She had her mission. As always.

Quickly, she transformed herself for the third time that night and flew off into the stormy sky. When she neared the castle, she swooped down to the throne room and entered through an open stained-glass window depicting a phoenix.

She landed on the red carpet in front of the king. Heavily armored knights stood on each side of the room. They snickered at the "clumsy" bird. Including the king who slouched in his red-cushioned seat of gold.

Suddenly, a strong, silver wind whirled around the bird as it grew to the size and shape of a human, clothed in a long black cloak.

Shocked, the guards flinched and the king sat up in his throne, his hands gripping the armrests. Before him stood a black figure with a hood. All he could see were the tender lips on its face.

Inhaling deeply, she let her ebony hair tumble down her back as she removed her black hood.

"I am Raven," she proclaimed, her forest green irises glaring straight into the stunned eyes of the malicious king. "And I have come bearing a message. Step down from your throne and crown the rightful ruler of this kingdom King Phoenix. If you do not, you shall be cursed for the rest of your days."

King Vulture's eyes stormed with fury. Raven could see lightning flashing in them.

"Never! Guards! Kill her! Now!"

The knights charged at her, shouting. But Raven simply transformed back into a small raven. She lunged at the king, who yelled in fright. He blocked his face with his arms, but it was no use. The raven's claws had touched the top of his head. The curse had been cast.

For the rest of his days, King Vulture was known as the Beggar Serpent. He could do nothing but crawl for his life, struggling to escape the phoenixes ready to devour him. He lived in the holes of the Phoenix Palace, determined to get revenge on Raven.

Raven, she had returned to Phoenix to tell him the good news. He returned to his palace, defeated the army of Vulture's remaining men and took back his throne and kingdom. As he sat in his throne one day, gazing at the scarlet and orange stained glass windows, he noticed a little black bird at his side.

"Raven? Why are you here still?"

"I am waiting for you to tell me what to do next."

"You don't need to do anything else for me. You have saved the kingdom. You are free."

And that lifted the curse on Raven.

Phoenix was the first human being ever to say that to Raven, instead of throwing at her more orders. She had been cursed to do whatever she was told and many took advantage of that. But Phoenix was selfless. Instead of flying away to do whatever she pleased, Raven used her freedom to stay with Phoenix. They were soon wed and lived merrily all their days.

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Hoped you enjoyed it and thanks for reading! This short story is dedicated to ProjectPeace

and it won first place in their Beginners' Writing Contest!