Demonic Feathers 1

In a peaceful kingdom, there was a peaceful castle with a peaceful royal family. However, the royal queen was not at peace in the castle. She was happy living with the king and their twelve little sons. Sadly, she craved a daughter to dress up and love.

"My darling love, if you stare any longer at the flowers, they might wilt from your burning gaze." King Alistair said as he walked up to Queen Amelia.

She was working with the roses in the royal garden. She had jet-black hair while her husband was as blond as the sun.

"I do not mean to stare, I was just thinking." She was fixing the new white roses that were almost ready to bloom. "I love all of my sons but I wish that I could have a daughter as beautiful as these roses. I would spoil her in ways that I cannot with our boys."

Alistair took both of her hands together into his hands. He had a look of true love and sorrow in his face.

"My love, I would love to have a daughter with you. But you must promise me something first."

"Anything for our family."

"If our next child is a girl, you must promise me to kill our twelve sons."

With a heavy heart, she agreed and he let go of her hands. One of her hands scratched a thorn and a few drops dropped on a single white bud that turned red. She took that one rose as a reminder of the promise. Later that night, she visited each of her sons and kissed their foreheads.

A few months later, she found out that she was with child. She summoned her oldest and youngest sons, Vincent and Jay.

"Vincent, I have something important to ask you. Could you keep your brothers safe?" She explained to her two sons, and then she turned to her youngest. "Jay, with your sharp eyes, could you keep an eye on the castle. If you have a new brother, I will raise a black flag to show that is safe to come home. However, if the child is a girl, I will raise a white flag and run as far as you can."

At the age of twelve, Vincent was a leader. All of his siblings listen to him. Jay, at the age of four, was already sharp with his brain as well as his eyes.

"Yes, mother." They replied together before running off to find their brothers.

After they left, she walked into the family crypt to look at the twelve new coffins. King Alistair made them for their sons as soon as she told him the news. That night, all of the sons escaped under the cover of the stars.

When it was time to give birth, she ordered one of her ladies-in-waiting to raise the flag when she was finished giving birth. The midwife called the baby a girl. The lady-in-waiting ran out of the room before the midwife announced the twin boy. The girl was named Grace and the boy was named Arthur. The girl did not last the first day after her birth.

The queen kept the black flag up for her sons to return home until Prince Arthur turned eighteen. The day after his birthday, he was sitting in front of his twin's tomb in the family crypt when his mother found him.

***

"Arthur, I have some news for you." She told me after I put the flowers on her tomb. "Please follow me."

"Yes, mother."

I followed her deeper into the family crypt into a hidden room. It was full of empty wooden coffins. Then she told me about what happened to my brothers.

"I have not heard from them since before you were born."

"Mother, I would love to see my brothers." I pulled her into a hug as I spoke. "With your permission, I will go look for them so we can be a family again."

With a saddened face, she agreed to my request. A week later, I was prepared to leave. I kissed my mother and father on their cheek and left. I found a few nearby towns that reported seeing several young boys hiding and hunting in the forest. In the forest, there was a large house that was built around a large tree.

"Halt! Who goes there?" A young voice rang out and I could not see where it came from.

"I come seeking my brothers who are said to live in this forest." As soon as I spoke the last word, a boy jumped down from the trees above.

He had pitch-black hair with piercing blue eyes like a bird. I stood still as he walked around me.

"You don't look like a girl but Mother said that she would raise a white flag if she had a girl." It sounded as if he was talking to himself rather than me. "But I remember seeing a white flag that day." His voice sounded like he was only a few years older than I was.

"I had an older twin sister but she died shortly after she was born."

His face from the news and his face reminded me of our mother.

"Well, my name is Jay and the others are still gathering dinner." He motioned me to follow him. "Come with me and when they get here, you should hide until I talk to them."

I agreed as I followed him inside and I was amazed by the house was built. They used the tree's branches to hold each of the beds. Sections of the trunks were taken out to make cabinets and closets.

"What exactly do you do all day?" I asked him as he started taking out herbs.

"I am the scout and I handle all of the housework." He turned around and started to play with my hair. "Your hair is weird, how is it both gold and black?"

I always thought that my hair could not decide what color it wanted to be. I started to help him with making dinner. He was asking me questions about the castle and our parents.

"Jay! We are home!" A voice shouted outside.

Jay had me hide in one of the closets as they walked in.

"Vincent, do you think we should check on mother and father soon? It has been eighteen years. They could have changed their minds." Jay said as I tried to hear the conversations.

"I don't know, they might kill us on sight. Why are you asking me now?"

I chose that moment to come out of hiding.

"Because I am your younger brother, the fourteenth child of Queen Amelia."

I finally got to see how my brothers look like. Six of them, including Jay, had raven black hair with the other six had golden blonde hair. They all had our father's brown eyes, while Jay's eyes were a brighter version of our mother's blue eyes. I explained my story to them and they relaxed around me. Then, they explained each of their roles.

I already knew that Jay was the scout and stayed in their home. Vincent was the leader, he was always lead for the water or food hunts. Stephan and Richard looked for herbs and objects that could be used for first aid. Nicholas and Michael used their identical looks to confuse predators and to lead them away. James and John were the ones that made the traps. Charles and George became the traders for the nearby villages. Edward and David were the tanners and skinned the animals.

It was a good thing that I restocked my supplies before coming here. It made it easier for my brothers to trust me. I guess that it is true that the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach. We started to plan for the journey home and I got to help all my brothers with their jobs. Mother was always careful of me because she was always worried that I would get sick and die just like my twin sister.

A week later, Stephan and Richard took me to look for herbs for the journey.

"Beware; there is a witch that lives in this forest. So be mindful of the herbs you grab. It might be part of the witch's garden." Richard told me as we reached a crossroads.

"We do not want to piss off the witch; we respected our two separate areas for years." Stephan continued as he patted my shoulder.

"Yes brothers, and if I get lost, I will use the call that Jay taught me to get the closest of our brothers to my location."

They were smiling as they each patted my head.

"We will make a hunter out of you yet." They said at the same time.

Richard pointed down the one path that always has herbs before they went down the other path. I pulled out a piece of paper that had drawings of all the herbs that we needed. I found some of the plants as I came up to a row of white roses. They were in their bushes, next to each other, identical to our mother's garden. I quickly counted them and noticed that there were twelve of them. Every time I carefully cut the flowers, I heard a raven's cry nearby.

"You fool! Why did you cut those roses? They had such a nice life there." An old man told me as he walked out of the shadows.

"Oh! I am so sorry! I did not mean to mess up your garden. I thought that they were wild so I was going to bring them to my mother."

"Would you hand over your brothers' lives if your mother asked for them?"

"No!" I was appalled by the suggestion he gave me.

"That is what you just did. Each one of those roses was your brother's lives and now they are trapped in the forms of ravens."

I carefully set down the roses before wiping my eyes to get rid of the tears.

"I did not mean to but I hope you could tell me how to fix what I have done."

I looked up to the old man with determination in my eyes. He had a look of annoyance when he first walked over but it softened after a few moments.

"Hand me the roses, boy." I passed them over as I started to get up. "Stop right there." I froze at his words. "Using the brambles from these roses, you must weave a shirt for each of your brothers."

"Yes, wise one."

He raised his hand before continuing.

"If you truly care for your brothers, then I give you two years to complete your task." He turned the roses to dust and poured the dust over the brambles and on my hands. "For the spell to work on them and to show your determination and heart. You must never make a sound, with your mouth, until they are human."

I nodded my head at his words. It was my fault that they are now birds, so it is my duty to change them back. As I collected all of the brambles, I saw the old man walk towards the forest edge and disappear. After I was finished, I made the journey back to the hidden home.