CHAPTER 12

TALON'S CHOICE

It had been three days since the incident and Kenna's wounds were healing remarkably fast. Her face, arms and legs were still a little scarred, but it was barely noticeable. She walked out the back door and noticed one of her brothers walking into the forest and ran to catch up with him.

Kana walked through the forest looking at the dragon pendant in his hand. How could I have been so stupid…He thought to himself as he shut his eyes and clenched the charm in his hand. His eyes snapped open as he heard the sound of leaves and other forest debris snapping behind him. He turned around and saw Kenna standing before him. "Kenna, what are you doing here?" he asked, trying to keep his voice strong.

"I wanted to play with you." The child said and Kana turned away from her, eyes filling up with tears. "Kana?" she asked and her brother took a deep breath, regained his composure and turned around. Suddenly, his twin, Kell rushed up to them.

"Kana, what's wrong with you?" he asked and his brother remained silent.

"Please, I don't want to talk about it." Kana said and his siblings looked at him.

"Well, Father has to go back to the palace and he wanted me to tell you and Kenna he said goodbye." He said and Kenna looked at him.

Talon arrived at the castle and knocked on the door. He was greeted by Rylyn who looked very surprised to see him. "Sir Talon, what brings you back so soon?" she asked and he explained that the Oracle had told him to meet him there. Rylyn moved aside and Talon walked in, the young maid closing the door behind them. She led Talon down a stone spiral staircase that led to a single room. When she opened the door, Oracle was sitting at the table looking at them.

"Oracle, you wanted to speak with me?" Talon asked and the alligator nodded, motioning for him to sit down. The man pulled up a chair next to the creature and waved to Rylyn to leave them. The young woman nodded and left, closing the door behind them. As soon as she was gone, Oracle was the first one to break the silence.

"How are your daughter's wounds healing?" he asked and Talon gave him a suspicious look.

"Fine, thanks for asking." He said and Oracle nodded.

"Now, I'm sure you are wondering why I called you away from your children so quickly…" he stated and the man nodded. "Well…" he then lowered his voice. "Talon, a great evil will soon befall your family." He said and Talon's eyes grew wide at Oracle's message. At that, Talon closed his eyes and clenched his fists. If that man so much as touches my children, I will burn him to ash! He thought and opened his eyes, looking at Oracle.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice slightly shaky. Oracle gave him a serious look and nodded. "What must I do to protect my children?" Talon asked and Oracle leaned in closer to him.

"You have two options; fake your own death, or send them to live with your brother." He replied and the father looked at him.

"There's got to be something else I can do…" he said, but Oracle shook his head.

"I'm sorry Talon, but those are your only two options." He said and Talon placed his hands over his face. "I know it is difficult, but you must choose." He continued as he watched the man's body language.

Talon thought for minute and then sighed. "I'll send my children to Mizu's. They'll be safer there." he said and Oracle nodded.

"But know this, until the moment is right, you must not interfere with anything." He replied and Talon took a deep breath.

"How will I know that?" he asked.

Oracle then said, "When the wolf appears, you can reveal yourself. Until then, you must stay away from them." Before Talon could ask anymore questions, Oracle disappeared. Shortly after, the queen entered the room.

"Talon, is everything alright?" she asked and the man remained still. She walked up to him and noticed he was crying. "Talon, what's wrong?" she asked and he told her about his meeting with Oracle.

"How did you do it Aleena? How did you stay away from Sonic, Sonia and Manic so long?" he asked, tears running down his face and the queen sighed, sitting next to him.

"It wasn't easy, but I knew I could not reveal myself too soon because if I did, we would have lost to Robotnik." She explained and he turned away. How will I explain this to my children? He thought to himself as he stood up and walked up the staircase.

Talon appeared back at the house and looked through the window of his daughter's bedroom. Kana and Kell were busy helping Kenna get ready for bed. She went into her bathroom to put on her nightgown. Talon smiled as Kell snuck up behind his sister. Kenna laughed as he swooped her up and spun her around. She giggled as he laid her on the bed. Talon sighed and walked around the house to the front door.

He walked in and went into Kenna's room. "Hi Papa." She said and he smiled at her.

"Hi Kenna." He responded and walked up to her, bent down, and kissed her on her forehead. "Goodnight baby-girl. I'll see you in the morning." Kenna smiled and laid down. Talon went over to a chair by the window and sat down. He pulled out his flute and played a lullaby. Kenna's eyes slowly closed as she drifted off to sleep and then her father stopped playing once he was sure she was sound asleep. He ushered the boys out and they went into their room to get ready for bed. Talon walked up the stairs and went into his room to relax. He sat down in a chair next to his bed and pulled out a book, completely unaware that someone was watching them outside.

Hidden in the shadows of the forest were two men in black-hooded robes. They looked at each other and the first one nodded. They turned around and rushed back to their headquarters.

At the prison, Hakothe was sitting in his chair in front of the fire, listening to the flames cackle and pop. His brief moment of silence was interrupted by a knock on the door. The leader sighed and looked up. "What is it?" he asked, slightly irritated.

"It's Abavar sir. The two scouts have returned with a report." The voice on the other side replied and Hakothe smiled. He stood up and opened the door, stepping aside as the two scouts walked in, shaking slightly.

Hakothe closed the door and turned to face his subordinates. "So, what do you have to report?" he asked and the scouts gulped.

"The family is all together sir." The second scout said, breaking the silence.

"Excellent…" The leader replied and walked to the window, keeping his back to the young men. "Tomorrow, we take the book." He said and the two scouts looked at each other.

"But what about the father and the maid?" he asked and his leader rolled his eyes.

"Bring the father to me. Kill the maid." He replied.

"And what about the girl, her brothers and the wolf?" the second one asked and Hakothe took a deep breath. "Let the wolf go. He is of no use to us. As for the girl and the boys….Taralin will deal with them soon." He replied with a maniacal smirk.

The morning sun seeped in through the curtains of Kenna's bedroom and flooded over her. She yawned and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Slowly, she climbed out of bed, and when she opened the door, the smell of pancakes and coffee filled the air. She walked into the kitchen and saw her father drinking coffee and reading a book. Her brothers were sitting at the table eating breakfast and Noel was cleaning the pots and pans.

The young maid turned and saw the little girl standing in the doorway. "Good morning Kenna." She said and Talon looked up from his book, smiling.

"Good morning sweetie." He said and Kenna smiled, walked over to the table and sat down. Noel handed her a plate stacked with three pancakes and the little girl poured some maple syrup over her food and began to eat. The small family sat in silence for a few minutes until Kana spoke up.

"Father?" he asked and the man looked at him.

"Yes son?" he asked.

"When will I learn to control my dragon form?" he asked and Talon sighed.

"Not for a while. First, you gain control of your fire." He responded and Kana sighed.

"And when am I going to learn that?" the young boy asked and his father chuckled.

"Soon." He replied. Suddenly, Kenna felt a small shock course through her body. What was that? She thought to herself as she looked around and when she decided that nothing had happened, she shrugged it off and went back to eating. At that moment the doorbell rang and Talon and the three children all looked towards the front door.

"I have a message for Talon Adair!" The voice on the other side called out. Noel looked at Talon, who nodded. The young maid walked to the front door and opened it.

"Is Talon Adair home?" the young man asked and Noel smiled.

"He is unable to come to the door right now, but I will give him the message." She replied and the mailboy handed her a letter, Noel took it and looked up.

"Make sure he gets it." He called out as he walked away. Noel closed the door and walked back into the kitchen, handing Talon the letter.

He opened it and read it, once he finished, he sighed and looked up at his children. "Kids, I'm afraid I've been called away again." He said and Kenna looked up at him.

"What are you going for this time Papa?" She asked and Talon smiled, bending down next to her. "A meeting with some of the villagers." He replied and kissed her head. "I will be back later. You three behave." He called out as he walked out of the kitchen, picked up his staff and walked out the front door.

He walked into the barn and approached Star. "Hey boy, time to go for a ride." He said as he guided the horse out of the stall and saddled him up. He got up on the horse, clicked three times and the horse raced off to the village.

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CHAPTERS 13-15 WILL BE UPLOADED JANUARY 31.