FLIGHT |APPLYFIC|

>• PROLOGUE •<

Blood, tears and ash were the only things that were seen in that day.

Trees—homes, burnt to the ground in an act of war, families slaughtered, people injured. But nothing was more important to Opal than finding her family.

Ash filtered through her nose and fluttered around the air, making everything look like it was cover in pastel grey snow.

She clicked her tongue at her Pua, trying to make it go faster than it already had been, which was almost impossible.

She was only 13 at this time, not understanding what had happened, why all of a sudden ash was raining down from the trees and things started to wilt.

Her Pua went as fast as it could go which to be honest, isn't that much faster than it already was. Opal scanned the palace grounds for her family as quickly as she could, noticing how wilted and dead everything looked.

She jumped of her Pua and frantically ran towards the palace, tripping over her white dress. She pulled it up off the ground, realizing how dirty it had gotten just from the ash of the burned plants. She continued running, finally spotting the palace, before she coul reach it however, she tripped over a log and fell face first into the Māla Lavender. She frantically felt around for what she had tripped over when she felt someone grab her arm from below. Only a few feet away lie her mother and the crown of the tribe.

She knelt down quickly, not hesitating to put her hand to her mothers face, despite the state she was in. Blood stained opal's white dress, making the scarlet liquid a lighter shade.

"Daughter," her mother spoke weakly, blood forming in the sides of her mouth. "My wounds are too great."

Opal looked down to see her mother stabbed through the stomach, her regality fading quickly with her life.

The weapon used to do this terrible act was lodged, slanting upwards, into her mother abdomen, blood soaking her gold and white gown.

"Mother!" Opal said, putting pressure into her mothers wound, avoid the staff that caused it. "Please, who did this?"

"Delirium." She gasped out softly, her breaths becoming quicker with each second. "But remember Daughter," she said pausing to breathe. "Revenge and vengeance, that's not who we are." Blood trickled down the side of her mouth.

"But—but they have to pay for what they have done!" Opal yelled, tears welling up in her crystal blue orbs.

"If you do this, you are no better than they are." Her mother used her dying breath to tell her child one last piece of wisdom. "Whatever you do, please do not let them have—" her voice faded out slowly, almost like a groan.

"Mother?" She said tears finally falling down her face. "Mother?!" She screamed at her mothers figure, shaking it. "Please! You can not leave me here! Mother!" She begged for her to get back up and say she was kidding. "Mother?!" She shrieked, her voice cracking and sibs making their way their way through.

The sound of thundering hoof steps sounded through the forest, but you could barely hear it over Opal's begs and pleads for her mother.

"Princess Opal, your highness?" A guard said from behind her, trying to reach her.

"Mother, please wake up!" She pleaded, still trying to figure out why her, why here, why now? She looked at her mothers cold, dead, lifeless eyes, rolled back in her head and fogged over.