Sanchez moved to the floor. His right index knuckle lifted her flesh to see the sun mark. He groaned in annoyance. His kinsmanship had the bastard child of the sun. Something in him snapped. Despite her father being the king, he didn’t want this little brat in his clan. She needed to leave. Suffer so much that she chose the moon goddess. He bellowed. “After school, you will come to the temple. No excuses and no exceptions.” Manuella finally entered the room to see him kneeling on the floor too close for comfort to the young child. “Sir, their parents wish to speak with you.” Sanchez got up and purposely bumped into her. Kataya stumbled over her clothing. Manuella came to help her up. “I’m sorry, little one.” Kataya hurried to dress. The feelings of being exposed for this long and having the elder be rude to her was enough to make tears trickle down her cheek. Her voice held back the tears threatening to fall. “Why are you sorry?” Manuella attempted to make light of the situation.
TRIGGER WARNING: INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR WITH A MINOR He relaxed his grip. “I know, but if she is, we mustn’t let it get out. That could ruin our standing and cause her problems.” “We would have to keep this secret for a decade. Do you think we can?” He shrugged his shoulders, then kissed her hand. “I don’t know, but we need to get the elder here tonight.” He turned to Lina. “Have we ever checked her for the mark?” Lina thought about it. “I don’t remember. We had help the first few years, so I never bathed her and then she was old enough to do it herself. What if she has it?” Melius shook his head. “You call the elder over and we’ll get confirmation. He’ll have to bring someone with him since she’s a girl.” Lina nodded her head. She looked past her husband to their daughter, studiously doing her assignments. The black hair faded to the background against the golden streak in her hair. “Yeah, I call them. You go help Kat.” He started to walk away but stopped. “Whatever happens, w
She opened the door to the stall furthest away from the main door. Kataya sat on the seat, pulling her knees up to her chest. Tears streamed down her face. Hiru wasn’t always like that. There was a time when he was the kindest of them all. They used to play together all the time. Their parents were together a lot when she was a toddler. She couldn’t fathom what had changed and why he acted more like a jerk than before. The bathroom door opened. A group of girls came inside cackling. “Did you see her face?” “Did you see that unsightly ass?” “I can’t believe she even came to school. I wouldn’t have if I knew I was shifterless.” They quieted down. One spoke in a whisper. “Didn’t she run into this bathroom?” One of the girls started pushing the doors in to check each stall. She got to the last one and smirked. “Aw, Kat, feeling ashamed that she showed the entire school her lower half.” The other girls snickered. “Who knew you were such a slut! I’m glad I’m not as easy as you are.” S
Kataya knew what was going on before the teachers did. Immediately, she kneeled in front of him to soothe him. “Ari?” She spoke softly while touching his hair. “Ari King, you’ll cause the change to happen before your body is ready. Remember, Ms. Tanis says we have to remain calm? We can’t continue to let our emotions get the better of us?” He unfurled his hands from around the arm of the chair and breathed out. His shoulders relaxed. Ari King kept his eyes closed until the rush of anger subsided. He looked immediately at Kataya. A tiny tug nagged at the depths of his heart. “I’m alright Kat.” Ari King wasn’t sure what it was that his ten-year-old heart was trying to convey. Hiru glared at the way she kneeled in front of Ari King. An emotion he wasn’t familiar with bubbled up, causing him to lash out. “Why do you care so much? You won’t ever shapeshift, so why don’t you take your ugly self off the mountain! No one will want you here.” Ms. Tanis called his name sharply. “HIRU! We do
He was right; they weren’t taught that. Their community was so close-knit and intertwined that they’ve never gone outside of the mountain. “We don’t leave the mountain for a reason, but I can understand your question. Just remember that just like you, Kataya is going through changes. Everyone knows you showed your abilities from the moment you were hatched. Some just take a little longer to figure out what that is.” He beamed. Hiru had heard from his father how his snake-like abilities were so powerful that his body couldn’t contain it at birth. His narrowed slit and forked tongue were prominent. She patted his head. “You’re a good kid Hiru. Whatever is going on in your developing brain, I want you to know that you won’t have many friends if you bully them.” His smile faded. “Yes, ma’am.” “Make sure you apologize to Kataya and Ari King.” He nodded his head.
She followed behind him. Her feet stepped on the inside of the robe several times. Kataya managed to not trip and fall. They reached a small room. It was barely bigger than a closet. Sanchez stepped to the side and opened the door for her. “Go inside.” She walked in and turned to face him. “What will I be doing in here?” He slammed the door in her face. The clicking and thudding sound she heard let her know he had locked it from the outside and bolted it closed. Panic settled in her bones. She dropped her clothes on the floor and pounded on the door. “Hey! Let me out! Elder Sanchez let me out! Please! It’s dark in here.” A loud bam came from the other side of the door. His voice was muffled through the heavy wood. “You need to pray to the moon goddess. I will be a shifter. I ask for my shifting form.” Kataya yelled back. “I already prayed for a shifting form! Just let
It was when she returned home; that she noticed her father was there. He looked at her then down again. Something had occurred while she was at the temple. Kataya ran up to her father arms outstretched. “Daddy! I didn’t see you at the temple.” Melius returned her hug. His arms wrapped around her tighter than ever. It wasn’t quite a bear hug, but close to it. “I had some things I needed to work on. So, I wasn’t at the temple.” “If you had been there, they wouldn’t have starved her.” Lina interjected. He sighed. His hand scrubbed his face. “We can’t change anything about it now.” He pulled Kataya away from him. The sorrow was replaced with a stern expression. “You’ll have to go to the temple after school.” “I know. They already told me that.” He cut in before she could continue. “Yes, but it won’t be like it was today. You won’t have to stay
When the door to her room closed shut, Lina came out of their bedroom. Melius had gone to take a shower in the master bathroom. She wanted to put away the food she had prepared and eat something as well. As she walked into the kitchen, the first thing she saw was the soapsuds and the wet counters. Lina stood there incredulously. Instantly, he knew who it was that made the mess. “I’ll have to tell her to keep the counters cleaned.” Lina walked to her daughter’s bedroom. Upon opening the door, she noticed Kataya had already fallen asleep. A part of her wanted to know what happened at the temple, but another part didn’t want to deal with it. Kataya hadn’t complained about what happened. She was sure if there was something nefarious going on, she would tell her. With that thought, Lina went to wipe down the counters and filled her plate high with food. The next morning, Kataya had woken up before her mom came to get her. The scre