Divided Loyalties (Incomplete)

Lovely, Yet Deadly

Xenovia

Man-eating flytraps. Xenovia had once studied them in a book she came across in the library as a child. She read that they were simple, yet clever creatures. They disguised themselves as large flowers in tall forests like this, becoming undetectable to the human eye. They could go weeks, even months without food. But, whenever they smelled something with warm blood, the flytrap would go into hunt mode and excrete a sweet powder that worked to dull the senses and even caused hallucinations in humans. Then, once their prey was within range, the flytrap would reveal its vine-like tentacles, which it could use to capture its food from even a long distance away and drag it back to its mouth by the bottom of the flower.

It really was a beautiful monster, capable of copying the exact appearance of giant lilies and roses. Usually, only well-trained hunting dogs could sense their presence among the trees. However, they were also quite rare and normally lived closer inland. In fact, the only recorded sightings of these fascinating creatures were near Luxo's rainforest towards the north. Which is why Xenovia did not notice the signs of the man-eater's trap until now!

"Stupid, wretched beast!" She mumbled, struggling against her restraints.

But her efforts were in vain, as the vines continued to drag her along the forest's floor at a slow pace. Xenovia paused to catch her breath. Though thin, the tentacles had come to cover almost every inch of her, creating an unbreakable green cocoon. And since they had appeared so swiftly to detain her, she knew the mouth of the flytrap must be near. Unfortunately, if she allowed the monster to pull her in too close, there would be no more cause for hope. The sweet powder used to lure in prey often caused sleep in a higher, more potent dosage. Which meant that a flytrap could rest easy once a meal was swallowed!

Xenovia shivered at the idea of facing such a horrendous fate. To be eaten alive by a plant? And so close to her own home, only hours after declaring she would return as a famed hero? Nothing could be more cruel!

"Okay, just relax and think! What are a flytrap's weaknesses!?" She wondered aloud.

The flytrap was most vulnerable to fire or ice, with areas of sensitivity mainly around its mouth. And true to her luck, Xenovia had gone and dropped her dagger already. Still, she struggled to free her arm in hopes of reaching into her bag for another weapon, or anything helpful at all. Alas, it was no use. Her hands simply would not budge!

She shifted her gaze upwards, focusing on the trees and flower trunks around her. She examined them carefully, searching for the man-eater among them. Sure enough, there was a jagged opening in one of the flower stems in the nearby distance, which quivered in anticipation of its mean. Xenovia's mind raced to formulate a plan of escape. As the vines pulled her closer and closer to the opening, she quickly calculated the time it would take before being swallowed, which was exactly thirty-seven seconds. Man-eating flytraps could put its prey to sleep within six feet of its trunk, or within the next twenty seconds. Which meant she had seventeen seconds to take a deep breath and brace herself for what was to come. Just to be safe, Xenovia got herself ready whole five seconds early. She could feel her heart beating loudly in her chest, as anxiety and fear fought to control her and induce panic.

Easy now. Easy...

Once she reached the mouth, Xenovia shimmied her way to the edge of its opening as its tentacles tried to pull her inside, and, without breathing in the air, she bit down on the edge of the flytrap, right around its most sensitive spot. The beast let out a deafening screech as its skin began to wriggle in pain, nearly causing her to let go and scream in return. Yet Xenovia kept her position firm, digging her teeth even deeper into the flesh of the creature. As stated in the book she had read as a child, the vines of the man-eater released her, as they were put into a temporarily stunned state. Xenovia used this opportunity to dash away, back to where she had dropped her dagger. By now, she could hear the monster's tentacles coming up behind her, so she started running again. This time, she kept on going in one direction, straight ahead of her, not even caring if it was the right way or not. Since the flytrap had already sent it vines out, it could no longer produce the sweet powder, which Xenovia assumed had been the culprit that caused her to wander in circles for hours earlier that night and hear strange noises. That clever flytrap had been trying to lure her within range so it could attack! And like a moth drawn to the flame, she had fallen for it.

Eventually, the sound of her pursuer died down until only the sound of leaves crunching under her feet remained. Even so, Xenovia refused to stop moving. She had never been so close to death as she had been just moments ago. So, how could she slow down or take a second to rest? The answer was that she couldn't. Not until she was absolutely sure that the man-eater could in no way reach her again!

Xenovia looked up at the sky briefly. It appeared that she was still headed west, so she continued on her path. Though the change in the position of the moon indicated the passing of some two hours. Still, she ran and ran until her body felt too heavy to keep moving. She soon found refuge under a small rock formation overgrown by the roots of a large, elderly tree. Once inside, she drank some water before laying her head down. At this, Xenovia fell asleep instantly, having just barely survived her first night outside of the safety of her father's castle.