by Amira Rain
“Do you want our blood?” someone hissed and oh, there was Wiley – beaten and bruised, bound tightly with heavy chains as he kneeled by Irma’s feet. He glared up at her, into the silent crowd with terrified malice, stubborn pride. Mary-Lou wondered he regretted what he had done, if he could be saved. “Your blood is hardly worth the trouble,” Irma told him, eyes cold and flat as she regarded the defeated man. “But I will ask for your ears – for the attention of all who have gathered here tonight.” She stepped back and away from the center of the makeshift stage and Mary-Lou saw her cue.
Mary-Lou had not wanted to speak tonight. The very thought of standing in front of so many people, of speaking to beings stronger and older and so different from her terrified her. But as she dressed, as she helped Cara care for Katy and Jenna and her own parents in the hours leading to the speech – as she watched Jonas do the same – she realized that she could not hide. Not from them, not when the life and safety of so many people hung in the balance.
So she pushed the glass door open and stepped into the light, shoulders back and head held high. Her blouse shone white, her hair golden brown. Her eyes were a dark, compelling green as she stood to regard the crowd.
“My name is Mary-Lou,” she began, voice clear and strong. “The prophecy you fear speaks of me. The future you desire rests upon my shoulders. I stand before you today—” Mary-Lou paused as the crowd grew agitated, waited for the angry shrieks and surprised comments to die down before continuing, “I stand before you today as one of you: In blood, in mind, and in purpose. What I want for you is what I want for me and mine – peace, happiness, and prosperity; equality and oneness instead of strife and oppression.”
“And if we don’t want to be equal?” Wiley spat out from behind her. Mary-Lou shifted her eyes to his, calm even in the face of the desperate madness that shone in Wiley’s dark gaze. “If we believe the weak must die, the strong rule?”
“Then you are a fool who wishes for his own demise,” Mary-Lou told him. “Who kneels in chains, Mister Turbo, and who stands free?” Wiley let out a roar, lunged forward only to be yanked back by his hair. Jonas growled down at him, eyes flashing an incensed auburn.
“This is my mate,” Mary-Lou proclaimed as Jonas stepped into view, “And this is my pack.” She gestured behind her, at the silent figures of her family and friends. “They are dear to me as I am to them. What else do you seek out of life, if not connection to others? Happiness and comfort?” She regarded the silent crowd, eyes hard and sure. “Follow me,” she told them, “And I will fight for your right at peace and life. Attack me, attack your kin and others undeserving of your hate, and see for yourself the hell you will create.”
A quiet sound came from the back of the silent crowd, spread and rose and grew – clapping. Men and women rose in applause, cheered and shouted encouragements. A few angry, bitter souls left the clearing, but they were not many and did not dare utter a word. Mary-Lou felt a smile crack upon her lips, felt relief and love and excitement as she regarded the people she was to one day lead.
“You were amazing,” Jonas whispered in her ear as he enveloped her in his arms, pressed against her to offer his warmth.
“I better be,” Mary-Lou laughed, jubilant and filled with light. “I just promised a thousand people to solve all of their problems.”
“You will,” Jonas told her, serious and sure. Mary-Lou smiled, closed her eyes, and kissed him.
With him next to her, she just might.
THE END
OR IS IT?
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Amira
Watch out for “Her Lion Guard: The Return” coming very very soon!
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