Maia's Point of View

(Above is my aesthetic of Layla)

The news of the war and the attack swept away the wave of fear and rioting that followed the Second Accident.

The Kallian Empire. It was a place that she only knew from her history textbooks, a place that was surrounded by an aura of mystery. Despite the fact that it was in a desert, and was likely lacking goods from crops to enchantments, the Empire-and its notorious Empress-stayed cut-off from the rest of the world, just like their continent was cut-off from everything else. The Kallian Empire had refused contact with either the valkyries or the elves.

Maia supposed this was why-the Empire wasn't interested in trade negotiations, alliance or even some friendly talks. They were readying for a war between the God-Born and humanity. How strange, her parents had reflected, that the Empire choose to face them both at once. It didn't matter, of course. The war was still on its way.

The one thing Maia Charlize Swallow hated more than the Lord who had killed her cousins and left her aunt so hollow were the politics that had followed in the wake of the crime. The elves seemed incapable of having an honest discussion with anyone, including themselves. An attack on the royal family that caused the death of Right Hand's children and husband? Oh dear, an excellent opportunity to vie for their broken-hearted mother's position in court. They were busy trying to gain Orion and Selene's favour rather than hunting down the killers. 

Political manoeuvring was all anyone in the elfin courts truly cared about, save for the precious few who were born with an understanding of morals, priorities and how, no, arrogance and vanity were not good qualities.

So of course when news of the Kallian Empire's declaration of war hit the city-states, the numerous politicians were not worried about lives to be lost in the feud for territory, or how to best handle the incoming war.

They were interested whether the elfin city-states would get a piece of the desert kingdom should they win the war, and if they could claim some of it. They were interested in whether their sons' and daughters' magical abilities were suddenly more important now they could be put on a warfront. They were interested in how this war would affect their relations with the other city-states, and the valkyrie nation, but more specifically, how it affected them.

When Maia was Lady, she was hoping to exile every last one of those pathetic, power-hungry snakes who, five seconds ago, were vying for her sister's blood after her magic had gotten out of control.

If the minor politicians of Veron and Celeste were getting themselves tangled up in that intrigue, of course the rulers of the city-states were interested in political schemes despite the fact they had a war on their hands. Despite the fact that it was invasion, and you didn't just opt out, they were acting like every other city-state was lucky they were in the war room at all, and not just leaving the rest to rot. As if they didn't need each other to beat back the Kallian Empire.

With all of this in mind, it was not the other city-states that her parents went to negotiate with first. Eventually they would all get each other in line and coordinate themselves. The first people they went to speak with were the ones that did not bother mincing their words.

For the first time in Maia's life, there was to be a meeting between the elves and valkyries. Layla, Selene and Talia were going to Miras, the home of the valkyries whilst Maia stayed in Veron.

If her mother seemed nervous about the fact that Layla was coming with them, right into the heart of the kingdom that they had been viciously warring with only thirty years ago, then Maia was a mix of terrified and apopletic. But in a world of politics, even her parents knew how to play the games: given the rest of the world still believed she could control her magic, her walking into Miras reminded them of what could be wielded against them should they go to war once again. A clear threat, meant to dissuade them from even thinking about betrayal.

Maia didn't care. How dare they risk her twin's life? Miras was their mortal enemy. Myra Isidore, the feared and ruthless Dragon, would be mere metres away from her sister. She would have given her right arm to be either going with Layla to protect, or be going instead. It was ridiculous and she couldn't care less about the politics of it.

Layla had barely left the city-state and their parents chose to leave her behind when they went to political negotiations. Deep down, Maia had always known it couldn't continue. One day, despite the fact she did not want the position and was quite ill-suited to it, Layla would be Right Hand of Veron and Celeste. Second to an Elfin Lady, with all the requirements of political scheming that it would entail.

What a wonderful time to begin training to rule: in the midst of a war with the Kallian Empire.

Rather than all of them going together, their father and Maia were staying at Veron, since they couldn't block out all of the politics of the other states. It should have been Talia staying behind, Maia reflected as they packed their bags. Instead, Talia was going with Layla and their mother.

Maia could barely stand to watch her sister go. It wrenched at a piece of her heart. She was the eldest; she was meant to protect her, look after her. Not watch helplessly as she boarded a ship to a faraway and deadly land. But for Layla's sake, she held back tears and furious rants towards their parents and waved her sister goodbye as she left the palace into a world determined to destroy her.

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Layla lugged her bags towards the harbour. There, their vessel waited, suspended in the air. It almost took her breath away. Made of glass and steel, it had been in her family for generations. Her great-great grandfather had given it to her great-great grandmother when he married into the Charlize family. All these years later, the vessel still worked.

The ship was made of smoky glass and gleaming steel, and shaped like a fantail. They were no sails on the vessel, but from the look of the bird's darting eyes, the bird didn't need sails. It was alive. Well, as alive as you could be when you had cabins where your organs should be and you were only brought alive by centuries-old magic.

"The Fantail," Layla smiled.

Charlizes like her mother had flown upon the Fantail for generations. They had seared through the skies on the vessel for years and years, from the day of her ancestors' weddings to historic summits and tense meetings just before wars broke out. It was on the Fantail that her own parents had gotten married. It was on the Fantail that they had destroyed the city-state that had aided Julian Corinth when he betrayed them.

Now as she scaled the vessel's flat tail, Layla did not feel awed by the beauty of the bird-ship. The historic vessel seemed to hold so much weight and burden that she felt herself crumbling. They were doing something revolutionary--boarding a ship on its way to the heart of an army that they had once fought with in a bitter war. Her own parents had fought in that war during its final, bitter years, fire and ice streaming down on the Miras army.

When she had actually boarded the Fantail, she realised that there were steel railings along the side of the vessel, protecting its riders from plummeting to their death. Her mother smiled slightly, on the ship that she had grown up on, and scaled the ship's head, ice trailing through the air behind her. She felt a sudden stab of jealously. Unlike her mother and father, Layla couldn't wield her magic, her cursed demigod-like magic, and never would.

Talia grasped her hand tightly and helped her scale the ship's head, her eyes darting to the railing as if thinking it was about to disappear. She slipped almost a dozen times, but finally she and her aunt reached the top, the sight of the world ahead taking her breath away. She could see a floating city in the distance, hidden by the clouds. From her brief glimpses of the city-state, it was black and green, so different from the crystal city of Celeste and the autumn city of Veron.

The clouds were lit by the sun, just behind them, in its full glory as it began to peak through the clouds. Layla shielded her eyes from the burning light, and Talia led her down to her seat, made of the same steel as the bird. Her aunt was careful to strap her in, and a minute later, she saw why.

Layla gasped as the bird threw itself off the rocks, soaring briefly into the air and lifting her into the air as much as the seatbelt would allow. Then gravity began to take over and the bird dived down through the clouds, slicing like a knife through the white of the sky. Whirling to face the ship's wings, she let out a gasp-the wings carefully crafted of glass were flapping rapidly as the bird glided through the sky.

Without the clouds, Layla managed to catch a glimpse of the land beneath. To the north, towering mountains that split the sky open and to the south, a burning yellow desert. The Fantail swerved to the mountains, the wind rippling behind them as they headed towards the lands of Miras. Despite the fact they were sailing into enemy territory, despite the fact they were at war, despite the darkness and danger looming, Layla felt a sudden rush of freedom and let out a whoop of joy as they swerved through the air. The elves been made from the sky, after all. They could not help but enjoy the wild flight of their floating ships, the singing of the wind in their ears, in their soul, in their bones.

"How long until we land?" Layla asked. Despite

the swiftness of the Fantail, the mountains were still a great distance away. It was almost a relief. This flying, this wild soaring and calling of the wind...she never wanted it to end.

"A day," Talia said, shrugging and despite her calm exterior, she could see the wild joy in her eyes. "Longer if we meet a storm or harsh winds."

"What is Miras like?" Layla asked, looking out at the sky.

"What do you want to know: the cities or the mountains?"

"The Hawk Mountains. That's where we're going, isn't it?"

"A death trap," Talia smirked. "A whole mountain filled with immortal warriors, trained since they could hold a sword and born for battle. A range of ways to die, via wyvern claw the business edge of a sword or an arrow in your heart." Talia did not believe in sugar-coating her words, even with children who would quite like a sense of safety.

"Go inside, now." Talia yawned. "Turbulence coming up." With the care of somebody who knew that a wrong move might lead to them plummeting to the earth, Layla slid down the head of the Fantail and climbed down the ladder leading to the cabins inside the ship. The inside of the ship was strangely large, given the Fantail itself wasn't a large ship. Layla passed by an elegant dining room with a crystal chandelier and glass candelabra, a war room made of steel and another blueish metal, a beautiful gallery of glass sculptures and a vast, circular room that Layla realised was a ballroom on the way to the row of elaborate cabins.

Since the marriage of Selene and Orion, half of the cabins were redesigned to show the colours of Veron. Talia, her father's sister, would take one of the Veron cabins. Layla lugged her bag into the cabin next to her parents' and smiled.

Her own cabin, like her bedroom, wardrobe, possessions and selection of diadems and tiaras was decorated in the colours of Veron and Celeste. Red and blue, silver and gold, blue and gold and occasionally red and silver to match her city-states. Silver and gold were the particular colours for her cabin on the Fantail, which Layla secretly found rather pretentious.

The one thing that the Charlizes and Swallows could never, ever do was show a preference to Veron or Celeste. Their policies were carefully evened, their days equally split between the cities, their visits and marches meticulously divided. The staff at the palace had to be equally Veronians and Celestials. Maia and Layla, as the future Lady and Right Hand of both city-states could certainly never show to be leaning to one side or another. When Selene and Orion were ruling together, the people felt safer, knowing that they each had one person who would favour them. It was even suggested that Maia and Layla would each represent a city-state.

Layla sat on her bed, staring at her room. She could feel the ship as it flew through the air, the wild swerving magically reduced to a gentle rocking. Already, she could feel a chill creeping in her bones, a sign that Miras was drawing ever closer. The mountains were known for the ice and even snow that would creep up around them. She was no stranger to such things, but the cold that came with the non-enchanted versions was as unfamiliar as a flood was to Kallians.

Layla wondered what the valkyrie queendom would be like. It was said that the mountains were beautiful in a way that things of great power could be beautiful, that their world was awe-inspiring from a distance, but bleak and harsh to everyone but the valkyries once you got close enough.

Layla stared out at the sky from her window, thoughts swirling like the snowflakes in the wind.

What do you think of this chapter? How about the aesthetic? Do you think it suits Layla?