Princess Willowyn's Arc

Chapter 52 of 70

Willowyn woke the next morning with an ache she could not name. She lay still and counted the months. Four had passed since she came to this castle. Somewhere far away, her mother had given birth by now. A brother. And Willowyn had never written a single line home. No note had come from her mother because Willowyn had sent none first. Shame settled in her chest. She had been so busy healing kingdoms that she forgot her own blood. She dressed in her silver gown and went down to the dining room. The tiger cub trotted at her heels, batting at the hem. Kai stood by the long table with his mother. Queen Shuri turned when Willowyn entered. The queen wore purple and gold, her braid pinned beneath her crown. She had welcomed Willowyn as Kai's girlfriend weeks ago, and her warmth had not faded. "There she is," Shuri said. She crossed the room and took Willowyn's hands. "You look pale. Sit. Eat." Willowyn sat, but she could not eat. Kai noticed at once. "What's wrong?" he asked. "My mother had her baby," Willowyn said. "I know it. And I never wrote to her. Not once since I left." Her voice broke. "She must think I forgot her." Shuri set down her cup. "Then she is waiting to hear from you. A mother always waits." She spoke like someone who knew. "Write to her today. Do not carry this another hour." Willowyn nodded. But a letter felt too small. A letter would take weeks to cross the pine forests and the sea. Her mother had waited four months already. Then the answer came to her. She had a dragon now. She had flown him for the first time only nights ago. He could carry her across kingdoms in days, not weeks. "I won't write," Willowyn said. She stood. "I'll go. I'll fly home and tell her myself." Kai studied her. "The dragon has never flown that far." "Then we'll learn if he can." She looked at him, and the question hung between them. Would he come, or would he stay? "I need to see my mother. I need to meet my brother. Will you fly with me?" Kai did not hesitate. "I said I'd go where you go." He picked up the tiger cub and set it on his shoulder. "We'll leave when the dragon's fed." Shuri watched her son, and her eyes shone, but she smiled. "Go," she said. "Come back to us." Willowyn hugged the queen, then hurried to the fields. The dragon lifted his head as she came. She pressed her hand to his warm neck. "We're going home," she told him. "Across the sea." The choice was made. She would not stay in the golden castle any longer. She would fly home to her mother, with Kai beside her, and see the brother she had never met.