Falling

The Princess never expected this.

She never expected her world to spiral out of her control.

She never expected to witness the cycle of death and life before her very eyes.

She never expected to be taken from her family and put in a dragon's cavernous nest for months.

Astrielle never expected any of this. 

But, then again, she never expected to fall in love with the Dragon's Chosen.

Sweet, sweet Lytian Mythalp.

Or Lyt, for short. 

He doesn't know about her feelings for him, but frankly, it took her a while to realize hers alone. 

The spiral was her beast, the one that possesses her to lash out before shutting down, the beast within her that gets as upset as the Cryostroms that rip the sky apart every few months. The beast has grown stronger as her distress looms heavier; the piling of responsibilities for her newfound eighteen-year-old self sent her crumbling with it.

She was taken from her family by Lytian and put into that dragon's nest for her safety. Another kingdom was plotting for her to submit to a nasty future from a nasty ruler. Her parents tried their best to prepare, as they had no other choice but to agree to give her up, thus they collected protections for the inevitable day of reckoning-- but Lytian knew their efforts weren't going to be enough. 

So one night, after the beast came, the dragons saved her. From herself and from the world. 

She's witnessed the deaths of many animals for the sole goal of keeping a loved one alive. The Code of the Dragons, the vessels of the gods, rules that they can only kill for the protection of their family. Through this death, she also held new life, the result of this sacrifice. Hatchlings that would grow to keep the continent of Lume thriving, despite what petty humans shout at them. 

Lytian is a human boy who was accepted as a pure and worthy soul by the dragons he saved. He was only fourteen when they chose him to join their family. His teal and cyan horns and wings and tail mark this union of two powerful species. 

He wields the strongest form the sky can take. It crackles over him, it buzzes, it jolts, it singes, it sings. Lytian demonstrates his control of lightning rarely, but when he has, it's truly something to bring you to your knees. 

The circumstances of Princess Astrielle Pyri falling in love with him is muddled at best. She doesn't know when she first fell or if she still is. His looks were second to what she first grew to breathe (or not breathe) for: Lytian is what Astrielle can only describe as the sweetest, most caring, strongest, loyal, and honest boy she could imagine. Mix that with his gentle looks, his thin, unassuming frame, his forest soil eyes and his brown hair, and you get the boy she always wanted but never knew she needed until just recently.

Unbeknownst to the Princess, Lytian gets buzzes of electricity all over his body when he's around her. It took him up until a few days ago to connect the dots as well, but he loves her dearly, too. 

They balance each other.

Now, what does this have to do with the sky and its raining down on the world?

Tonight, the Princess is flying.

Lytian took her out on one of his dragons to experience flight for the first time. First he spread his wings and joined its side, then Astrielle did too.

How, though, without wings?

Lytian caught her in his arms and flew up, past the clouds, to see the three moons in a way people only dream of. 

Nestled flush against him, knowing he wouldn't ever let her go, Astrielle flies.

Technically, yes, she's falling. But it doesn't feel that way. She's gliding with him, and the rest of the sky and ground fall away from them. 

As for Lyt, the boy chosen by beings of the skies, the one who could summon all of its fury and power,

he's fallen for her, and he is again and again, every second he's holding her up in the heavens.

The sky is falling. Falling away. 

The sky is falling. 

Falling for the Princess.