Book One: Lost and Found: An Angry Birds Fanfic

Chapter Ten: Draven

It was a few weeks after the war with the birds and the pigs. Most of the birds of Poldras Island were left on the island, while others were taken captive and put on prison islands.
Birds like me.
It was a gray and bleak early morning, way before the sun was fully up. The moon was still hung in the sky, but faded more each minute. I stopped and stared up at it.
It was the best thing I've seen in weeks.
"Keep moving!" A pig yelled at me as he pushed me, making me knock over a bird.
The bird cursed at me as he got up and walked away.
"Sorry," I mumbled, my eyes downcast on the muddy trail.
I was nine years old, mining for metals for the pigs. They had taken us birds to do their dirty work and serve them.
They also wanted us for our intelligence. The pigs' inventions were from us. The planes, the cars, the dynamite, all of it was initially ours.
But they stole it.
We walked from the barracks and to the mines, which was horrible due to the muddy paths. Just about all of us were slipping and falling.
"How much longer until we go home?" I asked an older bird, an eagle actually. He was much bigger than me, and was no more than about twenty years old.
"Kid, I'm gonna have to be honest with ya," the bird starts. "But I don't think we'll be ever going home."
"I don't understand," was my only response. Confusion took over my tiredness and aching body.
He sighs.
"We're a part of King Mudbeard the First's plan."
"But I thought he was killed and when a king is dead, doesn't that mean their plans are dead too?" I asked.
"Oh he's dead alright, but he has a son who'll finish carrying out his plan," the eagle explains. "Or at least I think that'll happen."
"What exactly is the plan?" I ask with wide, curious eyes. From what I know, the pigs just used us to discover resources.
"You're too young to understand," he responds.
"Oh," I sigh.
The eagle continued talking on a different subject.
"So kid, what's your name?" He asked me.
"Draven," I told him, my eyes still focused on the ground below me.
"Well, nice to meet you Draven, I'm Mighty," he introduced himself.
"Nice name," I answered him.
We continued to walk, the sound of chains clicking fill the air.
"I have a plan to get all of us out of here," Mighty started quietly. "I'll fly to some neighboring island and get some aid and backup to get the rest of you," he explained as he looked around, making sure that no pigs were suspicious.
"Wait, you can fly?" I ask loudly. Mighty clapped his wing over my beak.
"Quiet kid! They'll hear you," he quietly hissed.
Surprisingly, no pig heard us.
Mighty sighed and pulled his wing away.
"So when are you leaving?" I questioned as quietly as I could.
"As soon as possible," he answered back.
I just nodded my head as we passed a few pigs.
"Alright you bird filth, get to work! You're running late!" A fat, stout pig demanded of us.
"Ah, pluck off old chap!" Mighty spat at the pig.
My eyes widened at what Mighty said, but I kept my head down and kept myself quiet.
We continued walking in the direction of the tiresome and gruesome labor, the number of days left to remain on this prison island were left unknown.
"Get up!" A pig shouts in my face as he brutally shakes me.
"Huh, what?" I sit straight up, head butting the pig that's screaming in my face.
He snorts out of pain.
"I swear I will turn you into-," the pig starts to threaten as he holds up a fist but is cutoff by Mudbeard.
"There's no need for that Hedge, he's on our side now," Mudbeard calmly tells the pig. Hedge grunts and walks out of the cell full of cages to stand next to Mudbeard in the doorway. All of the cages are empty, except mine of course.
Despite my little time of sleep, I actually feel awake.
Maybe it's because I was startled awake.
Instead of the usual rocking of the boat, everything stood still.
"We're on one of my islands," Mudbeard explains bluntly, as if he had read my mind. "Actually, it's the prison island you were once on."
Well, that's explains the dream...
Or memory.
I don't say anything.
"So, Draven, that deal you were thinking on last night," the king starts. "Which really isn't a deal, but still."
What deal?
Then I remember.
Pluck!
That may also be why I'm awake.
I want to pluck myself for forgetting. I got so caught up with thinking about Crimson, and now here I am looking like an idiot.
I open my mouth, but no words come out.
Mudbeard sighs as he watches me struggle.
"You know, breakfast would do you some good," he says as he claps his hooves. "Chef!"
"Breakfast?" I'm confused.
Why would he give me breakfast? I'm about to ask Mudbeard why he is giving me breakfast, but a small pig with a tall, white chef's hat comes into view.
"Yes, your majesty?" The pig bows, taking the hat off his head.
"Get two breakfast meals prepared," Mudbeard orders.
"Yes sir," Chef answers. He puts his hat back on and walks out to the kitchen.
"Why are you being so, kind, to me?" I demand. The pigs aren't nice. They weren't ever nice. They chained me and other birds to each other, and forced us to their work while they all just sat around, watching us struggle. Irritation rises in me, but I'm somehow preventing myself from lashing out on him.
"What? I can't help a friend out?" Mudbeard says sympathetically as forces a frown upon his face.
Friend...
That's it.
My anger snaps.
"We are not friends! We've never been friends! How could you even consider that after everything that happened after the war? You killed my island's future king! Heck you and your father forced my friends and I to do work that you could've done yourself!" I yell, on the verge of screaming.
He just stands there, eyes narrowed with a smirk on his face. I go to lunge at him, only to be pulled down to the floor. He doesn't even flinch.
Despite my anger, I'm still confused. I look back and I realize that my leg is chained to a bar of the cage.
No, no, no.
I start to pull on the chain, hoping there's a loose link.
There isn't one.
"Well I figured that chain was going to come handy sometime soon," Mudbeard confesses, still smirking.
I stop pulling on the chain and I sit up and glare at him.
But he doesn't give me a chance to say a single word.
"Now that I think about it, from what you told me and what happened with my father and your friends," he says thoughtfully as he starts to slowly pace the concrete floor, his hooves clicking with each step.
"This seems like a repeat of your past," Mudbeard states in a manner of total oblivion of the past events. I clench my fists, my teeth grinding against each other. With each click of his hooves, my irritation rises, along with my blood pressure.
"Actually, this cell and these cages represent your past, if you think about it," he continues.
What does he mean?
"What are you getting at?" I demand loudly, my voice echoing in the cell.
"Well, look around. Dark cell, empty cages, one specific cage bar, the chain, does it all mean anything to you?" he asks as if the answer should be totally obvious.
"It's nothing but hell to me," I tell him angrily.
Mudbeard goes to say something, but stops himself because the chef pig comes back.
"Your breakfast is ready, sir," the small pig bows, again.
"Thank you, Chef," Mudbeard responds. The chef pig walks out once more.
"Maybe that's something you can figure out for yourself, but as of right now, it's time to eat," he tells me. "Hedge." Mudbeard nods at the pig beside him.
The stout pig waddles over to me with a set of keys and starts sticking a bunch of them randomly in the lock.
"Nope that's not it. This one isn't either. Maybe it's this one," Hedge grumbles to himself as he struggles with the keys. I sit in total frustration as I continue to glare up at Mudbeard.
How dare he calls us friends! He's the last person I'd wanna be friends with. He's the reason I lost everything. He's the reason why I lost Crimson.
I hear a click as I feel weight being pulled away from my leg.
"A hah!" Hedge exclaims successfully as he holds up the key.
"You better mark it, it'd make your life a little easier," Mudbeard informs him as he rolls his eyes.
"I know," the pig replies as he walks away from me. I stand up and stretch my leg before walking out.
"Hmmm, last time I remembered you were limping," Mudbeard recalls as he waits for me.
"Well this ain't last time," I snap at him as I walk past him. I make a left, not stopping.
"You're going the wrong way! The dining room is to the right!" Mudbeard calls out to me.
A flash of irritation runs through me as I turn around and stare straight ahead, past Mudbeard and the cage-filled cell.
"I knew that," I growl at the king as I stomp past him.
• • •
Red, velvet chairs surround a nicely polished, long wooden table. Sunlight penetrates through the large windows on both sides.
Well the pigs have certainly upgraded since the last time I've been here.
I've also never gotten past the mining gates, so this all might've been here before.
Mudbeard sits at one end and I sit at the other, a large space between us, which I am thankful for. Stone walls surround us while eat, along with a few pigs running in and out every so often.
I wanna kill myself now.
I can't believe I'm actually doing this.
I'm sitting here, with the king, who happens to be the same guy that took everything from me. And from what I've picked up on so far, he seems totally fine with this.
I'm not.
Eating breakfast with an enemy is practically illegal in my opinion, unless if it's peace treaty. If a peace treaty was being signed, then it could be reasoned.
But this isn't a peace treaty.
I sit here, looking over my options.
Fruit and vegetable platters, bowls of different kinds of nuts, pineapple juice, and cupcakes.
Cupcakes?
Who the pluck eats cupcakes for breakfast?
Obviously the pigs do. It's probably the reason why they're so fat. No bird would try and deny that.
"You're not eating," Mudbeard states as he shoves a whole platter of cupcakes in his mouth. "Don't worry, they're vegan cupcakes of course."
A shiver of disgust runs down my spine.
I can't imagine if they weren't vegan cupcakes...
"Lost in thought," I reply as I pick up an apple and bite into it. I feel something squirming in my mouth.
A worm.
Okay, so maybe there is some good to this breakfast, but that's it.
"You eat worms?" Mudbeard gasps in disgust as I swallow the wriggling creature.
"Yes, in fact I do. Why? You got a problem with that?" I challenge him. With the apple still in my hand, I clench my fists out of anger, crushing the barely eaten apple.
Mudbeard stops eating and fear spreads across his face, but he quickly recovers and turns the situation into a joke.
"Your anger amuses me," Mudbeard confesses as he picks up his glass of pineapple juice. He drinks the whole thing in one gulp.
I stare at him in pure distaste.
How much does this guy eat?
Something tells me that I don't want the answer to my question.
He slams the cup down.
"Ross! I need more to drink!" Mudbeard calls out. I hear the sound of rushing hooves clacking against the wooden floors.
Out of breath, Ross approaches the king, who hands him the glass and shoos the small pig away. Ross sighs and leaves to get more pineapple juice.
I can't help but feel sympathetic towards the much smaller pig.
Geez poor guy.
I've seen Ross a lot in my past, but this is probably about the second time I've seen him since I've been recaptured.
I actually felt bad for him, I mean, he gets pushed and ordered around, only being of good use only when he's needed. He was actually one of the first pigs I've met when I was first here, and I sorta became friends with him.
"So back to the main focus," Mudbeard says as he leans back in his chair, arms crossed. "The deal."
I sigh.
"It isn't even much of deal," I point out to him.
"Whatever. Anyways, remember, not only will you get a lifetime of money, but you'll also get your Crimson back," Mudbeard informs me.
Lifetime of money...
No, I don't want the money.
But I'll get Crimson back.
My Crimson.
He's bribing me. I lied to her, I hurt her, I lost her. She even said so.
She gives every bird a second chance though, so there may be a possibility...
That's just who she is, an understanding bird.
But I still don't like my decision, even though I really don't have a choice.
It's better than having money but no Crimson.
"I'll do it," I grumble.
"What was that?" Mudbeard asks, only asking for me to say those words again.
"I'll do it," I snap at him. "I'll be a part of your father's stupid plan."
"Eggcellent," Mudbeard laughs quietly.
Another shiver runs down my spine when he says that, but I brush the nervous feelings away.
"Okay, so what is your plan? Capture birds and make them dig for more metal?" I demand.
Mudbeard laughs.
"That's not even a fraction of the plan," he states as he calms down.
I cock my head to one side.
"There's more?"
He nods his head, eyes narrowing.
"Remember, this is my father's plan after all," he informs me in a gruff voice.
I know it is.
But I'm actually kind of nervous, I mean, Crimson is out there, somewhere, hopefully not dead.
And if this plan involves destroying another island...
I would never be able to forgive myself.
"Are you gonna proceed in telling me the plan or am I just gonna have to choke it out of you?" I ask bitterly.
"My apologies, I got sidetracked with all of this food. It would be shame to leave it sit here any longer," Mudbeard sighs as he stares longingly at the platters before him.
"The food can wait," I snap at him.
He just glares at me before continuing.
"Anyways," Mudbeard starts as he reaches for his cup, only to grab air.
"Ross!" He yells.
Ross returns with the glass of pineapple juice.
"I'm sorry, we had to make more," Ross pants as he hands Mudbeard the glass.
Mudbeard rolls his eyes, not thanking him as he took the cup.
Ross sits on a chair next to Mudbeard and he starts to fill his plate with a reasonable amount of food. However, Mudbeard glares at him and takes the plate from Ross.
"Go eat the leftovers off the plates," Mudbeard snaps at him.
Well that's rude.
A look of hurt comes across Ross's face as he turns away. I hear him mumble something, but I don't catch exactly what he said.
I can't deal with this.
I get out of my seat and start putting food on a plate.
"Draven what on Piggy Island are you doing?" Mudbeard demands in a stern voice. I ignore him as I set the plate of food in front of an empty chair.
"Hey Ross, come back here!" I call for the small pig. He stops in his tracks.
"Let me guess, you want more pineapple juice too," Ross sighs as he turns around. He's looking down.
"Uh, no actually," I admit to him.
Ross looks up and cocks his head.
"What do you want then?" He asks, voice full of fear.
"I want you to sit down and eat," I tell him.
He looks surprised.
"Oh well, um," Ross stutters. "Okay then." He sits down and slowly starts eating.
I look back at Mudbeard. Anger and hatred is written all over his face. But I don't care.
"Alright, you're going back to your cage," Mudbeard tells me angrily as he gets out of his chair.
"Gladly," I respond with acceptance. I didn't even try fighting as I lead the way to the cell.
     • • •
Once again, I'm trapped in darkness, but this time I don't mind it all that much anymore.
"I'll do it, I'll be a part of your father's stupid plan," I snapped at him.
I can't believe I agreed to help him.
Again.
I sigh in disbelief.
I originally only wanted a small sum of money, an amount I knew that wouldn't take over me, but when he said a lifetime of money and Crimson, I had to think about it.
He's the real reason why I lost her.
Mudbeard appointed me to destroy all those islands and villages, because one, he didn't want a new power stronger than him to rise, and two, he wanted to only have pigs rule the world, which sounds extremely toplofty.
I only did it to protect Crimson. He threatened to hurt her if I didn't agree to help him fulfill his father's ambitions. And if she found out about the plan, he told me that he would have no hesitation in killing her.
But she never gave me a chance to explain after she found out about the destructions, which honestly was probably for the better because it prevented her from being killed...somehow.
He made her walk out of my life.
Suddenly, I become angry. Really angry. I need to punch something but here's nothing to punch. The only thing here are the bars of the cage. That's it.
I'm actually surprised of how angry I've become. Before the war, I was so calm, I was a shy, quiet bird, and I kept to myself and was against any form of fighting.
But I was still a kid at that time.
Then, the pigs attacked Poldras Island, and that's when I saw Crimsom for the first time.
I watched her as she stood there, a light breeze blew against her face, slightly ruffling her feathers. Her mother, holding an egg and a young, maroon hatchling, watched with horror as her husband fought King Mudbeard the First. Crimson was watching too. I started running in her direction but a blood curdling scream from her made me stop dead in my tracks and look in her direction.
"Oh no," I whispered, my eyes wide.
King Mudbeard pulled his sword from Jasper's, Crimson's father, body. He fell to the ground. I couldn't see where he was stabbed due to his red feathers, but it was obviously bad.
"No!" She screamed as she ran to her father's side. Her mother was helpless in holding her back.
"Crimson!" Her mother yelled after her, but Crimson ignored her. I watched as Crimson fell beside her father. They shared a few last words before he slowly and weakly handed her his sword.
His body went limp and another scream comes from her. Then, she stood up, the golden sword in hand and the green king laughs at her. She looked up, glaring at him, and, in anger, swung at him, and caught him by surprise. I stood there, watching, anxious about what will happen. Then, she swung one last time and thrust the sword deep into the king. He fell face first on the ground. I stood there astounded, as Crimson was shaking. She was staring at the ground, as if in some sort of trance.
"Crimson!" I yelled. I tried to run to her, only to be pulled back, being forced to the ground as pigs chained my wings behind me. They chained my feet, and before they could gag me, I yelled to Crimson.
"Quit standing there and run!"
She snapped her head in my direction before she ran the other way. The pigs gagged me and pushed me towards their ships.
I look around. A little stream of light penetrates the deep darkness of the cell from the bottom of the door. There are the same empty cages, the same chain, but different me.
I don't know how, but what Mudbeard said earlier finally clicks.
This is my past.
The empty cages around me represent those who I thought would stand by me my whole life, but they didn't. They're there no doubt, before I agreed to help Mudbeard the first time of course, but did they actually care for me? Did they actually support me?
No and no.
The chain that's linked to me and the bar of the cage represents me being held back by the bar of the cage, which is the only reason that made me think about the actions.
The actions I took after joining Mudbeard.
And that reason was, is, and always will be Crimson. I've never hesitated in making a decision when it came to any other bird.
The cage that I'm stuck in, is me stuck in my past.
And the darkness of the cell represents me being lost in the darkness of life.
I sigh as I lean back against the cage.
And once again, I'm lost in thoughts and memories and of things that will never happen.