The Princess's Feathers

The shadows of the grove extend past the hollow, long and slender needles straining to puncture the horizon. The sun is low, and the sky is turning to dusk. Calypso promised Duncan we'd be back by five — I don’t need a pocket watch to tell me it’s well past that.

We never checked in at the airship. Duncan is coming to find us, and he’s bringing the guard with him. And when they get here, they’ll… No no no, he can’t see me like this!! What is he going to think when he sees all this blood, all the bodies, and, and…?

I run the top of my claws against the feathers of my muzzle. They turn red from Starla’s blood, still staining the sides.

A hollow full of bodies, one partially consumed, and a Dragon covered in blood. What conclusion would you come to?

I have to get away. I need to escape from the weald as fast as possible and figure out a new plan somewhere else. I have to learn how to fly and learn it right now!

But… Calypso. I silence all the senses screaming at me to flee and force myself to look down onto his restful body for the last time. As gently as my new form will allow it, I lower my neck and rub my muzzle into his flank to take in his scent. I close my eyes and imprint it onto my soul; this will be the last time I know it.

“Thank you… friend.”

I lope over the bramble patch and scramble into the field beside the hollow. My wings open, allowing me to better sample the breeze blowing across the prairie. The lingering daylight has caused the wind to die down considerably, it blows so little now as to hardly ruffle my feathers. Is this going to be enough wind to take off?

I turn back in the direction I came from. Any second now, Duncan and the guard are going to walk out of the tree line at the top of the hollow. I still have time to figure this out, but precious little of it.

Taking deep breaths to slow my racing heart, I attempt to conjure the scant memories I have of Avians taking off at the palace. They rarely visit us, as there are only enough Avian knights in the whole of Ellyntide for a single order. What was it they did that allowed them to defy gravity and soar through the skies?

A memory comes into view. The other day, mom summoned a Secretary Bird to the palace to help with the Melicola border dispute. I was in the garden on my volunteer shift as she was leaving and watched her take off. She bent her skinny yellow legs, lowering her entire body to the ground with her wings stretched outwards. Then with a spring of her legs, she thrusted skyward, raising her wings high and flapping them down hard. Before I knew it, she was in the air and flying away from the palace.

Her technique seemed simple enough: jump in the air, flap wings, fly away. I have the body and the wings to do it, so it should be easy for me too, right?

I lower myself close to the ground, low enough that my chest feathers are scraping the tips of the grass. With my wings extended outwards as far as they’ll go, I just need to wait for the right moment when the breeze picks up. I’ll mimic what the Secretary did and hope for the best.

I wait in silence as the wind blows gently against me. The only noise is the sound of my heart thumping against my chest.

Not yet…

…

Now!

I leap, pointing my wings straight to the sky before flapping them down hard. But instead of achieving lift, gravity wins. I return to the moon with a loud thud.

THOOM!

The prairie rumbles, scaring a flock of birds that had roosted after my earlier outburst. Misjudging just how far I lept, I have to scramble my legs to keep myself upright.

Oh, man. I’m not sure if Duncan was close enough to hear me talking to Calypso earlier, but he definitely heard me crashing. If he wasn’t already hustling with the guard to make sure me and Calypso were safe, he is now.

I’ve got to keep trying until I get it right! Even if Duncan sees me now, I still have to escape! I crouch and close my eyes, focusing all my attention on judging the wind. I have to time it perfectly when the wind is at its strongest, otherwise, I won't achieve lift, and I won’t take off.

I wait again… and jump!

…And crash a second time. The ground reverberates once more.

This is bad. This is really bad. What if there isn’t enough wind right for a creature as big as me to take off? How am I supposed to escape?

I could take off running, but the grove is at the top of a ridge. No matter which direction I turn, they’ll see me before I can get to a safe distance. If I had more time I might be able to do it, but they’re far too close now.

Could I be in the wrong place to take off? I scan my immediate surroundings to see if there’s any rise in elevation that could give me an advantage at catching the wind, but the ground here is smooth and low. The only perceptible difference on the prairie is the boundary where the shadows cast the trees end, giving way to the light of the setting sun.

…Wait a second.

Light and shadow. Warm and cold.

I follow the path created for me by warm updrafts.

The reading of scripture from this morning’s communion resurfaces in my head. The bishop was telling the story of ascendance, the one where the Avian was hesitant about the God of Creation’s gift.

‘The path created for me by warm updrafts’… Could that be some sort of clue to how birds fly? The heat from the sun? Now that I think about it, didn’t I just notice that the wind had died down from earlier this afternoon when the sun was still high?

I run to where the shadows end a few yards downwind, feeling my feathers warm under the light of the lowering sun. A breeze picks up, stronger than before, carrying with it the fresh scents of rabbit and maple. Duncan is traveling through the grove at this very moment, and soon he will emerge on the other side where the hollow is. I won’t have another chance at taking off before he gets here. I have to make this attempt count!

My body lowers until it’s almost touching the ground, and my wingtips extend as far as my muscles will allow. Another breeze blows, stronger than anything I felt in shadow, but I hold my stance, trying to be patient for the right moment. I’ve got to make this attempt count and give it everything I’ve got.

I wait… and a gust from behind ruffles my feathers.

Now!!

I thrust skyward, straining with all my might to get off the ground. When my wings bottom out, I heave the back half of my body upwards, pushing my forelegs back behind me until they’re touching the bottom of my tail.

My body floats.

I raise my wings and repeat the locomotion. Instead of floating, I feel lift. I flap them again, slowly rising higher and higher still with each gargantuan beat. An updraft from below ruffles my underside, pushing me upwards and making my ascent easier. I peer down and watch as the ground below grows farther and farther away.

I’m doing it!! I can’t believe it!! I’m flying!!!

Despite my boost from below, I flap my wings harder, trying to gain altitude and speed to make as hasty an exit as possible. Was I able to escape in time?

I crane my neck in the direction of the trees. At the ridge that overlooks the hollow was a group of animals staring back at me, four of them clad in the armor the palace guard wears, and the fifth in a plain black waistcoat. Despite the growing distance between us, I could make out terror in their expressions.

“I’m sorry!”