Xander and his men come to his tribe alone. His father, the old king, looked at him worriedly. "Where is then pretty queen? I see you bring an extra chest of gold, but no female." he furrowed his brows. Xander's father was a strong and muscular warrior in his fifties with black hair and sparkly eyes. He looked like a hungry cat most of the time. He was the king of scheming, but otherwise a very honest and straightforward man.
"I could not keep her," said Xander, " but she said she liked me. I have to become stronger."He sighed.
"But you are strongest of our tribe." his father looked at him curiously.
"I don't want to be the strongest of the weak!"Xander shook his head."King Sharchan can fight 150 eagle warriors as a snack. I need to level up to him if I ever want to lay hands on his queen." said Xander.
"I need somebody strong to train with."Xander nodded his head.
"What about that tiger who beat you up last time?" asked the old king with a cheeky smile.
"Lord Ziran?He is a queen's bodyguard from that time. She likes him a lot I heard. He is in love with the queen as well. I do not think he will come here willingly."
"Well, if you offer him something he wants, he might come." said the old king.
"What he will like?" asked Xander." He can see the queen every day," he said a bit jealously.
His father nodded."Yes, but he is not a king and you are. You can write a letter to Crystal city to demand satisfaction for beating you up. You can offer him to become a king of some smaller tribe than ours after he arrives. Became his friend and find out what the queen likes."
"Yes, I will call him to train me. "Xander's eyes lit up."But will the queen let him go?"
"That is why you write to king Tyrell, he is softer in politics and wants to keep peace with our nation. He will understand you and he will persuade the queen. Besides king Sharchan is a bit jealous of him, he will be glad and will push Tyrell to let him go."The old king smiled sneakily.
"Or Sharchan will come here and kill us all."Xander chuckled.
"No," said the old king. "King Tyrell will not let him annihilate any tribes. Panthers and tigers were always on good terms. We are all a part of a big family." his father smiled. "My son is becoming a strong man." he thought.
Xander went to see his mother. She was a very beautiful and caring panther female. She had long black hair, a tanned face and a youthfully cheeky look with gentle eyes. She wore a black silk gown and was tending to the roses in the castle garden. It was her hobby.
" Thank you for teaching me how to be kind." Xander embraced her. His mother looked at him and smiled."You got her heart?"
Xander nodded."Almost. She said she liked me and called me cute."
Xander's mam chuckled."Did she sleep in your embrace too?" she asked.
Xander nodded all blushed.
"Well, she does like you."She nodded her head.
Meanwhile, in Sand City Sienna just finished her lunch in bed. She got herself out to get ready. Adenou was already dressed, "Would you like to join me in the library?" he asked her. Sienna shook her head." Some another time, I need some fresh air, I will be going to the gardens." she smiled.
Adenou was walking the corridors to Sarcos's library when an arrow swished around his head. His body suddenly turned and caught it! The scorpion soldiers appeared from the windows and attacked him with big axes. Adenou defeated them quite easily. It was actually a fun game. He found it entertaining. He was walking the corridors and enjoyed the traps on him. It was like a live video game.
Sienna watched him fight down the stairs on her way to the garden. Adenou lifted his eyes. He saw her smiling and clapping and he felt elated. She finally appreciated him.
Three legions of scorpions army get engaged in the attacks. The men had so much fun attacking their king and were really creative, that Adenou did not manage to make it to Sarcos's library.
They kept jumping on him from windows and doors. Some were hiding behind curtains or boulders.
Sarcos's soul helped Adenou fight a bit. He needed to warm his body.
Adenou went to see Sienna in the gardens. She was walking with Lord Ziran and chatting. When she saw Adenou approaching, she smile and went to hug him."You were amazing! Let's walk together." She smiled sweetly.
Adenou noted Ziran to go."Have a break tiger." he said nonchalantly. He was very confident in his strength. Ziran nodded and left.
Adenou was walking with Sienna in the gardens. "I don't understand why king Sarcos even send his soldiers. I'm too strong for them. True it is quite fun, but I do not see how it should help me to level up." he bragged a little when suddenly Sienna disappeared into the rose bush. Till he turned around she was gone. He looked around and there was a deep tunnel. He could not go thru in his human form, so he called Lord Ziran to go out with him and track her. Ziran was the best track reader available, especially for finding Sienna.
Sienna was taken by a group of scorpion soldiers. They covered her in a soft blanket and carry her thru the narrow tunnel out of the city. They brought her into the decorated army tent."Welcome our queen. King Sarcos will be picking you up as a scorpion tonight or he will come in his human form and fight you out." the soldiers smiled politely to their queen. They were beaming with pride that they managed to snatch her.
Sienna smiled."I did not know I was involved in his game as well."
"As a prize. Who will steal you will get a chest of gold." the soldier smiled happily.
Adenou and Ziran were tracking the queen." She is in an army tent right in the middle, the one with the flag." laughed Ziran, because it looked like soldiers tried to be funny. They put up a flag on the tent with a painted golden treasure chest.
"Should I attack them?" asked Adenou wondering.
" Yes," said Ziran."You need to train to level up."
Adenou went as a whirling wind thru the army camp and found the tent with Sienna. She was sitting on the cushions and nibbling fruits " You found me! "She run to him." Well, Lord Ziran did, but I fought the way in," he said proudly. Sienna nodded."And now you have to fight the way out for us."Sienna smiled.
Ziran came in."I will protect the queen."
Adenou nodded. He started to appreciate the help of the burly tiger." Sure, he is a brute but in a good way. No other soldier can protect Sienna like him."He thought.
Adenou fought his way back as a tornado, but it took him some time because it was simply too many soldiers to fight. Sienna was smiling at Ziran."This will hopefully tire him a bit."
"I arranged a surprise for him," Ziran smiled. Tyrell and Sharchan made a trap for him at the end of camp."
Sienna nodded."You are such a great trickster."
Ziran nodded."The garden bush was my idea too. I sold it to the soldiers for a half chest of gold."He laughed."They have to share the prize with me now!"
Sienna tapped his shoulder."You are such a brute. I'm glad you are my friend." she kissed his cheek.
In the dense forest near the beautiful waterfall, Ramse went back to his tribe. He looked around the shabby village. The men were laying and relaxing in front of the houses or eating and chattering, while the females were busy working and caring about the kids.
Ramse saw a smallish girl around six years old carrying heavy jugs with water. She had yellow grass pleated in her dark brown hair and it reminded him of Sienna's golden hair.
The girl noticed his stare and she looked up at him. She did not see a stone under her feet and she fell down in front of him, spilling the water everywhere. She bowed her head in fear.
The old female spotted it and smacked the child's back hard with the cane."Apologize to the king you clumsy brat," she shouted at her. The little girl teared up."I'm so sorry my king," she bowed more and her body shook in fear.
Ramse stared at her."What if this will be his and Sienna's daughter? What will Sienna do if someone will hit her?"He knew she will take the stick and throw it away. Ramse called the old female."I will beat her more, my king."She lifted her hand over the poor child's back.
Ramse furrowed his brows in displeasure. He snatch the stick out of her hands and broke it in half on his knee. He chucked the broken pieces to the old woman's feet."Go fetch the water yourself. If you are strong enough to beat the kid, you surely can work too! Don't touch her anymore. Give her lighter work and feed her better. She is too small and skinny." he ordered.
The little girl smiled."Thank you, my king."She ran back to the house happily. The old woman stood frozen. "What happened to the king?" she stared at him speechless.
Ramse felt warm in his heart somehow. He felt Sienna will praise him for this. Then he heard the screams and crying in the distance. He decided to check it out too. "I have to be more hands-on." he thought on the way.
Ramse came to the poles, where females were beaten. Few new females were beaten there as their mates watched them scream in pain indifferently.
"Will I watch Sienna be beaten like this?" Ramse looked at the bloody red stripes on the poor females' naked backs. They held small rags just to cover their breast the same way Sienna held her underdress at the thermal pool. Ramse looked at his hands and remembered Sienna's smooth pale back in the water." It will not be so soft anymore if she is beaten." he thought and recalled how sensitive her back was.
A soft smile appeared on his lips as he remembered her giggles and moans. "My soft touch made her wiggle. What will a cane do?"Ramse furrowed his brows at that idea."That is enough!"He said to his shocked warriors."How can you watch your mates be beaten like this? Do you know how sensitive a female back is?"Ramse stood up tall to them.
The warriors looked at him." They did not obey well. They need to be thought who rules here." they smiled a bit wickedly.
Ramse looked at them."I rule here! And I decided these beatings will stop forever! You look pathetic. Our tribe's ways are weak. Every other nation is mocking us for our weakness. It is time to build a great city to make our nation more fierce."
The older females let the younger females go. They covered themself and went back with their mates, who were shaking heads in disbelief." When did our king change so much?" they all thought.
Ramse ordered his men to meet him at sundown in front of his father's house.
"The males will stop treating females badly and they will share the work with them. I decided to change the old ways for new ways. We will build a city bigger than Crystal City of Tigers. I will form a delegation to visit king Tyrell. We will be asking him for help and advice."Ramse decided.
"But is he not our enemy? "one of the ape warriors asked."Aren't you trying to steal his queen all the time?"
" Yes, I'm, but that doesn't mean we are enemies. We are acquaintances. Besides, if I build a big city, he and his queen will respect me more. "
"Did she order you to do this?" his father asked.
"No, it was my idea."Ramse shook his head." I came from my travel and felt embarrassed by our man's laziness."
"The new era of Ape warriors is starting right now."Ramse lifted his right hand to the heavens.
His men did not cheer. Only the females were happy. They cheered loudly and send kisses to the air.
"They will see it is better after the city is done..."Ramse somehow heard soft Sienna's voice in his head." You will listen to me. You will do as I want." Sienna's sweet voice sounded in his memory."It is not mocking, strong men see the joke."Ramse breathed in and straighten. He did not see it as mocking anymore. It was just a joke. He will be even in power with other kings. And his new city is a start. Ramse wrote down his new laws on a big stone slab in his father's house and he left to visit Tyrell in Crystal City.