~Serana⚜

I was gobsmacked by the city around me. From above I had been looking down on gold incrusted marble. But from down here I could see the true colors and vibrancy of the city.

We were on the ground level of Algrie, from what I caught of Fyko's almost constant chattering this was the poverty level, but looking around at the brightly colored fabrics on display and children running around playing, you couldn't tell other than the occasional rib or two that could be seen through muscle.

It looked like most people down here opted to walk instead of fly, the few that were flying often had some feathers missing and seemed to be in a rush. Every once in a while a patrol of about three to five guards would fly over the crowed and dodging between buildings and bridges that seemed to run all the way from the bottom to the top of every building.

If even one of these buildings collapsed it'd cause tremendous structural damage to the surrounding buildings but they weren't likely to fall with all the extra support. Turning my gaze back to the cobblestone street I have to jog a few steps to catch back up to the pair of white wings disappearing into the crowed. When I get within a few feet of the queen I slow back down.

As we near the center of what appears to be a market square with a statue, on a raised platform, of a burden shrine. A three sided black stone pillar with a dragons head at the top of each side. The actual face of the sides were empty like doorways with the feathered wings of the dragons making the frame and forming the edges of every face. The bottom was a solid piece of black stone with a single step leading out to kneel on and confess your worries and fears to the ear of the Drace and in turn ask for his strength to guide you through your troubles.

The queen is looking at the shrine and not paying attention to where she's going. I see the raised lip of uneven cobblestone but before I can open my mouth or reach out to stop her the queens foot is catching on the stone.

Tripping she stumbles and runs right into someone else who shoves away from her out of sheer reaction and sends her falling to the ground with a hard thud.

Flinching in sympathy I'm about to go to her side and help her up when someone beats me to it.

A young girl looking about the age of nine or ten stops, setting her basket down and helps the queen onto her knees.

"Are you okay?" The little girl ask. She had an accent very similar to Fyko's I noticed. "Don't worry, that happens to me all the time. I always forget about the lip right here and trip over it." The girl continues, babbling as she stands back up with her basket in hand.

She reaches in and pulls a beautiful hot pink lily with dark purple spots and white trimming around the edges of each peddle out of her basket and offers it to the queen still kneeling in front of her. "Here, these always make me feel better." She says with her arm outstretched.

Hesitantly the queen looks between the girl and the flower before reaching up with both hands and cupping the flower in her fingers.

"My name's Rinnamo, by the way." The girl says fiddling with the basket handle not looking up at the queen.

The queen chuckles lightly and a true smile spreads across her face. The expression is a little hesitant like she wasn't used to really smiling and her lips had almost forgotten how. The smile was true and genuine none the less, showing perfect pearly white teeth.

"Mirandiona." She replies holding out her hand for the girl to shake.

"Mirandiona." I repeat under my breath. It never dawned on me that the queen actually had a name until then. It was stupid to even think the queen didn't have a name, but I just never realized that she wasn't always the queen and was given a name by her parents, just like I and every other person was.

"You have a pretty name." The girl compliments shyly, shaking the queens hand.

Laughing softly the queen, Mirandiona, I correct myself. She had a name, and if I was going to give her a chance it'd be better with her actual name. She laughed and twirled the lily back and forth between her fingers.

"Thank you." Mirandiona reaches into her pocket for something and places it in the little girls hand.

I didn't see what it was but the girl saw it and closed her fist around it tightly before flinging her arms around her majesty's neck in a crushing hug. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." The girl repeats over and over again.

With a chuckle in her voice. "You're welcome, now I really must be going." Stepping forward I grab her arm and help her to her feet. "Have a good day." Mirandiona calls as the girl skips away.

I look after the girl for a moment before turning my gaze away and back to Mirandiona. "What did you give her?" I question.

She doesn't look at me when she answers, instead looking down at the flower twirling between her fingers. "Something I didn't need."

Staring at her I glance down to the pink and purple flower. Reaching out I graze her fingers to still them and gently took the flower from her. "Here, you'll lose it or crush it if you keep it in your hand." I say tapping her chin to make her look up.

I gingerly move the curl of her shoulder length bangs to form a nice dip in her hair before sticking the flower stem through the middle and securing it behind her ear, pulling her hair away from her face just a tad. Stepping back I examine my handiwork.

The white outer edges of the lily stood in sharp contrast to her onyx black hair and the hot pink popped in a way that made her look, joyful almost innocent, with a touch of playfulness that made my mouth go dry.

Swallowing thickly I try to speak in a normal voice. "There, now you have both hands free." I wanted to punch myself for the chocked breathlessness in my voice.

A teasing smirk pulled the queens lips to one side. "What exactly would you want me to do that requires both hands?" She took a step forward into my space.

Trying to take a step back, I'm stopped when both my forearms are grabbed and pulled toward the queen. I was now right next to her and breathing in her sweet and tangy scent.

"You never did mention what you thought I smell like." Her voice was low, almost a whisper so that only I could here.

I wondered faintly where Fyko had gone, or if he even realized that we weren't following him anymore. Looking up into dark blue eyes I clench my jaw and standup to my full hight, which was still slightly shorter than her.

Taking a deep breath. "Home." I hadn't meant to say that. Wood-bee honey, she smelled like wood-bee honey. But what I had said was still true in a way, she did smell like the home I once knew. At least the one I thought I knew, one I wanted to go back to for so long.

Mirandiona apparently hadn't expected that answer anymore than I had expected to say it. Stepping back she lets me go, never taking her eyes off me, they seemed just a bit wider than normal. Glancing around she speaks up first. "Come on, we should go find Fyko."

Swallowing lungfuls of air I absently nod and follow her keeping an eye out for brown and gray dappled wings.

Dodging through throngs of people I get pushed to the side and lose my line of sight on Mirandiona.

Searching around frantically I try in vain to spot white wings. Another person bumps into me hard nearly sending me to the ground. Turning around I see Fyko steadying me. Great I find one as soon as I lose the other.

He leans in close until he's whispering in my ear. "Where is she?" There is panic in his voice. Why is there panic in his voice?

Pulling back I shrug and look at him for an explanation. "Rebels. They're in the city and they know she's here. We have to find her now. Did you see which way she went?" He's nearly frantic at this point. If I didn't know any better I would have mistaken him for a protective brother or spouse.

Looking around I spot the stand we were heading in the direction of. "That way!" I point toward the stand.

Fyko grabs my hand and pulls me through the crowed. The people split around us out of his way like water around a rock.

We reach the stand and make our way down the adjacent alley to another open stretch of road, not as big as the market square and not nearly as crowded. I spot her in front of what looks to be the entrance to a home with about a half dozen kids running around her and one trying to climb on her back. A few of the children's parents were standing around laughing at the white winged woman's misfortune in what appeared to be good humor.

Pulling on Fyko I point her out and we both start heading toward her.

When we get about halfway there Mirandiona looks up and spots us. The smile on her face drops, replaced by a look of worry as she pulls the kid off her back.

The next thing I see is her head whipping sideways and her eyes going big as a woman lunges from the crowed with a long knife in hand.

I barely notice as the queen catches the woman's arm and grabs her by the neck. My only focus was on the woman as I yanked the bow from its hook and slung it open. I have an arrow slung out and drawn before I can register what I'm doing, and right when it clicks I've already let the arrow go.

I watch it, almost as if time itself has slowed when it leaves my bow string, but in that same moment time jumps forward and the would be killer was on the ground with an arrow in her eye.

The crowed is screaming and pulling away from the dead woman and the one she was trying to kill.

The queen doesn't bat an eye at the dead woman, instead she turns her gaze to another three men advancing toward her two with long wicked knives the last with a strong double sided short sword.

I only have time to nock another arrow and hit the archer on the bridge before the men attack her all at once.

The queen jumps forward into a roll between two of them, narrowly avoiding having her flight feathers chopped off. Using the force of the roll to get back on her feet she lowers her wings and grabs the sword hilts with the opposite hands.

As the men try to wheel around one catches both swords across the neck as she unsheathes them. Now there were only two, one with a knife one with a sword.

I nocked another arrow but I didn't dare shoot it, the chance of me hitting Mirandiona or even one of the kids still standing there pressed against the building was too great with all the commotion.

"Her majesty gracing her lowly peasants with her presence. That's sure to keep them from wanting to kill you huh. That's you're great plan to solve this war?" One of the men mock.

Fyko makes a move to go help the queen but I grab his arm and pull him back. "You don't have a weapon, you'll only get hurt and be in the way." I reason, keeping my hold on him until he steps back.

The crowed still gathered around gasp and the looks of shock and panic on the children and their parents faces is enough to answer for her.

Laughing the man with the knife makes the mistake of lowering his weapon. "They didn't even know! Hahahaha-haha!" There are two slim silver swords sticking through his gut and out his back shredding the feathers of one wing as he's lifted off the ground and thrown back away from the woman who just killed him.

The man with the sword takes the opportunity to run at her with his sword held out ready to take her life. He doesn't get five steps before the queen is spinning and letting one of the swords loose from her grip to embed itself in the man's skull.

He fell to the ground, dead before he even got close. Now Fyko rushed forward to make sure he was between the queen and anymore harm that my come to her. Trotting up as well I look around keeping an eye on the bridges and building windows and doorways for anymore archers.

The queen walked over and pulled her sword from the dead man's head. The metal was gleaming silver and red coated in a thick layer of blood. Moving both swords to one hand she reaches down to grab a piece of scrap cloth from the man's body and use it to wipe the blood from her swords before resheathing them.

Somehow the flower managed to stay in her hair and appeared untouched by the scuffle. It still gave her that innocent and playful look. It made her look kind, even after she brutally killed three men. Turning around she faces the children and their parents. She doesn't say a word, doesn't even move aside from the motion of her chest as she breaths.

The one that had been climbing on her back was now sniffling into the leg of a woman. One of the kids, a little boy about the age of twelve shook the grip of a man I presumed to be his vavi, and walked up to the queen.

"Are you..." He chokes before continuing. "Are you really the queen?" He's looking up at her with big round eyes full of fear.

Mirandiona's jaw clenches at the look on his face. Slowly she lowers herself down until her knees are against the cobblestone and she's sitting on her feet looking up at the boy. "Yes, I am." She answers truthfully.

To backup her claim she extends one large white wing until the feathers catch one of the few actual rays of sunlight peaking through the building canopy. Her wing lights up with glittery streaks of silver from the light. The gathered people gasp at the sight of an arch color, probably the first they've ever seen.

Mirandiona folds her wing back toward her body and waits for the boys reaction. His eyes were still large and fearful, but there was a certain level of awe in them.

The boy seemed frozen for a minute before a huge smile broke out across his face. "Wait till all my friends at school hear that I got to meet the queen! No that she played with us!" He practically squealed in excitement.

His excitement was contagious as a smile pulled at Mirandiona's lips and soon all the kids that had been playing with the queen were jumping and getting excited about making their friends jealous.

The boys vavi was laughing softly as he walked up behind his son. "And how are you going to prove that you met her?" He questions.

The boys face drops as he tries to think of a way to get his friends to believe. "You were all about to head for school when I arrived, yes?" Mirandiona ask looking up at the man to make sure she's right.

The boy gasp so loud it was comical. "You're gonna walk is to school?!" He was bouncing with excitement if he had all his flight feathers I'm sure he would have been flying with how much his wings were flitting and flapping about. I noted the nice rich color of his adult feathers, his wings would be dark blue with lighter grayish speckles in patches here and there. All in all he would be a looker when he got older if his vavi was anything to go off of.

"Well I think you'd better ask your parents." The queen teased.

The boy looked to his vavi with big hopeful eyes. The man doesn't answer instead he looks at the queen. She nods her head before speaking. "I won't let a thing happen to them while I'm present." She assures, I've never heard anyone so earnest and steady.

The man seems to be reassured by that, looking around at the dead bodies, and nods his head in permission.

With his permission the rest of the parents quickly follow suit and pretty soon all the kids are whooping and hollering.

"What's happened here?!" The shout of a guard has all our heads turning to see a group of three silver clad men and two women landing near the bloody scene.

"It would appear the guard aren't too keen on their jobs of keeping the rebels out of the city and protecting the streets." Mirandiona says standing up.

"Who in the skies do you think..." The guard starts to reprimand her before he actually looks at her and quickly clamps his mouth shut before trying to salvage the situation. "Your majesty, I am so sorry I had no idea..." He rambles as he bows lowly with wings outstretched and all the other guards quickly follow suit as they realize who's there.

"Enough." The queen cuts him off, saving us all the embarrassment. She turns back to the kids. "It looks like you'll be getting a little extra protection on your trip to school." The kids cheer and one of the girls looks up at her in amazement.

"You can just make the guards do whatever you want?" The girl ask, the awe clear in her voice.

Laughing slightly Mirandiona replies. "Not exactly, but seeing as how I was just attacked they're not going to leave my side until I'm back within the castle walls, not even if I asked them to." She explains.

"Are we to escort your majesty to the local school?" One of the women guards ask.

"Yes." She answers before turning back to the boy. "Which way is that?"

He smiles brightly before taking her hand and half dragging her down the street.

Chuckling myself I close the arrow and bow before reclipping them to their hooks and following while Fyko grabs one of the little kids by their feet and playfully dangles them as he walks. The five guards have fallen into place around us and march at a steady tempo through the crowed.