Good or Evil, You Can't Tie Me Down

[Luna Heiler & Ayer]

This is a story which, to be honest, belongs with a much longer but partiallly unwritten one, but one does not require the other to stand.
I wrote this to make the reader think. Who is the good party? Who is the evil party?
From the perspective I've chosen, the line is rather blurred, which is in fact the way it was designed. It was written about a time in my fanasty world in days prior to when my main story shall convulge.
I'd love to hear crits and coments on it! ThankyouThankyouThankyou for reading!







I rose that night slightly nervous, and with a heart heavy with anticipation, but there was certainly a healthy twinge of fear in the air as well. But I knew now was the time, it had to be done.
Without a sound I walked over to the window and peered out. There was no moon. Tonight it would just be us and the stars. The moon in its shining regalia would not be there to illuminate the path through the sky. We had never tried flight without light, but there must a first time for everything, I was determined, and desperate times call for desperate measures.

My feet slid silently over the smooth wood floors. I woke none of the other sleeping forms in the room as I moved. My shoulder blades itched. I was ready to let myself go, I hated the trapped feeling I had from being conformed. That's one of the reasons I had to leave. I would not let myself be caged any longer. They could not restrain my true form any more.

My hands tingled with readiness. I stood by my bed and slid off my nightshirt, and then I slipped my favorite tunic over my head. It fit me perfectly and was as comfortable as they come. I clasped the button on the wrist of each hunter green sleeve and took a deep breath. I couldn't believe I was doing this. I pulled my grey wool leggings over my knees and up around my waist. My restless fingers tied a braid in my dark hair before reaching for my riding shoes.

Riding shoes are lightweight and comfortable. The soft leather-bound soles conform to the feet and make it easy to curve and flex them, which is crucial in the kind of riding we do there. And luckily for me, they made no sound when you walk in them.

I knew the night was cold, so before I snuck out the door I slipped my ready arms into a black jacket the same length as my tunic to keep me warm. My quick fingers pushed each button hastily through its respective hole. The last thing I did was lift my bag full of miscellaneous items I would need over my head, set the strap on my shoulders and set the pouch on the opposite hip. Then my silent feet crept into the hall.

The dark corridor was rather menacing. The only light came from the low eerie glow of the stars shining through the window far behind me at the other end of the hall. I did not shy for even a moment though. I confidently strode through the darkness. As I walked past the rooms where my classmates slept soundly, I thought about who I was leaving behind tonight. There were only a few people I cared about at all in this wretched establishment, but I cared for them deeply. I would miss Zasha, Ross and Aiden, and they would probably be the only ones to genuinely miss me. Hopefully they would try and understand, despite that they didn’t know what it was like to be different like I am. But I knew there were greater things in store for me beyond the Academy, and I knew I could not allow myself to be contained here.

I rounded the corner I knew was there from memory and descended the flights of stairs. Each foot dropped gracefully to the one below it as I moved through the silence like liquid night.

When I reached the floor ground, I paused at the base of the steps and glanced behind myself and then looked onward. My eyes swept the room for any signs of life and found myself to be utterly alone. I stepped forward and approached the door.

Out of impulse, I tried the door. Locked, as I expected. But I was not so foolish as to have not prepared for this situation. I knew they locked us in every night. Locks seemed to be their favorite way to keep us from getting to things, but luckily, all locks by principle come with a key, so those of us who had such a mind to scheme could, with a little effort, evade some obstacles. No one had ever gotten away with what I was to attempt, though. I had heard many a tale of the few students who had attempted this ploy and failed. If I failed, I knew the consequences I would receive would be great and painful. No person had ever escaped the Academy grounds.

My heart pounded as I pulled an intricate key out of the bag which hung at my side. This was the master key, it opened virtually every lock on the grounds. I had spent a good few months figuring out how to obtain this. And now, with luck, freedom could be mine.

I inserted the key into the hole below the doorknob, grasped the end of it and turned it clockwise. I took a breath when a notorious click sounded from the lock mechanism. I pulled the key out and turned the knob. The door slowly swung open and I stepped out into the cool night air. I breathed it in greedily. Before closing the door behind, I made sure once again that the coast was clear. When I was almost positive there was nobody there, I closed and locked the door behind me.

I took extreme precaution as I proceeded into the unharnessed blackness, knowing that if I was caught now, things would be bad- to state it mildly. I knew I needed to go to the stables, and leave as soon as possible, that that would have to be my second stop. If I didn't retrieve something else first, it would literally mean leaving part of me behind, and it was a part that I was not willing to give up.

I sprinted to the building where I knew it was. They had tried to hide it from me, which was pointless, really. I could sense where it was. I couldn't wait to resume my true form again, I loathed being conformed and I had been stuck like this so long, it was like that part of me was dying.

Approaching the structure, I prayed the key I possessed would grant me entrance, I knew I couldn't leave without this. Taking a deep breath, I stepped up to the door and plunged the key in. It fit. Hastily I turned the key, opened the door and scrambled across the threshold, gently closing the door behind me.

I looked around the small dark room I was in, I was here- I knew it. I could feel the ache creeping up my back. But I couldn't see. I stumbled over to a wall and ran my hand along it until I reached a door, i could feel it stronger than I had in a long time. I walked into the room, still running my hand along a wall until I reached a window. My trembling fingers pulled back the curtain, bathing the room in the star's eerie glow. In the room was an old desk piled with dusty papers, like the room hadn't been used for awhile. Behind it was a bookcase, but stacked on it was a wide array of items. I could not tell what most of them were, but I was drawn to a certain wooden box.

I knew in my bones this was it. I also knew releasing its contents inside a building was liable to generate quite a mess. I forced myself to suppress the hungry urge to open it then and there. I scuttled over to the curtain and closed it then swiftly made my way out, locking the door behind me.
Once outside I moved along the edge of the wall to the far side, where I was sure no person could see me. I had to open it now, It couldn't wait. It was literally causing me pain. So I stopped and stared down at it. It was a simple wooden box with two words etched in the cover. It said "ILA AMORTE". My name. My hands shook as I ran my fingers over the lid and then opened it.

Inside was a familiar necklace. A tiny glass orb containing swirling clouds was strung on a silver chain. I could feel the power pulsing from it, and my body shivered, ready to open itself once again after so long. I slid the chain through my fingers and lifted it over my head.

The cold chain touched my neck and as the pendant struck my chest, I felt my bones shake. It was the kind of feeling that you’d expect to cause pain, but in my case, it was one of the most satisfying, glorious sensations I ever felt. My body seemed to breathe new life as the feathery forms sprouted from where my shoulder blades should have been. The transformation was slower than it used to be when I was allowed to let it occur more often. But no matter, in less than a minute all six of my wings had folded themselves out. Finally, my Seraph form was unsuppressed. The muscles felt like they had been tried in knots, they really needed a good stretching out, I desperately wanted to spread my three sets of wings to the breeze and ride the wind. It had been a year at least since I had sustained my own flight and I had yearned for it every moment.

After a few moments of reflecting on the return to my natural form, I remmenred I was on a mission. I still needed to escape! I slipped the pendant inside my tunic; I could feel the coolness of the glass on my chest. Then I put the small wooden box that had held the necklace inside the bag that hung at my side. Then I checked the coast again before sprinting off stealthily toward the stables.

Soon I arrived at the doors to the stables, unlocked them and entered. The smell of living things flooded my nose, it was a scent I found rather comforting- these creatures were the only good thing about the Academy; they seemed to be the only freedom, if you could call them that. I walked down the center aisle, I knew exactly where my favorite mount was.

I strode to where i knew his stall stood in the row. Most of the beasts were sleeping, which was good because that meant there was less Change of authority being alerted of her activities.

As I reached my destination, I peered through the bars on the upper half of the enclosure. He was fast asleep. Quietly sliding open the padlock, I stepped in. I walked over to the powerful body that lay on the ground. The gryphons truly were beautiful creatures.

I reached out and touched his beak, he stirred a little. I ran my hand through his feathers and then down through his fur, whispering to him in attempt to awaken him. When he finally opened his big brown glassy eye, the beast shied a bit, startled at my wings. I tried to fold them more behind my back and whispered to him, hoping he would recognize my voice. He rose to his paws and talons and rustled around his own wings. He moved around behind me and nudged my wings with his beak, observing them closely.

When he seemed satisfied, be backed off and paced over to the door, asking to go out. I knew I should have taken a harness with me to lead him, but for some reason I had neglected to do so. I was fairly sure he knew me well enough that with a bit of directing, he would follow me out of the stables. It was my only option.

So taking a leap of faith, I slowly opened the lath to the enclosure and slowly swung the door open, walking out before the best behind. After a few cautious steps, I looked behind me, and to my delight, the plan had worked. He was following me closely. I reached back and gave him a scratch on the head before continuing.

Progress continued until we reached the only door in the structure large enough for a fully-fledged gryphon to get through. On the opposite side from where I entered were two wooden doors which opened into one and allowed the passer through. If everything went right, this would be the last barricade keeping me from my freedom, I could almost taste it.
We stepped out into the night air, wings rustling, and anticipation thick like fog. I kept my hand on the mount's shoulder, trying to keep him close. I Lead him over to a good spot to take off and looked around once more at this academy I was so eager to leave. The gryphon seemed to understand what was happening. I ran my fingers through his feathers again and he nudged me with his beak.

I knew I couldn't linger, the night only lasted so long. So with a silent heave, I clambered onto the back on my mount. I tucked my wings back as he glanced back, waiting for the signal to leap into the air. I leaned forward slightly and held on to the skin near his neck for lack of a harness. Then I poised my feet correctly and applied pressure with my heel, feeling the beast gilt forward and leap into the air with his powerful paws and talons.

As we climbed into the sky as one I looked back and gazed for a moment at what I was leaving and was surprised to feel a melancholy pang in my chest. I had never been beyond these borders, and I realized I was slightly afraid. I had always been told a bit of fear was to be expected with most things, but I wasn't sure it was supposed to be like. But I ignored it. I couldn't let a weakness like that penetrate ate my mind.

The academy was within the valley where four mountains met, forming an almost bowl landscape. We would have to go up and over it.

As we gained altitude, I was tempted to open all my wings and let the current of the breeze flow through them, but she didn't want to risk the gryphon's stability.

I stared forward into the darkness, maintaining maximum focus as I directed the beast below me with the movements of my feet against his sides. We were gliding through the wind towards the borders, which were magically enforced, creating a type of force-field. According to everything I'd heard, it was extraordinarily painful to force your way past the borders, but I didn't care. The determination was too strong now.

I was going to take my freedom or die trying.

We were getting close now and I could tell the beast below me was beginning to shy at the proximity of the borders. I simply curved my feet the way I'd been taught and encouraged him to stay on his path.

From what I knew, the Academy was alerted when anything crossed the border. Once over there was no coming back unless they found you and forced you to.

Only a few hundred feet away now. My heart raced and I could feel his doing the same. As the last few seconds approached, I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around my mount's neck. I didn't know what was going to happen when we crossed that, but I had the idea I'd need to hold on. I braced myself for what was to come.

Then we crashed into it. We flew headlong into the shimmering force field without hesitation.

The pain was innumerable. I felt the shock in my heart, and I felt the pain rushing through my nerves. For a moment I couldn't think at all. But then I realized we were falling. I opened my eyes and saw the ground rushing to me in the bleak darkness. I heard the wind whistling by my ears as I fell from the mountain-high altitude. It happened so quickly that I forgot to be afraid.

But just as I was sure the two of us were about to crash together to our possible death, he pulled his wings out and caught a whisp of wind beneath the expanse of his wings. His hind paws were close to striking the ground as he performed the maneuver. The inertia hit me as we swooped back up into the sky and for a few moments, I was dizzy.

Then my head cleared. I looked behind me. I wasn't being pursued. My eyes widened. I had done it. I had escaped, and I was alive! And my gryphon was alive. My heart was close to pounding out of my chest with excitement.

I spread my wings and let go of the mount. I let the breeze catch all six wings and I flew. For the first time in years- I flew. I soared along close to the other creature and screamed in excitement as at long last, unbridled freedom coursed through my veins.