A Curse of the First

•«CHAPTER FIVE»• •«READING»•

Fanart by Dancing-Starz

Fir sat there, comforting Birch, for awhile. Suddenly she broke into tears. He had never seen this side of her and it worried him. She hugged him with our noticing, worrying him even more.

He hugged her back and started patting her back slowly. "A-Are you ok?" Fir finally asked.

"Yes, Fir. I'm fine. Can't you tell? I'm crying." Birch joked, tears running down her face.

Suddenly she sat up and wiped her tears away. "I'm good now." She muttered, getting up. "I have to go practice."

Fir waved goodbye as she walked off. He sighed as he pushed himself off of bed. Birch had opened up to him for probably the only time ever.

"And I wonder why?" He muttered.

He pulled out a silver scroll he had hidden a few days ago. He was working on a writing project about humans for school and he hadn't even started yet.

Knock. Fir looked up and opened the door. Starling was standing outside.

"Do you know where Birch is?!" She asked frantically. "I want to apologize."

Fir thought for a moment. "She said she was going to practice but it's still raining." He told her.

"The Dim Gym! That's where all the wannabe knights go when it rains! Thanks!" Starling said before running off, smiling a bit.

Fir turned back around after closing his door and fetched his project. Birch wants to be a knight? Oh, right! She told me earlier! Fir smiled and pulled out the book about humans he was assigned.

Humans were harsh and violent creatures when they ruled. Phobiaeos and Maomdeds were killed day after day. Maomdeds and Phobiaeos finally rose up to kill all the humans. Now, humans are extinct and the two nations, Maomd and Phobiae, live in peace and harmony. Fir wrote after reading the short book.

He smiled and shoved all his stuff under his bed, careful to not wrinkle anything. Birch is in the Dim Gym. I should visit! He thought happily. No Fir. You ́ve talked to her already today. He scolded. He pulled Adventures of the Dead out again and flipped to page 475.

"We could burn the humans to the ground?" Oak suggested, watching the rest of the group cheer.

Lilac, a small human in disguise looked at her hands.  "A-are you sure? The humans aren't that bad, right?" She muttered.

Oak sighed. "You're too soft, Lilac. It's almost like you're a human yourself!" He joked, bursting with laughter.

Lilac froze. "Y-Yeah. But... what did w—they do to deserve this?" He looked at her in disbelief.

"Lilac! Are you kidding me?! Humans have destroyed everything we care for!" He yelled at her. The rest of the group had gone silent, watching Oak yell at delicate Lilac.

"Oak, calm down!" Rose, Lilac's best friend, said, running over angrily.

"Let's talk somewhere else." Oak muttered before pulling Lilac away. She looked sad and ashamed as he stopped by a tree, out of view from the group.

Fir smiled before flipping the page. This is the best part! He thought. "Lilac, I thought you would understand this. Humans have killed most of us!" He yelled at her.

"I'm sorry!" She cried, tears forming in her eyes.

"Why are you siding with the humans?!" He asked, realization hitting his eyes. "You're a human..." Oak muttered quietly, almost asking.

Lilac froze. "N-n-no!!!!!!!" She whispered, taking a step back. "I-I'm n-not!" She lied.

He met her eyes and saw the truth. "Lier! You are a human!" He spat, approaching her. Lilac turned on her heel and ran off, her human limbs faster than the Maomded's. Fir closed the book and rested his head on the wall. He sighed and pulled himself to a window.

It was still raining heavily, even deep ditches flooded with water. "Uh oh." He breathed. I need to ask Dad about this. Fir thought, running to his door. He swung it open and rushed to the stairs.

There was a threat of a flood, and the two neighboring kingdoms were composed of low hills and flat moors, only one high valley between Maomd and Phobiae could escape this flood...