Of Spinning Gold and Song

| Two | The Quest

Someone was screaming. Someone was shoving. I could hear heavy breaths, heavy panting, heavy footsteps. I didn't care, all I cared about was getting to my sister. Now.

It didn't matter that I could see neither the dragon nor the girl in the sky. It didn't matter that the rain had become a drenching downpour where I could scarcely take one step without slipping and sliding around. It didn't matter that I had to shove my way through a crowd of pandemonium, and wasn't even sure where I was going anymore. All that mattered was no, no, no. There was no way this could be happening. It was all my fault; had I not set off this morning Rosie would still be safe and sound at home.

But I didn't think about that, I couldn't think about that. As long as I could keep running and chasing Rosie couldn't be gone. She couldn't be. Not Rosie, who was always so full of life, so full of magic and dreams. Not Rosie, the girl who was really the singing bird.

Vaguely, I was aware of someone shouting after me and calling out my name. Perhaps it wasn't fair to run from the person who was just as much of a parental to Rosie as I was, but I didn't care. I needed Rosie. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't.

It just couldn't.

Finally, I felt a hard yank on my arm. The sudden stop to my motion sent me skidding into a puddle of sorts, a mudbank of the filthiest sort. Crying out, both of us went tumbling down until I was lying splat on the ground, looking up through squinted eyes at the drenching haze as a feeling of filth overcame me.

It was foolish to think that this puddle was only now engulfing me in the wetness and misery considering I was already drenched to the bone- my hair and clothes were clinging to my raggedy figure like a second skin- but it was really true. For as the dirt and grime so unlike the strange purity of the water above overcame me, so did the feeling of failure. The stop to my motion was enough to ensure me that yes, yes this was happening. Yes, Rosie was gone. Taken by a dragon.

And nobody taken by a dragon ever came back.

Closing my eyes to it all offered no reprieve either. My black eyelids only offered vivid motion pictures of charred skin and chomped bones; it was all I could do not to cry out.

"Sparrow."

Bradyn's low voice was enough for me to force my eyes open. Looking into his and seeing that despair that I mirrored my own only worsened the angst I was feeling. If I could dissolve into a puddle of my own misery I would. And it would be far larger than the one we lay in at any rate.

"Sparrow stop. You need to get out of the rain." His voice was hoarse and choked, and listening to it made me dissolve into a fresh burst of tears. I hadn't realized I was crying until that moment. Now I had, I was only more miserable for it.

I wasn't a crier. I held the firm belief that crying never fixed anything, that it was a waste of time and you always felt worse after. There were so many things you could be doing instead of crying. Crying was weak.

It was stupid of me to think I wasn't weak.

"I need-" I gasped, "-to get my sister." Shivering, I struggled to my feet, ignoring Bradyn's hand when he offered it to me. Stumbling upright, I took one step and almost fell again, throwing my arms out wildly to stop the fall. My teeth were chattering so loud that I was sure they could be heard across town; my heart was racing even faster than the pelting drops of rain on their descent.

The events of the morning seemed so long ago. And in that moment, I wanted nothing more than to go back in time and force myself to not go out in the morning.

All of a sudden I felt myself being pressed into a strong figure. After a split second of panic, I realized that it was none other than Augustin and my heart relaxed. I let myself go limp in his embrace, relishing the feeling of safety he brought no matter how shallow a facade it really was.