Chapter 8

LEONIDAS SHAWN SCOTT.

''It has been six months since Vasilis died'' Halsey said as she buried her face in Damiano's chest.

''I need to leave Halsey'' Damianos said as he shifted Halsey's head to the pillow. He was about to get out of bed when Halsey held his hand.

''No Damianos, please stay''

''You need to rest Halsey. If I'm here you won't be able to sleep. Don't forget you are not alone now.''

Halsey smiled and placed his hand on her protruded belly. I just can't wait Damianos''

''I have to meet the guru Halsey, as much as I wait for our child. I have to make sure everyone is prepared for him. The guru told me he was due to come soon''

Damianos gave Halsey a peck on the forehead and left.

''I'm sorry for keeping you waiting guru'' Damianos apologized as he sat on the throne.

''A king never apologizes no matter what'' The guru said.

''Okay, queen Halsey wanted to know when she will have her baby in her arms'' Damianos said

''Sooner than you think king, very soon''

''We can't wait anymore. Anyway, why are you here''

''Remember Leonidas?''

''Of course, guru, who can forget Leonidas. He is the basis of our history. He is the reason why we have all these colonies.''

''Well, a new Leonidas is going to be born''

''What do you mean guru?''

''The ancestors want the chosen one to bare Loenidas's name''

''We will do as they say, however, how will we know the chosen one. Halsey feels she has four cubs in her womb''

''The chosen one will come with his name''

''That was what I needed''

''Queen Halsey needs you now, I will be here to bless the child later''

Damianos rushed to Halsey's room only to find her surrounded by midwives. They made way for him so he could stay close to the queen. Since there was total darkness, all the midwives held their candles in place

''Keep pushing, we need you to do this'' The midwife who attended to Halsey said. Halsey gathered all her strength as she pushed

''How can I help?'' Damianos asked in desperation. One midwife handed him a wet towel so he could wipe the sweat on Halsey's face

''I... I don't think I can do this Damianos'' Halsey said panting

''You can do this Halsey, you know you are my fighter. Do this for the chosen one'' Damianos said as he took her hand. After immense efforts, two little ones were out

''There is one more, keep pushing'' the midwife said. Halsey nodded, took one full breath, and summoned her strength to push out. The people of the lion kingdom were all gathered waiting for the news of the birth of the chosen one. They waited outside the palace with their lit candles in hand. The news of the little ones had spread like wildfire but it was the last they were waiting for. It did not matter how long it took as long as the chosen one was going to be born, they could wait for as long as it took. The night fast passed and there was still no news. Dawn finally set in but everyone still waited in place. One midwife opened the window to realize the sun was up

''It's morning'' she said in surprise

''We have been here all night'' she continued

''I can't do this any longer'' Halsey said with evidence of weakness in her voice

''Everything will be fine, you will have him in your arms soon'' Damianos assured her and planted a kiss on her forehead. After several efforts, Halsey gathered all the strength she had in her, took a deep breath, and pushed with her entire might and soul.

Then the cry they had been waiting for was eventually heard. Tears began to flow from Halsey's eyes down to her cheek.

''You did it, Halsey.'' Damianos exclaimed

''No we did it'' she corrected and placed her hand on his cheek. A few minutes later the little one was brought to Damianos and Halsey

''He is so beautiful, even with his eyes closed'' Halsey confessed

''I'm sure he will have your beautiful eyes'' Damianos said. Halsey took his tiny finger and realized there was something written on them.

''Damianos!'' she called out surprised

''Look at his finger'' she continued. Damianos took his left hand in his palm and read it out loud ''Leo''. Leo was written on his left fingers just beneath the knuckles. Halsey took out the left hand and read. ''Nidas'' Nidas was written on the right fingers from the index to the little finger.

''Leonidas'' Damianos said.

''He is Leonidas'' Damianos continued

The guru entered the room Damianos and Halsey were in.

''Your two other cubs are with the midwife'' he said

''Leonidas is also written at the two sides of his neck'' the guru continued. They pulled the cloth on him to realize the guru was right.

''If it took you all night to get this little one out, then the hyenas better prepare because he came hard just for them'' The guru said once again

''We have been keeping our people waiting since yesterday'' Halsey said

''Hand over the child, I will show him to the people'' The guru muttered. Halsey handed the little one to the guru as Damianos wiped the sweat on her forehead

''You did it dear'' Damianos said after the guru left.

''The ancestors were right, you are the best woman for me.'' Damianos kissed her and helped her to lay her head on the pillow

''Have some rest, I'll be back before you wake up.'' Halsey nodded in response and Damianos left. The news of the chosen one birth had spread like wildfire and everyone in the kingdom assembled once again to have a glimpse of the child. Damianos joined the guru and the warriors on the castle balcony. The place became quiet when the guru began to speak

''Humble subjects of the lion kingdom, we are all gathered here today to welcome the one who will restore the title of the lions'' He exclaimed. The guru raised the chosen high into the sky which everyone responded by bowing, even Damianos. Silence was observed for sometime after which the guru spoke again.

''The ancestors have done their best by giving him to us. Now, it is the kingdom's time to do its best to train him to be better than Leonidas because that is what he is, a Leonidas'' The guru exclaimed ''ALL HAIL LEONIDAS'' One warrior exclaimed after which trumpets were blown.

* * *

''Wait'' Halsey said, however, she was too late. Leonidas had already taken down the tree with his fist.

''We don't wait mother, we just crush it down'' he said as he ran his hand down his dark hair. Halsey smiled and passed him a towel

''Thanks, mum'' he said as he caught it

''Put on your shirt before the female servant comes in. With this body they are going to fall flat on their faces'' she complained. Leonidas laughed and turned away from his mum.

''It's time for your next training Leo'' Brianna said as she moved to Leonidas.

''Brianna!, when did you get here'' Halsey said as she hugged Brianna.

''I just got here, I wanted to see how my childhood sweetheart was doing. Wow, Leo, you've grown much taller and masculine''

''With all these years training, were you expecting to see a fat person, come on Brianna''

''Mmm I see, also your eyes were not this blue when we were young''

''People change Brianna''

Halsey felt left alone in the conversation and asked to leave. She signaled Brianna who quickly understood her and left.

''So young man, we are finally done''

''Well, I'm sorry I have to go for my next training''

''Come on, just skip one for me''

''I would love to but something greater has captured my heart''

''And what would that be''

''To find and kill her''

''Who?''

''Oh! I mean the hyena's chosen one. I won't fucking spare her dear, anytime I think of her existence I get sick. I can't believe we are both under the same sky, on the same land, and breathing the same air. It's a mind sickening thought and that makes me want to meet her the more one day''

''I love your attitude, okay, I will leave you to go''

''Don't talk as if you have control over my life, because you don't. I will see you later. Anyway, welcome back'' Leonidas gave her a peck on her check and left.

''I will eventually have you where I have always wanted soon Leo, that I promise myself'' Brianna said to herself.

''I think we need to send Leonidas to Luk again'' Halsey addressed Damianos.

''You are right, but there is one thing we have not done yet. We need to make sure he fully knows how to control his powers. He killed someone in Luk''

''Yes. it is true. The useless ones (Lukards) can not be harmed. It's the hyenas. Anyway, Brianna is back from Luk. This time she will go back with Leo''

''Brianna is a calm lady. She will do him good in Luk.''

''Also she will be our eyes in Luk. After Leo gets his way with the Hyenas, I want him to be with her''

'' Whatever you want. This is going to be Leonidas's last training. We need to tell him all about the kingdom and test his powers. After that, he can go back to Luk''

''I'm here dad'' Leonidas exclaimed behind his parents.

''Don't just stand there son, come here. We need to talk'' Leonidas nodded and followed his dad to a secret chamber.

''Have we ever wondered why we have colonies son, have you wondered why we have powers''

''No, I always thought we were meant to be this way'' Leonidas said

''You are meant to have powers with or without colonies but for the rest of us, we need the colonies to possess the little power we have. I think that is how I can put it if we are comparing our powers with yours''

''Then I guess you will tell me all about it''

''Of course''

''I'm all ears''

''Thousands and thousands of years back that is before the ALAIT, the entire wildlife lived peacefully together. The lions were the kings of Zuk''

''Then how did that change because things are supposed to be that way!''

''Calm down Leo, I'm not done. Then the queen of the lions went missing, that was when the war started. The king received a scroll that said the queen was abducted by the hyenas. The hyenas fought with the lions for years but it was futile. We couldn't do it on our own. The lions became so furious that they vented their anger on the other animals. The king realized all the animals in the wildlife were intimidated by the lions except the hyenas. The king saw it as an advantage to declared a general war. The hyenas knew what we were up to. They played our game well. Different animals fought with each other to show their strength. If you got defeated by one animal species you become its people's slave. We won many wars son. We had a lot of colonies.''

''Then what went wrong''

''The hyenas...''

'' Why did you stop dad?''

''Son, since you were a child, I have told you to be careful of women. They can be the center of your success or failure. But also, do not spare them when they are within your grip. Always take the shots before they do. Women are weak, you must always learn to use their weakness to get what you want from them. What they like most is to be sweet-talked. But there was this one who looked like all of them. She looked weak and stupid but there was more to her.''

''What was her name?''

''Inferna, she took the lions by surprise. Even though none of us knew her, history gave a clear picture of her. She had the kind of beauty the world wouldn't have again. She was a blessing to the hyenas. She was everything. Flawless and strong even though she looked weak. She deceived the king into sleeping with her''

''That is impossible. It makes no sense. A lion and a hyena''

''She made the impossible possible. The more she slept with him, he lost power to her''

''What has that got to do with the hyenas having equal colonies as us.''

''Leo, when you colonize an animal, you possess its power. We colonized the eagles that means we can see beyond the vantage point. We colonized bats. That is why we can be nocturnal if we want to. We possessed every ability of the animals we enslaved. He shared his powers with her by sleeping with her. We lost half of our colonies to them. The king protected her with his life but never knew she was a hyena. She was a traitor. She disappeared after she got what she wanted. The good news is she died with her charms and since then, no one on both planets Zuk and Luk has raised a candle to her beauty and we hope it stays that way because her beauty was very distractive. Leonidas was the king. He got all the people in Zuk to be our colonies but Inferna found a way into his heart after the queen disappeared. Let me tell you something son. You have never seen a hyena, but you can mark them by their beauty. Don't be fooled''

''Don't worry Dad, I will be the Leonidas who never got fooled by an Inferna. So ALAIT means After Leonidas And Inferna's Tragedy''

''Yes, Let's test your strength and abilities now''

''Are you ready''

''There is no need to ask, I was born ready''

Damianos, Leonidas, and a few warriors moved to Leonidas's training ground for his last test. Brianna and Halsey followed later on. On the training ground, Leonidas tried to get himself ready but was caught off guard when he turned so his back could face the warriors. Twenty arrows were thrown towards his direction but before they knew it he had been able to evade them all with his back still facing them.

''Is that all you can do, come on'' Leonidas laughed in mockery. One warrior took off his sword and headed for Leonidas. Although Leonidas sensed his approach, he allowed him to have his way. The warrior planted the sword deep into Leonidas's back. Leonidas sighed and pulled the sword out of his back and continue to prepare himself. In a few seconds, the wound he had from the sword healed, and his back became as it was. Scarless.

''come on, I want the main deal, I'm not a child anymore, or are you afraid you are going to get me killed. I'm not an ordinary Zukard'' Leonidas scoffed at the warriors. The warriors got fed up with mockery and descended on him. One used his sword to cut through him mercilessly while the other fought him without arms. Leonidas got hold of a warrior who had sunk his teeth deep into his veins the pushed him off with his hand without holding him. He directed his hand to the warrior who tried to cut through him and frozen him. The rest of the warriors back away. The warrior who sunk his teeth into Leonidas slowly turned grey and fell to the floor throwing up blood almost on the verge of death. Leonidas sat beside him and patted his back.

''Didn't my dad tell you, I've got bad blood in there'' he said as he touched skin

''I tried to stop you but, it was too late. Don't know what to say but I promise your family will be taken care of. Rest in pieces'' Leonidas smirked at the dying man. The wounds he incurred during the fight had disappeared when he stood.

''I hope the remaining are not backing off now?" Leonidas asked

"It's okay son, it's enough. you have killed two warriors without even trying. Let's leave the rest of your abilities as a surprise for the hyenas. We need to get what they stole from us'' Damianos said

''Your father is right. You scare me when you fight'' Halsey said.

''We will be going back to the 'technology plant' Leo. We have to get you ready Leo'' Halsey continued.

''There is one more thing to be done.'' The guru appeared at the scene

''If a head of a lion has not appeared on your chest, you can not go'' The guru directed to Leonidas.

''Seriously, I have missed life in Luk. I've missed the things I used to do there'' Leonidas complained.

''Order from above'' The guru said.

''What the fuc....''

''Mind your language son. We are in Zuk'' Halsey interrupted Leonidas

''Fine, I will stay''

* * *

''I have been here for another two weeks'' Leonidas said to Brianna

''Come on baby boy, just check and see. There is no harm in trying'' Brianna muttered out.

''You check for me, disappointment makes my worse side come out'' Leonidas closed his eyes and raised his t-shirt.

''Oh my goodness! It's there!'' Brianna exclaimed

"You do know I do not take likely to jokes. Can I open my eyes?''

''Of course. It's on your chest Shawn'' Leonidas opened his eyes to find the lion mark on the left side of his chest.

''I've missed that name 'Shawn''' Leonidas quoted.

''Your friends in Luk can't wait to see you, Shawn''

''And I cant wait to see them'' Leonidas Shawn Scott answered.