Landed Wings - By Skylhur Tranqille Page 0,11
do you have wings? Obviously you’re SkyBound so why are you down here and not up there? If they find you, they’re going to clip your wings.”
He looks shocked and looks down at a feather – his feather. Finally, I think he gets why I’m back.
“If you tell anyone…anyone Princess, I swear on my mother’s grave that I will see you dead.”
I pull back in shock at his harsh words.
“You’ve wasted your time coming back here. I won’t tell you what you want to know.”
He pauses and smiles, a pained ironic smile.
“If you really want to know…ask your mother.”
After that statement, he just walks away. Within seconds he’s just gone and I’m all alone. Shocked, all I can do is stare. Then the questions seem to flood my brain all at once – why would my mother have any idea about the LandBound? If he knows who my mother is then he knows who I am – how would he know that? Something is not right. I need to talk to my mother. I pick up the feather, open my wings for flight, simultaneously dreading and welcoming the answers to my questions. I’ve been flying blind and I need to know why.
MOCHA
I know what I have to do. It’s not easy. But it’s necessary. Damn Ginger. As Ashlynn flies away, I send thoughts her way. Come back…come back…come back…
She doesn’t know it, but soon she will feel compelled to come back here again. That feeling will override her logic; cause her to come even if it makes sense to stay away. This is what I can do. It’s just one of the unintended consequences of the experiments. I don’t do it often because I understand morally, it’s wrong. But I also understand that I have to do it. Because, unlike Princess Ashlynn, I understand some things are bigger than what I want to do. I make the call to the only living person I trust with my life. The phone rings, and on the fifth ring, as always, she picks up.
“Ginger?”
“Mocha… I’m listening.”
“She’s receptive even in long distances. She came today. The instructions were well planted.”
“Will she come again?”
“Yes…very soon.”
“Perfect. Mocha, I have to ask you to do something I’ve never asked you to do before. You’re not going to like it but I’m going to need you to trust me. Do you trust me, Mocha?”
“With my life.”
“Good. I know I can count on you. I need you to plant the suggestion in her mind that she is falling in love with you. She will be easier to manipulate if she’s emotionally attached to our cause…to you. I need you to act like you have the same feelings for her.”
“Ginger, I don’t even know if I can do that and even so…that’s cruel. I’m a soldier, not an actor. I don’t even know how to act like I have feelings for anyone – they took that from me when they took my mother.”
“I know, and I’m sorry for it. I only ask you because I know more than anyone what they took from you – the price you’ve paid all these years for mistakes you didn’t make. I can’t bring your mother back but I can make sure we strike at those responsible. The only way to win this war is to fight to win. We all do things in this war we don’t want to do but that must be done. When our young Ms. Ashlynn flew down in search of a LandBound adventure, she set a series of events in motion that let our enemies know we are alive and active. They don’t know who you are, but they now know the other participant in their experiment lives. They know, as we have always suspected, that Ashlynn would eventually come here looking for what’s missing – looking for you. We’ve all made sacrifices because we know if we don’t, living kind may not survive. Today, it’s your turn, I’m asking you for your sacrifice.”
“What if she can feel me? She can push too, she just doesn’t know it.”
“You have more experience. Be subtle. It has to seem
natural – like it’s her idea. Next time she comes, don’t drop your hard guy act, but soften to her. I’m sure you understand.”
I can’t help but hesitate. This isn’t what I signed up for. Do I really want to pretend to love someone who will only think they love me because I put that thought in their mind? No. I don’t.