Getting Her Wings

Leona was standing on a mountainside, feeling the wind blow through her hair. Normally she would not even be in a place like this. Something interesting had happened earlier today. A courier had brought an old, worn rectangular wooden box to Silver Wolf Guild Hall a few hours ago. When asked who it was for by an inquisitive staff member, the answer was "Leona Jarnefeldt."

-Six hours ago, Silver Wolf Guild Hall-

Leona was summoned to the foyer and met with the courier. There it was explained that "Whitney" and "Erica" from Nebdoui in Desierto had sent the package to her. Leona knew who they were and where it came from. She signed for the package, tipped the courier double the normal tip for their efforts, and carried the parcel to her room.

When she opened the box, she found both a scroll and a handwritten letter. She picked up the letter and carefully opened it. The letter was from Whitney and Erica... well, mostly Erica. Whitney was not much of a writer.

"Hey Leona! Thanks for saving us from the Crimson Sashes a few days ago! Chief Elijah found this really old scroll in our library. It's a magic scroll of some kind, but none of us can understand what it means. Not even the chief can make any sense of it." It started.

"He sent it your way as thanks. Unfortunately, it's so old that most of the writing's faded. Still, you should be able to get some use out of it. Speaking of the chief, one of Prince Hakeem's men told him all about what you did to help us get away. The chief looked thrilled and horrified at the same time!" Erica explained how the scroll came into Leona's possession.

"Chief Elijah thinks that you shouldn't be so eager to take such big risks, but he understood why you did it. Speaking of the chief, Joshua's been acting kinda strange lately. He doesn't really talk to anyone but his dad. And he carries a weapon everywhere he goes. Well, that in itself isn't entirely out of the ordinary, but what he says about it is." Erica continued. Leona did not like the sound of that. Interested in finding out what Joshua said, Leona kept reading.

"He carries a short sword all the time. He keeps saying that he's saving it for someone. He won't draw it for any reason, not even to show it to us. I'm worried, Leona. I'm worried about him and I'm worried about your family." Erica stated. That was indeed a worrying bit of information. She vividly recalled Joshua's angry threat from over two years ago. He would take out his anger at her refusal to marry him on her family. Now she was concerned that he would finally make good on his threat.

"Well, I'd better get going. We've gotta tend the pack animals. They won't feed themselves, as you know. I hope that scroll's useful to you! Later!"

Sincerely,
Whitney and Erica

-End flashback-

Leona was standing on the mountainside. She took off her backpack and lowered it to the ground. She fished out the scroll, which was still in its box. She backed away from the edge and brought out the scroll, then slowly and carefully rolled it open. Erica was right... the scroll was old.

[Word Count: 558] [Total Word Count: 558/2,000]

Leona looked at the scroll. It was an old one indeed. And as Erica said, most of the writing had been faded or worn away a long time ago. Still, there was some writing left that was legible. She began to read it.

"...This magic allows for summoning of wind-based creatures to assist the user. With it... the user can... all manner of abilities. First among them is... sensory..." It read before the writing faded away. Leona frowned. She did not like guessing games. Sensory what? Would she be able to take advantage of sensory augmentations like improved smell, sight, and hearing?

"The summoned creatures can lend the user... both in battle and outside..." The writing ended again. Leona took a deep breath and kept reading. This was not looking very good. The wind stopped blowing, but that was more of a side issue than the main problem.

"Chief among the summons is har... flight is possible using their wings. They also are loyal to the user and cannot be turned except by mind control. However, they tend to ar... themselves, sometimes leaving the user..." It started with promise before throwing that promise right off the cliff. Leona's patience was wearing thin. She was about to set aside the venture for another day when she spotted something of interest.

It was a phrase. Fortunately the phrase was perfectly intact. It was also short.

"O FABLED HARPIES, O SISTERS THREE, LEND YOUR STRENGTH UNTO ME!" The phrase read. It was short and simple enough to remember. Leona closed her eyes for a moment. She took a breath. Then she spoke.

"O FABLED HARPIES, O SISTERS THREE, LEND YOUR STRENGTH UNTO ME!" Leona recited loudly. The wind started blowing slightly harder. Was that it?

Leona put away the scroll and was about to leave when three miniature tornadoes descended in unison, depositing three winged girls wearing armor in kneeling positions. They had differing hairstyles, hair colors, and wing colors, but all of them had elongated ears, bird feet with talons, and clawed hands. Were they the harpies mentioned in the phrase?

"Hey there!" The red-headed one called out. She had purple wings and longer hair than the others.

"Hi sweetie! We're glad to meet you!" The brunette among them said. She had green wings and shoulder-length brown hair that looked almost orange.

"It's been three hundred years since someone's last called us! Like, I thought we were never gonna get to see the real world again!" The black-haired one declared. She had light purple wings and black hair.

Leona was surprised. Surprised and confused. Did the scroll actually work or was it an elaborate magical prank? The three girls stood up in unison and walked over to Leona.

"I'm Sandy! My mom's Alecto!" The brown-haired girl introduced herself.

"I'm Daphne! My mom's name is Megeara!" The black-haired girl introduced herself.

"I'm Sylvia! My mother's Tisiphone, but we call her Tea!" The red-haired girl gave her name.

Suddenly the three converged on Leona and hugged her. It was strange. Leona had never been hugged by harpies before.

[Word Count: 514] [Total Word Count: 1,072/2,000]

Sandy, Daphne, and Sylvia:

Leona was released from the embrace and faced the three. They looked like teenage girls. They also acted and sounded like teenage girls. When the blonde thought about harpies, she imagined ancient entities speaking in an antiquated manner. These harpies were three hundred years old, but they talked like modern people.

"Thanks for freeing us from there!" Sylvia thanked her.

"Yeah, seriously!" Sandy seconded.

"Like, thanks girl! We owe you!" Daphne chimed in.

"Now that you're like our mistress and stuff, what do you want us to do?" Daphne asked.

"You said you had mothers, right? Can I meet them?" Leona asked.

"Sorry, sweetie. You'll have to be stronger before you can call on them. You're not quite there yet." Sylvia informed Leona.

"Yeah. They're over a thousand years old. They're really strong. They don't show up for just any mage, not even the one who holds the scroll!" Sandy chimed in.

"OK then. That'll have to wait." Leona concluded. Maybe it was time to ask an easier question. Maybe there was something they could do right now.

"All right. Show me what you can do! Something like... like a flight show!" Leona said. The sisters looked at each other and nodded. In unison they leaped straight into the air. They began flapping their wings to gain altitude, then paused and began horizontal flight. Seconds later a show commenced.

The sisters were now blurs distinguishable only by their wing colors. They resembled comets as they flew at high speed. Leona could barely keep up with how fast they were going. She wondered what it would be like to be able to fly like they did. If she were not afraid of heights, she might have even asked them for a lift.

Moments later she felt herself being lifted by the waist. No. Not now. Not now!

"Like, hang on!" Daphne warned Leona. Leona's stomach dropped as she felt her feet leave the ground. When she looked down, she screamed. The ground was a brown blur mixed with a green blur. Leona heard laughing as she gained altitude, but she was not the one laughing.

Clinging to Daphne's ankles for dear life, the blonde endured several agonizing seconds of disorienting torment as Daphne dived at high speed. She was screaming as the ground raced towards her. A few seconds later Leona's feet were back on solid ground. She had no idea what had happened.

"That was like, fun? Right, Leona?" Daphne asked Leona after the pair landed on a clear path in the forest. Leona stood still for a moment. She looked at Daphne. Then she ran to some brush, dropped to her knees and threw up.

"Like, gross!" Daphne commented.

"Guys, I don't think she likes flying." Sandy opined. Leona threw up again.

"...Maybe we should ask before we do that again." Sylvia suggested. As if to emphasize the point, Leona threw up one last time. Daphne involuntarily recoiled. Leona then stood up and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before walking over to rejoin them.

"Sorry about that, guys. I'm really afraid of heights. I don't know if it was me being afraid or I just discovered motion sickness, but unless my life's in danger, I don't wanna do that again." Leona explained to them.

[Word Count: 550] [Total Word Count: 1,622/2,000]

The three harpies looked at one another with puzzled looks on their faces. They did not quite know what to make of the situation. They had a mistress who was afraid of flying?

"This is so weird! We have an owner who's afraid to fly!" Daphne commented.

"Kinda like that guy 100 years ago. He was a wind magic user who was afraid to fly!" Sylvia commented. Leona was curious. Who were the previous users of this scroll?

"Well, she's our mistress now. If we want this relationship to last, we've gotta cooperate with each other!" Sandy butted in.

"Oh, look who's Miss Peacemaker!" Daphne snarked. Sandy looked offended.

"Shut up, valley girl!" Sandy shot back. Now it was Daphne's turn to fume.

"Don't make me call our parents!" Sylvia threatened. Leona was confounded. These three were sisters?

"Oh can it Miss Goody Two-Shoes!" Daphne shouted at Sylvia.

"You're such an airhead, Daphne! I'm surprised you can even say any word longer than four letters!" Sandy shouted.

"Don't start with me, Brownie! I'll beat you just like last time we fought!" Sylvia threatened. Sandy instinctively flexed her wings. Were they really about to fight?

"Guys..." Leona tried to get their attention. Her voice fell on deaf ears.

"I'll call our moms! I mean it!" Sylvia threatened again.

"Do it, Strawberry Shortcake!" Daphne taunted.

"You didn't beat me, Sylvia! I just felt sorry for you! I LET YOU WIN!" Sandy retorted. Sylvia's teeth clenched. So this was what sibling rivalry looked like.

"YOU? YOU LET ME WIN?! YOU CAN'T FIGHT WITHOUT US!" Sylvia screamed.

"Yeah Sandy, you, like really suck!" Daphne took a cheap shot at her sister.

"Guys!" Leona said loudly. The three were too busy squabbling to hear her. Now all three of them were flying just above ground level.

"All right! If you two think you're SO much better than me, try fighting without me next time!" Sandy screamed.

"That's pretty easy, Brownie. It's not like you really do anything to help. If you flapped your wings as hard as you flapped your gums, you'd be as strong as your mother!" Daphne shouted.

"OK, lemme say this now. I'm the best fighter!" Sylvia asserted boastfully. Leona's patience had reached its limit. She had had it with the bickering siblings.

"GUYS! ENOUGH! JUST STOP!" Leona shouted. That was enough to get their attention. All three of them stopped arguing and paused in place.

"Guys, settle down. It's OK. None of you knew that I was afraid of heights. Let's just forget about that and move on." Leona calmly suggested. She did not want to base their relationship on screaming and verbal abuse. She wanted to work with partners. They would help her and she would help them.

"OK." All three sisters said in unison.

"We won't fly you around again unless you ask us to. Sorry." Sylvia assured Leona.

"It's no problem, Sylvia. If we're gonna be partners, we don't need to start off by shouting at each other over every little thing. That's not how a good relationship works." Leona said to the red-headed harpy.

"I can live with that." Daphne said.

"Me too." Sandy stated.

"We'll always look out for you... uh, sorry. What's your name?" Sylvia asked.

"Leona." The blonde spoke up.

"We'll always look out for you, Leona!" Sylvia asserted.

"We'll be with you now and forever!" Sandy added.

"Like, totally! We're friends to the end!" Daphne finished. All three sisters move in for a hug. In order to keep the peace, Leona just rolled with it.

"HARPY HUG!" The sisters joyfully exclaimed as they hugged Leona.

[Word Count: 602] [Total Word Count: 2,224/ 2,000]