Kingdom of Chaos

Blurb
''The Chaos Kingdom is a labyrinth of order and turmoil. It is a masterpiece - seas crashing against marble-white beaches, emerald-green forests, and towering snow-capped peaks. The Chaos Kingdom has flourished for millennia, but there have been twists in time when it dwindled to ashes. Perhaps it was war, or plague, or the “fire of the sky”. But the Chaos Kingdom has not known any danger in centuries…or so it seems.''

It is the calm before the storm.

Prologue
APOCALYPSE

Dusk cascaded through the Chaos Kingdom, plaguing the sky with indigo and copper. It was as if the clouds had caught fire; they danced in the sky, golden and blood-red and bone-white, carried by the wind.

The long-furred cat swiftly ascended the cliffside, flickering from stone spire to spire. At the clifftop, snowflakes swept across a crowd of dens in rose bushes. The blood-red roses had not yet fallen, though it was the season of snow, but its scattered petals fluttered in the breeze.

They padded through the stones, toward the den beside the cliff. Roses should not have been blooming at the peak of Shadow Mountain, but it was told that these were not your everyday rose bushes. The predecessors of the Chaos Kingdom had been spent here in the snow. Their tears had fallen upon the stone, and these rose bushes sprang from the tears.

This was where the royalty of the Chaos Kingdom presided, at the peak of the mountain the kingdom was curled around. They could see ice-blue and bone-white tundra, the bright golden and orange of the desert, the emerald-green and white of forests crested with snow. Whales glided, dreamlike, through the sky-blue seas circling the kingdom.

They shook their head. Be quick, be quiet. Their father’s encouragement drifted into their thoughts.

“You will be proud of me when I return to dawn, I promise,” they whispered, twitching their tail across the stone. Their breath billowed in the mist as they spoke.

They had reached the den nearest to the cliff edge. They passed the den and glanced down the cliff face to see a crown of stone spires rising from the mountainside. Perfect, they thought. They could see another idea flowering, a dangerous idea.

A laugh escaped them and resounded through the stone canyon beyond the dens where the royalty of the Chaos Kingdom slept.

They stopped. No! they reminded themselves. Be quick, be quiet. They turned to narrow their eyes at the den before them. It was the tallest of the bushes sprawled across the cliff top. Azule must be sleeping inside this very den, they thought contemptuously. Royalty slept before sunset and rose before dawn; this was customary, as they had discovered - they didn't see why.

The leader of the Chaos Kingdom, asleep before the sun dips below the horizon! They laughed again, but softly.

“Hey!” snapped a young tom.

Their pelt spiked in panic as they turned to stare at the young tom. WHy can't I tell myself when to and when not to laugh? They took a step back, glancing at Azule’s den with the corner of their eye. ''Should I flee? Father won't be pleased with me. He told me this is my chance, and I have to use it. ''

The young tom stood on the stones, his sleek black pelt specked with snow. “Who are you?” he demanded, prowling forward with a frown on his muzzle.

Onyx, they thought, reflecting on when they had shared a den with him years before. They studied him. If he didn’t recognize them, they could use him to “pitch royalty against one another”, as their father had told them - but then, he could refuse and call for his family to come. The young tom, they recalled, had been soft-spoken and shy. He was the younger brother of Azule, but the two had scarcely spoken with one another.

Is that an advantage? they found themselves wondering. Who cares, they decided. ''Be quick, be quiet. You can turn anyone around to your side.''

Instead of responding his demand, they thrust their muzzle forward toward Onyx’s. He stepped back in surprise as they snarled, “Tell them Azule is dead and her blood is on these stones. Tell them Carmine murdered her at this very den. Tell them Azule’s reign is over, and it is time for another to begin. Pitch the royalty against one another.”

Onyx stared at them, shocked into quiet.

“Do it!” Their snap resounded throughout the canyon.

Be quick, be quiet.

“But - ” the sleek black tom stammered as he careened back, “but she’s asleep! Azule isn’t dead, she can’t be. Carmine wouldn’t murder her; he’s loyal to her, and he’s in the Council, at the other side of the mountain.”

The rage returned to his dark amber eyes. “Unlike you,” he hissed. “Why are you here? You don’t scare me.”

“Oh, I can see how I scare you.”

He stepped back toward the rose bushes. “The Council comes at nightfall. They’ll find you here, if the royalty doesn’t.”

“The Council doesn’t scare me at all. If the ten of them come, this skirmish could be fair.” They laughed. “And the royalty? They’re sleeping in their dens. You can’t call for them to come.” Their claws slid out.

“I can!” he flared, but they were speaking already.

“Do it,” they repeated in a snarl. “Don’t tell them I was here. Don’t tell them I’m behind the chaos.” They glared at Onyx until he glanced away, his ear flicking in discomfort.

“And if I refuse?” He spoke in a squeak. “If I tell them you’re behind this?”

They drew their paw over the ear. “Oh, of course you won’t.” They spoke calmly, but there was menace in their dark eyes. ''He wouldn't dare. ''“I can see your discomfort. I can see your fear. You’re too frightened to tell them about me.”

The sun dipped below the sea, plunging the sky into shades of dark blue. “Take a hike,” they snapped at Onyx. “You heard me. Don’t tell them I was behind this.”

The sleek black tom fled in terror.

- - - -

They circled the rose bush once, took a deep breath, and slipped inside.

The silver-furred she-cat was curled in the den, her snowy-white tail wandering across the stone. I practiced, they encouraged themselves as they paced forward. I can do this.

“Azule?” they called, touching her shoulder with their tail-tip.

The silver-furred she-cat leaped to her paws. “Who’s there?” she snarled. Her sky-blue eyes rested on them as they stopped. “Ah. What brings you here tonight?” Her tail curled up as she yawned.

“There was a fox at the stone spires,” they responded. This was my idea; it has ''to succeed. Why shouldn't Azule care about a fox?''

Azule’s ears pricked when they spoke. She narrowed her eyes curiously at them. “A fox at the stone spires,” she repeated. “When was this? Why couldn’t you tell me this before sunset?”

“Midday,” they responded, dipping their head respectfully. “You were speaking with Carmine then, and you returned to your den before sunset. I didn’t have a chance to approach you.”

“Ah.” Azule nodded thoughtfully. “Bring me to the stone spires.”

They dipped their head, casting their eagerness aside. I must do this. They strolled from Azule’s den, waving their tail from side to side.

The sky was dark indigo, but at the sea, golden and red where the sun had set. Dark clouds circled the moon. “Beautiful,” they sighed, then stopped at the cliff edge. “Why don’t we spare a moment or two to admire the sunset?” they asked, thinking quickly. “You decide, of course.”

Accept, they willed her.

Azule tilted her head, her eyes narrowed, before she nodded and crouched down beside them. “The Chaos Kingdom is a masterpiece,” she murmured. She stared up at the stars. “My mother told me a story about how the stars came to be, when I was younger. She told me - ”

Be quick.

They whirled and pinned her to the stone as she was speaking, travelling through her memories.

Be quiet.

“What is this?” Azule howled in fury, her eyes bright with shock and anger.

Determination crowded through their fear. “I’m sorry,” they snarled into her ear, surprised to find this was true. “But this is for the best.” They stopped to rephrase. “This is for Father. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be - ”

They pushed her over the edge of the cliff.

With a screech of rage and fear, Azule smashed into the stone spires, and her screech was sliced away.

- - - -

When they turned back, Onyx was standing beside the rose bush he’d disappeared into, his sleek black ears twitching and horror in his dark amber eyes.

“You did it!” he whispered, backing away from her. When they tilted their head questioningly at him, he continued breathlessly, “I - I didn’t tell them. I - I will, I promise, but - but - ”

“But?” they hissed, their tail curling.

Onyx shook his head in terror. “I’ll do it.”

They nodded, a smile curving their muzzle. Father, I promised I would succeed, and I did. An ember of pride sparked inside them, but it was soon trampled by their exhaustion. Their smile turned into a sigh. With a slight, mocking dip of their head to Onyx, they turned to leave.

“But who - who are you?” Onyx burst before they could dash down Shadow Mountain. “I’ve seen you here, I’m sure of it. But I don’t know your name yet..”

The long-furred cat didn’t turn their head. “I’m royalty.”

“Yes - yes.” But there was incredulity and disbelief in his stammer. “Why are you doing this? If you’re royalty, why murder Azule and turn your family against one another?”

“It’s what I am meant to do.”

“Are you acting by yourself?” The sleek tom’s dark amber eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Or are you in a - a community or society conspiring to bring down the Chaos Kingdom?”

They tipped their head to one side. “Why should I tell you?”

“The disorder will reach your shelter.” Onyx trembled as they glared at him with poison in their eyes. “You’ll find trouble wherever you hide.”

The smile returned to their muzzle. Onyx doesn’t understand me at all, they thought with a snicker. “Oh, don’t worry. I won’t be hiding from the trouble.” Their claws slid out. “I’ll be the troublemaker.”

They withdrew. Stars twinkled in the night sky; dark storm clouds circled ahead. “There’ll be a storm tonight. I thought so,” they murmured to themselves, then added to Onyx, “Run along. I’ll be returning to my so-called society.”

- - - -

They reached the hideout at dawn, as the sun climbed into the sky and turned the orange and scarlet of the desert canyon amber. An ink-black river spiraled through the canyon. On its riverbanks danced a campfire, kept inside a circle of night-black stones like obsidian. Beside the campfire was a small cave in the canyon with brambles dangling over the cave’s mouth.

They descended into the canyon. The stones and sand were ice-cold beneath their paws, despite the campfire nearby. They crouched at the edge of the circle of stones and flickered the embers drifting in the wind aside. Father should be here, they thought, shivering, glancing around the canyon. They were to “rest” beside the bonfire until their father came to accompany them inside. He thinks I should be supervised inside our hideout at all times, they thought with a spark of anger.

"You’ll find trouble wherever you hide," Onyx had told them; perhaps it was true, despite them denying it before. They sighed. “No,” they whispered to the campfire before them. “I won’t be hiding in this canyon of yours; Father, my world is not your world.”

“Is it not?”

They whirled, their muzzle curling back in a snarl. A sleek, dark brown tabby tom stood beside the cave, his head lifted in a challenge. There was a splash of snow-white around his eye; his tail-tip was light brown. His eyes were as dark as poisoned honey. “So is Azule dead?” Their snarl turned into a nightmarish smile, and they nodded, dipping their head. “Yes, Father, I did as you told.” Do you still doubt me? they challenged. I’ve accomplished your task, Father. I’ve earned my freedom. "I’m proud of you.” He tipped his head to one side. “Come. There is a bonfire inside our hideout.” It wasn't much of a compliment, but they found themselves wondering. Is this true, Father? Are you really? What if you’re faking?In the corner of the cave was their nest of stones and black sand. The bonfire brought light to the cave; usually, one candle hung from each wall, but these had been replaced with the hides of hares in the two days they had been at Shadow Mountain. They nestled themselves into their nest.

Their father returned from a smaller cave with two small hares. “This one is for you.” He placed one beside their nest and sank his teeth into the second of their hares. “When you finish, we will discuss what will we do.”

“What we will do?” They tilted their head. Another task?

“Yes,” their father answered, crouching down beside them as he finished the rabbit. “So I’m assuming the Council believes one of their own murdered Azule?”

“Yes, they do. I - I told them Carmine murdered her.”

Onyx told them... He promised he would; he knows I would come for him if he didn’t. They faced their father, reflecting on what he’d told them. ''Be quick. Be quiet.''

''Father, I can do this task. Whatever you throw at me.''

A smile curved their muzzle, and confidence dawned inside them.

They stepped from their nest and onto the stone. “Tell me what to do.”