forum Kingdoms and crowns - oxo - romance

Started August 18, 2021 by @CaseyJ group

tune

"where did that come from!?" Lukas said surprised, he was sure he would have noticed on oncoming storm like this. He held onto Fiel. "I should of seen that a while ago, there is no way it just appeared". He muttered.

"Storms can grow quickly over the ocean, and it was behind us," Fiel said, but there was a note of uncertainty in his voice. Lukas had a point. Normally there was no way he would've missed such a dramatic weather change while literally flying in it. But there was no time to wonder how it had happened. He needed to get them both to safety before the gale truly reached them.
"Keep your head down and try to protect your eyes," he instructed, circling in search of an updraft. "If I'm quick, I can take us above the clouds and let them pass us by. It will be a bit harder to breathe and stay warm, but it's better than getting tossed into the sea." A shred of tell-tale cloud caught his eye and he veered towards it. "I'm going up. Ready?"

Lukas adjusted his position so that he was doing what Fiel said. Normally he could sense a storm coming, it had a certain feeling in the air, then again, being over the ocean might have messed with his senses. "yeah" he replied to Fiel's question, many questions running through his head on where the storm came from.

(Sorry for the wait fam, I joined a new fandom and basically left social media to draw fanart over the last couple months TvT Hope you've been doing well!)
Fiel waited for Lukas to brace himself, then quickly changed the angle of his wings and shot upward, lifted by a strong current of air at the fringes of the storm. He soon realized that, while carrying someone, he wasn't nearly as agile as usual. Normally the wind tossed him around like a leaf and all he had to do was steer. But today he was forced to seek out the most powerful currents and beat his wings a few times to counter the extra weight. When taking long trips, Fiel always calculated how much energy he'd spend in flight so he could pack enough food, but this new discovery was already throwing off his calculations. He hoped they didn't run into any more storms after this.
Finally, they broke through the clouds, and the wind suddenly leveled out. The sky was vast and blue and icy cold all around them, making them look like a tiny dark speck flying over an endless field of snow. To their left, the storm was the only other landmark, rising far over their heads in an angry tower. Fiel immediately started flying away from it, wary of sudden gusts that might suck him back down. Already, his breath was fogging and his eyes stung from the cold.
"Are you doing all right?" he yelled back anxiously to Lukas. "Please tell me if you can't breathe or stay warm."

(No its fine, I was curios as to where you went though)
Lukas closed his eyes until they were away from the storm. The higher up they went the thinner the air was, it was simple science. He looked around and sighed, "I am fine for now, if it gets bad I will tell you Fiel." he replied.

(I bet lol, next time I'll at least let you know before I go into hibernation mode ^^; )
"Very well." Fiel tried to banish his worries for the time being. Lukas might not be accustomed to this like a Tarilonan was, but he wasn't a fool either and probably knew his own limits. "Ocean weather changes quickly," he remarked, "but that had to be some kind of record. And judging by the size of it, I won't be comfortable until we've put the horizon between us and it." He still couldn't brush off the strange feeling of being watched, which he'd felt ever since seeing the distant figure over the water. But this he didn't comment on.
Instead, he turned up the collar of his coat and rummaged in a front pocket until he found some snacks. "Are you getting hungry? It'll be midday soon."

(i had to close my chromebook so this didn't show as unread..sorry it took so long)
Lukas nodded and grabbed the charm around his neck to comfort him. "oh..yeah I didn't even realize it was that time..I could eat" he smiled slightly, trying to keep his mood up. The sudden weather did make him uncomfortable, but Fiel said it was normal so he shouldn't worry.

(no worries fam)
Fiel nodded and passed a linen package of dried fruit over his shoulder to Lukas. "Given our luck so far, I suggest rationing those. We probably won't have any serious delays on this trip, but I think it pays to be prepared." For himself, he unwrapped some of the seed-cakes he'd made last night and devoured them, making sure to count each one so he knew when to stop. "That's better. Well…what were we talking about again? Oh yes, the mysterious hero. You know, I really think both our cultures need to polish that story up a bit. It's so vague and bland." He laughed. "If this great hero was still around today, what do you think he'd be up to? Is there a wish you'd like him to grant?"

Lukas ate one piece slowly, "yeah, I mean, its cool how they made it vague but, its not helpful in learning more. If I would ask him to grant one wish…" he thought for a moment, "well…as it is just a hypothetical thing..I would wish that my brother never died…" he said sadly. "I mean, I know that is completely impossible…but I sometimes wonder what life would be like if he never did you know? like..would my parents still hate me?"

Fiel listened quietly. It made sense that Lukas would have that wish. "I guess we'll never know. I also wish your brother hadn't died, though. None of you deserve that." He thought for a moment. "If I couldn't have that wish from the mysterious hero…..I believe I'd ask if he could teach me a spell that would stop people from fighting over silly things. That's the thing I worry about most, you know—that I won't be able to keep the peace when I become king. Especially now that we've opened up our borders. I wish there was just a magic word to make everyone be friendly."

“That would be excellent. Having a magic word.” He thought for a moment, “my wish sounds kinda selfish doesn’t it? Wishing for peace is very selfless…I just wish my parents didn’t have a reason to hate me in a way” he sighed.

"No no! I don't think there are any 'wrong' wishes," Fiel assured him. "Honestly, I think I only said my wish because it's….sort of what's expected of me as the heir to the throne. There's nothing selfish about wishing for happiness for you alone." He paused, then added impulsively, "In fact I wish it for you as well. Maybe, after this visit, there's stuff I can do to help make your life happier overall. After all, our kingdoms are allied now. We should think it over together later, yes?"

“Well…Something you could do to make my life happier? Why would you do that?” He paused, “honestly, everything you have done for me so far is more than I could ever wish for.” He smiles to himself. “Being the heir must be a bit stressful sometimes, my brother used to be so busy all the time because of it…”

"It's stressful sometimes," Fiel admitted, "but I mostly don't mind. I really do want to be king someday so I can make sure my kingdom and people are taken care of. That's why Mother named me the heir instead of one of my older siblings—I was the one that showed real interest." In answer to Lukas's question, he added, "Why would I try to make your life happier? Well, why wouldn't I? I'm glad I've been able to help you already, but you're my first friend from another kingdom and I want to make sure your happiness….sticks around, you know? I think you deserve it."

"well that makes sense, having someone not interested would not be a good idea right." Lukas noted, "but I don't think I deserve it. I have done nothing good or worthwhile with my life…I am just the extra child you know" He muttered with a sad sigh.

"Don't say that," Fiel protested. "Everyone deserves good things! I don't think you need to earn the right to be treated like a person and receive affection. And don't say you're just an extra child either, okay? Your parents may not see your worth, but it's there. You'll see it too one day, I promise." He meant every word and wanted to say more, but didn't want to be too forceful. It simply upset him to hear Lukas speak so poorly of himself.

He was silent for a few minutes, letting Fiel's word sink in, he had always been treated like an extra, unwanted. His whole life he was over looked and hated, to be told that he wasn't worthless and the person actually mean it, was strange to him. "th-thanks.." he said finally, a small smile forming on his face.

Fiel could detect the smile in Lukas's voice, and it warmed his heart to hear it. He beamed as well, and opened his mouth to respond–
And then a truly massive gust of wind slammed into them, as if out of nowhere. It nearly ripped the two of them apart then and there, and it sent a throb of pain through Fiel's wings as he was forced to compensate for the sudden change in direction. In a flash, they'd been hurled up, then out, trapped in a tunnel of icy air so powerful that it sucked their breath away.
Fiel had never encountered a jet stream like this before. He knew they were dangerous and powerful, but normally they flowed at much higher altitudes than this. It quickly became obvious—from their uncontrolled speed and the frost building on his feathers—that they had to escape the stream at all costs.
"Lukas!" he shouted as loud as he could. Even so, he could barely hear himself. "Hold on! I'm going down!"

The gust of wind nearly knocked Lukas off, he held onto Fiel tightly. He was starting to believe that this was not natural, there was no way it could be. But if it wasn't, what was it?

(sorry for the wait)

Fiel did the only thing he could to escape the jet stream's clutches. He clamped his wings tightly shut against his sides and dropped like a stone, grabbing onto Lukas's arms to help them stay together. The roar of the wind faded for a blissful moment, then quickly rose to a shriek as they tore down past the clouds and towards the angry grey ocean.
Fiel had to open his wings quickly, but carefully, or the speed and drag of the air would break his bones. As soon as he dared, he started to slow their fall and pull back up away from the water. The storm wasn't helping—they were on its fringes, but the wind was vengeful and kept attacking them with lashes of freezing rainwater. Fiel had to use every trick he knew to stay aloft and begin carrying them towards the sliver of blue sky in the distance.
"Are you all right?" he called to Lukas. "Did we lose any gear in the fall?"

Lukas has closed his eyes tightly during the fall, not happy about the trip so far, it had proven to be a lot more..eventful. “Yeah I’m fine, and I don’t know, I don’t think we lost anything”