Young Writers Society

Once upon a time, there lay the majestic kingdom of Leikki. It stretched for miles all around and was surrounded by a vast, enchanted forest. The kingdom was ruled by a powerful young queen. Her name was Blayze. Blayze was almost as majestic as the kingdom itself. She was tall and strong, and her long blonde hair was lighter than her perfectly tanned skin. All these features made her beautiful, but one stood out from the rest. Sprouting from her shoulder blades, were two massive, feathered wings. These wings were the symbol of her power. They were her means of transport, her control.

But they were also so much more. To her, they were her entire worth. For a queen to get her wings, she must earn the love of her people first. And for Blayze, this wasn’t a struggle. She began her rule as a benevolent queen, leading with kindness and empathy. She quickly gained the respect of her people for this, but what truly gained their favour was her immense strength and resilience. There was a great battle in the early years of her reign. The kingdom was attacked by the Coro, the people of the sky, and their ruthless leader, Queen Tal. The Coro stripped the kingdom of all their resources and slaughtered half of their people. While the two armies fought, Blayze and Tal had their own battle. At the end of it all, the queen of the Leikki lost her eye, but the Tal lost her life. The Blayze and her people were victorious, but at a great cost. Both armies suffered great losses, but Blayze seemed to lose the most. The battle left her scarred, inside and out, for she lost a loved one that day. For reasons unknown, the moment she struck the fatal blow, she began to crumble. And from the ashes of her fractured soul, grew her wings. Since that day, Blayze has been a shell of her former self. She isolated herself from the people, only making public appearances when absolutely necessary. In her absence, the kingdom of Leikki was no longer the force it once was. It was broken, splintered, crushed. In the years that followed, Blayze would fly over the trees of the forest, avoiding responsibility and guilt, for hours on end, but she could never truly escape. No one truly knew what secret lied buried deep in the queen’s broken heart, and no one would ever know, until one fateful day…

***

The sun shined bright. It was a beautiful summer day in the kingdom of Leikki. Blayze awoke to sunlight streaming through her open window. She took a slow, deep breath of fresh air before stepping gracefully out of bed. The marble floor of her bedroom was cool on her bare feet as she walked towards the large window. For a brief minute, she stood there, looking out at her kingdom. Everything seems so peaceful at this hour of the morning the thought to herself, if only it could always be like this. Her moment of serenity was interrupted by the muffled sound of her maid, Bridgett.

“Your majesty? Are you awake?” came the quiet voice from behind the door. “I’ve brought your breakfast.”

“Yes, my darling, come in” replied the queen. She heard the soft click of the door handle and Bridgett carefully made her way to the table with the tray.

“Your majesty, if I may,” began Bridgett, “there are… quite a few families here who wish to talk to you. I know last time you told me to send the committee, but the crowds are getting bigger every day and they’re very adamant about talking to you specifically…” her voice trailed off as Blayze strode majestically towards her.

“Do you know what day it is, Bridgett?” she asked, in a rather condescending tone.

“S-Saturday, your majesty?” stuttered Bridget in response, unsure if this would be the correct answer.

“Yes, my darling, but do you know the significance of this particular… Saturday?” Blayze drew herself up to her full height and looked down at Bridgett. The shy maid shook her head. “Today is the anniversary of the day I got my wings. Three years ago today, I vanquished the Coro to earn the respect of my people.”

“Yes, but if you want to keep that respect, I suggest you-” Blayze cut her off with a swift hand motion.

“Hush, now, Bridgett. Today should be a day of reflection. We must mourn the lives that were lost on this day three years ago, but we must also celebrate our victory. As such, I will be taking today to use my wings and reflect on how these past three years have been hard on me, as a Queen. Today is not a day to burden myself with the requests of the citizens, perhaps some other time.” She grabbed a muffin off the tray and marched over and opened the window, preparing to take flight.

“But what will I tell the crowd?” Blayze turned towards her maid.

“Well, it’s Saturday, isn’t it? Tell them… I’m taking the weekend off!” and with that she jumped out the open window, leaving Bridgett alone with the breakfast tray.

***

Blayze soared over her kingdom, her powerful wings propelling her through the sky with each flap. She thought about her conversation with Bridgett. Was I too harsh on her? She wondered. She thought about what Bridgett had said about the crowd of people. Maybe I should just go see how many people there really are. She angled her body towards the village and let the wind carry her. Swarming around the castle gates, there was a crowd of about 200 citizens. Blayze made sure to fly high so she wouldn’t be seen. She hovered above the crowd for a minute to think. These people surely can’t all be here to see me, can they? As this realization slowly dawned on her, Blayze suddenly felt light-headed. It must be the altitude; I should head back to the castle. But as she was flying back over the forest, her wings suddenly felt too heavy to flap. Before she knew it, Blayze was plummeting towards the ground, leaving a trail of white feathers behind her.

***

Blayze awoke in a small, dark room. She was lying on her back on a hard, wooden bed, covered by a thin wool blanket. She looked around the room as her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark. The walls of the room were red brick and there were blackout curtains on the few windows. The only light was coming from a small candle in the center of the room. Blayze lifted her head and sat up, hanging her feet over the edge of the bed. What little she could see of the room began to spin and her head throbbed.

“You took quite a fall, there,” muttered a raspy voice from the other side of the room. Blayze looked around but couldn’t see anyone.

“Who’s there? Show yourself!” she demanded. The candle flickered slightly before being fully obscured by someone sitting in front of it. Blayze could see the faint outline of someone short and thin, hunched over in the candlelight.

“Oh, I suppose I could open the curtains, now that you’ve come to.” The figure moved away from the candle and soon light flooded the space. She sky outside had begun to cloud over. The figure sat back down, and Blayze could see her more clearly. She was old and frail and looked to be about 90 years old.

“Who are you?” asked Blayze, more curious now.

“Never you mind about me, I’m no one important,” replied the old woman. “I’m more interested in you. Who are you?”

“You ought to know who I am,” stated Blayze angrily. “Anyone with even a shred of basic knowledge would know who I am.”

“Well, I didn’t say I don’t know who you are, I do. My question is, do you?”

“Do you think I’m dumb? Of course, I know who I am.”

“Who are you, then?”

“I am the Queen. Queen Blayze of the Leikki people” Blayze stood up in defiance, and instantly felt like something was wrong. She whipped around and was horrified at the pile of feathers on the bed and at her feet. She turned on the old woman. “You! What have you done to me? What happened to my wings?” Blayze towered over her, but the old woman simply shrugged her shoulders.

“I haven’t done anything, love. I just found you at the edge of the village, wingless, and took you inside. No one wanted to help you. I fear you’ve lost the confidence of your people.”

“LIAR!” Blayze stormed around the small room and knocked the candle off the table. “My people love me, for I am their queen! They allowed me to have these wings, I earned them! And now you have stripped them away with some… dark magic” a clap of thunder sounded in the distance as rain began to pour down on the house.

“You are not their Queen!” Blayze jerked her head but remained silent. “Queen Blayze would never treat her subjects like this. Queen Blayze was nice, gentle, and loved all her subjects. That is how she got her wings, but is it not clear as day that you no longer deserve them? When you fell from the sky, I took care of you, how do you repay me? By trashing my house and calling me a liar.” Once again, Blayze didn’t say a word. “But I’m not the only one,” continued the old woman, “every single day your people gather outside your castle gates, hoping to see you, or hear from you. Every day your people suffer in poverty. They long for direction, for someone to lead them… they long for the Queen Blayze that disappeared three years ago.” There was a long pause.

“You have no idea how much I have suffered. You have no idea.” She turned and walked towards the door. “And I don’t need your help.” She left the house without another word. I’ll just walk back home, then, she thought to herself. That crazy old woman doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She began walking through the trees. The rain began to pour harder. After walking for what felt like an hour, Blayze slowly realized that she was lost, for she had never seen the forest from below. She eventually came to a clearing, a small grassy field, surrounded by a circle of trees.

With a clear view of sky, the memories began to flood back. Blayze saw her younger self, sneaking out the back door of the castle, running off into the forest. She heard her laughter as she rolled around in the grass. She remembered the feeling of rebellion; she could see it sparkling in her eyes. She remembered her. She was the most beautiful woman Blayze had ever met. Tall, strong, kind. She remembered being in love. She remembered walking through the woods, hand in hand. She remembered running off in secret, kissing under the stars. But they could never tell a soul, for it was a forbidden love that could never be. Her beautiful Tal. Then she remembered the heartbreak. She remembered the fighting, the torment… and finally, she remembered the betrayal, the attack. Tears streamed down her face as she looked to the sky. She could see herself holding a sword. She could see the pain in her face as she looked at Tal, the only person she had ever loved, and stabbed her right through the heart.

“Why?” she wailed, falling to her knees. “Why would you make me do it?” In that moment her soul shattered again. She fell to the ground and sobbed. It was almost too much to bear. When she finally looked up, Tal was standing there. Time froze for a moment, as they looked in each other’s eyes. Tal reached out and caressed her face.

“There, there, my love, it’s ok. I forgive you.” They shared one final embrace, and then she was gone again. The rain had finally extinguished the fire. But then the sky watered the ashes, and Blayze was reborn. She had a new purpose, a new meaning. For she had been given something she never imagined. Forgiveness. She had been given a second chance. But this time, she was not going to throw it away.