"We are comin' near the Palace." Axel came swooping down to meet them after soaring extra high. Emmaline looked down. How were they supposed to convince the king or queen to petition for freedom? Would they even care?
"Axel, you'll have to be the one to make the request . . ." David said.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He rolled his eyes and flew higher.
Emmaline winced. She worried about Axel. How could they trust him not to be his bratty self in front of royalty? Frustration bubbled inside of her. When Axel left, she began her speech to David. "So what is he going to do, approach the king or queen and tell them to sign the petition?!" Emmaline exploded.
"Request, Emmaline. Request," David muttered. Emmaline melted and just shrugged. "What are going to do?" She suddenly felt a surge of desire to impress David. To do whatever he wanted her to do. She was trying to contain her temper and do her best, but how was she going to do it?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Axel
Axel landed on the cliff, the border to the floating city. Yes, indeed, it was high up into the sky, full of trees and high buildings and such. It was gorgeous, embedded with emeralds and rubies and diamonds of all sort. It was glittering with every gem and precious stone you could ever imagine. Axel gaped at the huge palace, but he tried to blend in with the other birds who were calm and used to the large city.
'How am I supposed to get into this place? It'll full of tons of guards!!!' Axel thought, staring at the menacing line of guards. The guards were armed with guns, daggers, swords, and shields.
Axel shrugged his fears off and padded further into the city. By the time he passed the first house (or rather, mansion) he know that he, a tattered, ragged, and scrawny little traveler did not belong. He didn't feel like he was too welcome, either. Feeling uneasy, he flapped his wings a couple times to swiftly glide to where the palace gates stood, rather than waddling slowly and getting lost in the streets. Before him was a huge Hume-Bird(Eagle) guard. The guard stared down at him with a scornful face.
Suddenly, Axel shivered, not having the courage to speak. Nevertheless, he stood up and looked the guard right in the eye. "I would like to see the ruler of this place!"
The guard burst out laughing, discouraging Axel. "You . . . you expect me to just -- fwahahahahawaaa! Just let . . . let you in like that? You kidding me? No way!"
"What if I was a messenger and it was a very important message?!" Axel growled.
"Messengers have passes."
"What if . . . what if the messenger sent me?"
"Messengers are trained, boy. They know to give the pass to him."
"What if he was mugged and the pass was stolen?"
"There is a password."
"Well, what if I was invited by the king?"
"He sends passes to them."
"What if the passes don't get through?"
"Then he doesn't know he's invited! Now scram, kid, before you get in trouble."
Axel sighed and stumbled away. He was outwitted by a burly guard. Pitiful.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Emmaline
Emmaline and David were walking down the path towards the Hume-Fox Kingdom. They were already in the Hume-Tiger Kingdom, where David would talk to the tiger ruler. Emmaline was going to find the fox ruler. She told David that he didn't need to walk her to the kingdom, and that it would be wasting time, but he insisted.
Once they arrived at the Rhinestone River, David paused, sighing.
"What's wrong?" Emmaline asked.
"I . . . it's nothing. Don't worry about me . . ." David murmured. "But it's not nothing, and I do worry!" Emmaline insisted. David sighed again and looked her in the eyes. "Promise me you won't get in trouble?" The gaze that David bore on her was serious. Emmaline couldn't stare him right in the eyes, so she was looking down. Emmaline took a deep breath, and whispered, "I promise."
"Good. I . . . I'll miss you." David slid his hand towards Emmaline's, and she gripped it firmly. For a moment, she couldn't believe her ears, and she was silent. But she looked up, right into his golden eyes. They seemed to flare like fire, and she was getting enveloped in his warm stare . . .
And they kissed.
