Transcend

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Emma relished the air flowing under her wings, giving her lift and speed as she sped towards the forest. But the pleasure of flying was bittersweet; she thought of David even though she was fleeing from him. She took the form of a sparrow hawk, a light and fast bird perfectly suited to escaping stupid wolf mates. 

Well, it was the fastest form she knew. As an Avian, she had the option of learning as many bird forms as she could without forgetting any others, instead of being stuck to one pelt like David and the Werewolves. Working in the palace meant that Emma never had the time to learn new forms.

She looked down, a mistake. David's massive black wolf ran beneath her, leaping over roots, bushes, and rocks with ease. Emma moved her wings up and down faster, hoping to escape. She didn't want to deal with that jerk at all. 

'Emma, stop so we can talk,' David's baritone voice echoed in her head. Emma ignored him and banked sharply to the left, heading towards a river. Green trees covered most of the ground so that Emma could not see David under their thick leaves at high speed. Hopefully that meant that he couldn't see her well either. 

A small creek passed below her, a clear view of the ground surrounding the banks. No David. Emma mentally sighed in relief. She really didn't want to deal with her mate right then. he was stubborn beyond belief, stuck in the viewpoint that cruelty and serverity were the only possible ways to treat subjects. 

Pain flashed through her chest as she thought further, her mind turning to the events right before she shifted. She couldn't believe hoiw insensitive he was, nonchalantly shrugging like he did when she was trying to get him to listen. And that was the problem, David pretended to listen, but all of her advice and ideas went in one ear and out the other. 

Just then Emma noticed the soreness in her chest muscles and wings. Where exactly was she? She knew she was near the edge of the Royal Forest, but that was too vague to be reassuring. Gliding for a moment, she took a moment to survey her surroundings. Nothing stood out.

She glided on thermals for longer than she ever cared to stay aloft. Her wings ached like nothing else and her head drooped. The wind was bitterly cold even with her warm down feathers as the sun set. She needed shelter for the night. Spiralling down, Emma looked for a place to stay. As she was about to land in a tall evergreen tree, she spotted a familiar old maple tree. It was dead on one side, having been struck by lightning, but it still grew tall and thick on the opposite side, the side that faced home.

Emma flapped her fatigued wings in one last burst of energy that would carry her home to her only family, her mother. She hadn't ever wanted to leave her frail mother, but their small family desperately needed funds so she was forced to go work at the palace. What a fat lot of good that did her. 

Landing somewhat ungracefully on the ground in front of the run down cottage, Emma changed back into her human form. 'Emma!' David's voice boomed in her head, 'Where are you?'

She froze. How was she going to respond? If she said that she was at her mother's house, David would come charging over and cause too much excitement for her mother, which would not impact her health well. But if she didn't tell him exactly where she was, he would go crazy and track her down. 

'I-I...' Emma hesitated, still frozen in the front yard next to the dead vegetable patch. 'I'm at my mother's house. Please... Please don't come.'

Silence. Emma could feel the remorse emanating from her mate through their weak bond. She made her best effort to ignore it as she knocked on the splintered wooden door. "I'm coming!" could faintly be heaerd from within and Emma waited longer than normal for the door to open.