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A crow to action
I woke to the familiar sound of my little friend. He jumped by my head, making little tick sounds on the cold floor. “Morning,” he squealed right next to my ear, wanting me to wake up.
“Rafael?” I had yet to realize where I was, but the surroundings were more like a dream. I was in the wizard's den all alone, but the light shattered into the tinny window and hit random spots all over the room. Rafael was here. He stared at me as if he was checking if an object was shiny or not, then jumped aside and on top of the table with a sudden motion of flight. I followed the bird, getting to my feet to investigate what had been the bird's sudden interest in. On the table sat a neatly folded letter, although the rest of the table was all ruined. Everything lay upside down and was scattered all around the place, as if someone was trying to find something in the dark. It couldn't have been Erlan, for the wizard saw perfectly in the dark, but if he was in a rush, it might explain the mess. I hadn't noticed it when I entered the room the first time to find him. I turned around to see that the mess followed out of the room with things knocked over and laying on the floor with giant scratches embroidered on the floor. My prince had left with a fight, and I started to doubt my father’s given second chance for the dragon. What if Erlan didn't go with his own will and all of this mess was caused by Erlan fighting back the king’s pressure to leave?
“Erlan left you something,” I was reminded that I wasn't the only one in the room and Rafael was still waiting to show me something on the table. Beside the neatly folded letter lay a few sticks. They seemed to form a circle, and I guessed it was the start of the crow's attempts at a nest. I folded open the letter, reading every word with careful tone, but I soon came to an end. There wasn't as much as I had expected from a neatly folded paper. It was as if someone had come to lift the letter out of the mess and put it in a visible place before my arrival.
I looked at the crow, who stared back with a smirk. “Birds can’t read!” I smirked back at him and read it out loud.
“Dear Astra, I must leave, but I promise to come back, I'll be thinking of you, my princess, for this coming fight is for you and the world you showed me I could have.” Rafael just crowed as a crow does and you could seriously think that there was no way he had spoken, and it was all my imagination. Erlan thought of me as his princess, and it made me blush. He promised to return, and I believed him from the tip of my hair to my toes.
“Love,” Rafael said, trying to mock me.
“Rafael!” I silenced him, but I could tell he was having fun.
Then he jumped to the branches left on the table and turned to me. “Crown, princess!” I got confused. They were only some branches formed in a circle, there was nothing crow like in it. But Rafael was persistent, pushing it closer and closer for me to see. I lifted it up and inspected it with caution because it looked fragile. It was carefully folded in a circle, with little leaves sprouting out in scattered patches. It was a lovely little thing, but it seemed too crooked to be a crown. I put it on my head, gently pushing it down on my loose hair. It made me happy, and I twirled beside a mirror to see myself better. It suited me, with branches making arcs and the bright green leaves looked like shiny jewels in-bridled in the crown.
“Did Erlan make it for me?” I was still fascinated by the gift.
Rafael wasn't a fan of my ramblings and he intruded with a crooked voice. “Me too, me too!”
I laughed at the little bird's desperate attention wants. “Thank you, Rafael!”
The little sunbeams seized and me and Rafael turned to the window, rushing over to look. It was just a cloud, a big dark one. It made me weary to piece together that war was somewhere behind these palace walls. What should I do now? Waiting seemed absurd, but I did want to wait for my prince. He had promised to return, and I wished I could sit in patients as a princess was supposed to wait for the prince, but my feet ached for action. Even if I rushed off, what would I have to do after? I had no fighting skills, and I didn't even know my father’s plan that he hoped would bring him victory or at least protection. “Erlan made me stay with you,” the crow nodded, “so if you are leaving, please take me with you.”
“What? How did you know I wanted to leave?” It was uncomfortable to talk to the crow now, knowing he was like a conscious person.
“I’m not stupid,” he said in a different voice, as if he were using a phrase, he had heard from someone else. Whenever he repeated Erlan used words, it sounded a lot smoother than when he used another man’s voice, who I didn't recognize. It was crooked and old, filled with hatred that didn't suit the crow. Rafael was mischievous and wise; he wasn't evil and vicious. Who were the people whose voices he used?
“I want to go find Erlan, but I do not know how or if it’s going to do any good,” I lowered my shoulders and sat down beside the crow. He raised his chest and began his screech.
“Go, if it's what your heart calls you to do! I have made this mistake too often, so let’s both go get our friend back. It doesn’t matter how.” The bird shined in a wise glow as his words hit my heart.
“Yeah!” I said, raising from my seat. I was dumbfounded when the bird started gathering stuff in a pouch in the corner. “Now?” I stood in confusion.
“When then?” He laughed with the wicked voice and worked his way through maps and all sorts of equipment. “I will get everything from here, princess. You get the horse and some warm clothes,” he ordered, flying down to the pouch to stuff another map in it. I smiled with encouragement, obeying the wise little crow and running to fetch my outdoor clothing. The thought of going on an adventure to find my prince made my heart flourish, and there was excitement rather than fear. I believed this was the gift that Erlan had given me, the bright and colourful world he had opened right in front of my eyes.
I wouldn't be scared.
Especially not from the man that I had fallen in love with.
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