Satiness

Chapter 16: The Talkative Owl

Chapter 16: The Talkative Owl

My heart raced. My first thought was: could this be someone who survived the fire or could it be someone working for the evil queen?

I grabbed Ally's hand and she held on tightly.

"Isn't there a way to get rid of the glow?" I whispered to her.

"No. I don't know how," she whispered back.

"Who goes down there?" The voice was louder this time. Whoever it was had come closer.

I peered into the darkness, trying to find the source, but had no luck. The voice sounded again, this time to our immediate right, making us jump. I heard screaming, and wasn't sure if it had come from me or the girls.

I turned slowly to my right. It was like being in a horror movie. My heart skipped a beat as my eyes caught the sight of a jet black owl.

Its blue eyes were glowing in the dim light of Ally's hair. I was confused at first but then the voice same again. If I hadn't seen the owl's beak move with it, I probably wouldn't have believed it. The owl hooted and then spoke.

"I said," the owl said, glaring angrily, "who goes?"

I stood frozen in my spot. A talking owl, really? How much weirder could this place get?

"I-I'm Lulu," I managed to stutter out. "And these are my friends. Ally, Minah and Satiness..." I trailed off, point to each of the girls as I spoke.

The owl focused it's piercing gaze at my eyes, as if looking through them. Then it's own eyes grew wider, as if in recognition.

"You," it hooted in excitement. "I know you! It has to be you! I would know those eyes anywhere. It's you!"

I pointed at my chest. "Me?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah, you. You," the owl repeated, "I know you. I'm sure of it. I know you."

I was stumped. How could this owl know me? I think if I came across a talking owl, I'd remember it. Besides, this was only my second day in this world. There was no way this owl had seen me before! I guess I had wondered the question too early; this place had just become ten times weirder.

"You. I know you," the owl hooted again. "I must tell the princess!"

I raised an eyebrow. Princess? Could this mean—

"Breeze!" it hooted, very loudly this time.

Wait. What?

"Did you just say Breeze?" Ally spoke my mind, helping me snap out of my surprise.

The owl nodded. "Yes. Yes, I did. Breeze is a wonderful girl," it hooted happily, "she feeds Blackfeather."

"Blackfeather?" Ally asked, confused.

"Yes, that is my name," it replied proudly. "My name is Blackfeather."

"Mr Blackfeather?" I asked.

The owl turned to me. "Yes. Blackfeather likes you. You are definitely you."

I had no idea what that could possibly mean, but I nodded and went along with it.

"Of course, I am me. We are friends with Breeze. Could you lead us to her, please?" I asked softly.

Black Feather hooted with joy. "Of course! Blackfeather does anything for princesses."

Blackfeather turned and took off into the air. "Follow Blackfeather, new friends," it called back at us.

I turned to the other girls and shrugged. "What have we got to lose?" I asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Our lives, maybe?" Minah said dramatically. We all chuckled, and then followed Blackfeather at a run. 

The owl flew deeper into the city. We passed so many burnt buildings and destroyed homes, it made me sad. I still wished I could help restore this place.

Perhaps I was right and Breeze really was a part of this world. But I couldn't get my hopes up. I didn't want to have them crushed again. I kept running after Blackfeather until he flew in through the doors of a castle.

I stopped short at the front stairs. I wasn't the only one. All four of us stood in a line, looking up at the majestic castle in awe.

"Woah!" Ally exclaimed softly before growing visibly excited. "I was right, I was right! I have to be right. It's a castle. No stories except the fairy ones mentioned a castle. The only person that has one now is the evil queen. How could she destroy something so beautiful?" she finished angrily. Her hands had balled into fists and were shaking. That was the first time I saw Ally get so mad. I had taken her to be the cheerful one. This was surprising.

"I've been asking myself the same question since I found this place," a voice sounded in front of us. I looked away from admiring the structure, and gasped. It was Breeze!

She was wearing a different cloak from her usual. A flower crown circled her head. She looked like a princess.

Ally squealed, ran up the stairs and hugged the life out of Breeze. Breeze laughed and hugged her back. "I've missed you too," she said, looking at each of us in turn, "but why are you guys here? And why is Lulu still here?"

We all climbed the stairs so that we were all at the same height as Breeze.

"The queen stole my powers," Satiness said and looked down at her feet.

Not another word needed to be spoken. Breeze placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled softly. "That's okay. We will get them back," Breeze said determinedly.
Satiness nodded. I was still staring at Breeze. She could very well be a princess. Breeze turned to me and noticed I was staring. She shook her head, as if reading my mind. "I'm not a fairy. I think I would know," she said softly.

"B-but–" I couldn't get any words out.

Breeze chuckled. She turned, took a few steps away from us and dropped her cloak, so that we could see her back. Where wings would be on a fairy, there were none on Breeze.

I had been trying so hard to make her out to be a fairy in my mind that I had almost convinced myself she wore the cloak to hide her wings. I now realized I was sadly mistaken.

Breeze turned around and picked up the cloak. "See? No wings. For some time I wondered about it too. Then I read the books and saw the paintings. I'm not a fairy. I would have had wings if I were. Although, I still don't know who I really am..." she trailed off, sounding morose.

I felt sorry for her. To live a life without any memory of belonging somewhere must suck.

Breeze nodded. "Indeed, it does."

She put the cloak back on. "Now, we need to come up with a plan to—"

Breeze was cut of by a sudden explosion. Her eyes widened in alarm, "it's too late; they've found us!"