Is it a Bird?

It was the middle of the spring as they entered the Leiwand Kingdom again. Violet and Alex sat on the coachbox. Caleb and Violet behind on the cart. Rudy pulled them up a small hill.

“Ah good to be back again!”, said Caleb as the neared the top.

“Huh… I though you wouldn’t want to come back, because you would fear… her… finding you… didn’t you just vanish without saying anything to her last time?”, asked Violet.

“Ah that’s old news… besides, it’s not like she is actively searching for me… so I just have to avoid the capital and I’m fine…”

“What is that?”, asked Cera suddenly.

“What is what?”. Asked Caleb for clarification.

“That thing there on the road coming at us at full speed… is it a carriage?”

“Don’t even fucking joke about that…”

“Nah, I mean it for real there look… and something is in the air behind them… a few things in fact…”

They all looked in the direction Cera pointed.

“That is a carriage, my old friend…”, said Violet.

“It is…”, agreed Caleb.

“But what are those flying things? It looks like they are getting chased…”, wondered Alex.

“I don’t know… birds maybe?”, speculated Violet.

“No! Look at how big they are growing, those are…”, said Cera.

“DRAGONS!”, shouted Caleb.

“That’s impossible. Dragons haven’t been sighted in the West in Millenia”, said Violet.

“Uhm, actually… those are not Dragons… those are wyverns. Look at how their wings are also their front legs? Dragons have two front legs and two wings on top of that. At least… depending on the type of dragon…”, corrected Alex in a strangely annoying voice.

“Who the fuck cares? That down there is Hina, look! They need help! The Dragons, or Wyverns are catching up! We have to do something.”, said Caleb, panicked.

Alex and Violet looked at each other.

“Want to try the new technique?”, he asked with a smile.

“My little Alex and I are ready!”, she answered with an even bigger smile.

“Please stop calling it that!”

“Never!”

They both hopped from the cart. Violet stepped in front and held out her Axestaff. She began to chant a spell. Alex in the meantime grabbed his axe and went next to her. Around one-meter-long rock spikes with a spiraling pattern in it and a flat back began to form out of the ground in front of Violet. Alex took a step forward and readied his axe, by swinging it back behind his head with the blunt side facing forward. He concentrated and entered the Berserker state. He felt the earth energy entering his body and strengthening it.

“Ready when you are.”, said Violet behind him.

Alex took aim and swung his axe like in a popular sport back in his old world. The weapon collided with the rock spike making a loud peng. The projectile was flung through the air at an incredible speed hitting one of the Wyverns in the shoulder, making it crash down.

“Well, that worked perfectly…”, commented Violet.

Alex took aim again and swung against the next spike. This time he hit one, piercing the wing and making it slowly sink down. Alex swung and Violet created new rock spikes. Like that they shot down nearly all of the wyverns before the carriage with Hina reached the foot of the hill. One of the few still flying wyvern decided to crash into the carriage to stop it.

“Shit. Time to switch tactic… let’s get down there and help Hina directly, Alex! The grounded ones are closing in too.”, said Violet.

Alex nodded and she cast a new spell. The ground under them formed a rocky platform and was heaved up a bit.

“Wait! I’m coming too!”, shouted Caleb and jumped on.

“Okay but don’t get in the way.”, said Violet and waved her Axestaff.

The rocky platform underneath them began to move and then rushed down the hill. Violet grabbed Alex on one side, Caleb on the other side. The first wyvern reached the carriage where Hina met them with her sword in hand and wildly swinging to hold them back. Violet went even faster and grabbed tighter on Alex. Their vehicle made a small jump at the bottom of the hill and Caleb was flung off.

“Shit… well he has to look out for himself now… We’re going in! Are you ready Alex?”, said Violet and hugged Alex from behind.

He felt her flames entering his body making his tough and hardened Body more flexible again and his muscles more powerful. Then he felt a strong gust of wind further increasing the feeling inside of him.

“Yeah… follow my lead.”, he said.

“Right behind you!”

Alex jumped and cleaved the first head that went in for a bite clean off before his feet touched the ground. He immediately dashed forward flinging him and his axe against a second wyvern. Violet followed directly behind him moving in tandem with him her Axestaff was covered in flames, and she elegantly stabbed an slashed from behind Alex during the recovery times from his powerful and slower swings. Like that they moved through the horde of wyvern hacking, slashing and stabbing, while dodging claws and teeth.

“What the fuck?”, said Hina confused as she saw those two moving by her in a flash.

“Hina! You, okay?!”, screamed Caleb from behind her.

“Caleb!? What are you doing here?”

“Coming to your rescue, of course!”

“Watch out!”

Hina pulled Caleb just in time out of the way of a closing mouth. She rammed her sword through one of the eyes of the beast. It pulled back screeching in pain.

“Doing a great job… Go back to the carriage and see if Lena is okay!”, said Hina.

“What? She is here? No, I can’t…”, said Caleb.

“Look at the fucking carriage! It is fucking upside down! Now be a man for one fucking moment and go and rescue the fucking princes, you fricking knight in stinking armor! Keep her safe, while I and the crazy couple there deal with the rodent problem.”

“But…”

“CALEB! She might be hurt!”

Caleb ran to the carriage.

“LENA!”, he screamed.

No answer. He looked inside the window and saw her. Directly glaring at him.

“Fuck off…”, she said.

“Excuse me?”, he exclaimed dumbfounded.

“I refuse to be rescued by you… go bother someone else…”

“What do you mean, you refuse to be rescued by me? You want to die?”

“Well, that would be better than owing you something, you bastard!”

“What’s gotten into you, Lena?”

“YOU DARE TO ASK!? First of all, it’s Princess Elena Sophia or your Highness for you, you stinking rat! What’s gotten into me you ask? Oh I don’t know, maybe it’s because a certain someone just up and left without saying anything… again! For the seventh time! Just one day gone! Puff! Without notice or any message. The only trace he leaves is a path destroyed beds as I found so often in his wake… Caleb! My Patience runs deep… but it has reached its limit, you stupid fucking Mutt!”, she began so scream at him through the window.

A wyvern noticed the commotion and rushed over. It snapped at Caleb, he dodged and thrusted his sword in its neck. He moved it up and down to widen the gash. The Wyvern stumbled back roared up again, but then fell down.

“I… head to…”, said Caleb once he was back at the window.

Lena started climbing out of it. He tried to help her, but she smacked his hand away.

“Don’t you fucking dare to touch me! You had your chance! A multitude of them! But what did you do? Right, you hopped from one maid to the other! Night after night! And what did I do? You want to know? I fuckin lay there in my bed every fucking Night, with nothing on under the sheets! I lay there fucking naked, and I waited! The door was unlocked and the Window! Every fucking night. And you know what happened? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! I fell asleep… sometimes after staying awake for hours… sometimes after crying myself to sleep! And then I wake up in the morning… and you know what the first thing I hear from my maids helping me put my clothes on… The fresh rumors of the Castle… Those maids can’t keep a secret you know… And through them I knew… about all of them! I had them moved to another castle in some remote area, you know? If you ever wondered where they went… but I doubt you even cared or noticed… You did not notice me! Even after you promised! Do you even remember that Promise?!”, Lena went on screaming from the top of her lungs.

Two new wyverns came rushing to them. Hina swung her sword and stopped one of them approaching the carriage, the other got through. Caleb rushed to meet it, so it would not come near Lena. He quickly and nimbly dodged the claws, ducked under the head and slashed the throat open. Wyvern blood spilled on the ground and the beast fell over in it. Caleb rushed back to Lena who had just finished climbing out of the Cart.

“Lena… please you have t-“

“PRINCESS ELENA SOPHIA!”, she screamed and poked his chest with her finger.

“Do you remember your promise you gave me all those years ago, during the night when we first met?”, Lena went on.

“I do…”, admitted Caleb.

“What was it?”

“That I would make you happy.”

“If you remember, then why did you never fulfill it?”

“Because I can’t”

“Why not?

“Because I just can’t… I … It would not work… I would be bad for you…”

“Why?”

“Because I did stupid things, when I was young and… It would have looked very bad on you if you continue to… be seen with me… A city-wide known criminal, conman and man-whore…”

“And you just decided that the best thing would be for you to just disappear?”

“Yes…”

“You’re such a fucking Idiot… You know I don’t give a damn about what the people think of me…”

“I know… but even if you care or not, you are a beacon of hope for the people, especially the poorer folks! You always tried your best to help those that struggled. You are a natural born leader with charisma, and you move people… I just would blemish that image of you for the people. I just couldn’t…”

“You care so much about my image, but give a flying fuck about what I want?”

“No, I… do care about what you want… I just can’t give it to you…”

“But you give it to every other person that has two legs to spread?”

“I…no…”

“You sure? Because it damn well seems like it.”

Caleb looked around. A few Wyverns started heading their way again, but luckily got stopped by Alex and Violet cleaving through it.

“Please Lena… Not so loud… tho.”

“PRINCESS ELENA SOPHIA!”

“Princess Elena Sophia…”

“Better!... Okay, since you are so obsessed with my image instead of what I actually want, I will give you an option. Either you tell me right now, how you truly feel about me and if it that what I think you will give me what I waited on for thirty years now… If you don’t tell me, or I don’t like the answer, I will just put you in chains, parade you through the street of Heast, then put you on display in the city square. Where I will hold a Ceremony reciting every last one of your… bed buddies… and tell the story of the princess who got shunned by the only man she ever wanted, who instead lay with half of the city but never her. I will do all that while being completely naked. Let’s see what that will do to my image!”

“That’s not fair…”

“I ran out of fair… buddy!”

“You’re bluffing!”

“You think? Ok let’s start with the list! Maria… Celine… Haru… Lina… Isabelle… Fathima… Nadine…”

“Lena… please… stop…”

“PRINCESS ELENA SOPHIA FOR YOU! What? You don’t want me to go on? We’re just getting started! What about Hina! Yes, I know that you did her… IN THE FUCKING ROOM NEXT DOOR TO ME!! Do You have any Idea how it felt hearing you two through the wall?”

“Please… stop…”

“No, I don’t think I will… Where was I? Oh yeah, Ludmilla! Eileen! Becca! Lara!”

“Stop…”

“If you want me to stop, you have to shut my mouth!”

“Princess…”

“What? Too much of a scaredy cat? And here I only ever heard rumors praising your manhood… Are those all lies? Lisa! Beth!”

Caleb looked around. There were still a few wyverns alive.

“Margot… Tifa… Lili… oh, and what about that one over there… what’s her name? Vio-Mhhmm…”

Caleb used the only thing he ever learned to shut a woman’s mouth with. His own. After a few moments he pulled back.

“There! Happy! I lo-“

Lena jumped on him and pressed her lips against his. She saw a wyvern coming up behind him. She glared at the beast. And it stopped. Lena looked in surprise over her own power. Then the beast fell over and the Princess saw two arrow shafts sticking from the back of its head. She looked up the hill and saw Cera waving at them. Lena gave her the thumbs up and then pulled Caleb behind her.

“What… where… what are you planning to do?”, he asked surprised.

“Getting what I want.”, answered Lena and pulled him inside the carriage.

The last of the wyvern fell down in front of Hina with Alex and Violet standing on its back, both their weapons buried in its neck.

“Damn… what happened to you two?”, she said looking very impressed.

“Oh, we did some light training.”, said Violet and grinned.

“Light? I see… well It’s nice to see you, but we will have time later I have to see if the princess is okay.”

“Oh, she is fine… Caleb is making sure of it now… best we give him… how long does he usual take?”, said Cera and looked at Hina and Violet.

“Well… let’s get a fire started then…”, said Hina.

Violet said nothing.

“Great, then I will begin to harvest the Wyvern tails, they are a delicacy after all!”, said Cera and went to work.

Hina looked at Violet and noticed the Axestaff in her hand.

“What the hell is that thing?”

“Oh that? That’s little Alex.”

“What?”

“Please, don’t say anything…” pleaded Alex.