Fear... It swallowed me whole, with its teeth stained in blood; its yellow eyes shined, enraged; those sharp, long fish ribs that stabbed through its red clothes projected on the shadow behind it a gruesome image of a crocodile being stabbed. That crocodile is my worst fear. Crawley. In between his scales rested his own bile, which came out of whatever wounds he sustained from the ongoing battle in the Crocodile's Swamp Hideout.
At the sight of this villain, I tried to silence my gasp; I couldn't let my presence be known by Crawley nor my Dad, who stood in front of him. Longtooth tied the crocodile tight onto a heavy chair. His wrists, legs, tail, had been all tied up. Just like how Crawley did to me— a familiar memory; a fresh, hurting, open wound, one that felt like it had maggots crawling on it, devouring the hurt while they were alive.
Lavertus had managed to capture this vile monster before I went to hang out with Eris and Cragger. My uncle had lamented the fact that the first night without the Purple Moon could only be celebrated after Crawley was put behind bars— he noticed the absence of the moon itself during the battle. Well... The idea that Crawley was still out there shook me to the core, and it made me afraid of leaving the lion temple. And so I went downstairs, to where he would be. I wanted to make sure he was going to be in jail.
Crawley flailed around on the chair, trying to break free. Meanwhile, Dad stayed silent, arms crossed, beside Longtooth, armed with a spear to protect the king if the time was right. Lennox was also with Dad, but he wouldn't keep his cool; he kept shoving the spear's handle on Crawley's face, to the point where one of his teeth popped out. After a minute, Dad ordered the lion to stop.
"Listen closely here", Lagravis warned while he pushed his muzzle upwards into a terrifying snarl. "You will tell me exactly what happened. You will tell me everything."
Crawley shrugged and rolled his eyes. He proceeded to speak in a sarcastic manner:
"Fine, fine. Your suspicions were right, king of the Lions. I worked with Cruz for his advantage. I just wanted to make animals suffer. So we found Wilhurt. Well, he promised us what we— he suggested that we should wait for the Purple Moon, and so—"
Lagravis shoved his paw onto the criminal's long neck, abruptly interrupting him. Dad growled in shock; everything Furty said was true!
"How could Wilhurt predict the Purple Moon? The Eagles had almost nothing about it! Could it be because he's a wolf?", my father shouted.
After having his neck released by Dad's grip, Crawley laughed without shame. His sadistic eyes grew with enjoyment.
He replied while laughing, "I wouldn't know the answer to that."
Dad, possessed by wrath, pushed himself forwards, then punched Crawley on the muzzle, a crocodile's weakest spot, with enough strength to make blood fly out of his nostrils. The reptile left out a scream, and so Dad punched him a second time; Longtooth had to push the king away from the vilain for the beating to stop.
"You bastard! You tortured my son, you caused hundreds of deaths! You're lucky to be alive right now", Lagravis roared, to the point his pale face became red.
Behind the closed metal door, I hugged my own knees. The pain from the slash's scar on my arm returned, although it's just psychological— my entire back had stiffened, and I whelped silently. My body unwillingly fell to the floor, crying. My father is truly worried about me, I spoke in my thought. The weight of everything— from all the deaths I could've gone through, the innocent wolves and animals who were killed, to the anxiety my Dad was bearing— kept me breathless in tears. My muscles started to almost spasm.
The punches didn't pause Crawley from speaking again. I guessed that his malice was stronger than the pain he felt.
"Of course I did everything— were you born under a rock? I also hired Crumb—"
Dad couldn't resist the temptation of strangling Crawley; he, in a trance of blind fury, choked the crocodile with his bare paws, but let him go so that he could recover his air. Even at the brink of death, Crawley continued to laugh. It seemed unreal. His bloodlust seemed unreal. I could've never imagined that an animal could be this sadistic.
Lennox looked at Dad, as if he was asking for something; without words, my dad nodded and Lennox immediately began to hit Crawley with the end of his spear. The noises that came from the continuous hitting became a non-stop nightmare; Crawley growled at every punch he received. When Dad finally snapped his finger— ordering Lennox to stop— Crawley's face had been disfigured, with a swollen eye and lots of blood crawling down his mouth. Longtooth himself stared at the torture in fear.
A moment of silence rested itself inside their cage. It gave me a moment of relief; I could feel the tension in my muscles slow down, and at that moment I noticed that my snout was wet, just like the entire right side of my face; I had cried so hard that my teardrops formed a small puddle under my head.
"It's rude to choke an animal when they're talking", the criminal resumed, "but just so you know, my work here is done. I got what I wanted. Do whatever you want— but I warn you..."
Lagravis' ears pointed upwards. He became alert all of a sudden; Crawley's words piqued his interest.
"Don't trust that crocodile."
"By who do you mean, exactly?, Dad snarled.
Crawley smirked. "Don't trust Crominus. Whatever he says, don't believe in him. He knows what he's doing."
Dad's entire body stiffened, his eyes bulged out of his eye sockets as he clenched his fists. I couldn't believe what Crawley said; Crominus is not the kind of guy to partake in terrible cruelty; or so I'd thought, but Dad's eyes... They told otherwise.
Lagravis kept his mouth shut, his mind deep in thought about what he had heard. As I pinched my royal tunic, staring at my own dad, I couldn't help but gulp in silence and fear. Adrenaline rushed through my veins, and sweat sprouted out of my palms. I awaited for Dad's final order.
"That's it. Guards, execute this vile crocodile", he uttered with no affliction, "I will not let any fiend like this walk freely. No one will put my son in harm's way and get away with it."
Before I ran upstairs, I heard something.
"I will do anything to keep my son and tribe safe. Anything", he had spoken one last time, but was almost silenced by the maniac laughing of Crawley.
Gates far from my reach opened; Crawley's laughing stopped. After that, I never heard his voice again. The only thing that was left were my tears of shock and terror.
The dirt feels moist on my legs and toes here at the swamp; it's a horrible texture, but I've felt worse at this point. Ashamedly, I have to admit; after a long tussle with my friend Cragger, the mud is kind of refreshing.
I rest my head on a long tree; long, dangling vines move to and fro by the wind's invisible hand, just like the leaves stretching from the hundreds of branches across the sky. Their movement is hypnotizing, yet the thoughts about death that dread my mind cannot leave me. I even thought that seeing Cragger again would bring me some relief, but no... The scenes I saw, the revelations I heard... They were too much. I move my fingers, one at a time, as I think; Chima's situation is worse than I'd ever imagine, but I'm only a kid anyways; I could've never expected that all of this was planned by terrible villains. Dad was right, the world is too dangerous for me, a prince and a child...
"Cragger...", I mutter my tearful voice, as to not worry my friend, "How... How do you feel?"
He looks at me, confused. He has been panting delicately for a while now, his mouth open at a slight angle.
I continue, "Don't you feel anything? Anything at all? I almost feel like a sitting duck, easy prey for ill-intentioned animals; useless... in a way."
The crocodile prince lowers his head. He then proceeds to shrug his shoulders. It seems that nothing so far has entered his mind. We've been chased by killers and rogue wolves, but he doesn't look bothered at all. We witnessed a disturbing funeral, but he might not even remember that.
"Uh... I mean... Y'know, things are a mess, like my Papa says... But I don't feel anything bad. Even if I went through the worst, I wouldn't feel anything, because I'm by your side, Laval!", he grins with the joy of an innocent infant, absent of the world around him.
Oh. That's how it is. He... didn't understand anything at all... Cragger...
He gives me a tight hug.
I pause in silence. My eyes start to shake, incapable of choosing whether to focus on Cragger or on my hands; the next moment, in which I didn't notice, tears start to spill out. A haunting realization creeps me, as if it's stalking me; I just realized that Cragger... does not understand death! While he's smiling at me, happy that's he's with me, I'm worried that animals might die, that I might be killed, or... that Cragger dies, too. But he isn't aware, he doesn't grasp what loss is. He knows he could've perhaps died moments after birth, but he doesn't care.
I dry my eyes with my arm, but they come back again, and they don't seem to stop soon. Before I knew, I had already started to cry ugly— and Cragger had been looking at me, silent, perplexed.
"Laval... Are you okay? You're cryin' all of a sudden."
"Do— do you even know what is the worst you could possibly go through, Cragger?", I whimper in accident; I spoke without thinking it through.
Cragger lowers his eyebrows and itches his scaly skull. He stops to think while the echoes of my sobs intensify.
"I dunno."
The second I heard those words coming out of his mouth, my entire body lost control and I fell down onto the mud, weeping so hard I grasped for air. My cries become shouts. Cragger stands there, in front of me, speechless.
He doesn't know what torture is.
We're both princes; he's too innocent; I, though, have already lost my childhood.
From afar, I see Crooler and Crunket coming after us. They seem to want to talk with Cragger. However... I'm not the only one who's crying; as my friend hops and runs after his mother in extreme happiness, Crooler weeps, hugging herself tightly onto Crunket's dress. The crocodile queen caresses her daughter forehead. She looks up for a little bit, but lowers her head after making eye contact with me...
Lavertus lunges at me with a wooden sword— I parry it in clutch with mine. Sweat falls down my forehead; I swipe it away while keeping distance from my uncle. He pokes his weapon in the air, making me flinch. I position my sword in defense— a little bit too high; Lavertus touches my torso with the toy; he finds an opening, and disarms me. My toy sword falls onto the dry ground.
“You're always playing defensive, Laval”, he sighs, “Where's your courage?”
My paws are shaking. I'm too tired to move my legs. I sit on the floor, silent, hesitant. The other weapons resting unused at the training station have started to turn my stomach upside down.
“Buddy, if you want to become a warrior, you need to start pushing yourself a bit…”
Underneath my breath, I reach and hold onto my uncle's belt. “I don't want to.”
Lavertus looks at me unfazed, his yellow eyes penetrate my conscience. He probably noticed the salty tears running down my muzzle. The cold wind, hitting me on my shoulders, renders me immobile. But my uncle extended his hand to me.
“You sure? Even if it's a prince’s duty?”
A prince's duty?... Oh, Dad would—
“No", I reply.
He grabs my torso and pulls me up. He holds my hand, and we walk together towards an entrance of the temple's training field. Shortly after, Lavertus lets go of my hand, then leans his torso on the fence; he gives the dense horizon a stare, as it paints his brown fur into an orange tint.
"You're... Worryingly cold, kid. What happened? Did something happen between you and your friends? Or was it Cragger?"
I turn my head to the side. My uncle... I can't tell him about what I saw, about Crawley. Normally, he'd just say that things like this unfortunately happen, that there are a few bad animals in this world, but... How would he react to me witnessing something that I shouldn't have seen? Worse— would he tell Dad? If Dad found out, he'd break into pieces!
I answer in hesitation, "Yeah... Kind of. No— it's just me, I think. I've been kind of groggy during these recent times. He probably picked up on that."
He laughs awkwardly.
"Well, things might turn out better for the two of you... It's almost time for a special party! In the middle of the night, we'll celebrate the absence of the Purple Moon. I hope you'll join us, Laval."
Atop the Spiral Mountain, as Eris held my hands, she noticed something.
"I see colorful lights being cast from inside the Sanctuary Forest!", she warns Cragger and I.
"Perhaps it's the party my uncle talked about", I add, "I think... I think we should go there."
