Flying For Freedom

Chapter Eleven (Finding Answers)

I go to Bluescold after I wake up. She's sitting near the flying area. She looks up when I mutter a greeting.

"Want to practice flying?"

"No, I have an important thing to discuss. I have a question. Will you come with me?" She looks at me with a curious face.

"Sure. Where do you want to talk?" I ponder for a minute. She waits for a moment, then adds, "Why do we have to talk about it in secret?"

"I don't know if your dad would approve of me trying to find out. Stormbreaker mentioned something while he was arguing with Redburn." She nods, as if she has an idea what I'm going to ask.

"Redburn will tell you when he thinks you're ready. If you want to know, ask him."

"Is it about me?" I ask, trying to get just a little information from Bluescold, but she doesn't budge.

"Just ask." With the conversation over, she walks away.

I head towards Redburn's cave. Maybe he'll think I'm ready to know. Since when was there a secret that I couldn't know? They've shown me everything. From where to find food, to family secrets no one else is aware of, Redburn has told me everything.

"When you were," I pause, "Talking to Stormbreaker. He mentioned someone named Mulvia. Will you tell me who that is?" He looks a little guilty, as if he is hiding something.

"It is part of a secret closely guarded by our tribe. No dragon knows it. They haven't even been aware that there was a secret for centuries. I believe you will soon be informed. For now, you must wait." Well there's some information. What sort of secret is unknown to the dragons for centuries.

"No one in my father's kingdom knows the secret." That's crazy. Nothing escapes the ears of the dragons. We're everywhere.

"Actually, I believe there may be one who knows the secret. It was written down long ago, by a dragon named Leo. If he passed it down, I don't know. But he knew." The name stirs something in my mind. I've heard it before. "You will understand soon, Flame. I do not wish to change your opinion of me. Now go, I believe that it is time for you to train." He's right, I must go now.

"Thank you for telling me that. I will not say anything of it to my family and friends. It sounds like a secret you intend to keep."

"Thank you for that, but I believe the world needs less secrets. You are the one I believe can show them to the world." I wonder nervously if I can handle that kind of responsibility.

"Then I will show them." I turn and leave to try flying again.

I can fly smoothly over short distances now, managing over a minute. Soon, I'll fly to the stars and back. Claw will be so mad that I beat the record and she didn't. After doing the rest of the subjects, I head towards the forest. Something draws me towards it. I wander around for a while.

Without the noise from the pegasi, I notice other things. The trees bend and sway in the wind. They make loud creaking noises, like an old dragon's knee. Millions of birds chirp at once, making a song that moves my heart.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" A voice says behind me. A figure I've never seen before is standing behind me. She is standing on two legs, the other two hanging on the sides of her upright body. I can't tell exactly how old she is, as I can do with dragons, but she's old. The light in her eyes shows wisdom I would never comprehend.

"Who are you," I ask her cautiously. She laughs.

"I believe you know who I am, Flame." How does she know my name? She must have powers, otherwise she would not have been able to sneak up on a dragon. We have powerful ears that can hear a leaf fall from a mile away if one of us wanted to try.

"I do not know who you are." Why would I know who she is?

"Your future is troubled. There will be death, and there will be love. You are destined to become great, or fall. There is no simple life ahead of you." I want to tell her that I have know clue what she means. I don't know who she is and I have no idea what this riddle is. Is she telling me about the future? Only the speakers and Flame could do that, and they're both gone. "Live well, young one." She walks away before I can even think about following.

I stare at the trees for a long time. I want to shout to their tops about my confusion. Who is this mysterious being? She isn't like any monster I've seen. In fact, any monster would have tried to kill me, and they don't know our language. It is easy to tell that she is no pegasus or dragon.

"At least I got some answers today." I grumble the words softly. But I know I got more questions than I did answers.