Lotus

Chapter 37

I'd never been in the middle of a fight before. I'd certainly seen a few when I was younger, but my father never let me be closer to them than several of his stride lengths. Even then, it was hard for me to watch, because I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to be so awful to another dragon.

Being in the middle of it was another thing entirely. It was kind of like what I imagined quicksand to be like. So thick that you could barely move, with everything remotely close to you pulling you down and keeping you there. It somehow manages to get into your lungs, and no matter how hard you try to breathe, you just can't find quite enough air.

I moved slowly between the dragons, trying not to get stepped on or slashed accidentally. I was doing pretty well until a nearby MudWing flared his wings out, slamming forcefully into my side. I stumbled back, trying to regain my balance, but falling onto a SkyWing instead. They hissed at me and shoved me off, grazing my shoulder with their talons. Everything around me became a blur as I moved to the ground, curling up into a tight ball to be as little as possible.

After a few moments of sitting there, I felt someone come up behind me. They heaved me up off the ground and turned me to look at them. I felt a little better when I saw that it was Sienna.

"You okay?" 

I nodded, unsure if it would matter if I said anything else. She nodded back.

"Good. Let's go find Gemini, then."

We spent the next several minutes carefully searching the crowd, with few results. I tried my best to ignore the dark red liquid seeping into the mud beneath me, and the once lively dragons turned cold scattered around. The sick feeling gnawing at my insides started growing larger, making it hard to even walk. I started to wonder why it was so bad when I made it to what was probably the middle of the fight. It was a wonder that I didn't throw up then and there when I looked at who I had found.

It was Gemini and Cassiopeia. 

But one of them was dead.

I staggered my way over to them, with Sienna walking close behind me. The world started smearing the colors around me, and whether that was from tears or from lack of oxygen due to my shallow breathing, I don't know. I carefully sat down beside them, quietly feeling for the pulse of the one that I knew was already gone. Nothing.

The other sat frozen over them, tears streaming down their face. They paid no attention to the raging dragons around them, seemingly forgetting the battle. It looked like the battle had forgotten them, too.

After a moment, Sienna came over and pulled them into a tight hug. They started crying harder when she did so, and she did her best to help them try to keep themselves together. After a slight hesitation, I came up behind them and laid my talons gently on their shoulder.

I don't know how long we were there, but at some point, the crowd started peeling away from above us. MudWings from Queen Parnassia's royal guard started pushing everyone back and keeping them separate from one another. SkyWings sent by Queen Zodiac arrived a few moments later and did the same. 

All that happened next blurred together, from sending the fighting dragons back to their kingdoms and trying to clear as much of what was left as they could. I briefly saw what remained of Halcyon, but looked away, knowing I wouldn't be able to watch whatever they decided to do with his body.

The three of us still sat there, silently mourning, when a couple SkyWings came up to us. I recognized one of them. Virga, from when I was at the SkyWing palace. She looked tentatively between all of us, glancing briefly at the body in front of us. 

"Prince Gemini."

He slowly looked up at her, but didn't quite meet her eyes. He just nodded, then let go of Sienna and moved past me towards Virga.

"This shouldn't have...I'm…" Virga sighed, rubbing her arm. "Let's just get you back to the palace, okay?"

Gemini just nodded, and looked over at Cassiopeia's body. He shut his eyes tight and swallowed hard. After a deep breath he opened them again and spread out his wings. "I'll see you guys later," he choked out to us, his voice hoarse. He then took to the air, shakily flying back to the SkyWing Kingdom.

"I think it would be best if you two left now," said Virga quietly. "We'll take care of things here, and I don't think you want to deal with getting in trouble right now." She sent us a weak smile, and turned her attention to the SkyWing next to her.

Sienna looked at me. "She's right. We should go." I nodded, and followed her as she started flying back towards where her siblings were hiding. After thinking for a moment, I stopped midair, and looked in the other direction. Sienna noticed, and circled back around towards me. "What is it? Do you not have anywhere to go? You're welcome to stay with us, if you want."

"No, but thanks anyway. I...think I'm going to go home instead."

She smiled slightly at me, then nodded. "Okay. Stay safe, Kamala."

With that, I matched her smile, then turned and headed towards the Rainforest Kingdom.