The Firefly Tree: Planet Terra's Magic Crisis

Chapter 10: Flicker

Once back at the castle my mind races with thoughts. Wow! Ms. Gelmer’s
really brave. Why would she risk her life like that? She stayed humble about it.
Guards all over the palace were thanking her, and she just said, “It’s nothing really.” I’ll admit it, I was worried about those muses killing her. Not only because Glow would be upset but… because I would be too. After all, she's not evil.
Earlier I heard Glow and Princess Nectere whispering and giggling. But I wasn't listening to them. I was too worried about Miss. Gelmer.

After dinner we go to the
throne room. “Lynn, did you know that Ladybug Kingdom is the equivalent of
France in this world?” Glow says once in the throne room. This is true. The castle
even looks like the Eiffel Tower. “Really?” Ms. Gelmer says in surprise.

“Yes!” Princess Netere says. “In the center of the castle is a balcony where
we all can watch the sunset together. You know where it is Flicker. You take Lynn Gelmer there, Glow and I will be there soon.” Suddenly I knew what she and Glow were trying to do. They are trying to get me and Ms. Gelmer alone and get us to be together. Ms. Gelmer is brave and kind, but I don’t think of her as my girlfriend. Besides, after the way I treated her, I don’t think she wants to be friends let alone more than that. But maybe this could be my chance to show her that I’m not a bad guy. “Follow me, Ms. Gelmer.” I lead the way to the balcony then open the door for her. On the balcony there are some clay pots with phoenix flowers in them. Phoenix flowers are basically red sunflowers that burn up in the middle of fall and come back alive the next summer, just like the bird they were named after.

Fire comes out of some of the petals. Miss. Gelmer gets spooked and hides behind me in shock. “Did that flower just burst into flames!?” I turn around and smile at her. Her jumping in surprise because of a flower is kind of amusing. I explain what the flower is as she walks up to one cautiously. Fire came out of the petals again and she shrieks. “Careful. Don’t want your pretty face to get burnt do you?” Her face turns red, then I realize what I had said. Pretty face!? Really Flicker? I clear my throat and say, “Um… look over there.” I point at a flock of rainbow hawks that are flying in the distance. The sun has also begun to set. As we rest our arms on the railing, she looks down at my injured arm with a frown. “How’s your arm?”
“Almost healed. Don’t worry about it… Could have been worse.” She nods
and says, looking at the setting sun, “This is beautiful.”

“Yes, it is… Want to know a secret?”

“Are you sure you can trust me with one?”

“Can I trust you with one?” Ms. Gelmer nods and listens eagerly. “I like
poetry,” I whispered.

“How is that a secret?” Then she gasps.

“Is poetry forbidden? Is this world
a dystopian society!?”
“What? No!” Ms. Gelmer laughs and says, “I know. I’m just kidding.
Though I do love me a good dystopian society… In books, not in real life.”

“I keep it a secret because My father said that I need to focus on ruling a
kingdom. If I wasn’t king I’d be writing poems all the time. When we were
younger I shared the ones I wrote with Glow. But Father was right. I have to take care of my subjects so I shouldn’t be distracted.”
And now I have you to take care of, I think to myself.
“Maybe you should try writing again, you know, as a hobby.”

“I would but nothing inspires me anymore. Not after my parents… you
know.” I look back at the lovely scene. “What is your favorite poem?” She asks me, but the answer is too embarrassing to tell her. “Come on, you already told
me your secret, you have to tell me your favorite poem now.”

“Okay, fine. It's ‘Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day,’” Ms. Gelmer
is surprised by that. “Really? Never thought of you as the love poem type.”
“Well it reminds me of my parents. How about you? What is your favorite, if
you have one?”

“You know the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet? Well I love Romeo’s
speech to Juliet.”

“A thousand times good night. A thousand times worse to want thy light;
love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books. But love from love,
towards school with heavy looks,” I resite. “That one right?” Ms. Gelmer nods and then says, “You want to hear my secret?” I nod. “Well it's not much of a secret. But I have no idea what I want to do with my life in terms of career. You and Glow have it easy, you both have your lives planned out for you.” I think about this for a moment.
“You are a brave person Ms. Gelmer. You are always ready to protect
and take care of others. Maybe you should be a royal guard at my castle.” Her face lit up when I said that. “Really!?”

“I can’t think of anyone else I would want protecting me.” I wasn’t thinking
when I gently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. Ms. Gelmer’s hair was
still down around her shoulders. It looks nice that way. I meant what I said. Ms.
Gelmer is amazing; she would make a great royal guard. “I thought you hated
me.” Ms. Gelmer says as she turns her head away from me and I let my hand
fall. “I never said that.”

“You don't have to. It's kind of obvious.”
“... Actually I thought you hated me.” Ms. Gelmer looks at me again.
“No! I don’t hate you! I mean you can be a jerk sometimes, and you did accuse
me of killing your parents when we met the second time.”
As if you need to remind me, I thought. “Anyway, no, I only hate liars.”

Liars.

Technically, both Glow and I have been lying to her. But no one knows that
I have Luminous in my backpack, so I’m lying to Ms. Gelmer about two things
at once. I’m lying to everyone. She’ll hate me for sure. I don’t want her to hate
me. Maybe a few days ago I wouldn’t have cared, but something has changed
suddenly. I just don’t know what that something is. “Liars?” I say cautiously.
“Yeah, I can't stand them. There is no reason to be dishonest with someone.
Trust and honesty are the most important part in any relationship, platonic or otherwise. What do you think?”

“I think that everyone needs to be forgiven.” I say this because I mean it.
But also because I sincerely hope she’ll forgive me if she finds out that I’ve been lying to her. “Even murderers?”

“All except them.” We wait two more minutes for Nectere and Glow until
Miss Gelmer finally whispers, “Where are those two? They're missing the
sunset.” The sun is almost down, and the sky has turned from pink and orange
to more dark orange-red. “They left us alone on purpose, didn’t they,” Ms.
Gelmer realizes and shook her head. I whisper, “They're probably watching us from the door. Waiting for us to kiss or something.” Then she laughs and says, “No way that’s happening.”

“Well, why not?” This will be hilarious. Miss. Gelmer gives me a weirded
out expression in response and I smile. “Not for real just so that we could prank them,” I explain in a soft voice.
“Oh. Good idea,” she whispered back. Her soft hands wrap around the
back of my neck as I gently grab her by the waist and pull her in close; leaving
almost no space between us. Ms. Gelmer closes her eyes as she brings her face close to mine. Suddenly it's not funny anymore. Why is my heart racing?
Why does this feel…right somehow? No, Flicker, this is just a prank you are
pulling on your sister. Nothing more. My lips almost touch her’s when Glow and Princess Nectere jump out on the balcony taking pictures. We pull apart quickly as Ms. Gelmer laughs and I say, “We got both of you!” They lower their cameras with disappointed looks on their faces. “That will teach you both not to spy on people.” Ms. Gelmer says with her arms crossed.
“So you two aren’t in love?” Glow says disappointedly.
“Not even close!” I say with a laugh. When was the last time I laughed?
Must have been a long time ago, I realize.
“How are you two not in love?” Princess Nectere says. “My necklace glows around you two. It glows when it is near two people who were made for
each other! You know, soulmates.” Ms. Gelmer looks at me and I shrug my
shoulders. “The magic is not working. Perhaps our necklace has been affected,” I suggest. “That makes sense,” Miss. Gelmer says. “We should get to bed. I’ll get the three of you to Moth Kingdom in the morning,” Princess Nectere yawns. “You two go, we’ll catch up.” Glow nods and follows the princess. Miss. Gelmer starts to follow them but I touch her shoulder before she can get too far. “There is something I need to tell you,” I whisper to her and Ms. Gelmer faces me. I want to apologize for everything I've said to her, but I don’t know the right words for that yet, so I decide to just apologize for the brockadile incident. “I’m sorry… for yelling at you when you didn’t run from the brockadile. It's just…” I’m so nervous that I don’t say anything for a long moment. “Are you okay, King Flicker?”

“Yes. Just thinking. Ms. Gelmer, I got mad at you because I don’t want
you to get hurt. This world is dangerous for a human. Do you understand?” She
nods and says, “You don’t need to worry about me, King Flicker. I can take care
of myself.” I nod and say with a smile, “Yeah. I know you can.” Then I remember that there was something weird about the brockadile. “Now that I think about it, there was something strange about the situation. The whites in its eyes were glowing.”

“Hmm. That’s weird. Anyway I should go now.” Ms. Gelmer bows and
says, “A thousand times good night, Mr. Firefly.” I watch her as she walks away, unable to move. To my surprise she turns around and says, “Oh and King Flicker, you have a nice laugh.” I still can’t move as she heads inside; I don’t know how to describe what I’m feeling. What if I actually kissed her? Would she have kissed me back?
The thought is completely ridiculous so I push it away. I turn back to the railing and look at the stars appearing in the sky, joining the moon. Fifteen
years of living and that sight still never gets old.