FORGIVE
That castle was definitely immense. But the good thing about this was that being so large, humans could not watch over him well. It had not been difficult for Shen to pass through a ground floor window kindly opened by Dishi. It was fortunate that humans, not believing them capable of forcing a window, did not guard a small part of the castle that overlooked the reserve. On the upper floors there were the balconies used by the "guests" to admire Derek's collection, while the lower floors were mostly rooms full of old stuff. The peacock was used to having everything perfectly under control and for this he had decided to check in person. Wen and Liang had been very diligent in their work of mapping the dungeons and sewers but Shen had to see for himself to make sure he knew every part of his escape plan well. Putting humans against each other would have been tempting, yet in the end Kang and Tai had decided not to draw too much attention by forcing the young peacock to rely on dungeons to escape unseen. Of course, Derek would have searched for them, and a fight would have been inevitable, but at least they would have fought in their territory, hidden in the middle of the bush and not within the walls controlled by humans! "The cleanest sewers I've ever seen!" Cong said as they walked on the marble at the edge of a bed of a small stream full of unhealthy water ... and more. "Seriously, isn't it?" Genji asked, who seemed to be struggling to endure the nauseating smell. Shen was in the same condition as the weasel since he had never found himself in such a dirty place. After making a complete tour of the perimeter they went out, happy to leave that stink behind. Once they closed the padlock that blocked one of the numerous entrances to the sewers, they headed towards the dungeons. Forcing the doors was not a problem, but it was better that the humans were not aware of such displacements, so they were concerned about leaving everything as they found it, closing every door they could open. "As said by Wen and Liang, there were no escape routes there!" Cheung said, looking at Shen, who had insisted on checking himself.
"We had to be sure!" The peacock replied without bothering to look at him. Jian, Long, Lok, Ju, Qiang and Wu joined them shortly after "We checked the dungeons and as indicated by Liang, there is a trapdoor that overlooks the garden in the back of the building. "No walls once you go out, you guards them," Lok said, satisfied with such a discovery. "Did you check well?" He asked, puzzled "Yes, once we opened the passage we could leave without any problems!" Qiang said, expressing his surprise. "The guards watch the walls much more carefully. They have no reason to check a place where we could in theory never get there! "Shen explained. Once the exit from which he escaped was checked, the group decided it was time to return to the reserve. While Dishi would have checked that Shen's passage was safe, the others would have come out of the usual passage, or the air ducts that faced the reserve, not far from the door that connected the building to it. Without guards to guard them and well hidden from the bush that grew wild around them, perfect to go unnoticed. But shortly before he set off for the room from which he would leave, Shen sensed something. It was not a noise that put him in alarm, but a sensation. He took a quick look and saw that Dishi had already entered the room from which they would return to the reserve. He decided to ignore the ferret and went in the opposite direction from the established one. Fortunately, in the corridor, there were numerous furniture behind which to hide from the few guards he met. Only while facing Gang had he perceived that feeling of alert mixed with terror, but after realizing he was superior to the feline in combat, it was gone. Now it was different! There was something else! But he didn't understand what! He continued to walk seemingly in circles, but apparently towards a precise direction because, in a short time he found himself in a different area of the castle, in front of a door he had never seen.
There were numerous padlocks that sealed it and even though they were not a problem, he noticed that it was different from the others. This entrance was reinforced by bars fixed on the wood to give it more resistance and the entire perimeter was made of iron. Once the padlocks were unlocked, the peacock slid a heavy pin placed as the main block and pushed hard to open the heavy door. The room was dark, but thanks to the dim light coming from outside he spotted a candle and the fireplace with some pieces of wood still smoking. He put the candle close to them and thanks to some remnants of fire present in what remained of the wood, the candle lit up. Damn curiosity and damn him! It would have been much better to ignore his feelings and go straight to the reserve! Shen couldn't believe what he was seeing!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Great! Fantastic! Exciting! Perfect! Awesome! Extraordinary! Great! Excellent! Exemplary! Unparalleled! All these adjectives could not be attributed to the current situation! ... apart from the last one! Rose had skipped school pretending to be sick, even though she was sure her father knew very well that it was all over! Luckily he had decided to go along with her and let her stay at home. Perhaps he could not take more of the summons of the headmaster because of his unruly behavior and for this he had decided to favor his whims too! He absolutely had to think of something! Thanks to his bravado, now Kang was in trouble too! He had talked to his father about what Shen had told her, without mentioning the peacock to avoid getting him into trouble and he reluctantly agreed. The important thing was the containment, that is that no animal came out outside the perimeter established by the high walls, and being impossible, the collector had decided to loosen the grip that he had been exercising for years on animals. He wanted to avoid any problems because even a minimal accident would have had a global resonance risking to compromise the work of a lifetime. It would have been enough to calm the animals and then everything would come back as before. Rose didn't think like him. According to her, something else must have happened to push the animals to train in defense techniques. Especially since Hong and Yong had never been so interested in fighting and suddenly became their main concern! He had made a mistake and wanted to avoid future, if possible! This is why she was sure she needed to understand the situation thoroughly! Without losing sight of the primary goal: an effective way to be forgiven and regain trust ... easy to say, difficult to do!
The sound of the door opening made her whirl around. His father was becoming nagging to say the least! Although for years he had tried to get his attention, at the time he could say with certainty that he no longer wanted her as he once did. He was stunned when he saw that it wasn't him! "If you don't come out of my room I'll kick you in the ass!" He screamed more frightened than the unexpected visit that was angry with his friend. "I need to talk to you!" He said looking at her with a stern look. This was beautiful! Was he offended? Rose strode out of the room but as he continued to follow her he stopped in the living room, away from indiscreet ears, and slapped his friend. "I feel much better now! But I have to apologize for putting you in this situation! "The girl said that she felt all of a sudden the remorse getting in her heart. "I attack the animals in your father's collection and you apologize?" Sam asked, laughing nervously "Why did you freak out?" She asked ignoring the question. "I was terrified! Then when I saw a wolf I tried to defend myself, but the second canid was not able to knock him out and we started to fight ... in the confusion I wounded the she-wolf! Only now I realize that I have made things worse with my own hands! I behaved like an idiot, forgive me! "Sam said, barely holding back his tears. "At least on this we agree, moron!" Said Rose, unable to be angry with her best friend that much. He had never been good at holding back emotions and it happened sometimes that he cried like he was still five years old. Fortunately not in front of adults! No, he did it only with her. At least he hoped so, otherwise what a figure of ... "I decided to try again!" That statement made Rose stop being insulted against her friend and didn't know how to respond. "I don't know if it's a good idea!" The puzzled girl admitted staring at her feet. The animals were very agitated this was certain from the last Fa report. Perhaps it was better to wait for the waters to calm down at least a little!
"Rose!" The barn owl made her turn towards a high lamp on which he had perched "Yes?" She asked, completely ignoring Sam's last statement. "The bugs are in the ducts!" Fa said. "How long have the bedbugs wandered through the pipes?" Rose asked, tired of so much movement "A little!" The replied Fa resigned to the idea of having to guard for any movement . Naming insects when they talked about something completely different had become their way of understanding each other, confusing any intruders they were listening to. The stranger too, after hearing such a thing, would simply have asked "Cimici in the condotti?". But the girl knew perfectly well that Fa was referring to squirrels and weasels who were perfectly able to pass through those tubes! "Good! Sam I have to ... "the words died in her mouth when she saw that his friend had disappeared again. This gift of his had been used to escape the scoldings of Derek or other unpleasant situations, but now it was proving to be a problem! "Did you see where he went?" The girl asked worriedly, taking a look in the corridors. "Actually, I didn't really see it!" Rose's eyes widened in disbelief. What the hell did that mean? "He wasn't with you when I reached you!" The owl explained. "Now I kill him!" The girl said, heading hurriedly to her rooms.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
For the first time in his life Shen was afraid. At other times he had been worried, but since he had grown up he had never felt such a strong emotion! In that room it was full of stuffed animals! There were all sorts of them, but most were puppies or chicks! He knew well that long ago many "sons of the reserve" had been taken by Derek and only after the animals realized that they did not make a good end, they decided not to procreate any further. But this was a horror! ... maybe it was the end they would have done? Why were there also adult animals? Yet some seemed not to belong to his world! Too many questions! Too many doubts! He had to see clearly if he really wanted to implement an escape plan! Because if Derek started killing them, they had little time. If instead he had stopped implementing this brutal practice, then there was still the hope of preparing a good plan and running off together! The first room in which he had entered was connected to another, much larger, where the corpses were "prepared" with great probability! Suddenly the peacock had a great desire to destroy! Was there no particular reason ... anger, fear, revenge or repulsion? Did not know! He made a quick tour of the second room and after identifying some materials that would have easily caught fire, he lit them one by one. Finished there, he moved to the first room and did the same. Just before the fire spread throughout the room, he ran out and carefully closed the door. He started running towards the exit. He could hear the high-pitched sounds that reverberated throughout the castle and the voices of the guards shouting information at one another were such confusion. During this hasty escape, as soon as he turned a corner, the peacock slammed into something, or rather someone. Luckily it was not a guard, a disaster since it was Rose's friend! The peacock stood up quickly, hissing at the boy. "Wow! Quiet! I don't want to hurt you ... even if from our first meeting you could think of it in a diff way ... but how did you get in? " Shen glared at him. He was deluded if he thought he would answer! That human was dangerous! On the one hand, he was relieved that no one had been seriously injured, but on the other he was the same cautious because Rose's "friend" could manipulate her to be able to enter the reserve again. But Shen did not yet know if the attack had been intentional, or the human simply panicked.
Apart from him, that boy had found himself in front of predators and even Shen would have been nervous in a situation like that! He had to understand the situation well to assess whether to consider him friend or foe! Moreover, this conflict had brought to light a fact: perhaps they were not yet ready to flee. If four had failed to stop a young human, what hopes did they have with the numerous guards who guarded the boundaries of the reserve? "First of all, I apologize for having attacked you! It was absolutely not my intention, but I was terrified and acted without thinking! Second, I don't understand a word of what you say! It's Rose who has the magic ear! And third but not least, I have no desire to attack you ... despite what I did a while ago! "Sam said. Shen decided to blow against him showing how much distrust he had against him! Especially because he could not do anything else since, from what he understood, the human could not understand him! It occurred to him that he absolutely had to ask Rose for explanations because it seemed new to him! Perhaps she and Derek were the only ones to understand them since he had seen with his own eyes the girl's father while he quietly threatened his parents! And why just the two of them? Perhaps the time had come to tell her the truth! ... without letting that worm witness their conversation, of course! First he had to earn their trust and perhaps later he could even think of tolerating his presence! "Sam!" Rose's voice turned the boy around and Shen took the opportunity to escape. "Are you crazy ?!" Asked her friend stunned, unable not to reserve a surprised look at the peacock disappearing into another corridor. "I want to repair the wrongs I've done! How can I be crazy? "Sam asked exasperatedly. "Didn't you think that maybe, and I say maybe, do animals now see you as a danger? You risked a big one! "The girl said as she waved like crazy.
The two boys hurried towards the girl's rooms, to prevent anyone from hearing them discuss and report everything to Derek. On the way Rose heard a familiar comment. "Attacked by a peacock ...! It's not a phrase you hear often! Indeed, never! "Sam said making her wince" I said the same thing to my father some time ago, think a little! " Once he closed the door of his room he grabbed her by the shoulders and stared her in the eyes "Listen ..." the boy began to say becoming extremely serious "What matters to me is to have your forgiveness! After ... if the animals hate me or not it is superfluous! "Sam said sincerely. Rose smiled "Of course I forgive you! In the end it was my fault if you got lost in the reserve! "He admitted warmly embracing his dear friend. "No, I shouldn't have left it! But if you thought about it, if you hadn't brought me in, I would never have left ... Can I help you with something? "Sam asked, suddenly feeling happy" Yes! To prepare lunch! "Rose replied" And the cooks? "Asked Churches disappointed that he was expecting a delicious meal. "I want to eat light!" Replied her friend "What am I? Come on, I'm very hungry! "He complained. The boys ran out laughing and when the sounds of their laughter faded the spies came forward. Genji, Cong, Dishi and Cheung opened a grate of the conduit that led to the room and went through the closet to the ground. "It doesn't seem dangerous to me!" Cong observed. "Even though it was an accident, I don't trust him!" Cheung said, looking through the keyhole to make sure they were far enough away not to hear them. "Well, would you like to be the first to bring fresh news to the outside?" Genji asked as he looked around with curiosity. "All right! But promise me to wait for me to make some disaster! "The ferret protested. "Why? You would be exempt from any guilt! "Cong pointed out to him. "True! But I'd miss the fun! "Dishi chuckled. "Never have I heard wiser words!" Cheung admitted before he burst out laughing too. "That boy doesn't seem to want to kill us!" Genji said as he looked at various objects resting on Rose's desk.
"Let's hope so, otherwise I take my leg off and bite that worm!" Dishi confessed before crouching on the bed, hidden among the blankets, ready to intervene for any eventuality. Under Kang's request, they had decided to monitor the young human and stop her in case she tried to get her friend into the reserve again. And from Shen they had to thoroughly check the movements of the guards to check that everything was going well for the future escape and to allow the first phase of the plan to take shape!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I still don't get convinced!" Xu said as he sat under a tree. Hua, perched on a branch contested his statement "If we rebel now we risk endangering the ghosts that are in there ... and they are also unarmed!" He tried to reason with him. "Then let's get them out!" The big cat screamed patiently. "You say it as if it were simple! Their current job is fundamental to the escape plan! And anyway, I don't think that boy can hurt them, they are too awake! "She said, too, convinced that it was not the time to try to escape. "I continue to believe that it was an accident!" Lang Min admitted referring to Sam's episode. "Guys, enough with this speech, please!" Ning said exasperatedly that for a week he had to put up with the screams of young people trying to impose their ideas. The court, indeed, the vote had been a blessing because it was decided to forgive the girl and despite the strong hatred of many, Rose did not seem to have been very uncomfortable when he reappeared three days after those unfortunate events! "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never experienced anything new," the Master said wisely. Xu calmed down rather quickly. That old prickly anteater was like a powerful sedative, above all because with his wise sentences he allowed everyone to see beyond the bursting fury, born of anger that did nothing but poison the souls. "Maybe a little training will help us calm down!" He proposed that Jie seemed to be hoping with all of herself. She too had voted against the second possibility and now she found herself in difficulty, but not wanting to be disrespectful, she had nevertheless decided to respect the choice of the majority. Many of those present followed the advice and headed for the training area. Even Mei had not stopped, but the growing concern caused by the stressful situation did not allow her to concentrate properly and rather than improve seemed to get worse at a glance! After yet another failed kick, he was called by the old Master. "Words are for everyone, confidence is for few. Tell me what troubles you and share this weight so you will find the calm that you lack! "The anteater said warmly. "I'm worried! If humans fear us so much it will mean that we will never really be free! They will hunt us forever! "The feline declared sadly.
"Be the change you want to see in the world," said the Master before heading to two students who needed a correction, leaving poor Mei more confused than before. Such as? Had he understood correctly? Did they have to trust humans?
Here I am! Sorry for my absence but I have not been idle!
I wish everyone a happy new year and inform you that I will resume the publication of the new chapters that I have written in the meantime!
Thanks to Phasianidae, BookDreamCatcher and Be Prepared for the reviews and support.
I repeat that any comments and advice are welcome to allow me to continue this story.
See you soon,
X-98