~Mirandiona💎

Making my way through the castle corridors I pass by guards and officials alike, ignoring their existence.

I needed a moment, just a single moment to stop and think without being able to hear or feel the presence of another person. I needed to be alone.

Turning another corner I reach the large open archway to the castle garden, a large flat plate of dirt and marble in the center of the castle with tall dark trees only found in the highest of reigns framing huge white statues of dancing prel, of angelo fluid and refined in stature, and at the center of the garden was a large round pool twice as wide as my wingspan with a huge marble depiction of the Drace curled around the fore mother on a platform in the middle of the pool.

Walking on the gray cobblestone path I make my way to the pool where the path circles its edge with stone benches placed every so often in regular intervals around the circle. Droc of every color were flitting around from vine to vine, their small sleek bodies fleeting in and out of my vision.

Reaching the center of the garden I walk forward and place my feet on the edge of the pool curling my toes over the smooth cold stone, my talons reaching out and gripping at the wet stone.

Closing my eyes I take a minute to breath in the sent of trees and grass, of fresh water and wet dirt.

I'm instantly reminded of the incident in the towel room yesterday. You smell familiar. My eyes shot open and I clench my jaw. Pushing the memory back I take a step into the pool.

Holding my wings out to keep them above the water I wade toward the statue in the middle of the pool. The water lapped at my hips grazing the bottom of my tertiaries, the feathers laid flush to my back trapping air and protecting my secondary feathers when I fold my wings.

Glancing around I continued to see less of the garden around me as the Drace's statue fills my vision. Reaching the platform I place my hands on the flat stone and heft myself out of the water.

Standing up I take one last look around to see if there is anyone to see where I am disappearing to. Not spotting anyone I turn back to the statue, stepping over its long tail I place one hand on a feathered wing and move behind the seated form of the fore mother.

The fore mother was the first of our kind, born a sapian infant separated from her parents at birth. She had been born at the beginning of the Purge of Fire raised an orphan, she had been witness to all the evil and deviation the sapians were capable of.

As the legend goes, we came from the sapians, creatures like us but with no wings, no talons, nor fangs. They were the children of Sapio, the spirit of the day sky, and she had given them fire along with a great intelligence. But in time they began to use the fire against each other and drowned the land in flames.

Sapio grieved for her children, for she could not save them. She had begged the spirit of the night sky to help save her children, but he had seen the destruction and cruelty they raised themselves to become, refusing to save the sapians he kept to the sky but he still watched through long nights burning as bright as the day before.

He stayed his actions to only watching until he came upon a child in her eleventh year, he had watched her give her life for a boy she did not know, a boy who had thrown her life away without regard as he ran from other sapians.

The Drace, seeing the young girls heart for others had breathed life into her body, burned and charred by the raging fires around her. He gave the girl his wings to fly over the flames and continue her life, hoping she would again help others.

The Drace kept his eye on her for years after, had seen her change and the way she changed others. For every compassionate he granted a pair of wings, but even he knew they would need to fight to stay alive against the wingless sapians. So he gave them his fangs and mighty roar to scare them away, but they would always come back from the fire learning in time that there was nothing behind our roars but our teeth. Fleeing the ground the new sapians, the angelo soared high into the sky, but even they could not fly forever. When they would come down to land their hands would not hold, their feet would slip, they would fall back to the flames and into the waiting hordes of sapians. Watching what had now become his children fall and die at their hands he gave them his talons to hold on to their perch and stay above the fire and the creatures within. This did not work for long, when the angelo stopped falling the sapians started climbing, up to their perches they would come killing them and ripping them from their nest to throw them back on the ground.

Enraged the Drace watched as half his children fell to the ground. Taking a deep breath he set them on fire, burning away their feather and charring their skin until it blackened and their bones splintered through their wings and reformed to make them as sharp as spears. These new children where the deamon forged in the Drace's mighty fire to fight back against their sapian adversary.

This started the war that would lead to the extinction of the sapians. Those who did not die in the war were absorbed into the angelo and deamon populations. Their children becoming like use and losing some of their sapian qualities.

We did not lose the knack for war it would seem.

Crouching down behind her statue I pull her away from the Drace to reveal one of the many passages hidden throughout the castle. The whole structure was riddled with these things snaking through the walls and some even ran between floors. Each set was connected in a different series. In total there were about seventy eight different series of passage tunnels that were not of common knowledge to the staff or political figures. I'm not sure I even knew where all the tunnels were. But I did know every tunnel began and ended within the courtyard wall surrounding the castle.

Just because the tunnels were not common knowledge did not mean they were unknown. That's why I used the garden entrance so the chances of someone seeing me and suspecting were lessened do to the fact the garden entrance was unknown to most. The only reason I had discovered it was because of my Nani who had used it to hide from me one time while we played a game. I remember Zazi had been upset when she found out but finally reasoned it was good for me to learn these things sooner rather than later.

The garden entrance was connected to only two other entrances both of which were kept well hidden, another reason for choosing this pathway.

Getting the opening wide enough to fit my head and shoulder through I flatten my wings to my body and shimmy through into the dark tunnel. Placing one hand on the cold stone wall and the other on the ground I finish pulling myself through and stand back up to close the entrance.

"What are you doing?" The voice is so unexpected that I actually fall back and scream.

Hitting the wall opposite the still open entrance I look up into green eyes and a toothy smile that has a gaping hole in it.

Gritting my teeth I hiss at the unexpected presence. "Fyko! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" I whisper shout at the man.

Chuckling under his breath he answers in a playful teasing manner. "Aww, I just wanted to bring you a present." He says pulling something into view. For a moment I think he will pull Serana up into view. But the tension leaches from my body when it's just a purple cloth with a sweet and tangy smell bleeding through the fabric.

Fyko pushes the opening wider and drops through the hole landing in front of me with a soft thud causing swirls of dirt to rise around him in an odd halo from the light coming in through the open entrance.

Stepping around him I reach up and grip the handle built into the bottom of the statue and pull it back into place. When I hear the slight scrape and thud of the statue slipping into place I release the handle and turn back around to face my companion, blinking a few times to adjust my eyes to the darks now surrounding me.

Not paying any mind to the man occupying the dark corridor with me I turn and start making my way down the tunnel. Fyko doesn't miss a beat and falls in step behind me.

We walk in silence with nothing but the sounds of our breath and the soft slap of our feet between us. All while the sweet tangy sent perfumes the air. The smell was familiar, wood bee honey, it was famed and highly sought after for its rich taste.

Now that I thought about it major areas wood bees could be found in were in the mid to lower regions of Skyris where it's warmer and the air is thicker. Nest could most probably be found near many of the smaller villages throughout the lower regions being a good source of trade. Though the trade of many goods, wood bee honey included, was greatly reduced or halted all together after my parents death. Even after a century I couldn't hold the rebels back enough to open proper trade around my own kingdom. It was a wonder they hadn't gained more support with the pathetic job I was doing of running this country. I had the lives of an entire species to carry on my back, and I was falling fast.

Letting the sweet sent of whatever treat Fyko has seen fit to bring wash my senses I force my mind to go blank and forget, even for just a few moments, that half the people under my rule would like nothing more than to see my body nailed to the castle wall by bloody black and white wings.

"Scone?" Fyko's cheeky voice breaks through my thoughts. Half turning I slow my pace but don't stop as Fyko fumbles with the makeshift purple pouch trying not to spill its contents all over the floor.

Finally managing to pull out a hunk of baked bread with white-ish gold honey oozing out of the cracks. Definitely wood bee honey. No other type of honey had a white tint to it.

"Ah, as you may have guessed, wood bee honey." He says handing me the half squished scone.

"Lovely." I snip all the while fighting to keep the corners of my mouth from twitching up into an amused smile.

"Nothing but the finest, for my queen." He answers doing an odd little curtsy, trying to keep his wings from hitting the walls or myself.

Chuckling I tear off a bite of the treat resting in my palm and savor the sweet tangy taste washing over my tongue.

Swallowing I turn my attention back to Fyko while he eats on his own scone. He took a huge bite causing crumbs to tumble everywhere and more to stick to his scruffy face.

"Why do you insist on calling me 'my queen'? Everyone else simply refers to my as 'your majesty'." I inquire taking another glance at him as he stuffs the rest of the scone in his mouth while I take smaller bites from my own.

"Because down in the low levels, 'her majesty' is a form of mockery toward you. And I'll admit I took more than my fair share in the mockery of you." He states. I wish I could say the news surprised me, but that would be a lie even to my own ears. He grabs the shoulder of my wing and gently pulls me to a stop facing him. "But now that I've met you, you saving my life aside, I see a woman that deserves respect. Commands it even. I'll bet if you took a stroll through the lower levels and talked with a few of them they'd like you. And then if you revealed yourself to be the queen, they'd stand behind you." His words are earnest and his eyes beg me to believe him. I want to, I truly do. But I doubt they would like me. Why should they? I've done nothing for them that they know of.

Fyko can see the doubt and disbelief in my eyes, I'm sure of it. Sighing his hand slides from its place gripping my wing and he pulls out another scone handing it to me.

"Let me prove it to you." He ask hold out the scone like a peace offering.

Starring at his outstretched hand I make the mistake of looking up to find sincere dark brown eyes starring back at me.

Closing my eyes I let out a long sigh that leaves my shoulders loose and my wings hanging low. "Fine..." I start.

"Ye.." Raising my hand I cut him off with a sharp look.

"If. You can find someone not under Avar or Katal's command." I finish my one condition. "We need an extra pair of arms incase we find ourselves in a ruff situation that won't report back to either of them." I say in way of explanation for my reasoning.

Screwing his eyes shit he takes a deep breath through the nose and closes his hands in front of his face with the purple sack of scones dangling from one hand. "Alright. I'll find someone. But I'm not gonna promise you'll like them." He warns half glaring at me. "And that bastard of a pet of yours is not coming." He grumbles his own condition.

The corner of my lip twitches up at his response. "Deal." I agree taking the scone from his hand and nodding my head only once to acknowledge the agreement.

Huffing a sigh he turns and starts heading back down the tunnel disappearing into the dark with only a few strides. The last I saw of him was when he took out another scone and started to scarf it down.

Taking a calming inhale through the nose my face scrunches up at the smell of wet mold and stale air the scones had been covering up.

Turning in the opposite direction I keep walking while eating my scone.