Taleyah dashed forth into the woods, with the wind on her hair and dust to her back. She ran at a neck-breaking speed. Leaving her problems behind her to go away.
She had no destination in mind for where she was headed. Anywhere was better than at the flying palace that was waiting for her presence.
"You seem to be in a hurry..."
Taleyah raised her sword in the direction of the voice stopping the person from talking. Her eyes went wide, the realization hit her when she looked up, she found her father's sword on a young boy's neck.
Her hand trembled as she lowered her sword. "My apologies," she uttered apologetically.
"No offense taken. You can never be too careful out here," the young boy spoke.
Taleyah smiled at his words. He spoke with maturity and yet he seemed so young. The princess could only try to imagine what it was that he had seen of the world to mature so young.
"Where may I ask is a beautiful lady such as yourself going in a hurry?" He asked joining her in her path.
Taleyah didn't respond. She lived in a magical world and her father had warned her that appearances could be deceiving. She shouldn't trust everything for how she saw it.
She had come to believe him at his warning. Since she was a child, she enjoyed the comfort of her perfect home. Not knowing that the parents she utilized had it in themselves to sell her to beasts.
The child kept following her, she didn't trust him. He appeared to be an innocent child who was casually asking about her. But she didn't want to take any chances and end up regretting it.
"Fine, don't tell me," the boy let out. "You are an adult, can you tell me what those are?" He went ahead to ask.
Taleyah followed his line of sight and froze. Golden birds were moving towards Ember in large numbers. They flew above them traveling fast towards her kingdom.
She had read about them, they were called the Mocres, they were servants of war for the beasts of the flying palace. They used the birds to reign the horror of multiple kingdoms in the past that had failed to honor the debts owed to them.
The birds breathed out fire from their beaks and enchanted souls with their eyes. They seduce a person with one look and force them to do anything the beasts wished.
The last time the birds were spotted, they forced all the subjects of an entire kingdom to kill themselves before they burnt the place down a few days later.
The birds took their time in the act to send a message to the rest of the world. They were the harbingers of the monsters of the flying palace and anyone who goes against them suffered their wrath.
No one knew the origin of the birds, only that they appear out of nowhere when the beasts are displeased anf they clean up whatever was stupid enough to offend them.
Rumors had it that they fed on the souls of the people that they killed. Taleyah was rooted to the ground, she recognized the symbol of their foreheads from the books she read.
She could think of only one promise that Ember owed to the beasts of the flying palace. It was her. And didn't a genius to point out the fact that the birds were summoned because of her.
"They look beautiful, I wonder if they mean a festive harvest this year," the young boy uttered starting awed at the golden birds.
Taleyah glanced over at him, she didn't know how to tell him what those birds were. Or what it meant for all of them. The boy was too young to understand even if she were to explain.
"Yes, that's what they mean," she exclaimed at him. She took the boy's hand and started running back to the palace. She was the only hope for her people's surviving the attack of the birds.
The young boy and the rest of Ember didn't deserve the anger of the beasts because of her. Looking back at the path to her freedom, a tear trickled down her face.
She was a princess and her life wasn't hers alone, she was born for her kingdom. Even if that meant being a sacrificial lamb.
Taleyah raced as fast as she could, stunned at how the young boy was able to keep up with her. He kept throwing questions at her, wondering where she was dragging him to, but she was too busy to answer him.
Luckily the birds weren't attacking. They hovered over the kingdom, sending shivers to the people's spines. The subjects of Ember retreated to their houses too afraid to come out.
The princess rushed through the rough road, her heart hammering in her chest. At that moment, she understood what her father must have left on the day of the battle. Seeing the fate of everyone before her and knowing that she was the only one that could save them pushed her to run faster.
She realized that she couldn't see Ember burn. She would rather let herself be taken than see her home destroyed.
It took her a while to make it back to the palace, her hair was messy and out of place. Sweat trickled down her face and spine, her breath heavy from how fast she ran.
Her shoes and the hems of her dress were dirtied with dust and some mad. It didn't matter to her, she had made it back in time. Seeing the secret back entrance to the palace, she was able to take a moment to breathe.
"You were quick,' the boy uttered.
Taleyah looked down at him to apologize for dragging him with her without any explanation. Her eyes narrowed at him. They had run a long mile to get to the palace, yet the boy had no single sweat on him.
His clothes were neatly in place, not a hair out of place on his head. The dirt and mud that she had attracted on her shoes and her dress seemed to have missed his presence on the road.
"Who are you?" She raised the question finding him to be too strange for comfort.
"A friend," he said and waved his hand in the air. The birds vanished from the clouds as though they hadn't been there, to begin with. "Look," he ushered her.
He created a mirror before Taleyah and showed her a scene. An army of red dragons was being guided towards Ember from the dungeon of the flying palace.
"Your choice has offended them. They want all of Ember buried in ash before midnight," the young boy informed her. "I had to get you back before they acted on their plan. Change their mind before they kill everyone you love and imprison you in a place far worse than death," he advised her.