THAT FATEFUL NIGHT
A Wings of Fire fan fiction story by Porcelain American Princess
Summary
On the night that Ren disappears, eight-year-old Leaf sets out to find her. And that's only the beginning.
Disclaimer
I know all of you probably know this, as this website is called , but I'm going to say it anyway: I don't own Wings of Fire. The person who does own Wings of Fire is Tui T Sutherland.
Chapter 1: The Search
"Ren! Ren! Ren!" his heart screamed.
Leaf tossed and turned, feeling as if he had plummeted into a well, never to be seen again. She was gone, and he couldn't believe it. It was insensitive, he thought, that he was expected to sleep.
"We should all be sitting at the table, weeping for Ren," he thought.
It irritated him that his sisters had been able to just drift off like usual. He, on the other hand, hadn't even been able to cry himself into exhaustion. He had cried, it was true - first racking sobs, then soft choking cries and finally silent tears streaming down his cheeks. His parents had comforted him at first, Rowen had even given him a hug which was completely out of character, but soon they just lay down to sleep and ignored him.
Leaf threw his sodden pillow onto the floor and sat up. It was no use trying to sleep. As he sat there, all his memories of Ren circled his mind. Swimming in the river, climbing trees, picking fruit, telling her stories and just being with her, talking to her, walking with her after school, even arguing with her, all came back with painful clarity. He thought about how intelligent she was, how she had devoured books like a hungry animal, asked questions of the plainly impatient dragonmancers. She couldn't be gone, she just couldn't be. She couldn't be. Leaf sat up straight, his heart pounding. Was it possible? Could Ren have escaped the dragon?
"Of course I did, snail brain!" Ren's voice exclaimed clear as day in his mind.
"But no one meets a dragon and doesn't get eaten," Leaf pointed out.
"The dragonslayer did, so why couldn't I? Anyway, maybe it wasn't even a dragon! Maybe I ran away again, cut myself and caught my stupid dress on a bush. Maybe there was a dragon that arrived soon after, and when it was safe to come out, mother and father found the fabric and the blood and thought I was gobbled."
Leaf thought about it for a minute. It seemed so unlike Ren that she would be careless enough to get caught by a dragon. Perhaps she had run away, or perhaps… but no, that couldn't be true. His parents couldn't have lied, could they? If they had, why?
"Because they're stupid squirrel faces!" yelled Ren. Leaf would've started sobbing again if his tears hadn't all been spent.
"That's exactly what you would've said if you…" Leaf trailed off, unable to finish the thought.
"I am alive, worm brain!" Ren exclaimed exasperated. "Go out there and find me!"
"But how can I?" Leaf thought. However, even as he formed the words, he was convinced. Of course he should go and look for her. It wouldn't be too hard. She couldn't have gotten far. It was true she was a good swimmer, but she was only seven after all. It was madness, he knew. He didn't even know where to look. But he couldn't just sit here.
Decisively, Leaf got to his feet. He ran to the big chest of drawers that the family shared. Feverishly, he rummaged through his father's drawer until he found a roomy leather pack. After dressing, he began carefully selecting items. He packed a change of clothes, nightwear, a comb, a flask and his father's hunting knife. Then he opened a cupboard and tried to figure out what food he should bring. Eventually he added a loaf of bread, some mushrooms, nuts, goat cheese and an apple. It would be enough food for a few days at least. He made for the door, when Camilia's basket caught his eye. Grinning, he picked up Ren's favourite doll.
"Sorry Camilia, you won't be able to steal it now," he thought smugly, as he snatched up the tiny snail he'd carved for Ren from the window ledge. He could give them to her when they were together again. Suddenly he had another idea. He crept up to Rowen's loft. A floorboard creaked under his bare feet. He tensed, waiting for Rowen to sit up and start asking why he was there. But she didn't stir. He slid his hand under her mattress, expecting to feel the leathery spines of books, but there was nothing. For a second, he just stood there perplexed. Had he misheard Ren when she told him where she'd hidden them? No, he was sure of it. So had someone found them?
"Never mind," he thought, clambering back down. "She didn't like them anyway."
Leaf pulled on his cloak and left the small house. He didn't know he would never see it again.
The wet grass whipped his bare ankles and the fridged wind tore through his cloak. He considered going back for boots, but he didn't want to waste any more time. He had picked up a lantern on his way out, hoping the wind wouldn't put it out. Where should he go? Where had Ren gone? He decided to try the woods and river first. He trekked through the village, stumbling over stones and falling into who knew what. After a time, he extinguished the lantern because the moons lit his way and that allowed him to walk faster because he didn't have to worry about dropping it. He couldn't lose a second. He found no clues to Ren's whereabouts until he tumbled head over heels and faceplanted on a huge rock. Leaf hissed in pain, resolutely sitting up determined to continue. Suddenly he spotted something. The grass beside the rock was flat and trodden. His heart skipped a beat. He had seen this so many times, as he and Ren played hide and seek. Often, he had used it to locate Ren to her frustration. Leaf carefully followed the footprints. After a while, he realised he was no longer in familiar territory. It was clear that he was still in the mountains, but he hadn't been this far into the forest before.
"Where are you going Ren?" Leaf whispered.
Finally, the sun rose casting a golden glow over everything. Suddenly, Leaf spotted that the footprints lead to an old oak with very droopy branches a couple of yards away. Beneath the tree was something curled up in a little ball. Something blue. Leaf broke into a frantic run, half afraid he was dreaming, or that perhaps Ren would disappear at the last second. No, he got closer and closer.
"Ren! Ren! Ren!" he yelled.
Abruptly, he came to a halt. There was something else under the tree. Leaf gasped in horror. There, cradled in Ren's arms, was the unmistakable form of a dragon.