Chapter Text
Third Person’s POV
The ceremony was minutes from starting, and most of the Leafmen were gathered awaiting their signal. Ronin and Finn were in the back of the large green clad crowd and were observing the mass and quietly talking amongst themselves when the rousing atmosphere was interrupted. “Look out! Look out! Move!” A high voice warned.
Finn turned his head at the noise, trying to see what was causing the small panic. “Here comes your star pupil.” The red head told his friend. Ronin, too, turned his head in curiosity, and him and Finn watched as a brown tattered sparrow came crashing into the small clearing behind the crowd.
The rough looking sparrow was bigger than the Leafmen’s usual hummingbird, and had a harness and saddle strapped on. The rider of the bird, the one who had been shouting warnings, was thrown forward as his bird crashed head first into the stone floor. The rider was of lean build, had short brunette hair, and was wearing every piece of the traditional Leafman uniform except for the oddly shaped helmet which seemed to be missing. They managed to not trip as they stumbled forward from their bird and caught themselves as they sighed in relief.
Ronin walked toward the rider, and Finn stayed back and observed the scene. “Where have you been?” The Captain demanded. His brows were knitted and gaze hard as his lips were pressed tightly together.
The rider, Nod, flung his arms to the side a bit in disbelief. “Wait, you’re mad?” Nod took a couple steps toward Ronin with a joking smile across his light features. “You told me to get back, and I’m back.” He said positively as he pointed his right hand to the wheezing sparrow behind him.
Ronin stared at the two incredulously. “And you want credit for that?” He countered. “You’re late. Find a real bird. And get back to your group.” Ronin began walking away.
“You know what, no.” Nod defied.
The Captain stopped his walk and returned his blue eyes back onto the younger. “What did you say?” He throated.
“I’m not doing it.” Nod sauntered by Ronin, head down, and stopped to look at him. “I’m not a kid anymore, and I’m tired of you treating me like one.” Nod’s hands were placed on his hips as he gave his CO a sour look.
“I’m trying to help you.” Ronin moved closer to Nod as he spoke. “Trying to look out for you.”
“I never asked you to do that.” The brunette shouted.
Ronin’s scowl deepened. “Your father did.” The silver haired Captain shot back.
An unreadable expression crossed Nod’s face for a moment before it was replaced with a determined look. “Well, you can stop.” He raised his arms in a form of defeat. “I absolve you of all further responsibility in the raising of young Nod.” The younger began to depart back toward the brown sparrow.
Ronin kept his eyes on Nod as he said quickly, “Don’t walk away from me. I-I’m your commanding officer.”
Nod didn’t glance back as he mounted his new bird. “Not anymore.” He shrugged. “I quit.”
“And what about Elowyn?” Ronin objected. He knew that the two were very close and had a strong friendship, but he didn’t know that Nod would discard it when quitting. The question seemed to get Nod’s attention as he was about to fly off. He froze and hesitated before finally kicking the sparrow’s side for lift off and flying away on the untamed creature.
Ronin sighed heavily, his eyes downcast, and returned to Finn who was staring in amazement at the ordeal. “What are you looking at?” Ronin challenged.
“Nothing.” Finn’s deep voice responded, “I have no opinion on this.” He stuttered nervously.
“What am I going to tell El?” Ronin asked no one in particular as the other Leafmen began mounting for the ceremony.
*TARDIS whooshing*
Elowyn’s POV
I took a couple of breaths to calm my nerves as the ceremony began. It’s only the most important day in a hundred years, and if anything goes wrong then we’re all pretty much dead. No worries.
I was hiding inside one of the unopened water lilies, awaiting for the Queen’s transport to land. Once it lands and she walks by, the lilies will open, allowing me to follow her discreetly. My dad and the others were around the lake either right on the shoreline or hiding in the trees. We’re all on edge in case Mandrake decides to pull a Maleficent and make a special appearance.
However, as much as the Leafmen were on guard, the Jinn were ecstatic about the occasion. It’s best that they aren’t aware of the rising aggression from the Boggans so they can enjoy the event as much as possible. The Jinn were spread out across Moonhaven and the lake as they all clamored to see which pod would be chosen.
It wasn’t long before the Jinn’s cries of joy grew in volume, and I took that as a sign that the convoy was close. The swift flapping of wings was heard, and my hiding spot soon bloomed into a beautiful light pink flower. I quickly checked for my daggers and found them in their usual spot, resting on my back. I ducked down and moved as briskly and quietly as I could to the floor of the lily pad.
I observed my mother as she gracefully walked across the lake on top of the small circular plants that came to her aid. She was gorgeous, as always. Her light green gown faded into a whiteness that resembled petals on a fresh flower. It flowed smoothly behind her as she walked toward the pods surrounded by numerous light pink water lilies. I continued following her swiftly, and, thankfully, the forest was cooperative so I could hide behind the lilies and wall on the clear water of the lake.
I snuck ahead, across the lake and went behind a leaf where the Queen was approaching. The pods were spread out among the calm waters. There were so many varying in size and some shape. As she approached, I noticed my current placement was right behind two friends of mine. Mub, a large slug, and Grub, a tall snail. I’ve known these two since before I joined the guard. We met while I was down the stream once, hunting a stink bug. They’re certainly an..interesting pair but entertaining nonetheless. I told them about my wanting to join the Leafmen, and Grub and I bonded a bit over the subject. Mub always put in his two cents and occasionally tried to hit on me when Nod was around, but he’s an overall good friend too. Usually, when I see Grub now I’ll give him a couple of tips and try, emphasis on try, to help him with his fighting skills.
I thought it best to keep quiet and not let them see me so I can keep my cover. I observed the two in front of me. Grub had a nervous look to him as he patted his round arms together in anticipation and his eyes were closer to his head than usual. Mub, however, looked relaxed and cheerful with the occasion. “She’s coming! Don’t do anything to embarrass me.” Grub exclaimed to his shell-less friend. “Or it could ruin my chances of being a Leafman.”
“Why do you want to be a Leafman?” Mub asked, confused. “They got to wear uniforms. Me, I like to let it all hang free.” He gathered up his belly fat, held it together for a moment, and then dropped it all with a slush. It continued to bounce as he told Grub, “You see this? You see that?” Mub slapped his belly with a grin on his face.
I put my hand over my mouth to stifle the laugh in my throat. Grub took it differently though. “Yeah don’t-don’t do that. That-that’s vile.” He stuttered with a sour expression.
“Come on.” Mub drawled. “I know you got a little belly too.” Grub began to chuckle quietly as Mub poked and rubbed his small stomach. [A/N: well that was weird to write] I pressed my hand harder over my mouth as I was both weirded out and slightly humored by the situation.
I was so distracted by the humorous pair that I failed to remember my objective until I glimpsed the beautiful figure of my mother slowly approaching. The snail and slug were still unaware of the Queen coming their way, and I mentally scolded myself. “Gentlemen.” The Queen’s silky voice interrupted.
The pair gasped and immediately froze in surprise at her appearance. “Hey, Your Majesty. Hello.” Grub replied awkwardly as he and Mub looked to the newcomer nervously.
Mom’s constant smile never left as she looked down at the pair. “It’s alright. Relax, it’s just me.” She assured. Yeah, mom. It’s just the Queen of the forest. No worries. “Mub, Grub, it’s a very nice looking group of pods.” She started as she began to scan across the rows of pods. “I might have a hard time picking one. Do you have a favorite?” Her dark eyes returned back to the pair.
The snail and slug sent each other a knowing look as Grub began, “Well, Your Majesty, we have had quite the debate.”
“Really gone back and forth.” Mub put in.
“You’ll note the carefully curated selection of sizes, density, color. With so many variables, you can’t be too hasty.” Grub reasoned lowly.
“Boom!” Mub exclaimed as he pulled out a large pink and green pod. “Right here.” He pointed, “Biggest in the bunch.”
I looked at it questioningly. I’m not sure if bigger is the best solution, but I kept my thoughts to myself and closely watched my mother’s reaction.
She hummed in thought as she knelt down to meet the large pod placed before her. “Well, that’s one way to go.” The Queen hesitated. She turned her attention to her left and once again looked across the lake. “How about that one?” She pointed out.
My eyes shifted to where she was looking and rested on a small and almost cute pod. Like the rest, it was pink on top and green on the bottom. I began to feel drawn to the small thing and had to refrain myself from reaching out.
Mub and Grub had a different opinion on the Queen’s selection. Mub moved closer to get a better look and drew a baffled face. “That one?” He questioned, surprised. “For real? But it’s so-“
“Perfect!” Grub quickly followed his friend and stopped him from opposing the monarch. “It’s perfect. Excellent choice, Your Majesty. Sometimes,” He turned to Mub and struck him as the other let out a cry of pain. “The biggest one isn’t the best one.” Grub sent a quick smile to my mom before whispering to the slug, “I told you, she doesn’t like gaudy. Mub, unlike you, she’s got class.”
Grub gently lifted the pod from the clear waters and gave it to the Queen. “This is it.” She stated softly. She looked at it tenderly and held it carefully. “This is the one.” She lifted up the thin curling vine as it wrapped around her hand. Mub and Grub held each other and looked on in amazement. My mother then held up the chosen pod toward the sky as if it were Simba and she, Rafiki.
I tightly grasped at the leaf hiding me as the strange feeling returned. The energy I felt coming from that tiny pod continued to make me want to draw nearer, yet I couldn’t.
After a few more moments of dramatic stances, my mom lowered her arms and began to make her way back to the convoy. I was sure to follow her closely and stay obscured from view. My left ear twitched slight as an ear aching screech came from above. My muscles tensed, and my hands instantly flew to my daggers as I searched for the source. My gaze became hard as hundreds of Boggans began leaping from their hiding spot inside of a nearby tree.
“Your Majesty, get to the barge!” My dad ordered from inside of the tree line.
I wasted no time and swiftly leaped out from the water botany and grabbed my mother’s free hand. My other hand drew one of my daggers as we sprinted to our means of escape.
I didn’t bother to observe the fight that was currently going down around us. I heard the Leafmen immediately spring to action as the Jinn ran in terrified screams. Some Leafmen pulled out their bows and began to fire at the Boggans while others, including my dad, were on their hummingbirds and formed a defensive circle around me and my mom. I released my tight grip from her hand and drew my other dagger as I moved to follow her from behind to protect her and look ahead.
A panicked scream surfaced to our right, and my mother and I turned. There were two Jinn, a mother and a daughter, it looked like, who were being chased by a crazed Boggan. It was leaping after them and had nearly gotten to them before my mother snapped a nearby branch to knock it off of the log. Despite the atmosphere of the situation, I allowed an amused smile at the creature’s demise and returned to my main priority of protecting my mother and the pod.
My smile quickly left, though, due to our escape being sunk. The barge’s carriers were being attacked by the Boggans, and were falling into the water’s surface. The Boggans had begun to leap from the tree tops onto those who were riding birds. The defensive circle shielding me and my mom was gradually disappearing as more riders went down. I move closer to the Queen and stopped any threat who thought they could harm her.
One ear aching screech in particular was getting too close, and I looked for the origin. A Boggan was hurtling toward my father and, before I could react, tackled him off of his bird and into the cold depths. “Ronin/Dad!” My mother and I exclaimed simultaneously.
With the Captain now below, the enemies made their move and yanked the surrounding pods into the lake as they emerged. They were as slick and gross as ever as four of them climbed onto the lone lily pad my mom and I were occupying.
I shifted into a defensive position and advanced even closer to my mother. I was sure to watch all of them and let out a low growl of warning like my dad had taught me. Unfortunately, the Boggans didn’t seem to care that I was armed and they gradually closed us in.
I swiftly threw my right dagger in a boomerang toss. It slot straight across one of their paled throats, and the Boggan fell back into the lake as my weapon returned to me. I then threw my other weapon into the torso of one that thought he could sneak up from behind. Without warning, my mother suddenly hooked her free arm around my waist from behind and held on tightly as we leaped into air and came crashing back down. The force of the crash sent the remaining threats back into the water.
My missing weapon was floating close by, and I grabbed it as my mom called for a vine pick-up. This time, I held onto her protectively as the long slender vine came to our aid. It wrapped around my hand and carried us through the air to a leaf, far off.
We slid down the big leaf like it were a slide when you hear people coming down right behind you. As soon a our feet touched the floor, we raced below the underbrush. I could hear a storm forming. The wind was whipping around wildly, and the rain was beginning to come down softly. The gray clouds above completely covered the once clear sky which made the atmosphere dark and tense. The leaves above moved inward to blocked us from view and the small droplets.
This did very little though as the Boggans were right on our tails, coming from above and behind. I slowed a bit and moved behind my mom once again. It wasn’t long before the rotten arrows began to fly toward us, and they yelled at us in anger. I silently connected to the surrounding plants and formed a thin wall of branches and twigs. The wall didn’t last, and the brutes crashed through it as if it were air.
Fortunately, a small squad of Leafmen glided in from a tree overlooking us and charged the relentless foes. The Queen and I continued our run to a large root that blocked our path. It was quickly disposed of and used to our advantage as it was raised and slammed into the dirt and the enemy not far behind.
Mom looked back to see if I was alright. I only glanced at her before my heart clenched, and I shouted, “Mom!”
She turned forward and lightly gasped when startled. I raced forward as fast as I could to shield her from the huge Boggan that stood a few feet in front of her. While she stumbled to quickly withdraw from it, I threw a knife straight at the fat ugly thing’s head. It made no mark and clattered to the side. I went to roll in front of my mother as I picked up the lying weapon, sprung up, and pointed both of my weapons to the creature.
Its head was armored by a heavy skull, and the giant wielded a thickly spiked club. It slowly moved to swing its club at me. I ducked down and rolled underneath its thick legs. I used my knives to slash both of the limbs, and the creature gave an agonizing cry. Once I was on my feet, behind the Boggan, I delivered the final blow.
There was no time to rest as the Boggans were ninja running toward me and my mom at fast speeds. I rushed to her and hooked her waist again. I jumped us both onto a small dirt ledge above, and let go so we could continue sprinting.
At this point, I was tired, confused, concerned, and exhilarated, but I didn’t know where to go. We couldn’t just keep running. There has to be a way out. “Mom, what do we do?” I shouted over the atmosphere’s loud noises.
“We need to lead them away from the crowd.” She responded without looking back.
“And the pod?” I inquired, worried. If we lose this pod then Mandrake wins, and we lose. And I hate losing.
She hesitated before replying, “It’ll be alright, El.”
I shook my head and tried to focus on guarding the pod and mom. We soon arrived at a small field of white daisies and raced across them, jumping between every gap. I looked ahead, trying to find a path for us. “Up there!” I pointed to a tall tree that was just ahead.
Mom used her abilities and bent the forest to make way. We continued jumping to the top of the large tree and ran across several branches. Once we ran out of branch, the Queen easily leaped off and smoothly landed on a passing hummingbird.
My thoughts flowed easier knowing she and the pod were now safe. I skidded to stop. No, no, no. Think, Wyn. Think. The Boggans started to climb the tree, and I was losing time.
An idea suddenly came to my mind, and I let out a sharp whistle. I glanced behind me to check on the Boggan’s progress and found one right in my face. I flinched in surprise and didn’t hesitate to take a risk that may come back to bite me. I jumped from the thin branch and hoped my plan worked.
More fear and panic set in as the forest floor grew closer to me. My limbs flailed a bit when I abruptly slammed upon a not so soft surface and tasted hard leather and soft feathers. I groaned in pain and slowly recovered as I sat up. That’s going to leave a mark. I sighed in relief at the prospect of not being dead and leaned forward to hug the bird that had caught me, Dix. “Thanks, girl.” I told her. “Now, we gotta find mom and dad, ok?” She seemed to understand the urgency and heard the stressed tones in my voice as she sped off in my parent’s direction.
A minute or two later, and I had finally spotted my parents. We were a long ways off from them, but they were alright. They’re safe. From here, I could distinguish their discerning figures. As Dix continued rushing forward, I noticed dad had my mom in his arms and smiled. Smooth, dad.
Not a moment later my, my small lift in spirits was crushed by the two giant pitch black crowd appearing ahead of me. No. Cold dread flowed through my veins as I gazed, terrified, at the riders. Mandrake, the cruel leader of the Boggans, and his grotesque son, Dagda, had arrived. They fired a rotten arrow toward my parents, barely missing.
I roughly kicked Dix in her side, signaling her to speed up. I tried to get to them and help my dad, but my small hummingbird was no match to the speed of the large birds. Panic and dread clouded my mind, but I was determined to reach my parents. I was about halfway to them when the Boggan leaders began firing more arrows.
I watched as my father, both, blocked and attacked the two dangerous foes. I would have stayed there, analyzing his swift movements, but he couldn’t keep it up for long and would need reinforcements.
Him and Mandrake fired at each other. The air was tense as the opposing arrows flew. The silence was broken by Dagda’s sudden groan and his long drop through the sky.
Horror stretched onto Mandrake’s cold features. “SON!” He bellowed, and, on his crow, followed his child’s body to the ground as he released an agonizing cry.
My attention was diverted by the dramatic scene, and I had almost forgotten about the second arrow. Dix was still going too speed, and I whipped my head around to look over my parents. I was met with a sight that would be forever burned within my mind. I could only look on in terror as my mother’s figure fell from dad’s arms and hurtled through the crackling frigid air. “NO!” I cried. My shout was drowned by the storm above.
Lightning crackled, thunder shook, the rain and wind were whipping around as forceful as ever, and I couldn’t leave the sight of that horrid poisoned arrow sticking out of my mother’s chest as she fell to her grave, pod in arm.
I shifted Dix and sped after her form. Dad stayed on his bird, frozen in the air. I wasn’t sure if he knew I had witnessed the event, but he will soon enough.
I followed just past the tree line when I pulled Dix back abruptly. We stumbled through the wind a bit, but that was the least of my concerns. I grunted in frustration.
Below me, was a small Stomper. They were female and had nice light features. Their fiery red hair was their most noticeable feature, and their forest green eyes, their second.
Regardless of the sudden arrival, I couldn’t waste any time. I quickly landed Dix in a bush closest to mom’s lying silhouette and waited.
Great. The Stomper had noticed mom and had crouched down to get a better look at her. It studied her with curious eyes when something odd occurred. The surrounding trees bent inward to cover the area, and the raging storm was muffled.
I kept my dark eyes on my mother. She was lying across the green padded ground and was holding the pod tightly against her chest. Her warm dark eyes were shut, and her head rolled slightly to the side.
I was growing impatient. Mom doesn’t have much time, and if this Stomper doesn’t butt out then things will get very complicated.
My mother shifted, eyes still closed, and slowly lifted the small pod to her face and began to speak to it. As she spoke, the pod transformed into golden flakes that flew around the surrounding air and into the Stomper’s hands.
With the Stomper distracted, I took my chance. I know this is a big risk with exposing my people to the Stompers, and I could see dad lecturing me already, but I don’t care right now. I left Dix’s side, in the bush, and hurried to mom’s still side. The cursed arrow was still inside of her, but I left it and, instead, grabbed her cold hand desperately.
It wasn’t until this moment that tears filled my eyes. All of the fear, worry, and adrenaline have prevented me from such a simple action. I observed my mother’s face and choked back a sob. “Mom.” I croaked softly.
She barely opened her eyelids and looked at her daughter. “El,” She slowly started. “You need to to protect it.” She told me, referring to the pod, “Take it to Nim Galuu.”
“No. No, mom. You’re going to be ok. Yo-you’re going to be ok and pick an heir, and everything will be alright.” I assured, but, deep down, I knew it wouldn’t be.
She stared at me tenderly, like she did when I was little and I had just come to her in the middle of the night because of a nightmare I had. “Oh, sweetie.” She was getting weaker. “You’re getting so big.” She let out a frail laugh, and my tears fell. “I know we don’t show it a lot, especially your father, but we are proud of you. When you took down those Boggans and protected me...” A sob racked in my throat as I waited for her to continue. “I love you, sweetie.” She whispered. One hand was still clutching the Queen’s while the other moved to try and quiet my cries.
Something moved out of the corner of my eye, and I scolded myself for forgetting about the Stomper. I took a deep breath and quickly tried to reign in my emotions. I used my wrist to wipe my wet eyes. I’m certain they were damp and puffy, and my throat felt raw and sore.
I noticed the Stomper had miraculously shrunken and held my questions for later. Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if it had to do with the pod. “Are you ok?” They asked my mom, “Are you alright?” They hurried over to us and didn’t seem to notice me yet. My uniform must help me blend in.
“Oh my goodness.” They noticed as they got closer, “That’s an arrow.” No duh, Sherlock. They kneeled onto the floor of the other side of mom. “What should I do? Should I pull it out?” I rolled my eyes at their clueless behavior and just began focusing on the pod in their arms. This thing better be worth it.
It wasn’t until the Sto-you know what, imma just call you Clueless. It wasn’t until Clueless had finally asked a sensible question that I paid attention to them. “What is this thing?” She questioned as she gazed at the tiny pod quizzically. The thin vine coming from the bottom, began to slowly attach itself to her arm.
“That’s the life of the forest.” My voice came just above a whisper.
Clueless gasped in surprise at my presence. “Whoa. Who are you, and when did you get here?”
Before I could not respond to her questions, a fluttering sound came from above. Dad. I instantly grew sorrowful again at the thought of him. I released my mother’s cold still hand as the Leafmen softly landed around me and Clueless. They looked on sorrowfully at the beloved Queen and drew closer as they formed a tight circle.
Clueless was wary of the strange newcomers and gathered up mom’s upper body and held it close to her protectively. I simply sat there with my head down, and eyes studying the small clovers.
A pair of feet rushed forward, and I knew who it was. “Tara!” The Captain cried. He landed next to me and carefully took her body from Clueless. Dad held her close to his chest and grabbed my small hand, compared to his, and squeezed it lightly. I squeezed back and couldn’t tell if the comfort was for him or me, or maybe we were both comforting each other in this moment.
“So serious.” The Queen rasped to her lover. I screwed my eyes shut and furrowed my brows to keep the tears from forming again. Not in front of the others.
The grief was radiating off of my father as my mother slowly turned to golden dust. He squeezed my hand again as he held her close, rocking her a bit before she was whisked away into the air.
The Leafmen, dad, and I bowed in respect for the fallen Queen. A dead spot formed where she had passed and affected everywhere except for where the pod was, in Clueless’ arms.
A moment of silence was taken before everyone, except my dad and I, rose. Dad’s hand was still grasping mine and mine, his. Finn stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on his friend and old student.
My father released my hand and slowly rose from his place on the floor, but I couldn’t. “I’m so sorry.” I heard Clueless console quietly. Maybe she’s not so bad.
“What did she say to you?” Dad asked her. I could tell he was not to let his emotions get the better of him in front of his men.
“She, uh, she actually didn’t speak to me.”
Everyone’s eyes were on me now, and I could feel their expectant stares. I sighed internally. “Nim Galuu.” I rasped. My throat still felt a bit raw. “She said to protect the pod and take it to Nim Galuu.” Dad put a comforting hand on my slumped shoulder.
“The scroll keeper.” Finn announced.