Those With Wings

The Queen

Zero's POV

I guessed we must've been quite a sight. Three smelly, tired-looking, shining, gut-covered children, a fourth child in the arms of a skinny boy. Piper still hadn't woken up, and I glanced at the girl. She looked anything but peaceful...all I could hope was that she'd show some signs of life soon.

We walked on in silence, people swerving out of our way- if they saw us, that was. We mainly kept to the shadows, until we could find a place that was secluded, but large enough so that Daisy could spread her wings and fly- with us on her back.

After what seemed like an endless walk, we finally reached a forest, which we entered quickly. I wondered if anyone saw the small group of teenagers disappear into the woods, but then decided it didn't matter. We had other priorities.

One, we had to report our success to the queen.

Two, we had to find a way to make Piper wake up.

Three, we had to go home.

And four, though it was the least important, we had to get this stuff off of us.

I tried not to think too much about what I'd done either. I'd killed someone. Someone who could think, a living creature. Luanna's father. Alex' father. Yes, he'd been a bad guy, but I'd murdered him.

I wasn't too sure whether I could live with that.

Just as Daisy grew bigger, Luanna put a hand on my shoulder. "Zero. You did great, alright? I'm proud of you. And thank you."

I hugged her tightly, and she patted my back. "It's going to be okay."

"Thanks," I muttered. She pulled back, and scrambled onto Daisy's neck. "Are you coming...shusnub?"

"Where would I go without you?" I replied, climbing on top of the dragon. She didn't seem too happy about the unconcious Piper.

"Off we go," Alex said.

.........................................................................................................................................

So here we were, in that place called heaven, except that heaven was not heaven. And angels weren't angels. We were those with wings.

An utter silence seemed to press on the place as we walked towards the palace, Piper still lifeless in Alex' arms. I was starting to worry that maybe he wasn't carrying Piper. Maybe he was carrying a corpse.

In mere seconds we stood in front of the large building. The gates opened with a loud groan, and Luanna looked around confidently. She'd grown up protecting those gates, I knew.

"Welcome," a smooth voice said. I glanced up, and there she was. The queen.