Sol's Shine and the Kingdom of Metal

Chapter 15 Make Like A Tree And Leave

 When Morning came, Ratatoskr had successfully gathered every squirrel to one part of the tree for some sort of meeting. Every single one of them had heard the lion's growls and roars even if they were trying to sleep. Yvonne sat beside him, looking at the sea of bushy tails that could be seen up high in a few branches above them or down low on a couple more. They were essentially all around them and by now, Yvonne would have thought she would have gotten used to their chatters. Luckily for her, Ratatoskr was ready to speak after he was sure everyone was in attendance. He wrapped his new red scarf around himself and began. "So uh... I'm not going to sugarcoat anything here folks. After speaking with our guest here tonight and hearing what we all heard, I think we need to get out of here." Ratatoskr told them.

This only made the chatters from the crowd of squirrels pick up again. "We don't have anywhere else to go." "This is our home!" "Are we going to come back?" The squirrels kept complaining and looking at one another. "We never left this tree! Why should we leave now?!" Another squirrel said to them. Yvonne stood up. "You all heard the lion last night right?! And I'm sure Ratatoskr has already told most of you from what I've told him. It isn't safe here!" Yvonne told them. "It's always been safe here!" Another squirrel from below said to her.

Yvonne had to make a full turn of her body just to take a quick look at all of the squirrels that were surrounding them. "I know moving on from this place sounds difficult. But look around you. Look at your neighbor over your shoulder. You don't want anything to happen to them do you?! There's a bigger world beyond the foliage of this tree that you're all missing out on because you're stuck in one spot. You all want to know where I got those walnuts right? Take this as an opportunity." Yvonne said to them all. The silence among the squirrels as they looked at one another made Yvonne absolutely sure that she was getting through to them.

"But how are we going to get out of here? I'm sure that lion is going to break free eventually!" A squirrel said from behind her. "We're all doomed!" Another squirrel said right after. Ratatoskr raised his paws before anyone else could get worked up. "Look! I'm sure we can figure something out. If Yvonne's folks are just as nice as she is then maybe we have a chance." Ratatoskr said to them. Just after he said that, all of the squirrels stood in silence, pondering over the decision to leave. That decision was finalized as soon as they heard another faint roar from within the tree. Each and every single one of them can feel the branches tremble beneath their feet.

After a few squirrels were done yelling in surprise of the lion's sudden voice, the decision became obvious to everyone. "Yup! We're leaving! Show us the way human girl!" A squirrel said to her. Yvonne looked to Ratatoskr as if he had an answer as to what to do next. Convincing the squirrels to leave the tree was one thing but to get hundreds of talking squirrels out of the Kingdom of Wood suddenly started to sound a lot harder to her. With one exchange with her new friend, she could tell that Ratatoskr was looking at her for the same thing. Neither of them had a clue. "Well you see... we still need to figure-" Ratatoskr was cut off by someone else flying in on a siren.

"Hey! Yvonne!" Ella called out. Yvonne's eyes grew wide and she looked beyond the leaves and branches. Ella, Vincent, and Duke were flying to them with a bunch of sirens. Ella looked as happy she could be to see Yvonne. "What?! How did you-?!" Yvonne was flabbergasted not by just the fact that Ella, Vincent, and Duke came all of this way but they also managed to find her in the most unlikely places. "Mom said she can literally hear you from a mile away. Getting to you was going to be a sinch." Ella, Vincent, Duke and the other sirens landed next to her and a few squirrels moved to make room for them. "It's also a good thing you're up here as well and away from the elves. I thought it would have been too easy for us to get caught" Vincent said as he and his daughter made their way over to her.

"Who were you talking to?" Duke asked Yvonne. "She was speaking with all of us." Ratatoskr said to him. Ella looked down to the talking squirrel that answered Duke's question. "Uh... did that squirrel just speak?" Ella said. "What is it with humans and asking questions? You all can handle talking birds but suddenly when we do it, it's not ok?" The sarcasm and sass Ratatoskr gave Ella naturally made her smile. "I like him." She said out loud. "I'm Ella, this is Duke, and this is my mom and dad. I love your scarf." Ella introduced herself and the other people she was with. "My name is Ratatoskr. And thank you." The squirrel said to her, giving a greeting of his own. Vincent turned away from Ratatoskr and looked to Yvonne. "Hey. Are you alright? We haven't seen you in a long time." He said to her, making sure Yvonne was okay.

Yvonne took a long sigh. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm so sorry for going with Nico to the kingdom of Wood and with Sol to the Kingdom of Terra. A lot of my actions were selfish." Ella gave Yvonne a quick hug. "It's fine! We're glad you're ok!" Ella said to her. "Ha! A part of the reason we wanted to come get you is to make you see reason again! But... it seems like you did that all on your own. You did great kid." Duke said to her as he came to pat Yvonne on the back and stroke his beard. "Thanks. But to be honest, I actually had a little help." Yvonne looked at Ratatoskr. "A little help huh?! I hope you weren't trying to make a pun!" Ratatoskr climbed up onto Yvonne's shoulder. "Heh. Not at all, I swear!" She said to the squirrel.

Yvonne felt even more grateful than she was before. Ella, Vincent, and even her own teacher, Duke McCarth came to get her even when she was in the Kingdom of Wood of all places. "After I lost Cinder the first time, I had nearly given up on everything and everyone. I'm so glad Duke took me under his wing and kicked me out to let me see the world again. When I saw that Cinder was a siren, I thought I could reestablish our connection and have a second chance. But I was still selfish and put my own needs before others, even Cinder's. She wouldn't have wanted me to come here and put myself in harm's way. She would have wanted me to live on and be happy. I get it now." Yvonne told them all about her realization. "I know we're still in the Kingdom of Wood and all but... welcome back!" As Duke said that to her, Yvonne knelt down to give her teacher a quick hug.

"So how much did you guys hear?" Yvonne asked. "Everything about Marbas awakening the lion and evacuating the tree." Paula answered. "Marbas?" Yvonne became confused. "She's talking about Mithra. That's her real name." Ella told Yvonne to clear the air. "Well..." Yvonne threw her hands in the air and rested them on her hips. "I suppose there's only one thing left to do. Shall we get going then?" Yvonne asked. "Wait. I don't believe they brought enough bird ladies for the whole colony here." Ratatoskr said. "Well most of you should be safe traveling along the ground just as long as you're not seen with us. I don't think the elves are going to be concerned about you guys as long as you don't talk." Vincent said. "I wouldn't mind if a couple of you guys went with us though!" Ella said to them all.

"Well there's no time like the present." Yvonne got on one of the siren's backs with Ratatoskr at her side. "Where to?" Yvonne was already set to go. "That's the spirit!" Duke hopped on another siren and they both started flying in the air. Vincent and Ella joined them in the sky soon enough and Ratatoskr gave the command for everyone to leave. "Let's go everybody!" Just like that, the chatters picked up again and each and every squirrel started racing each other down the tree. "We're going to go to the Kingdom of Metal and see if they all need our help. All of the other kingdoms should be visiting them." Ella mentioned to Yvonne.

"That's cool. How's everything going so far?" Yvonne asked Ella. "It's been good. My magic has been getting stronger. If you want I could probably heal you and have your leg grow back if you want." Ella offered Yvonne. This only made Yvonne look at her own prosthetic leg again. "No, I'm fine. I'd rather leave it in the past but I still want this prosthetic to be a reminder of what's happened." Yvonne said to her. "Ha! Yer a strange one girly!" Duke said to her. "I'd rather tell you all what me and Nico were able to discover. How long do we have until we get to the Kingdom of Metal?" Yvonne asked them. "Quite a while." Vincent answered.

"That's great, because I'm going to need a while to explain everything. I'm just not exactly sure if any of you will believe me." "Oh we'll believe you alright. Just out of curiosity though, what happened to Nico anyway?" Ella asked. Yvonne looked below her to the land just to wonder what might have happened when he dropped from the tree. "I'll get to that shortly. I'm sure he's fine though." Yvonne said to them. All of them flew off through the clouds and started to make their way to the Kingdom of Metal.