Is Ignorance Bliss? (A finished short story by Mo)

Maturity: I don’t think so… Wolfy quarrels?
Fantasy: Some would argue that wolves can’t talk or write. XD

Is Ignorance Bliss?

"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight

I watched him with envying eyes. Of course I loved him to death, he was like a father to me. But he just had so much… power. Everything I’ve ever wanted was at the base of his paws. He was the alpha of our wolf pack, but our wolf pack wasn’t just any. We ran this race; we were the wolves that all others came to. I guess I should have been satisfied with even being a part of the pack, but I honestly wasn’t.

Glore, that’s what we called him. It was short for Glorious, because the full name sounded too much like a female title. He had a stunning shade of honey-gold fur that was so fine, yet he always kept it groomed to the point where it was never matted. And his eyes, they were like no other wolf’s. A shade of blue, kind of like the afternoon sky.

He had looks, loyal followers; he was in control of the whole race. He really had the whole package. How couldn’t you envy someone like that?

And honestly, I was starting to get fed up with following his orders. I might not have had the same “glory” that he had or anything, but I wasn’t too bad myself. I mean, I was certainly better than Slash, his second-in-command. Slash was an amazing fighter, I guess, but he wasn’t as cunning as I was. If anyone deserved to take Glore’s place, it would have been me- not Slash. But I’m not here to tell you about Slash, I want to tell you about Glore.

Glore, Glore, Glore. That’s all the wolves cared about. They wanted his “almighty” and “wise” approval, when it should have been plain to everyone that he didn’t have what it took to be alpha. He was too compassionate. He tried to protect the wolves from the world, but I knew it wouldn’t last for long. He of all wolves should have known better. There’s so much evil in the world, and just because some of us don’t know about it doesn’t mean it will ever go away, you know?

I guess once upon a time, I wanted his approval too. I would have killed just for him to praise me. But those days are long gone now.

It all started on a regular day. I was mingling with the other wolves of the pack as Glore sat high atop his hill, sharing a hushed conversation with Slash. I don’t know why I decided to do it just then, it was like I acted on impulse. But something inside me just snapped when Glore and I made eye contact. I waltzed over to him immediately, pointedly glaring at Slash to go away.

“Whatever you want, Star, I’m sure Slash can stay here for it,” Glore said to me in his annoyingly smooth voice, with that endless patience that got on my nerves.

“No, I want him to leave,” I snapped, flashing dark eyes in the way of the second-in-command. To my surprise, he walked away without question. I was half-hoping I could get some fight out of him.

Glore sighed, “What is it you would like?” he asked.

“I want to know… What is it that makes you so much better than us?” I snarled. “I’m every bit as good as you, if not more!” My words rang out through the valley of the hushed wolves. They all watched me with wide, disbelieving eyes. I was being a fool: a narcissistic, power-hungry fool. Looking back, I regret it. Glore was really the only wolf I ever thought of as family. He was incredibly nice to me, and always reasonable… He didn’t deserve what I did. But, I had to do what I had to do in my fight to the top. After all, with no love and no pups, power was all I could have ever had. At least, I thought so.

“Star, how dare you speak to me that way!” he barked, his tone as harsh as I have ever heard it, but still somehow gentle.

Like the cocky male I was, I went on. “Oh, come on! You know I’m right! You’re just a softy. You keep half of our knowledge away from these wolves, just because you think it’ll hurt them, when it's the contrary!” I roared, “Or maybe you’re just selfish. Maybe you just want all the secrets to yourself.”

He narrowed his eyes and inside was a fire of some emotion I didn’t recognize ever coming from him. “You fool,” he snapped, “You have no idea what I have to go through to protect our race!”

I snorted, rolling my eyes. “You call hiding things from them ‘protecting'?” I asked incredulously, “It will only hurt them in the long run, Glore!”

He shook furiously, but didn't bother to explain himself. Instead, he snapped on me.“Star, get out. I’ve put up with your childish envy for long enough, and I don’t want you apart of this pack anymore. You poison us, that’s all you do,” he told me in a tone so cold I hardly recognized it as his own voice.

When I heard those words, I didn’t know what to do. I shouldn’t have expected anything less than an exile, but it still filled me with such dread and guilt, it was unbearable. But I still had my pride.

“Good,” I hissed, “I don’t want a part of this scheme of yours any longer.”

I was escorted out of the territory by two of my fellow wolves. I should have felt ashamed, but I was a very proud wolf. I don’t think I bowed my head through a second of my misery.

But I honestly didn’t have any need to be ashamed. I spoke my mind, and got kicked out for it. Glore and I had two very different minds. I believed that knowledge should have shared among all of the wolves, that they shouldn’t have been shrouded in ignorance for all of their existence. I also believed that the wolves shouldn’t have had to blindly follow our every move like they did, I thought that they should be able to think for themselves. But Glore thought the opposite. He was all about having to lead the way, about keeping the knowledge all to himself… Perhaps it was infact the best for the wolves, but what is the point of a life where you couldn’t do your own thing? Freedom’s such a beautiful thing, and I thought of Glore as selfish to take that away from them.

I would love to lead my loyal followers, to show them the way and shield them from all things bad. But, that wouldn’t be nearly as good for them as making them learn themselves would be. So I knew I had to find a way to show Glore this, to show him how he can improve the race.

Okay, okay. Maybe my actions weren’t as noble as I make them sound. I kind of wanted to see the wolves lose their security blanket of innocence and fail at the paws of Glore. Well, I really wanted it. I wanted him to be brought down, to lose his followers. So in the end, I think it was more hate than logic that drove me to complete my task.

Before I did such a thing, I gathered my own pack of exiled wolves to help me. I didn’t really need their help, I guess, but they were good to distract Glore while I went about my duty.

See, I had this brilliant plan. Not long after I left, Glore’s mate gave birth to two beautiful pups. The name of the female was Twilight and the name of the male was Dust. I planned on showing them what freedom was all about. I was manipulative, after all, and I was sure the young ones would hang on to every word I said.

My faithful minions distracted Glore’s pack by simply pacing around the territory. It made them nervous, and the wolves made sure to patrol day and night until the intruders finally left. The problem for them was that my boys never slept. So they made good use of themselves by tiring out all the guards for me.

When the coast was clear, I cautiously crept into the territory. Almost immediately, I found the two pups splashing around in a puddle by the border. It was my lucky day; I hadn’t expected to come across them so easily.

The male was a shade of dust brown, much suiting to his name. He had beautiful blue eyes like his father. His sister had a black coat very similar to my own and her eyes were a few tones darker than her brother’s.

“Well, hello there,” I said to the female in a velvety voice. Though she was young , I was hoping my good looks and charm would lure her in.

“Hi,” she yipped, wagging her tail and prancing over to me. “I’m Twilight! What’s your name?”

“Just call me Ess,” I replied, snapping up the name quickly. It was an old nickname, coming from the first letter of Star. If I had told her the whole name, she would have warned the others immediately.

Dust looked at me hesitantly, “Sis, I say we go back… He looks a little shady to me.”

And this was where I found the perfect opportunity. “What? Just because I don’t live with all the other wolves?”

“Well… That is a little odd,” Twilight said hesitantly in her honey-like voice, “I mean, we even let commoners live on our territory, even if they’re not officially apart of the pack…”

“Oh, but you see, I have something called ‘freedom’,” I told them with a sly grin.

Twilight seemed confused, but Dust was actually interested. “What does that mean?” he asked in awe.

“It means that you can do whatever you want, see what you want to see and learn what you want to learn,” I explained alluringly, "Without having to obey orders."

Dust began wagging his tail, “So… you mean, there’s more than this?”

I let out a chuckle, “Of course this is! Why spend your whole life doing nothing but following when you could go out there and be your own wolf?”

Twilight’s eyes sparkled as she watched me. “Could I… Could I get freedom too?”

“Twi, no!” Dust snapped. He cast a glance at me before saying in a whisper, “Father says that it’s best to let the pack protect us”

“But if he’s always protecting you, how could you make something of yourselves?” I pointed out.

Twilight took a step forward, ignoring her brother. “You have a wonderful point, Ess,” she said, “I want freedom too.”

I inwardly grinned. It was perfect. Everything had gone according to plan. “All you have to do is come with me, and I’ll show you freedom!”

Twilight was about to run over to me, but then she stopped unsurely. “Dust… Please, will you come along?”

“We can’t just leave dad,” Dust protested. But when she looked at him with those puppy eyes, he gave in.

I took them under my wing for a few days. I showed them the ways of living independently. I showed them how to hunt, how to find shelter, I showed them everything. Of course it wasn’t as great as they thought it would be; the world outside of the territory of the great pack, for whatever reason, isn’t as luxurious or beautiful. But soon, they forgot about that, and lead on more valuable lives than they ever would have before.

Glore wasn’t at all pleased. His children were exposed to the outside world, and now they had to deal with all sorts of problems. But in the end, I think he realized that I was right all along, because he set all of the other wolves free, too. He and the pack stayed of course, but the commoners went on to learn and grow just like his children had.

Though it might have been worth it to set the wolves free, I’m not sure if my decision was right after all. Glore will never love me again, and I can never regain the same power I had before. Also, all of the wolves, though I gave them so much, hate me for taking away their innocence. They think the knowledge I gave them hurt them, and in some ways it did, but I don’t exactly regret it. My only mistake was leaving my pack, but I had no choice. They would have never believed me otherwise.

But, I guess I’ll never be the good guy. I was at one point, but it's too late to turn back now. I realized that Glore’s a wonderful wolf after all, and I guess I'll never match up to him. My job is to rule over the exiles, and for now I I’ll have to be satisfied with that.

I've done what I wanted to do; I have my revenge and I accomplished my mission. So, until we meet again.

- Ess

Awesome job! Haha, I love the beginning quote. And this is just so . . . realistic. xD It just seemed like so much more than a lot of other animal stories I've read.

Thankies so much, Ado. :3

Hmm... interesting. I want to see what happens next though! It begs for a sequel.

Thankies! Unfortunately... I probably can't make a sequel. Because this, though my characters are all original (somewhat) and I twisted the plot a bit, is entirely based on something else. Not a book, really... But yeah. XD It's hard to explain it fully.

Awesome. I love the signature at the end.

Thank you, Ratty!! :3