Wingbeats

9: Lied to... Again

I woke up the morning after our arrival, Nox still fast asleep.

The room was quiet, even the birds weren't chirping their usual morning song of insane joy (I say insane because I have no idea how anyone can be that happy in the morning). Very slowly I rose from the mat we were sleeping on and made my way to the door where it opened without a sound from a nudge with my wing.

Two bright, obsidian eyes were staring back at me with a predatory darkness very much unlike the warmth Nox's black eyes held. My heart gave a tremendous leap at the sight of Zorro's brother Whyle, and I swallowed, feeling slightly embarrassed to be caught with bed mane and, at the same time, I felt rather uneasy about his presence too.

This guy was a prince, and here he was sitting outside of our door.

Not that he was an unpleasant sight or anything, to be honest I found him very attractive- which most likely meant all of our conversations were about to be very awkward- but still, it didn't feel right to me.

"Um, hi," I stared at him, wide eyed and shuffling hoof to hoof.

"Sleep well? Doesn't really matter," Whyle drew up his arched black neck "I'm here for The Black Stallion; Stenmark wants him."

My eyes narrowed. So that's what was going down. Listen here kidlet- I may be half your size, but my little brother? Touch a feather on his wings, and I will end you...

"Why do you need him?" I said it as coldly as I could, feeling far less uncomfortable now that the situation had turned confrontational.

I could deal with confrontation- it was the less aggressive emotions that put my brain into a deadlock of awkwardness.

"Stenmark didn't say, but I need him to come with me."

"No."

I think Whyle flinched.

At that precise moment, Nox stepped drowsily out of the little cabin and we were surrounded quickly by large, armored unicorns I hadn't even seen coming.

Yet again, more magic concealment.

"Angel, this is for his own good." Whyle pressed haughtily as the guards began pushing themselves between Nox and me.

I wasn't going to stand by when someone was threatening my little brother, and also very obviously asking for a beating.

I let out a blood curdling shriek as I rose to my hind legs, ears pinned, and the group struggled to contain me. My forelegs lashed out savagely, connecting with Whyle's horn with a thunderous CRACK! My hooves snapped it clean in half.

Whyle hadn't even seen it coming until the pain hit him and my limbs had collided once again upon the ground.

Hundreds of generations of horses and after all that time, NO ONE had yet learned to not piss off a mare. Yeesh, stallions these days- heads thicker than a block of iron.

"I will not stand for this!" Whyle reared up on his hind legs, kicking out and smashing his front hooves into my shoulder muscle.

I think he had expected me to fall, cowering away, but, if anything, the blow had only served to make me madder, more determined to show him what he was messing with. So instead, I lashed out with my massive wings.

They thwacked the intended target full throttle in the head and Whyle flung his shattered horn into my face, attempting to off balance me as I came back down. It was a stupid mistake; I used his lunge to bring myself down across his shoulders and neck, crashing him to the ground with a wild neigh.

I was winning, but unfortunately, Whyle's followers were surrounding us now, about to attack. In a last ditch effort, I shot both wings out at high speed, kicked hard with my hind legs. All three points connected, taking out three unicorns who fell over dazed. There were more than three guards though, and I found myself standing helplessly as I struggled to find Nox.

He was nowhere to be seen, whisked away while I had been beating the crap out of moronic unicorns. Guess who was the moron now, eh?

"Thought you could save him? Not at all sweetheart, females don't fight in this woodland." I whipped around to see Whyle disappearing into a nearby clump of ferns like some sort of secret agent.

"Nox!" I screamed, leaping after Whyle and my little brother only to be slammed into by a massive slab of muscled guard and knocked to the ground. My wings flapped wildly, attempting to free themselves and take to the sky, but I was crushed into the dirt by the weight of several armored unicorns. They pinned me with their horns and limbs, pushing to force me into silent submission.

I wasn't having any of it.

"Nox! No! Get off of me!" I thrashed powerfully, "Let me GO!" I probably would have kept fighting (or at least broken something in the struggle), but I felt a sharp pain plunge into the flesh between the crease of my wings and my withers. My gasp didn't really register, but the sudden lack of strength in my limbs did.

I knew what was happening from my days in the lab- I'd been nailed with a drug, or something of the like, that would knock me out. And sure enough, the shapes around me dimmed slowly, first fuzzy and then black, until I was unaware of the world and the guards holding my body to the dirt of the forest floor.