Emerging Rebellion : a Men of Myth short story by Brandon Witt

Author:Brandon Witt [Witt, Brandon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-11-17T00:00:00+00:00

Seven

Xenith was beautiful, even from a distance. Stirred by the movement of his wings, a whirlwind of rust-colored leaves rose up around him as he lighted upon the ground. He looked every inch the prince he was. Clad in only a nearly sheer golden tunic, his skin glowed. He was timeless. The only thing separating him from the human gods of ancient Greece and Rome were his massive luna wings.

I stepped from my hiding place, even more desperate to speak to him than usual.

He saw me instantly. Though he smiled, he lifted a hand and motioned me away.

Moving back into the foliage of the old cedar, I searched the sky for anyone else who might be with him, ruining our planned meeting.

I saw no one.

Minutes ticked by, and no one joined Xenith, but still he waited, slowly pacing in a large circle.

A quarter of an hour passed before the reason for his hesitation became clear. Even as I watched, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

A blond servant girl, one of the humans, emerged from the other side of the clearing. Even from my secluded distance, I could see the state she was in. Damp hair clung to her forehead and cheeks. The hem of her skirt was muddied and ripped. We were miles from the royal boundaries. It was a long walk for me, but even without my wings, it required no effort. Moving through the forest was like breathing. Fairies were as much a part of nature as the deer in the forest and birds of the sky. We were kin. Not so for humans.

The girl approached Xenith, paused and offered a slight bow, then extended a silver pouch.

Xenith stretched out his hand, opening his palm to her, waiting for her to drop the parcel.

She did so, then hesitated.

“Leave now.” Xenith’s voice held irritation in a tone I’d not heard from him before.

With another bow, the servant turned and trudged clumsily back into the forest.

I waited long past when she was out of view. Even ignoring Xenith when he motioned me from my hiding place. He’d never brought anyone with him before, servant or otherwise. As certain as I was both of us would hear her if she returned, I couldn’t force myself to take the risk.

After motioning once more, Xenith closed the distance between, cocking his head as he peered quizzically at me. “She’s gone. Come out. What are you doing?”

“What am I doing? What am I doing?”

He flinched, hurt flashing across his face.

His expression was so innocent, so much like when he was child. The memory only served to make me angry. I stepped out of my hiding place, my caution forgotten. “What are you doing, Xenith? Why did you bring someone with you?”

He held out the silver pouch to me, a bright smile across his lips. “It’s for you.”

Bewildered I took the pouch, then carefully pulled on the drawstrings. A sting of fear shot through me a moment before I titled the bag to empty the contents.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.