Chasing Starlight 💫

12. Banished (part 2)

Alründ:

Alründ peered up at the sun gleaming through the trees, unable to believe it was midday already. When he'd arrived on the planet Lumirion three hours before, Lücan had dropped Alründ into the wilderness and fled back to Earth. Alründ might have been on a mission to find three rare flowers, but he was in no hurry. Traipsing through the forest, Lumirion was like stepping into a memory of the planet he'd lost years before, and his heart ached at its beauty.

He breathed in the rainforest air, watching bird-like creatures soar overhead like oversized fireflies. Green forest was everywhere, and thin rivers crisscrossed the land like veins stemming from its heart. No matter which direction Alründ walked, his gaze was held captive by the largest, most vibrant flowers imaginable, and flowers so small that he'd spent most of the morning squinting, just so he could admire their unusual patterns.

The Lumirions guarded their flowers like treasures and, until today, Lücan was the only outsider granted access to the most precious flowers in the universe. In exchange, he had been protecting Lumirion with a golden net over their planet for millions of years. They owed him big time. Alründ wasn't sure why he'd now been set the task. A final punishment to end his three-month banishment? Not that it felt like a punishment. Lücan had encouraged Alründ to form an alliance with the Lumirions, and that if he could earn their trust by day's end he would be passed the responsibility of collecting the flowers in times to come. Maybe it was as simple as Lücan being tired. Chasing two reapers back and forth across the universe had to be exhausting.

Then he saw it...a peoré rose nestled in the hollow of a tree. The rose was as large as his palm and as soft as crushed silk, each white petal dusted with a lilac edge. Alründ knelt to the ground and gathered some of the surrounding dirt in one hand, then wrapped his fingers around the stem. He thought of Ash. When she wasn't on Earth her blonde ringlets transformed into these very same flowers, but vines of them. As for her red ringlets that became tiny red blossoms, he'd never seen such flowers in the wild. The peoré rose looked as innocent as the girl he knew, and he couldn't bring himself to take it.

Alründ bowed his head in respect to the flower, then whispered, "Forgive me." He snapped the rose from its stem. As he cupped it in his hand, a light energy spread though his palm and moved like water through his fingers, flowing up his arm and through every cell of his body. Any ache he had from training yesterday vanished. He had more energy than he knew what to do with, but he rose slowly, careful not to hurt a single petal. Opening his satchel, he retrieved a carved box. Following Lücan's instructions, Alründ sprinkled some of the dirt inside and laid the flower upon it. Just as he was closing the lid, he sensed Lücan's presence on the outskirts of his mind.

Lücan's voice sounded strained, Alründ, return to Lyssian's castle at once.

But I have only acquired the peoré rose. Your list requests two more—

The other flowers can wait. Be steadfast in your flight. I will be waiting.

Alründ wasted no time in releasing his wings. He pushed off from the forest floor, beating his wings hard as he weaved through vines and branches. As he broke above the canopy of leaves and into the sunlight, he flew east. It wasn't long before the forest was pocketed with small villages of gleaming stone houses that reflected the sun like mirrors. Blurs of colored light moved through the streets, and Alründ realized he was seeing the inhabitants of the village. Lumirions were strange beings. They were human in shape, but formed of light, easily mistaken as ghosts trapped between life and death. Alründ had been corrected of that fact upon his arrival this morning. The queen of Lumirion had sensed Alründ's skepticism the second he'd set foot onto the steps of her dais.