Haruka was a Skyling, a fine, seasoned warrior like all of her kind, and she knew better than to open her eyes or make any sign of wakefulness before analyzing her immediate surroundings for any sign of danger. The winged woman let her senses identify the hot, dry, and incredibly silent signs of a desert, the faint wind filling the area slightly more humid and cooler. She was not far from the forest she had been flying over when her wings gave out, the feathers too dry and oil-less to keep her aloft any longer. She had to find another source of oil for her wings or she would never fly again. She heard no movement in the room with her, so she opened her emerald eyes, fighting the wave of nausea that overcame her at the closeness of the stone walls. Haruka's eyes flew to the opening, a circular hole ringed by pale stone, and she rolled over, scrambling to get out of the cave. She panted when she exited into the fierce sunlight, raising her left arm to cover her face. She winced as pain shot through her, and she lowered her aching arm. She gingerly probed her bruised arm with her long fingers, sighing when she realized that it wasn't broken. It hurt, though. Haruka stretched out her golden wings one at a time, carefully examining them for injuries. Her wings were bruised, swollen, and painful, but the worse damage was to her ribs. She was able to count four broken, but Skylings' large lungs were nearly puncture-proof. Two more of the fragile bones were tender but not broken, and Haruka wondered how she was going to bind them so they'd heal. "Skyling?" Haruka fell into a fighting stance instantly, wings half-spread for flight, ignoring the pain in her body as her instincts took over. She stared at the slender white-skinned woman crouching in the sand beside the cave, her long golden hair caressing the sands. She had a double set of transparent golden wings folded along her spine, twitching as the warrior stared at her, iridescent scales shimmering in the light. Her pale blue eyes scanned the area, coming back to rest on Haruka's battle-ready form, waiting patiently. Haruka let her eyes take in the strange shirt the woman wore as she straightened. Her skirt was similar in style to a Skyling's, though it was shorter and less tapered, and her shirt was backless, but it seemed to be part of her skirt, no hole for her belly button to show, a simple sash knotted around her waist holding it to her body. How very strange. Haruka stood up, catching her breath as pain lanced through her from her injured ribs. "Are you okay, Skyling?" Haruka shook her head, all of her warrior instincts screaming at her to leave and not reveal her disability to the stranger. She spoke for the first time, never noticing the flush cover the other woman's face at the sensuality she unintentionally exuded with her faintly masculine voice. "My ribs and my arm. Why?" The Faeri moved forward slowly, hands outstretched. Haruka froze as the faeri touched her arm with her tiny hands, and all pain vanished. The blonde faeri rested her cool hands on Haruka's belly under her tight half-shirt, and her ribs stopped hurting. Her legs also healed, the swelling going down. "You healed me," Haruka whispered, shocked. "Who are you, Faeri?" "I am Minako, Crown Princess and future Queen of the Faeri People. Who are you, Skyling who lost her footing on the clouds?" "Haruka, princess and future queen of the Skyfolk. If I decide to go back. If my father even realizes that I'm missing." "You left your home without letting anyone know where you were going? Why?" "My father is what we call a mahk-reevah, a male obsessed with patriarchal lineage. In my kingdom, because of our constant wars and uncertain lives riding the winds, the only parenthood we know for certain is our mother. So our society is matrilineal. I'm the oldest princess and I know that my father always wished that he had no daughters. My sister doesn't mind or notice, but if I fell off a cliff and died, Kotori would be glad to relinquish her claim to the throne and my brother Eiki would ascend. She is probably the only one who misses me, besides my servant." "Your mother would be proud of your search, Haruka-san." Minako grinned at Haruka's shock. "I can sense certain things, princess. Once you began speaking, I could see that you left your mountains with a purpose. You say that you wish to find your people's ancestral home by the sea, but I know that you want to prove yourself to be worthy of your mother's throne. And she, Wind Rider, would be proud of you, Wind Runner. I promise you that." "Thank you," she whispered. "How did you know that my mother was called Kazeko the Wind Rider? Only my people know." "I know. I also know that she was the greatest warrior the mountains have ever known. She created the peace, she won the last of the Great Wars of Unification—" "Then she vanished in the worst snow storm in a millennia," Haruka finished. "It wasn't a story, then. You Faeri do have powers. Magical powers. You can know stuff about someone just from looking at them." "Something like that. You were heading for the sea when you fell?" "Yeah. I think I missed, though." Haruka closed her eyes as a wave of dizziness passed over her, grateful for the little Faeri who caught her and kept her from falling. She tried to open her wings for balance, but the pain from that motion dropped her to her knees, and the Faeri grunted. "Maybe we can get you to a safe place. If you're claustrophobic, there are some nice trees in the forest . . . and it's cooler there. I know you're not used to the heat." "Maybe that's why I don't fell so good," Haruka whispered. "Do you have anything to eat in those trees?" "Faeries are vegetarians, but the Flame Walkers are insectivores and carnivores. I guess you Skyfolk are omnivores, so we can find you something. Anharraaht!" Minako's strange call brought a lithe woman out of the sands, red hair flowing down her back like a waterfall of fire, eyes a pair of fierce purple coals, clad in a skin-tight red shirt and skirt, chains of amber, rubies, and garnets hanging around her waist, neck, and arms, fine iridescent scales covering her arms and legs, clawed fingers webbed to allow easy movement through her sandy home. Her pointed ears turned toward Haruka, the transparent inner membrane over each eye retracting. "The Skyling is awake. What's wrong with her, Minako? You healed her, didn't you?" "She's not used to this heat, Rei, and I think she may be sick. From one of your little poisonous critters." Rei moved closer, flattened nostrils flaring as her purple eyes narrowed. "Yes, I believe you are correct. Do you not have poisonous animals in your mountains?" "No. And it never gets this hot up there." "This is a cool day for the desert. Minako, let me help you get her to the forest. Do you know where the nearest Elf settlement is?" "I know where the palace is," Minako answered as Rei slipped under Haruka's other arm and the three of them headed for the treeline. "The princess is open to other races, so I could try to contact her. They have medicines that you would not, since your people are immune to the creatures of the sands." Rei glanced over at the Skyling, taking in her tanned, scale-free skin, her feathered wings, her emerald eyes, her short hair, her strange clothes, her inner eyelids that fluttered with every dry gust, and the claws on the tips of her fingers, retracted as soon as she was sure that the Flame Walker was safe. "Can you not fly, Skyling?" "Call me Haruka," she whispered, her voice almost masculine and filled with a casual sensuality the Flame Walker had never heard before. "I lost a lot of feathers when I fell, and the ones that are left are too dry from lack of oil to attempt flight. Until I find an alternative source of oil or another way to stimulate my oil glands, I won't fly." "We'll get you fixed up," Minako promised. *~*~*~*~*~*~* "Elf Princess?" Makoto opened her eyes at the soft call, staring at the Faeri woman standing in her bedroom window, golden hair moving softly with the gentle wind. Her pale blue eyes searched the room, coming back to rest on the brunette princess. "Hello, little Faeri. I didn't know you people existed." "I wouldn't have revealed myself, Elf, but I have a sick friend from two mountain ranges west that needs your help. She's been stung by something from the desert, but Rei and the Flame Walkers are immune and have no idea how to treat her. She and I thought that you Elves would have more experience healing sick people than us." "Your friend is not from around here? What is she, a Darkling? No, they never leave their caves. A Skyling?" Makoto's breath caught as the blonde Faeri nodded, shock and anticipation filling her frame. She had never seen a Skyling before. They were legend, creatures of almost mythical proportion by the Sea, and she had always hoped that they would return to its shores some day. "If she is, than she's probably also suffering from heat fever. I have some herbs that will help, but she'll have to be moved to the edge of a bay I know. We can use the water to cool her fever, at least a little. And I have some Merfolk friends who can help us keep an eye on her." "She's claustrophobic," the Faeri warned. "She won't stay in a cave unless it's pretty large. She can stay in a tree, but the weather may get wet . . ." "I know. I have a few ideas. How long have you been watching me? I mean, how did you know that I'm the princess? I never saw you before." "I hid, Makoto-san. I was there, in the trees, the day Ami-san first introduced you to her cousin the princess. I can sense that she has been here, in the waters below the palace, so your father must have accepted her in the past month or so. True?" "Yes. What is your name, Faeri?" "Minako. Can you come now? Do you have herbs here that you can bring?" "Some . . . I do need to see her." "You look strong, Elf. I am not, and the Skyling is not small and light. You can help Rei move her to the Bay. Come now, please?" Makoto grabbed her tunic and pants, shoving her feet into her boots as she swung her bow and quiver over one shoulder, a small bag filled with herbs and potions on the other. Without a backward look, she leapt out the window behind the Faeri and slipped into the silent forest. In the castle, an aging king smiled as his daughter vanished, knowing that she was going to help an injured member of another species. Not one like the Faeri she was following, and probably not a Flame Walker or Sea Person, but someone. Long ago, a great peace had blanketed the continent, but civil wars had separated the individual species into factions and later destroyed many of the treaties. Makoto and the young princesses like her were the best hope for a new world.
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