Flight of the Five Swans

Flight Chapter 12

The sun was just beginning to set when Petra felt it: a strange force pulled at her insides, steering her back towards the Deturian palace. For an instant, she was tempted to try to fight the feeling. She hated being controlled. But then her swan sisters all turned to face in the direction of the pull, and she rushed to keep up with them. The feeling got stronger the closer Petra and her sisters flew to the castle, leading her directly towards the lake on the palace grounds. From her lofty position soaring above them, she saw a number of guards surrounding the glassy water, clearing waiting for the swans to debark. Again, Petra hesitated. She was less than eager to fall into Soran's hands again. But at this close distance, the invisible force telling her to land became too strong to resist. She banked around and descended, her four swan sisters keeping pace with her on either side.

The splash as the swans hit the water was immense, drenching several of the guards standing nearest the pond. Petra felt a small surge of satisfaction at the sight of their now-dripping figures. The idiots deserved it.

Then the pain hit, driving all other thoughts from her head. A burning sensation surrounded her, as though her very feathers had caught fire. Her bones cracked and stretched, and Petra wanted to scream at the agony. She had broken her arm once as a child in an attempt to scale the castle wall back home; the pain she'd felt then was absolutely nothing compared to this.

And all of a sudden, it was over. Petra found herself on her hands and knees in the middle of the pond. She thanked fate that the water was shallower than she'd expected. While her entire body was now soaked up to her shoulders, at least her face was not underwater. She struggled to her feet, weighted down by the damp fabric of her borrowed dress.

Of her sisters, only Cliodne had been able to remain standing following the transformation from swan to human, and Petra resolved to discover her secret at the earliest convenience. Cliodne was helping Thaleia, pulling on her elbow to help her regain her feet. Callia was not yet trying to stand, but merely crawled through the murky water to reach the edge of the pond. Eurielle was on her hands and knees like Petra had been, and like Callia, she was not making an attempt to stand. The transformation seemed to have hit her the hardest of the sisters, and she was dry retching into the water.

"Out of the water!" one of the guards yelled. Petra looked up at him, and saw that the man who had spoken was one of those who had been caught in the impromptu shower. She also recognized him as having been among their escort early that morning. Sure enough, a black-and-blue bruise on the back of his hand marked him as a victim of their vicious beaks.

'I hope it was me who'd bit him.' Petra thought sourly.

Cliodne, ever the diplomat, called out to the guards in a reasonable voice. "We need help. She needs help." She pointed to where Eurielle still knelt. "They've never transformed before."

The guards looked at the youngest princess. Eurielle's face was still green, but she had stopped retching into the water. The same guard spoke again, and not a hint of pity could be heard in his voice.

"Then you help her out."

Growling internally, Petra sloshed in the water to reach her younger sister. She grabbed one of Eurielle's arms and Cliodne grabbed the other. Together, they lifted Eurielle to her feet. Petra put her sister's arm around her own neck to support her as they climbed out of the water. The other princesses were all able to stand without assistance, though Thaleia still seemed a little unsteady to be standing on human legs once more.

The guards fell in around the five sisters as they walked, shivering, across the palace yard. None of the princesses spoke until they had crossed the threshold of the castle doors.