I was absorbed with being lazy on the balcony, watching the morning mists over the lake being dispersed by a delicate breeze and listening to the chirping of swallows. Two days ago Yanka enacted a break in our training, so we returned to the mansion. When the delicious breakfast finally settled down in my stomach and I felt like it wouldn't hurt to move again, I decided to browse the countless books a little.
When I wasn't able to decide even after a few minutes of moving my fingers across the soft leather spines, I thought about asking Sril for advice.
I went down and gave the door to his bedroom a gentle knock. There was only silence on the other side, so I knocked one more time and peeked inside. The room was empty. I tried the floor below, but he wasn't in the bath either. Finally, I ended up in Yanka's room.
"Can I help you with something?" she asked, when I entered after a word of admittance.
"Yeah... do you know where Sril went?"
"He's not in his room?" When I shook my head, she suggested: "Maybe he went to Kaan, or for a little walk?"
"Maybe..."
"No need to panic every time he disappears for a few minutes. He's all grown up, he can take care of himself."
"You're right, I'm sorry," I smiled in embarrassment. "But you didn't see him go or fly anywhere did you?"
Yanka shook her head slightly and went back to cleaning the ruby scales.
And I suddenly felt my sirath underneath my shirt becoming slightly warmer... I raised my eyebrows, looking at her in confusion. "Yanka..."
She sighed heavily. "And I was doing so good... I think asking questions which require a direct answer is falling into a habit with you," she smiled apologetically. "You will have to forgive me though, because I can't tell you anything yet."
"Why?" I understood less than nothing now. "Where did Sril go?"
"He had to take care of something."
"What?"
"You will see soon," she gave me a mischievous wink.
"Stop playing around, what's the meaning of this?"
"Don't get angry, please... we will tell you about everything, I promise, just be a bit more patient."
I sighed in irritation. "Fine... I never thought we will have some silly secrets between us, but I'll wait..."
"Please don't make that face... We don't want to spite you, we just want it to remain a tiny mystery for just a little longer, agreed?"
I melted a bit under this warm gaze that begged me to say 'yes'. "Fine," I said again, still a bit reluctantly, but gentler. "I can endure if it's something between the two of you, but if this has something to do with me, which I feel like it has, then I want to know everything, to the last detail."
"You have my word."
I smiled and returned upstairs, between the books, to try and find something on my own after all.
Sril came back late afternoon, shortly before dinner. That gave my thoughts a lot of time to circle around the secrets of my friends like our swallows in the sky at twilight. I decided to arm myself with patience and not ask any further though. I knew Yanka would keep her promise.
The next morning, when I was just about to start my daily battle with my bed hair, Sril peeked into my room.
"Morning. Did you sleep well?"
"Not bad indeed. You?"
"Same. Breakfast is ready, I'll be waiting upstairs."
When he disappeared, I quickly tamed my hair, fastened the last leather bands underneath my wings and followed. We sat at the table, as always neatly set for our meal. But the room felt weirdly empty...
"Did you call Yanka and Talia?" I asked, when none of them showed up after a few minutes.
"There was no need to, they already ate," he propped his cheek on his hand lightly.
I frowned. "Let me guess... after that they left to somewhere, like you did yesterday."
"Sian..."
"You were supposed to stop these silly games soon and tell me what's going on."
"And we will, after we join them." I just opened my mouth slightly, but didn't answer. My rising confusion seemed to amuse my friend even more, and he added: "Eat, the faster we leave, the faster you can satisfy your curiosity."
I just returned to my meal.
After finishing and bringing the dishes to the kitchen, Sril dragged me outside, where he took a few moments to evaluate the strength and direction of the wind. "Are you ready?" he finally asked.
"Don't know for what, but let's say I am..."
"Come on... I understandĀ that you're irritated, but I promise that you won't regret it."
"I'll be the one judging that."
My friend sighed softly and we both ascended above the residence. Sril headed east, so I followed without a word.
After almost an hour, when we were soaring with an already faint, fading wind, and I noticed a vast clearing in the distance and the roofs of familiar huts among the green of the forest, I finally realized what all of that was about.
It was just...
I came to a stop in midair, several dozen of meters away from the village's border. A memory came back to me, acompaniedĀ a memory of the day I learned to fly, came here...
That moment of hesitation didn't escape Sril's notice. He turned back to hover at my side. "Don't be afraid," he said soothingly. "Your friend has something important to tell you."
I lifted my head in surprise. Did Sril actually talk to Ethia about what happened that one evening? Did she contact him somehow or did he...
"Come on, don't be afraid," Sril didn't let me finish my thoughts. "If you fall from a horse, you can just climb back on it, right?"
"Unless you break something in the process," I finally answered with an unsure smile. Nevertheless, I followed him.
When we came out into view above the first houses, we heard a few enthusiastic shouts and saw the villagers starting to gather in the open space in the middle. Yanka was standing a bit further to the back of the crowd and I noticed Talia, sitting on the roof of one of the cottages at the opposite border of the village, her ears perking up when she noticed us.
I didn't have much time to think about what they were even here for, because right after landing my mind got occupied with a mild panic attack. I noticed that all villagers were looking straight at me, or rather my wings. I bit my lip and cast my eyes down. I expected some sort of long torture or something quick and destructive like a thunderbolt of a summer storm...
But then, before anyone could even say a word, I saw a golden light squirm through the others, run towards me and I felt myself being tackled and squeezed tightly around my waist. I had to flap my wings once to not lose balance, and I reflexively circled one of my arms around Ethia's back.
"I'm sorry..." she muttered, lifting her head after a moment and looking me in the eyes. "I'm so sorry for what I said back then... I have no idea what's gotten into me, it just slipped out..."
I wasn't sure yet, but I thought I saw a snippet of hope, like the rim of moon in the sky. I took a breath, deep, but very quiet. "It's alright..." I said slowly. "After all, it's not every day that you come across someone with wings and all... I think my logic would have shut off too in such a situation."
"So you're not angry?"
"Please, there's nothing to be angry about..."
She smiled back, visibly relieved. "Then I need to tell you one more thing..."
"What?"
"Happy birthday."
I blinked. I needed quite a few moments to actually get it. It was today... today was my birthday, the real one... Due to this whole commotion caused by Shaeth and the training, I completely forgot...
I glanced in the direction of Sril and Yanka, standing in a respectful distance in the shadow of the trees. Kaan and his inseparable four-legged friend somehow materialized here as well. How in the world did they find out? It seemed impossible that Sril coincidentally, just a day before the event, simply flew here and asked about it.
I wasn't allowed to deliberate about that for long though. Before I could blink, I got surrounded by the other villagers who wanted to greet and shower me with birthday wishes. The first ones were my parents, who, despite my worries, seemed to not even pay attention to my wings.
Shortly after, still feeling the firm arms of the lumberjack's sons on my back, I was led to the middle of the village, where a huge pile of firewood along with tables bending under the weight of food and drinks already stood prepared. It looked almost like that one evening, when I returned home after two years...
Already after the first toast Talia got snatched away to play by a few kids, who showed particular interest in her fluffy tail and ears. I didn't get much peace either, because Suha categorically refused to leave my side, and keeping an eye on her was surprisingly difficult for a child which just learned to crawl. Sril and Yanka were busy explaining things to the elders, who asked things about magic and the Apostles of the Last Dragons, as if our appearance sparked the young spirit of adventurers in all of them.
The party lasted till late at night. I spent most of that time with Ethia, talking and messing around like we always used to. Later I got charged with putting Suha to bed, so Ethia snatched Kiya and went to talk to Yanka about something. Since our arrival here I sensed some kind of mistrust the two eyed my beautiful friend with, but it didn't take them long to get comfortable like they've known each other for years.
As the singing and hum of conversations slowly started to become quieter than the whispers of the crickets, the last few of us still awake gathered by the fire. It was incredibly pleasant to forget about all worries, allowing the warmth of the flames to neutralize the night's chill, that brushed our backs.
The night was warm, filled with the scent of resin and dried needles, so the younger banqueters, including us Apostles, Talia and Kaan, chose a night in the open, among the soft grass at the border of the forest. A delicate, pleasant breeze picked up, the mighty old trees started to murmur some lullaby.
In the afternoon the next day, Yanka was clearly regretful to announce that we need to go back to continue our training. I promised Ethia and my parents that I will be visiting them more often from now on, and we set off, waving to the shrinking silhouettes below.
When we've already put some distance between us and the village, and Kaan fell a little behind us on his horse in the forest beneath, I finally released the question that I was stifling from the moment we came here. "How in the world did you know when my birthday is? I've never told any of you..."
"You didn't need to," Yanka smiled. "We kind of found out by accident."
"How?"
"You see..." Sril started hesitantly, "I noticed that you weren't even mentioning your family lately, let alone voicing the need to visit them and spend even just a little time there... We reached a conclusion that something must have happened, so I flew over to try and find the cause. I talked to your parents first, but they didn't know anything. But the conversation with your friend enlightened me... about your birthday as well, purely by coincidence."
I couldn't help but smile warmly. "You are both fantastic..."
"You're exaggerating."
I shook my head slightly. "You are... you reminded me of how many things there actually are, that I want to fight for. It's like you gave me new strength for the fight against Shaeth. Until today, I had my doubts, but now I feel like even if his magic is stronger and more advanced, we still have better chances. Because we have each other."
Yanka looked at me as if she was suppressing a silent laugh. "Who would have thought, our Sian is growing up..."
She had to immediately scamper off further up to escape me, which didn't stop her from laughing at me anyways. Sril just shook his head with a smile and followed us into the infinite azure.