The True Confessions of a Nine-Tailed Fox

Chapter 107: The Savior of Lychee Grove

It wasn't nearly as hard to find the city of Lychee Grove as Bobo had worried it might be. Mainly because, as she, Floridiana, and Dusty forced their way through the undergrowth – the leaves here were really big! – a yellow glow began to light their way. Somewhere on the other side of all these trees, branches cracked, soldiers bellowed, and crossbow bolts thunked into trunks. Another explosion blinded them, and when they could see again, the forest was even brighter than before.

Bobo realized what lay ahead an instant before Floridiana yelped, "Not that way! Turn back!"

She reached out, snatched Dusty's reins, and hauled on them to stop him. The horse spirit whinnied and reared in shock but settled back down at her glare. Then he stomped the plants around his hooves flat, as if what he'd meant to do all along was clear a path.

Bobo protested, "But that's the way Rosssie went! Ssshe went to warn the city – oh."

A little late, she realized another thing, which was that maaaaaybe a city that was being attacked by a whole army might not be the safest place. But where else could they go? Was a burning forest really that much better?

Before Bobo found an answer to that question, Floridiana's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "And you thought that following her was a good idea?!"

"Oh...um...yeeeeesss?"

Bobo felt the entire length of her body sag. The mage was right, of course. Following Rosie to the city had definitely been a bad idea, something a smarter snake would have known from the start. All she'd wanted to do was to save her friends this time, but instead, she'd nearly led them into more danger.

Obviously sharing her opinion on the matter, Floridiana glanced to the right and left, picked the right for some reason Bobo couldn't understand, and marched that way with complete confidence. Dusty followed, docile as an unawakened horse.

Bobo swiveled her head between their old and new directions, torn. Shouldn't she try to find Rosie? Shouldn't they all meet up so they (and by "they," Bobo mostly meant Rosie) could plan what to do next? But Rosie had also told her to keep Floridiana and Dusty safe.

That made up her mind. She slithered after them.

When she caught up, the mage was muttering under her breath, "I should have known better than to trust her. Why did I think I could trust her? This was such a terrible idea. Why did I ever leave home? What possessed me to come?"

Bobo's head hung until her chin rasped along the ground. "Sssorry, I'm ssso sssory, I ssshould have thought it through more."

"Huh? Oh. No, I didn't mean you. Although going into a city that's about to be under siege is not a good idea. But I wasn't expecting you to think of that." There was no accusation in Floridiana's voice. She sounded perfectly matter of fact.

Bobo pressed herself to the ground so hard that even a human could hear her scales scraping over the dead leaves. It was true. No one ever expected her to make good decisions. Because she never made any. The one time someone trusted her to do something important, she bungled it. She nearly led the people she was protecting onto a battlefield.

Floridiana started muttering to herself again. "Which way is safe? Where are we anyway?"

This time, Bobo stayed silent, and it was Dusty who offered, "Didn't she tell us a story about an abandoned village? The one with those weird flowers that only open for one night? Can we hide there?"

Floridiana spun around, eyes wide with shock. "Don't be silly! You still trust her? She's a demon. Every word that comes out of her mouth is a lie."