The Dragon Prince: The Serpent of Sun

Chapter 3 ~Sacrifice

Rayla was completely against the idea of me flying. "What about your leg?" Rayla cried, "And don't say you don't use your legs cause you do! To land and take off and all that stuff!" "Rayla," I said calmly, "Don't worry about me, plus we are to high up! Callum or Zym could fall." "Oh, thanks" Callum said giving me a hurt look. "I'm not joking look how high up we are!" I protested, "My leg will fine if but if you want, I'll fly you down to the floor and we can walk until it heals. Which it can also do IN the air." I stated stubbornly. Rayla gave in and I turn into my sun-serpent form, flaring wings as the weight on my leg became uneven and then even again. Callum jumped and swung his leg landing on my back. Rayla past up Zym and got on as well and I walked around proving I could walk, even though it did hurt, and dived off the edge twirling and gliding through the branches onto the damp forest floor.

I landed with a loud thud sending the forest animals running. "Are you sure you don't want me to fly you?" I asked turning to face them, "We are in Xadia but the home of the king of the dragons is a while away. Plus, as I said my leg will heal quicker in the sun and I won't be walking on it" Rayla looked at Callum and then back at me. "You can trust me, Rayla" I said softly turning my head to the ground, "From watching you I've kinda...um bonded with if you like to say. On my side of course, and from watching you for so long, it would be nearly impossible to hurt you let alone let anyone else" I lifted my head to see that Rayla and Callum looked sore of... touched by what I said. Rayla slowly smiled and then nodded, "If you can think you can do it and it won't put too much strain on your leg then fine. But you are to land when the sun sets OKAY?" she added quickly and very firmly. I smiled and walked along weaving through the trees. Once I found a deep trench and jumped off, spreading my wings gliding along and pushed myself up. Soon we were in the clouds and I swooped gently so my legs and stomach was in the cloud feeling the cold wet sensation from the water vaper. I flew for most of the day, stopping when Rayla spotted bushes or plants that had suitable food growing on it. Rayla kept on prompting me to keep my leg in the sun so it will heal. I had to stop at a river to clean my 'bandage' and I was quite annoyed because it had stained, and I really liked that tie.

We were out of the forest and onto the mountain range, watching as the trees disappeared and the land turned grey, brown and black. But the landscape went all colours of reds, oranges, yellows, pinks, white and grey when the sun dripped halfway on the horizon. "We should find a cave to spend the night in" Rayla said turning to look at the sun. I nodded to tried to talk and the small draining feeling of powers fading. I spiralled around, my sharp eyes studying the ground. There! A small cave facing away the from the forest. I reared up and dived down doing a corkscrew all the way down. I landed with a thud sending dust up into my nose. I sneezed. Three times. Rayla jumped off my back followed by Callum, I folded my wings in and walked into the cave releasing a flare of fire, the cave being empty. "I'm going to go get some wood I'll be back in a bit" I said turning back into a human and walking out of the cave. The moon and the sun were both in the sky, ripping the sky in the colours of mid-night purple and pomegranate red. I climbed and jumping up off each rock while being pushed back by the wind. I found a small shrub hanging onto the rock for dear life being blown around by the freak wind. I looked down and plucked it off the rock and headed back to the cave. On my way I found two long stinks, I looked down at then and picked them up as well. As I walked in, I set the shrub of fire with one spark of fire.

I walk to the middle of the room and place it in the middle of the room and put a couple of stones around it so the fire wouldn't spread. Rayla and Callum were setting up some food which is a mix of berries, nuts and a two fish I caught in a river. Rayla wrinkled her nose as she poked the fish and flicked the slime off her finger. "Here," I said picking up the fish, which was limp and slimly, "I'll scale them for you, but I'll need one of your blades" reaching out and Rayla undid one of her blades and passed it to me, "But be careful with them, okay?" she said, "You don't want to lose a finger" I smiled and took the blade running it the opposite way of the scales, cutting then off in one quick slice and then cut off the head, making Rayla yelp when it jumped into the air. I instantly pounced on it digging my nails into it and neatly cut along the side, digging out the spine and cutting off the tail. I took one of the two long sticks I had found and cleaned it, by stripping some of the bark off with the blade and stabbed it with the stick, setting it over the fire. Blood had seeped from the fish, leaking all over the rock I cut the fish on. I did the other one and sat down by the fire, turning the fish over an over again. After a while I poked one to see if it was cooked. I walked over with the fish to Rayla and Callum and sat down. "I cooked the fish," I said holding up the fish and stabbing the ends of the stick into the soft spot of the earth.

"Summer," Callum said slowly, "I don't want to be nosy, but.... you said that you don't have a home, but how?" My smile dropped and I looked at the floor. "You don't have to-" Callum started but I erupted, "No its ok, you see, arrgh, how do I explain this- I am a human, but when my parents saw me and saw my wings and tail they were so disgusted they threw me away. They chucked me in a river. But I was found by an elf, my true dad. His name was Xavier, he would of took me in regardless of what I would of looked like. He said that when he found me I was nearly dead but cause of him I lived. And they killed him." I choked on the last words tears running down my face as I remember the scene, but I kept going, "Humans found their camp and they killed them all. I watch them kill him and they would of killed me too, but my dad blew me way using a wind spell. Back then I didn't know how to fly and after a while a village shot me down and that's when Ezran found me." "Summer I'm so sorry," Rayla said, walking up to me, "We had no idea." "No, it okay" I said wiping the tears away with my arm, "My dad made a sacrifice, a sacrifice that will follow me every were but now, I will make a sacrifice to help get Zym home to his mother. Then I won't have a reason to worry about losing any more family"

I looked up meeting there gaze and smiled weakly. "Now, this fish will go cold if we don't eat it now" I joked trying to change the subject, ripping off a piece and chucked it to Zym who leapt up and catch it, squawking in delight as he ate it. Everyone started eating and Rayla and Callum were really impressed with my fish which started a flicker of proudness within my chest. After dinner we laid down to go to sleep and I turned into my sun-serpent form spreading my wing, so we stayed warm. "Won't that hurt you?" Rayla asked looking up to me. "No" I said quietly, "Not if I stay still and don't do stupid things." A small smile spread cross my face, "Besides I like you not frozen." Rayla smirked and laid down next to Callum who called Zym over. I looked over my wing and blow out the fire then I lowered my wing down on my friends and rested my head on the floor. I felt them shift around snuggling into my springy, soft feathers, then stopped moving at all. I smiled at the barely visible shapes of my friends, ignoring the painful twisting feeling in my stomach.