Anita Belle Gunthner
As the weeks went by, the feline tribe carried on with their daily activities. Anita and her sister, Rachel, were continuously training for their turn on the throne. They never complained, but you could tell they always wanted to simply be normal and play like children. They had lots of friends, but they never knew if it was just because of their status. They didn't ignore the kids just for that reason though, they embraced the love they received and enjoyed their free time.
The day came that the girls had their one day off. Rachel, being the odd one as she was, decided to take her free time and practice combat on the outskirts of the feline territory. Anita, on the other hand, wanted to take a stroll around the village and possibly relax with her grandmother. If her mind wasn't elsewhere that was.
Speaking of the old bob cat, Anita hadn't seen her at all that day. She wondered where the woman had disappeared to. She couldn't have gotten that far without someone noticing. She wasn't exactly the fastest or stealthiest. You could hear her cane clicking against the ground and her voice complaining about something from miles away. She just hoped her grandmother was alright.
Walking to her neighbour's house, Anita saw a strange man staring right at her. She stopped in her tracks, surveying the man from a distance. She didn't recognize him from anywhere in the territory. She decided not to stay around too long and slipped inside her neighbour's house.
The building was silent, not a body to be seen. Marian and Lyle were close family friends who lived next door to the royals. Their niece, Caroline, had moved in with them when she was just a baby after both her parents died from a disease a few months after she was born. Neither the adults nor the four year old were anywhere to be seen. Where was everyone that day? Lots of people were around except for the ones Anita knew closely.
When she left the building, the man that had been examining her had disappeared as well. Things were very strange that day.
"Anita!" A familiar voice called out, coming closer and closer. Anita cringed before turning around to come face to face with another young boy about two years older than her. A lion mane was becoming very bushy around his face but was still growing. His tail whipped around from beneath his long shirt.
"Hi Emmet," she said, not all that happy. The boy always followed the sisters around, often causing them to become creeped out by him and they tried their hardest to avoid him.
"Where's Rachel?" he asked, looking around for any sign of her sister.
"She is out training and would kill you if you disturbed her."
"Oh. Then I'll just hang out with you!" His eyes brightened with excitement and Anita almost felt bad for saying no to the kid...Almost...
"Not today Emmet. I really just want to spend the day relaxing if I can." 'And I don't like you,' she wanted to add but bit her tongue.
"Oh. Okay. Well, maybe some other time then!" You could tell he tried to keep a positive face but was struggling.
"Yeah. Maybe." With that, Emmet turned and walked away, hands shoved in his pockets while he kicked a rock in front of him. Anita let go of a breath she didn't realize she was holding and watched him leave.
Walking the opposite way from the boy, Anita looked around at all the activity that was going on inside her village. It was a very happy vibe that was being emitted and her attitude changed, making her walk around with a bright smile on her face.
After a while, a cheetah sprinted by Anita, heading towards her home. Her eyes widened at the animal. It was the royal messenger, Camus, and she had never seen him move that fast even with bad news. What made her shocked was the gash in his right thigh that was dripping blood. Finally snapping out of her trance, Anita shifted, sprinting after the cheetah. Her leopard paws couldn't carry her as fast as a full grown cheetah but she knew where he was going.
When she reached her home, he was already talking to her parents. The worry in their eyes scared Anita more than the messengers physical state. She just caught the last bit of their conversation. "...I got out just as they began rolling in. Everyone's gone." Her father's face turned from fear to rage and Anita knew there was going to be a fight.
Suddenly, wind began whipping through her fur. It was a peaceful day, not a cloud in sight. How was it getting dark out and windy so quickly? Looking up, Anita saw a swirling storm cloud form above them, growing bigger every second. Her heart raced even faster which she didn't think was possible.
"Anita!" she heard over the wind and turned her head to see her mother and father coming closer to her. Her mother was yelling over the wind and even then her voice was barely audible. "Anita get inside the house and don't come out! Hide! Do whatever you can to stay hidden!" They began to run away without another word.
"What about Rachel!" Anita called after them after she shifted back.
"We'll find her! You get inside!" Anita watched her parents leave, a giant Amur tiger and snow leopard took their places. Her eyes didn't leave them until they were out of sight. Her eyes filled with tears that were ripped out of her eyes by the raging wind. The pieces began fitting together. An unfamiliar man staring at her, a wounded messenger, a swirling storm cloud forming above them. Elementals. They were attacking.
Despite her parents' warning, Anita sprinted off in search of her family. She wasn't going to let her age stop her from helping out. She was the princess. Some day, she was going to have a bigger part in protecting the territory and she wasn't going to sit back while her tribe was captured and killed. She could at least save her family and friends.
"Grandmother!" She called out through the strong wind. People ran by her in complete terror as she pushed her way through the crowd. Families were huddled in their houses and Anita yelled at them to run. Some responded but others stayed put. "Grandmother!" She yelled again. There was no sight of her family or friends but she wasn't going to stop.