Chapter 19:

As I was leaving the cafeteria later on in the day a little boy approached me and stood at the door staring at me.

“Hello little one. What is your name?”

“Unna Jay.” He said proudly.

“Uh…wow what a…unique name.”

“My mommy gave it to me. What’s yours?” He said arrogantly.

“Kat.”

“That’s weird.”

“Ha! My friend gave it to me. Because I’m fierce like a cat.” I pretended to pounce on him.

He fell to the ground and started laughing. “Mommy help me!!”

A woman rushed over in a panic. “Sweetie! What’s wrong?”

He was laughing so hard he couldn’t speak.

“What did you do to my baby?” The woman turned to me in anger.

“Just made him laugh. Is that a crime?”

“It is when he’s screaming in pain.”

“He’s not in pain, he acts like he has never laughed in his life.”

“There is no time to have fun when war is coming.”

“War is no place for a child.”

“You think I don’t know that.”

“Then leave him alone. Let him have fun and be a child.”

“Every Qunato is required to serve. Even a child.”

“Every child? You know what I’m personally telling you that he does not have to go to war.”

“I would love that but you have no authority to tell people that. So stop giving false hope.”

“I’m the Chosen One and I say he doesn’t need to go to war.” I said, feeling a glimmer of happiness for taking my title.

“Oh.” She got down on her knees and kissed my feet.

“Please stand.”

“Yes m’lady.”

“Call me Kat.”

“Kat.” She said testing it. “Ruby Colasanti. Nice to meet you.” She said shaking my hand.

“Nice to meet you too.”

“Do you really mean that children don’t have to go to war?”

“Yes.”

Ruby climbed on top of a table and got everybody’s attention.  “Everyone! Kat here has just spoke to me and from this point no children are required to go to war.”

Cheers erupted from the crowd. Random people came up and hugged me or patted me on the back. I felt proud that these people whom I never met before in my life liked me. All of a sudden the room got silent. I couldn’t figure out why but as I kept looking I spotted the source. Joel was making his way to the front of the room.  Ruby climbed down off the table and stood silently behind me. Joel walked up to me and just stared.

“Can I help you Mr. Parr?”

“Yes you can…KAT. “He said emphasizing my nickname. I stood there blankly.

“In private.” He hissed.

“Why not boss.”

I followed him through the cafeteria smiling at everyone I passed. As we walked out of the door the crowd began celebrating again. He stopped and faced me.

“Listen to that.”

“Yeah they’re celebrating. So what?”

“That’s called a lie, because you’re going to go in there and announce that what Ruby said was untrue.”

“It’s called people having hope in winning the war and to have hope that they have a future after the war. And I will not go in there and ruin that.”

“Yes you will and are going to.”

“And exactly how do you think you are going to force me to do that.”

“We need every Qunato in the war.”

“Not children.”

“Do not think of them as children, they are very powerful at a young age and can easily destroy the Daityas.”

“Daityas?”

“Yes, Daityas are evil spirits and offspring of a goddess. They hunt us all around the world. Hoping to destroy us so they can leave the Underworld forever.”

“What’s that have to do with children?”

“They can destroy them as easy as cutting a slice of cake. In childhood their power is at the highest peak.”

“I don’t care you have mother’s in there that don’t want their children going to war. It should be their choice. Not yours.”

“I’m the leader and I make the choices not you or them. If I want them to go to war, they will go to war. You have no say in this.”

“Then why am I here?”

“Because sadly you’re the Chosen One.”

“What’s so important about being the Chosen One if I can’t make decisions?”

“You do make decisions…on what happens during war.”

“Maybe I don’t want to go to war, and saying that children don’t have to go to war does have to do with me.”

“You are going to war with the children. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.”

“No. I will not lead children into war.” With that I walked back into the cafeteria. They looked at me expectantly, I smiled and shouted that it was official. The cheering started up again so I quietly slipped out of the room.