Samantha Edwhan

Alita's Youth

Chapter 13

Summer 2839

The weight of losing her friends stuck with Alita for several months. But she couldn't bring herself to end things with Korbin. She enjoyed his company and enjoyed spending time with him. So she continued to see him in secret while her friends and her brother kept their distance. Alita noticed her parents became a little reserved as well and wondered if Liam had finally told them, or if they had figured it out like her friends had.

Then, one evening during summer, Korbin pulled her away from the beach and over to the obelisk to talk. Despite the late hour, there was still a sliver of sunlight shining across the horizon, lighting everything in a red-orange hue.

“I wanted to talk to you,” Korbin said in a low voice. “We should leave and move to the Calndom.”

Alita blinked at him. “What? I-I’ve told you before I don’t want to do that.”

Korbin frowned. “Seriously? You still stand by that?”

Alita glanced back at the beach behind her. There were a few dragons still on the sand, but none were close enough to hear them.

“This has always been my home, Korbin. I’m not ready to leave,” Alita explained. “My family and friends are here.”

Korbin’s frown deepened. “Not ready to leave? We’ve been together a year and half. How can you not be ready? Don’t you realise this will be the only way we can stay together?”

“I do,” Alita admitted. She stared at the grass, not sure what else to say.

Korbin sighed. “I thought you’d change your mind once your friends found out about us.”

The way he said that made Alita look up at him. “What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said.” Korbin shrugged his wings noncommittally. “After they found out, they stopped hanging out with you. I thought you would change your mind about staying.”

Alita got a sense that he wasn’t being completely honest. It wasn’t the first time she’d felt like this, but this time it was much stronger. She frowned and raised her head to meet his eyes.

“You’ve been talking to Kyle about us, haven’t you?” Even as she said it, Alita knew it wasn’t a question. This was the truth. “You wanted my friends to find out so you had him say something.”

“So what if I did?” Korbin spat back. “It was the only way to make you see that we can only be happy if we leave.”

“I can’t believe you!” Alita’s chest tightened as she raised her voice, but this was a confrontation they had to have. “You intentionally drove my friends away from me!”

Korbin glared at her. “It’s not like I wanted to! But you had to see that we couldn’t stay here! I thought you would change your mind!”

“What’s going on here?”

Alita spun around at the new voice and froze up when she realised Chieftain Clyde was approaching them.

Clyde looked at Alita, then over at Korbin. “So it's true, you two have been breaking Tribe Law.”

Alita’s jaw dropped. “H-how did you know?”

“Five hundred dragons live in Tribe-Ali. Do you really think none of them would gossip?” Clyde asked, pointedly staring down at her. “I trust you understand there will be punishments for this.”

Korbin hissed. “Screw you, old drake. I’m not taking any of your punishments!”

Clyde’s glare snapped to Korbin. “What did you just call me?”

“You heard what I said.” Korbin raised his head and spread his wings. “Alita and I are happy together and you won't stop that.”

“As Chieftain, I have every right to enforce the law and stop you,” Clyde said, his voice low.

“Then perhaps it's time for a new Chieftain,” Korbin said. “I challenge you for the role of Chieftain!”

Clyde growled. “Very well.”

His stance dropped and he raised his wings. Alita stared at Clyde, wide eyed, then turned to Korbin. He was growling, head low and wings up. She could barely comprehend what was even happening.

Clyde was the first to move. He leapt at Korbin, teeth bared. Korbin ducked under him, avoiding his crushing weight as Clyde landed heavily on the grass. He whirled around as Korbin rushed at him with his horns forward. Clyde tipped his own horns forward and met Korbin’s charge in a headlock.

What is happening? Alita was still frozen on the ground. She desperately wanted the fight to stop.

Clyde tossed Korbin out of the horn lock with ease and turned to continue the attack. Alita’s ability to move returned and she darted up to his side.

“Please, Clyde, don't do this!” she pleaded.

“Stay out of this, Alita!” Clyde snapped. “Do not interfere with a Chieftain Challenge!”

Korbin was back on his feet and wasted no time in charging at Clyde again. This time, he opened his jaws and bared his teeth, clearly intending to bite. Clyde dodged to the side, bumping Alita with his tail and knocking her over. As she got back to her feet, Clyde and Korbin were exchanging a flurry of scratches and snaps as each tried to knock the other down. It wasn’t long before Clyde had knocked Korbin down again.

“Stay down if you don’t wish to be hurt,” Clyde warned.

Korbin didn’t seem interested in listening. Alita watched as he slowly hauled himself back up with some effort. She figured he must have been winded by the fall. He met Clyde’s gaze with a wild glare.

Clyde tipped his head up. “As you wish.”

Alita was on her feet and rushing between them before she had realised what she was doing. “Wait! Don’t hurt him!”

Clyde swung his head down just as Alita darted between them. One of his horns met her foreleg. Searing pain filled her as the tip scoured through her skin. Alita collapsed with a cry of pain.

“I told you not to interfere!” Clyde snapped.

Alita barely registered his words. She was staring at the long, deep, bleeding line in her foreleg. Tears flowed from her eyes and pain pulsed through her whenever she tried to flex her leg.

Clyde huffed. “Korbin, you are hereby exiled from Tribe-Ali. Leave now and do not return.”

Korbin growled. “Fine. Alita, are you coming with me?”

“Alita is in no state to leave,” Clyde told him.

“I didn’t ask you!” Korbin snapped.

Alita managed to pull her gaze away from her leg and look up at Korbin. He stared back at her. His expression was cold and firm, nothing like the caring face she’d grown used to.

“I… I can’t walk like this, Korbin,” she said.

Korbin frowned. “Then you’ve made your choice.”

With that, he turned and leapt into the air. Alita watched him fly away for a moment before returning her attention to her stinging leg. There was so much blood.

“Let’s get you back to the caves where the healers can treat your injury,” Clyde said. “We will discuss your punishment later.”

Alita nodded weakly. She attempted to stand, but the pain and blood was too much and she stumbled back down again. Clyde sighed and stood over her. He grabbed her with his front legs and heaved them both into the air before beginning the agonisingly slow flight to the caves.

~ ~ ~

Liam rested by the caves, enjoying the last of the autumn sun. He watched as Alita limped across the sand alongside Matthias, Cloe, and Erika. It had been two months since Korbin’s exile. Alita’s injured leg was almost healed. Though Liam suspected that she would be feeling lingering niggles from it for a while longer.

Things had been rocky at first. Alita thoroughly apologised to her friends, parents, and Liam. Everyone was hesitant to accept her back at first. Liam couldn’t just look past what she’d done. But she was truly remorseful and, with Korbin now gone, he knew she needed their support.

Clyde had instructed that she work hard to make it up to everyone after her disloyalty, not to mention he’d banned her from sleeping in the shelter of the caves. If she hadn’t realised the consequences of the ban yet, Liam was certain she would during the harsh winter storms.

As she said goodbye to her friends and turned to join him, Liam caught the hidden sorrow in her eyes. It wasn’t Korbin she was mourning. It was the fact she’d almost lost everyone she knew and loved here because of him. In a way, Liam was glad for what happened between them and Clyde. It forced Korbin to leave and Alita to stay. Perhaps one day, she would find someone she could leave Tribe-Ali for. But that someone wasn’t Korbin, nor would it be any other dragon on the beach. Liam was certain of that.