When Your Feathers Flutter Down to Me

Chapter Two: The Princess And The Outskirts

The night passed slowly for Elisia. Her sleep was sporadic at best, and she spent most

her time being startled awake by various howlings and chirps. Being a princess, she had never needed to travel much, and anytime she had, she had traveled in luxury. If any wild animals came by, the guards she had with her fought them off, doing so under the requirement of not waking her. "Must they be so noisy?" she thought of the creatures outside, although she was mostly trying to hide her fear with annoyance.

After how the trip had gone so far, Elisia had little confidence that the guards accompanying her wouldn't just abandon her at the first sign of danger. "I'm sure they'd throw me to the wolves," she thought. There was also the carriage she was in to consider for defense, but she was sure she remembered an important detail about it. When it had been built, it had been a shoddy job, with the king saying that if it fell apart upon impact from animals, then it'd be better to let the prisoners be eaten than trying to save them.

Guards that hated her. A carriage that probably wouldn't protect her. And a spell on her

shoulder that was days away from being activated to its fullest. Looking at her situation, Elisia couldn't help but feel foolish for her previous swear. "I'll make these guards pay? How? What could I possibly do once I reach the outskirts?"

She wanted to be conniving and come up with some plan to get back everything she lost and then some. But, it felt impossible. As soon as her branding spell recognized she was on the outskirts, there'd be no going back. Any attempt to do so would surely result in immense pain. On top of that, the spell wasn't even her main problem. The demi-humans and monster people out there would definitely want her dead. How would she survive them? As the night passed, Elisia's worries grew, and by the time the sun rose the next day, she was exhausted from her fretting and shaking from the frigid conditions.

"Well, well, you look pretty tired there princess," the first guard said with delight when he looked into the carriage. "What's the matter? The wolves keep you up?"

"Dude, cut it out. I really don't want a repeat of yesterday," the other guard said.

"Yeah, guess you're right. I'll go tell the driver that we're ready to head out," the first guard said. When he left, the other guard climbed into the carriage and glared down at Elisia.

"I'm warning you princess," he said. "You better fix that behavior of yours, or you'll have worse problems to deal with than us. Oh, and try not to cause any more problems like you did yesterday."

With his warning issued, the other guard said nothing more until the first guard returned. Unbeknownst to him, he would be getting what he wanted. Elisia was too busy worrying about everything awaiting her that she wasn't even giving a thought to the guards.

With a command from the driver, the carriage wheels began to turn once more, leading Elisia ever-closer to her dreaded fate. With every bump in the road, temporary stop, and occasional jab from the first guard, the time passed. One day turned into two, then a third, then more. Finally, on the sixth day, relief seemed to streak across the guards' faces.

"There it is!" Elisia heard one of them yell from outside. "I can just barely see the landmark we're lookin' for in the distance!" The announcement made Elisia's hairs stand on end. "No. It can't be time yet. I'm not ready!" she panicked inside. As the ride had continued, so had Elisia's worries, so much so that she had come to the conclusion that she was most certainly going to be killed upon arrival.

Climbing back in, the first guard could see the panic on Elisia's face. "Aw, is the little princess afraid?" he said mockingly. "You get to live with those filthy mongrels now. You know, the ones you used to torment? I'm sure they'll just looove having you!"

"As much as I hate to admit it, this is a little satisfying," the other guard said. "It's kind of like, 'what goes around, comes around.'"

"Exactly!" the first guard agreed loudly. "And now it's comin' back around for our princess here."

After another half day of travel, the carriage came to its final stop. Still being on the floor, Elisia could see nothing of her surroundings, but she could hear plenty. Outside, there were boos and jeers, along with a couple of death threats. The guards were out there, doing their best to protect the driver while also trying to tell the citizens of the village why exactly they were there.

"Get out of here! We don't want your kind!"

"Have you come to steal from us further?!"

"How dare you even show your faces out here!"

The atmosphere was volatile, and the residents seemed to be showing no signs of listening. "Would ya shut up?!" the first guard yelled. "We're not here to stay!"

"Just let us do our jobs and we'll leave!" the other guard added, but it seemed to be no use. At one point, Elisia heard something thud against the carriage wall. She assumed that meant the demi-humans and monster people had begun to throw things.

"God, they're throwing rocks now!" the first guard shouted. "Let's just toss out our cargo and be done with it!"

"Agreed!" the other guard shouted back. Quickly, they made their way to the back of the carriage and flung the door open.

"Come here, you!" the first guard said aggressively as he reached for Elisia.

"Mmm!" she whined. This was it. The moment she had been dreading had arrived. She was about to be sacrificed to appease the masses. But, just as the first guard dragged her to the exit and threw her over his shoulder, the noise suddenly ceased. Curious, the other guard looked around, only to find an elderly man standing at the forefront of the previously raging group.

"That's quite enough, thank you," he said calmly to the people. Then he turned his attention to the guards. "State your business. I see the royal crest on the side of this carriage, so it must be important."

Composing himself, the other guard pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment, cleared his throat, and then began to read. "By order of King Felbrun, this woman, formerly known as the First Princess of Endrelta, Princess Elisia Felbrun, is hereby stripped of her title, banished to the outskirts, and sentenced to spend the rest of her days there."

This announcement caused the gathered crowd to raise their voices again, but with a raise of the elderly man's hand, they stopped. "Very well," he said. At that, the first guard marched forward and threw Elisia down onto the ground, eliciting a loud "Umph!" from her gagged mouth.

"Enjoy," he said harshly. Then the two guards climbed back into the carriage, the driver pulled on the reins, and they left.

Slowly, the elderly man approached the woman now lying in even more pain on the ground. "Hello, former princess Elisia," he said. "My name is Gorose."

"Welcome to Dehl Village."

End of Chapter Two.