The Rightful Heir (31 page)

A
S TIME PASSED,
the animals in the cave grew more restless.

“Where are they?” Squeak said in frustration. Everyone shared his anxiety.

“Dawson, go check again,” the old badger said.

“Yes, sir!” The squirrel ran into the tunnel. Everyone heard a loud “Whoa!” and its echo. The stunned squirrel walked backward into the hall, looking at the black pot-bellied pig before him. Clementine emerged, followed by Roscoe, looking exhausted!

“Clementine! Roscoe!” the animals shouted, and raced to greet them. But soon they made way for the throng of animals that followed the two leaders.

“Oh,
wow!” Squeak got on top of a sheep and watched the parade. The newcomers entered the hall of gawking animals, some of them feeling rather weak in the knees, and gathered around the beautiful pool dappled with sunlight. More and more animals filled the cavern. When the last of the wild goats made their way into the cave, Jonah and Mac walked in, accompanied by their personal sidekicks.

The animals had left a pathway to the throne. Clementine and Roscoe stood on either side of it. Jonah glanced over at Mac, who stared at the throne with determination. Mac made a move and Jonah reacted. He raced past Mac, who saw him out of the corner of his eye and took off running as well. The pig and goat watched the two pugs, each with one black foot, race to the throne. Jonah reached it first. He leaped for the seat and yank! Mac's teeth grabbed his tail from behind. “Ouch!” The onlookers watched the pugs growling and wrestling across the floor.

“Oh,
brother!”
Clementine sighed, embarrassed by the display.

“Get off me!” Jonah yelled.

“Call me ‘
king
' and I will!” Mac shouted back.

“Ha!” Jonah bit his brother's black foot, freeing his tail.

Then, in a very un-kingly way,
splash!
The pugs fell into the pool and submerged. Both smashed-in faces popped up, gasping for air. They dogpaddled to the edge and pulled themselves out, only to be met by Clementine's angry face.

“Let's have a little family discussion behind the throne, shall we?” The pig spoke sharply.

Mac shook the water from his fur, drenching the bystanders. “Yeah…sure, Clementine.” Jonah didn't bother shaking off. They followed the pig behind the throne.

“Uhhh…” The old badger stepped forward so everyone could see him. “First off, we'd all like to welcome you to the kingdom.
I'm sure you're all very hungry.” He pointed to a corner heaped with fruits and vegetables. “So over there is food and please take the chance to meet one another.” They stared at him for a moment, then one of the animals walked over to the food pile. Others followed.

Behind the throne, Clementine was furious. “What is wrong with you two? We have new guests in our kingdom and the first thing you both do is start fighting! How do you suppose that looks to them?”

“Well, if my brother would just accept that I'm the king, then—”

“Oh, shut up, Mac!” the pig snapped. Jonah smirked and Clementine sighed. “…If only we could find out who was born first.”

B
ENJAMIN SAT IN HIS ROOM
daydreaming about the new animals.
I hope they didn't run into any trouble. I hope Roscoe's okay, too
. He decided to check in on them again. He went upstairs and heard his mom snoring, taking an afternoon nap. It was the perfect time.

He pulled the collar from his pocket, hoping it wouldn't be the last time he'd get to wear it, and ran down the driveway. Across the road the first couple of sticks popped up and he immediately heard more voices than normal in the cave. “Oh, good! They must be back!” He hopped in the hole and hurried through the tunnel. The sound of talking grew louder with every step. Finally he reached the main room, but hesitated at the corner.
Should I go ahead and walk in? Do the new animals know about me? Surely they do
.

Benjamin peeked into the room and saw more than twice as many animals than he'd ever seen in the cave. His eyes widened. Surprisingly there still was more than enough room for them all
to fit and live comfortably.

He saw animals he'd had no idea even lived in the forest. They were talking and laughing with each other. Then he spotted a familiar face. “Roscoe!” he said under his breath. Next to him were the many wild goats they'd encountered in the pastures over a month before. “Whoa! I wonder what's going on with him?”

He put out his foot to step into the room just as a white mink ran by, playfully being chased by a rat. The mink saw the shoe and looked up. It sucked in a big belly of air and screamed,
“MONSTER!!”
Everyone looked, including Clementine, who spotted Benjamin's face as it disappeared around the corner.

As the mink ran back to its family, huddled next to a clan of porcupines now on full alert, Clementine acted. “It's okay! Calm down, everybody! It is
not
a monster. Our king has arrived!”

“I thought a
pug
was our king,” a skunk called out, and the rest of the new animals loudly agreed. “Yeah! What did the mink see?”

The kingdom's original inhabitants separated from the new ones and stood next to Clementine, who cleared his throat. “Well, yes, one of the pugs will be our king. But we don't know which one.”

“What? How can you not know?” a voice asked.

Benjamin stood in the tunnel, listening. He subconsciously grabbed his collar and held it tightly.

“Alright, there is apparently an issue over which was born first, making him the rightful heir.”

“Then who is the king now?” “Yes! Who is our king?”

“Now…don't be frightened…” Clementine looked at the animals around him for support. “Sire, are you still there?”

“Don't worry! You're completely safe. He's very nice,” some skunks and gophers assured the crowd, but they were still nervous.

“Sire,
you can come out now!” Clementine shouted at the tunnel. Every face turned. Slowly a sandy-blonde head peeked around the corner. When the new animals saw his face they gasped in horror.

“No! He is not going to hurt anyone!” Clementine yelled.

“I-I-I've heard of one of them…hu-hu-humans!” an old otter stuttered.

“King Benjamin, say hello to the new residents,” Clementine suggested.

Benjamin raised a hand to wave and many drew back in terror. He dropped it. “Uh, hi everyone.” They cringed.
Oh, boy. Why does this look familiar?
“Look, I understand why you'd be scared of me. But to be honest, I'm scared of you.”

A good portion of the new faces went from fear to confusion. Benjamin took the opportunity to move one step forward. “Yeah, I mean…you all have claws and sharp teeth.” He lifted his arms slowly. “Me, I hardly have any fingernails, and my teeth…” He put his fingers in his mouth and stretched his lips. “…my teeth are flat.” He tried to speak with a mouth full of fingers. “So really, I should be afraid of you.”

A chubby baby gopher started growling. “Let's get ‘im!” His mom, rolling her eyes, yanked him against her belly.

“King Benjamin is right. He's harmless!” Roscoe stepped up beside him. “See?”

The goat bit the boy on the leg and Benjamin flinched. “Ow!”

“Sorry, Your Majesty.
Whoop!”
Roscoe smiled innocently and Benjamin looked confused at the sound he'd just heard.

It did the trick. A sense of relief swept the room as they accepted that the human wouldn't harm them. The original inhabitants went about their usual business to show that Benjamin's presence in the cave was normal. Roscoe and Clementine took a moment to tell Benjamin about their trip,
including seeing the snake and the coyotes. Benjamin was thankful they were all safe. The crowd started to disperse until everyone noticed Mac and Jonah on each side of the limestone throne trying to jump onto the seat.

Clementine sighed again. “Ahem… boys!”

The pugs looked over at him and saw Benjamin, as well as an enormous crowd, staring at them. Mac's black ears folded back in shame. Jonah's followed. They slouched with embarrassment. Benjamin and Roscoe went to the throne and Benjamin sat down, making himself comfortable.

Benjamin looked at the pugs. “I guess we still don't know who the rightful heir is, right?”

“That's right.” Zeus stepped forward.

“And we don't know what to do about it.” Malcolm shrugged.

Mac and Jonah bared their teeth at each other, Benjamin noticed. “Uh, then I may have some interesting news I learned earlier today.”

“What is it, Sire?” Clementine twisted his ear.

“I met with Mac's owner, Jessica.”

Mac gasped and moved in closer. “What did she say, Benjamin?”

“Well…she's looking for you. She actually thinks you're missing.” He gave the pug the same stern look he'd received so many times from his parents.

“Ooo hoo boy! You're in trouuuuuu-ble!” Jonah laughed.

“Oh, shut up!” Mac snapped.

“Anyway, we ended up talking about where her family got you when you were a pup and she said it was a tire shop.”

“Yeah!” both pugs replied.

Benjamin leaned in close and whispered, “And I think I know exactly where it is.”

Clementine looked at the boy eagerly. “Oh, great idea, Your
Majesty!”

“Who else but their mom could tell us the rightful heir!” Roscoe tried to hold it in but couldn't,
“…Whoop! Whoop!”

Benjamin looked at the goat. “Roscoe…did I just hear you
whoop?”

The goat took a deep breath and slowly exhaled through his teeth.”Yes you did, Sire. It turns out I'm a wild goat.”

“Aaaaaaaaagh!”
Clementine shouted in Roscoe's ear and he fell over in a faint. “Well,
Matador…
you've still got some fainting goat in you as well!”

Roscoe looked at the numerous snickering faces staring at his paralyzed body. “Touché, pig…touché.”

“A wild goat?” Benjamin couldn't believe it.

“Yeah, and to add to that he is now their
leader!”
Clementine snorted, rolling his eyes.

Benjamin put his hands to his head and leaned back. “Okay, let's deal with one crazy thing at a time.”

“So, can we go see our mom?” Mac asked joyfully.

Benjamin noticed that Jonah didn't look so thrilled. “Jonah? What's wrong?”

“I never cared much for that lady,” he said with disgust.

“But, Your Majesty, you need to make sure you're the king!” Malcolm put a hand on the pug's back in support.

Benjamin looked concerned. “Do you guys want me to take you to see your mom?”

“Yes! Let's get this thing resolved!” Mac said eagerly.

“I guess…” Jonah sounded unsure. “But how will you take us?”

Benjamin thought for a moment then smiled. “On my bike!”

The two brothers looked at each other doubtfully.

“Oh-ho-ho, this oughta be good!” Roscoe said from the floor.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT