Little Miss Wingless
Chapter 8: Forces

Hearing the familiar rumble of a deep voice, Melanie let out a disgruntled groan as she began to stir from sleep. The displeasure of waking up disintegrated as she recalled her surroundings, remembering where she was.

The fire in Kyro’s room was no longer lit, but his room remained a cozy temperature. A fort composed of cushions, books, and blankets was still standing strong; shenanigans from the night just past, which had progressed until the two children grew too tired to stay awake any longer.

Melanie sat upright and gradually untangled herself from the cocoon of blankets. She tended to fidget and rotate during her sleep, which resulted in her hogging most of the bed covers. Barely any of them was still covering poor Kyro. He was curled up, not yet awoken, on the opposite side of the puffy mattress.

The source of the voice was Kyro’s father, Kerbahn, who sat at the edge of the bed attempting to wake his son up. He was dressed in different, but just as fancily designed, clothes that were obviously tailored for the royal status he held. His hair was up in a simple high ponytail today, but it didn’t make his appearance reflect any less plain.

“Hi, Kyro’s dad.” Melanie yawned. “Is it wake-up time already?”

“It is.” Kerbahn smiled. “I had prepared a room for you last night, but you and Kyro were already fast asleep by the time I returned.”

“That’s okay. We had a fun sleepover.” Melanie smiled.

“I can see that.” King Kerbahn replied as he eyed the mess.

Melanie crawled her way over as Kerbahn called out to Kyro again. He gave his shoulder a little shake, but the response he got was just an unconscious grumble and Kyro’s lips curling unhappily.

“Kyro takes a little while to wake up in the mornings.” He informed her softly.

With the position he was in, Kyro’s necklace had fallen behind him. To release the strain on the jewellery, Kerbahn gently pulled on the silver chain to free the charm from underneath Kyro’s sleeping frame. Melanie noticed the man’s expression sadden as he held it delicately in his hands.

“It’s a pretty necklace.” She said.

“It was his mother’s,” Kerbahn said without taking his eyes off of it.

“Doesn’t she live here with you in the castle?” Melanie asked. Kyro hadn’t mentioned anything about his mother, and she couldn’t recall seeing anyone she assumed to be so.

“She’s not with us anymore. She passed away.” The king’s voice was hollow and far away.

“Oh,” Melanie responded and subconsciously touched her bracelet.

She suddenly remembered Ito’s horrible words from yesterday’s incident, connecting the dots. Melanie felt a little ball swell in her chest

“It’s not Kyro’s fault that she died though, right? Kyro wouldn’t hurt anyone. Especially his mum. Ito is just a meanie head.” Melanie stubbornly sniffed with a pout.

Kerbahn’s scowl at Melanie’s remark was scary. His eyebrows furrowed and his jaw went ridged.

“Did Ito say that to him?”

Melanie nodded sheepishly. She felt uneasy looking at Kerbahn with him seething a quiet rage, so she stared back down at the shiny purple jewel instead.

“The necklace helped me replace Kyro yesterday. It glowed in the water.”

The king seemed genuinely surprised by that. His mouth drew into a line as he eyed the girl curiously with his piercing yellow eyes.

“I see,” he said. His face softened again as his fingers left the charm sitting against Kyro’s chest. A small smile had replaced his anger.

“Come on, Kyro.” Kerbahn shook his son again while he called out to him. ” Morning is here.”

Kyro let out another sleep-induced groan.

Melanie giggled leaning over Kyro to poke his chubby cheek. He reacted by turning his face further into his bedding. Doing so at this angle exposed the wrapped exit points on his shirt for his wings.

“I know how to wake him,” Melanie smirked evilly. She moved her poking finger to the fraction of his exposed back.

As Melanie’s finger felt the lightest touch of warm, fluffy feathers, Kyro instantly snapped up straight. His forehead collided against Melanie’s and she recoiled backwards with tears in her eyes from the impact.

“Be careful, Kyro. I don’t think Melanie’s skull is quite as hard as yours.”

Melanie furiously rubbed against the pain of her pounding head.

“I’m sorry!” Kyro’s voice sounded groggy and frantic. He was still partially dazed from sleep. “I didn’t mean it!”

“I told you I could wake him,” Melanie told King Kerbahn with a pained wobble in her throat.

The king insisted Kyro and Melanie join him on that morning’s rounds. Initially, Melanie had been excited, only to replace it involved a lot of walking around to replace particular personnel, then a lot of talking, and not much else.

It had snowed sometime during the night, and a light frosting of snow had settled about the town. Melanie was back in her familiar school attire, insisting on wearing it. But was additionally thankful for the fluffy long coat Kyro had lent her to wear over the top.

The festival was now officially over and a portion of the attendees were still packing down. The usual townspeople were now busy preparing for the impending harsh weather, all fun and excitement stripped away, leaving the atmosphere rather bare and bland.

Melanie’s happy grin returned when she spotted a familiar face as they reached the training grounds.

“Hi Alfalfa!” Melanie waved.

Alveeha frowned back at her. “You’re still here?”

Alveeha sounded tired. He had dark bags lingering under his eyes to match the haggard of his tone.

“Alveeha.” Kerbahn’s stern voice curbed his focus and Alveeha straightened in the king’s presence. “Are all the arrangements for Ito in order? I was expecting him to be out of Karada by now.”

“There were some setbacks,” Alveeha answered hesitantly. “But I’ve received word one of the best from our flight division is already on their way. Your letter should reach its destination well before Ito and the other traders return.”

Melanie’s concentration fizzled out as the adults continued their discussion. She instead watched soldiers training in the field. Wooden swords clashed together, practicing in pairs. Most were young men, but there were also some women scattered about the teams. Something Melanie had noticed about them, as with all the females of the town, nagged at her.

“Hey, Kyro.” Melanie tugged on Kyro’s sleeve to get his attention as she spoke. Whereas Melanie’s attention had drifted off, Kyro seemed genuinely interested in all the conversations his father had throughout the morning. “Why doesn’t that lady have horns?”

She pointed to one of the female soldiers practicing her swordsmanship in the ring.

“Girls don’t have horns, silly!” He answered with a grin.

“How come? That doesn’t seem fair!”

Kyro blinked. “Um. I don’t know.”

“I’ll tell you when you’re older.” A voice drawled above them.

Tabastian hung in a casual posture along the railing. A clean bandage was fastened across his cheek. He glanced down at his younger brother with a knowing smirk. His accomplice–with the filed down horn– stood beside Tabastian. A chuckle escaped his teeth and he squatted down to Melanie’s height to talk to her through the grating of the fence.

“Hello, little Miss Wingless.”

“Hello, Kyro’s brother’s friend.” Melanie grinned at recognising him once more. “Are you learning to fight?”

He laughed again. Obvious dimples creased into his cheeks as his teeth bared into a smile.

“My name is Naul. And kind of. More like, learning to protect the people of Karada. Being able to fight a part of that.”

“You’re training to be in the heavy forces. Like Tabastian, right?” Kyro piped in, excited to join the conversation.

“That’s right,” Naul said with a lazy nod.

“Yes. It’s a very big dream for someone who skips practice every chance he gets.” Tabastian taunted his friend.

Melanie’s nose wrinkled. “What does heavy forces mean?” She asked.

Kyro beamed and stepped forward excitedly. He proudly dribbled out all the knowledge he was able to recall. He sounded like an A-level student reciting his book report.

“Ground forces are the basic guards that serve and protect the town of Karada.

“Heavy forces are more thoroughly trained to be used in battle against opposing forces, large predators, or threats. They get to travel and patrol the girth outside of the town.

“Flight forces are specially trained in flight for their tasks. They also consist of messengers and a much lighter and stealthier armed force. They are the hardest team to get qualified into seeing as flying is so hard to master.

“You have to be qualified in the ground forces before you can train into the heavy or flight division though, isn’t that right?”

Naul looked as equally overloaded by the spew of information as Melanie did.“You know your stuff, Kyro.” Was his answer.

“He certainly does,” Tabastian agreed.

Kyro beamed at the compliment.

Tabastian was unstrapping his chest armour as his father beckoned to him.

“Naul. Watch my brother for a moment.” He murmured to him before meeting his father just a little way down at the closest gate.

“Which force are you going to train in?” Melanie curiously asked Kyro.

The smile from Kyro’s face fell and left him with a ridged expression.

“I don’t think I should be in any of them.”

“Why. Don’t you want to?”

“I want to... But-” Kyro’s voice became sad and he kicked at the dirt nervously. “People wouldn’t like that. They don’t like me. Everyone is scared of me.”

“That’s not true,” Melanie replied confidently. “I’m not scared of you.”

She turned back to Naul. “What about you, Naul? Are you scared of Kyro?”

Naul did not answer straight away. He mulled over his answer for a moment before he answered.

“I’m not scared of Kyro. But Kyro does look different to everyone else. So, unfortunately there are lots of people who are afraid.”

Melanie crossed her arms.“Well, maybe that can be a good thing! If Kyro was on your team, all the bad guys you fight would be scared too, and run away, without Kyro even doing anything!”

Naul broke into laughter again as Tabastian made his way back over. His father Kerbahn was not with him. Tabastian rolled his eyes at his cackling friend.

“Your laugh is so loud and obnoxious, Naul. What is so funny?”

Naul did not reply. “The little wingless girl is pretty smart.” Is all he said.

Naul stood up and swung his leg over the top of the railing, perching himself up on the fence. His choppy hair flopped messily over his face.

“What did your old man want?”

“That’s His Majesty to you,” Tabastian shot back with a smirk.

“I don’t suppose you’d be up for hanging out with us today?” He added while glancing at Melanie and his little brother.

“You mean skip practice?” Naul grinned. ”Of course I’m in. Where are we headed?”

“The lake,” Tabastian answered.

Kyro’s face fell. His crimson eyes filled with horror.