Chapter 4: THE INITIATOR III

The lion made slow backward movement, curving its back inward. I thought that the lion was afraid because I stood on my feet but unexpectedly, the lion swooped in the air to attack me. That was when I realised that it's slow backward movement was not fear but a calculated accuracy. I quickly swooped in the air to confront it but it was as if a titan clashed with a mortal when my chest and its chest met. It overpowered me and I found myself on the ground, under the lion struggling for breath. I struggled hard but my struggle was in vain because the lion was so strong. The lion used it's claws to hit my cheek and blood filled my mouth as two of my teeth were uprooted from my gum. After hitting me, it opened its wide mouth to bite my throat but I drop my sword and used my two hands to pull its upper and lower jaw apart. I pulled with the whole strength in me till the lion started feeling pains. I used the advantage to turn it around while I was still pulling its teeth apart. At this time, I wished I had three hands so that I will stretch the third hand to pick up my sword and Pierce it through the open mouth of the lion but reverse was the case because I had no third hand. I was still on top of the lion pulling its teeth apart. It struggled hard to free itself and I knew that if I don't act fast in a short time, I will soon be the one in pain. I didn't have any choice than to take the risk of releasing the lion's mouth and tried getting my sword. I quickly released its mouth. I was fast but not fast enough. Though, my right hand succeeded in getting my sword but three of my left hand fingertips were bitten off by the lion because at the time I released its mouth, to get my sword, I stretched only my right hand and after getting the sword, I realised that my left hand was still in between the its teeth. I was in a dilemma. I contemplated whether to rescue my left hand or to strike the lion with the sword on my right hand. Before I could make a choice, the nerves on my left hand sent a sharp signal of pains through my spinal cord to my brain with the speed of light. I turned to look at my left hand and found out that three finger tips were bitten off. I felt a deep pain in me and let out a loud scream of a warrior. The lion took advantage of the condition I was to turn me around and it was on me for the second time. The pain I felt didn't make me to leave my sword which was still in my right hand with full grip. When the lion saw that it was on me. It tried to finish me off but with the last strength in me, I took my sword which was on my right hand over the lion and stretched out my left hand too over it to also hold the sword. Now my both hands were fully holding the sword with the lion in between my two hands and the tip of the sword pointing to its back. Immediately the lion made a move, I pushed the sword carelessly into its back. The sword pierced through the lions back, came out through its stomach and also pierced my stomach as I was under it. The lion roared in agony of pain and I screamed in pains. The lion got off my body and the sword went with it. It started jumping up and down in pain trying to remove the sword from its body. I managed to roll on the ground until I came to an edge of the cave. I sat up and rested my back on the wall while the lion was still struggling to remove the sword from its body. After a while of struggling, the lion became weak and laid still on the ground. I crawled from where I was to where the lion was laying helplessly after losing much blood with the sword still in its body. I sat close to it for about 30 minutes trying to regain some strength. At last, I gradually rose up to my feet, I held the sword with my both hands, wished myself victory as I pulled it out from the lion's back. I immediately pierced its neck and it let out a faint roar. I press down the sword and slit its throat. I then brought out one of the two axes hanging at my back and started striking it's chest to take out it's heart. It's meat was so soft and it took me some time before I got to the position of its heart. The heart was as big as the size of a man's head and it was still functioning. I immediately cut the pulmonary veins and arteries connected to the heart and it stopped functioning. I grabbed it with my both hands and pulled out. I was filled with joy and happiness for gaining victory over the lion but as I thought of the sudden disappearance of Hifreetu, my mood changed. I laid on the ground exhausted with injuries and dislocations all over my body it was almost sunset when I remembered the lioness in labour. I also remembered that its offsprings will be back at sunset. There was no strength in me but I forced myself towards the lioness that can't even stand on its four legs. Without killing it, I started striking its belly with my axe. As the belly opened, I packed out the intestine. Now I have gotten the two things I needed from the forest. I put both items inside the sacred preserving bag. It was sunset and I was still inside the cave with no strength in me. "What if the children came back to their home now? what will I do?" With this thought, my heart rate increased. I hanged my axe on my back, hanged the sacred preserving bag on my shoulder and picked up my sword with the intention of leaving the cave. Grrrrrr... Echoing grunting sounds advanced towards me. I became confused because I knew that the pride of lions whose parents I have just killed her back from hunting. The grunting advanced towards me closer and closer. Now I could clearly see the pride of lions as they walked slowly towards me. I knew that their slow movement meant something. At this point, I thought that I will die in the hands of the lions. I had already given up and I waited patiently for them to reach where I was standing and do whatever they wanted with me. When it was remaining about 10 steps between me and them, the biggest among them swooped in the air to attack me. I closed my eyes and did not make a move. Whoo-op!!! I opened my eyes and saw myself flying deep in the sky. It took me some minutes before I realise that I was on back. I didn't say anything because of the condition I was. My pierced stomach, my uprooted teeth, chopped-off fingers and several strains and dislocations I had in the cave made me find myself in a critical condition, between life and death. After about 30 minutes of flying in the sky, Hifreetu landed on a very high mountain and laid me down then flew down from the mountain to get some herbs that will aid my recovery. He came back after getting the herbs and started treating my injuries. Though, the treatment added more pains to me but I had to accept it. Hifreetu treated me well and after a week of receiving treatment, I started recovering. At this time, I could stand upright and walk. I called Hifreetu and told him to narrate his part of the ordeal that happened in the cave. Hifreetu was in fear because he never expected me to bring back the issue of what happened in the cave. He started answering me in a stammering voice that at the time the lion appeared from nowhere and kicked me down, he didn't know when he flew and hung himself at the top of the cave. He saw all the things that happened in the cave. He saw how I brutally suffered. He said he pitied me but was too afraid to help. He also said that at the time I gave up to the pride of the lions and the biggest swooped to attack me, he dived with the speed of light from the top of the cave where he was hanging, picked me up and flew out of the cave through the wide open space at the top. He ended his narration here. I was having nothing against him because he saved my life and treated me from my recent critical condition. We stayed on the mountain for three more weeks, making it one month of achieving my aim in the second forest. At that time, I was fully myself. I felt even more stronger and I decided to move on to the third forest, the evil valley. Though, I needed nothing from the forest but Sakhraj told me that I will face some obstacles. I felt a little relief when Hifreetu told me that he will carry me pass the forest without any obstacle through the sky. I got myself ready and mounted on back and we took off. Within few seconds, we were already flying deep in the sky heading straight to kilkusa's den. Hifreetu flew with a supersonic speed. With this speed, breeze blew my face and my hair dangled backward, my face was full of confidence and determination looking forward to my last and deadliest mission which caused the pain in my heart. After two days of flying deep in the sky, we came to a place that sounded so odd. The sky was dark, no signs of living things, it contains very tall trees of about 50 m in length and no sounds of creeping insects. With these odd features of the forest, I knew at ones that we were out of the 3rd forest and were now in the danger zone. I ordered Hifreetu to drop on one of the tall trees of the forest for us to survey the forest before moving on. Ordering Hifreetu to drop on a tree was the greatest mistake I made in the forest. After Hifreetu dropped on a very huge branch of a giant tree, we started observing the forest with the aid of our eyes. After surveying for some time, we noticed no movement. Everything was still the way we met it. If I had known I wouldn't have ordered Hifreetu to drop on a tree. Kilkusa is a monster and at the same time a powerful sorcerer, he has foreseen my mission on him so he made a perfect plan to catch me. While still on the tree, I noticed a slight to and fro movement at the tip of the particular branch we were. I signalled Hifreetu to quickly fly away but it was too late. Immediately Hifreetu brought out his wings, the branch started transforming. Hifreetu accelerated into the air while I was on his back we were not up to 50 m away from the tree when we saw the branch which was already in its true form chasing us and I realised at this point that the branch we landed on was nobody but monster Kilkusa who has transformed himself into a branch and made us drop on him. In no time, Kilkusa caught up with us and grabbed leg. On seeing what was about to happen, I swooped from back with my pair of axes in my both hands and headed for the monster. On seeing what I was up to, Kilkusa released leg to enable him stop me. Immediately Hifreetu was freed, he disappeared into the thin air and was nowhere to be found within a blink of an eye and that was the end of my mission with Hifreetu because he never came back. At the time I swooped to attack the monster, he seized me in the air before I even got close to him. I was imprisoned in a very large cage made of iron rods. There, I met thousands of genies that got caught when sent to get information about Kilkusa's den.

After the narrow escape from the hands of the monster, Hifreetu sought for his way straight to Hisham. He flew for thirteen consecutive days without stopping, until he got to Hisham. He landed in front of Sakhraj's house and just stood there thinking of what to tell him. After some minutes of thinking, he walked slowly into the house with a demoralizing look on his face. Sakhraj was relaxing on his chair when he caught a glimpse of Hifreetu entering his house, he sprang up from the chair with happiness to welcome Hifreetu but his mood changed when he saw the look on Hifreetu's face. "Where is the prince?" was the first statement Sakhraj made. Hifreetu fell on his knees and broke into tears so hard you couldn't understand what was happening. He stood in front of Hifreetu and ask with more force for the second time "where is the prince? can't you hear me?" "I am very sorry I tried my best to help him overcome the obstacles he faced. We made it through Kilkusa's den and I don't think we would have made it there if not for the princes' bravery. Unfortunate for us, we fell into the monsters trap. He caught us but the prince helped me to escape. Out of annoyance, the monster struck the prince with a weapon. Our prince is de_ead" Hifreetu replied with a stammering voice and broke into tears for the second time. Sakhraj saw the ground raising up towards his face, he tried to support the ground with his hands but his face hit the ground before he could do so. He had fell unconscious to the ground. His heart sank into his stomach after the shocking news passed through his ears. He regained consciousness and sat on the ground speechless with tears rolling down his cheeks. Thoughts about how to inform the Queen about her son's death vibrated in his head. After thinking of every possible means to approach my mother about my death, he got on his feet and headed for the palace. He walked slowly as he spoke to himself as if rehearsing what to say when he gets to the palace. After a long time of taking slow short striped steps, Sakhraj arrived at the palace. He summoned everybody in the royal house to gather in the palace. My mother was surprised at this sudden summon but she took it to be one of the usual combined prayers for my success. My mother, my wife and other royal servants where seated in the palace, Sakhraj stood silent in their middle lost in the deep ocean of thoughts. After some minutes of total silence in the palace, my mother gained Sakhraj's attention by shouting his name, "Sakhraj" she shouted. He got startled and his mind came back to reality. "You have summoned us for something important and here we are but you just stood silent staring at us. What is the matter? why have you gathered us here? go on, we are all ears", my mother added. Sakhraj cleared his throat and started, "oh members of the royal family, the worst has happened. We must all take heart. The hunter who was ready to kill and carry an elephant in the wilderness left home but reverse was the case when he got deep in the wilderness because the hunter ended up being killed by the elephant. As I said, we must all take heart." Loosing her patience and obviously knowing where Sakhraj was heading, my mother stood up grabbed Sakhraj's shirt by the neck and shook him vigorously shouting, "Sakhraj go straight to the point, where is my son? what happened to him?" "He couldn't make it." Sakhraj hastily answered. "He was killed by monster kilkusa" he added as he broke into tears. There and then, without making any sound, my mother slumped dead to the ground. The royal house was in complete chaos after the bombshell was released. Now the false news about my death has caused the death of my mother."

 King Aryan's throat was already getting dry due to the long story he was telling his daughter. He excused princess Yasmin to fetch him water. She hurriedly presented him with a cup of chilled water. He drank a little and covered the remaining on a stool. He adjusted his sitting position as his daughter sat much closer to him to enjoy the rest of her father's story. "Father, what happened after the false news of your death?" princess Yasmin asked eagerly and her father replied, "my wife wailed and screamed uncontrollably despite the fact that she was 8 months pregnant. Maidservants tried their best to console her but she kept on weeping until the day she gave birth to you, the same day she gave up the ghost. Sakhraj felt the whole world rotating around him and regretted breaking the news of my death.