The Royal Knight Academy

Chapter 30: Hidden Pasts

When I opened my eyes, I was grasping onto the creature's white feathery body, barely hanging on. The thing shrieked again as I climbed up higher, wrapping my arms around its neck. Once I had a good grip, I gave its feathery neck a slight tug, forcing the creature to turn around. I couldn't believe I was flying on top of a giant bird's back through the sky above the clouds. However, after it changed position, it started to show it was mad that I was on its back. It flailed around relentlessly, not going anywhere I tried directing it to.

"Easy," I said, trying to calm it down.

Nothing I did worked. As the creature continued to fling me around, I saw that Elijah was still sitting on his broom.

"Hey! Elijah! I need a little help here!"

He just sat there, looking dazed.

"Come on!" I continued, petting the bird, still trying. "You need to jump! I can't get it to calm down! You're the last hope! If you don't help me, we will fail!"

He just sat there on his broomstick, tightly clutching onto it. He had the most petrified look on his face that I had ever seen.

And then, he blew.

"I CAN'T! I CAN'T DO IT! THIS WAS SUCH A STUPID IDEA! I SHOULDN'T HAVE TRIED TO BECOME A KNIGHT!"

I was stunned. He had never shouted at someone. He usually was so reserved.

"Then why did you come here in the first place!?"

"BECAUSE I'M NOT A COWARD!"

Startled at what he had just told me, I froze. He clearly just revealed something that he never dared to tell anyone else.

"I never said you were a coward," I politely said, feeling hurt. "But why did you come here if you didn't want to become a knight?"

"Because," Elijah started, embarrassed by what he was telling me.

He paused, showing me an expression of regret, trying to find the courage to continue.

"It's okay. You can tell me anything," I said to put him at ease.

He sighed, then started to speak again.

"Lots of people, even my family, thought I was scared of everything. They made fun of me for it, saying I would never amount to anything because of it. It really hurt me and I believed what they said. Then one day I got this idea in my head from someone and left to join the knight academy to prove that everyone was wrong about me."

"Who put the idea in your head?"

He murmured so quietly that I barely heard him say, "Owen did. I knew him long before the knight academy. His dad was very strict and expected Owen to be the best at everything. His dad had once been a high rank knight and Owen thought if he joined the academy and was the best, he would finally make his dad proud."

He took a deep breath. I gasped, never thinking that he would say that. I had never known about what their pasts were like before they had come to the knight academy.

"And I looked up to him for being courageous and wanting to show that he was a true knight, so I decided to do the same. Though sometimes I still think I'm a coward."

I looked into his face and could tell that he had been wanting to share that for a long time.

"But you are courageous. It's okay to be scared, but sometimes we need to face our fears even when it's hard. We are all capable of doing whatever we choose to do and no one should make you think otherwise. It was not a mistake to join."

I reached my hand out to him, whispering the words, "Just jump."

Elijah looked at my hand for a moment and then stood up shakily and steadied himself on his broom, took a deep breath as he grabbed my hand, and leaped.

As soon as he jumped off of his broomstick, he landed right atop the soft feathered back right in front of me, causing the creature to screech.

"I did it," he muttered in amazement when he landed. When the owl tried to fling us off again, Elijah gently patted its head and shushed it.

"It's okay. We're not here to hurt you. Can you please help us?" he quietly asked.

The bird suddenly calmed down, stopped flailing its body, and peacefully exhaled.

"You're pretty good with animals," I complimented.

He sheepishly grinned.

"Thank you," he quietly said. "For helping me."

"Anytime. Where to now?"

"Well...Wherever it takes us."

He petted the bird again, ever so slightly touching its feathers.

"Take us to the Cloud of Fate please," he directed.

It squawked like it understood as it started to vigorously flap its wings. Suddenly, it flew forwards at an incredible speed. We were soaring through the clear sky, riding atop the bird, facing the majestic sunrise over the pink and orange clouds.

"This is amazing!" I exclaimed, cheering happily.

We soared in the direction of the sunlight, admiring the free and wondrous sky as we traveled to find the purpose of our mission.

We had barely been flying over the cloud filled sky, when the three of us came to an abrupt halt. I looked around me and noticed that the enormous bird had landed right on top of a cloud, with a silver platform a few feet away that seemed to hover in the air. Taking the cue that it was where we needed to get off. I quickly slid down the bird's body as Elijah stayed on, informing me that he would keep the bird from flying away. I couldn't believe it, but I soon realized that I could stand on the cloud, my feet resting on the light airiness. I made my way over to the silver platform and stepped onto it, confused on how it was there and what it had to do with the Cloud of Fate. As I was standing in the middle of the platform, not knowing what to do next, it suddenly jerked straight up, going up higher into the air. It startled me as it continued to move, going faster and faster. Almost as fast as it started, it stopped and was still. I tilted my head high towards the sky, wondering what was happening. Then I saw something.

There was a lilac colored object, hovering just above my head with a light fog surrounding it. I outstretched my arm and grabbed it, immediately knowing what it was. I held it in both hands and stared at it in all of its beauty. Tiny little lightning bolts were flashing inside the softest thing I had ever felt in my life.

Staring once again at the magnificent rays of sunlight surrounding me, I proudly said out loud to myself, with the Cloud of Fate in hand, "Four down, one to go."