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Mia desperately tried to fly, her wings straining with uncertainty. “Give her back!” Mia cried, unbalanced and wobbly as she tried to fly after the fading dragon and unicorn. “Mo, Yuko, help me!”
Yuko had tears streaming down her cheeks, shaking her head as she looked at Mo for help. “Mia…” He said gently as if he were talking to a wild, cornered animal.
“What are you doing?” Mia yelled, sobbing. “They’re going to kill her! Or worse!” She flew higher and higher, and Mo knew that she was going to fall soon. He had to get her down on the ground.
“Mia, she’s gone. There’s nothing we can do,” Mo said, flying over to her and grabbing her arm. Mia yanked her arm away harshly, whipping around to face him, almost falling in the process.
“We have to save her! Onchao needs Lyria– I– I need her… I can’t lose her too,” Mia sobbed. “You don’t understand…” Mia was reduced to a mess of incoherent sobs and salty tears. Mo held Mia as they drifted down to the forest floor.
Mo’s heart broke seeing her like this. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I don’t understand,” Mo said softly. “But what I do understand is that Onchao needs you. Now more than ever.”
He didn’t think Mia heard him, however. Her only response was another rack of sobs.
Shaking his head, he looked up at the too-blue sky. Lyria and the dragon had disappeared into the distance, nowhere to be seen. Mo was reminded that they weren’t alone when Onchao gave another distressed neigh. He wished he could understand what Onchao was saying, but he got the general idea. The little guy had just lost his mother.
“Yuko, take Onchao to the palace. Tell the king and queen what happened. Don’t let him out of your sight,” Mo said.
“What about–”
“I’ll handle Mia,” Mo interrupted. Yuko looked hesitant but eventually nodded and ushered a whining Onchao toward the Elven Crater. He’ll be safe there , Mo thought.
Turning his attention back to Mia, Mo was surprised to find that she’d stopped crying. While he should’ve been happy, Mo realized she was terribly shaking.
“Hey, hey, Mia, why are you shaking?” He asked, looking her over for injuries. Mia only shook her head mutely. “Come on, Mia. I need you to work with me here.”
Mo tilted her chin up, looking at her in her bloodshot eyes. “We have to follow Yuko and Onchao to the palace. Who knows if Gargona will come back or not? It’s not safe here.”
“Lyria…” Mia whispered. Lyria was her first friend in this strange world. Brave, intelligent, stubborn Lyria. She’d saved her when Mia landed in Panthea’s palace, too drugged by the fog to move. She was the one who was so persistent that she found the trumptus blueprints. Lyria was the one who gave birth to the New Hope of Centopia.
And now she was gone.
“I know, Mia. But right now, there isn’t anything we can do.” Mo said sympathetically. “I know you’re hurting, but we need to go now.”
She nodded numbly, her face slack as Mo helped her off the lush green grass. “We’re going to have to fly now, okay?”
Mia stiffened but nodded again. Mo carefully lifted off the ground, waiting for Mia to follow. She definitely tried, but before they could make it a foot off the ground, Mia cried out in pain and fell back down.
“Mia! Are you okay?” Mo asked, panicky as he helped her back up.
“I’m fine. I’m sorry,” Mia said softly, face pinched in pain briefly before she concealed it again.
Mo furrowed his brows, the memory of Mia straining her untrained wings roughly as she tried to follow Lyria. “You sprained your wings, didn’t you?” Mo huffed.
Mia bit her lip in response, refusing to look him in the eyes.
He sighed and settled back down, grabbing his unicorn tears from his pouch. He always kept a small bottle on him at all times. You had to when you had a friend like Yuko, who always jumped head-first into dangerous situations without thinking.
“Here, spread your wings out for me,” Mo asked, walking behind Mia. She did as she was told, sniffling and wiping her tear tracks. Mo uncorked the clear bottle and cautiously dripped a tear on each wing.
Mia’s pink wings shuddered on instinct, fluttering. “Don’t force them to do too much until they’re healed completely. Unicorn tears are powerful, but they aren’t an instant thing.” Mo instructed, tucking the bottle back in his pouch.
“Okay,” Mia responded. Mo wasn’t used to Mia being so expressionless. It unnerved him.
“Here,” Mo said, holding out his hand for Mia. “We’ll take it slow, just hold onto me.”
Mia stared at his hand for a moment before taking it. Together, with some effort, Mo and Mia flew back toward the Elven Crater.
As the island blurred past, Mia thought that the world looked too bright for the loss that was just suffered. The grass too green, the sky too clear, the towns too busy and happy. While Lyria was suffering in the deadland home of Panthea.
Mia squeezed Mo’s hand on instinct, her thoughts causing her stomach to twist. “What is it?” Mo asked, squeezing her hand back, noticing how cold it was.
Mia shook her head, unable to get another word out. She knew the tears would come rushing back if she tried.
Just before they made it back inside the Elven Crater, Mia’s sapphire began to glow. For once, Mia was glad for it. She needed to be alone.
“Ah, I guess we’ll see you soon then, Mia,” Mo smiled sadly. Mia nodded, about to put her hand on the glowing stone, telling it she was ready to go when Mo hugged her close. “We’ll get Lyria back, darling, don’t worry.” Mo kissed her forehead gently. “So stop thinking it’s your fault. It’s not.”
Mia had no words, only staring at the red of his fabric with wide eyes. It wasn’t unusual for Mo to use pet names like darling or dear. He used them with Yuko all the time, Mia supposed he got it from his parents. But this was the first time Mo had used them on her .
Before she could open her mouth and respond, the golden glitter whisked her away, plopping her back in the garden maze at school.
“I am never going to get used to that,” Vincent grinned before realizing something was wrong. “Mia, what happened?”
Mia’s face scrunched up, the Oracle mocking her with a new golden illustration of Mia hugging a whining Onchao in despair as his mother was being taken away.
“Oh, Vincent,” Mia put her face in her hands as she began to cry. “She’s gone.”
—
Lyria neighed as she reared up, ready to fight her way out of the Monculi that surrounded her. Grey bodies dressed in rusting gold and murky browns grinned maliciously. Their limbs too long, and their eyes pitch black as they wrangled her onto the ground.
Quickly, they threw their snakes at Lyria. She tried to buck at them, but it didn’t take too much effort for one of them to sink their fangs into her leg, drugging her into sleep.
The rocky walls of the prison they brought her grew blurry as her head dropped to the ground. Though, she couldn’t say she missed the view of the ugly green fumes and dark, eerie palace. Though, the poisonous stench stayed.
Vaguely, she could see other unicorns in the stone prison. Dozens of them. But they weren’t colorful at all. Their manes were matted, and their coats were full of dirt and muck. Just like her, each had a puncture wound somewhere on their body left from the vicious snakes.
Darkness overtook her vision. She couldn’t fight for her conscious much longer even if she wanted to. But Lyria noticed one last thing as a particularly ugly munc crept toward her. A long, jagged, sharp object in its gangly, pale, clawed hand.
Their once beautiful horns were reduced to nothing more than a bloody stump.