Weeping Willows

Chapter 2

Lukka galloped back to the willow as the first flake of snow drifted from the sky. He could hear the whispers crescendo as he approached the tree, his ears twitching. He sat upon the branches and rested his head against his thin and knobby legs. The creatures of the forest darted between the trunks of the surrounding pines and gathered around Lukka before shouting in protest or laughing in hysteria. His dark and unflinching eyes scanned over every being and huffed loudly, the clouds that blew from his nose appearing as though it was steam from a machine. The fluff of his tail smacked violently against the bark of the willow.

"Silence!" His deep voice roared within their thoughts and a hush fell over the crowd as many stepped away. Just when he was about to close his eyes, a being with horns, a naked torso, and short legs stepped forward and cleared his throat. He began to reposition his spectacles that were made of twigs and frosted glass as they rested upon the tip of his upturned nose with thick and shaking fingers. Lukka watched the being and the dark fur below his naked belly shivered as gusts of wind pushed against him, yet the creature stood his ground by digging his hooves into the soft dew below him.

"My Lord, please. We wish to know why that...thing... has received your favor." The creature chuckled. His nasally voice grated against his King's ears. Lukka squeezed his violet eyes shut as his anger boiled his blood at the ignorant creature before him. He began to stand from his roots to reprimand the little beast when a woman with feathered wings and porcelain skin approached with her chin high and her shoulders back. Her hands were intertwined against her stomach to hide the fact that she was trembling from the wandering eyes as she stopped just before Lukka and dipped low into a gracious curtsy, her snowy hair falling over her shoulders and spilling upon the ground around her. Lukka could smell the peppermint wafting from her. His anger had subsided, yet his interest immediately replaced the hollow spot in his heart when he thought of the girl that stood quivering in her oversized clothes against his willow tree. He felt uneasy as he remembered the broken bottles that littered her front yard and at the flicker of light in the upstairs window. He could have sworn he saw a shadow in the window, but before he could confirm his suspicions, it was gone along with the light.

"Gemma." He sighed without a glance her way. He wished he had felt relieved. He barely felt how he nervously dug his antlers against the bark of the willow tree, scraping away white moss and stripping the bark. She had seen him in this state only once before and she knew this time to choose her words before speaking. She trailed her pointer finger along the puffed scar just below her stomach.

"Yes, Master." She smiled widely with squinting black eyes as she stood straight and her head cocked to the side.

"Leave at once and find the girl. I want you to keep a close eye on her. She is crucial to our plan." His voice was loud and unyielding. Gemma curtsied without another word and fled to the woods. He waited until the scent of peppermint dispersed from the meadow to turn his full attention back to the little beast that continued to scoff, his ego growing with the silence.

Lukka opened his eyes to reveal the black of his pupils had flooded the entirety of his eyes as he stood from the twisting and toiling roots of the willow and glared down at the outspoken creature. He slowly morphed from his elk form into the figure of a man with talons instead of hands, and long fangs. His antlers grew, crackling and snapping as the bone became gnarled, black branches. Flowers bloomed upon the branches. The little creature watched in horror as his Majesty approached and the clouds overhead turned to a shade of dark gray. The chill that settled over his shoulders seeped within him and grasped his frantic heart.

"You will respect your King, regardless of whatever may catch my favor." Lukka mocked in a growl before looking up and nodding at the two monstrous beings that suddenly appeared on either side of the faery. They grabbed the little beasts arms and hauled him away, his hooves desperately attempting to brace against the frosted mud as his screams for forgiveness faded beyond the trees. The frantic wind eased to a wisping breeze. Lukka's subjects avoided his gaze as he stepped back and changed back to his humanoid form. After a moment of silence, a whisper in a foreign tongue hummed among the crowd which then brought laughter and then the court seemed to relax in an instant. That was Lukka's cue to leave.