Love at first feather

Chapter 8

I woke up in my bedroom. Not the one in the marble castle. But my bedroom. The bedroom I grew up in. My posters were on my walls. My clothes were in my closet. My dog was at the foot of my bed. I was home!

So, why did a wave of sadness crash over me?

Snap out of it. You are home and you can put the whole feathered nightmare behind you. Just get out of bed. Get. Out. Of. Bed. I thought to myself. Yet, as much as I struggled I couldn't get out of bed. I couldn't so much as wiggle my big toe. Wiggle your big toe. I thought to myself impatiently.

Well at least I could still crack "Kill Bill" jokes. As I was mentally laughing at my wit I became aware of the shape in my window.

It was blurry yet I could tell the shape was watching me. I wanted to scream; the thing was bad news. Every fiber in my being wanted to get away yet I couldn't. I was still stuck in my same place. The shape started to move towards me; as it did a fire began to burn between my shoulder blades. My teeth and nails began to ache as the blur moved closer. Suddenly the black shape stood at the edge of my bed. I felt a snap inside me as I let out a sound that was inhuman.

The shape wasn't one thing but two. Strangely enough, seeing what the two shapes actually were, I became aware that I wasn't afraid. They were bad news, but I need not be afraid.

As I gritted my teeth against the pain, I watched a large black panther and a large black bird watch me from the foot of my bed. The pain kept coming in waves. As I screamed out once again, the cat howled with me. Then with a warning growl at the bird, the cat crept up and jumped on my bed. The mountain lion watched me cautiously with these disturbingly blue eyes as it layed extremely close to me.

The pain returned this time it was worse. This cycle continued for hours I screamed and the cat howled. I panted as the pain passed and the cat would nuzzle my arm. Then I would scream again. The bird at my footboard never made a noise nor even moved. Eventually I just blacked out.

When I woke up I was back in my purple bed at my castle. I had no clue the hour or even the day. All I knew was my teeth ached as did my my spine and between my shoulders. Basically I hurt everywhere.

Dragging myself from bed I sluggishly made my way to hit the buzzer next to my door that would summon Rajji. The bell rang and rang yet my favorite hostile friend never showed. There was a pit in my stomach as I took a bath and dressed in a blue gown that exposed my back.

With a sense of dread I found my way into the dinning room. It must've have been some sort of dining time as there were servants flitting about laying out plates. I stopped a rushed looking girl who was carrying a whole stack of white glistening plates.

"Excuse me" I said as the girl attempted to peer at me from behind all the plates. "Can you tell me where to find Rajji? Or Prince Kane?"

I don't think she was going to answer me originally because she rolled her eyes, and she started to walk away. She got a step or two away from me before she came to a sudden stop, that sent her stack rattling. She spun on her heels so quickly, if I had blinked I would've missed it. Suddenly the girl was in a curtsy, while still holding the plates.

"Oh excuse my attitude. I did not realize you were you. My highness, it is so great to see you. You are as beautiful as you were years ago." The girl's red bob was quaking as she apologized. Never once did she look at me. "And Rajji is sick in her bed, she fought with your love and lost, but prince Kane is in the library if you wish me to send for him."

"That's okay. I can find him on my own." I replied hurriedly. "Oh, and look at me when we talk, okay? Thanks. Bye!" I called over my shoulder as I took off for the library. This time I was going to get answers.

I burst into the library with as much gusto as my aching body would allow.