Chapter 1: The Divine Child in Her Nest

Chapter 1:

The Divine Child in Her Nest

As dawn crept up from behind its sleeping post, shining through the thick, glistening trees of the forest, sliding across the soft white sand of the crooning beaches, and coating the quiet, desolate city with its dulcet red glow, a young Goddess-on-Earth opened her crystalline blue eyes to the faint light seeping through her half visible window. As she gracefully rose in her monster of a bed, and stretched her pearly white arms, she crept out of her bed and walked, slowly, to her window. There she pulled the thick, heavy blue-white curtains back and took in the view of her beautiful white and gray city basking in the morning glow. Her pale pink lips curved into a smile as she surveyed the City waking up. It was one of her favorite things to do in the morning. As she looked down at the tribes rising from their nests, she thought of how her own nest was once someone else's nest, her room someone else's room. Her home was the most well known building in the City, not because it is now the home of the Almighty Chosen, but that it was once the home of another tribe, one called the Mallrats.

The Goddess cringed. Mallrats. MallRATS. That's exactly what they were: rats. The Goddess was happy that the Guardian and his Chosen Ones were there to save her from growing up in such a wild, savage tribe. Shivers went up and down her spine as she thought about how awful and disgusting they must have been, these Mallrats. Running wild throughout the Mall, throughout the City, wrecking havoc among innocent people, and annoying the Legendary Locos. Greedy, disgusting mongrels, grabbing every scrap of food they could find for themselves. And she was there, born among them. Born from the same rat infested whore who once called herself the Supreme Mother. The Goddess's smile faded and was replaced with a frown, demonstrated only by the cold stare from her eyes and the perfect arch of her left sandy colored eyebrow. She hated the Mallrats. She hated them more than she hated her whore of a mother. And when the day comes, the day she'll become the Guardian of the New Order, is the day she'll make sure all rats, human or animal, are eliminated from the face of the planet.

The Goddess jumped at the sound of soft, pounding footsteps approaching her room, and the sharp creaking of her door opening. There in between the door and the door frame, a face peeked through, smiling widely, her sharp red hair ablaze.

"Good morning, Divine Child," she whispered softly across the room. The Divine Child smiled once more.

"Good morning, Maiden Salene."

"Read me passage 24 again, Maiden Salene," the Divine Child said as she look over her selection of lipsticks.

"But you've heard that story a hundred times, Divine Child," Maiden Patsy said as she folded a section of the Divine Child's long, sleek sandy hair into a fold in her bun. The Divine Child looked up at her coldly.

"And your point is, Maiden Patsy?!" the Divine Child said, her sweet tones suddenly turning icy. Maiden Patsy's expression turned from bored to frightened as she tried to think of an answer. Although the Divine Child was much younger than her, Maiden Patsy always felt intimidated by her.

"W-Well, with all due respect, Divine Child, my p-point is that, may-maybe you would want to hear a different story, p-per-perhaps?" she shakily let out.

The Divine Child lifted her eyebrow, displeasure written all over her face

"Maiden Patsy, do you have a problem with my wanting to hear passage 24?" she said in icy calm tones.

"N-No, Divine Child, it's just-"

"Then why are you so keen on me hearing something else, hmm?"

"Divine Ch-"

"WELL!!"

"W-Well, it's just, well, you've heard passage 24 so often, a-and we've heard it with you-"

"YOU'RE POINT!"

"Well, we haven't heard any of the other stories, and I just thought-"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT WHAT YOU 'JUST THOUGHT'!" she said, angrily getting up from her stool and facing Maiden Patsy with death in her eyes, "I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE OTHER STORIES! ALL I CARE ABOUT IS HEARING MY FAVORITE STORY, AND IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT, YOU CAN TAKE YOUR PROBLEM AND PARADE IT AROUND TOWN LIKE THE OTHER REBEL SCUM! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT, MAIDEN PATSY! HMM! WELL!"

"No, Divine Child, that's not what I want!"

"THEN I SUGGEST YOU SHUT YOUR FOUL MOUTH AND DO AS YOUR TOLD! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

"Yes Divine Child! Forgive me, Divine Child!" Maiden Patsy shrieked frantically as she always did when she suffered the Divine Child's wrath (which was often). The Divine Child peered at Maiden Patsy with eyes colder than winter. Then, without another word, sat back on her stool and continued to look at her assortment of lipsticks.

"Maiden Salene, read me passage 24 please," she said, switching back to her sweet tones. Maiden Salene cleared her throat and flipped through the Book of Chaos.

"Passage 24: Luke, the Divine Savior," Maiden Salene began, "the sounds of the creaking sewers was pounding in the Supreme Mother's ears as she frantically made her way to the sewer opening in sector 8. Her eyes were wide with sick desire to flee the Chosen and take the Divine Child with her. The cries of the Divine Child were loud and frantic, for she knew that she was being taken against her will. 'Be still, child,' the Supreme Mother whispered, stroking the Child in a most perverse way, 'we will arrive to our rebel friends soon.' The Supreme Mother made her way to the sewer opening. There, opening the sewer cap, the sleek evil voice of Ebony echoed through the sewer walls. 'Hurry, Supreme Mother,' Ebony whispered to her, but instead using her vulgar rat name, 'you must hurry before the other Chosen see you!' the Supreme Mother made her way to the ladder and began to climb when she realized that she could not climb with the Child in her arms. The Supreme Mother grew frantic, and was about to climb anyway when a shout was heard from down the sewers. There, guided by the light of Zoot, was Luke, the Divine Savior, coming to rescue the Divine Child! 'I will not let you poison the Child once more!' Luke shouted at the Supreme Mother, 'Release her!' 'No!' the Supreme Mother shouted, 'you cannot make me!' Luke motioned for his guards to seize the mad woman and, as gently as possible, retrieved the Child from the whore's arms. 'You are a disgrace to the Chosen and your Daughter. You are no longer the Supreme Mother!' Suddenly, the Rebels Lex and Ebony came down the sewer. They knocked out the two guards holding the Mother and dragged her out of the sewer. 'Should we go after them, Luke?' 'No,' said the Divine Savior, 'she is of no use to us now.' And then he turned, with the Child in hand, and walked back to the Chosen Temple."

The Divine Child sighed and silently thanked her Father, Zoot, for guiding Luke on the right path.

"That story always brings me joy," she said dreamily, "imagine what would happen if Luke hadn't come to save me! I mean, I could be living in filth and sludge and acting like some sport of god-less criminal! That would've been horrible! I never would've known Zoot's light! I am really lucky that Luke saved me"-the Divine Child sighed-"I owe him everything."

Maiden Salene turned and smiled at Maiden May, who was also in the room, changing the sheets and pillows on the Child's bed. Maiden May smiled also, thinking the same as Maiden Salene: the Divine Child was immensely infatuated with Luke, despite that fact that he was too old. Of course, the Maidens knew better than to tell THAT to the Divine Child. There would be hell to pay if they ever "uttered such blasphemous words". Maiden Patsy, on the other hand, was not as smart as the other two Maidens.

"Divine Child, you shouldn't set your expectations so high for Luke. You know he'll never go for someone so high class," she said nonchalantly. At the sound of her words, the Child's face froze into a deadly stare

"Maiden Patsy…" she growled through her teeth. As soon as she saw that Maiden Patsy was in for another cold outburst from the Child, Maiden Salene set down the Book of Chaos and grabbed Maiden Patsy's arm.

"Maiden Patsy, I just remembered! The Supreme Mother wants to speak with you urgently on…uh…private matters. So you better leave," she motioned with her head to the door, "Now!"

Maiden Patsy nodded shakily and excused herself from the room as Maiden Salene took her place in doing the Child's hair. As the door to the room closed, the Divine Child scoffed, her voice ridden with disapproval.

"I don't like her," the Child hissed, stating that fact for the millionth time, "I think she's trouble."

"She means well, Divine Child," Maiden Salene said, defending Maiden Patsy that same way she has defended her for years.

"Yeah, just give her a chance. I'm sure she'll do better," Maiden May said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Hmm…I guess," the Divine Child said with a shrug. She sighed

"I'm tired of talking about her," she said with a bored expression, "let's talk about something else."

"Like what?"

The Divine Child thought for a moment.

"Let's talk about my coronation!" she said excitedly. "It's going to be fantastic! Everyone is going to be there, from members of the Chaotic Trinity to the lowliest of the town's people! It will be remarkable!"

"We know! We can't wait for the day to come!" said Maiden Salene, excited as well. Maiden May, after making sure they couldn't see her, rolled her eyes in utter annoyance.

"Do you think Luke will be there?" the Child asked innocently.

"Of course he'd be there! He wouldn't miss it for the world!" The Divine Child smiled. She'd hoped he'd be there. As Maiden Salene talked incessantly about the plans of the coronation, the Divine Child drifted into a daydream about it. She imagined everyone to be there. The Supreme Mother, the Guardian, the Oracle, her Maidens Superior (she might even allow Maiden Patsy to come), Luke. Luke, her Divine Savior. The one who saved her from eternal damnation. The same butterflies she always felt when she thought of him came back. For as long as she could remember, she had always had an infatuation with Luke. He was always so kind, so gentle with her. He was always protecting her, even when she didn't need protection. He was perfection. He was a gentleman, as the Old People would call him. He was perfection. He was what she wanted.

As the Divine Child continued on her path of dreamy thoughts of Luke, her journey was suddenly interrupted by one word, two syllables: Rebels.

"What was that about the Rebels?" she asked, the conversation taking an ugly turn.

"I was saying that since the whole City was going to be there, the rebels may be there too," Maiden Salene said innocently. The Divine Child's happy mood was dampened once more.

"What?! What do you mean, Rebels will be there?!" the Child stood up from her stool once more, shrieking in utter horror, "No! They can't be there! They'll attack me! I won't allow it, you hear me, I WON'T ALLOW IT!"

"It's alright, Divine Child, it's alright," Maiden Salene said, trying to soothe her, "don't worry. All of your Praetorians will be there to guard you!"

The Divine Child relaxed. As long as the Praetorians were there to protect her, she had no problem. The Praetorians were the Child's elite guards. The only one who can get through the Praetorians was Zoot himself. Not even the Guardian can get through.

Relaxed once more, the Divine Child sat back down and, having already chosen a light pinkish color for her lipstick, moved onto eye shadow.

Rebels. The one thing the Child hated more than the Mallrats. Most of the Rebels were made up of Mallrats. A long time ago, when the Chosen had finally won over the City, the Mallrats thought that this was their chance to finally get popular, so they decided round up a whole army of filth, and rise up against the Guardian and his Chosen, spreading foul rumors about them, saying that they were brainwashing people, torturing them, MURDERING them! How ridiculous! Like the Chosen would ever do something like that! That's when they gave themselves the name Rebels. The Guardian told her that they thought themselves to be freedom fighters. Freedom fighters! That's a laughable thought, thought the Divine Child. But it wasn't so laughable the thought that they succeeded in getting half the City on their side, the Guardian often told her. And it didn't stop there. They even went all out and got people OUTSIDE the City helping! There came a moment when they were a force to be reckoned with. That is, until the moment came when they almost had the Child, but then that was fluke. After Luke saved her from them, the Rebels just seemed to fall apart. Nobody knew how, or why, but they all just let go. Gave up. The people they recruited, an outsider tribe with a name the Child couldn't remember, went back to their trees, the original rebel leader Bray going with them.

Bray. The only Mallrat the Child didn't completely despise. Bray was her only connection to Zoot (apart from her mother, but according to the Child, she had no mother). Bray had been Zoot's brother, her uncle. And according to Maiden Salene, a great man. He was the only gem in the filth of the Mallrats. Zoot knows why he decided to stay with them. According to Maiden Salene, he had always tried to make them see the error of their ways. And there was a point where he could've been Chosen, but he refused. He'd rather live with the Filth. That's when Maiden Salene knew the dirt of the Mallrats infected him. He was lost forever.

After the Divine Child finished with her eye shadow, she moved to her more spiritual make up. Taking the white and blue-silver paint, the Child began drawing the two ring link around the corners of her eyes with the blue-silver paint. Then, with the white paint, she drew a large replica of the black star on the Guardian's forehead, and inside the star she drew a blue-silver flame. After that, she drew perfect white circles inside each of the rings (years of putting this on taught her how to do it herself without mistakes). She stopped and looked at herself in the mirror.

"Oh, Divine Child, that looks beautiful!" Maiden Salene complimented. The Divine Child smiled.

"It is to be my spiritual design for the coronation," she said. She sighed, "I just wish it wasn't so far away from now! Every time I put on this make up, it makes me want the coronation to come soon, like next week soon. Waiting for it is killing me!" Maiden Salene smiled sympathetically.

"Do not worry, Divine Child," she said, putting a hand on the Child's shoulder, "your coronation will come soon, I promise. Just keep your faith, and pray to Zoot constantly. He will grant it to you soon." The Divine Child sighed.

"I hope so"-she raised her hand to do the sign of Zoot's hat with the goggles on her forehead-"Zoot be praised."

The Maidens did the same. "Zoot be Praised, and to his followers, victory!" they all said in unison.

Maiden May was careful not to finish first this time. Last time she did that…well, it wasn't pretty. As Maiden May finished with the Child's bed and moved on to her wardrobe, she looked at both the girls. She sighed. Both of them were smart, beautiful young women who were being taken for a ride. They actually believed all this Zoot stuff! It saddened Maiden May to see them so confident that what they believed in was real. They didn't know that it was all false. The poor Child didn't know that her father was never the heroic leader of a legendary tribe, but really just a vicious bully leading a ferocious gang of thugs, running wild throughout the City. All her life, the Divine Child has been fed with nothing but lies. Poor girl probably doesn't even remember her real name, thought Maiden May sadly. But what saddened her the most was Maiden Salene. Ever since Ryan had left, poor Maiden Salene has been feeling very alone. She felt she had no one to turn to, which is why she starting believing in Zoot. Maiden Salene was so convinced that the Mallrats didn't want her, that Ryan didn't want her, that she started to lose it. The only place where she ever felt safe and wanted was with the Chosen, with the Divine Child. It's the only time Maiden May has ever seen her truly happy. And that just made it all worse. Maiden May shook her head in disappointment. When things go back to normal, Maiden May thought to herself, we'll show those two girls the true light. We'll bring them back to the truth. Everything will be ok.

But, deep down, Maiden May knew that things would never be ok, ever again.

Well….heh, heh. Hmmm, I don't why I posted this…that's a lie, I know why. This was a project I abandoned four years ago…..I wrote about two chapters (one and a half, more like) and then kind of…stopped.

I was actually going through my files the other day and stumbled upon this old story. I remember putting a lot of thought into it—I had a nice, professional outline all written, with characters and plot and everything. And then I started writing and the desire just kind of died. I suppose it went away when my Tribe craze went away. It's slowly coming back though.

Anyway…I remember putting this up at one point, but then taking it down because I was too chicken or I wanted to complete it before publishing or something. Well, anyway…I was looking at it and thinking "I'm braver now. Why don't I try posting it again?". So I did.

Now, I think the real reason I posted it was to test the waters of the world of fanfiction. I wanted to give myself a taste of what it would be like to post a story and have reviews. Looking back, I'm beginning to think that maybe it wasn't a great idea for a couple reasons. One being that The Tribe has been canceled for a few years now and I highly doubt that there'll be as many readers in the Tribe section as say, in the Naruto section, which is a show that updates every week. So I sincerely doubt anyone will even look at my story, let alone get any reviews.

Another reason is that, should I get any fans, I can't guarantee that I'll be committing to this story. The desire is still dead, and if I were to commit, I would have to do some major re-writing, revising of the story, as the plot is still sorely underdeveloped and I'm unhappy about the writing style featured here (can you say pretentious?). And I don't know if I'm willing to do that much work.

Adding to that, right now I'm fussing over another story idea in a completely different fanfiction realm, one that if ever written, would be an even greater commitment than this story, about ten times greater. So, if you actually like this story…sorry? 

Well…this is possibly the longest author's note ever written. I say anyway too much…and use way too many ellipses.

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