Specials - Chapter 4

I was about to forget that I was able to fly, when Grace took me skywards. I was a beginner at flying; after all, I wasn't able to control my flying when I came to Specia. Basically, it was my first time to fly with my own will. Pulled by Grace, I said,

"Grace, Grace, wait, stop pulling me. I'm not ready. It's my first time flying! I have to practice and control myself."

Then Grace's eyebrows furrowed and her face looked puzzled.

"I thought you flew and came here though the North Star."

So that was the North Star. "Yeah, but the wings controlled itself as if it has a mind on its own. I didn't control it."

Grace pursed her lips, which made her look like she didn't have any lips.

"Okay, then take your time. I'll be around, so just call my name, and I'll be there in seconds." She smiled, and she flew away. It was my first time to see someone else flying. Until then, I never realized that Grace was a faerie too. The wings were different from mine. They were transparent, and shimmered as it moved, as if they had pixie dust on it; like the ones that are shown on fairy tales and movies. The movements of her wings were graceful, and experienced. Maybe that was how she got her name. But it seemed impossible to fly like that in just one day. How did she practice? Like in those stories, does Grace need pixie dust to fly? Or was it just a myth? I decided to find that out later, and focus on practicing for now.

I stood up for the first time. Again realizing that I wasn't wearing my nightgown, and instead, a short dress. I never had a chance to wear such a beautiful dress.

My bare feet felt soft on the ground, while the grass tickled my skin. The winds that attacked me occasionally felt cold, but without it, it was a perfect temperature. It seemed like it was reaching the end of spring. Not cold, but not hot either.

This place still dazzled me. The unusually perfect colors of the flowers, trees, rocks, leaves, and even the sky were enchanted. It seemed like everywhere was shimmering with the kind of sparks that Grace had on her wings. Well, I now believed anything is possible, because after all, faeries exist.

I slowly tried to move my wings, trying to move my muscles on my back. I stretched back frontwards, and then backwards. Front, and back, while keeping my eyes on the butterfly-kind-of-wing. But it never moved. Does it always move by itself?

“No it doesn’t. Just try to think about flying.” A voice so close to a whisper answered from my back. I was so shocked and surprised, that I felt my heart skip a beat. So I turned myself around, and stared into the woods. First, I couldn't see anything unusual, but when I tried even more to see, I saw a white glint, clinging onto one of the trees. I thought it was some kind of a goat, but as the goat-ish thing showed itself from the tree, I realized I was wrong.

It was a... guy wearing a white shirt and a beige trouser with a white belt wrapped around his waist. The most unusual of all, his skin was almost white; white, as in paper white. It looked like he painted his face white, but it really was his skin. Another thing about him was that he had wings. It was different from mine, because his were like bird's wing spread broadly, about 7 feet, in total. The white wings were beautiful, like an angel's. His eyes were green, darker than mine, and his hair was the same color as his trouser.

Is everyone fashionable here? Because the clothes they're wearing incredibly matched them. Even my gown matched me so much, that it looked like I was destined to wear them.

“Uh… Hello?” I croaked out.

“Hi.” The boy said firmly.

“Who are you?”

“Quill, short for Quillion. And who are you?” His eye gleamed with amusement.

“I’m Lia – Lily” I remembered what Grace said about using my real faerie name.

He raised one brow. “LiaLily?”

“Lily.” I confirmed, and then continued. “Are you a faerie too?”

"Faerie, is a whole wide family of many kinds. Like, you call horses and dogs animals. In fact, in Specia, everyone are faeries. For me, I prefer the term Pegasus." Quil answered matter-of-factly.

"I don't get it. Isn't Pegasus's kind of a flying unicorn kind of thing? You're... You're just a pale-white boy. Other than your skin color and your wings, there's nothing like a Pegasus." When I was in seventh grade, I learned a little of mythology as a self-study project. One of the mythical creatures included a flying-horse Pegasus too.

"Ah, that question again. Keep in mind, that everyone in Specia is unusual, even you. So don't use that word unless that person looks normal. Do you mind if I change?" Before even I tried to ask him what that means, his body gradually shifted.

His hands touched the ground, and it turned into hooves with golden edges. His legs turned into hooves too. He lowered his head, and it turned into a horse's head, a white one with beige mane laid on his neck flowingly. A beige tail grew from his back, and his wings expanded even more, amounting to about ten feet. At last, a long silver horn grew from his head, making the picture perfect.

He really was a Pegasus.

Do you understand now?Quil's voice came from somewhere. But I realized that the voice was in my head.

We can communicate with telepathy when Pegasus's are in their true form. After all, we're horses. We can't use our mouth to speak languages.Then I thought back.

You are a Pegasus. I murmured. You have any other Pegasus friends?

Nope, I'm the only Pegasus in Specia. He said grimly, the real him snorting. He suddenly was sounding sad and miserable than I was when I was in Layce's house.

Do you live in Katharo?

Nope, Apeiros.

Aren't you lonely? I felt a little pity for him.

Yeah. So?

"What do you mean by 'so?'! I have been lonely for about two years, and I felt so miserable!" I sighed, realizing that I have said it out loud, instead of thinking it. Then I thought,

Maybe I could help you with making friends?

"Yeah, sure." He said sarcastically, with me, confused because he was talking again. To see, he was in the normal form again. To say normal, well you know what I mean. "Maybe you can help me with that, but first," He pointed at my wings. "I have to help you with flying." I thought I saw a spark of pleasure in his eyes, but he went back to his I’m more awesome than the others kind of expression again.