Antares

At first there was only darkness. A soft, comforting kind of solitude that hugged the hatchling as if she was a precious friend. It was only later that the young one started to feel confined, to feel as though she needed something more, and the moment she squinted in the bright sunlight at her parents, she knew what that something was. Family.

Antares was a child of summer, delighting in nothing more than frolicking in the garden, sunlight warming her scales and making her feel as though there couldn’t possibly be any evil in the world. After all, who could be dark under such a lovely light? Antares was born the only daughter of a royal family and from hatching they doted on her. Some would even say they protected her too much. For Antares knew nothing of the world outside her parent’s estate. She was frail, had been born as such, the young skydancer was like a butterfly in the cupped hands of a careful child. She was protected in their hands, but never allowed out, for the world would only hurt her they said.

Antares did not believe in this sentiment.

“How could anyone be bad in this world? We are surrounded by nature’s beauty, surely my parents are over-reacting?” She idly asked a Guardian servant who protected her as she admired the coral gardens, evidently he had chosen her as his charge.

“Princess, there are evil things in this world. Things that abhor the very sun for being too bright, dragons that live to hurt others for a thrill, it is foolish and naive to believe that everyone has good in them.” The older dragon stated, a grim frown adorning his face. Antares regarded him quizzically, then gave an abrupt snort of laughter.

“Princess?!” He yelped with a start, surprised at her sudden outburst. She simply smiled at him.

“How do you know? How can you know if the world is still the same as when you left it, when you have been here with me all this time? Maybe the world has changed, nay, I believe it is changing, even if I cannot see it, I believe in the good in others.” The grizzled guardian sighed and gave a small smile.

“You are like the sun. You glow brightly and warm the hearts of those around you. Don’t ever let anyone steal your light.”

---

It was a few months later when the revolt happened. Antares had always seen her parents as benevolent and kind to a fault, but evidently the townsfolk did not agree. They wanted a new government, they shouted as they tore down the walls, clouds of dust dispersing into the water. Antares could only watch in horror as they trampled her precious garden, the debris floating upwards and blocking out the sun. Never before had it been so dark.

The servants gathered in a circle around her, determined to protect their princess even as the townsfolk advanced. The older guardian ran directly to her side, whispering urgently as the two groups fought.

“You must get out of here! You must escape!” Antares was shaking with terror, her wings quivering and limp like a butterfly who’d been handled too often.

“But what about my parents?! My family?!” He sucked in a sharp breath and looked away.

“They’re gone. The mob killed them.” Her heartbeat thudded in her ears like thunder and she heard a pitiful wail erupt from her throat, tumbling forth unbidden into the night-like day. Unable to doing anything else, she simply screamed as her guardian dragged her out of the estate and away from the conflict.

---

It was a few days later, no one pursued them, and Antares had long since screamed her voice into silence. Now she just laid miserably in the cave they had decided to stay in. For the first time in her life, Antares was frustrated with her weakness. She couldn’t do a single thing to save those she cared about. Even her old servant had gotten injured while escaping, he tried desperately to hide it from her, but she knew, she could smell the foreign tang of blood around him. Summoning the last shreds of energy she had today, she spoke in a hoarse whisper.

“You were right. The world is dangerous and wrong and I was naïve to believe that good would prevail in everyone’s heart.” At her forlorn look and dull eyes, the former servant did something he hadn’t done in a long time. He wept. He cried for her lost sunlight, cried for her pain, and cried because he knew he was dying and that he wouldn’t be around to protect her much longer.
Antares startled at his choked sobs and wobbled over to comfort him, petting him on the head as if she were his mother and cooing soft noises of comfort despite her aching throat.

“P-princess, I am dying, I cannot stop this, but I have one final request for you. I want to see your kind smile before I go, I hate to ask this of you, when you are so sad, but I want you to find your light again. I want you to be free and happy. I know if anyone can find the good in the world it’s you, don’t let this stain your whole life, please.” He gave her a hesitant, shuddering smile, and Antares listened to him and found her future. And with one last breath, the servant’s eyes closed, but not before he saw her kind smile, the sunlight streaming through her feathers and she held him and gently hummed as best she could.

---

He was given a proper burial. Antares would accept no less for her dearest friend. And when he was finally laid to rest, she stood at his grave, feeling the sun warm her wings just as it once did, she whispered to him;
“You helped me dear friend. I see now what I want to do. I want to become stronger, I want to be able to protect all the good things in the world, everything I care about, even if no one else will.” And with a final, small smile, Antares launched herself into flight, her delicate frame floating on the wind as she soared to new horizons.

Lore by Yagine