The Winged Princess (NOVEL PREVIEW)

An unusual princess is brought back to her parents.

Chapter 1: Retrieval


It had been just over five days since the knights had set out on their journey. While most had been largely silent throughout the trip, one of them had repeatedly complained about having to be there at all. Sir Donahue had always been a troublemaker, and Sir Redmond, the leader of the group, had had quite enough by that point.
“Remind me why we’re trudging up a snowy mountain in the middle of winter?” Donahue groaned, already frustrated by the bitter wind piercing through the gaps in his helmet.
“We were only told that we were retrieving something,” recalled Maldwyn, a knight who could be best described as ‘painfully average’.
Redmond rolled his eyes, unseen to the others. He had walked them partially through their mission several times earlier, even if he had left out a fair few details. “We’re retrieving someone,” he corrected, mildly irritated that his cohorts clearly hadn’t paid attention during the briefing.
“What do you mean by that?” Donahue inquired with more than a hint of spite in his voice.
“Remember Princess Aurelia?” Redmond asked somewhat cryptically. Perhaps it was time for the whole truth to be divulged.
“Of course we do,” Maldwyn replied with a snap. Aurelia’s story was a tragedy that most didn’t care to repeat too often. “A stillborn child is a tragedy no matter what. But what does she have to do with this?”
“Aurelia wasn’t stillborn,” Redmond revealed slowly, “she was recorded as such for her protection. She’s been up here for twelve years now, if she’s survived.”
A snort from the back of the group broke the tension in the room. “Fat chance o’ that,” Donahue quipped darkly, his brash nature coming through thick.
“If she’s alive,” Redmond continued, giving a sideways glance to the brash knight, “we are to return her to her parents. If not, we can at least gather her remains.” He certainly hoped it wouldn’t be the latter, but he wasn’t getting his hopes up.
At long last, the knights reached a small plateau partway up the mountain, coming upon an opening. “Well, this must be the cave,” stated Sheridan, the dedicated archer of the group. “When I signed up to be a knight, I didn’t know that spelunking would be part of the job description.” With that, the squad descended into the icy darkness.

The pathway into the cave was narrow and winding, with a few small offshoots leading into small caverns. The entire thing seemed almost… designed? Lit dimly by the knights’ torchlight, it seemed too convenient that the path was uniformly large enough for a human to easily fit through, bulky armor notwithstanding.
When someone finally spoke up, it was a surprisingly introspective question from Donahue. “Why was she left in here in the first place?” he asked, confused why a girl who would’ve been a newborn twelve years ago was placed deep into an icy cave halfway up a mountain miles from civilization.
“Under threat of the kingdom’s destruction, the king and queen were forced to,” Redmond explained, being privy to much more information than the others. “It wasn’t exactly an easy decision for them.”
Something seemed odd about their frozen surroundings. There was a dim glow provided by something other than their torches, and the temperature was becoming more comfortable by the minute. “Why’s it getting warmer in here?” inquired Fitzhugh, a usually quiet trainee with intelligence beyond most.
Rounding a corner, the knights entered a large cavern, getting an answer to Fitzhugh’s question. “Fire?” Maldwyn wondered, almost afraid to speak up. The entire room was dimly lit by glowing fires in each corner of the roughly square space. They didn’t know who gathered the kindling, or who lit the fires in the first place, or who might be maintaining them. Their only clue was in the sleeping figure in the center of the room.
A small figure, clearly a child, was resting peacefully on a bed of fabric, covered by a ratty blanket. They were sleeping mostly on their stomach, with extra blankets piled on either side, as if hiding something from view. “There she is!” Redmond exclaimed, having put the clues together. This sleeping figure was the long-lost Princess Aurelia they had been charged with retrieving. She had survived this whole time! There were still some questions in his mind. “Where did she get the blanket? Let’s see…” he said, kneeling down and gently lifting the blanket to confirm the child’s identity. He was rather shocked by what he found. Clearly, there were some details even he hadn’t been provided. “Oh. We certainly weren’t told about that.”

Twelve years prior, King Timaeus and Queen Maia were expecting a child. The entire kingdom was ecstatic about the new royal’s coming arrival. Well, all except one. A single dark mage, hoping to eventually take power, broke into the castle and confronted the monarchs. She cursed the queen to give birth to a child unlike any other, looked upon by the general populace as a monster. The evil witch hoped that the tragic birth would destroy the rulers’ spirits, leading to them stepping down in shame.
When the girl was finally born, rather than be horrified by their unusual daughter, Timaeus and Maia instead fell in love at first sight. Angered by the royals’ happiness, the witch proceeded to threaten to wipe out the entire population unless the newly-named Aurelia was abandoned in a cave on a mountain. While the monarchs loved their daughter dearly, they valued the lives of their subjects, so they reluctantly caved to the mage’s demand.
It had been a long twelve years, but the witch had finally passed away. With the threat to the kingdom finally gone, it was safe for the king and queen to have their daughter brought back to the kingdom.

The knights took in the sight underneath the blanket. For the most part, Aurelia looked like a normal girl, perhaps a bit small for her age. She was dressed in simple wrappings, allowing for freedom of movement. They weren’t sure how the girl had donned the rudimentary clothing, as she clearly couldn’t have done it herself. For where a human’s arms should have been, there were instead a pair of magnificent draconic wings.
Scales ran down the girl’s sides, shining a brilliant golden yellow along with her wings. A dull bronze spread across the wing surfaces, blending into a deep red. Her hair was almost as golden as the scales. Notably, her right wing seemed to be laying at an odd angle. The extra blankets seemed to be keeping the unusual limbs warm in the frigid winter climate.
“She’s certainly breathing,” Maldwyn observed, trying to ignore the fact that the princess was part dragon.
The tension was cut by the sound of metal sliding against metal. “Well, let’s get this over with,” Donahue said simply after drawing his sword from its scabbard.
“Hey!” Redmond shouted, surprised by Donahue’s sudden aggression. He drew his own sword in response, turning against his cohort. “What do you think you’re doing?!”
“You said it yourself. Gather her remains.” Donahue’s simple statement sent chills through the other knights. They knew he was off his rocker, but to actively try to attack a child? A princess, no less?
“Over my dead body,” Redmond replied through gritted teeth. “Sheathe your sword, maniac.” It was obvious that Donahue wanted to press the attack, but he knew when to quit. He reluctantly replaced his sword upon his hip. With that, Redmond turned back to the slowly waking princess. “It looks like she’s injured…”
A quiet, high-pitched growling escaped the barely-awake girl’s throat. She was obviously not overly pleased by the intruders. “Whoa, whoa, it’s okay…” Redmond chided gently, trying not to scare the spooked child. “Looks like her right wing’s broken,” he observed, seeing the arm-like portion of her wing bent unnaturally in more places than just the elbow.
“So?” Donahue snorted, entirely uncaring of Aurelia's plight.
Redmond rolled his eyes once again, already fully prepared to personally fire Donahue the moment they got back to the castle. “Go back down the mountain and fetch a healer,” he instructed. “I’ll stay up here with her.”
“Right away, sir,” Maldwyn said with a somewhat sloppy salute, his hand clanging loudly against his helmet.
At least some of them can follow orders without question, Redmond mused to himself. Turning back toward the entrance, he wasn’t even slightly surprised to see Donahue still standing motionless. “That means you,” the head knight commanded gruffly, seriously considering firing the miscreant on the spot.
“Very well, sir,” Donahue spat, fully aware that his status as a knight was likely in jeopardy. He turned to leave, hurrying to catch up with the others.
Removing his helmet, Redmond took a seat next to Aurelia. The growling had stopped, and it looked like she was on the verge of falling asleep again. “All right, Princess,” he began, trying to keep her awake for the time being. “How did you survive this long? Looks like you’ve been hibernating through the winter. Sorry for the interruption. I’m Sir Redmond, by the way. Nice to meet you!” Every new sentence was met with silence, and the winged princess showed no signs of comprehension. “You don’t understand a word I’m saying, do you?” he finally asked, wondering if he was, in fact, dealing with a feral child.
“No, she doesn’t,” came a woman’s voice from a connected hallway, prompting Redmond to quickly stand, hand on the hilt of his sword. “Not for lack of effort,” the voice continued, and the source rounded the corner, bringing her into view. “I’m just… not a teacher.”
“So who would you be?” Redmond asked the unexpected arrival, although his alarm was quickly fading. This woman was unarmed, unless she was proficient in offensive magic.
“My name is Salvia,” the woman introduced herself with a slight curtsy. “I helped birth the princess. What are your intentions, sir knight?” she inquired, very conscious of the knight’s readied sword hand.
Redmond relaxed, pleased that someone familiar with Aurelia’s origin had somehow been looking after her. “To return the princess to her parents,” he explained. “The witch who cursed her mother is dead, and the kingdom is no longer under threat.”
“Really?” Salvia said, the wonder evident in her voice. “Aurelia can be reintroduced into human society? It’s been twelve years…”
“The king and queen want to see their daughter again,” stated the head knight.
Salvia considered what her own role in all of this could be. She had been secretly charged with protecting the Princess, keeping as low a profile as possible so as to avoid the witch’s attention. “Then I suppose I shall accompany her back to the castle,” she announced, deciding her duties had not yet expired.
The sound of metal clanking against metal announced the others’ return. “Sounds like the others are back with a healer,” Redmond said, half hoping that Donahue would be mysteriously absent.
“Thank goodness,” Salvia exclaimed. “That broken wing has been causing her a lot of pain. I sense one of your men isn’t particularly happy to be here.” She might not have been a true mage, but she knew enough about magic to be able to discern people’s surface-level thoughts. One of these other knights seemed like he was a potential threat.
“Donahue’s always been a problem,” Redmond admitted as the group of knights entered the room, noting the problematic one’s regrettable presence. Enid, the healer, knelt down to the slowly waking princess, who began growling once again. “Careful, Enid,” the head knight warned the healing mage, “she seems to get scared easily.”
“It’s all right, Aurelia,” Enid tried to comfort the child. “I’m going to help you.” At the mention of her name, Aurelia turned her head up to the gentle-voiced healer, her golden eyes shining bright with slowly widening dragon-like pupils. “Does she know her name?” Enid inquired of Salvia as she gently laid her hand on the injured wing, summoning her healing magic.
“Yes,” Salvia affirmed, watching with worry as Aurelia’s wing slowly bent into its proper shape, “along with a select few other words. She can’t really talk, though. Her teeth make it hard.”
“Out of curiosity, can she breathe fire?” Redmond asked, now utterly fascinated by the princess. “Or even fly?”
“Flying, no,” Salvia admitted, though she was sure Aurelia was probably capable of flight. “She needs someone to teach her that one. As for fire…” she continued carefully, fully aware of the fires warming and lighting the room. “Well, that seems to have been instinctual. I’m going to fetch a piece of the mineral she needs for that. I have a feeling it’s going to be useful. Oh… She mostly eats meat, by the way,” she added as she retreated, knowing that the princess needed food as well to produce flame. “She’s probably hungry.”
Redmond rummaged around his rucksack, finding a small piece of jerky he had been saving for later. “Here,” he said, offering the small morsel of meat to the girl. Aurelia started sniffing curiously, her pupils expanding into full circles. “Does that smell good? You can have it. Go on.” The feral princess finally approached the knight’s hand, grabbing the piece of jerky with her needle-like, very much predatory teeth. She began chewing the food with the human-like molars in the back of her mouth, clearly trying to decide if she liked the mysterious offering. “You know, you’re kinda cute when you’re being curious,” Redmond admitted with a smile.
As Salvia reentered the room, a growling groan caught everyone’s attention. “Why are we still toying with this thing?” Donahue exclaimed, dropping all illusions of respect for Aurelia and drawing his sword once again.
Redmond drew his own sword, turning on the now definitely fired troublemaker. “Stand down, soldier!” he growled, finding Aurelia’s new growling matching his own.
“Forget that, I’m taking it now!” Donahue shouted, rushing forward toward the princess.
Redmond quickly moved to intercept, drawing his sword and blocking an attempted slash. “Not on my watch!” he said through gritted teeth.
“Here, Aurelia,” Salvia said as she put a small chunk of metal in front of the girl’s mouth. Aurelia understood immediately, grabbing the stone with her teeth and beginning to chew on it, grinding it to dust. “Sir Redmond, step aside!” Salvia shouted, not wanting the kind knight to become collateral damage.
Redmond looked behind him, seeing the winged princess drawing in a deep breath. Having a strong hunch as to what that meant, he obeyed Salvia’s order. Donahue looked confused for the split second he had to process what was happening.
With an animalistic shriek, a burst of fire was produced just outside Aurelia’s mouth. It shot forward at a high speed, quickly engulfing the antagonistic knight. Donahue’s screams were paired with a brilliant glow cast around the icy room while the other knights watched in awe. The screaming ended, as did Aurelia’s shrieking. She closed her mouth as the flames dissipated.
The knights, Salvia and Enid stood in silence for a few moments, the quiet only broken by the sound of Donahue’s scorched armor falling to the floor, his incinerated remains still contained inside. “Can’t talk,” Maldwyn said to break the tension, “but she sure makes her thoughts known.”
“Well,” Redmond began as Aurelia lowered herself to the floor again, “now that that’s taken care of, we should be going. It’s a long trek back to the castle.”
Salvia looked down at the already curled-up girl, noting her even breathing. “Looks like Aurelia’s fallen asleep again,” the nursemaid announced, bending down to pick her up. “I’ll take her. She won’t be in trouble?” she asked, the child in question now securely in her arms.
“Sir Donahue only had one infraction left before he was fired,” Redmond explained, barely perturbed by the miscreant’s demise. “Well, I’d say he got that infraction… and he was certainly fired,” he joked darkly.
“Ah, a knight with a sense of humor,” Salvia remarked, bemused. “I like it. Lead on, Sir Redmond.”