Prompt# 151 - Higgledy-piggledy - Flight! - Tekia - original

[tekia.livejournal.com]

Title: Flight!
Fandom: Original
Prompt: Higgledy-piggledy
Warnings: n/a
Rating: G
Summary: Saya was once a bird, so flying isn’t a problem, right?


Saya leaned out the window, the wind blowing her unbound hair wildly. She smiled and closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of the ocean nearby. Birds called overhead and she felt a tightening in her chest.
She was a bird, once. She knew she had been. Opening her eyes, she sought the bird that was currently singing so loudly, filling the otherwise silent morning with his song.
Merlin had once said that she was as flighty as a bird, and that only convinced her of her avian history. Maybe she had been a robin, like the one singing to her now.
Tiny, as always, was she bound never to gain any height? And brightly colored.
Or maybe she had been a raven, clever and troublesome?
The wind picked up again and she leaned further out the window, her stocking clad toes only just touching the stone floor. The Lady would scold her later for her unwomanly behavior, but she didn’t mind.
She wanted to fly.
She wanted to fly high in the sky, feel the wind lift her even higher. She wanted to soar. She wanted to be a bird again.
The robin stopped singing and fluttered away, much to her disappointment. She watched it leave with a pout and glanced down to find what had disturbed it. Then she grinned.
Rurik was standing just under her window, hands on his hips and a frown on his face. His hair was wet, leading her to believe he had just returned from the spring, and his morning ablutions.
She leaned further out the window, calling out, “Rurik!”
He looked up, squinted, shaded his eyes and smiled when he caught sight of her. Then his frown returned.
“That’s not lady-like at all. Lady will be angry with you.”
Saya snorted and waved. “Stay there.” Then she ducked out of the window and reached for the hem of her skirts. She tucked the full skirts into her waistband and returned to the window to see Rurik still standing right where she had ordered him.
She climbed onto the window sill and held onto the sides as she leaned out, her hair falling around her face as she grinned down at him.
Something made him look up and his eyes widened impossibly. The look of horror on his face made her laugh out loud and she leaned out even more, her toes peeking over the edge of the window’s sill.
“Catch me?”
“Don’t! You’re mad!”
“I’ll fly!”
She threw out her arms and laughed at Rurik’s shrill yell of fright. Before she fell, she reattached herself to the window. Giggling wildly, she tossed her head and tilted her face up to the sky. “I’ll fly!”
“Don’t, Saya!” There was real fear in his voice now, but Saya was too far gone. The wind was wonderful, it touched, caressed, and loved her. She was intoxicated with it.
She wanted to fly again.
She released her hold and murmured the spell Merlin had taught them. She felt the wind rush past her ears, ripping at her hair, and bringing tears to her closed eyes. She didn’t dare open her eyes, but she could fell the earth coming closer at an impossible speed.
Rurik’s voice reached her ears, but she couldn’t understand a word of it as she spread her arms and felt the spell take.
She laughed and her eyes popped open just in time to see her fall suddenly slow. Her whole body felt as light as a feather.
Then she was landing on top of Rurik with an abrupt thud.
She sat up, pushing her hair away from her face. “It worked! It worked!”
Rurik quickly sat up and wrapped his arms around her, so tightly that the breath was knocked from her. He buried his face in her neck and she could feel him trembling.
“Don’t you ever do that again, you stupid girl.”
She laughed and shoved him away, standing and twirling, ignoring how the rocky dirt ripped at her stockings. “I flew!”
Rurik watched her from his place on the ground, still trembling with fear. Then he sighed and stood, dusting off his trousers. “You truly are mad. And you didn’t fly, you fell.”
She stopped spinning and glared at him. “I flew.”
He shook his head. “You slowed your fall, but you still only fell.” He shrugged and turned away only to pause when he saw the old man that was their tutor in the doorway of the keep.
“Merlin.”
Saya collided with Rurik’s back. “Did you see,” she asked the old wizard.
Merlin smiled and nodded. “Indeed. I saw your higgledy-piggledy landing.”
Saya frowned and pouted. “It wasn’t graceful, yes, but I flew!”
Rurik rolled his eyes and tried to pull away from the clinging girl, but her grip on his shoulder tightened. He turned to see that odd light in her eyes, the one he had learned to fear.
He could feel the color drain out of his face as she said, “Now it’s your turn.”