“What kind of story do you want to hear?”she asked.
“Why did the shifters want to kill us?”Dawson asked.
She shook her head.“It was a war.A war that went on too long and went too far.Not all shifters wanted humans dead,” she replied.
“Which shifter didn’t want us dead?Why didn’t he help us?”Kelsey asked.
“He did.His name was King Or’Ang.He was a powerful orangutan shifter.He cared very much about humans.He and the people in his kingdom fought against the shifters who tried to hurt the humans,” she said.
“Did he live in a castle?”Hallie asked.
Tracy smiled and nodded.“Yes, he lived in a very big castle far, far away.”
“If he was far, far away, how do you know about him?”
She smiled down at Charles.“Because we have some stories from his followers that were passed down in songs and writings.There were also artifacts from where he once lived that tell us his story.”
“Can you tell us what they said?”Hallie asked.
“Yes.There’s a children’s song I’ll teach you that my father taught me when I was Macon’s age called Guiding Light of Or’Ang,” she said.
“Sing.Teddy bear sing,” Macon demanded, cupping her cheeks.
She laughed.“Okay, the song goes like this.”
In a lilting voice, she began to sing the childhood folk song.The words wrapped around her, pulling her into the story.She didn’t know if the story was true or not.She only knew she loved the song and felt it to the center of her soul.
I once lived in a happy kingdom.
Food and drink, they were aplenty.
Humans danced with their shifter brothers
all night long to the full moon’s wonder.
Oh, King Or’Ang was a mighty king.
He saw the good in all living beings.
He asked the Goddess, what should I do?
And the Goddess said, love the humans like a good king should.
War came to the kingdom’s gates.
Many good humans died that day.
Good King Or’Ang lifted his sword
and knocked those shifters right out his door.
Oh, King Or’Ang was a mighty king.
He saw the good in all living beings.
He asked the Goddess, what should I do?
And the Goddess said, protect the humans like a good king should.