"You cannot let this child live!" The old woman's voice was trembling with urgency. She reinforced her words by stomping the floor with her cane. Her dark eyes flashed as she noticed the King's hesitation. "King! Make a definite decision!"

King Kenny, the ruler of Windia, tried to avoid the granny's intense stare. He looked at the walls, out of windows, at the floor, anywhere else but at the furious old woman who demanded him to sacrifice his own daughter.

Kenny felt a gentle hand on his weary shoulder. The King already knew what he would see even before he turned to face his wife. Queen Hina's face bore the expression Kenny would never want to see again. "What are you going to do with Nina!?" His wife's voice was trembling.

The granny sighed and shook her head. "You must give her up… Fate…is fate".

The Queen's eyes were too much to bear, so Kenny turned away again. "A child with black wings…" He shuddered with the thought. "How could this be?"

Hina grasped Kenny's hand. "Darling!" she almost screamed, "No, King! Please, I beg for mercy!"

The old woman's voice was drained of all emotion as she said: "King…'a child with black wings will cause misfortune'. You must not forget this legend! Kill the child! This is all for the good of Windia!"

Without another word, the granny turned and walked away, her cane clicking loudly against the floor with every step. She headed out from the throne room, leaving the King and the Queen to make their decision alone. The old woman had hardly got out from the sight of her liege when she suddenly leaned heavily against the wall. "This is all for the good of Windia", she repeated quietly. "I wish I could make myself to believe so too…Poor princess".

The King paced around the throne room, trying to clear his thoughts. "What… what… What am I to do?"

"Father!"

Kenny closed his eyes for a moment. "Oh no", he muttered and lifted his head to see a young girl, dressed in a beautiful blue dress, rushing into the room. She had golden hair and her large eyes were bright with happiness. In her back, there was a pair of little wings, black as the finest feathers of a crow.

"Look father!" she shouted, her face shining with joy like a little sun. "I have wings!" She happily spun around to give the King a better look of her black feathers.

Kenny didn't answer. He stared at his daughter as if he had just seen her for the first time. Queen Hina made a little, sobbing sound.

The little princess noticed that something was wrong. Why didn't her parents share her joy? "Father? Mother?"

…And in flames the kingdom shall bathe… King Kenny shook his head slowly. With a grave expression on his face, he slowly started to approach his daughter.

"Father? What is it? Why do you make such a face? Father…Father?!"

* * * *

"Let me guess the rest, Your Highness. You want me to take her away?"

"Yes. Quietly", King Kenny replied. He used the following silence to study the man standing before him. He seemed to be smart and experienced, thought he certainly had no idea of how to behave before a king. Kenny didn't let this to bother him. By what the King had heard about this man, Aryn Seaholt seemed to be very capable in such kind of work as Kenny was offering.

"Do you want me to make her disappear for eternity?" Aryn asked abruptly.

It took just a moment from Kenny to understand what he was meaning. "Oh, by heavens, no! This is hard enough to me. I don't want her to…die". Even the word itself tasted bad in his mouth. "Just disappear".

Aryn nodded. "I see. You've got no idea how many times I've had to ask that same question. It's good that you said no, Your Highness. I'm a protector. Not an assassin".

"Will you take the job, then?" Kenny asked, feeling how a little ray of hope entered his voice.

Aryn ran his hand through his hair. He glanced around the empty throne room as if making sure nobody heard him. His eyes rested for a moment on a smaller door in the corner of the room. "I'm still considering that", he said. "I've only said that I'm interested in it. I'd like to hear some details first. Things like why do you want her to disappear, where should I take her to and, of course, that little thing called my reward".

"This is a touchy job, Aryn", Kenny said sternly, "I'll tell you the details after you accept my offer, not before. Now I can only say that I can't afford Nina to stay here. Windia cannot afford it!" He let out a sigh. "And your reward…I've heard that your prices are high".

Aryn shrugged. "My customers rarely complain. We can talk about the money later. Now, let me think about this for a moment".

"Take all your time", Kenny said, deciding once again to ignore this odd fellow's behavior.

Aryn seemed to think much in a same way as King Kenny did. He let his eyes wander around the throne room. Every now and then his gaze rested on some object or another, but he never especially focused his attention to anywhere. The silence had lasted a good while when Aryn finally spoke: "Where is this daughter of yours right now?"

Kenny sighed. "She is in her room. I told her not to leave, so she should be still in there. This matter is harder on her than anybody else in this castle".

"Of course. And you can go to the Royal Quarters through that door there, right?" Aryn said, pointing at the smaller door with his thumb.

"Yes".

Aryn nodded and folded his arms. "So then the lady's the one who's been listening to us for a while now". He turned his head towards the door. "You can come in now!"

The door opened slowly. Nina thrush her head into the room and turned her tear-filled eyes at the King, who flinched a little. "How can you send me away?" she asked. Her voice was shaking with all those tears she was desperately trying to hold back. "What did I do, father?!"

Aryn seemed to be almost as shocked by Nina as the King was. He slowly unfolded his arms and whispered quietly: "Hoo-boy".

Kenny forced himself to look at his daughter. A mere sight of her in such state sent an agony through his heart. "Nina", he tried to say.

"Don't say it!" Nina suddenly cried out with a high-pitched voice. "I don't want to hear it anymore! I don't want to go away! Please, father, don't make me to go away, please!" She burst in tears, as the pressure that had been swelling inside her all day suddenly found a way to erupt. "Don't say it!" She turned and ran down the corridor, leaving her footsteps, accompanied by her sobs, to echo in the throne room.

Kenny's shoulders sank. "It's so hard to us all…"

Aryn didn't say anything. His expression told that he was shocked. However, it seemed to be caused more by surprise than sympathy. "So that was her?" he said. "I… expected her to be older than that". His eyes began their aimless journey across the throne room again. "So I'm supposed to protect a little girl?" Aryn mumbled after a long silence. He covered his eyes with his hand. "Oh boy, what a luck, getting me into a mess like this…"

King Kenny let out another deep sigh. "So, you are not taking the job, after all?" He said somberly.

"I never said that I would take it before, Your Highness", Aryn replied. "This changes things".

* * * *

The pillow was already wet, but Nina's tears refused to end. She didn't remember if she ever had cried so much. Muffled sobs filled her room as Nina buried her face deeper into her pillow.

Why? Why her father suddenly chased her away? What had she done to deserve this? Or was she just like a worn rag, once a beautiful dress now thrown away only because it had become too old?

And what was all this talk about black wings?

The door opened quietly. Nina didn't hear the soft footsteps over her own sobs. She didn't hear how the newcomer closed the door, either. She flinched as an unexpected voice spoke: "So, you're Nina, then?"

Nina lifted her head from the pillow just for long enough to have a quick look at the stranger. The man who had entered her room so quietly looked familiar. He was calmly regarding Nina with his green eyes. He had long, light brown hair, which he kept tied into a ponytail. The man's features were sharp, almost making him look like a fox or a cat. This impression was reinforced by his strange ears, which were long, pointed and covered by soft, yellow fur. He was dressed in gray clothes and well-worn boots.

Where had she seen this man before? Wasn't he the one who her father had spoken with? Nina didn't care anymore. She pushed her face back against the softness of her pillow.

"I'm Aryn Seaholt", the man spoke as Nina apparently refused to say anything. "I was hired to take care of you".

"How much father paid you to make you to kill me?" Nina asked, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"You got that wrong, girl. Nobody's going to kill you. I'm a protector. Not an assassin".

"You may as well kill me", Nina replied somberly. "If father wants me to disappear, better do it in the surest way".

Aryn shook his head. He looked around the room and spotted a chair next to a little table. "That's some way of thinking, girl", he said, pulling the chair next to the door and sitting down. "You think that such thing as leaving your home triggers the end of the world?"

"And what do you know about things like this?" Nina sat up angrily. "Do you have any idea how this feels like?"

Aryn gave her a smile that was both a little amused and slightly sarcastic. "You think you're the only one who has problems with the life?"

Nina's chin raised defiantly. "Of course not", she snapped.

Aryn's patience was apparently starting to end. "Look, girl, nobody's going kill you. I was hired to take you away, which means I'll have to take you to somewhere where you want to live now on. And that can be done faster if you don't complain so much".

Nina struggled to keep her voice defiant. The sorrow was again trying to overcome her. "But I don't want to go anywhere!"

"Girl". Aryn's voice was dangerously low. "You will go. I will see to that, even if I'll have to tie you up with a rope and drag you behind me!"

Aryn's tone quelled Nina's objection onto her lips. She decided to give up. "So I'll get no chance to make up whatever I did to deserve this", she said quietly.

"You did nothing", Aryn replied. "From what I've heard from the King, you've been like a little fairy princess. It's because of those". He pointed at the black wings in Nina's back.

"What does it matter if I have black wings?" Nina asked. "Does that make me somehow special? Doesn't – " she paused as a new thought occurred to her. "Oh no, it can't mean…"

Just like everywhere else, there were many legends in the kingdom of Windia. Telling about mighty victories of the past and prophecies for the future, they were told from father to son and from mother to daughter. They, in turn, would then pass them on to the next generation. Among these legends, there was a short yet dark story. It was so short that it consisted only of two sentences.

"Oh, see carefully the wings of the Royal children, since a child with the black wings will cause misfortune", Nina recited with a shaking voice. "Ignore the warning of the black feathers, and in flames the kingdom shall bathe…" Her voice trailed off, as the meaning of all this struck with full force.

"Too bad that it has to be you", Aryn said to fill the silence.

"But I don't want to harm anybody", Nina said, "I can't be the one that the legend tells about!"

"Girl", Aryn said, running his hand through his hair, "Legends and prophecies can be more inaccurate than a blind man with a bow. Only fate knows what will happen. People do change when they live. You may become the destroyer of this kingdom when you grow up. On the other hand, you may as well grow to be a savior of the world. Or you'll simply live a quiet, happy life, never bothering anybody". He spread his hands and shrugged. "Who knows? But do you think that King Kenny can take the risk?"

Nina wiped her eyes with her hand. "If people find out that there's a child with black wings in the Royal Family…they'd want to protect the kingdom…by killing me". With that thought, she burst into tears again.

"Now, now, girl", Aryn said, his tone aimed to calm Nina. "I really hate it when I see a big girl crying like that. I'd try almost anything to make you smile, but that doesn't change the unavoidable. Take your pick: leave and you get a chance to live your life", Aryn said and lifted one finger. "Stay, face your legend, and very likely die", he continued bluntly and lifted a second finger.

Before Nina could reply, Aryn covered his fingers with his other hand. "Don't even think, girl. Your choice has already been made. Your father has decided that you're going to live, and he hired me to make sure of it ".

Nina sighed, wiping her eyes again. She wanted nothing less than to leave her home. But as a princess of the Royal Family, she had been raised to accept responsibility from early age. This burden had came all too suddenly to her, but it was about time to put all that training to use. "For the Royal Family…" she said, "For the good of the Royal Family, I'll have to cease to exist. I don't want to go, but…if it's for the good of Windia…"

Aryn nodded. "It's not my business to decide if it's good for anybody, but if you say so, all the better. Makes my work easier". He stood up and glanced around the room. "If there's something important that you want to take with you, dolls or something, you'd better gather them now. I'll take care of our supplies. We'll be on our way tomorrow".

The little wave of anger returned to Nina's voice. "I don't play with dolls anymore!"

Aryn shrugged as he opened the door. "That was just an example. Get some sleep, girl. You've got a big day tomorrow". He stepped out of the room and closed the door carefully behind him. Nina could hear how the heavy key was turned in the lock.

"That's some bodyguard", Nina fumed quietly. "To go and think that I'd need dolls, of all things, when I leave home! Who does he think I am?"

* * * *

"Oh boy, I'm in a mess again", Aryn mused as he walked down one of the corridors of the Castle of Windia. "How do these things always find me, me of all protectors in this world? Either this journey will be very interesting, or really boring".

Aryn certainly hoped that the girl wouldn't be as difficult to handle on their journey. If she would be going to object everything he decided, they would be arguing all the time. They needed to leave the area of Windia quickly and there was nothing like cute little mini-wars to slow the journey. And, boy, would that girl get mad if she found out that Aryn really had no idea where they should go…

With these thoughts Aryn found himself standing outside the gates of the castle. The road ran down the steep hill into the city of Windia below. It was a beautiful place, that Aryn granted for it. Built onto great hills, its shops and taverns, its inns and private residences, were tall and made of stone that had been plastered white. Great windmills rose high toward the skies, their wings constantly rotating in the howling wind that never rested.

No, Aryn decided. The wind didn't howl here. It sang. Indeed, Windia more than matched its reputation. As people liked to put it, it was a town that led to the sky.

Sensing sudden inspiration awakening in his mind, Aryn quickly made sure that there was nobody close enough to hear him. Then he closed his eyes and stood still for a moment, creating words and sentences, pondering and replacing them until he was somewhat satisfied with the result. When he finally spoke, Aryn's voice was quiet and solemn.

Previous: Prologue
Next: Chapter II
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