WingWard

Trumpets

"Cathie hurry up we're going to meet your stupid Counterpart."

"Mommy, what's a Counterpart ?"

"Well, a counterpart is a dragon that is tied to a human, kinda like how Mortsyks is always around that horrible King Dean, it should be beneath her to be concerned with such impermanent creatures."

"They're best friends!" She exclaimed

"I think you may require a different word, child, such a pity she used to be a decent Enternal before the war ended." Mother smiled with dagger teeth. "They came up with the whole pointless program to promote friendship between humans and dragons, but obviously that's not going to happen, not while I'm alive." She looked at little Cathie and her skin bled into black, like ink in water.

"Sooo... Who's my counterpart?" asked little Cathie, oblivious to her mothers transformation.

"Why on earth would I care," she hissed elongating her scaled neck and snapping her spine in two with a crack, allowing wings to emerge, a demonic butterfly from a black and bleeding chrysalis.

This isn't meant to happen.

The creature curled and broke its bones until it walked on four legs beneath the castle arch. But I had forgotten the plot of my nightmares and wasn't concerned, the monster was already here.

"How big are his wings?" Said the blissfully ignorant child, unaware that her mother had become a monster.

"I don't care about a silly grey dragon," the creature growled. "Time is sort, talk is wasteful,I want you to leave".

Little Cathie froze now finally aware of the demon in her presence.

"For now" it rumbled, then turned its attention elsewhere as the dream scape faded...

                                                        =*=

I awoke, the room was under a blanket of soft shadows in the early dawn, the calming twilight shades made me want to go back to sleep, but something told me I shouldn't.

Levarg was curled up on the floor like an overgrown grey cat.  He looked so peaceful as if there wasn't a worry nor trouble in the world.

Sunlight sifted into the room, as it rose in the east the sky slowly brightened into a brilliant, bewildering blue while warmth returned to the world to welcome another day of golden age for WingWard.

Yet, for all its beauty and grace, there are shadows in the world, even here.

I found myself unable to comprehend the exact details of my dream.

                                                             =*=

"I've doubled guards, l've sent scouts, I've sent messengers to find Hiptedeas, have we forgotten anything?" I muttered with worry. The King and I had been spending most of our time holed up in the castle great hall, with a cold fire pit eliminated by dying candle light only to be dulled by the gloom of worrying the two of us had exerted. The thought of Enacrasha returning had us both on edge, perhaps that's what he wanted, Enacrasha was sick that way. If he has truly returned did he even know we knew of his return to this troubled kingdom and that he no longer resided in the Ash Fields. I had no doubt it was he vanishing our people.

A hypothesis appeared, a little orange huff of smoke begging for attention, I did my best to ignore it. Hitpedaes might shed some clarity over the situation when he comes, if he comes.

"Who's Hiptedeas?" Mumbled Dean, he hadn't been sleeping much, you could tell it from the way his light arcs beamed lazily to the ground or the shadows that has sunk under his old eyes.

"The one who keeps going treasure hunting" I droned

"Not ringing a bell, Mortsyks" he grumbled

"The blue one, looks kind of like a small sea serpent with legs and wings" I sighed

Dean stared at me blankly.

"Nothing?, oh well I reintroduce you to him when he swims or flys back to WingWard, which should only take a few days" I said with slight frustration.

"Very well, and what of the survivors our dear dragoniod spy told us about"

"Oh yes, it seems I'm forgetting things now, we have to arrange something won't we" I hissed softly.
                                                             =*=

It was finally Tuesday, the encounter of presumed dragon-eyed kids and their twisted game could be put behind us. We spent hours hiding from shadows and running from our own echoes. It was quite humiliating when we realised they weren't trying to kill us anymore.

Levarg was surprised that he was not awoken by the sound of my screaming, and he continued to joyfully dance around the room in a chaotic manner. Until he realised we had to get ready for school, then he continued happily to bound down the stairs in a similar fashion... I'll never under stand his love for school.

I got changed and wrapped an orange piece of fabric around the unhealed wounds on my left arm, for once the blood was dry and not slowly seeping down my arm until it trickled off my fingers onto the floor.

I'm still not sure what to make of my dream, I'm sure my mother was there and a dragon, I think-

At that moment Levarg flew up the stairs like a startled chicken and crash landed into the door way. "Cathie! There's people at our door and they brought trumpets!" He shouted in panic.

I rushed to the door way shoving Levarg back onto the stairway and letting him tumble and bounce down, with an "ouch" at the end of every step as I followed after him. I could now see five people, four of which were dressed in red and orange, through the ellipse shaped glass pane embedded in the door.

Levarg was flopped on the floor groaning, wings out spread like a bird that had just hit a window, as I reached the first floor.

I opened the door in quick hast only to have blaring trumpets shoved in my face by a bunch of lunatics wearing the kingdoms colours.

The parted so that an equally annoying person could now be seen. The person was middle aged and wore frilly cloths and an equally ridiculous hat of a bright purple that made it hard to look at him.

"I am Markus Idol" said the man "perhaps you've heard of me?"

"Aren't you one of the advisors or something?" I asked, half hoping he would go away and take his trumpets with him.

"Well yes I am" said Markus "but apparently his majesty doesn't require much advising, so today I'm a herald. Honestly King Dean is getting fickle in his old age, I don't think he has even considered my suggestion to enforce a curfew" he sadly continued "and Eternal Mortsyks didn't think much of it either, she is just awful, I honestly think she hates advisors, she's had her eyes closed for our last few meetings, seriously her-

"WOULD YOU JUST GET TO THE PIONT" screeched Levarg from inside.

"Ah yes... The point" he said quite taken aback "well-

"The short version please" I cut in. The guards behind Markus where trying not to burst out laughing.

With a quick unamused look at the guards, he sighed and continued "Your presence is demanded at the castle" he droned halfheartedly.

"I didn't do it!" Streaked Levarg "Unless this is about skipping school or breaking into the arcane tower, then I did do it!"

"If it was that trifling simple, his majesty would've told me the reason" babbled Markus Idol loudly as make sure Levarg heard it.

The was a flapping of wings and swish of tail then Levarg bounded to my side.

"Good! now that your both here, would you please follow me to the castle." Said Markus in a singsong manor.