Davide remembered his father's teachings and knelt. "May the embers of truth always glow," he said with bowed head. He sensed Zoe following his lead, kneeling and murmuring the same words beside him. He stood again and she did, too. He glanced at his father and then back at the Prominent Prince. "I am honored to meet you at last, Prominent Prince." Although Davide addressed his great-grandfather with formality, he smiled his delight at finally meeting him.
The Prominent One stood. "Please step closer, Davide."
Davide walked forward and then turned to look at Zoe, who had remained behind. He motioned her forward and she shook her head. He repeated his motion more forcefully, and she shook her head again. He turned back to the council. "As instructed by the council, my friend Zoe Spencer has accompanied me. Without her, I would not be here. She is dear to me and I wish for her to stand beside me."
"Yes, I believe you are wise in your request. Zoe, please step forward."
Davide turned back around and raised his eyebrows. Zoe gave him an exasperated look and then stepped next him. He smiled down at her.
The Prominent Prince said, "Why has the Great Prince desired an audience with this council?"
Davide's eyes, gentle while gazing at Zoe, changed to blue flint when he looked back at the elders. "Your address to me as the Great Prince is exactly why I have requested an audience with the council for years." He paused and waited.
"Continue," said the elders in unison.
"My entire life, I have been told that I am the fulfillment of prophesy—the Great Prince. And all my life I have wanted to live up to that belief. When I became an adult, however, I had to face the obvious fact that even though shapeling blood runs through my veins, I cannot shift. I have never experienced becoming another creature." He directed his gaze at his father. "My father and mother have patiently taught me the ways of shapelings all my life, so the fault does not lie with them. It lies with me. I am not qualified to reign as the Great Prince."
Davide stepped closer to his great-grandfather. "Because of Zoe's gift, I understand that my aura is unique and different from others. And although that is so, I am not different. I have the same fears, hopes, dreams, and faults–"
The Prominent One raised a staying hand. "Enough, Davide! Now I will speak."
Davide fell silent.
The Prominent Prince moved his gaze toward Zoe and asked, "Zoe, did anything unusual happen to Davide while on the walkabout?"
Startled, she responded with a shaky voice, "Y-yes, sir."
As one, the council perceptively leaned closer. "Please explain what happened," spoke the co-Prince seated beside Roth.
"Um, there was a young man named Yileen who led us to a cave in Kata Tjuta. He said he'd dreamed of Davide all his life, and in his dreams, Davide was inside that cave. While we were there, Yileen instructed us to close our eyes and meditate. After some time, I opened mine and saw that Davide's golden aura had expanded to cover the interior of the cave. When I looked at Yileen, he indicated that he, too, could see it. Later, when we questioned Davide, he said he'd been listening to the sounds of nature, and on our journey home, Davide stopped in Alice Springs and got access to an auditorium with a piano and violin because he wanted to play the melody he'd heard in the cave. While he played the piano, I played the violin, and as we were making music, we heard a sob from the caretaker who'd allowed us into the building. He was standing in the wing, profoundly touched. Whereas, before he had been harsh and mean, now he wept. He said the music gave him peace and happiness." Zoe fell silent.
After a moment Davide said. "The earth is full of songs that touch the heart. But what does that have to do with our discussion of the Great Prince?"
The Prominent Prince did not answer Davide. One by one, he stared at his fellow co-Princes, ending with Roth, and then asked, "Council, do you understand?"
As one, they replied, "Yes, Prominent Prince."
Still staring at Roth, he said, "Roth, please explain to my great-grandson, and your son, what he does not understand."
Davide and Zoe both looked at Roth in puzzlement.
Roth stood. "Davide, as always, the Prominent Prince guides the destiny of shapelings and humans with wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. When you were in the forest yesterday the two great deer that knelt before you were your great-grandparents, the Prominent Prince and your great-grandmother, who is watching from the wings." He motioned toward the shadows of the cave.
Davide inhaled sharply as his father continued, "At the precise moment the deer bowed, you were officially proclaimed the Great Prince–"
Davide gasped, "No!"
"–and all shapelings followed his lead. You–"
Davide interrupted, "I cannot be the Great Prince! I am nothing. I am–"
"You are the Great Prince, Davide. Please let me finish."
Davide fell silent.
"Your rule is not in issuing commands or directing the actions of shapelings; that remains under the guidance of the council led by the Prominent Prince. No, son, your rule is much greater and extends to the very essence of creation. Your rule is your music. You have the power to mold, guide, change, and affect all that is visible and invisible. Not only has your birthright gifted you with this ability, but more importantly, your heart. Even though you protest because you have not understood, deep inside, you know who you are and what you must do.
"I don't understand what I must do!" Davide declared.
Roth smiled. "Son, it's simple. You must compose music."
Davide took a step backward.
Roth smiled. "You, of all people, should realize the power of vibration. It has been your mother's passion to unravel the mysteries of sound and she and her team have mapped the frequencies allowing for healing of the physical body. But you, Davide, with your music, will release the frequencies that heal the spirit. You've already witnessed what happened with the caretaker. Do you not know that frequencies continue forever? The music—the frequencies—you release into the ether will mingle with those already there, and after much time, they will finally restore that which is lacking. People will change, the earth will change, enlightenment will find its way to all. Even the wicked cannot escape the power of music released by the Great Prince. I bow before you, my Prince."
Astonished, Davide watched his father drop to one knee.
"No. No," he rasped.
The Prominent One spoke. "Davide there is more to the Prayer of Respect than what you know. Only now is it time to reveal the entirety of the prayer."
The Prominent Prince, as tall and lithe as Davide, rose from his seated position and walked the few steps that brought him eye-to-eye with his great-grandson. He leaned forward and whispered in Davide's ear. Straightening, he waited.
An astounded expression replaced Davide's confused one as he met his great-grandfather's gaze. "I understand your words and I humbly accept my part in the magnificent plan of Source. I accept that I am the Great Prince." A tear slipped down his cheek.
There was silence in the cave and then the Prominent Prince reached for the Great Prince and embraced him. "Go forth and make music, my son."
Davide said, "May I make known to Zoe the entirety of the prayer?"
The ruler stepped back and sat again. "It is at your discretion to make known the prayer to whomever you choose."
Davide nodded and returned to Zoe's side. The attention of the council then shifted to someone behind them and they turned to see Fawn. She glanced from Zoe to Davide, and then knelt. "May the embers of truth always glow."
"Step forward, Fawn," said the council in unison.
Fawn approached until she stood beside Zoe. She glanced at her stepdaughter and then back at the council. "I have attended to that which called me away."
One of the co-Princes spoke. "Please explain from the beginning for the sake of Davide and Zoe."
Fawn nodded. "As you know, while performing my latest mission as a dolphin with the task of leading the Great Prince and Zoe to the entrance of the Isle of Shapelings, something unusual happened. I discovered a chain with my husband's wedding ring on it. Sadly, I had to let it fall to the bottom of the ocean.
Zoe gasped and Davide glanced questioningly at her.
Fawn continued, "While trailing the Dolphin in dolphin form, I saw Zoe standing at the railing as they departed Honolulu Harbor. I sensed that something was amiss and so chanced a closer look. While I watched, she threw an object into the ocean and I dove to see what it was. It was the chain with the ring." She stared at Zoe. "When I first it, I knew something was terribly wrong. Why would Zoe have her father's wedding ring? However, contact with Zoe and Davide was forbidden until Davide appeared before the co-Princes. Of course, my first instinct was to jump from the sea, shift into a hawk, and fly back to Dream Catcher Ranch, but I couldn't do that because of the importance of my assignment."
Fawn paused long enough to place a hand on Zoe's shoulder. "After leading Davide and Zoe to the entrance of the Isle of Shapelings, I shifted and flew to the Cave of Thirteen to explain my belief that something was wrong. The council then dispatched an army of shapelings to return with me to Dream Catcher Ranch. When we arrived, I discovered that Wade was not there, and when I questioned the ranch hands, they said they hadn't seen him for several days and thought he was with me. After talking to the crew, I shifted and flew to Hidden Canyon to meet with the shapelings sent to help. We shifted into various animals: birds, hounds, wolves, cats, deer, and others, and from a piece of Wade's clothing tracked his scent. In a matter of hours, one of the hounds located a cabin where he was being held captive." She smiled. "And it goes without saying that the arrival of a few hundred shapelings surprised the kidnappers. Wade had received a beating–"
Zoe cried out in alarm.
"–but he's going to make a complete recovery."
"What happened to the kidnappers?" asked a co-Prince.
"Let's just say that after we morphed into terrifying creatures and warned that lions and crocs and boas enjoy the taste of humans, I don't think we'll be seeing them again."
"Thank you, Fawn, for your most excellent report," said the council in unison.
Fawn nodded, patted Zoe's shoulder, and then retreated into the recesses of the cave.
The Prominent Prince said, "I believe our reason for convening has been satisfied." He glanced toward the shadows. "Does anyone watching have anything further to say?" No one spoke.
The Prominent One stood. "Davide, you and Zoe must leave soon to reach the beach before low tide. You can paraglide all the way there. Your father and mother will guide you. Before you leave, however, your great-grandmother and I would like to get to know you and Zoe better."
He started to turn away, but paused and laughed. "The wisdom of the Source is unfathomable. The rule of the Great Prince is not by force…it is by music." He continued laughing heartily as he walked into the shadows.