Wingless [Complete]

Chapter 22: The Next Princess

My eyes fly open and I sit up. I look around bewildered. Everywhere I look I see trees. Unfamiliar trees. Why am I lying down and how did I get here? I start to panic think that everyone else has been eaten by the dragon. My breath starts to come in short gulps as I look back and forth into any direction that I can see. Either direction I only see the forest.

I try to scramble to my feet but a wave of exhaustion comes over me. I give up and sink back to the ground with a resigned sigh. My body was still shaking with fatigue. I could not move without collapsing every few minutes.

When my back hits the ground, I notice the temperature. The ground which I'm lying on is not covered in ice and snow but instead one covered in moss and grass. I knew, though, that Wasser was covered in ice and snow. So I just lay there, wondering where I was.

"Ah, so you're awake now." An unfamiliar voice muses.

I lay still and quiet as I hear footsteps crunching through leaves and sticks as it approaches. The feet stop a few inches away from me and the face comes into view.

There, towering above me stands a girl. She looks to be around my age. Her long, golden-blonde hair brushes across my face as she crouches down. She looks at me for an uncomfortable amount of time with her forest green eyes.

"Are you just going to lie there?" She finally asks.

"Yes." I snap back. "I am just going to lie on the ground and state at the sky above me for the rest of my life."

I see her lips twitch. "Alright, Rowena."

"How do you know who I am?" I wonder, curious.

"Well, for one, you friends did introduce you quite well." She chuckles. "Must say, you did quite an impressive job fighting off that dragon."

"You know so much about me, but I know nothing about you."

"I'm offended." She gasps, and then giggles. "Just kidding. But you should know who I am."

I just continue to look at her, confused.

"Alicia Cain."

She holds your her hand for me to shake. It takes a few seconds but soon I remember the significance of that name. Cain is the name of the royal family in Erde, land of the earth-fey. I quickly sit up and give her my hand.

This means that I have somehow ended up in Erde. Which explains the green trees, moss, and lack of snow. Erde was not hot like Fyria, but it was warmer than Aires and Wasser.

"Princess, I am glad to see that you are awake," Lucas says, coming out from the surrounding forest.

"So am I," I reply.

I do believe that Lucas Dalton just rolled his eyes. Another miracle. Well . . . sort of. He has always been exasperated with my sarcasm.

"I think everyone is." Lina laughs, appearing at Lucas's shoulder. "You are quite useless unconscious." She comes up to me and holds out her hand. "Come on, stand up."

I grasp her hand and she pulls me up. I stand up and Alicia follows suit. I just stand there for a moment, waiting for the dizziness from standing up so quickly to fade away. When it does, I notice that I'm still standing. In fact, I am now able to stand quite well.

"So . . . What do we do now?" I ask.

"What did you come here to do?" Alicia asks. "I am sure it was not to sleep. Unless, of course, it was. In which case, feel free."

"Oh, right, of course," I remember. "Could you take us to the palace?"

"Why?" Alicia asks.

"Because we have to talk to the King and Queen," Isabella says as she saunters out of the forest with Corrin and Kaylie trailing behind her.