Moon Flowers (Book 1 of the Flower Trilogy) #Wattys2016 #Featured

CHAPTER NINETEEN - HALIA (Edited)

HALIA'S POV

The night was already well advanced when we successfully learned from the Merrows how to take our miniature size at will, something we hadn't had time to cover in our only class with the Tisannieres.

Once in our miniature forms, Phi's grandmother slipped us in one of her dress pockets.

"You can't fly out like you flew in," Mr. Merrow explained, "because of a spell the Evil King put on the space surrounding the settlement. It's like a fish net. We are stuck. The only way is to sneak out through the forest, and slowly walk away without being seen."

"Why doesn't the net cover the entrance to the forest?" I asked.

"The thralls," Mrs Merrow said. "That's how they get in and out after raids."

"Raids?" I asked again. But they did not explain. No time.

"Being only a few inches tall will help in making us less visible to the hordes," Mr. Merrow said, returning to the urgent matter at hand. "Phi's grandmother will carry us to the woods. They won't suspect an older fairy."

The problem was that Phi's grandmother had difficulty walking on her own.

"I'll stay like in my larger size to help her," Mr. Merrow said.

And so, flapping against Grannie's lap as she walked, we left the Merrows' house and slowly crossed the settlement towards the woods where we knew we would be out of the crowd's sight.

On the way, I poked out my head and saw familiar creatures. A group of laminaks.

They were settled among the debris of their nests; ones they had worked so hard in building. The wives easily distinguishable because of the light that came out of their mouths, illumitating their husbands pale copper skin and hairy faces.

I never understood why the Mother had created them with light coming out of their mouth. It seemed like a ridiculous trait. Especially now that they needed to hide, it didn't come in very handy.

I twisted my head to try to see if Aras's nest was intact, but could not see past the old fairy's shawl.

I hope she's not hurt, I thought, wishing I could have told her good-bye or caught a glimpse of her sweet and childish face.

We crossed a brook and were almost in the woods when I heard heavy steps behind us.

"Mindless thralls," Mr. Merrow said under his breath but loud enough for us to hear. "The Evil King took their minds away and uses them as his guards."

I peeked out and saw them coming our way. Although I could not see them clearly because of the night, I could tell they were powerful and heavy in stature. They walked slowly as they patrolled the surroundings.

My stomach dropped. "Let us out," I told Phi's grandmother once we reached the heavy bushes. "I have an idea."

She glanced at the surroundings and reached for us in her pocket. Mr. Merrow took us from her hand and put us down at the bottom of a gigantic tree. I knocked on the trunk three times as I had seen Nixie do in the woods, and the tree opened.

"Let's hide here until the thralls pass," I said and entered the crevasse.

Mrs. Merrow and Phi followed me and the tree sealed behind them.

"Cool!" Phi said, with a smile.

I managed one myself. "I know some tricks, your highness."

She smirked at me.

We sat down inside the tree; the stress we were feeling was so great it ate up most of our energy.

Outside, we could hear Mr. Merrow and Phi's grandmother walk away.

"We were just trying to find a cane for her," Mr. Merrow said to the mindless thralls. "Can't you see she is having a hard time walking on her own?"

The thralls grumbled, naturally unable to sustain a conversation. I was not sure if mindless also meant they were dumb. I hoped they were dumb. Otherwise they would realize Phi's grandmother didn't need to be in the forest looking for a cane.

Yes! They were apparently as foolish as their names, I thought, listening to the silence outside.

Before opening the tree again, I turned to Mrs. Merrow. "How is Aras?" I said.

"She is fine," she replied, but I felt as if she wanted to tell us something else.

"You said Banshee screamed," I said again. "Was it really for the king or did someone else die?"

"Someone else died," she nodded. Her eyes read despair. "The Queen of Complaints. The Evil King stabbed her in the heart. He was so angry when he saw Siegfried had fled . . ."

Grief weighed on us, but another question popped into my head.

"If he killed the queen," I asked. "Didn't he absorb her powers?" That would be horrible.

"No," she said, to my astonishment. "And was he upset about it. He had expected to absorb her powers, but since the king and she were never married, their powers were never merged. Instead, she had her own powers, and they cannot be absorbed until King Siegfried is killed or the Evil King marries Phi."

"Still, we don't know much power he has," Phi reflected. "We don't know how many royals he's killed over the years. He might well be more powerful than Siegfried."

Mrs. Merrow nodded. "Hence the necessity for the king to go into exile."

I was trying to be tough for Phi, but the Evil King scared me. Of course, I couldn't admit that. This was the time to stand tall with my friend.

I took a deep breath. "Let's go," I said and knocked on the tree to open it again.

We regained our normal size. Phi used her fire power to light a torch in the dark woods. The flames shed light on our surroundings, unveiling the immobile faces of the king's mindless thralls.

I didn't even have time to scream. They pinned us down to the ground, one of them pressing my face hard against the soil. A strong smell of dankness reached my nostrils. I tried to move, but only managed to crack leaves and branches under my weight and get sharp twigs near my eyes, almost blinding me. I heard grunts and moaning all around me.

"Phi!" I screamed when I succeeded in curving my back to look up.

They were taking her away.

To the Evil King.

I had failed Phi.