"To think it was right here all along, under our very noses!"
Inslee blinked, slightly less surprised at her seeming resurrection as she was confused. Was she dying over and over because she failed the trials? Was this a curse? Or was she still in the tower vying for its power? Nothing was going right. What was her situation now?
Inslee tried to gaze around her, having heard a voice, only to realize she could not see a thing. She probably was not blind, given the light at the edge of her vision, but it appeared that she had some type of hood or blindfold placed over her head. Inslee tried to raise her hands to remove it, but for some reason, her arms moved awkwardly and caused a ruffling sound. Just as she was starting to panic, she heard a door unlatch. Something pulled on her legs and coaxed her to step forward. Her feet also felt weird, and whatever she was now standing on moved unsteadily. Someone then fiddled with her legs again.
Suddenly, the hood was removed and bright sunlight shone in Inslee's face. And reflected off her sharp beak. Beak?!
Looking down, all Inslee could make out was a mass of feathers. This time, she was a bird. What type of bird, she could not quite tell, but given her size relative to the arm she was perched upon, she seemed to be a decent-sized raptor, like a hawk or eagle.
"Deliver your message to the Duke as fast as your wings will carry you, my friend," her handler said with a serious look. Before she had time to understand his words, the handler lifted her up. Instinctually, her wings opened and she gained altitude with frightening rapidity.
Where was she? And where was she supposed to go? She could see a building in the distance, it looked like a small stone structure from the sky. There was something vaguely recognizable about it, but she could not really tell what it was from her position While her vision was extremely sharp, seeing the land from above was unbelievably different from seeing it at ground level. Locations that might have some familiarity were utterly strange from the air. As she rode the thermals higher, Inslee could make out some mountains in the distance, a river, some roads, and some woods.
While she had no idea of her exact location, Inslee could see that based on the larger landmarks, she was near or in her family's fief. Since she did not know where the messenger bird was supposed to go, should she just head for the duke's manor and try to save them? Or should she give up and flee entirely, now that she had the wings to do so? But if she did, would she be stuck as a bird forever?