Clipped Wings

Chapter 1

How the hell did I let this happen...? One second, I was flying through the evening skies, enjoying the warm breeze on my face and the orange sunset, when these humans from below, no, monarchy officials, start yelling orders at some young men in formal red uniforms. The next thing I knew, weird nets shot at me and they sent me plummeting to the ground, tangled in one. The men in the red uniforms who were also wearing weird fluffy grey hats surrounded me, each frightened to death either by me or the ugly, fat monarchy officials still yelling orders... I tried to tear at the nets with my hands, but it only sliced at my flesh and caused my silver-coloured blood to spew out. I made out some of his British accent, but it wasn't good news for me...

"GET HIM IN THE CAGE! HE'S AN ENDANGERED SPECIES AND HE'S WORTH MILLIONS... DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE."

Three boys pinned me down, one on my neck, another on my arms and torso, and the last on my straining wings. I knew I shouldn't have flown over Buckingham Palace... I'd heard horror stories from my old handler about what these people would do to me, but I had been so relaxed that I didn't even notice the double-decker bus full of tourists stop to take photos of me. The boy holding my neck loosened when I struggled and coughed at my nose being rubbed against the ground. I knew enough English to get by, and the rasp in my throat must've rippled with anxiety because the other two boys also loosened.

"Hey... Please let me go! Those guys will hurt me!"

"They're going to help you... Hang tight, Avian... You'll be okay..."

But I wasn't... I would not be okay. Just because I had wings and feathers, it didn't give them the right to manhandle me... I tried again in my thick London accent, but it was useless. My old handler taught me all I knew in that London City apartment before she let me go to 'experience the world'. I still miss her so much... She'd taken me in as a fledgling after my mother abandoned me. She taught me to fly, to cook, to speak and to live like humans. I would have blended in with everyone else if it wasn't for my glossy wings and silver blood. I looked human in every way! (If you ignore the few blue feathers that grew in with my cinnamon-coloured hair)

Soon, an old-looking member of the Royal family walked over and stared down at my feathers. He wore a blue suit, had white hair, and a disgusting smile on his face. One boy, holding me down, spoke up.

"Your majesty, Prince Charles! He's learnt some English! He can speak!"

My silver eyes met his, and I shivered.

"You guys can get off him... He doesn't appear hostile..."

Suddenly, everything became a blur as lights flashed from every direction. Camera crews and media were all filming, some live. Next, an old women's voice sounded, and I came face to face with the Queen herself!

"Little one, have you got a name?"

I didn't dare speak in front of so many people. It was already a mistake to plead to the young soldiers. The man who stood beside me, some quoting him as the 'Prince', inched his hand closer to me as if I were some animal. I slammed my eyes shut as his hand stroked down my black and blue striped feathers and my bareback. It was violating. Feather touching was something only an Avian should allow. I hated every minute of him and the queen smiling at cameras and stroking me like their pet. I remained slumped, tangled in the net until all those media crews packed up and left.

I was only five when my handler found me abandoned. It was on Trafalgar Square with my wings matted with grime, my hair oily and my eyes lined with dark circles. I also had small silver scratches from a fight with one of the other kids who was teasing me. Then she appeared. Like an Angel in the middle of hell. (Hell being London's streets.) Her golden, curled ringlets shimmered in the sun and she wore a burgundy skirt and white shirt with a brown leather backpack. She ran over to me and at first seemed utterly confused to have found a five-year-old child laid on the side of a busy road, but seemed to understand as soon as she noticed my premature wings.