The Silver Tree (Spirit Animals Fanfiction)

Chapter 5

The Emperor could not sleep.

He lied awake in his four poster bed. He had red velvet sheets that blocked out any light from outside and pillows filled with the feathers from white swans. He had every comfort money could buy and yet sleep just would not come. His mind was racing with questions.

Who could have possibly taken his daughter? They had to have been a skilled thief to scale the entire tower without leaving a trace. Even if they could do that, what could they have to gain? The Emperor had been absent for several years during the wars and did not have any current enemies that would want his daughter as bait. Perhaps they wanted money for her return? But surely they would have already made their demands? It had already been a week. None of it made any sense. It was almost impossible to take her from the tower and there was no reason for anyone to do it anyway.

There was one more option which seemed the most likely even though the Emperor found it hard to admit to himself. There had been numerous disappearances all throughout the city over the past week or so, all of them children and young adults. The Emperor hadn't worried about it much. Kids came and went. He had told the people of Xin Kao Dai those exact words. Even though it wasn't much comfort, his words had seemed to calm the people. Until this happened.

Of course the Emperor loved his daughter and was worried about her, but his first priority as Emperor was his people. And they were panicking. Now they had proof that he had lied to them. Everyone in the city knew that Princess Song was too well behaved, too well trained, to leave on her own. Even the Emperor could not deny it. The people wanted answers and they wanted them now.

Even all the way up in his bedroom the Emperor could hear the faint shouts and cries as people tried to push their way passed the guards and into his castle. It must have been past midnight, but the waves of relentless people had been constant since yesterday when word got out. They would have broken down the door by now if not for his loyal Oathbound constantly holding them back.

The Emperor pushed these thoughts away. They would not do him any good now. He had to remember that there were Greencloaks searching all over Erdas for her and if she could be found, she would. The Emperor closed his eyes and forced his mind to go blank. The sounds of Oathbounds shouting and people screaming started to float away and he found himself drifting to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

Suddenly the Emperor was high in the sky, soaring on the wind. Confused, he looked to either side of him and found that he had grown two brown feathered wings. Looking down, he found that he had sharp talons sprouting from his three toed feet.

With a shock he realized he was a bird. He knew it must be a dream, but something about it felt so exhilarating. So real.

For a few moments the Emperor just enjoyed the thrill of dodging around clouds and basking in the sun. Of being so far beyond all his problems. But soon he began to feel a tugging toward the ground. He tried to brush it off, but the higher he flew the stronger it got until he found himself unwillingly diving to the ground.

As the buildings started to appear in his range of sight, he found that even from this far above he could make out little details like every separate tile on the roofs and where the houses were beginning to rust.

Spreading his wings, the Emperor slowed his dive and coasted down onto one of the rooftops, instinctively gripping on with his talons. Down below him there were streets zigzagging all around and masses of people rushing through them, going about their daily lives. Men were bustling off to work, women were doing the laundry, and kids were running about playing games. Even in the crowdedness of it all, everything seemed so... so normal. And it made the Emperor furious. These people were all living their annoyingly simply lives, blissfully unaware of the horror and panic that was sweeping through his city.