The Ghost Crown - FlashWing Chronicles

9 - Moonsong

My eyes seemed glued shut, my lungs contracting as I realized I couldn't breathe. A light shimmered from behind my eyelids, growing brighter and brighter as I sighed in defeat, relinquishing my life...

"Wake up!"

Shanti's talons flicked water at me, and I sat up with a groan. My wings felt like wet leaves, my body threatening to fade completely as my teeth chattered together violently. Shanti's voice split the calm. "Moonsong, where are we?"

My eyes opened fully, and I gasped.

I was...I was...

Not home.

We were in the middle of an ocean.

"Good thing I'm a SeaWing. I can breathe underwater." Shanti grumbled from her place on the rock. I couldn't stretch, the both of us taking up all the space on the small boulder that seemed to float in the middle of the ocean. The both of us and Crow.

"You." I glared at the huddled dark body, and Crow turned, glaring right back. "Get us back to the SkyWing kingdom now." he ordered, and I shoved my snout in his face. "Why don't you just fly back, SkyWing. I'm not in the mood to entertain your spoiled demands." I shoved him, and he flailed backwards into the water.

"SkyWings can't swim, Moonsong." Shanti actually looked concerned for the pathetic dragon, and I shrugged. "Then maybe he should learn."

A splash, and Crow's shivering body flopped back onto the rock. Shanti leapt out of the water with one graceful movement, and I watched her as she spread her wings to dry them in the fading sunlight. Copying her, I scanned the horizon, though I couldn't see any other islands for miles around. "So...none of us know where we are." Shanti spoke, and I nodded slowly. "Probably somewhere in between your island and mine." I said, flopping down as much as the rock allowed. "Moonsong, where do you even live?" Crow asked, and I sighed. "Yeah, we can keep any eye out for it." Shanti chimed in.

"My island is full of light." I gazed into the distance, watching the sun set. "We live in a hollowed out volcano, and my family's palace is in the center of it. During the day, we're allowed to go anywhere on the island. The beach, the sun-filled forests...I was taking my first Morpher lesson when the accident happened." I blinked hard. "Wow. Sounds beautiful." Shanti whispered from beside me, and I coughed out a small laugh. "Yeah." I agreed. "I wish I could have at least said a goodbye to my family before I die out here."

Shanti's eyes narrowed. "We're not dying here." she said firmly to me, grabbing me by my shoulders. "Okay?"

"Seems like it." Crow said, before Shanti kicked him. "I mean, yeah, we're totally going to survive. With no food, no fresh water..."

"Moonsong, can you do that thing again?" Shanti interrupted him. "What thing?" I asked, though I was pretty sure I knew what she was talking about.

"You know, that...teleportation." Shanti waved around to the water. "You got us here. Can you get us to your island? Or back to Pyrrhia?"

"It's called morphing, Shanti." I said. "But my abilities are weak. Especially now."

"Now? Why?" Crow raised his head, and I sighed. "It's night." I said, expecting them to nod and get it.

They didn't.

"FlashWings are weakest at night. We get our powers from light, and at night, there's less, you know, light." I explained, as if I was talking to a dragonet. "So while It's night, I'm going to go to sleep."

Shanti nodded, and I curled up tightly, trying not to touch Crow or Shanti. I didn't know either of them very well, and though I didn't want to leave myself vulnerable, my muscles needed to rest after morphing us to...here.

I deepened my breaths, closing my eyes and before I knew it, I was asleep.

Later, I woke up to the feeling of someone else's heartbeat on my back. Shanti had curled up next to me, her back to mine, her snout curled in a peaceful smile.

"So how long have you known each other?" Crow gazed down at me. I ruffled my wings, sitting up. "Not long." I admitted, soaking in the moon's light. "She saved my life though."

"What happened?" Crow's gaze traveled down my body, and I resisted the urge to turn away. "I didn't always look like this." I snapped him, and his eyes met mine. "There was an...accident."

"Oh." Crow turned away from me, so I couldn't glimpse his expression. I shrugged, raising my wing so that the moonlight shone through it. "It's okay, I guess. I mean..."

"What did your family think?" Crow said, and I stopped. "They..." I swallowed. What would they think of me? A monster? A deformity? A...mistake?

I shoved the feelings down. "They haven't seen me since the accident." I said eventually. "And I haven't seen them. That accident? That's the one that landed me in Pyrrhia."

Crow nodded in understanding, and it was strangely comforting, to talk about all that had happened. "You should go to sleep." I told him, noticing his eyes drooping. He nodded, casting one last glance at me, before flopping down. I turned back to the moon, focusing on the light that skipped off of the water, and wondered what would happen if I left right now. Or what would happen when I return.

Would she be welcomed?

Would she be executed?

I gritted my teeth, and dug a talon into my palm, spilling blood into the ocean below.

I swear, on the light of the sun, that I will protect her, no matter what happens.

It's the least I can do.

Maybe one day I'd end up regretting my vow. But for now...

I looked into the ocean, and the shimmering blood reflected my pale self, the moon's light wreathing my head.

For now, I could afford to pay my debt.