Chapter III

Zora felt like fire was engulfing her body and the pain was so bad, then it all stopped. She opened her heavy eyes and saw a room with chairs, piles of herbs and what looked like bunches of flowers. She tried to sit up, but as she did a searing pain from her lower back made her stop and fall back down onto the pillows. She decided to look around the room laying down. Zora looked around the room and started to see that beds were around her and people were in the beds, but some of the people were sitting up watching her and as she looked closer she saw that it was Baxter!

“Baxter!” Zora said, but as she did her back throbbed.

“Zora, I am so glad that you are ok,” Baxter replied.

“What happened?” She asked.

“ Mother told me and the boy to go and try to reach Minador and she would go back to try and help. She gave Eleanor to Pyro and he rode off and got here safely with her,” He explained.

“Is father and mother ok?”

“Father is fine and so is mother,” He stated. “Father did get shot in the arm, but he is healing just fine,”

“Why are you here Baxter?” She asked.

Baxter looked at her then he pulled off his tunic to reveal a large wound on his flank. It was a deep wound, it was covered in bandages that were stained with blood. Baxter slipped his tunic back on and then started to speak.

“I went back to try and help mother and father and as I was riding to father who was looking after you. When I was getting off Midnight one of the men came up behind me and shot me and since he was so close the arrow went deep,”

“What happened to me?” Zora asked. He didn’t answer for a while.

“You broke your ankle and you were stabbed in the back.”

Zora looked down and saw that she wasn't wearing her tunic, but instead bandages were covering from her chest down to her waist. She pulled off the covers and saw her ankle was also heavily bandaged too.

Later that evening she remembered with a bolt about Destiny and Silverwind. Zora sat up slowly so she wouldn't hurt her back and grabbed her wooden crutches. She got up and stood in the same spot because it made her dizzy to walk. Then she walked passed Baxter's bed where he was sleeping. The sound of the crutches against the stone floor was loud. She opened the door and walked into the kitchen of the house where the smell of steak was hovering in the room. She tried to hurry, but the crutches slowed her. She got to the door and walked into the cold air and started to think Destiny Destiny, Are you there. She got no reply she felt tears feel her eyes, but didn’t know why she had just met Destiny. She turned to walk back into the house when she felt something brush against her leg. Zora looked down and saw nothing she felt more and more down.

Zora sat in her bed for what felt like hours before she fell asleep. She was awoken many times due to her ankle. She woke up and slowly lifted her eyelids and saw light was filling the room. Her eyes were stinging with tiredness and her muscles ached from sleeping in odd positions. She sat up and looked at Baxter’s bed and saw he had left. Zora pulled on a warm nightgown and got one of her wooden crutches and walked out of the room and into the kitchen where father and mother ate and Zora asked about Silverwind and if he was ok. Mother replied with a happy yes, at this news she went out and saw a stable with all the horses including Silverwind. He saw her and wiped his head and let out a soft nahh. She walked over to him and put her head against his and whispered “I am so glad you're ok,” He looked at her and flicked his tail making her look and to her great relief Destiny was looking at her cocking her head with her big blue eyes.

“Destiny!” She exclaimed.

“ Are you ok, master?”

“Yes i am ok, but we can’t talk here you need to come with me.”

Destiny hopped onto her outstretched hand and together they walked back into the house. They walked into the bedroom and Zora sat on the bed and put Destiny down. They had a long talk with many tales.

She took off her nightgown and felt her back and to her surprise she didn’t feel a cut. She felt a long scar that was four inches long. Destiny went up to her back and made that same humming sound against her scar while Zora was petting her. Then she slipped her tunic back on. Destiny’s head shot up and looked at the door and at that Zora looked at the door also. The door opened and a man came in with a basket. This man was Zora’s healer and he was the one who healed her back. He was known for healing people at an unusually fast speed.

“Hello Zora.”

“Hi, Hyro.”

“Zora, I know about Destiny you don’t have to hide her.”

“How do you know?” She said.

“I found her by Silverwind and we had a good, long talk about you,”

“Me? Um Destiny, I guess you can come out.”

Destiny came out and looked at Hyro. Hyro walked over to one of the tables in the room and picked up a stick. They talked for a long time then he gave her the medicine. Suddenly, the wall behind them shattered with extreme force. Zora was flung forward and slammed onto the cement floor and Hyro fell back into the drawers and knocked them down. The room filled with dust and was covered in rubble. Zora was under the rubble and wasn’t able to move due to her ankle. She heard people walking over the rubble then she was grabbed from behind and pulled out of the rubble.

A man was standing over her with an evil smile on his face. He was short and had a long brown beard. His eyes were grey and narrow. Zora looked at him then kicked him in the stomach and caused him to drop her onto the rubble. She scrambled away from the man and as she was near the door her father came and charged at him with his sword in hand. Zora’s mother ran into the room and pulled her up and together they ran to the horses. Zora called for Destiny, she came and landed on Silverwind who was waiting for her to get on. She got on Silverwind and saw Baxter and the other boys on their horses.

They were far from the house when Zora’s ankle gave a very painful throb. She thought Why couldn't Hyro heal my ankle, They came to a stop and waited for a long time, then she climbed a tree being careful of her ankle. She looked over the land and saw smoke rising from behind the mountains where her kingdom was. Her eyes filled with tears and she felt herself sink down. Zora sat down and drifted into sleep and the next time she awoke her mother was crying side by side with Baxter.

“Mother what's wrong?” She said rushing over.

“Father is dead,” Baxter said and he had tears rushing down his face.

“What!” She said not wanting to believe it.

Mother looked up into her eyes then said in a surprisingly steady voice, “Zora, We need to stay here, don’t go after them please, I don’t want to lose you too.”

Zora so badly wanted to find the people that killed father and make them pay. She sat down, cried next to mother, then got up and walked around. She hopped onto Silverwind and took a ride around the place they had stayed. She saw trees and mountains that were very beautiful. She wanted to draw it so she stuck her hand into her saddle bag. She felt in the first bag and then looked into the second bag and felt the leather bound book.

She sat down by a tree and started to sketch the surroundings. Zora loved her book so much it made her feel so much better. She heard a purring. She looked down and saw Destiny sitting down cocking her scaled head. Hi Destiny.

Hello master.

You don't have to call me master Destiny.

“Ok, Zora are you ok?” And this time she spoke instead of thought.

“Well, Destiny. No I am not ok, my father is dead,” She said turning to face her.

“Zora, I too have lost my father, I also have lost my mother,”

“Wait you've lost your mother and father?” She asked.

“Yes, and it happened when I was in the egg.”

“Then how do you know that you parents are, well, um gone?”

“My family had a connection like you and me do. I could talk to them, but one day, I was talking to my mother and people found us and they went after my mother and father. They tried to protect us and they did. One of the men picked me up along with a few of my siblings and he kept us safe,” She finished. Zora listened and heard the sound of hooves. She turned and saw Baxter riding to her on his horse, Midnight. She told Destiny to hide as Baxter came to a stop, then got off Midnight. He sat down and looked at her, then began to speak.

“Zora, war is a horrid thing and I know how you feel about father, but listen, you will die if you go after these people. You can’t leave us.”

“I know war is horrid. I just want to rip apart the people who killed father so badly,” She said beginning to sketch again.

“I do too, but we need to stay with mother and the other boys,” He said watching her pencil move across the paper. They talked for a short period of time then he got back onto Midnight and rode off. Ugh, I just want to fight for my kingdom. I feel so useless.

I know how you feel. When I get older and stronger you could ride me and go after the people, Destiny broke in.

Maybe, but what about my family?

You will be protecting your family, She said. This was the big decision that changed Zora and Destiny.