Healed

Chapter 17

Sora sat defeated on a small ledge along the mountain's face, overlooking the Healing Center. From where she was the massive complex looked like a grain of rice and the dragons were nothing more than grains of sand. She let out a shaky sigh.

She had meant to keep flying, to go far away, but for some reason she had flown back here. To the forlorn palace that held nothing but ghosts and the whispers of wind. Perhaps it was because, deep down, she knew she had nowhere else to go. The Healing Center was the only place she belonged; anywhere else they would just treat her like a criminal.

Sora's chest convulsed as she held back another sob. She had already spent all her tears and at this point it was useless. She had learned long ago that crying wouldn't fix what she did. It wouldn't bring Carnelian and Bigtail back from the dead... or Crane.

And it wouldn't get rid of her failures. She shut her eyes tightly in hot shame as she thought of how disappointed Zephyr, Jet, and Umber would be. She could just imagine Umber's reaction. He would smile warmly, tell her it's alright and that he loves her no matter what, but deep down he would be terrified that Sora had snapped again.

While it wasn't always obvious, there were times when Sora knew Umber was hiding his true feelings from her. He did that a lot. Always putting a proud and loving face forward, protecting her from his doubts and fears.

He thinks I'm so fragile, Sora thought sourly, followed by a self-mocking laugh. Maybe I am. All it took was one look at Icicle and I fled like a coward. And I had been doing so well! she lamented, remembering the progress her and Zephyr had made together. I was looking forward to returning to the Mud Kingdom, to seeing my sibs again and FINALLY putting all this behind me. But Icicle just HAD to show up and ruin everything! A knot of frustration tightened in her stomach and she released the pent up energy by kicking a nearby shrub.

Sora hadn't thought of it as a hard kick, but it has been strong enough to break the roots' weak grip on the rocks and the plant went flying off the ridge, plummeting straight down. Sora winced as the shrub bounced off several other ledges until finally coming to a halt on a wide shelf far below.

"Sorry," Sora murmured, feeling bad. It was unlike her to get this angry, but she knew it was only because she was angry with herself. She released another sigh. It wasn't Icicle who ruined everything. It was me. I'm the one who killed Carnelian and Bigtail. This is my fault.

Sora sniffled and wiped her nose with her talon. The sun was setting now and at this altitude a fiercely cold breeze whipped by, urging her back inside. She squeezed through a large crack in mountainside that was actually a secret entrance inside the palace. Jet had shown it to her when the two had gone off exploring. It was a bit of a tight fit for the muscular MudWing as she climbed upwards at a steep slope but finally she reached the enormous greenhouse that was adjoined to the passage.

It was by far Sora's favourite place in the old castle. Made of tall walls of glass, the greenhouse was the size of a ballroom. Whatever exotic plants had been house in here had died long ago but the local fauna had taken complete control of the room, crawling up the walls and burrowing their roots deep into the floor and stone. Sora breathed in the deep, earthy sent as she walked towards the center of the room following the tiled pathway that was cracked and coated with mossy fibers.

The domed glass above was slightly cracked, allowing the occasional rain to enter, but other than that the windows were surprisingly well intact...although they were incredibly fifthly from years of neglect. But Sora didn't mind, in fact she liked it. The way the sun filtered in through the dirt-clouded windows reminded her of swimming through the murky waters of the Mud Kingdom.