i got like 3 more reviews! yay! and i got questions! double yay!
shurikengrl (whos like my bbfl :) )- sexual references r in this chapter! (yay!) if u cnt find it...read it again and again and again until u find it. and the story would actually make sense if u read the first one..'cause i know u still havent dnt lie.
Malabsorbent- this story is in MaxRide 'cause i had no where else to put it and its sorta like a future-fic. like after the flock save the world. im going to write a prequel after the sequel to this story so you will know exactly how max&co. saved the world. hope u like it anyway. :)
The nxt chapter is like one of my favs so the faster you review, the faster u get it!
Chapter Two: I Swear She Flew Off the Canvas
At dinner that night, I sat across from Kaltezira and next to my mother, who sat at the head of the table. I had managed to get all of the mud out of my feathers and my hair, after about an hour.
Kaltezira never ceased to surprise me. As if I thought she couldn't look any better, she looked simply amazing as her long, waist length hair managed to shine in the little light as it fell in small waves down her back, even if she was stuffing her face with food like she hadn't eaten in years. What surprised me more was that she insisted on wearing jeans and a t-shirt to dinner, not like Ziaghra objected or anything. Of course, she hadn't been raised by Itrantia, she had been raised by her father, Balvor, who I had never met personally, but had heard that he would have cared less about the rules and customs.
"When was the last time you ate?" I asked her as I slowly ate.
"A decent meal?" Kaltezira inquired with her mouth full. "Three years easy."
"Where have you been? Hiding in the woods from your psycho mother?" I joked.
"Pretty close," she answered casually, swallowing. "I've been hiding in the bushes outside your window, watching you every night." What the hell?! I stared at her like she was crazy. She laughed at the expression on my face and then I remembered that my room was like on the third floor and there were no bushes below my window.
"I was kidding. I have been flying all over the world, finding a place where I belonged; I thought I was the only avian."
"And then you found Zlhorv," I said, filling in the blanks, "and found out that your crazy mother wants to kill you so she can destroy us." I shuddered, internally, at the idea.
"Exactly," Kaltezira agreed.
"But what I don't get is where you grew up," my mother commented. "You couldn't have grown up on your own." I was pretty sure that she had mentioned this before. I only wish I could have rolled my eyes with out being noticed.
"I didn't," Kaltezira explained. "My father raised me with the Rez. As far as I know, he's still there."
"That's the last place I expected Balvor to go."
"It was probably the last place Itrantia would expect," I commented.
"She didn't even check there. She's not the smartest power hungry dictator I've known," Kaltezira joked. This girl had a good sense of humor.
"She's the only power hungry dictator you've known," I pointed out. She shrugged, finished her third serving of food. I looked down at my own plate to realize I had barely eaten. It didn't matter; I wasn't hungry. I heard Ziaghra's chair push back against the tile as she stood.
"How long did you say you got to look at the painting?" she asked Kaltezira.
"About two seconds," Kaltezira replied.
"Well we are going to have to change that, aren't we?" my mother said. Both Kaltezira and I followed Ziaghra to the hall, stopping in front of the painting that had become too familiar to me in the past year.
Glancing from Kaltezira standing before me as she examined the painting, and her representation in said painting, it still appeared as if she had flown off the canvas. I knew she couldn't see the minor detail that stood out like a lone star in a moonless night. I wanted to wrap my arms around her waist again, press my lips to hers, and whisper everything in her ear. But I wasn't going to do that with my mother standing here, and I think the rule that I was not to do anything stupid and reckless was still in place. Plus, Kaltezira would think I was crazy, and who knew, maybe I am. I found my fingers drumming on the hilt of my father's sword while I watched her in silence.
"It is obvious to me that Zhayrald and I will end the war," Kaltezira said. "We each have some sort of power that will help us over come Itrantia, the silhouette in the background. The silhouette of the cities, which are no doubt Arez and Zlhorv, means, I believe, that the war will end in a draw, a standstill. All of this is important, but I feel as though I am missing something important."
"You are missing two things, actually," I commented, stepping forward so that I stood beside her. "We will have to use our powers to overcome Vdzr as well." My fingers tightened around the handle of my sword as I spoke the murder's name. If I could prevent it, I would never let Kaltezira know the reason why I hated her mother's right hand man.
"How do you know?" she asked.
"His silhouette is in the painting as well," I replied, tracing the outline of the wolf with my fingertips. I glared at the wolf in the painting, hating it with every fiber of my being.
"What else was I missing?" Kaltezira asked, smiling up at me, expecting me to tell her.
"I'll let you figure that out," I told her, my gaze softening as I smiled down at her.
"It must be something extremely obvious," she said, probably thinking out loud. Hell, yeah it was obvious. It was as if it had extremely large glowing signs pointing to it. But that was just because I knew it.
"I'm probably overlooking it."
"You probably are," my mother agreed.
"Zia, would you tell me?" Kaltezira asked. Ha. As if my mother would tell her. She didn't even tell me, but that didn't mean much.
"No," Ziaghra replied. I watched as Kaltezira sighed and sat in front of the painting. She looked like she wasn't going to leave until she figured out what she was missing.
Ziaghra turned and, with a quick glance at me, took her leave, her footsteps fading into nothing as she rounded the corner. I stayed for another second before turning as if to leave. Kaltezira wasn't going to stop me.
I walked to the end of the hall before looking over my shoulder. She still hadn't moved. I smiled to myself as I spread my wings, flying to the top of one of the decorative pillars that lined the hall. When Kaltezira took no notice of the beating of my wings that echoed through the hall, I sat at the top of the pillar closest to her and watched in silence.
With quick practiced movements, Kaltezira pulled something out of her pocket and placed something in her ears. She let herself lie back on the cold tile as she examined the painting, seeming to be listening to whatever she had put in her ears.
And she just lay there…
For four hours…
And I remained motionless…
Watching her in the silence…
From the top of the stone pillar with my feet dangling from the edge…
For four straight hours…
Long after the sun had ducked under the horizon and the moon began to shine through the window, her eyes drifted close. She was so silent that she seemed to be sleeping, until she opened her wings and let them rest on the pale colored tiles.
True to the painting, her feathers were as dark as the darkest night, like mine, and the tips looked like they had been dipped into pools of fresh blood. Not a single feather looked different from the rest, not one had a tip as white as mine. Maybe that part of the painting was just there for representation of the connection I knew I shared with the princess.
Just as I was about to jump down and walk over to her, to see if she was actually asleep, when her eyes shot open and her wings folded against her back so abruptly that I had to scramble back onto the top of the pillar. Her eyes stared at the painting as her hands returned whatever she had pulled from her pocket to her pocket as she stood. Tracing her wings with her fingertips in the painting, she found what she was looking for, what I had known was there all the long. Her fingertips slid down the feathers in the painting, her second finger stopping on the white tip of her left wing and tapping it as she opened her left wing slightly, looked at it and the painting again, noticing the difference.
Then it clicked, I saw it in her eyes. Her cheeks became a rosy pink as she stared at the floor, gentle waves of light brown hair hiding her face. I laughed to myself as I jumped from the pillar, landing silently.
"When you realize things, you can't hide it. No matter how hard you try," I commented as I walked up to her. Kaltezira was shocked that I was there, but tried to hide it.
"What?"
"I saw when you figured it out. Your eyes widened and you immediately looked at the floor," I explained, leaving out how deeply she had blushed. Kaltezira blushed an even deeper red and I couldn't help but laugh as I wrapped my arms around her waist, her folded wings pressing against my chest, and rested my chin on her shoulder.
"Where have you been all my life?" I whispered in her ear.
"I told you," she answered, her eyes not leaving the painting as a smile formed on her lips. "I've been in the bushes outside your window, watching your every move. I've always been there, you've just never noticed." I laughed again and pressed my lips into her hair. "How long were you there?"
"The entire time," I told her. "I never really left."
"How much did you see?"
"Everything," I responded.
"How long was I there, just lying on the floor?" she asked.
"A couple hours," I said. "Are we done playing twenty questions?"
"There were only three questions, and yes," she replied with a yawn.
"Since I know the last time you ate a decent meal, not counting tonight, was three years ago, I'm going to assume that was the last time you actually slept," I pointed out as Kaltezira yawned again.
"Basically," she agreed. I chuckled again and led her upstairs, keeping an arm around her waist. If I didn't, she would probably fall asleep on the tile floor and force me to carry her up the stairs, not like I would have minded.
As I watched her, I found it hard to believe that she was the same girl that looked like she was out to destroy us this morning. She just looked so peaceful with her head rested on my shoulder, a content smile on her face as her eyelids struggled to stay open, not like a person that would kill you without a second thought.
As I opened the door to the guest room next to mine, I watched as Kaltezira collapsed on the bed, chuckling as she buried her face in the pillow.
"The last time you slept on a real bed?" I asked.
"Never," she replied.
"Nice," I commented. Kaltezira chuckled as she sat up on the bed and I sat next to her.
"Thanks, Zhay," she told me, using the shortened version of my name, "for everything."
"Thanks for not calling an army down on us, Kalte," I answered. As I smiled, I realized how close we really were. Our faces were practically touching, only an inch from each other. Kaltezira's breath was warm on my face; the scent that rolled off her skin seemed so natural, so wild. We were so close, yet so far away. And the best part? My mother wasn't here to kill the moment.
When my lips met hers, the shock that ran through me affected my entire being. I suddenly wanted her as close to me as physically possible, but that would involve…well, let's just say that I am starting to question my own sanity with the thoughts I just thought. I mean, I like just met this girl this morning! Damn, maybe I am going insane…or this all some crazy dream. ((---HINT HINT. *pokes last paragraph repeatidly* yes i cant spell. thats why i love spell check.))
My arm curled around her waist and my fingers found themselves in her hair. Her lips were hesitant against my own, and I understood why. When my lips peeled themselves from hers, her arms were just wrapping around my neck. That had been the longest and the best two seconds of my life.
"Wow," I breathed.
"Wow is an understatement," Kaltezira told me, her breath hot and heavy on my face. "Now I won't be able to sleep." I chuckled as I straightened and rested my chin on the top of her head as she rested her head at the base of my neck.
"If I leave, will you sleep?" I asked, my fingers stroking her hair subconsciously.
"No, I'll just stare at the ceiling all night," she muttered into my neck.
"And if I don't leave?" I wondered. Her head lifted so that her hazel eyes stared into my blue ones.
"I'll stare at you," she answered. I smiled and wrapped my other arm around her waist, pulling her closer, her chin resting on my shoulder.
"I guess I'm gonna have to force you go to sleep then," I told her. I almost burst out laughing when she rolled her eyes; she was daring me to try. Silently, I drew circles between her wings and watched as she fell asleep in my arms. I laid her down on the bed as softly as I could, surprised when she didn't stir. Brushing a piece of hair out of her face, I kissed her forehead and returned to my room.