The Time to Run

Chapter XIV

Rapid's wings lifted two feet off the ground. She tensed, her body waiting to spring into action.
Suddenly, she jumped into the sky. Her wings beat the air beneath her. She soared above the pine trees of the forest.
Behind Avon, Jack screamed. She could tell this was his first time flying. No dragon rider would scream only this high in the air.
"Quiet," she laughed. "You could scare Rapid."
He stopped screaming, but instead he hugged Avon's back. She blushed and then said, "My goodness, I can't believe you're such a wuss."
Jack let go of her and held onto the saddle. Avon leaned forward, gaining speed.
Some time later, they were skimming the top of the clouds. Jack had stopped screaming, and was admiring the view. Avon was looking toward the sun, thinking of the gods she had grown up with and how they had let her get into this mess. The celestial of the sun, Lazaris, was disappearing from the domain of the sky as his lover, the celestial of the moon, Virgus, was rising from the domain of the Earth. Avon thought about the stories. The moon and sun were cursed so they would never be in the same place at once. As one entered the sky, the other would leave for the earth, creating a never ending cycle of pain.
Jack leaned on Avon's back, snapping her out of her day dream. She blushed and looked down.
"You know, Avon, the sky is really nice today."
"Yeah, I guess it is." She replied.
They flew across the sky, Jack laying his head on Avon's shoulder. She felt his chest rise and fall. She got used to the rhythm of his breathing.
Every now and then, he would talk to her, saying things like, "You know, you have beautiful eyes."
She would blush and laugh, "You've known me for two hours, how would you know?"
"They were the first thing I saw."
He charmed her, with compliments and flattery. They carried on like this for hours. Avon began to have a liking for him. She knew him now ; he wasn't just the man who saved her.
It reached the next morning. They fell beneath the clouds and Avon spotted a town nearby. Unlike Fort Nor, this place was in the mainland. She looked to Jack. For a while, he had been asleep. She shook him awake roughly.
"We're here." She said.
He woke with a start and stopped leaning against Avon's back. It felt strange, she had gotten used to his weight. They slipped off the dragon and looked around. In front of them, was a wall made of stone bricks. There was a gate, made of oak, with two guards in either side.
Then, Jack exclaimed, "C'mon, let's go in!"