KUMANDRA (Short Story)

Chapter 1

Raya sat in complete silence for a while, staring down at Heart where the sun was setting on the horizon. She almost couldn't remember her home being this peaceful, this beautiful. It's literally been years since Raya was given a chance to choose to sit down and catch her breath. She constantly feared that she couldn't do that before. The Princess was so afraid that if she had stopped moving, the world would've stopped alongside her. And Raya couldn't allow that to happen. Because that would've meant that her Ba was gone for good.

Heart didn't remember those six years but Raya did. How could she ever forget?! She was alone, the guilt of breaking all of Kumandra crushing her like the toad under the harrow. And Namaari, the constant reminder of her immaturity, following her... chasing her whenever and wherever she chose to run. She hated Namaari for that. Raya hated that she once trusted her, that she once opened up to her, only to get back-stabbed in return. And their brief encounters, their conversations, filled with much anger and disgust, brought those painful memories back every single time Namaari successfully managed to track her down. Raya truly believed that Princess Undercut despised seeing her, as much as Raya despised seeing Namaari. However, they still continued to hurt each other over and over again throughout the years the Princess was hiding.

Of course, Raya and Namaari now were trying to move past that. But they haven't really talked after Fang. In fact, this Princess has been trying to avoid having a conversation with Namaari. Don't get her wrong. It was not because Raya didn't want to talk to her but because she didn't know what to say. It was like whenever she didn't mean to say anything at all, the words came to her without much effort but when she did actually need to say something, her mind would go blank and the Princess usually found herself at loss of words. Like Raya couldn't say anything to Namaari that didn't come from a place in her heart where Raya was still angry at Namaari for hurting her.

Raya thought that she would be better than this, that seeing Namaari back in Fang would change how she felt about the Princess. She trusted her, of that she was certain. But Raya didn't fully forgive her. She didn't even fully forgive herself.

Suddenly, a familiar magical trail covered the scenery in front of her. The Princess's eyes lazily followed Sisu who flew towards her, the fresh breeze that embraced the Dragon, shuffling her soft fur that partially reflected the orange sunset. She seemed to be somewhat concerned. Sisu gracefully landed next to Raya shortly after, debating on what she'd say to her.

"If you are, like, hiding from your ex or something, I know better places than this." She grinned and nudged Raya who tightened the grip around her knees in response.

"I'm not hiding from anyone and Namaari's definitely not my ex." The Princess scoffed, placing her chin on top of her right knee. Raya then glanced at Sisu who raised her brows, clearly surprised because of the answer.

"I didn't say anything about Namaari." Sisu's grin only grew wider but it quickly turned into a frown, seeing that Raya didn't find the Dragon's remark as amusing. "Look, Kumandra's being reunited again. Fang's helping Heart rebuild, and it's happening because of you. You have changed the world, girl. You should be down there, celebrating with others. Not here, sulking over... things."

The Princess further narrowed her brows, gaze shifting towards the land that has been scorched by the Druun one too many times. It was true, Heart needed allies, now more than ever, and Fang offered their support. They even brought seeds and food, alongside with others who didn't have much to give but chose to contribute anyway. Raya should've been grateful. It's all her Ba ever wanted... But Kumandra wasn't what Raya really desired.

She brought her Ba back... Anything other than that was just an unintentional side effect.

The Princess had fulfilled her destiny, the one Raya set out for herself and without that kind of motivation, she didn't know who Raya was or who Raya was supposed to be. Maybe that was the reason the Princess became so distant and detached all of a sudden?!

"Raya..." Sisu began and moved her head closer to Raya. "You can talk to me." The Princess looked up at the Dragon who seemed to be carefully exploring her face. "I'm your Dragon." Sisu smiled, seeing a restrained smile also appear at the edge of Raya's lips.

"It's just..." She sighed and threw herself back, harshly hitting the ground. "... talking is hard." Raya then covered her face with her toned arm. "It's been a few days after Fang. And for most people down there, it has been just that. But for me, it has been six years. Plus Fang." She glanced at Sisu from the corner of her eye. Raya has been running out of words again and the things she said, barely made sense. "I feel like I can't talk to anyone because they won't understand. It was me who broke the world and it had to be me to fix it. But I gave up on them, I betrayed my Ba. And I can't tell anyone that." Raya inhaled and whispered. "I'm alone. And I deserve to be alone."

"You're not alone, Raya." Sisu laid down next to the Princess. "You wanted to save your Ba but that doesn't make you a bad person. That makes you a 'people'... Because people are sometimes mostly selfish. But when it came to this, you chose Namaari, you chose to trust her, to put her above yourself and that makes you an exceptional 'people'. You don't deserve to be alone." Raya turned around to face the Dragon who suddenly smirked. "Plus, I believe a certain someone doesn't want you to be alone. Like, at all." A bright blush immediately covered Raya's face.

"What?! I- Uh. I don't know what... You're talking about." She quickly faced the opposite direction to hide how nervous just the brief subtle mention of Namaari has made her become.

"Riiight." Sisu narrowed her eyes. "I'll remind you then: that certain someone is Namaari who was so worried about you that she directly asked me to search for you several times before I finally gave in." The Dragon glanced at Raya and nodded reassuringly. "I thought you wanted to be left alone but Namaari reassured that you've been alone for far too long to ever wish for that again."

"She did?!" Raya's stomach twisted hearing that. Namaari didn't hate her? And in fact... was worried about her? "I mean. She did?" The Princess repeated herself, now in a calmer tone.

"Why are you acting so surprised, Raya?" Sisu raised her brow, genuinely confused. "I knew something was up during the first encounter in Tail and literally every single time after." The Princess stared at the Dragon, even more confused than the latter. "Shoot, was I the only one?"

"Umm... Yes?!" Raya replied, immediately sitting up. "Namaari cares about me?!" She mumbled in disbelief. "Namaari cares about me." The Princess ran her hand through her messy hair, biting the bottom of her lip and turned to Sisu.

"Well. Duh."