Homecoming

Home.
That was the one word that stayed in her mind, that branded deep into her memory as she stood there, grasping the note.
I can go home.
She gripped the yellowed paper, which caused the dried sheet to flake off a little. Home; it was her only wish, her only hope, in this place so dark and morose. As she stared at the letter, a sudden cavalcade of memories invaded her mind.
She remembered her happy life, maybe not the most luxurious, but she had enjoyed it. Then, she had been accused of being an animus. The Kingdom had been terrified of her. To protect their citizens, guards spirited her away in the night. They imprisoned her in a solid stone cell and treated her like a criminal.
"Why? Why are you doing this?!"
No answer. They never answered. Eventually, she stopped asking.
As she stayed locked up in the cell, she lost who she was. She would run from wall to wall to wall, not knowing why. She would collapse into fits of crying at random, shedding her tears as if they would shed all the agony she felt. She would scream, scream as loud as she possibly could until her voice broke and she could scream no more, but still no one heard her.
Eventually, she stopped trying.
Life became monotonous, sleeping and waking indefinitely, occasionally eating the decaying flesh they brought to her just to keep her alive in this pain. She forgot who she was. Who she was meant to be. She forgot everything.
But the one thing she never forgot was her home.
Her smiling father.
Her gentle mother.
Her beautiful home.
It was the hope, the candlelight, trapped in a frozen wasteland devoid of life and luminance. It persisted with her, waiting for the sun to rise and melt the ice that imprisoned them, so they could finally walk free once more.
Now, she could see that new dawn inside this dreary, slightly crumpled piece of parchment, reflecting off the inky words written by the very ones who had stolen her all those years ago. Her eyes stung, as the tears inside desperately desired to escape, her chest aching with emotions that had been suppressed far too long.
The guard who had presented her the paper, who was standing in the doorway of her cell, looked as if he wasn't very pleased with what it spelled out. He glared at her, with a look that clearly said 'If it wasn't against my orders, I would have slit your throat a long time ago.'
"So, animus, you read the note. Are you coming or not?"
She tried forming words, but her throat was as dry and cracked as the paper she held in her talons. Instead, she gave a weak nod. The guard made a guttural noise and motioned for her to follow him, then set off down the tunnel. She stepped shakily after him, wondering if she was in a dream.
They had been walking for some time when suddenly, the tunnel sloped upwards, and a dazzling ray of light struck her. She shut her eyes, her vision darkened and blurry, not yet reaccustomed to such brightness. She reopened her eyes, gazing up at the square of light, casting a golden glow across the passage, across her body, filling her with a comforting warmth. She stood there for a moment, stunned, soaking it in.
The guard suddenly stood in the way, silhouetted black against the sky, breaking her out of her daze long enough to walk the rest of the way up and emerge from the tunnel.
It had been set into the ground, a sort of vault made of dark, sun-baked basalt. It was on top of a pleasantly soft hill, lush in verdant grass that tickled at her talons. It was overlooking a river, a crystalline river that sparkled in the glow of the sun. Somehow, she knew subconsciously that it was the Diamond Spray River, though how she could not say.
The guard growled at her, "You may return to your family, but we are watching you. Don't try going anywhere but home, or you will swiftly meet your end, animus." He spat out the last word as if it tasted of bile, and backed away slowly, keeping his horrible glare directed onto her.
She barely heard him, still staring out at the landscape, stunned at its majesty and glory. All the colors, red, blue, gold, green, seemed to glow a cheerfully smiling glow, welcoming her back from desolation and despair. She barely heard him, until he uttered that one word.
Home.
She remembered now.
She knew where she belonged.
It wasn't in an underground cell, it wasn't as a slave to royalty, no! 
It was home! 
That was the only place she would truly BELONG! 
As if someone had ignited her tail, she rocketed off, leaving the guard snarling menacingly.
She dove off the hillside, falling closer and closer towards the bed of grass, until her wings snapped out and caught the breeze with a mind of their own. Soaring over the Diamond Spray River, the true weight of what the Kingdom had deprived her of suddenly fell onto her. They kept her from experiencing the wonders of this world. The beauty, the vividness, the cheer. She flapped her wings, gaining speed towards a small mud-brick village.
She landed on coarse earth, feeling the texture beneath her talons as she strode through the village. The houses were minuscule, made of sun-dried clay stones. She passed each one, growing worried. What if this was the wrong town? She looked over every detail in each one, something that would spark a memory, anything. Every crack, every fern, every misshapen brick, it was all wrong.
 What would she do if this wasn't right? Would she be sent back to that decrepit cell to rot for the rest of her life?
She shook her head as if trying to loosen ants from her skull.
No. She would find her home, she knew it.
She wandered down the road, and felt as if she was getting closer to something. Was this it? She raced down the street, gaining several curious looks and shaken heads directed her way. Her talons thudded against the ground in a melodical way, in a way that urged her onwards. Houses passed her, one by one, until- there!
She skidded to a halt in front of a particular one. It had a feeling of being forgotten, with sunburned clay walls that had countless cracks spiderwebbing their way through the bricks. Creepers were scaling the stone and burrowing into these cracks, their leafy foliage ruffling in the slight breeze.
Somehow, she knew this was it.
She shaliky stepped up to the door, raising her talon and knocking once, twice, thrice.
After a moment, it swung open, an earthy brown dragon looking down at her. She gasped, realization at who this was shocking through her scales. Not knowing or caring how he would react, she flung herself into his arms.
He cried out, a cry of shock that mirrored her own.
They embraced, and she felt her entire soul on fire, burning with emotion, suffocating her with tears.
The dragon closed his eyes, a smile she sorely missed spreading across his face.
"Welcome home, darling."
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)
Category:Fanfictions (Completed)