Fledging

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Five years later…

The clattering of hooves and wooden wheels of the carriages thundered against the cobble stoned streets of the bustling city.  Shouts of the drivers mingled in with the everyday sounds of city life.  I made my way through the crowded streets, weighed down by my burden of two water buckets.  Pushing through the crowed was difficult at best, being invisible except in instances where I would receive hateful or even disgusted glances if I happened to brush past someone.  Wide eyed children would be pulled aside by their mothers who would scold them for giving their attention to the slave beasts that us Pavox were.

Before I had begun to Fledge, I was considered low threat, especially considering my age at the time.  Now, since my once silver eyes had come into their true bright amber tone, I was considered more of a danger and was an object of abuse and ridicule now more than ever to these Aardelan.  Their real name in my language is Vroulk, Aardelan was more of a derogative term for them meaning ground walker.  The term was an insult because my kind, especially the southern tribe where I lived the first seven years of my life after hatching, held our ability to fly above all else, they looked down on all other creatures who were stuck to the ground for the duration of their miserable lives.  The creatures of course had a different name for themselves, it was human, an ugly word if you asked me, but much of their language was.

I finally made it back to Master Pearson’s manor with little time to spare.  The sun was at its peak and the heat was beginning to become a little too uncomfortable.  I tried to raise my wings above my head to block the sun’s relentless rays but was stopped too soon for my liking by the kettinx en boeiex, chains and cuffs encircling my wings which kept me grounded.  I walked over to the grouping of people who were laughing and enjoying themselves in the shade of the trees and for the ladies, the parasols that they carried with them.  I set down the two buckets on a table with dwindling refreshments for the master’s guests and family.

“About time,” A lady muttered angrily as she marched over to the table and pushed me out of the way to get at the water I had just brought.  She dipped her cup into the bucket and brought the liquid to her lips.  Her eyes widened and she turned her head just so that when she spit the warm water out it squirted all over my front, including the band around my neck that marked me as someone’s property.

“This water isn’t cold!” She screeched, taking a threatening step towards me “It isn’t enough for you that you had to take so damn long is it?  No you had to make sure it was nice and hot for us poor souls suffering out in this heat like beasts.  Perhaps you don’t know this already, but humans, us civilized beings that we are, do not like to be treated as animals, we need a decent reprieve from the scorching sun on such days, like cold, refreshing water!”  I saw the arm that held the cup of water move back and start towards me, I knew what was coming but didn’t move; knowing that evading the attack would only make things worse for me.

The warm water splashed against my face, dripping down my neck and soaking the thin shirt that I wore.  For good measure, the lady chucked the wooden mug at my head as a final thought.  The wooden cup bounced off the side of my head and fell with a clatter to the ground below.  The spot it hit pounded painfully as I could feel it start to rise from the strike.  I refrained from reaching up to inspect and nurse it knowing from experience that the less attention I drew to myself, the faster incidents like this were over.

“Myrtle, what’s wrong?”

Crap!  I winced and took a few steps back from the fuming lady as the master of the house ambled down the steps of his large house and through the lawn to his angry guest underneath the willow’s shade.