission from the King himself or one of his three advisors. That meant I could not see Mery of my own accord. She would have to come to me.

Pinyola came over to aid in the information session for outsiders. I learned more about Mery's family. That the King was called J'Hosh and his Queen is Dee. I learned that Mery had seventeen siblings. The oldest was a brother that was next in line for King. Five of her other siblings were brothers as well. That left the remaining eleven as sisters. Four of which were younger than Mery. I learned the average lifespan of the panther people was 150-200 years. That the current King and Queen were both 104 years old and that Mery was 37 years old.

Atouk took a break from the conversation to check on the food being prepared. I was left alone with Pinyola.

"You seem to have quite the interest in the Princess."

She caught me by surprise. Though, with all my questions about Mery, I suppose it was obvious.

"Ah, Yeah."

I must have shown a bit of embarrassment.

"Don't be shy, Atouk told me that you two were getting along. That Princess has never taken to anyone. Maybe she had a thing for humans that no one knew of."

Atouk came back.

"That thing we talked about earlier. We can tell Pinyola. It would be best if she knew. She happens to be the commander of the entire tribe's soldiers."

I reeled back.

"Is it really okay to tell someone so important?"

Her interest was piqued now.

"What? What is it?"

"If she knows, she can prepare countermeasures and emergency escape plans just in case."

She looked at him with alarm.

"What is so important that I would need to think of such things?"

"The potion of Rage is..."

"YOU!?"

She was more surprised than anything.

"Yeah, to put it simply."

"Why? Why here?"

Atouk began to explain.

"As I said, he saved the Princess and he saved me. He even used his power to help the defenseless elves while their guards dealt with the giants one at a time. He is compassionate for life and I feel he can be trusted. Not once have I seen him go berserk. He holds in his anger well."

She nuzzled him.

"My husband. You see more than I when it comes to individual hearts. I will believe you when you say he can be trusted."

We talked some more. I shared more of my story with them. The dinner we had was great. It was the best meal I'd had in a long time. Plenty of meat and fruits. They showed me to a guest bed not too different from the seats we had chatted on earlier. I got a good night's sleep.

I found myself in darkness once again with no visible traces of light. I heard something.

"h... I s..."

Still too far to hear. I began to make out that shadow I saw before. Short. A small boy?

"Hel..."

"Lake! Wake up. You are being called for by the King."

My eyes opened and I sat up fast. I almost hit Atouk's head with my own.

"Why does he want to see me? Did they find out?"

"Shhh. There are escorts outside that will take you there. I don't believe they know but, keep quiet, just in case."

He whispered.

Before I could leave the room, Atouk stopped me.

"Here. Take these. Those rags need to be replaced."

I changed my clothes after he left. These were nice clothes. Much more decadent than the old elf clothes, but not as lavish as Mik's. The pants were almost like the black slacks of my world and the shirt was a red long sleeve that fit me perfectly. I also got new shoes. Not even close to my old ones, but better than nothing.

I made my way out of the house. These escorts were covered in gold paint with intricate designs. Fit for a King's palace. They had gold-plated jewelry all over their faces, ears and tails.

I followed them for maybe fifteen minutes. We came to a massive river with a bridge that had to be 30 meters across. The bridge ran straight into the temple of the King. The number of patrols and guards made it obvious.

I was expecting to go upstairs. We went straight into an entrance next to the stairs in the middle of the structure. After some halls, we went down some stairs. I entered a room that could hold many people. It wasn't very tall. I could see there were maybe a dozen or so panthers on each side.

At the front of the room, I saw what must have been the King and Queen in the middle. The King was large and muscular. He was a warrior to be sure. The one next to him was petite and dainty for a large cat. To either side were several different-sized and shaped panthers. On the right, I spotted one who, I was pretty sure was Mery. There were not enough siblings to be the full lot. At least four were missing from the total. The layout of this room was giving me a bad sense of déjà vu.

I was maybe 50 feet away from the royal family. A few panther guards walked up to me to block my path. I came to a stop and the deep voice of the King called out.

"Human."

Very deep voice indeed.

"I heard that it was you, who kept my daughter from starving in that damned elf prison. You also brought back one of our more decorated warriors."

"Well, it..."

"Be quiet, the King speaks!"

More déjà vu. The King stood up.

"This human Is now and forever a guest of our people. He may go and come as he pleases. Do not, so rudely, interrupt him."

The guard in front of me on my right turned around and bowed to his King without words.

"Human, you were about to say something?"

I bowed to show thanks for his concern.

"I was just going to say that, It was more like Atouk showed me the way than 'me' bringing 'him' here."

I heard a few gasps. I replayed in my head what I had just said. That last line could have been taken as, me telling the King he is wrong. People in stories of my world had been executed for less.

In no hesitation on the King's part, he laughed a hearty laugh.

"You are brave. What is your name?"

"I am called Lake, sir."

He stood up on all fours and walked down the fine red and black, designed carpet. He stopped about five feet from me.

"Lake. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. My family means the world to me. You helped keep it intact."

He bowed to me. All the panthers in the room did the same without hesitation.

He rose up and the rest followed suit.

"I will be honest with you. I did not bring you here just for introductions."

Here we go, I thought to myself sarcastically. I wanted to make an annoyed face but, I also didn't want to offend anyone. He wandered back to his seat.

"I asked you here so that, I may request your help."

My mood immediately lightened. This is a change of pace from imprisonment.

"I don't know what help I could be to a King. If I may be of service to you, I would gladly help."

"Good, I like you more and more."

He looked to both sides.

"As you can see, I am missing a few children of mine here. I know where two of them are. The third is resting from her ordeal. The fourth is where I need your help."

The one that is resting has to be Mery. So, the one on the right that reminds me of her, must be a sister.

"How is it, that a human can help where your elite warriors can not?"

I heard a few more quiet gasps in the crowd. I suppose that could have been insulting.

"My friend, It is because you 'are' human that you can help. Your kind is rare, hard to come by. There Is one final human city in Eyse. I take it you know of it."

"Ah sorry, I don't. I'm not from here."

I realized I dropped my attempt at refined speaking again. I looked around but no one seemed to notice.

"You are not? Unusual."

I must have smiled.

"Is something funny?"

"Your daughter, the Princess, said the same thing about me. Twice."

"She has a keen eye for the unusual, the same as I. The human city of Bastion Is to the southeast of here. In the middle of the forest. A carved mountain visible from great distances serves as a warning to trespassers. They rein on this mountain in the middle of the forest where most non-humans avoid at all costs. I believe my youngest daughter has ventured too close and was captured by the humans. She had some escorts with her when she left, but they lost sight of her. They caught sight of a hunting party that was carrying an unknown bounty. To be honest, I can not be sure that she is still alive."

Some of the younger panther siblings hung their heads low.

"I ask you this, Lake the human. Would you go to the last human city of Bastion and find my daughter. If she has been killed, I ask only that you tell me what you found. If she is alive, bring her back to me and you will be revered among my people. You will be showered with gifts and given a home to call your own if you wish."

I want to help, but I also want to go find Sophie. The troll peninsula is to the northwest, while the human city is to the southeast. Opposite directions. Great. While I want to find Sophie as soon as possible, Estheria said that she was safe with her friend. The youngest panther Princess could still be alive but in danger. I guess the choice is obvious. I'm sorry Sophie. Our reunion will have to wait.

"I have two questions. Can I at least get a guide to take me most of the way? And, what is the Princess's name?"