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Apo had wished upon the stars asking for change and they had brung it, had traded her sand for stone and yellows for gray. Fate had looked upon a soaring child and shackled them to the ground. She had asked for change and the world had obliged in its cruel nature.
The journey across the mountain ranges was short in distance but felt fierce and intense to Apo. Every movement could be felt throughout her body, bandages rubbing against tender skin as wings which weren’t there prickled against the cold wind. Sometimes Apo would try to leap from rock to another and feel the wind under her wings only to fall as pain pulled them back down to earth.
—
Apo and the rest of the group arrived in Soluna after 2 days of travel. 2 days of walking instead of flying, 2 days of being seen as human, 2 days of not being alone.
They were exhausted and yet refused to show it. They hid their grimaces and breathed in even breaths. They had learnt quickly when they were younger that attention was for those who could afford to be seen, to be heard. They had learnt the lesson and so no matter what happened Apo kept their stoic nature. They had worn the mask for years without break, they smiled when they flew.
The king stayed with Apo walking beside them as they entered the castle. People gazed upon them likely wondering why the king himself was escorting them himself but no one dared to question either of them.
Eventually Apo was taken to a room and told it would be their new ‘bedroom’. It was a strange name for a nest but Apo didn’t tell him that, instead she nodded their head to him and thanked him like they had seen others do in the past. It was her first time doing it. The king smiled and guided them towards the center which contained the nest. It was strangely square and low to the ground but humans couldn’t fly so maybe that was why Apo also couldn’t fly.
—
The king had told Apo she was allowed to roam the castle days ago but today was the first day she was venturing out the confines of her nest room.
Everything seemed so different in this new place as she explored the grounds, greens and greys dominated her new world. The sky felt further away even though the buildings didn’t tower and obscure it. Apo felt as if everything had been recalibrated except her leaving her out of place in the alignment of the world.
It was a clashing of steel which drew her attention away from the grounds and to the people themselves. Flightless people whose footsteps thudded heavy against the ground belonging to the earth instead of the sky.
They wore shining metal which dazzled in the sunlight casting glimmers across the stones. They moved in tandem with one another in a choreographed dance of slamming shields and swords. It was mesmerising to Apo the way they darted across the earth the way she used to fly.
Apo wanted to be like them, to fly across the ground, maybe it would come to close to being in the air.
—
King Ren sanctioned off her training with a smile.
“You will go far young one”
They would go far, they wouldn’t remain broken and weak instead flying across the ground with strength and purpose. King Ren had given them a home, they would repay that kindness with protection.
—
Training was exhausting for her; everyday was filled with drill after drill, freetime was non-existent. It was so unlike her old life where each moment was hers alone to decide.
Her torso was freed after a month of constantly being swathed in bandages. Apo would occasionally catch sight of her non bandaged torso and startle as the wings that still ghosted across her back didn’t show in the reflective glass. She knew that she lost them, they weren’t coming back. She was identical to the others in Soluna, and yet she could still feel each feather moving with the wind. It didn’t matter that they were only figments of imagination, only phantoms of the past, they felt real.
The realness transformed from comfort to curse whenever pain sprung from nerves no longer there. Phantom pain, that’s what the doctor had told her when she’d first experienced the cursed event.
All Apo could do in those agonising situations was to wait it out. To curl into a ball and try not to cry as non-existent pain pulsed throughout her body. It was awful, she had done this.
—
Apo craved flying, bring up in the clouds as the wind flitted through their feathers. They missed the feeling of warm shot fanning their face as they soared across the skies. Apo missed all of it.
They weren’t entirely sure how it happened, all they knew was that they needed to be in the sky, to touch the stars and hold their silver light close to them.
Apo needed to be above the ground and so they climbed one of the castles numerous towers and sat upon the roof of it. The air was lighter up there, it felt like coming home. Apo danced across the rooftop feeling the rushing wind pass then by. Apo didn’t fear fan point by as they ran across the tiles high above the courtyard. This was their true home, how could they ever be scared of it?
—
Night after night Apo journeyed from her bedroom up to highest peaks of Soluna. Up in clouds where the frigid air thinned was where Apo felt her most comfortable. This is where she truly belonged, Soluna and the earth it sat upon was beautiful thing but it would never truly compare.
It was during one of her nightly adventures that she met Princesss Cherri. Apo has been casually looking off into the distance when they heard tiles clacking one after another approaching her. Just as she was about to call out to the assailant she caught sight of who it was.
Princess Cherri, heir to the throne, daughter of King Ren and a person who should definitely not be up as high as they were.
“Why are you here princess?” She called out s as Cherri grew ever closer to her and the edge she was sitting beside.
“Cana princess not roam her own castle?”
Apo raised an eyebrow “Usually the roof tips aren’t apart of the typical roamings of a Royal Princess, would you like to tell me the true reason for your visit here?”
Cherri but her lip writing her options and choices. “You seemed lonely from where I was so I thought I’d give you some company”
“I assure Princess I am ok, I fear you may not be though if you continue to be on this roof, you could very easily fall and leave this country without its future leader.”
“If you sure.”
“I am Princess, please go back to bed.”
“Ok”
With that Apo watches as Cherri retreated across the roof to an ajar door which she herself has used earlier that night. After Cherri disappeared down into the silent castle Apo reflected upon the interaction. Princess Cherri was beautiful interesting.
—
Month after year Apo trained in Soluna, they were a knight, a protector, a loyal servant to the country. Soluna was their first and only home, they weren't going to lose it.
When Soluna was besieged Apo wished to fight, wanted to protect the place which had given them so much. King Ren though gave them a different assignment, guarding Princess Cherri.
Apo was once more leaving and going to more hopeful beginnings, maybe this time it won't end in tragedy.