Once on Rhena, Viviana and the Glitches meet new allies...and enemies. Tension in the palace grows as the tyrannous Queen Saralee does everything in her power to prevent her daughter's marriage.
A three sided battle is coming, and it will shake t...
A/N: Hey there, everyone! I just have a couple of announcements before we get to the chapter. First, check out my Quotev account for the official Lessaenite Clan Quiz! As a royal, I don't technically have a clan, but the quiz placed me in the Scientist Clan.
What clan are you guys in? Comment your results quiz results HERE!
Second, my Quotev account also contains an all new, bonus chapter of Glitches...Chapter 47: Kallianna. This chapter was added during editing, and will appear in the PUBLISHED VERSION of Glitches! Want a preview of the published book? Head on over to Quotev, my lovely Lessaenites!
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"Just like this. Yeah. Spread your wings!" I allowed my Aura to unfurl, watching as it shaped itself into a pair of golden wings. Turning to Kelly, I crouched down to give her a better view of my wings, hoping that they would serve as motivation to the little creature.
If this had any sort of effect on her, she didn't show it. Instead, she snorted in irritation, straining the powerful muscles in her back in an effort to move the shriveled flaps of skin that were attached to her back. But, her wings remained limp, hanging at her sides.
As I watched her eyes shrink, reflecting her disappointment, I was immediately confronted with my own incompetence.
What was I thinking? She obviously couldn't fly! Who was I to think I could teach her? I could barely control my own wings!
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Sighing to myself, I looked around the Sanctum. It was hardly an ideal size for flying practice, yet it was the only room in Icicle Hall which wasn't occupied by someone or another. I didn't exactly want to be seen falling flat on my face. As a princess, I had a reputation to uphold. At least, until the Flames managed to contact me with the details of my next assignment.
Raising my arms, I ran my fingertips across my entire wingspan, touching each glowing feather as if to confirm its existence. My wings were larger than most people's, and I wasn't even that tall. I had no excuse for not being able to fly.
Keeping this in mind, I concentrated on my Aura. Slowly, I gained control over it, moving my right wing back and forth and then my left. When I felt that I had mastered this, I began moving them together, up and down. When I increased the speed of my flapping, I felt a small breeze between them. It was nowhere near strong enough to lift me up, but it was something.
Kelly mewled in encouragement, sitting down on her hind legs as she clapped her front claws together, watching me.
"It'll be years before you leave the ground, at that rate."
Searching with my eyes for the source of the snide comment, I spied the Queen perched elegantly on a stool in the corner of the Sanctum, her own gorgeous, silky wings resting on her shoulders.
"How did you get in here?" I exclaimed, embarrassed.
"...this is my castle."
"Good point."
"Flying is an important skill, you know," she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's a shame you're trying to take it slow, like a peasant."
"I am not like a peasant!" I was not offended by the term, per se, but by the dismissive way in which she used it.
"Then. prove it," my mother smirked.
"How?"
"Learn to fly like an Arystenn, you coward!" She bellowed. "Make King Airel proud!" Before I could even register her words, she knocked me to the floor with a powerful Aural blast. I made a move to get up, but was barely an inch off the ground before I was shoved back down by another blast.
Now, I understood why she was considered impossible to defeat. She was the kind of enemy who knew what you were going to do next before you did.
"Come on! Show me some royal blood!" The Queen taunted, before showering me with thousands of tiny Aural icicles. Each was barely the size of a pin, but collectively, they hurt.
More annoyed than motivated, I put up a shield and peeled myself off the floor, springing to my feet before my mother could trip me again. Kelly, frightened by the noise of the unexpected duel, mewled loudly and sought shelter behind a glass case.
"Ha," I grinned triumphantly, spreading my wings and flaring my Aura. "Did it."
"Did you really think we were done?" The Queen rolled her eyes. "Time to go flying!" She chuckled, before sending a gust of wind straight at my feet.
"What!?" I shrieked. I was lifted off the ground effortlessly, as if I weighed nothing, and thrown straight at the clear glass of the nearest bay window. Except...the glass wasn't there.
"Good luck, my poisonous little block of ice!" My mother called after me as I began to plummet toward the ground, which, since I was falling from the highest point in Icicle Hall, approximately fifty stories below me.
Fun, right?
I've just been defenestrated, I thought.
I'm falling to my death, and the first thing I think of is the fact that I've always wanted to use that word.
My brain.
By tilting my head upward, I managed to get myself parallel to the ground. This allowed my outstretched wings to act as a sort of parachute, which broke my fall to some extent. Suddenly, hanging there, with the wind under my wings and the ground far below me, something started to click.
