The King's Remorse

Illusions

Freeze, that's what he said.

My stomach moves into my throat as I plummet like a rock. The wind tangles my hair into knots, and the strands slap at my cheeks as my clothes ripple. I fall backwards, so I watch Dove burst into his bird form. He tucks his wings into his sides to catch up with me.

I close my eyes, and imagine ice coating me, freezing me from the inside out. A moment later, coldness spreads across my body, and the fur disappears from my skin. My paws uncurl into fingers as my teeth become duller and my spine shortens. Dove's talons close around my body, breaking my fall.

The scales on my brother's feet are cool against my skin, and I shift in his grip so I can see King Garonda XIV's castle as we fly away.

The Guard are firing arrows at us. "Shoot them down! Get them to me! I don't care if they're dead or alive, but GET THEM TO ME!"

The rounds of arrows whistle past us in a sort of song, but Dove folds his wings and falls into a barrel roll and then several corkscrews. I shut my eyes and try to focus on taking deep breaths in an attempt to prevent myself from getting sick. A few feathers are shaken loose as arrows graze my brother's wings, and droplets of blood fall to the ground.

Once we're out of range, Dove settles into a level flight, flapping his wings every once in a while to stay aloft.

"I want every available Guard and Soldier scouring every nook and cranny for them. I want them at the foot of the Amethyst Throne by tomorrow's dawn!" I look back and can just make out Snappy shaking his fist as he bellows at the surrounding Guard and Soldiers who scatter like mice from a cat.

I doze off a while later. When I wake up, King Garonda XIV's castle is long gone, and the trees have shrunken into scraggly ones.

"How much further?" I ask. Dove doesn't reply.

"Can I get on your back? Your feet aren't very comfortable." This time, Dove chirps. He drops me, and I shriek as I plummet towards the ground. My flight is short-lived, though, since he dives beneath me. I land with a soft thump on his shoulders, just in front of his wings. 

"We made it out of King Garonda XIV's castle, Dove. We made it out of there." I reach out a hand to feel the wind blow around my fingers.

Dove looks back over his shoulder towards me. His expression is one of I told you we'd make it out, didn't I?

I look around, and everything is calm. A breeze blows through, shaking the trees. Birds chirp as they hop and fly around the tree branches. A few deer race through the forest.

It's only a few minutes later when Dove suddenly tucks his wings and dives headfirst towards the ground, and splays them to the sides as he rapidly gains ground and climbs skywards. I wrap my arms around his neck to stay on.

"What are you doing?" I shout, looking around for any sign of danger, but there isn't anything. 

Dove jerks one of his wings back, shrieking in what sounds like pain. But when I look at his wing, I don't see any signs of damage.

"Dove! There isn't anything!" I hit the side of his neck to try to get his attention, but my brother shakes his head with a snort. He twists in midair, glancing back for a split second before scanning the terrain ahead of us.

"Dove! I swear there isn't anything! What are you looking at?" My voice is louder this time, and he hesitates for a split second. Dove flaps his wings a few times, looking down as he pulls his feet up.

"Please! What are you looking at? I can't see anything!" I scream the words in hopes that my brother will give me some form of an answer.

Finally, after staring at his left wing for a few moments, Dove dives towards the ground, pulling up just before we reach a tree for a smooth landing.