The doors swung open, revealing the huge, chandelier lit room decorated with paintings, animal skulls and more. In the centre of the room was a long table filled with food, mead and candles. There were chairs on either side, with two beautifully decorated throne like chairs on either end, one being occupied by The King and the other; empty.
Everyone was there, Uraraka, Midoriya, Shinsou, Kaminari... Bakugou. Her eyes met with Todoroki's sullen ones, he looked like he didn't want to be there just as much as she. The duel-haired prince was seated beside his father. His hands were balled into fists and the food on his plate had not been touched. As she looked around she noticed almost all the plates still looked untouched - regardless of Kaminari's who's was almost empty and yet was filling up with more.
Kirishima was the first to notice her, back in his human form and dressed accordingly in a satin vest and frilled shirt. He glanced her up and down before staring anxiously at his plate. Bakugou, who was sat beside Kirishima, noticed his friends odd behaviour and followed where his gaze has been previously.
Their eyes met once again, and for one more moment the world seemed to slip away, just like it used to all those months ago. But the world seemed far more prominent now, bringing her back to reality faster than she had liked.
Hawks pulled out a seat for her beside Shinsou, and Bakugou's eyes darked once again as he tried not to glance at the also unoccupied seat next to him. Something urged her to walk to the other side of the table and sit by him but right now her safety net was beside Shinsou.
She gave a brief, awkward smile of thanks to Hawks as she sat down and allowed him to push the chair in. He gave her a little nudge with his gauntlet, an open ended gesture, before marching his way to stand beside his king.
"Now you are all here, I would like to apologise once again for the circumstances that had occurred before now." The apology seemed taut and reluctant. He wasn't sorry, not really. "And I would like to thank your prince here for his generous offer of peace."
A servant came over and began loading food onto (Y/n)'s plate but she batted them away as politely as she could, watching the king with cautious eyes. He was glancing between each and every one of them, picking them apart like a vulture.
"Please, eat." He finally ushered to all the food on the table, watching as they all hesitated in picking at their meal. (Y/n) knew her body craved the food but she didn't particularly feel like eating, so instead she just sipped the fine wine placed before her quietly. It was enough to ease the tension in her bones slightly, but she could still feel like prominent gaze of Bakugou.
'Speak to him', she urged herself, glancing up as he looked away to Kirishima. The dragon felt no shame in staring as he took over the blondes gaze, he even gave her a smile as their eyes met.
(Y/n) wondered if Bakugou had told Kirishima, he has to have right, how else would he have explained her departure? In a way it felt like a weight off her shoulders, but at the same time she couldn't help but feel anxious about it. Did he really know?
She smiled back before looking at her reflection in the wine. Her hair had gotten much longer she noticed, and she still looked scruffy as anything, even with the beautiful dress on. There seemed to still be dirt on her face and in her hair, and she had tiny scars on her cheeks that she hadn't realised she had acquired.
And yet for some reason she didn't care. She felt wild now, stronger.
She finally raised her head when her friends begin to stand up from their chairs, "Thank you, but we really should be getting to sleep. Its been a long day for all of us." The others nodded in agreement and (Y/n) realised she must have zoned out and eagerly rose from her seat, accidentally scraping the chair slightly behind her. Some of their eyes flickered to her's but they paid not much mind, though it was still enough to make (Y/n) feel awkward ; especially when she began to push her chair back in and the maids and servants eagerly took over, bumping her off to the side.
As the others began to bid one another goodnight, (Y/n) rushed off. Kirishima stalled in his tracks as he was about to walk over to her, frowning as he watched her skitter off to her room. His eyes peaked over to Bakugou but the prince frowned in the direction she ran off in.
"Let's go, Shitty Hair."
His eyes met Shinsou's for a brief moment and the looks they exchanged felt like they would burn each other to ash.
(Y/n)'s boots clicked against the ground as she walked fast paced back towards where she thought her room was.
"You're going the wrong way, kid."
"Piss off feathers." (Y/n) groaned as Hawks skipped up beside her.
"Feathers?" He chuckled, "Haven't heard that one before, I kinda like it."
She huffed loudly in annoyance and quickly backtracked, swerving around the guard. Hawks still continued to keep instep with the young girl as he began to loosen his gauntlets that were beginning to rub sores against his fingertips.
"I wish to start over with you."
"There's nothing to start over with, once I leave here our paths will never cross again."
"You'd be surprised," he flapped his gauntlets between his hands, "Fate works in strange ways. Our paths have already crossed twice, who's to say it'd never happen again."
"I do." (Y/n) almost growled out. This man was getting on her last nerve, "Now can you please leave me be. I do not wish to continue any sort of conversation you have planned, I just want to go to bed and get out of this goddamn castle." Her emotions were beginning to bottle over. She had been holding them in for so long that she felt like she was slipping.
"Alright." Hawks stopped in his tracks, "If that's what you wish than I shall oblige."
He was silent for the remainder of the trip to her chambers and (Y/n) felt a pang of guilt. Had she spoken too harshly to him?
Hawk's fingers gently wrapped around the door handle and pushed open the wooden frame. The room was warm, the fire crackling hungrily.
"Sleep well, M'lady." He began to close the door but (Y/n) pushed her hand against it.
"I want to apologise for my outburst." She sighed, looking down shamefully, "I guess I just feel like an outcast here. My whole life I've felt like fox in a chickens coop."
His demeanour softened, "You have no reason to apologise, kid. I should be the one to apologise. I took the last little bit of life you had away from you."
"No," She stopped him, "If I'm being honest, you made it better. However unintentional it may have been. I didn't have a life back in Bleakbury, but now, now I have a family, people who actually care about me. I've actually had fun for the first time in almost 6 years, all thanks to you really. So, thank you."
Hawks smiles, "You know, you're not the only one who feels like a fox in a chicken coop." He stepped into her room and gently closed the door behind her, "I suppose since I outted your little secret, then you should know mine as well."
(Y/n) froze in confusion as the man began to undress himself from the waist upwards. She spluttered and looked away, "Um, I'm sorry to say this but, I really don't see you in that way."
Hawks let out a bellowing laugh, "No, I'm not trying to seduce you. Please look."
Peaking through her fingers, she laid her eyes on the guard who had partially unlaced his shirt.
Seeing her gaze back on him, he suddenly turned around and lifted the fabric off his back.
What (Y/n) saw left her in complete awe. On his back were two beautiful red wings. Some of the feathers were ruffled due to the fabric having pulled at them as he took off his shirt, but they were beautiful, almost glowing in the light of the fireplace.
She left out a exasperated gasp.
"I guess the name fits."
When Hawk's heard it he chuckle and stretched the wings out to give her a better view, and thats when she saw. One wing was missing over half of its flight feathers and looked singed and burnt in some places.
"What are you?" (Y/n) asked as Hawks readjusted his wings and pulled his tunic back on.
"An Avian, one of the last of my kind in fact. At least I think."
"You think?"
He swallowed and turned back to her, "My people lived in the mountains far from here, across the Eragon seas. Much further than you can ever imagine. They were very proud people, living in huge trees in nests of marble. But they sent me to war at an early age, just like many other of the fledglings my age. I was one of the lucky ones."
(Y/n) listened to him quietly with a frown on her face,
"I ran away from home, to here, where I got caught in the crossfire of a rain of flaming arrows. That battlefield is where Enji found me, a young king at the time, he took me in, hid me, and now I serve him with my life."
"So what happened to the other Avians?"
"Most died out before I left, either from hunger or from the war."
"Do you miss your home?" (Y/n) asked curiously.
When the man turned to her, he had no look of sadness or regret in his eyes, "No, I never had a life there. I was just a pawn to them, dirt on the bottom of their shoe. I guess that means me and you are kind of the same."
She smiled at him, "I guess so."
"I better be off, you should get some rest." The man began to close the door once again.
"Goodnight, Hawks."
"Please," He smiled through the crack, "Call me Takami at least."
The door shut with a click and the room suddenly when silent with the only noise coming from the fireplace. It was then (Y/n) suddenly realised how cold it was in the room as a breeze drifted from the open balcony door. She realised she must have left it open when she had gone for dinner, but as she clicked it shut she was surprised that whoever had lit the fireplace hadn't closed it.
Letting out a shivered sigh she wandered over to the fire, stretching out her fingertips to feel the warmth enter her bones.
(Y/n) let out a yelp of surprise as an arm wrapped around her neck, pulling her backwards.
"Shit, this is easy." A gruff voice cackled.
She threw her head back, knocking the back of her skull into whoever was behind her. They yelled out in pain and released her from their grip.
Spinning around on her heel, (Y/n) came face to face with a lizard like creature, glaring at her as blood trickled out of the slit she assumed was its nose.
Another young man wearing some sort of mask strode into the room, clutching a ball of sorts in his hand. "Come on Spinner, lets make this quick. Shigaraki hasn't got all day."
"Shigaraki?" (Y/n) took a step back. These people were part of the League, "What the hell do you guys want with me?"
"It's simple really." The masked man spoke in a muffled voice, "We're just tying up lose ends. Since you don't want to join us, that makes you a problem."
The reptilian man, Spinner, grinned as he reached over his shoulder. His hand brushed against his wild purple hair as he pulled out a large sword and pointed it her way, "Lucky for you, we will make this quick."
He leaped at her but (Y/n) lashed out her foot, in which her boot collided with his already bleeding snout.
"YOU LITTLE-"
(Y/n) scurried to her feet and reached for the cutlass on her waist, only to be met with air. Crap-
The lizard-like man barrelled into her, knocking her to the floor once again. He hovered over her and grabbed hold of his sword, ready to plunge it into her chest.
Thinking quickly, (Y/n) wrapped her legs around his waist and flipped him over so that she was on top. It caught him by surprise so (Y/n) took the opening, however her head lurched back as the assassin's companion grabbed hold of her hair and pulled her backwards with a thud.
"This girl's got some fight in her. Knock her out so we can get this over with." Spinner wiped his nose, smearing the red across his green scales.
The masked man flipped a pin from the top of the ball he was holding and rolled it across the floor.
While, he was doing so, (Y/n) dug her nails into the skin of his wrist, causing him to let go with a muffled yelp.
Gas began to fill the room, spreading across the floor like water.
Panicked, (Y/n) held her breath, crawling towards the bed where she saw the metal rod she had discarded earlier tucked underneath.
Spinner laughed once again, slamming his foot onto her back just as she was about to reach it.
The girl bit her lip to stop herself from crying out, still trying to grab the rod, her fingers just brushing against the cold metal. Her chest was getting tight now as she tried to hold her breath for longer.
"You're not getting away that easy."
He flipped her onto her back and hovered over her, a bandana now covering his lower face, "I've changed my mind. I want to watch the life drain from your face. Lets see what will take you out first, will it be the gas-" His hands wrapped around her throat, "Or me?"
(Y/n) wanted to cry as his fingers tightened against her neck, putting pressure on her windpipe.
She slapped her hand vigorously on the floor, hoping and praying someone would save her. She was losing the battle, her mind becoming foggy and dizzy from the lack of air, but she could make out a faint banging on the door.
It was only when she felt Spinner's hands loosen slightly against her neck that her hand finally found what she had been looking for.
Taking the sharp metal poker in hand, she slammed it into the assassin's side, feeling it pierce through his scaley skin, just as light flooded into the room.
"(Y/N)!"
Hearing that voice, (Y/n) let in a sudden breath of air,
"Bakugou."
And everything went dark.