Flight of the Five Swans
Finished Chapter 37

Callia

Callia letout an exasperated sigh as the bedchamber door was closed behind them. Petra’s voice was dry as she voiced exactlywhat Callia had been thinking.

“Lockedin. Again. Fabulous.”

Raia let out a small squeak of whatmight have been laughter. She stood,trembling, in the middle of the room and simply stared around at them all. Her eyes were full of unshed tears as shedrank in the sight of her newly-human sisters. She seemed unable to take her eyes off of all of them, though alsostrangely reticent to touch any of them. It was as though she thought that the slightest brush of her fingersmight reinstate the curse that she had only just broken.

Callia lowered herself to sit onthe edge of Raia’s bed. Her legs felt asthough they were made of jelly following the transformation, and she welcomedthe opportunity to rest them. Euriellecollapsed down beside her, rubbing her knee through the rags of heronce-beautiful dress.

Callia marveled that the rest ofher sisters did not feel the need to sit as well. Raia, of course, she could partly understand,seeing as how she was the only one ofthem who had not just transformed back into a human after spending months as abird. But Cliodne, Thaleia and Petra didnot seek to sit, either. As if in atrance, Thaleia walked to the corner of the room, where she stood partly in theshadows. Cliodne, on the other hand, seemed overtaken with the opposite urge tomove, and began pacing in smallcircles around the room.

“I don’t understand. Why doesn’t hewant to see us immediately? Why not haveus explain now?” She muttered under herbreath. Yet though she seemed to beaddressing herself, Callia answered her question all the same.

“Well, we do look a bit worse forthe wear.” She said, her voice reasonable. “A little food and a change of clothes won’t delay explanations toolong.”

“If they ever bring them tous.” Petra said, turning to face theclosed door and giving it a solid kick.

As if on cue, the door opened almostimmediately following Petra’s blow, causing the Kyorian princess to stumbleback in surprise. A servant entered thechamber, her arms full of neatly folded articles of clothing of all colors. Her eyes were brimming with avid curiosity,but she had clearly been sent on very strict orders to deliver her load andleave. Seeing Callia and Euriellesitting on the bed, she deposited the armful of clothing on the dressingtable. Then the servant exited the roomonce more, glancing back regretfully at the six princesses before closing thedoor behind her.

The sound of the door lockingseemed to snap all of the princesses out of their momentary surprise. Eurielle stumbled to her feet to examine theclothing brought to them. Her eyessparkled slightly as she held up a garment made of a shocking pink fabric.

“Ooh, these are pretty!” She said,a hint of surprise in her tone.

Callia smiled. “I wouldn’t care if they were the ugliestclothes in the world. Anything’s betterthan this.” She plucked at her ruined dress.

Cliodne and Petra both moved toselect a change of clothes. Even Raiastepped forward as well, though she was not in need of new garments. Only Thaleia remained where she was in thevery corner of the room. Callia saw Raiagrab the first dress she touched without even looking at it, bringing it overto where her twin stood almost entirely hidden in the shadows. If possible, Thaleia shrank even further atRaia’s approach.

Callia heard a horrified gasp.

Dropping the garment she held,Callia hurried over to the corner where the two twins stood. Both of Raia’s hands covered her mouth. Her eyes, wide with shock, were fixed onThaleia’s side.

Thaleia clutched the rags of herdress close to her left side as though stemming blood from a wound. Callia felt a moment’s panic. Had she been injured, stabbed perhaps, by oneof Soran’s soldiers?

And then Thaleia turnedslightly. Callia caught the briefestglimpse of white feathers before the rags of Thaleia’s dress hid it oncemore. Callia gasped as a terriblethought struck her. Stretching out atrembling hand, she brushed aside the tattered fabric. She let out a low moan. Thaleia’s left arm was not an arm at all, buta swan’s wing.

Drawn byCallia’s moan as she had been by Raia’s gasp, the other sisters joined thethree standing in the shadows. A shockedsilence filled the chamber as they all stared in horror at Thaleia’s wing,hanging in lieu of her left arm.

Eurielle broke the silence. “Your arm. It didn’t change back?”

Thaleia’s voice trembled slightlywhen she responded. “I…I couldn’t pullit under the shawl in time.”

“Thaleia,” Callia started, but thenstopped. She didn’t know what tosay. There wasn’t anything she could say. Nothing in any of her books or stories hadever taught her to deal with a situation such as this.

Thaleiaglanced down at her wing, giving Callia the distinct impression that she wasattempting to avoid all of their gazes. When she spoke again, she sounded slightly defiant, though the tremorwas still evident in her voice.

“I mean, atleast it’s my left arm, right? I canstill hold a sword.”

At last,Raia spoke, though she too seemed to have trouble articulating what she wantedto say.

“But,” shesaid, her voice thick with unshed tears. “But if you hadn’t—if I had just—“

Thaleia’shead shot up and she looked directly at Raia. “I don’t regret it.” She said fiercely. “Not a jot. Not one bit. You needed me. I came.” Her eyes reflected the sincerity of her words.

Tearsstreamed freely down Raia’s face as she threw her arms around her twin sister’sneck. Thaleia hesitated but a secondbefore raising her mismatched appendages and returning the ferocious hug.

“I’llalways come when you need me.” Callia heard Thaleia mumble, her voicemuffled. “That’s what sisters do.”

Euriellesniffled and flung her arms around both of her sisters as well, her handwhacking Petra on the side of the head in her enthusiasm.

“Hey!” Petra complained. She rubbed the spot in annoyance, thoughCallia was almost certain that the glimmer of moisture in her eyes was not dueto the pain of the blow.

Thaleiamanaged a wobbly smile, extracting herself from the hug and wiping her eyeswith the back of her right hand.

“Besides,”she said, glancing around at all of the princesses, though still whileaddressing Raia. “If it weren’t for you,we all would have wings instead ofarms. And more besides.”

Callianodded in agreement, and she was far from the only one to do so. Though previously so tongue-tied, all of thesisters now found themselves eager to thank Raia enthusiastically,congratulating her on the success of their endeavor—even a partial success. Raia’scheeks burned at the praise, and she pursed her lips in embarrassment.

“I—“ Shestarted, then all of the words she wanted to say seemed to tumble out of her atonce. “I’m just so sorry it took so long!” She wailed.

Euriellegrabbed onto Raia’s statement with relish. “And all that time without you able to speak a single word, or make asound at all! Not to sneeze or laugh orsay ‘bless you’ or ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ or…or…or anything!”

Callia andCliodne both smiled as the youngest princess caught her breath. It seemed to Callia as though Eurielle weredetermined to make up for all of thesisters’ silence over the last several months in the course of only a couple ofminutes.

“I mean,”Eurielle continued, her voice filled with awe as she patted Raia’s shoulder. “Ireally just don’t know how you managed it, Raia. I don’t think I could have done it!”

At that,Thaleia could not help a laugh, however strangled it sounded. Petra raised her eyebrows in mocksurprise. Her voice was deadpan when shespoke.

“You don’tsay.”