Chapter Five
It had been along time since she had slept so soundly, with a total abandonment of anything chaining her to reality and preventing her from falling blindly into the world of dreams.
Coming out of such a state was always going to be hard, especially when it was a couple of hours too early and by being butted in the face incessantly.
Opening her eyes, she was face to face with the pup who, on seeing her awake and safe, cheeped madly and then continued to lick her face. Groaning, she pushed him away softly and sat up. She reached for her satchel to get a drink of water and was mid-gulp when she caught sight of a flash of gold, and memories of the night before came flooding back.
Choking, snorting and coughing all at once she tried to regain her composure and panicked slightly when she saw a flicker of impatience in the lioness's eyes.
Shit, it all actually happened! Bugger it, what now?
"Ummmmmm, good morning?" She winced at the pathetic sound of her own voice as it rose an octave or three as she finished her sentence.
Nicely done Granger. Fantastic.
"I trust you slept well. Your companion was very worried about you. He said you protected him, and for that, he is grateful".
A lion is talking to me! She said the pup can talk!
What the HELL is going on?
"Ummmmmm…" Speechless, all Hermione could do was gape. A loud crack in the forest echoed in their small clearing. It sounded familiar to her; it had the same resonance as the magical form of travel- apparition.
It gave her hope. Hope which was rapidly dashed by the lioness.
Eyes focused just above Hermione's head in the direction that the noise had come from, she whispered hurriedly, "I realise that you will not understand what is happening to you and I will give you an explanation, but for now, we must move on. It is not safe for you in these woods.
Her mouth doesn't move when she talks…was all Hermione could think, and it took her a moment to realise that she was supposed to stand up, and that it was far from a suggestion. Grabbing her robes and bag, making sure the pup was ready; she followed the lioness out of the clearing.
- - -
The Lioness led them for hours, and never once said a word to Hermione, but only paused to allow her to catch up every so often when she had been lagging behind.
This suited her fine. She liked the fact that somebody else had taken control and she could simply follow without worrying about leading herself into a trap, or walking in circles.
Again, she added bitterly.
The forest, she noticed, had turned nasty. She hadn't noticed anything odd about the trees or bushes while she had been what now seemed like, aimlessly wandering. In fact, when she thought about her attempt at trying to get the razor leaves to cut her fish with and she replayed the sequence in her head, the tree was almost co-operative. She had thought the task was surprisingly easy considering her first attempt ended without any major miss-haps, and not all magical trees give away their fruits graciously and for the first time in her life she became nostalgic for the notorious Hogwarts Whomping Willow.
But Now…
Now it seemed like every tree root and branch, every small and insignificant shrub or weed swerved to hit her or trip her up. She had to duck from a tree branch that she was sure had not been as low when she first approached it. While walking through a particular overgrown patch of weeds one had wrapped itself around her ankle while another acted as a barrier, conveniently again, at ankle height causing her to trip and stumble.
And no amount of cursing, kicking or stamping detained them.
Skipping to the side of a particularly violent swing from a bush with thorns longer then her index finger, Hermione was once again waited upon by the lioness and the pup. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion when the pup bounded back to her cheeping cheerfully after the lioness gave him a look.
Great, and now they're talking about me, about how pathetic the human is.
When a wave of self pity rapidly turned into anger, she patted the pup absently on the head and surged forwards with new determination.
The lioness. Where on earth had she come from? Hermione frowned as she processed the little bits of knowledge that she had – practically nothing and it did nothing to ease her nerves.
After being chased by a murderous gang of animals, she turns up without a single explanation and expects me to follow her without any questions.
Not only that, but the being able to talk without actually voicing opinion was something she had never heard of. She knew that animagus' could have conversations when all involved were fully transformed, but that wasn't because all animagus' had psychic abilities. And the way the lioness spoke to her felt different.
Then she remembered the light. She had been running towards the light (here, Hermione suppressed a small, almost psychotic giggle but the it quickly turned to a cold shudder as she pictured what could have happened to her had they changed their minds and decided to catch her) and a radiance like that was most certainly not a natural phenomenon.
So she must be magical, of some form.
Ahead of her the pup made a sound like a hic-up and he shared a look with the lioness.
The little scoundrel! If he can talk, why doesn't he talk to me? I cooked him his frigging food for heavens sake!
It was not looking good. She had turned into evil and petty Hermione practically overnight.
I blame Malfoy.
Malfoy.
Asswipe.
Didn't he realise we had a better chance of survival together. Is he really that snobbishly pig-headed that he thought he could do it on his own?
Apparently so.
What was it about her that repulsed him so? Yes she was a muggle born, and she knew he hated that with a passion. He was a Malfoy after all, and with Lucious' great parental teachings what should she expect?
But she honestly thought that the abuse she had suffered over the years was because he was a Malfoy who had to uphold his name in public. Not once did she think that he would abandon her in…Fuck knows where because of her blood.
Had he stayed with her, she would have expected to put up with his daily abuse, but when she thought about how angry she currently was with no hope of release, having somebody to fight with was more then appealing.
Especially one who gave as good as he got - al la Malfoy.
Another, less dangerous bush attempted to get in her way, but one vision of Malfoy's head and a well aimed kicked sent it flying, roots and all into orbit.
Proudly she smirked and re-considered her thoughts about a lack of release for her anger.
She never realised her almost fatal mistake until it was almost too late. The forest around her hissed in anger and the nearest trees loomed towards her threateningly. Ahead of her, the lioness immediately noticed the change in the mood and froze. Turning round to look at what Hermione had done all thoughts died as the huge tree that Hermione was walking past, humming with an oddly satisfied look on her face, bent back one of its branches in preparation to swing.
"RUN!"
Hermione, caught up in her own thoughts stupidly stopped and looked over her shoulder, only to dart forward as fast as she could screaming.
She only just mad it as she felt the wooosshhh of air go past her with a force that left her speechless. Had it managed to hit her…
But she had no time to stop and think because as she ran, more and more trees took to hitting at her in retaliation for the bush she attacked.
Sprinting at break neck speed after the lioness, she caught up with the pup who was yelping in pain. A branch had just caught his left hind leg and was slowing him down. Bending down to scoop him up, her heart swelled at the sight of him limping, she cradled him in her arms as she ran. But it was never fast enough because the trees were all around her and their attack never relented.
All she could do was run faster, duck lower or swerve wider, and just as it seemed she would never make it out of the forest, she caught a glimmer of fresh sunlight and the air tasted fresher on her parched tongue and her lungs welcomed the lighter air.
The trees became smaller, and the light was much closer and brighter. Still running she left the path that the lioness made as a large bush got in her way that she could never hurdle. Slightly disorientated but sprinting fast, she heard a roar to her right that she aimed for. It was a clear, rich roar that she heard again and again, guiding her through the forest.
Her brain had gone into auto-pilot, jump, and duck, swerve, go left, straight forward, so it was a shock when she ran straight past the lioness who was sitting on the edge of the forest, just out of reach of the straining poplar tree watching her with slightly amused eyes.
"Are we safe yet?" Hermione asked in a slightly sarcastic tone.
"I believe so"
"Good", she put the pup down who started licking his hind leg, straightening up; she looked the king of beasts in the eye and stated, "I want answers. Now!"
(A/N. Is the lioness still a king of beasts? I wasn't sure considering she is female, but then I have never heard the saying the Queen of beasts, so if anyone knows and can tell me, I would much appreciate it!)
- - -
Draco was mad.
Angry as Hell, to be exact.
And his current situation was frustrating him immensely. He had spent four days walking around some place he didn't know the name of never mind where he was, two of which he spent on his own and he hadn't eaten properly since his last meal at Hogwarts. Yet in front of him was the biggest feast he could imagine for one person and he could hardly taste the food.
He was sure the pheasant tasted like thyme because he could see the herbs decorating the outer layer of meat. He knew the wine was rich and floury and if he could taste it, he knew it would hit the back of his throat, but he couldn't.
He was also a great lover of exotic foods and in front of him laid a great array of foods he had never seen before in his upper class up brining, but he had no desire or intention of trying. All because of the Elementals.
Growling, he replayed the scene in his mind, trying to find where he had gone wrong.
-
"Draco, as you are aware, our Tree is suffering, and because of that, so are we. We have had bad crop, illness, drought and the worst sign of all, our young are born without life".
It was only then that Draco noticed the lines on her face, the weariness of her bones, the wrinkles on her skin, and suddenly realised that they were no longer playing word games. The Elementals were in trouble and their Queen was desperate.
"Every year the tree drops one seed of new life into the soil at its roots, and that seed feeds our existence and replenishes the goodness into our lives. Three months ago to the night, the seed dropped but never reached the soil"
The Queens face hardened and she muttered so quietly, Draco had to strain to hear her, "It was taken from us".
"Stolen in the dead of night!" This bellowed so loud that it echoed around the cavernous room. Draco's ears, still strained, stung from the volume and bitterness of her tone. The guards around the room muttered to each other in response to her outburst but were quickly silenced by what appeared to be their superior.
"Oh this deed hurts us. This creature is most foul to steal from an aged race. To think they snuck in and put across my land a sleeping spell. Yes, we all felt it upon awakening. The sun was high in the sky and our bones ached with dread. It was no shock to me to see our Tree, our LIFE ravaged of its seed".
The Queen looked directly at him, her eyes dark with her hate towards the thief.
"We are angry, Draco. If we do not get this seed, we will die out. I have seen it…its", her tone suddenly changed from thick with hate to fearful and weak, her eyes looked far away, as though she were watching something "You must understand I fear for my people. Have you ever heard of a Queen, the most powerful person across her land beg? I think not."
Confused at her last statement, and slightly afraid at the force of her hate, Draco nodded silently but kept his head bowed, not sure what to say to calm her nerves.
"I ask only one thing of you Draco. And in return, I can send you homeward." At this his head jerked upward.
Home?
Is she serious?
"Draco, will you help us. Will you save our Tree of Life, my land, my people?"
Squeezing his eyes closed, and hating himself for it, he nodded his head and at the same time, giving up the hope he had of reaching home any time soon.
-
That Bitch! She knew I couldn't have said no. First of all, was she aware of how many guards she had surrounding me, as if I could have said no with them there. Secondly…she sounded so, desperate. How could anybody have refused and walked away from those eyes?
Steeling himself against that thought, he concentrated on being annoyed at her, downing his wine he re-filling his goblet. Sure he couldn't taste it, but the Queen had promised him food, drink and a place to sleep for the night before she gave him further instructions about the task ahead, so with that in mind, he was going to get plastered.
If I'm gonna do this for them, they can bloody well deal with me drunk for one night.
- - -
"Are you sure you wish to know Hermione?" Asked the Lioness, her green eyes focused on the girl sitting cross-legged in front of her, unaware of the straining trees reaching to hit her.
"Yes and how do you know my name?" Replied the girl, her tone more then a little indignant.
Do I want to know? Is she mad?
The Lioness looked away from Hermione, across the wide open fields and at the mountains almost directly ahead of her.
"My name is Kitalanni. For now, that is all you need to know about me. If you wish, you may call me Lanni". Turning back to a subdued Hermione she continued. "My apologies for being so…abstract. There are things you deserve to know, things you need to know and things that I cannot possibly tell you, not yet".
"Start at the beginning. Where am I?" Hermione stated simply.
"Ah, if only It were that simple. Again Kitalanni looked towards the mountains and said. "We must walk far. Further then you can possibly conceive. Towards and beyond those mountains, although they are closer then they same, it is the beyond that troubles me. You are safe from enemies now apart from those that are natural."
"What do you mean by 'natural' enemies?"
"Those that wish to eat you", she stated blandly, and at Hermione's horrified look she continued, "but I am here for a reason, as is your companion Pamiiruq".
At a series of small cheeps from the pup, Kitalanni smiled, "but he would prefer it if you called him Pamiir, it was what his family called him".
Hermione looked down and bit her lip. "But I feel terrible; I have as good as stolen him from his parents. When they found him, they were so angry and I bet he misses them so much. And he's only a baby!" Not realising the Kitalanni wouldn't know what she was talking about she continued. "Imagine it. Coming home one day to find your son gone. They must be distraught I mean-"but she was cut off by Pamiir limping over to her slightly, chirping, then looking at Kitalanni for help.
"There is something you don't understand about our land Hermione". Again, Hermione narrowed her eyes, how does she know my name? "Pamiir is one of the Derub'iru. The young are only looked after until they can hunt successfully for themselves and only move in pairs once they have found a mate. Pamiir was ready to leave his family, all of his brothers and sisters had already moved on and his parents were about to move on but could not do so with him".
"What do you mean, 'move on'? She asked.
"The Derub'iru only settles in one place to have their young and to nurture them. They are unsettled by nature, and to make a Derub'iru stay in one place for longer then it wishes to will make it very, very angry. Perhaps that is why you saw his parents so angry. They were ready to leave but couldn't until Pamiir left them first".
"Ohhhh, okay. But why did he come to me?" Again, Pamiir cheeped and chirped at her but awaited Kitalanni to speak before continuing.
"Apparently you looked lonely that night and he thought you would appreciate the company. After you cooked him the fish, which he wishes you to know he is grateful for, he felt he owed you a deed. Then you saved him from the animals that night and again, you helped when the tree hurt his leg and he could not run. He wishes to pay you back for each act of goodness you have shown him".
Looking at Pamiir, she smiled and stroked behind his ear which resulted in a deep contented purr. "How do you talk to each other? Clearly neither of you actually talks and yet I hear your voice in my head. Can you read my mind?"
"Again, Hermione, my apologies, you have asked one of the questions which I can not directly answer, but as for reading your mind? No I cannot. I enforce my thoughts upon a receptive part of your mind, which in time Pamiir will be able to do as well, but he is too young to have mastered that skill yet".
A quiet "oh" was all Hermione could say, and absently scratched Pamiirs back which caused his two tails to wag madly.
They were all quiet for a few moments, simply observing their surroundings when Hermione broke the stillness. "Well, is it possible for you to tell me about this place?"
With a sigh, Kitalanni nodded, "yes, I may tell you that, but first, I suggest we make a fire, it is a long story and it would be better to rest here for the remainder of the day and night before we continue walking and so that you fully understand where you are, or as best as I can tell you".
- - -
Soooooooooooooooooooooo, what do you think?
I have a confession to make…the name Kitalanni is in fact from The Lion King II, if you recognised it, my apologies but clearly her actual character is all mine! You have no idea how badly I just wanted to call her Nala, but I thought that was a bit much!
I know it looks like I'm going a bit crazy with the names, but hey, its fantasy and Pamiiruq is an Alaskan name for 'wags tail' which I thought was cute and fitting!
You know what to do. REVIEW, and if there are any typos let me know and I will amend them and on that note, a thank you to horserluver13 for telling me about the 'mummer'.
