Legend of the OmeletWings - Chapter 28: Peace
#28 of Legend of the OmeletWings
Time passed, eventually Queen Omelet's crying turned into silent sobs, and eventually she fell into silence. When it was all over, Queen Omelet just sat there in silence for a long time, and Embryo sat beside her saying nothing, letting Queen Omelet just be.
Finally, "What do I do now?" asked the Queen, "Without the egg, how do I keep the kingdom together? How do I bring us back together under one united love?" There was such a sadness of loss in her eyes, Em couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
Finally, Embryo took a breath, nodding inwardly for what she was about to do.
Then, carefully, she withdrew her egg from her pouch, "Look. See here?" She paused a moment, part of her didn't know how she felt about the words she was about to say, the texture of the egg in her talons still felt awkward from the memories of all the angst it had brought to her body, but deep inside, she felt that what she was about to say was what needed to be said, "I laid this egg myself, it was formed without the help of a partner, and I can tell you more than certain there is no dragonet growing inside it, it's empty. It brought me so much pain, but this is all it is, just an egg."
Queen Omelet looked at Embryo, the tears still fresh in her eyes. "But that's the problem, we just don't lay enough of those eggs to hold together our nation."
"Maybe not by us alone, but there are many other dragons out there, thousands of them, who are laying eggs with no dragonets inside of them, everyday they suffer... just like I did... for eggs they have nothing to do with. Perhaps - I can't guarantee it - but perhaps there will be some out there willing to share some of their own with us. For a trade or something like that."
Queen Omelet hesitated, their tribe had never had to trade for food before, but now, given the situation... "But what about the other tribes? There won't be enough for them?"
Embryo cracked a weak smile, "I can assure you, none of the other tribes value the Omelet like we do."
Queen Omelet sighed, slowly she got to her feet, "There's still a crowd out there I presume. I suppose it's time we go out there and put this whole matter to rest."
When Embryo and Queen Omelet emerged from the castle gateways to the crowd that awaited them, the Sun had risen in the sky, the air was damp with dew, and in every step Embryo took was the feeling of a new day.
Seeing them approaching, Summit flew up, alighting beside Embryo.
"How are things," he asked, "She didn't hurt you did she?"
Embryo just gestured to the Queen; she didn't want to mention that incident with the metallic egg Queen Omelet had thrown at her back in the Queen's chambers. (Oh poor Summit, she realized, realizing he would probably never know about that aspect of her existence, that she'd probably never get around to telling him. She supposed that in the vastness of our lives, even with those you share everything with, there will be some moments that pass into the infinite reaches of time without being said, and the memory of her folded over in the Queen's quarters, clutching at herself in the most embarrassing place, the fact that the one she was absolutely closest to could never know that blush-inducing moment made her feel all the more blushy as she was once again reminded that there were some aspects of her that were so distinctly female, that no matter how close the two of them were, the experience of actually being her in her body would always be a mystery to him, and there were some cases where the truth of that predicament caused too much crushiness inside her to be entirely bad. (Though she hoped never to get hit there ever again. Not that it mattered in the end considering she was with egg and that was much worse.))
Queen Omelet stepped forward and looked out at the crowd watching her with not at least the smallest bit of weariness. She took a deep breath and said the only thing a Queen like her could say in this situation, "I'm sorry."
Embryo noticed that Queen Omelet's newly hatched dragonet had unexpectedly wandered up to them, gazing up at her mother in admiration and bumping into Embryo's legs on the way over. Embryo picked her up, and gestured for Queen Omelet, passing the dragonet to her.
"Mama," the dragonet said gleefully.
Queen Omelet held the dragonet in her talons, looking at her uncertainly. This was not the type of thing she expected to come out of her eggs... But seeing her joyful face, the playfulness in her eyes as she booped her mother's snoot, Queen Omelet realized this dragonet was more than just the result of a dysfunctional egg.
Queen Omelet looked up at the village that surrounded her, the buildings, their dragons. It had never been just about just the Omelet (though the Omelet had been a pretty big part of it, obviously), it had also been about the community, which this new hatchling was now a part of. Queen Omelet didn't know what it was to be a mother or raise a child, but she knew in time, this dragonet would be someone she would learn to love.
Finally, Queen Omelet started to speak.
"We have done a great many things today, we have hosted a feast, we have angered the other tribes, but more than anything, we have undervalued the worth of our eggs." A-many OmeletWings began to open their mouths at this, but Queen Omelet raised a talon to continue, "Eggs are at the Heart of our Civilization, without them we would not be OmeletWings," she took a deep breath, "But after what we have witnessed today, we can no longer deny that not all eggs are meant to be Omelets. We can no longer allow ourselves eat the eggs from which our partners have contributed to," Queen Omelet said sadly. "The eggs which line our tables must be from our bodies alone."
There was silence in the crowd, quiet reflection among the OmeletWings at what their Queen was saying.
The King Chef stood among the crowd in his own thoughts. Though a true chef at heart, he could not deny the truth in what was being said. So with new conviction, he saluted with his spatula and declared for all to hear, "I will abstain for the Omelet."
Queen Omelet was suddenly not sure how she entirely felt about that, at least not for the entirety of all time. "We'll talk," she said giving him a look.
"We'll talk," The King Chef agreed, looking at his audience as if to clarify.
"We'll talk too," Embryo couldn't help but tease quietly to Summit at her side. She realized suddenly probably her pre-egg emotions were starting to act up again apparently. At least she'd be able to have some (Em chuckled inwardly)... fun before the egg came she supposed.
But for now, she turned her attention back to the Queen, her and Summit could "talk" later.
"Still," Queen Omelet continued, "our eggs and our Omelets are an important part of our culture; our home... unfortunately we do not produce enough infertile eggs alone to support the traditions of our society." She took another breath before continuing, "So for this, I propose we open a free trade with the other tribes. Any dragon who has any infertile eggs which they wish to part with, they can sell them to us in exchange for some of our own goods."
At this, there was a sudden rising of protests from the crowd, dragons of all the tribes were certainly NOT pleased to hear this suggestion.
"Stop! Enough it with the eggs!"
"You will not be taking anymore eggs!"
"Leave our eggs alone!"
Em held her breath, the sound of the crowd ringing painfully in her ears, of course the other tribes weren't open to this, not after what her tribe had already done to their eggs, it didn't matter if the eggs were infertile or not, these dragons were no longer open to listening. She felt her heart sink at the hope for resolution quickly slipping away.
Queen Omelet's face fell as well. Finally- "Then we will respectfully accept the consequences for our transgressions."
Queen Omelet turned around, preparing to return once more into the castle, silence once again settled over the crowd.
Then suddenly, a voice arose from the crowd, "Wait."
Queen Omelet turned around, and all eyes turned to a MudWing standing in the middle of the crowd. Shyly, she stepped forward.
"I laid a clutch of eggs about a year and a half ago, and they HURT. I had them without any involvement with a partner and they never hatched, if I can get some sort of compensation for the pain I went through and could trade them off for something worthwhile, I'll gladly do it."
Em winced, not sure what to think about year and a half eggs. But given that it took about a year for a fertilized egg to hatch, she assumed they must be able to last at least that long before going bad, even if they were infertile. But she didn't know, typically eggs didn't sit around that long here before becoming breakfast, though of course she knew herself, she came from one of those "exceptions".
Still, this got the crowd thinking, especially the MudWings who Em remembered typically weren't too attached to their offspring. (Em kind of wondered why they were even here actually give their low stakes in the matter, probably to show support for the other tribes perhaps?) Of course eggs with dragonets growing inside of them were strictly off limits, but because of their lack of maternal instincts toward their eggs, they were more open to this suggestion than the other tribes.
Finally, the Queen of the MudWings spoke up, "We have heard what you have to say and we are willing to negotiate terms for this peace. Though I have to ask, what does your tribe have to offer besides eggs that would be worth our interests?"
There was silence from the crowd for a moment. Summit understood their skepticism, he had his own share of skepticism but he also trusted Em, so in a moment of support, he stepped forward, "I have been inside their castle and have seen these dragons' architecture and their overall design of things, look at the statues that surround this pavilion, obviously what these dragons have to provide is an acquired taste, but no one can deny that the dragons of this tribe are capable craftsdragons of... the arts I guess."
The visiting tribes looked around, taking in for the first time the artistry of the village that surrounded them. Freed from the anxieties that had faced them when they had first arrived, they finally had a chance to begin to appreciate it.
Finally, the Queen of the SeaWings stepped forward, "I do not condone your tribe's lifestyle of egg eating, but what you do in your own Kingdom is your business, not mine. I would however like to negotiate terms of peace between our two Kingdoms, and if some of our own are willing to trade their infertile eggs..." she glanced at the crowd warningly, making sure the infertile aspect was made clear, "I will not try to stop them."
After this, no more of the dragons spoke up, but it was clear from the look in their eyes that they were all considering, debating the best path to go forward.
Queen Omelet spoke up, "I know we have made a poor impression on the other tribes these past few days, and I understand you all may be hesitant in opening up negotiations with us, It is for this reason that I'm appointing one of our best, most openminded dragons, Embryo, as the new Ambassador of the OmeletWings." There was silence, Embryo felt her heart skip a beat, the air around her felt so much more heavy all of a sudden. This moment was history in the making, and somehow Em was a part of it. Summit glanced at her unable to keep the surprise out of his face. His Em an ambassador? Not that she wasn't great, she was, (why was he thinking like this, of course she was great,) but... This must be so sudden for her. (But then again, pretty much like everything with these OmeletWings, marriage not excluded.)
The other tribes however, remained silent at this news. They had seen Em stand up against her own tribe, but she was also still one of them, was that enough to guarantee no more incidents would arise from these egg crazy dragons once they opened their Kingdoms to them? How much could they trust this dragon? Even the dragons of her own tribe who knew her knew her as the shy sensitive girl who touched grass for a hobby. But there were two pairs of eyes of all of them watching her with pride, those of her parents; even though she'd just destroyed their very tribe's most ancient traditions, they still saw her for the best she was.
The Queen continued, "Embryo has seen your Kingdoms and learned your ways, and she has gained a deeper respect for how you view the world. She has helped me see the error of my own ways, and has shown us a path forward for a brighter future for all of us, I can think of no other dragon I trust more than her."
Still, no dragon said anything. Em stood there listening to the silence, her heart sinking as she realized her hope for peace was falling through right before her.
Then one dragon stepped out from the crowd, egg in talons, Ravine "I will vouch for Embryo. She was there to help rescue our eggs, and she helped me to lay mine; she is young and she loves her family - can you blame her for that -, but her heart is in the right place. For once - mental though she is - I agree with the queen, if there is any dragon who can bring us to peace, it's Em."
Feeling a slight touch of renewed confidence at Ravine's words, Embryo stepped forward on uncertain talons, after all she had done to stand up against them, it felt sort of weird to suddenly be her tribe's spokesdragon, but if there was ever to be peace between the tribes, she knew she was the only one who truly understood the interests of both sides. Summit nodded at her, urging her on, his undying faith in her giving her confidence to go on, "I understand that there are many of you out there still skeptical of our tribe's motives," Embryo said, "I understand many of you may not feel comfortable parting with your eggs, infertile or otherwise, I am not here to tell you what to do with your eggs, what you do with them we will fully respect, whether you are willing to trade them with us or not, all I seek is to build a relationship of peace among our tribes so we can better learn to live alongside one another."
There was another long hesitation from the dragons in the crowd. But as they looked at her, they saw the truth, she was the only one who had a chance of fixing this, she was young and inexperienced, but she had the heart to do what was best for all.
Finally one dragon stepped forward carrying one of her eggs dearly at her side, five dragonets close behind her, "Embryo saved the life of my child, to me she will always be a hero."
Another dragon stepped up, "Embryo of the OmeletWings is a hero."
Then another voice, and another, all calling Embryo's name (or at least acknowledging their respects) for the hero they saw her to be; the hero they knew she would go on to become. And in that moment, she was Embryo, Ambassador of the OmeletWings, the dragon who had changed the OmeletWings forever and had restored peace to Phyrrhia.
Em felt her heart in her throat, after all she had been through, it had all come down to this, her legacy. All she had wanted to do was to do the right thing, but here and now she was standing here, about to become a legend among her tribe. She had felt thousands of blades of grass, smelled hundreds of flowers, just to take in the beauty of the Universe, somewhere along the line, what had happened for it all to end up here? Even when it all came down to it, she'd just been there to help, she never led anything, what had she done to deserve the praise that was suddenly being thrown upon her, how would she be able to live up to all of it?
Summit stood beside her feeling all the pride of a dragon whose favorite girl had just become a legend. He could sense her anxiety and uncertainty, but he believed in her, "Don't worry, I'll be here for you the whole of the way... or something... Uh how do ambassadors work," okay he was ruining the moment, let's take it back he thought to himself, "But yeah, like I said, whatever it take, I'll be right here beside you."
"Thank you Summit," Em said, leaning her head against her husband as the crowd continued to cheer her name.
As the crowd began to disperse, Em watched dragons go, everyone departing in their own way. Some stopped to congratulate her, her parents especially; Albumen with many praises; Yoke a simple nod, but most were quiet as they went on their way. Dragons would be planning on return to their normal lives now, but what would their normal lives be after today? As they went, passing eachother, their voices and talonsteps shifted and weaved through one another, slowly growing quieter as less and less dragons remained in the pavilion.
Em caught sight of Vitellus in the weaning crowd, wandering as if he had no idea what to do now, and showing not the least bit of disappointment and loneliness in his droopy expression and wings. After finding Summit and growing so close to him, it was easy for Em to forget that it was Vitellus she was originally planning to be partnered with, and though she knew it was Summit who had gained her heart, she knew Vitellus had never been a bad guy either, and she decided she couldn't leave it like this between them.
"Hey," she called suddenly, rushing up to join him "Vitellus?"
Vitellus, caught off guard, turned to look at her. Seeing his ex-bride to be standing there, his face fell.
"Hi Embryo," he said, trying to remain polite, searching for the appropriate words for the moment, "Well, good job up there, I guess. Tribe ambassador and all, and uh, your marriage, I heard you got married. Congratulations...?" He fell silent, not much more to say.
Em looked at him sympathetically. "I've been thinking," she said, "You know Caviar?" She checked his face for an expression, hoping she was reading this right, "I think you two might do well together."
Vitellus' went quiet for a moment, and then his face lit all up, "You think?" Caviar was actually pretty pretty, and had laid some pretty tasty eggs (Not that that's all that mattered anymore, but three egg yokes, talk about a bonus). But then he remembered Embryo standing right there and realized now was probably a good time to be sympathetic, "Okay, bye," he said quietly, then with that, he turned around to depart into the remainder of the crowd and look for his new potential crush.
Em shook her head, Vitellus and Caviar would go perfectly together, but it might take some time before they would grow close enough for him to see Caviar with the same heart that Summit had seen her. She just hoped the Queen didn't rush into anymore unexpected weddings this time.
Em returned to Summit's side, everything now complete. She suddenly felt the weariness of it all overtaking her, the stress of the all-nighter, the confrontation, and before that, admittedly the energy of her first night married to Summit. It was over and it was time to rest.
But at that moment, Em felt a pang in her stomach. She gasped feeling her stomach. Of course it was just a kick (or whatever pre-eggs did), her and Summit hadn't even... been married more than 24 hours, but it was a clear reminder of what had started to grow inside her and the greater intensity that was to come when this egg actually was ready. Summit turned to look at her, face filled with sympathy.
"You okay?" Summit asked.
"Yeah," said Em, "I won't be laying for about a week anyway, I think that's enough time to appreciate being myself before I loose it all again."
Summit paused. "Listen, I know all this weirdness and awkwardness you face as a girl, well..." Summit stopped, he knew he had wanted to say something inspiring to encourage her as herself, but suddenly he realized that he actually had no idea what he wanted to say to follow that up, and that just left him unfinished with that extremely awkward sentence that he wished would've been better left unsaid than existing alone like this void of all context.
But fortunately, Em realized she didn't need it to be finished, she felt a sudden new meaning in herself, and she knew the affirmation was no longer needed to know that she meant something, because she already knew what Embryo meant, to Summit and to her. She looked at Summit, not wanting to leave him in his awkward silence for long, "You know, this weirdness and all, all that comes with being a girl... I know I'm weird, but when I'm with you..." She paused, she could feel the awkwardness of being in her own body all over; the weirdness that this was all her that came with acknowledging all this about herself in front of the guy who gave her all these crushy feelings (even if this guy was her husband). She looked at Summit, her face flushing, "When I share it with you and how it makes me feel, how embarrassing it is to be in my own body - how strange my body feels when I acknowledge its existence - I kind of like it. I like being embarrassed in my body when I'm around you, because..." She stumbled regathering her thoughts... then "Because when I feel my girly weirdness around you, it makes me realize how lucky I am to have you." Then she flushed, "Don't tell me you don't like it as well," she said bashfully, motioning playfully her tail end at him ever so slightly.
Summit looked at her and blushed bright red at all the thoughts of what he knew about her girliness, making Em feel again more self-conscious than she could take. She couldn't believe she'd just gestured to him like that, how much she wanted to show off all her girly weirdness with him and how much he surely knew about her; how much she wanted to make him blush about it and to blush back at his response; it was so embarrassing, but just as much so was it too overwhelming to hold back. She wanted to grab a pillow or something and roar hysterically into it over the awkwardness of existing in her own strange body, but she didn't have that option, she could only stand there, bending over as she tittered to herself helplessly to hold back the howls of laughter that threatened to overtake her and hope she could bear all this embarrassing ecstasy of being in love with Summit. In her feelings that she might burst from the overwhelmingness of it all, she could not stop feeling how much she was a girl? " Why does being a girl have to be so amusing?" She burst, tears rolling down her eyes, sides heaving from the struggle to hold back her laughter. "That I'm part of the only half of the population that lays eggs, you gotta admit it's funny, not the pain of course, but that my body is weird enough to do it..." She could not say more without losing it.
Summit glanced over at her unable to know how to feel as her awkwardness radiating toward him, making him wince in his own awkwardness, "You know, I don't know if I should feel jealous or not. I mean, not that I don't have awkward stuff of my own..." Wow, that was weird. "You know what, I don't even know what I'm talking about anymore." He felt the blushing overtaking him at acknowledging what he knew she already knew about his own weirdness, and he had to hold back his own embarrassed outburst. Why did the existence of their embarrassing halves have to be so... he didn't even know what to think as he found himself struggling back tittering beside her.
"Please," Embryo managed finally, "remember how you used to not want to fly behind me because of..." she could bearly muster the next words without losing it, "that half? Now that we're married, please, feel free to fly behind me all you want." Then she forced her mouth shut once again before any more laughter could escape.
Summit's face was red as could be, "It'd love to. Sometimes. Sometimes I might take the lead if you like, and not just because of... not like it matters, just thought that sometimes you might like to..." His face was bursting, "I mean thought you might still find it quite nice back there if you know what I m-"
And then neither of them could hold it back any longer, they both burst out laughing, roaring into the sky, almost every dragon in the village, though departed from the pavilion, must've heard them. Em and Summit held eachother desperately, unable to contain the laughter, tears streaming down their eyes.
"Not that your first half isn't..." Summit struggled, "But the fact that somebody so special and beautiful... could have that second half-" He could make it know further, laughing so hard his sides hurt. "I'm so sorry..." he barely managed to get out, "I know you're more than..."
"But that doesn't make it any less funny," Em squeaked pitifully before howling into the air as she lost herself in her feelings of the hilarity of her own dragon body.
As they stood crumpled in on themselves there, no longer any use to try to fight back the tears and laughter of the overwhelming marital emotions, Em realized she may have had girly weirdness, but in some ways her girly weirdness made her feel special, special in a way that Summit may never experience for himself, but with whom she would always feel comfortable to share with, the same she knew would be for him when he had his own weirdness.
Because though the two of them were weird in their own separate ways, they could be weird together, and all those differences would only serve to bring them closer together, not drive them apart.
As their laughter eventually died down, Em rested against Summit awhile longer. Then Em finally regained her breath and spoke "But even with all this weirdness and all this awkwardness, you know what is most special about our time together?" she asked earnestly, "You. Just being with you... It's the most special thing I could've asked for. When you came into my life, whether in awkwardness or normalness, traveling or just sitting with you at my side... even in the pain... every moment I've spent with you has been all I could've ever asked for in life, all I could've asked for when I stepped talon out that door. I see you now, and I know that you know me, and I want you to know me, everything I am, the good and the bad, the weirdness, and the normal, just me as I am... I want you to know all of me, because the greatest gift I've ever had is knowing you." She paused, realizing she had more, "And that's why I want to ask..." She lifted his talons in hers and looked him in the eyes, "I know our marriage was rushed, so I want to ask you for real this time, do you want to share the rest of your life with me, and me with you?"
Summit took her talons back tightly, tears welling in his eyes; so often he had struggled for the right words, but now there was only one word he wanted to say, and he knew there could never be a word that was truer. "Forever." He replied. "All of you."
Then with that, their heads fell into eachother's in the strongest embrace either could give, two Souls fully becoming one, a commitment they knew would last a lifetime.
And as she took a breath of the clean morning air, she felt her heartbeat inside her, pumping fresh oxygen into her body, and for the first time in what felt like a long time, all was alright. Of course in a few days she knew she'd once again be regretting ever having been hatched as she laid her next egg, but in this moment, as Em felt Summit against her, and her against him, the warmth of his body against, his heart beating alongside hers, she realized that right now the future didn't matter, right now it was just her and him, and she could experience a beautiful new day with Summit at her side.
And Queen Omelet stood on her balcony, looking out upon the Sun rising in the sky, not the Great Omelet, just the Sun, but just as beautiful. She saw Embryo and Summit in its light, full of love for eachother. Though she had messed up humongously in the past few days, perhaps there was one thing she had done that had turned out alright, the marrying of Embryo and Summit.
And then the exhaustion from all that had happened hit, hitting Embryo full on. "You know, let's get some rest."
"Yeah, let's get some rest," Summit agreed, the exhaustion hitting him as well the moment she said it.
"Girly weirdness first?" Em asked.
Summit shifted his feet, "And uh, my, uh, weirdness too?" He suggested.
"All the marital weirdness," Em yawned.
"All the marital weirdness," Summit confirmed, "then I'm out."
"Me too," Em yawned again sweetly.
"But sleep first," Summit said, eyes beginning to droop.
"Sleep first," Em agreed.
And so the era of the legend, Embryo, Ambassador of the OmeletWings, had begun. Her name would go down in history and forever be remembered as one of the most influential dragons of all time, not only bringing peace between the OmeletWings and the other tribes, but also finding peaceful solutions to conflicts between the other tribes as well, approaching every problem with a deeper understanding of both sides of the issue, and gaining respect wherever she went.
It was almost too much. When she had first stepped talon out her door on that fateful day, all she had wanted was to see the world, experience things for the first time, she had had no idea that by that one step, she was opening in a new age for her tribe and the history of all OmeletWings everywhere. So much pain had happened on that journey, so much fear, if she had known what fate had awaited her, would she have had the courage to have seen it through? She'd never seen herself as more than just another dragon in her tribe who'd wanted to see more in life, but here she was, and she would do what she could to use the gifts that were given to her to make the world a better place for all dragons.
A few days after the OmeletWings' reconciliation with the other tribes, Embryo once again found herself laying her egg, and once again she found herself screaming and wishing she was dead. Once again her angst was so great that everything that led to this moment mattered nothing to her to make right her cursed existence, reconciling the tribes, falling in love with Summit, nothing; all her memories from a few days ago, finally finding contentment in her girly weirdness, it had all led back to this, her torture, and it didn't matter what she had done, so there she just screamed, tears rolling down her face, wishing she had never been hatched. And Summit could do nothing but stand by her side with tears welling in his eyes, and try to be there for her, able to do nothing but watch as she suffered so horribly, and sometimes not even that. As the worst of the laying began, he once again could no longer bear it, unable to keep his head turned on the direction of her suffering, even though he knew she still had to bear it alone; all he could do was sit there as the sound of her screams welled up in his heart making it want to burst. In her agony she would curse girly weirdness, would curse the reconciliation she had made with herself the other day, and would curse all her happy memories she had ever had that had ever dared to make her appreciate a life where this was her future; Em even screamed a couple words she'd thought she'd never use in the helplessness of it all (I can never unsay those words I've already said, can I? Em reflected to herself unfortunately).
But once it was over, it was over, Embryo and Summit wouldn't have another egg for a long time they decided, and the one that they did have, with the Soul of a precious dragonet growing inside, filled them with such love, that though Em would never feel okay about her laying, she was finally able to move on. And when their egg finally hatched, and Em saw the adoration in her little baby boy's eyes for his mother for that first time, her heart completely melted. And as she snuggled against that little Soul with all she had and felt him nuzzle her back, she let the precious tears fall from her eyes, and she knew her life was as full as it could be. She had told Summit she'd get him something special, and here it was, the most special and precious Soul either of them could imagine.
Em knew now her life would have ups and downs, there were some things she couldn't change, hardships she wouldn't be able to bear; being a girl could be weird at times; and sometimes she liked feeling that girly weirdness inside her; sometimes it was too much; but she also knew life was so much more than that. Every time she looked at Summit, the love that was his eyes for her, or her dragonet, that glow she saw on his face every time his mother entered the room... ever since she was young, every time Em had run her talons through the grass, smelled the freshness in the air, somewhere deep inside it had brought her knowing, that through feeling, through sensing, through being, she was a part of this vast beautiful world, and now after all was said and done, she finally knew where she belonged, she didn't just exist as a passing thought for this world to know and then forget, instead she was here to reach out and experience, find meaning and bring meaning to it in the lives of those she loved, a love she knew she'd carry with her forever.
And every time Em felt Summit's talons in hers, him just existing alongside her, she could feel her love for him holding her tightly as she held him; his love that had embraced every part of her now flowing back to him connecting them and intertwining their Souls until she was one with him; complete in herself, but the world incomplete without him.
Back when she'd laid her first egg, she knew she would have traded this future just to end the pain, how could a dragon endure so much and go on as if their existence was worth having? Out of all she had been through in the past and a future yet uncertain, maybe she would never know if Embryo was always a dragon worth being, maybe sometimes she wouldn't be; maybe the memory would never go away that once it had hurt so bad that through tears of torment she had screamed and begged for it all to end. But she had made it through, and now that she was here, with the love she felt surrounding her, she knew that here in this moment, this was a moment worth living, and she wouldn't trade it for anything.
Em stood before the ocean in peaceful silence, feeling the breeze as it rolled wistfully across her scales, listening to the soft lapping of the waves as they hit the shore, the sand as it shifted under her weight.
She had been here before; so much pain had happened on this beach, memories of writhing and screaming for mercy; last time Em had been here she hadn't yet known who she was, and her memories had been overshadowed by pain and despair. But now as she stood here alone the first time since that fateful day when she laid her first egg, she felt only peace. She had once dreamed to see the Ocean, and for the first time, she could finally appreciate it for what it was, the light of the sun as it glistened upon the waves.
She closed her eyes and took in the world that surrounded her, listening to the seagulls calling as they glided by overhead, the smell of salt in the air; reaching out and feeling the sand as it sifted through her talons, all was at peace and as it should be. As the breeze blew gently along her body, she knew, deep inside; she felt it in who she was; out of all the dragons in the world who experienced things, only her would experience being her; everything good, everything bad, everything weird and embarrassing, all that she'd been through, the pain, the peace, the joy, and most of all, the love; the love for Summit, the love for her child that overflowed her more than she could bear; everything she was, this was Em.
Then Em felt her talons begin to tremble, and overwhelmed by the emotions of it just being, Em began to weep, sides heaving, tears falling freely from her eyes, soft and clean; each one falling like the grains of sand that passed through her talons, setting free the weight of all that that had once worn heavy on her Soul for so long, leaving her with nothing but an immense sense of peace.
And then it was over. When she finally opened her eyes again, she felt a new freshness in the air, the sun sitting brightly above the ocean, the clouds rolling gracefully overhead, the sea in all its vastness falling away to the horizon before her. In the all of the moment, she felt her heart expanded inside her, giving her deep calming breaths.
Through everything she'd been through, she finally knew this who she was, she was Embryo; Embryo the hypersensitive girl who set out from her village to discover more, who had seen and felt so much and experienced the many wonders the world had to offer; Embryo the Ambassador, and Embryo the Reconciler of the OmeletWings; she was a mother, and she was Summit's true love, and admittedly, even with her conflicted feelings, she was Embryo the girl with girly weirdness.
But more importantly, she was Em, just Em, and just for that she was loved.
So Em took in one more peaceful breath of the morning air, the tears still wet in her eyes, resting there soft and gently. And in that moment she had never felt more alive.
The end.
"I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,
May you never take one single breath for granted,
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed.
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the Ocean,
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance,
I Hope You Dance ..."
-Lee Ann Womack