Legend of the OmeletWings - Chapter 20: Entering
#20 of Legend of the OmeletWings
The Sun was beginning to rise over the mountains. The OmeletWing was still fairly far ahead, but Summit and Ravine had managed to keep him in sight for the duration of the night. Summit was starting to feel tired from the weight of his game bag, but fortunately, nothing had been ruined in his struggle with the OmeletWing the night before, thanks to its basic padding. He still wasn't sure he knew how to handle what he was carrying with him, and he could help but feel a twinge in his stomach at the thought of it.
Finally, they broke out of the mountains into a wide valley, and for the first time Summit got to take in the world Em had grown up in. It looked like a fairly normal quiet village apart from the castle that stood at the edge of it, marking it as the capital, but most the buildings were painted in yellows and whites, and other eggy colors of the sorts, and even from this distance, Summit thought he could make out a few monuments dotting the village here and there, mostly just giant carvings of eggs, and of dragons sitting beside eggs that in proportion, were probably too big for any sane dragon to ever imagine another dragon laying. He figured it was simply just embellishment. Or at least he hoped it was, he didn't even want to imagine the screams of the dragons laying those if his own experiences (he winced thinking of Embryo) had anything to say about it. That could not feel good in any stretch of the mind. Or stretch of the... Summit cringed, he didn't want to dare think of going there.
...
The problem was, ever since witnessing Em laying her egg, he couldn't help himself from thinking of how it was done, all that had to... Well the mind as the least of one's worries when one had to think of how... flexible one had to be to lay an egg. He could feel his face going red. Why did this make him feel like this? So... awkward?
Crushy, he admitted to himself with shame. She had suffered so much, so painfully, and here he was blushing at how attractive she was. Em was right, he did just have a crush on her. How could he be the friend she needed when he only saw her for how pretty she was. He was so unworthy of her. Why did he have to feel about her this way?
Shaking his head, Summit could also see the very prominent table in the central square, he remembered all Embryo's stories of the breakfasts they ate there. It was all really here, just like Em said. Summit had always trusted her and her mentions of the village, but somehow this just made it all seem validated, that Em truly wasn't crazy (of course, she wasn't but that didn't mean her stories hadn't sounded crazy), that she had actually lived the life she'd claimed, that now it wasn't just a story from some far away past, but it was becoming a part of the world he now knew too.
Ravine's presence, who he knew all his life, was also comforting, it made him feel like he himself wasn't just going crazy, because it all certainly felt crazy.
As they neared the foot of the mountain, Summit realized it was awfully quiet for a morning after a successful cross-continental raid. Perhaps they were early? Summit looked back at the mountaintops, and sure enough he could see another dragon coming in, and another off to the right. He looked at Ravine, his and her scales were sharp red, highly contrasting the eggy colors of the environment and dragons around them.
"We should get out of the open," Ravine said, obviously feeling the same concerns he did, "We can better eye of what's going on, and figure the best approach to getting where we need to go."
So they came in for a landing on a ledge near the foot of the mountain, pausing to take in the scene. More dragons were coming in from the mountains, flying in toward the castle. Pretty soon there was a large crowd outside the gates, each carrying their own collection of eggs, waiting to get admitted in. The castle guards inspected everybody's load, before letting them all in without incident. As Summit watched the castle, he saw the dragon he'd wrestled with the night before present his egg, exchange a few words, then enter.I wonder where he's going now that he's in, Summit thought as he disappeared through the gates.
"They don't seem to be very cautious," Ravine observed.
"From Em's description, they don't sound to be a very aggressive tribe." Summit informed her, "They've never been much used to violence."
"Eating your own children sounds pretty violent to me," Ravine said.
So does laying an egg, Summit thought to himself.
"They don't see eggs the same way we do," Summit explained on out loud, "To them, they are no different than the ones we collect from chickens... Except like in taste and stuff... I think... Never tried one..." He was blushing, "Never want to."
Ravine huffed, turning her attention back to the arriving dragons, "Even so, some of these dragons seem to be returning pretty badly beaten up."
She was right Summit noticed, one was flying along with a limp to his wing, barely able to hold himself up, while another... was she missing a limb? The expression on her face though as she flew near told him to her, it was nothing... Like she'd had worse experiences before, and they were... natural. Summit felt himself sickening at the thought that laying an egg might feel worse than a forced amputation. How could Embryo... Oh Em, how could... How could that have become of you?
"There is the problem of getting inside." Ravine observed.
Summit felt his game bag. "I might have an idea," he said without any enthusiasm. Em's heartbreaking screams still echoed in his mind every time he felt it.
Readjusting the bag on his shoulders one last time Summit sighed. He hoped he was ready. With that, he opened his wings and prepared to take flight.
Okay, let's do this.
Em laid in the bed silently, hardly moving a muscle. She didn't remember when she woke up, it had just happened, much like when one drifts off to sleep they are unaware of the process, she must have simply drifted awake. Sunlight was shining into the window, leaving rays of warmth on the bed. It felt so nice, just to lay down, to not have to worry about the strain on her body and mind caused by flying... caused by egg laying. Right now there was nothing more for her to go through.
She heard the sounds of wingbeats outside, the army must be returning from their night raids right about now, were they successful? She didn't want to think of that terrible moment when the parents awoke to find their precious dragonet eggs, which they'd struggled so hard to lay, missing.
Yes, she just wanted to stay in this nice warm bed for the rest of eternity.
The servants would surely be ready to bring in her breakfast soon, only to find that she hadn't eaten her eggs from last night. She didn't want to deal with that now, but she knew she'd have to say something. She'd say she wasn't hungry. She wasn't absolutely sure that was true, but with the constant knot she'd had in her stomach these past few days, she didn't think she'd be able to eat anyway.
So she just laid there, taking in the warmth, the softness of her bed, until the inevitable knock came at her door.
Em whimpered to herself, she knew she was expected to answer, but she just didn't have it in her.
Another knock, and again, Em just laid there.
Finally, she heard the turning of the lock, and then the door creaking open, slowly, carefully.
"Embryo, sweetyoke, are you okay?"
Vitellus. What did Em expect?
"I'm sorry, I would have come earlier, but I didn't know you were here until just a few moments ago." Vitellus paused, there was the sound of the door closing behind him, apparently his escort figured it best they talk amongst themselves, "I heard what happened, sounds pretty hard boiled. Thought you could use some friendly company- Oh, you still have some Egg leftover, mind if I have some."
Embryo said nothing. A few seconds later, she heard the sound of a fork on the plate, followed by chomping and chewing.
Embryo laid in her bed feeling very awkward. She still didn't want to get up, but she felt she had no choice right now. Finally, she shifted a little, sliding out from under the blankets. She turned to face him, where he sat, enjoying the eggs that had been left out overnight.
"Listen, Vitellus, I'm not really in the... mood right now." Her voice cracked as she remembered her and Vitellus were expected to be together or something; how he wasn't...
"No, I get it," Vitellus said, jumping to attention, "The world out there is crazy, it could send anybody back scrambled. Just last night, I was jumped by some cracked shell just because I was going Egg Hunting or something. Oh, by the way, this Royal Feast - I'm sure you've heard of it, yeah? - Well, I did went hard peaks on that Egg Hunt, if I do say so myself, and from the looks of the crowd outside, the gathering has been quite a success. I think you'd be proud of me."
So there you have it, the Egg Gathering really had happened, they'd succeeded, eggs all across the continent were now being brought to the OmeletWing village to be prepared and eaten like any other eggs even as they spoke. Ever since the pain she had suffered laying her egg, she'd slowly come to realize, if only in the back of her mind, that if there was one good thing to come from egg laying, it was the love for the dragonet inside. She knew her own egg would never be such an egg, but she was beginning to understand that sense of mothership that came instinctively from laying an egg. When she'd returned home, she began to realize how beautiful the love for a dragonet was, how after all that pain, maybe there _was_something beautiful beyond it after all. But now all that beauty was to be brought to an end by the only tribe she had ever known as her family.
Vitellus paused, noticing Embryo's lack of response. He looked at her. She just sat there, half out of her covers, looking down at the floor. Bothered by this, he empathetically settled himself at the end of the bed. "Listen, I know these past few days have been hard, I want to help you through it. I want to help you find the beauty of the Omelet that you've lost. It's still there, deep inside, I know it, you just have to rediscover it."
Vitellus paused after this inspirational speech, kind of confused. He wasn't entirely sure why he was talking this way or if it connected to her situation much, but it sounded right (probably because it had something to do with Eggs), and he was sure Embryo would be moved by it.
But Embryo just sat there, looking distraught. Vitellus would never understand what it actually felt like to be her. Actually, no male ever could. But that wasn't... "Vitellus, you don't understand. I can't- you can't- It just..." Embryo felt her eyes tearing up. Finally, it just came out, silent, little more than a whisper, "You're not Summit."
And then her eyes began to tear up, to pool with sadness that she had no more voice for. Everything she'd felt, all the emotions, conflicting, no idea where to start, she didn't even know what she was sad about anymore, it had just all fallen together, soaked together into just one mindless puddle. But in the center of it all, there was Summit, somehow she knew... she didn't know what she knew, she just knew that Summit... he'd... she just wished... why couldn't she love him again?
But instead, here was Vitellus.
But now, Vitellus was just looking at her, his eyes empty.
"You're right, I understand."
Slowly, he backed up toward the door, not sure whether he should take his eyes off Embryo. He reached it and then he knocked, waiting for the guard to let him out. As he stepped out of the room, he took one last look at Embryo, "Take care," he rasped, and with that, let the door swing shut behind him.
Lonely silence settled over the room once more. Em looked at the door blankly, feeling like she couldn't leave it like this. But Vitellus was gone, it was over now.
Finally, Em laid back down in her bed, pulling her blankets back over her, hoping that this whole scenario meant she wouldn't be receiving any more breakfast this morning.
Summit and Ravine arrived at the wide gates of the castle where many of the villagers, lined up with their eggs, gathered from various tribes all across the continent, were waiting to be admitted. Each dragon, when they got to the gates, would present the eggs they'd collected, and with a cheery greeting from the guard, were directed inside in the direction of the kitchens.
As he stood there, Summit couldn't help but feel himself cringing at some of the dialogue exchanged between the OmeletWings. The OmeletWings were really as kooky as they sounded. Summit felt bad thinking Em's tribe as kooky, but that's kind of what they were. He didn't like to see Em that way, but he could tell now why she was so confused and all, brought up by these types of dragons.
But while Summit was here, he realized this was probably actually the best time to find out about Em.
"Hey," Summit asked the dragon in front of him, "Do you happen to know a dragon by the name of Em- uh - Embryo?"
"Of course," the dragon said, "She's the one who reported to the Queen that the other tribes don't eat Eggs, can you believe that? Well, supposedly, she'd been cracked herself, poor thing, so the Queen decided to see to her immediate care. I believe she's staying in the right wing of the castle now if I've heard right."
Summit looked at the castle. So Em was here now - being held prisoner? - What had they done with her?
When Summit and Ravine reached the front of the line, the guard gave them a double-take. "Do I know you," he asked, looking at their bright red scales, "you don't look like you're from around here. Never seen you at Breakfast. Yum," He added, thinking of Breakfast.
Summit knew it was time to speak up. "O' mighty OmeletWings, we have traveled from O' so far away. We have heard of your O' so special Omelets, and we have come to contribute in your O' so great of cause." Summit wondered if he had used the word "O'" too many times.
The guard looked at them, without a hint of suspicion. He was a true OmeletWing, raised with such a strong love for Omelets his whole life, it was beyond him that anybody could possibly think of betraying an event as beautiful as this one, how any words pertaining to a love for Omelets could not be authentic. Of course these two were here for the Feast, no other possibility could have ever crossed his mind. Also, this dragon had used the letter "O" quite a bit, and that was kind of the shape of an Egg, so he couldn't help but feel a bit inspired. But they were here early, and he wasn't sure what to do with them.
"Uh, okay," the guard said finally, "If you're here with the Feast... We could... It doesn't start for a few days, so if you want to wait..." The village never had any visitors, so he had no idea where to place any of them... "Perhaps you might like to see if you can stay with one of our villagers for the next few days - maybe Macrolecithal, she's a good Egg - while we finish preparations."
Ravine stepped forward, this was important. "No O' mighty OmeletWing, we are here to volunteer in your great event. I happen to be a chef myself in my own lands, and I have skills that would serve you well in your kitchens."
The guard looked uncertain. Never before had an outsider helped prepare Omelets, what if she did it wrong, what if it wasn't prepared the way they liked it? What if she ruined a perfectly good and beautiful Egg because she didn't know how to cook right!? If the other tribes had such good chefs, then how come the OmeletWings had to swoop in and show them how to eat?
Summit saw that this wasn't going to work. He felt his heart sinking knowing what he had to do.
He paused. Then from his game bag, he withdrew the Egg of Embryo, which he'd been carrying with him ever since Em had given it to him on that heartbreaking day of their separation. "Here, we also brought this," he sighed. He hated using her egg this way, as a prop in their act, but it seemed it was the only way he could get to her.
The guard's eyes lit up, "Oh, you brought an Egg, perfect, go right in. Follow the other dragons to the kitchens, they're to the left. Thank you for your contribution!"
As they passed through the gate, the guard only had time to momentarily contemplate the peculiar presence of their Egg. That Egg had looked like an OmeletWing Egg, the other Eggs all showing up today had looked different, unique to different tribes (and probably tasting different as well, he couldn't wait to try them all). So why were these two strangers carrying around an Egg that looked like an OmeletWing Egg. But he didn't ponder too much, the next dragon approached, and he decided to get on with his job. Could never hurt to have another Egg.
As Summit entered the OmeletWing Castle he was struck by the sight of the walls and columns, such pure whites and yellows, the ovalular shape of the domed ceiling, as if the castle itself was carved out of the inside of a giant egg itself.
Somewhere in this castle was Embryo.
Following a few other dragons wandering in, they reached the turn heading left. Ravine took a step to follow. Summit hesitated, his gaze drifting to hallway down the right wing, and Ravine turned to look at him. Her face softened. "It's okay, you go find Em," she said, "I can take care of it from here."
Summit looked at her, "Are you sure?"
Ravine nodded, "I got this, you find Em."
Summit looked at her gratefully. "Thank you." He turned to leave, then stopped, "Good luck with your Egg." Pause. "I mean finding it, not laying it, you've already laid it... Wow, that must have been horrible..." Summit needed to leave quickly. Ravine just chuckled to herself. "Well, good luck," Summit said again, departing down the hallway, ending the conversation before any more trouble could slip out.
So Summit made his way down the hallway into the right wing alone. He looked at the Castle, it was impressively big. Not as big as the SkyWing Palace of course, but for a tribe who focused all their attention onto eating, they weren't completely incompetent in the field of architecture. But Summit figured this too was largely a response to needing a place to properly dedicate to the "beauty" of their Eggs.
As he walked past various doorways, he started to wonder if he'd even be able to find out which one was for the room Embryo was staying. What if he got caught? So far the Castle seemed fairly sleepy at this time in the morning, but he feared that if he did run into somebody, they might not be quite as unguarded as the guard outside.
Unfortunately, just as he thought this, he immediately ran into another dragon, just as he was rounding a corner. Summit and the other dragon stopped, staring at eachother.
"Hey!" The other dragon exclaimed suddenly, "You're that cracked shell who jumped me last night!"
Yep, this was definitely not going to go well. But this dragon looked more guarded than furious. Maybe he could be reasoned with. "Listen, I'm not here to attack you again or whatever. I'm just here- I'm looking for someone. Do you happen to know where I can find a dragon named Embryo. She's kind of female and" -Oh why did the word female still sound so pretty - "and..."
But the other dragon was just staring at him, mouth open. "You're the Summit Embryo likes?"
Vitellus stared at him a moment longer, trying to process.
And then the dragon advanced on him, backing him up toward the wall.
"Listen here Shell, if you're going to be scrambling with Embryo, you better treat her with respect. Remember, it's her Laying the Eggs not you, so you had better cherish every single one of them, because it's you she's chosen to go through that special effort for, so you got to treat her like she's special too."
Summit looked at this other dragon, this must be the Vitellus Embryo had told him about. He doubted this guy even had any idea of this "special effort" he was talking about Embryo going through - Summit had witnessed it all too well - but Summit could see genuine care in this dragon, something he didn't expect in Em's betrothed, so he decided to say nothing. Besides, Vitellus might be lost to the realization that Em's egg had very little to do with the reason Summit was here.
Finally, Vitellus sighed, "Just take this hall, you'll see her room where the guards stand guard." Vitellus took one last look at Summit, "Well, Sunny-sides up," (some kind of farewell gesture?) and then he retreated down the hall without another word.
Summit followed the hall from where Vitellus had come. After a short distance, he found the door where a couple dragons were standing guard. They looked at him, his bright red scales, all of it in confusion. Summit looked at them.
"Is this the room where Embryo is being held?"
Suddenly, their eyes lit with understanding.
"You're that dragon who brainwashed Embryo!" They looked at eachother in shock, and suddenly nodded in silent agreement. Before Summit could process what was happening, they leapt at him. Summit struggled, but it wasn't long before they had him pinned down. He felt for his game-bag, hoping Em's egg inside hadn't broken. It felt fine, fortunately the bag's padding was enough to sustain it a little bit of jostling.
"We're sorry," said one of the dragons, "but soon you two will both come to understand the beauty of the Omelet. You two can be rehabilitated together, okay?"
Em felt her heart sinking when she heard the door unlocking once more.
But then her heart jumped in her chest as they threw him in, tumbling across the floor.
Then the door closed behind him, locking. He was trapped.
Summit should have felt lost by his defeat, but he didn't, because deep down inside, as his attention turned to the bed, he knew he hadn't been defeated, he'd found what he'd come here for...
Summit and Embryo had been reunited.