WINDOWS: A BROKEN FAIRY TALE

by Bramble, Casey

  Bryson started out by turning over and flying upside down. Sarah felt everything she had ever eaten starting to come back up while Raven cackled loudly. Bryson responded by doing a few loops in the air and Sarah found herself actually beginning to enjoy the sensation.

  Then the world fell out from underneath them, or at least that’s what it felt like to the poor girl who had never flown on back of a mythological creature before. Bryson was in a nose dive, heading straight for the ground. Sarah screamed at the top of her lungs.

  Raven just kept laughing. “Hunker down like this,” She instructed, lowering her torso on top of the dragons neck, “and hold on tight!”

  Sarah wondered who in the hell would want to offer less wind resistance when the ground was rushing up to meet them at such an unexpectedly quick pace. They were in a valley she had never seen before now, the jagged peaks racing skywards to either side but Bryson was still plummeting. Sarah could see individual trees now. They couldn’t be more than a hundred feet off the ground. Seventy feet now and she could see rocks. Forty feet and she thought she spotted an anthill at the place there were going to crash. She braced for an impact that never came. At twenty feet, Bryson spread his wings and they raced along, not more than a yard above the valley floor, hurtling towards a wall of dark granite. Sarah barely had time to recognize the new danger, so she didn’t scream as Bryson rocketed upwards just before hitting the stone. In seconds they were back above the clouds, the blonde trembling in relief, the redhead and dragon both roaring joyfully.

  “Are you ok, Sarah?” There was laughter in Bryson’s voice.

  “If you fell something warm on your back, I just spilled my coffee.” Sarah muttered, which set the other two off again.

  The trio settled down as they winged their way to Valentria, a patchwork of tan fields passing below them. A short while later Raven turned to Sarah. “You realize you’re safer up here than you are anywhere on the ground, right? Now that you’re our friend, neither of us would let anything happen to you.”

  Sarah smiled, the sun twinkling in her gray eyes, “I know. And thank you.”

  The warmth of the morning sun and the rhythmic beating of wings soon lulled Sarah to sleep. She had no idea how much time had passed when she was awoken by Raven leaning forward.

  “Bryson, what is that?” Sarah and the dragon both looked off to the left to where Raven was pointing. A black blob was sharing the sky with them. Bryson’s eyes narrowed and he said that it appeared to be the Prime Minister’s zeppelin.

  “You think Richard is on that thing?” Raven asked.

  Bryson sarcastically retorted that since Richard was always with the PM, he was probably on board. The redhead rubbed her chin thoughtfully for a moment and mentioned that it would be inhospitable if they didn’t at least say howdy.

  “Besides,” Raven nodded dutifully, “he owes Sis ten gullions. She told me to bring it back or not to come home.”

  Sarah felt it was her job to point out the obvious; they were miles above the ground and nobody would expect their sister to do something dangerous just to get some money. The dragon and redhead both turned in unison and stared at her blankly. Raven explained that this idea was in fact a much safer plan than going home without the money. Bryson nodded his head in agreement so Sarah shrugged her shoulders, accepting that they weren’t going to listen to her anyway.

  Within moments the airship was clearly visible even to the two girls. A large, gray, oblong structure supported a passenger deck underneath. Giant twin fans in the back provided the thrust to move, although it wasn’t nearly as fast as a dragon. Bryson flew above the balloon and slowed to match its speed. Lowering himself until they were only a foot or so above the balloon, he waited until Raven hopped off and then climbed back into the sky. Raven grabbed the nearest anchoring line and started down.

  Inside the cabin, three people calmly watched the window in front of them. Richard DeGuire, the head of the Protectorate and the Prime Minister’s personal body guard, the Prime Minister herself, Cassandra Sylvester, and the pilot.

  “Where are we going?” The Prime Minister spoke in a low voice.

  “We’ve already discussed this, Madame Sylvester. You have a meeting with the mayor of Augusta later today. Please have another sip of tea and relax.” Crimson lips puckered slightly as the cup reached them, but they did not drink. Instead a small smile curled the corners. “Someone is here to see us, Richard.”

  There was a sharp rapping at the portside door. Richard turned and saw Lady Branwyen hanging upside down, motioning him to come over. He did so, issuing a thousand curses under his breath at having to deal with such an annoying distraction on today of all days. At least the story of how she got up here would be interesting and if she got to pesky he could just kill her.

  As he swung open the door, Raven took a good look at Richard DeGuire. He was a tall man with black hair that hung to his shoulders and a goatee that was just turning gray around the edges. His leathery face could be considered handsome if not for his eyes. Black and oily, they glittered with malice under thick brows. Although they had always been polite with each other, there was something about this man that had set Raven on edge the first time they met. Each successive meeting only ingrained that inherent dislike deeper.

  “Good morning, Branwyen. To what do we owe this most unexpected pleasure?”

  “Mind if I come in? It’s a mite uncomfortable out here” Raven smiled as she struggled with her urge to destroy the ship. The fact she was hanging upside down, miles above the ground with her knees wrapped around an iron bar wasn’t too bad. Having to deal with this pompous jackass was really not the way she wanted to spend a morning though.

  Richard shook his head in mock sadness. “I’m afraid we’re already over our limit. If we let someone else in, we’ll be breaking the rule.”

  “Whose rule?” The redhead asked.

  “Mine. I just made it up, but I think it’s a good one.”

  Raven ignored him and twisted her body around to look inside the cabin, spying brown hair tightly twisted into a bun. “Is that the Prime Minister? Casey, how’re you doing?” The tip of a sword pressed against her chest was the answer.

  “Prime Minister Sylvester has no time to be bothered with someone like you, Branwyen. I suggest you get off this ship the same way you got on. Or you can stay and I can kill you. I doubt it would be possible to trace your death back to me after you fall from this height.”

  I’m going to end him. The voice rang in Raven’s head like a gong. She shook her auburn tresses. With the smile still in place, the upside down girl pointed behind the man with the sword, “If you kill me he is going to be very pissed off.”

  Richard turned to see Bryson and Sarah flying outside the other window. The pilot was stammering “sir” over and over again but the Prime Minister sat calmly sipping her tea as if nothing were amiss.

  While the head of the Protectorate was busy looking at the blonde and the dragon, Raven took the opportunity to make a few quick motions with her hand and place a reading spell on the Prime Minister. She finished just as Richard faced her again and sheathed his sword. “It seems we’re at something of an impasse, Lady Branwyen.” The dark haired man used her title to show that he wasn’t interested in any more fighting.

  “I don’t like impasses.” Raven declared in a huff and crossed her arms. “I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t you give me the 10 gullions you owe Sis, plus another five to me for a delivery fee, and I’ll leave.”

  Richard’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “I give you 15 gullions and you’ll get off our ship?”

  “Cross my heart and hope you die.” Raven traced an x over her left breast.

  Classy as always, the man thought as he reached for his wallet. He opened it up and handed the redhead a twenty but Raven protested she didn’t have change. Richard told her that the extra five was for the entertainment of their conversation. Happy her missions had been achieved Raven smiled wide, gave a mock salute and simply
straightened out her legs. As she plummeted out of sight, Richard DeGuire silently cheered more for gravity than any man in an airship has before or since.

  Raven yelled loudly, the wind tearing the sound away no sooner than it left her lips. The experience of freefalling was something she and Sis both loved and did at least once a week. The fact that she got to annoy the Protectorate, picked up the money for Sis and managed to finish the mission Elspeth had sent her on in the first place made this all in all a very profitable stop. She fell for another full minute, doing flips and turns in mid-air, her red pony tail sticking straight up against the force of the wind. Suddenly a large shadow raced beneath her and she reached out at the last moment to grab one of the bony protrusions on Bryson’s tail. Swinging wildly, howling all the while, Raven enjoyed her moment of triumph then used the spikes along the dragon’s back as handholds to work her way back up to sit behind Sarah.

  The trio flew on for a while, with Raven pointing out the sights from their vantage point. Sarah remained silent until she could hold her tongue no longer. She twisted halfway around and Raven saw she was visibly shaken.

  “Are you completely insane?” Sarah managed to finally spit out, staring at the bewildered Raven.

  “Yeah. What, you just now figuring that part out?” Raven was still to buoyant to calm down and missed the anger in Sarah’s words.

  The blonde snapped, “Do not do things like that, Lady Branwyen! I’m stuck who knows how high up in the air on a dragon I met this morning and you jump off not just the dragon but also an airship. I thought you were dead!”

  Raven stared, confused, into gray eyes that flashed like metal with no idea why Sarah was so upset. “Life is way to short to be bored so I did something fun. Besides, Sis and I go dragon jumping all the time. I’m not gonna die from that.”

  Trembling, her voice filled with indignation, Sarah muttered. “You should’ve told me.”

  Raven had very little experience with apologies but tried. “Sorry.” She said, but it sounded weak and half-hearted even to her.

  CHAPTER 6: WICKED SISTERS

  The light from the windows streamed in brighter than ever as the redhead hummed cheerfully while counting out twenty bills. They were almost back to Valentria and that meant she’d get to hang out with Sis. Sure Elspeth would be mad because she didn’t have anything concrete to report but since her step-mother seemed to constantly be upset it wasn’t that much of a hassle.

  A wisp of darkness uncoiled itself from the shadow in the back and closed another shutter, leaving only two windows left open but the girl barely acknowledged it. A window always closed after she had to deal with Richard or any of those Protectorate dweebs. Now that she was home her problem could be taken care of.

  After another hour of flight, Bryson announced that they were nearly home. Sarah turned to the front and gasped. Below them a large city shimmered like a mirage. They were approaching huge mountains still capped in white and gleaming in the early spring sun. The view, although incredibly beautiful, wasn’t what surprised Sarah. At the base of the mountains a large castle loomed, seemingly carved out of the stone behind it.

  At the top of three turrets, maroon flags flapped languidly in the afternoon breeze. Sarah noticed there was a garden on top of the castle. Make that ‘gardens’, plural, she corrected herself; two expansive gardens, one with white plants and one with red, sprawled out on flat, grassy ground. She couldn’t tell what the plants were from this high up, but promised to walk through them later. The dragon suddenly let out a tremendous roar and belched fire into the sky, shaking Sarah to the bone. Raven felt her jerk and whispered that was just his way of letting everybody know they were back. Bryson hung suspended in the air for a minute and reached his wings out to their full length. Slowly he lowered himself to the grass and the two riders slid from their seats. Sarah was a little cramped being unused to dragons as a method of transportation so she stretched before taking a look around.

  They were on the roof of the castle-- Sarah was sure of that much since she could see the three turrets in front of her-- but how big must the inside be if the roof was large enough for not one but two gardens, complete with trees and a winding brook that ran down the mountain side and pooled near the edge of the embankments. A heady fragrance wafted from the flowers, almost intoxicating to the blacksmith who grew up in the slums. Breathlessly she wandered under a nearby tree, speckles of green tinted sunlight filtering through its thick plumage.

  “Raven!”

  Sarah jerked out of her revelry at the unexpected scream and saw two women rushing towards them. A redhead with alabaster skin ran full tilt, grinning ear to ear. The other, an olive colored beauty with rich brown hair, trailed the energetic younger girl, but still walking at a brisk pace.

  “My sisters.” Raven murmured before the two could reach them. “Just address ‘em formally until they give you permission not to.” Sarah nodded then jumped out of the way as the redhead leapt at Raven, wrapping her in a huge bear hug.

  The two redheads broke apart with wide grins as the other approached. The brunette greeted the newly returned sister with a warm hug of her own.

  “Welcome home, Raven. Did you encounter any trouble?” she asked. The youngest girl gave her a hip bump and started fussing.

  “Quit being so formal, Liz, we have important things to discuss.” She faced Raven with thinly disguised expectation and Sarah noted that the younger girl had dark brown eyes. She expected them to be green, like Raven’s since they were so matched in skin and hair. “So, did you bring us any presents?”

  Raven laughed, “Yes I did, in fact. The best present ever for the best little sister ever, a new friend.”

  Sarah watched the three and saw that while both the other sisters were close to her height, Raven was at least five inches taller than them. She was starting to feel a little awkward but Raven introduced everybody.

  “You two, I want you to meet Sarah Petty. We’re going to open up a store in that shop I bought a while back. Sarah,” Raven motioned her forward; “these are my two sweet sisters. The beautiful and very lady like one is Felicity and the cute, hyperactive one is Amanda.”

  Bowing her head graciously, Sarah said. “Lady Felicity, Lady Amanda it is a pleasure to meet you both.”

  Lady Felicity smiled and extended her hand for Sarah’s, “Please call me Liz. Any friend of Raven’s is a welcome and honored guest in our home.”

  “And you can call me Mandy! Any friend of Raven’s blah, blah.” Amanda wrapped Sarah in the same bear hug she had used to greet Raven moments earlier. Sarah felt at ease with these two.

  “Say,” Raven stood apart, looking off into the red flower garden, “Where’s Sis at? She was supposed to…” Sarah screamed, Felicity and Amanda hopped backwards, and Raven went tumbling head over heels as a fireball crashed into her from behind. When she came to a stop she rolled over, slightly singed, and muttered, “Never mind, I found her.”

  Sarah turned back to the castle and saw a girl storming their way. Another redhead, but this girl’s hair was much darker than either Raven’s or Amanda’s, almost brown. She had bronze colored skin, closer to Felicity than either of the pale sisters.

  “What did I tell you before you left, brat?” The newcomer marched into the circle of grass, glaring at Raven who was still struggling to get to her feet.

  “To come see you as soon as I got home.” Raven stood shakily.

  The other girl stopped and put her hands on her hips, “And did you?”

  Raven started to say something but another fireball raced through the air between the two but this time the girl under attack was ready. She jerked her left hand up and a block of earth ripped from the ground.

  The fireball exploded into the wall loud enough for Sarah to feel the vibrations. She was starting to get very worried and looked for help but Amanda and Felicity were already sitting down with their backs resting against Bryson’s scaly hide. They motioned for her to do the same. With more than a little apprehe
nsion, she nestled down to watch.

  “You know how worried I was about you? Going off into that big city all alone! You could’ve been kidnapped or killed or worse.” The darker skinned girl started moving forward and Raven matched her step for step. The four onlookers, three girls and a dragon, switched their eyes from one combatant to the other. Sarah wanted to try something to stop them but Felicity whispered that it was best to be quite and not draw their attention. So Sarah just nodded and settled back since nobody else seemed overly concerned.

  “Sure, you were real worried about me, which is why you came rushing out to check when I got home.” Raven threw her right palm up and sent a fireball of her own, which her opponent easily dodged.

  “Oh that’s it. First you make me sit and worry all week long, and now you’re attacking me for expressing my sisterly concerns. I’m going to kick your ass!”

  “You and what army?”

  The two were silent, facing each other about 10 yards apart. Sarah took the opportunity to wonder, very quietly, if someone shouldn’t stop them before they got hurt. Felicity smiled and asked why anybody would want to stop them since it was obvious how happy they were to see each other. Then magic erupted again, scorching the grass where the spells met and exploded, making conversation impossible. The battle, which lasted a good minute by Sarah’s reckoning, was lost when Raven failed to block a spell that hit the ground at her feet. The explosion knocked her into the air and she landed heavily on her stomach. The other girl took advantage in a flash, jumping on top and pinning Raven’s right arm behind her back.

  “Tell me you’re sorry.” She demanded and Raven muttered something that none of the others could hear. Sarah might have caught the word ‘witch’ though she couldn’t be sure. The girl gasped and smacked Raven’s head with an open palm. “Where did you learn that kind of language?”

  “Let me up and I’ll tell you.” Raven hissed, trying to wiggle out from underneath her captor. The other girl was having none of it and twisted the captured arm painfully.