The Gardenkeeper's Daughters

Natrina- 16

It's snowing outside. Winter marks, if time is constant between all the worlds, three seasons spent together as a family, give or take a cycle of the moon. I sit with my sister in the cold, awaiting command. Aislyn and the others are above us

There's fire at the back of my nostrils. I exhale smoke which rises from me and into the air like old memories, dissipating as they travel away from their source.

You never can forget some things.

"Paladin! Dark Rainbow! Storm Chaser! The dawn territory sweep has something to report!" Another wolf races up to Paladin, who must be the oddly speckled wolf who stands at about the size of my friends and I, which I know to be limber for their kind.

"Twisted Heart! What has your patrol seen?" asks the speckled wolf, nuzzling Twisted Heart affectionately.
Drawing away, she says, "They're coming for us. I've never seen a patrol of them this large."

"How large?" He asks.

"It's in the hundreds. We barely got away."

He looks her up and down, then behind her. "Where's Zephyr?"

She drops her head.

Paladin snarls. "Dark Rainbow! Storm Chaser! They're on their way. Hunting squads, we'll need your agility on the front rows. Guardians, in the back." He calls, and dozens of wolves race from their dens. Nursing mothers stand arced over terrified pups.

Dark Rainbow and Storm Chaser walk tail in tail out of their den, both of them with the same defiant and terrifying expression.

As she passes, Dark Rainbow says, "If you have the time, we've never needed a miracle more than now."

I can hear their cold rasping breath as all around us, the forest grows black with hundreds of dark forms. Overhead, the eerie cry of a dragon echoes above, distorted in agony as almost a dozen enormous creatures take to the skies above. They're in the camp.

"Fallen Star Pack, attack!" Storm Chaser calls.

There's a loud cry as the wolves rush forwards to meet the Obsidians. Many of them have crystals lodged in their heads, guarding a row of crystalless Obsidians.

They're using the distorted souls of our own kind as nothing more than a meat shield!

"Defend the nursery!" calls Dark Rainbow.

I lift a forepaw, ready to dash into the fray at any minute, but Aislyn calls, "Wait!"

"What is it?" I say, turning around. "What's the plan?"

"We can't do this in these forms." Aislyn says. "It's too late. Some way or another, they've pinned us down."

"You don't think it was Lotus, do you?" I say under my breath, careful to shy away from the advancing patrols.

Lotus ducks her head in shame. "I'm s-so sorry! I didn't mean for any of this to-"

Aislyn shakes her head. "They're here to finish off this world. There's a chance if we get rid of them now, they won't come back. The truth is, we're stuck with a dilemma here. We know the risks involved if we use our true forms, but if we don't, we'll be exposed when we try to run. I say we go for it."

Vivian steps forwards. "On your call."

I nod. "So this is our final challenge."

Gash wags his tail, only a small scar across his chest. "Alright! Let's do this!"

Lotus, still lowered to the ground, whispers, "Are we ready?"

I can feel my body change as my ears grow downwards, magic filling my whole body with energy and light. "Keepers of the Fou- Five Virtues, let's go!"