As winter weeps, the frost would collect on her feathers. Her light teardrops would swirl until the world was white. The shine of a blade flashed in the night. Forever more, the bird was always free. As the wings grew and beat, the snow swirled outwards, never to be found in the landscape. Rising higher and higher, almost breaking the clouds that enveloped the sun. When the dusk sky appeared, she never felt more alive.
"Mademoiselle, would you like a cup of tea?" I say.
The "tea" was actually infused with some deadly nightshade berries found in the Vastaya region.
"Thank you, honey." Chistem said as she took the "tea" without a glance at me.
As she took a sip, I backed away and left the room without a backward glance, smiling. I heard the clatter of the teacup and a chair fall down behind me. It was time to take my leave. I opened the window of the Piltover building and jumped out. It was a 2 story drop so I unfurled my wings as I took my descent. A light winter breeze kissed my cheeks and my skin. The mission was a bit too easy. The Piltover official was so sure that at home she would be safe. What a small minded being. Well, it was small minded beings that started this stupid war. I'm going to end it though. One death at a time. As my feet touched the backyard of the Piltover house, I headed to the dry wilting bush and started to undress. I ripped off my maid uniform and grabbed my flying gear from nearby. As I was putting my finishing touches, I realized that I couldn't find my cape. Dammit. I might have left it… oh, there it was. It was stuck on the bare tree. It was flapping wildly even though only a light breeze passed by. Oh why, oh why did they have to make the cape so light. Ugh. So not in the mood. I flapped my wings again and flew upwards to grab the purple lightweight cape. I did dearly love this cape for it provided cover for the night and I blended in very well with shadows. I took the cape from the snatching tree and put it on around my neck. I started to prepare for a high jump as it was more likely to be mistaken for an illusion if what you think you see is gone. As my leg muscles filled with strength, I started to beat my wings and fly upwards. The white fluff of the clouds enveloped me as my head poked through and above the white horizon. The air felt thinner here, but the smell was of a pure winter. My wings beat forward against the breeze towards Ionia. Forever until the air opened to home.
"5 Ionian crab monsters for 4 pounds!" the local seafood merchant yelled.
He waved his hands at the Vatayan crabs in the cage. The 5 figures of humans with crab pincers was noticeable in the cages. Their pincers and feet were tied together and the dirt was noticeable on their bodies. They were gagged and were asleep in the cage.
"Don't look, Tommy, their ugliness is contagious," said a woman who shielded a boy's eyes from the cage. The crowd was starting to gain interest as they noticed the interesting new species of crabs.
"I'll take them! 4 pounds right?" said a Bilgewater landlord.
"Aye, sir. You'll be glad ya did. They taste best when boiled." the seafood merchant said.
The landlord handed over 4 pounds and started to yell for a cart to carry the cage. As the crowd realized that the freak show was over, they dissipated. When the cart arrived, the seafood merchant started to drag the cage towards the cart. Noticing that something was happening, the Vatayan crab people started to squirm around banging their claws against the bars of the cage. A dull ring rang across the merchant square as they desperately tried to escape from the bonds of the rope.
"A bit feisty. I'll have to boil the second I get home I guess." the landlord said while looking unsympathetically towards the cage.
As the cage was loaded onto the cart, the landlord got on and snapped the reins of the horse, forcing the horse to ride down the filthy wet streets of Bilgewater.
The dark door of the Bilgewater landlord's mansion opened, you could hear the occasional ring of the cage bars. The old Victorian furniture and portraits of famous pirates were barely visible in the darkness of the house. The landlord called for 2 servants to come and fetch the cage. When he heard no answer, no footsteps, no chatter, he started to become suspicious of what had gotten into the servants. He walked into the mansion calling for servants again to no avail. As he took a step onto the red Victorian carpet lining the main hall, a dark winged figure stepped behind the man. The man whipped around with a yelp of a surprise to realized that he was met with a knife in his stomach. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground. As his breaths grew shorter, he saw that the intruder was a bird figure.
"Hello, I'm Xayah. Any final words?" Xayah said as she pulled the knife out of his stomach. Without waiting for a response, she said, "You'll remember for dying moments as the punishment for daring to harm my people. You will die a filthy death in this house. This is your punishment as well as your servants and anyone beneath you. Know that this is your fault."
As the man's eyes glazed over, she left his corpse and walked towards the cage. As the breeze brushed past, a single purple feather fell. Without a trace, Xayah and the cage disappeared.
Bob, the leader of the crabs were welcome to have 5 members of the tribe back.
"No problem, all I wanted was revenge. I saw them when I was flying over. Did you know that they air above is Bilgewater is so musky? Disgusting." Xayah said to the crab.
"Well you know, they are 'pirates'." the crab said.
"Anyhow, you should inform the kingdom's messengers whenever something happens. Good day." Xayah says as she backs off.
"Thank you for your help. I'll send a donation to the kingdom!" he said as he snapped his pincers.
As she walked away, the laughter of the neighborhood children could be heard. An occasional squawk and chirp could be heard from the Vastaya children as they played around cheerfully near the base of a giant forest tree.
The wooden door to the entrance of the Vastaya grove was opened as the guards opened the door for Xayah. They nodded at Xayah as she passed through. Messengers of the kingdom were always 5th to the king, meaning they were of elite status. Not only that, but Xayah was the top of her class, with no one matched in her skill of stealth. She was the kingdom's top messenger always hitting with precision and grace.
"Xayah, I assume you have completed your mission?" a voice said from behind a tree.
"Yes, sir. Do you have any other missions that require my attention, sir?" Xayah asks.
"It's fine, you may take the rest of the day off. I currently have my other messengers out on those missions. You are to report back to me tomorrow morning Xayah." the voice said again.
"I will be back tomorrow morning sir," Xayah says as she starts to walk back towards the door.
The guards nod once again as they open the door for Xayah. As she got out she sought for the local tavern. Her wings ached, but she still had the energy to get a drink so walked to the tavern called the 'Singing Beer.' Sounds of loud music could be heard from the outside as she pushed open the doors into the tavern. Xayah was met with a blast of loud music and smells of beer.
"Welcome to the Sing Beer!" someone in the back yelled as she walked to an empty table in the back.
"One beer please!" Xayah said, raising her voice against the loud music.
"Beer coming up!" someone said again.
As she settled into the dark wooden stool of the table, she saw that the tavern had quite a number of occupants. She saw a vibrant dancer on a colorful wooden stage dancing to all kinds of music types. Entranced after watching the dancer, she felt the PLUNK of the beer slamming on her table. She turned around to see a crab lady with an apron across her body.
"One beer." she says.
She leaves after giving the beer to Xayah in which Xayah starts slowly sipping the beer. The beer was in a glass cup filled to the brim overflowing with white foam. As she indulged herself in the drink, she could hear the pounding music in her ears. The sickly sweet taste of the beer flooded through her mouth when she drank every sip. As the day turned to dusk, she finished the drink and started to leave the bar. With her stomach full from all the foods she ordered, she started to trudge towards the nearby inn. She didn't have a need for a house since she had to travel so much. As she rounded the corner of the street into an alley, she saw a dart of movement from above her. She glanced upwards at the dark rooftops of the building next to her to see nothing.
"Look out!" a masculine voice said as she turned to see a human wielding an ax.
The axeman swung his ax at her with astonishing speed. All of a sudden, a flash of red and green flashed past her and intercepted the ax.
RIP
The wretched sound of something snapping was absolutely horrifying, but the splatter of blood on her face scared her even more. She looked up to see that the dancer from the tavern had taken the blow of the ax. Then she saw the wound. One-half of his wing hang limp and bloody on the floor.
"Are you alright?" the dancer said as he looked up at her.
Without hesitating, the axeman swung again and knocked him to the side of the alley. Beaten and bloody, he lay there, limp. With a gasp as she finally processed what had happened, she turned with anger towards the axeman. Fury as red as lava, anger like the depths of hell itself rose up from her. She was so consumed in her anger that she couldn't hear anything except for the flapping of her wings flying up towards the sky. As she flew, an ax was thrown, hitting her square in the back. As she fell, she saw that the axeman was one of the humans who would capture the Vatayan people. Then with a snap, she felt a pain erupt from her back. The shadows of the alley surrounded her as she fell to the earth. Not wanting to die without revenge, she whipped out a blade storm of daggers at the human. As the daggers flew by harmlessly, she let out a grim smile. In the last moment, before she hit the ground, she recalled the daggers impaling the man in the back. When the earth slammed into her, she went black.
Her back felt like a thousand needles were stabbing at her. As she opened her eyes, she saw the night sky with stars glittering brightly. All of a sudden, she felt strong callused hands across her back. She looked upwards to see deep blue ocean eyes. She realized she was staring into the face of the dancer. Mesmerized by his eyes, she forgot about the pain until she remembered what had happened.
"Your wings…" she said as she saw his back.
The blood was evident in his blood splattered clothes. Waves of sobs started to wrack her body.
"I know. He's dead." He says in a light tone.
His gentle touch was comforting in the cold night.
"You saved me… at what cost." She says.
Just thinking about the blood was making me uneasy. Even though I was a messenger, blood so close to me made me feel nauseous.
"Well, I couldn't allow someone to be murdered without a fight." He said.
"You don't ... even know me." she said with sobs in between.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you. We can protect each other ya know. I have a left wing, you have a right wing. We could be a team…" he said with a pained smile.
"Nice joke." she said sadly.
"It's fine, I can stop the blood," he said as he plucked a red tinted feather from his wing. He started singing a melancholic tune which resonated inside her bones. She felt the pain ebb away like the tide until all she felt was a numb tingling feeling in her back. At the end of the song, he wiped a fading tear from her eyes, bringing her into a gentle hug.
"It's fine. We are two parts of a bird. If you need anything come back to me." he said.
The thought of that was weird but strangely comforting. Even though he was a stranger, I felt like I owed him something for saving my life. She nodded her head in response which made her hood fall down.
"I never got to introduce myself. If you need anything go find Rakan," he says.
Rakan. The name of her savior. Forever etched into her memory. A name fitting for the vibrant dancer.
"Rakan." she says.
"Do you want help with something?" he says.
Anyone could get lost in his blue eyes.
"No no. My name is Xayah. I am indebted to you for saving my life." she said.
"There is no need, I acted on instinct. I couldn't let a maiden like you get killed could I?" he says flirtatiously.
His words made her feel gooey inside. However, she couldn't let her defenses down.
"Well if you're gonna be a jerk about it, nevermind. Hmph!" she says realizing that he would do that to sway the ladies. She stomped off into the darkness completely forgetting to thank Rakan, but fatigue took over and the earth grew closer. The darkness enveloped her.