Taming the Rogue King

Where it all began - Trigger alert 18 plus

Seven year old Ira was playing on a kid’s playground in the Melbourne suburb where she lived with her parents. It was a beautiful, warm summer evening. Her mum had asked her to wait until she could accompany her, but she had ignored her and gone ahead with her five year old cousin, James.

*** Trigger Alert *** Incident of bullying mentioned. Please skip to the part after the *** if this is something that you wish to avoid. 'Bung' & ‘coconut’ use to be derogatory words used for certain sections of the society in Australia. It is a racial slur. I believe that humanity comes first and I strongly condemn any form of discrimination.

James and Ira were playing on a see-saw when two boys pushed her off the saddle.

They were a couple of years older than her. She had seen them at school. But they had a different circle of friends, as they were a few grades ahead of her.

She did not know why they pushed her. She started crying.

One boy guffawed and said, “Hey Alex look, the bung is crying. Why are you crying, little guuuurrrl?” He prowled towards her.

She was scared. She wasn't sure what bung meant, but the way the boy spoke, it felt like a bad word.

Alex laughed, “Jack! She isn’t a bung. Her dad is an Indian.” He spat, “She is a coconut. Looks a little burnt, though.” He pushed against her chest as she was trying to get up.

By now she had realised that it was about her skin. Her mom always said that her skin was beautiful, like dark chocolate. Clearly, Jack and Alex did not think so.

James jumped in front of her. The tiny boy stood up with a puffed out chest. “Why are you bothering my sister?”

“Hey ankle-biter, cousin doesn’t mean sister. Or have you started learning the ways of these brownies?” Alex sneered.

Jack was standing behind James. Now that James had blocked Alex, he pushed Ira to the ground. James turned around and landed a punch squarely on Jack’s jaw. It drew blood.

His tiny fists were no match for the boys double his age, but he made every punch count.

By now Ira had gotten up and started helping James in kicking and punching the two boys.

***** Trigger Ends *****

That evening, both kids reached their homes with bloodied faces and bruised bodies. That was the day Ira and James’ relationship was sealed.

“Mum, I am okay. James helped me,” Ira was explaining the incident to her mother while her dad looked at her with exasperation.

Her clothes were torn, she had a broken lip and her body was covered with bruises. He hated these racial slurs, but when you go to a different country, you find all sorts of people.

Some of their closest friends were white Aussies, and he never felt out of place with them. He had aboriginal mates too, although they were few in the area where they lived.

He wanted to know who did this to his princess, but both James and Ira denied knowing them.

He started looking for alternative schools. These boys sounded like trouble, and they were going nowhere right now. It was good to know that the kids handled themselves, but this wasn't going to stop here.

***** A little about James *****

James' parents, Eva and John had moved to Melbourne with James. They had started living amongst the humans. Sarena was Eva's aunt and had helped them create a new identity. She was a strong witch. So was Eva. Sarena had helped John get formal TVET training. He now worked as a plumber. It gave him pretty good money while Eva worked as a carer for children.

Glen Iris was a beautiful, quiet area on a hill overlooking the CBD.

Myra, John’s sister, had settled in the same suburb with her husband, Roy.

Their daughter Ira and James studied in the same primary school. Although Myra was a witch, she was staying amongst the humans, hiding her identity.

Myra and Roy ran a restaurant that served Indian food. Between their easygoing personality and a delicate cuisine that they would dish out every night, they had managed to create consistent patronage for the place.

It was one of the best-known restaurants in Glen Iris.

*****

After the park incident, time and again Ira came home with bruises and cuts, but the girl never complained. She was getting bullied, but if she complained and her parents took it up with the parents of other kids, she knew she would suffer more. So whenever her dad asked for more information so he could intervene, she flatly refused.

But what happened when she was twelve years old was the last straw.

Her parents were busy at the restaurant, which was very crowded that particular day. Her dad was supposed to pick her up from uncle John’s house, but he couldn’t make it. So she walked back home. The visit to uncle John’s was a waste anyway as James wasn’t at home. The cousins were like two peas in a pod.

As soon as she turned into the lane going towards her house, she felt someone was following her. Instinctively, she stopped and looked around. There was no one. It was getting dark, and she was alone. Unfavourable circumstances for a girl who was a perpetual punching bag for her classmates.

She heard footsteps and swiftly turned around again, only to find the street empty. She started walking faster. The footsteps got faster and louder, too.

This time when she turned back, she spotted Jack and Alex walking towards her. There was something odd about them. They looked sinister. She started running away from the two boys. They were older than her and stronger too. They caught up with her easily and pulled her behind the roadside shrubs.

***** Trigger alert. Assault described here. Please skip to ***** if this affects you. Please reach out for help and support if you are in distress.

Jack pinned her down by her shoulders. The hard, gravel-covered ground grazed against her back. Alex shoved his hand into her pants. “We are going to have some fun with you tonight.” he sneered. His rough finger brushed against her core, sending her into panic mode.

She knew what he meant. Her mother had given her the “talk” when her periods had started.

She tried to wriggle away, but he brutally groped at her intimate parts. She screamed at the invasion. Jack slapped her. She was stunned into silence. Alex started fumbling with her pants. That brought her out of her daze and she started struggling again to free herself. Frantically kicking against Alex's hands. Her leg caught Alex and he winced.

He stopped fumbling with her pants and slapped her instead. Her cheek stung with the impact. Tears started filling up in her eyes at both the pain and the humiliation.

Alex spat, “stop fumbling you b*tch or we will hit you until you pass out and then do what we want to. No one can save you! Your pathetic parents are in the restaurant right now,” he laughed like a maniac. His breath stank of liquor.

She froze at the truth of it. She had always been small for her age and now these huge guys had her cornered. What was she supposed to do?

She started to hyperventilate. How was she supposed to save herself? She did not want this violation. All her thoughts were directed towards keeping those assholes away from her.

She closed her eyes and did the only thing that she could in that situation. She prayed with all her might, with everything she had, "Moon God, save me, please!” repeating the words in her mind over and over like a mantra. Her mom had always said that the Moon God watched over all the witches.

The ground began to tremble. The boys got scared by the tremors. She got scared. Was this an Earthquake? Trust her luck to get r*ped in an Earthquake!

She was hollering and sobbing.

***** Trigger ends *****

Suddenly, the surrounding shrubs slowly grew tendrils. She saw the tendrils inch towards the boys. Yes! It is a witch. She was still screaming. Was it her mum? Thank you Moon God!

Her arms were still pinned to the floor as a bewildered Jack couldn’t fathom what was happening. Alex stopped messing around with Ira’s clothes and started fighting the bushes instead. The tendrils were closing on him from every direction, almost engulfing him.

Jack couldn’t bear it anymore. As the tendrils reached him and the ground shook, he let go of Ira and fled. Ira couldn’t believe that she was free. She swiftly got up and ran towards her house.

The more Alex tried to wriggle out of the bushes, the tighter they wound around him until they reached his neck and cut his breathing off. He stopped struggling and passed out within seconds. When he wasn’t moving anymore, James got out from behind the bushes and went back home.

That night, their families met. Myra and Roy thanked him for saving Ira, and it was decided by everyone that it was best to send her away to the safety of the Royal Academy.

*****