Preparing For Her Journey

After those words left the king's mouth, it felt like time froze. The ministers could not believe their ears; it had to be a lie. It just had to be a lie. Why would the king hide such a piece of important information from the people? Although he was the king, this was still uncalled for. They began to murmur amongst themselves,

"Princess? What princess?"

"We probably heard wrong. It is impossible that our beloved crown prince is a girl."

"This is obviously a joke. He's a girl? a mare girl, but why?"

"So what if she's a girl? Remember we don't discriminate in the Lynx clan. Although discrimination is common amongst other clans, it's different here."

"Yes, that's true. By the way, minister Xen, your daughter is a general. So why is this a problem?"

They kept murmuring for a long time but the king did not stop them instead he stood there quietly and allowed them to indulge themselves to their satisfaction. When they were done and the hall was once more silent, the king spoke: "If anyone has a problem with this, you can bring it up in our meeting but for now, I won't be attending to any questions."

The banquet hall was quiet but in the end, the ministers retained their spirit of merriment and continued feasting and drinking happily. The king was satisfied by this act of theirs and was glad he didn't have to deal with them right now.

When the banquet ended, Titan went to her room but just as she was about to sleep, she heard a knock on the door. Then footsteps followed. When she turned around, she saw her mother. The worry was obvious in her face.

Queen Mica closed the door behind her and leaned on the door. She stared at that little angel who was about to embark on her life's journey leaving her parents behind and the clan which she has always known to be home. The queen knew she couldn't do anything to stop her as this was her destiny. She stood there for a while before finally walking to Titan's bed.

She sat on the bed but didn't have the right words to say. Why did she decide to leave this early? She's barely nine years old. Clearly, queen Mica had not expected this day to come so soon. Titan, on the other hand, stared at her but didn't pressure her to speak. After struggling for a while, she finally spoke.

"Titan, my beautiful baby...." She barely survived speaking these words before tears started rolling down her face. The emotion was so dense that she could hold back tears. She cried for quite a while with her head down before gradually calming down. This was the first time Titan saw her mother really cry so she had no idea what to do. She could only stare at her before finally stretching out her small hands to pat her mom on the back. This act of hers caused the queen to cry even more. She immediately withdrew her hands and climbed down the bed.

She ran to the large table at the corner of the room and poured water into a cup then presented it to her mother. The queen finally looked up and took the cup from Titan but didn't drink it. She only held it in her hands and stared deeply into the clear water.

When she was sobber a bit, she began to hiccup which caused her to laugh and Titan smiled. Mica gulped down the water and now, she had the strength to talk.

She avoided eye contact with Titan and began to speak, "We didn't want to hide

your identity from the world. In fact, it was the complete opposite. The king did not care if the baby I was carrying was a girl or boy all he wanted was to be a great dad. Five months after we received the news that I was pregnant with you, there was a law at the time which stated that women in their fifth month of pregnancy were to perform a ritual for the child's safety. I performed that ritual and on that night, I and your father stayed up all night thinking about the suitable name to give to you when suddenly at the same time, we said the name 'Titan'. It didn't take long for the wind to get heavy and I almost thought the castle would be blown away by it."

"The wind blew for a long time and in that time, a woman cloaked in a shiny gold attire appeared in front of us. She was beyond elegant and everything about her was perfect. She emitted this glow that made her seem like a deity but your father, the king stood firm with no fear, lust nor bafflement for her glow and ask what she wanted. He even threatened to have the guards arrest her for invading our privacy but with all the treats that came from the King's lips, this stranger did not flinch. The king called for the guards severely but no one came. Suddenly the stranger spoke. Her voice was a contrast to her beauty, bold as thunder. "She looked calmly at us and said do not be alarmed, I'm not your enemy" and somehow, her words calmed your father down as he asks more gently this time "who are you and why are you here?". Who I am so not important but I have come because of her "she stared at my stomach as if she could see through me." "Guess what she said next?"

Titan shook her head in wanting to know more. The queen smiled and continued, "she said, 'your child is destined for greatness but you have to protect her as the dark side wishes to devour her.' I have never seen your father so nervous as he asked how can we keep her safe? And simply replied: "never reveal the gender of this child. when she is ready, she'll do it herself. That is the only way she'll stand a chance.'' Apparently, she knew you'd be a girl. She was so vague that we didn't get a chance to ask all the questions we had. after that, she disappeared and ever since that day, we never saw her again. That's why the only people that know about your identity are me, your father, and the midwife who helped me through your delivery, Maria."

"But before leaving, the stranger handed us this. This is a map and a compass. He said you'd know what to do with it and she didn't bother explaining further."

Titan nodded as she opened the map; she had seen this map in her dreams for three consecutive days now but it was never clear. Seeing it now, she understood where she had to be.

With a heavy heart, queen Mica said I never thought it will be this soon. I know I can't interfere with your destiny but I wish I could. Then she asked, "When do you intend to leave?"

Titan took a paper from under her pillow and a brush and ink from her study table then wrote, AT DAWN. Queen Mica's eye twitched. So quick? But she didn't say anything she only nodded.

Titan was not the type who like hugs but at that moment, she drew her mother in for a hug. The queen tried her best not to cry anymore, she just fought back the stubborn tears that forced their way to her eyes. When the hug finally broke, she patted Titan's head and commented, "I know you don't like this, but can I stay here tonight?" Titan held her hand, nodded her head, and then made room for her mom on the bed. Queen Mica laid carefully on the bed keeping a little distance as she knew her daughter hates being touched while she sleeps. She was OK just being in the same room as her daughter but to her surprise, Titan snuggled into her arms holding her tight then fell asleep. After the shock, came fear and after the fear came joy when she noticed her baby was comfortably sound asleep in her arms. Queen Mica relished the event and felt a strange sweetness in her heart as she whispered: " sleep well, my little angel... You have a long journey ahead of you tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the king prepared all requirements to make Titans journey as smooth as possible. He chose one of his most trusted shadows Ting Xiao and a few selected guards to go with her."