(guys, if you cringe at how bad this is, I’m sorry XD. I was too tired this week to give it a full rewrite…)
“Chance!”
Chance bolted upright as he heard Sunrise’s voice again. He searched the darkness, but only saw the sleeping forms of Willowlake and Fox.Thornbrook and Goldstream were nowhere to be seen– had it been Goldstream’s voice, deeper in the cave?
Then, from the shadows, Sunrise emerged.
“You came back.” He sputtered in the lowest of whispers, looking nervously at his friends to see if they would stir. He didn’t need them to wake up seeing him talking to the air.
“They can’t hear you this time.” Sunrise said, almost as if reading his mind. She cocked her head. “Why are you struggling with this, Chance?”
“You tell me, Miss Ghost-that-seems-to-know-everything.” He snorted. He didn’t need this right now. His emotions were enough of a mess without Sunrise coming in and stir“I can’t go back.”
“And why not?”
“Because… I… I still hate her.”
“No.” Sunrise’s voice was quiet, but fierce. “You don’t have an whisper of hate for Snowfire. Not now nor the day of her birth. It’s just the lie you keep telling yourself, to cover up your true hate.”
She stepped forward, stroking her pale pink feathers against his face, so that all he could see were her beautiful, loving eyes. “Why do you hate Him, Chance? Is it because of my death? Is it because you don’t understand?”
Her voice was so tender, so wistful. It burned into him, shaking him to the core. “It’s because He took everything away from me!” He hissed “Mom, my trust in my father, you, all of my brothers and sisters—all of them are dead because of the King. Yes, I hate Him, because he took everything. I have nothing left, not even my ability to be a good father.”
Sunrise’s gaze lowered. When she looked back up, there was a deep hurt in her eyes, like his words were a physical wound to her.
“Oh, Chance. My dear, sweet Chance.” She choked. “You have no idea. You can’t know. It was all for a reason, don’t you see? It was always part of the Great Plan. It’s something we can’t understand, but we must trust.”
Plans? Plans to make his life miserable. “Why?” He demanded. “Why should I trust in Him when all He’s done is take away?”
“He loves you. He doesn’t want to hurt you.”
“I can’t believe it, Sunny.” Chance whispered harshly. “Unless that lion comes here and shows me his own face, and tells me himself instead of torturing me with these visions of you, I can’t possibly believe that He loves me.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth when a roar shook the cave. The sound reverberated through the rocks and the earth, rattling Chance to the very core of his being. Then, in a voice that was anger and love, fire and water, song, light, and storms, the owner of the roar proclaimed, “I AM.”
From the flickering blaze of the fire in the center of the cave, leapt a great, white lion, blazing with a light greater than the sun, moon, and stars combined. His coat was the purest of whites, and his eyes were a piercing turquoise, bluer than anything Chance had ever seen before. His long, sharp claws were unsheathed and he stared at him with a gaze that seemed to burn into his soul. He as a glorious lion, majestic and filled with strength.
Chance dropped to his knees, in shock over the sight. He knew. The King, the very King of a Thousand names, standing in front of him.
He didn’t dare look at the terrible face. Shame burned inside of him. How could he have challenged the King? Challenging the King brought death. It was forbidden.
The lion padded across the stone floor, silently. He stared at Chance, hard. He could feel those awful blue eyes boring into his heart, his true intention.
“Son of the Wind, why do you doubt?” The voice that came from the fanged mouth were unusually soft, barely a whsper.
Chance’s tongue swelled inside of his mouth and he found himself unable to say anything. He gasped, trying to breathe, but he didn’t dare look up.
“You fear Me because you do not know Me.” He whispered.
He found his voice, “My King, you never made yourself known to me.”
“Ah, Son of the Wind, that is where you are wrong.” The lion was standing directly in front of him now, so close he felt the hot breath blowing his feathers. “I’ve sought you out for years. You’ve just never listened.”
Despite the fear, the spark of anger flared again. Chance pinned his ears, still keeping his head down. “Then I suppose now I can ask you mysef. Why did you take it all away?”
“I did not.” The lion said. “I simply allowed them to be taken.”
“So you could have prevented it?”
“If I had, would you be here?”
He paused, considering the question, before he shook his head. “Do you expect me to just believe that this was all for you to get my attention? That I could have prevented this all simply if I had more faith?”
“No.” The lion shook his head. “Stop hearing, Chance. Listen. Lift your head and look me in the face, like the chief’s son you are.”
“I would rather keep my head down.” Chance snapped.
The King hesitated, then padded foward, whispering in Chance’s ear. “I know your heart, Son of the Wind. You are afraid. Afraid of being let down again, of putting your trust in something unseen. And when others have strong trust, it causes you grief, though you admire them all the same.”
Immediately, an image of Sunrise shot into the darkness of his mind. Her trust, even in the blackest of times, always leaning on the King. It was what he admired about her… what made her shine so bright.
Chance exhaled. “How was I to know that you would not let me down?”
The lion narrowed his eyes. “I am the source of all life. By my mouth the world was created, and I gave breath to the creatures in it. I am the first, the last, and eternal till the end of time and beyond. I gave my life to give you life. I love you because you are mine, cherish you because I created you, protect you because you are my own. Your losses were the cause of Choices from the past, but there is a plan, a good plan, a Greater plan.”
“What is it?” Chance asked, switching his tail.
“That is not for you to know.” Adonai replied. “It’s not for anyone to know. It is The Plan, the plan of the World from beginning to end. You will see them again, Chance, but only if you believe in Me.
“This is only a shadow of True Life, Chance. It’s all a show and a costume. You must live it well, but you also cannot forget your True Place in Life. I am waiting for you, Chance, if you would only come to Me.”
Chance stared, silent.
“You are still doubting.” The King whispered.
“I don’t understand.” Chance said.
“Most do not.” The Lion said.
“I wish I could, even if it was just a little.”
Adonai came forward and huffed a warm, sweet breath over Chance’s face. A sudden sensation came over him, as if he had just come into sunshine from a dark place, and for a minute, a brief minute, he understood. He felt something vibrate inside his very soul, a tickle of warmth in the piece that had been broken since the day Sunrise died.
It made his heart pound. His blood surged hot through his veins, and every muscle in his wings twitched as if he could leap into the sky this very minute and fly forever
He dared himself to open his eyes, to face the lion. “I saw it, for a minute.”
The Lion nodded. “I hope you know how much I love you, Chance.”
The more he stared at the lion’s face, Chance nodded, beginning to know. The Lion before him wasn’t truly a lion, but something greater, and he began to understand that the King was love, and peace, and joy, and all the wonderful, unexplainable things of life.
For the first time since Sunrise died, he felt like he’d found someone he could rely on.
A great grin came over the Lion’s face. “So,” He purred. “Do you believe now?”
Chance nodded, tears in his eyes. “Yes.” He whispered. “I believe.”
Sunrise laughed, a sweet, joyous sound, and the Lion joined in, the sound a wonderful music more beautiful than anything Chance had heard before.
The sound of the laughter was still echoing as the scene faded to black. But Sunrise’s voice still lingered in his head.
You know what you need to do now.