Wings and Crown

December 20th

The tenth year of the war

Every night, when I give in to sleep and lay my head on the ground, once drowsiness has beaten me and I can no longer open my eyes, I find myself in a place of intense white, empty of any blemish or trace of anyone. I find myself standing in the middle of that white sea whose end I cannot see, before a black coffin that reaches a hundred metres long. Behind that coffin stand three enormous gates. The first covers a vast area, as though it were a skyscraper. The second follows it, far larger, twice its size again. And the third, my eyes could find no end to it. The coffin's shape was extremely simple, but it was ringed by a huge quantity of chains, ranging from the size of ordinary prison chains to chains where each single link reached fifteen metres. On the links of those chains hung hundreds of locks spread all along those three gates. And on the coffin, among the hundreds of chains binding it, there were only three locks. On either side, the ground was filled with heaps of rusted weapons and armour of every kind.

I looked at that scene again and again until I woke from my sleep, without taking a single step forward. I remained a prisoner of that dream, until my foot moved and took its first step. On that day, when I advanced towards the coffin, and before I could take my second step, I saw something falling from the top of that gate. It was coming towards me at tremendous speed, and the moment I glimpsed it I drew back quickly, so that a long, sharp thing fell where I had been standing and pierced the ground. When I opened my eyes, I saw a Roman-styled sword, extremely rusted, buried in that ground. Cracks and fissures filled its blade, and in the middle of that blade a great split reached to either side. Was that a warning not to approach, or a sign to take it up? All I was sure of at that time was that this sword would not withstand more than a single blow. And yet I stood, put my hand on the sword's grip, and drew it out slowly. From inside the ground white flames began to emerge, wrapping around the blade, growing stronger the more I pulled it free. Then the flames began to devour my body and surrounded me completely, and even so, I did not stop drawing that sword. In the moment the sword came free, everything turned white again. And then...

In a small hut in the middle of a small village, Hiro was asleep on a wooden chair beside the window. Near him stood a little wooden bed. Sleeping in it was a girl with hair as blue as the colour of the sky, its short strands scattered across the pillow. In that small, dark room, the light of the morning sun filtered through the window, and on Hiro's head, within those red horns, the light broke to fill the room with that lovely crimson colour.

That quiet, lovely picture was interrupted when Hiro rose. The instant he opened his eyes he was already on his feet, dragging his breath in with great difficulty. His pale face had gone entirely white, his eyes open all the way, painted with the colours of fear and dread.

When he settled for a moment, he looked towards his left shoulder to see raging white flames pouring out of his upper back. He turned his gaze towards the girl sleeping near him, then quietly closed his eyes and left the room.

He went into the washroom and stood before the small mirror hanging over the water tap, and began to wash his face to chase the drowsiness from his eyes. "That dream again. Since my fight with that old man, I don't feel I've closed my eyelids for a single hour. At this rate I'll surely lose my mind."

He let out a heavy sigh, then shut off the tap. When he returned to the room, he was startled the moment he stepped inside. That was when he saw the little girl standing in front of the large mirror in the room, looking at herself, taken aback at the sight of that small red crown floating above her head.

Just as Hiro was about to say something, tears poured down heavily from the girl's eyes. Then she looked towards Hiro, who stood at the door of the room. She tried to wipe her tears and smile again, but she could not stop those tears. He could not speak a word. He had no idea what to say, or even why she was crying like that. All he knew was that those were not tears of sorrow. Perhaps they were the opposite. He realised then that this was the time everyone needs to be alone, so he closed the door and left.

Near the village ran a small river that looked out over the King's Garden. Between the leaves of those trees, the daytime sun was sinking very slowly, announcing the end of that day. On the bank of the river, Hiro sat, ignoring that beautiful crimson scene, and began looking at his reflection on the surface of the water.

A little while ago, when I saw Stella in that state. No, it started from that day when this wing appeared. I began to be able to see the feelings of the people around me. Is this the ability of this wing, or has something in my body changed? I don't know...

While he was drowning in his thoughts, the flames behind his back flared up violently, becoming a raging fire whose height reached three metres in the air. Hiro, beneath them, felt his body being eaten away and charred by their heat. After a few seconds, the flames vanished quickly, leaving Hiro panting and nearly falling from exhaustion. Several minutes later, even that feeling disappeared. He touched his body with great worry, and looked at himself again through the water. Everything was normal, with no signs of burning on him at all. That left him in a fear greater than what was happening to him.

In the midst of his intense worry, he saw something right before his eyes. It was a mark in the shape of a broken sword, clinging to the surface of the water. Out of curiosity, he reached out his hand to touch it.

"Found you at last! I've been looking for you."

A voice from behind rang in his ear and stopped him. He looked to his side and saw Stella's smiling face, a red apple in her hand. Hiro answered her as he turned his gaze back towards the river. "You. What are you doing here? Are you better now?"

With a cheerful face and an unprecedented delight, she answered him. "In the best of health, all thanks to the kind lady of the house. Now that I've eaten, I feel completely recovered. But the wound in my shoulder still hurts a little."

Hiro bowed his head down as he said, "I'm sorry about that. Even if it was to stop you, my brother's method was a little savage. I really do apologise for it."

"Your brother? Actually, I don't remember what happened at all. But don't worry about it. He must have had his reasons."

The sun disappeared entirely behind the trees, and the sky was painted in its black colour. Stella sat close to the river and began blowing between her hands, trying to drive the cold from her fingers. Then she looked at the reflection of her face in the river, focusing on that crown glowing in its red colour. "Can you tell me what happened that day? How did we end up in this state, and in this place?"

"Honestly, even I don't know what happened. Before I realised it, I found myself facing that monster. Somehow Titus stepped in and stopped the fight. But he didn't tell me anything important. After that I dragged you to this village. Luckily, the first person I came across was the old woman who owns that house. Fortunately she's blind, so she didn't hesitate when I asked her for help."

"Titus? Is that your brother's name?"

"Yes. Every time a problem like this happens, he shows up like that and helps me. Like any older brother, I suppose."

"I remember now. That girl, what happened to her after that? That blonde girl with the one eye."

He wrung his hands as he said, "I don't know. I tried to search for her as much as I could after that incident, and I couldn't find a trace of her. When I lost consciousness in that fight, I felt as though I were dreaming while I fought that old man. At that time I lost the ability to tell things apart, so I really don't know. Thinking it over, that girl helped me a great deal that day. So I'm a little afraid I may have hurt her by accident then. Or perhaps... I killed her without realising."

Hiro was trembling as he bowed his head onto his clenched fists. That made Stella feel bad in turn, and she lowered her head. Silence settled for a while near that river, letting the full moon lend beauty upon beauty.

Hiro looked towards Stella, and when he saw that crown he remembered her weeping in the morning, which drove him to speak again. "That crown above your head, is it that mark you were talking about at that time?"

"Oh!! Yes, usually you can recognise anyone of the Phoenix the moment you see something like this crown above their heads."

"Is it that important?"

Seeing the serious look on Hiro's face, Stella thought for a moment as she looked towards the sky, which was already filled with stars. "You could say that. But I think it isn't about whether it's important or not. It's just that constant feeling of something missing. For a reason you don't understand, you find that everyone looks at you with those cold eyes. It isn't as if anyone's at fault. Just for being different, they treat you as lesser. They belittle you. They despise your existence. And also... the fact that there's no place for you in this world."

As those words reached his ears, Hiro remembered things from his life. When he realised there was nothing he could do about it, he could only laugh a little. "That's why I think the fact that you've been freed from these bonds society forced on you all this time makes you feel a little at ease. And at the same time, sorrow at what you've missed."

Stella threw the apple towards Hiro, and he caught it. She looked back at him, the smile never leaving her face, and said, "And despite all that, I can't help but feel joy over a thing like this. Don't you agree?"

Hiro contented himself with hearing those words, with no intention of answering what she said. He looked at the apple in silence, then made to take a bite of it. He stopped for a moment, surprised at that strange taste in his mouth.

"Apples were never among the foods I liked. But perhaps for the first time in my life, I feel one is this delicious."

Stella laughed a little and answered him. "You have the same reaction I had a little while ago. I never thought apples were tasty before. And when I asked the lady of the house about the kind of these apples, she told me that the Saint of the Forest visits this village often, and every time she comes, a herd of deer follows her carrying apples, which she offers to help the elderly in this place."

"A saint!! I think I've heard a little about this before. I heard she's a small child who lives in the forest."

When he got no reply, Hiro looked towards Stella again. He found her stretching her hands towards the water without touching it, while marks like concentration and seriousness formed on her face. "What are you doing?"

Stella sighed and returned her hands to normal as she said, "Just as I expected, it didn't work. Oh, don't worry about it. I'm only talking to myself."

Stella looked towards the sky with a calm smile and said, "It really is a beautiful night..."

While Hiro was hearing those words, the voice stopped suddenly, without any warning. He looked towards her to see what was the matter, and there was no one in that place but him. He searched around for several metres, and even so found no trace of her, and remained standing before the river without moving.

At that time, atop an old mill on the edge of the village, Stella was standing there, looking towards the stars. Then she closed her eyes and sat down there, looking at the lights that adorned the houses of that village. She leaned on the palm of her hand as she said, "What is happening in this place!!"