Magic Wings

Chapter 1- The Kidnapping

"Umph," I muttered as I fell to the cold, hard ground yet again. I have been at this for the past hour with still no success. It felt like someone was shattering my hope to pieces.

Dhatri stood across from me, his arms folded firmly across his chest like they have been since my first few failed attempts. You could see his strong muscles in his arms and legs as he stood there assessing me. His shaggy brown hair hung loose around his head and tossed around in the wind, hiding his emerald green eyes that were for sure staring me down. His already tan skin had turned a slight shade darker from being in the sun for hours.

"Do it again," he commanded, his voice deep and sincere. Dhatri is a warrior like my father, although he was second in command which only added to my stress at the moment. Dhatri is also my fathers closest friend and agreed to help speed up my training. He is only five years older than me, by far the youngest warrior to hold a high ranking in all of our history. Fighting ran naturally in his blood. My father could get jealous of him sometimes but he also held a high respect for him. Dhatri was not only second in command, but his father is the King of the Earth Kingdom. Dhatri agreed to help my dad because it was an embarrassment for my father that I still hadn't developed my skills.

My muscles cried out as I forced myself up and brushed my scraped knees off. When I pulled my hands back up to my face, a hot red liquid slipped through my fingers. I was bleeding from all the times when my knees scraped the hard ground. Although it was coated in luscious grass, it did hardly anything to sooth the fall. Within a matter of seconds my wound was healed.

"I can't do it," I croaked out, my voice starting to betray me as tears settled in the corners of my eyes.

Dhatri's stare was unmoving. "Do it again," was all he said.

I clamped my teeth, stopping the fowl slur of words I wanted to unleash on him and turned to walk back up the pile of rocks again. Adrenaline pumped profusely through my veins at my determination not to fail this time. I had to do it at least once today or else Dhatri will think I'm a loser. Not that it matters, because he probably already does.

I took in a deep breath of the cool, refreshing air and closed my eyes, enjoying the peace. When I opened them, I hoped to find myself awake from a bad dream, but to my disappointment, I found myself in the training clearing still. I let out the breath in an aggravated sigh and concentrated on the way the leaves blew in the trees. Over head, two birds flew through the sky, making it look so effortless. I grunted in frustration. Here goes nothing.

I stepped to the edge of the rocks and my hands clamped shut in a tight fist. Think air currents. Soaring. I casted a quick glance at Dhatri, who hadn't moved from his stance and looked unphased at how long this whole process was taking me.

1,2,3! I squatted and then used all the force I could to push myself off the pile of rocks. The higher I get in the air, the more time I have to adjust to the air currents. For a moment I was suspended in the air, weightless. It was the most peaceful thing I had ever experienced. Until I hit the ground with a thud yet again.

I failed. Again. Tears welled up in my eyes but I pushed them away. I had to be strong. For a second I almost felt like laughing at how stupid this whole thing was but I knew that I would get scolded because flying is something to be taken very seriously in the Earth Kingdom.

"That's enough for one day. You father will be wanting your presence shortly. Night is on the horizon," Dhatri informed me, dropping his arms at his sides and walking over to stand by me as I still sat on the ground. He offered his hand and I gratefully accepted. Dhatri may be tough but that doesn't mean he isn't caring. He pulled me to my feet, which were starting to throb, and led the way out of the clearing and back into the forest where the village lies.