by CS Patra
“Do you think you could try and explain that to her? If she understands this much, maybe she’ll understand why this is so important to you.”
“I want to but every time I do, I get scared. I keep thinking that she’ll misunderstand and will try to convince me to come home. For the time being, I think it’s best not to interact with her. I have far too many things to do before I go home. Now the main question; how are we going to find the Petal Witch?”
“Apparently, she has many forms so finding her might be hard. The good news is that she is most likely to show up at the ball. I think if each of us gets a chance to speak to a few people, we might figure out who she is. We have to be careful though. We can’t reveal too much about ourselves. Does Silas know the truth about you?”
Lavinia shook her head and lowered her voice. “He doesn’t know I’m the Princess of Themasa and certainly doesn’t know of the curse. Please don’t tell him a thing. He’s a good person but I don’t want to give away too much.”
“Are you sure? I feel it will come out sooner or later.”
“For now, just keep it a secret between us. Kian hasn’t revealed anything either. I will tell him after the ball. I feel that will be the best time to let him know what we’re really doing.”
“All right, if that’s what you want, then I will keep it a secret. Now what do we do next?”
“Since the Petal Witch will probably be at the ball, we have to prepare for this party. I need to get you a ball gown then.”
“I’ve already planned that out. I’m making my dress.” Alice explained, nodding to the pile of material in the corner. “Granted, I haven’t gotten very far on it but I should be able to get it ready for the party. I’m also making one for Coryn.”
“Well, I could buy you one too. Now that I’m here, you can show me the stores and I can find something nice for everyone.”
“That’s easier said than done, Vinnie. I wasn’t lying when I said it’s very empty down there. Hardly anyone is walking around. I see more flowers than I see people. I do wonder what is truly keeping them inside.” She thought out loud. “Anyway, I do have enough material to make dresses and I can go back to get more if you want. I can make something for the boys as well.”
Lavinia shook her head. “I’d like to go down there myself if that’s okay. Just show me the way and I’ll try to find the store you got the material from. Since no one is around, I should be all right.”
Alice bit her bottom lip. There was no way she could convince Lavinia to stay here where it was safe. At the same time, she didn’t want her wandering around while that Skinned Demon was running around. “I can take you down there in about an hour. I’m sure the store will still be open and the shopkeeper will be happy to get more business. She told me she hasn’t had many people come in for a long time. She almost cried of happiness when she saw how much I bought.”
“Well, I can give her a little more business then. I thought the problems were mostly in villages but I guess I was wrong. It’s gone further than that.” Lavinia made her way towards the opening of the cave and stared outside. It was strange to look in front of her and see lush trees, bushes, and flowers before her. “It’s funny. I have been so used to snow and ice that I’m so amazed with how colorful things are here.”
“It is a beautiful place.” Alice followed her gaze and looked out at the mountains ahead. “I’ve been waiting for a long time to show it to you. I know I should have tried to go back and find you but I didn’t know where you were. I didn’t know where to start looking. And with how cold it was getting…”
“It’s all right.” Lavinia assured her, wanting to reach and touch her arm. She stopped herself and pulled her hand back. They still couldn’t get as close as they wanted to. “I’m not angry that you couldn’t find me. I know you wanted to. I felt the same way but something inside told me you would get by. You would find a way to survive. I just wanted to be able to get you as soon as I could.”
“You did. I know I had a little bit of a scare because I did run into bandits but I’m fine now. I was able to get away from them.” Alice looked at where the sun was peeking through the trees. “You know, the light is starting to pour in. I’m pretty sure that the shop is opened now if you want to go. We won’t be gone long.”
“Yes, please. I would like to see the Petal Kingdom up close.” She turned to where the others were. Coryn was now braiding Silas’ hair while Kian was trying to keep the fire going. “Alice and I will be going down to buy some things. Do you need anything?”
“Some food might be nice,” Kian said, looking at what Alice and Coryn had been eating. There was enough for one night but that was all. “At the very least, if you can find a tavern or inn where we can dine for the night. I don’t know how long these food rations will last.”
“I will do that,” Lavinia promised. “Stay safe, all of you. If you notice anything strange, leave the cave immediately and try to find another spot. Come down to the town square if you have to and find an inn. I’m sure we’ll find you.”
“I can’t do that,” Coryn murmured. “It’s just too bright down there. Not to mention, who will look after the dragons and the snake? We can’t bring them anywhere. It’s still very hot outside.”
“Well, I’m sure Vinnie can find something for them to eat and bring it over.” Alice assured her. “I know those poor things are hungry. They’ve eaten a lot the last time.”
She knew that all the animals ate nothing but cold meat and that was easy to come across in the Frost Kingdom. Over here, she would have to look around and see who kept meat on ice. Their food supply was also starting to diminish and she knew that, unlike the others, the animals wouldn’t be able to stay hungry for long. They had to keep them happy or they would become impatient. She didn’t want to know what would happen should a hungry ice dragon get angry and attack them.
“Well, we should probably get going.” Lavinia decided. “Come on, Alice. We have a lot to do out there.”
Chapter 16
Alice took Lavinia down to the dress shop where the shopkeeper was happy to see them. She was so excited that they had come to buy more things. When Alice asked for help to finish some of the dresses, she was glad to take over that job. The money that Lavinia was willing to pay was enough to make her start crying.
“You don’t know how happy this makes me!” She exclaimed. “I will be more than honored to help finish your outfits. In the meantime, feel free to take whatever you wish.”
“Ah, we just need a few things. If you can send us to a marketplace, that would also be very helpful. We’ve been looking for a place where we can get a good meal.”
“Oh, the marketplace is down the street. It may not seem busy but I assure you they have a lot of food you can buy. Help yourselves to whatever you need. I’ll try to finish everything within the hour.”
“Thank you.” Lavinia nodded, putting another silver coin down. “For all your help.”
“Come on, Vinnie.” Alice tried to pull her away. She could see from the shopkeeper’s face that she was close to crying again. “Help me pick out some things.”
They made a few more purchases within the store before heading to the market and buying some food. The marketplace did seem to have a few more people but all of them were very quiet and aloof. It was like no one wanted to look at them because they were strangers. Alice and Lavinia both kept to themselves as they told the owners what they wanted.
The Petal Castle certainly looked more impressive than the one in the Frost Kingdom as well as the one back in Themasa. It was adorned with various flowers and had vines wrapping around the columns and crawling up walls. What was more impressive were the gardens around it. Every flower was in bloom and there were various plant-like creatures swarming them. Alice could tell that Lavinia was most impressed with them. Those butterflies made out of leaves and petals were so fragile that she was afraid to touch one. She didn’t want to see them turn to dust.
> “They are so cute,” she said, watching them flutter around. “I wonder if there are such things as flower dragons and horses.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. Traveling around has shown me things I haven’t seen before,” Alice said. “I grew up around the bakery and didn’t have anyone to tell me about things outside of Themasa. I never got to venture outside of it. If someone from another town asked for something, I was never sent to deliver it.”
“Is there a reason why?”
“I think everyone was just worried about a young girl wandering about on her own. I was annoyed by it in the beginning. Looking back now, I understand why they were all so concerned. And in a way, I understand why your family is concerned. You are going to have to face this sooner or later, Vinnie.” Alice pointed out. “We have to find the Petal Witch and get rid of this curse soon.”
“I know,” Lavinia nodded. “For the time being, let’s not reveal who I really am to people who don’t know. I need to finish this.”
“Of course. Let’s try to focus on something else such as what you are going to wear to the ball.” Alice suggested, looking at the windows of shops. “I have a feeling you probably don’t want to wear anything you already have.”
“Well, this is not a masked ball so I can go with something very extravagant. I don’t think any of them know what I look like. I can probably get away with anything.”
“If you want, I could try to make you a dress too. At the very least, maybe I think I can make an old dress look new. I have a lot of material left over and I’d like to use it up.” Alice suggested. “That might actually save us some time and money.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to give you extra work.”
“Believe me, I sew fast. I may be good at baking but it’s not all I can do.”
“You certainly know more than me. All I know about both came from books I read. I never tried them myself,” Lavinia shrugged. “Or at least, when I tried to do them, my parents forbid from it. I guess they were afraid I would hurt someone by accident.”
“I fail to see how.” Alice looked back at the castle and had an idea. “This might seem strange but what do you say about going in the castle now and asking to see the King and Queen?”
“Now?” Lavinia blinked. “Do you think they would be willing to see us?”
“We can try. What’s the worst they could do, turn us down? We tried to get in by being guests at a ball for the Frost Kingdom. Why not try the direct approach here?”
Lavinia wasn’t convinced that this was a good idea. “That would be fine if it weren’t for the fact that people are looking for me.” She lowered her voice. “I don’t know if you know this but my father has met the King of the Petal Kingdom and they’ve discussed negotiations and trading with each other. I have no doubt that he will know I’m missing and may suspect that I am the missing princess. We have to be careful.”
“Well, if you don’t want to go in, I could try. We can always disguise you as someone else.” Alice stared at the castle gates and thought they could be easy to walk up to. “There may be guards but if we approach as friends, no one will try to attack us.”
“What if they do?”
“We just have to take a chance. If it doesn’t work, we’ll go with the usual approach. We still have the invite and I have enough material to make clothes. Either way, we are going to the ball. We have to find the witch after all.” She started to head towards the front entrance. “Come on. Let’s see if we can get a word in.”
Lavinia was still feeling apprehensive as they began to make their way to the giant gates. Alice had bundled her up in several shawls to try and hide her identity. So far, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. The bridge to the castle was made out of flowers and vines so she worried that it would be very unsturdy. However, they were able to move quickly with ease and nothing was shaking. There didn’t seem to be anything in their way but the gate.
“How do we get in?” She asked, looking at what was before them. It was covered with fancy designs made out of flowers and vines but there was no knocker or any way to enter. “I don’t see anyone around that can let us in. You would think there would be a guard.”
“Maybe they just want to hear what we want and then they will let us in,” Alice said, looking around for anything strange. Clearing her throat, she called out to whoever could hear her. “Hello, we are from Themasa and we would like to come in to talk to the King and Queen! We have some important news that they may want to know!”
They both waited for a little while but the gate would not open. Lavinia shuffled her feet and waited for someone to say something. Back home in Themasa, they had guards at the gate and someone who would lower it to let people in. The fact that there was nothing here made her suspicious. Her father hadn’t told her much about the King and Queen of Petal Kingdom but she wanted to believe they were inside the castle. Something was not right.
“Are you sure this is the place?” She asked.
“It has to be. I don’t see any other castles around,” Alice frowned. “I do think it’s funny that no one has opened the gates for us. Where are they?”
“Something’s wrong,” Lavinia decided. “There is always someone at the gates. You weren’t lying when you said this place feels abandoned. When the castle has no one guarding it, what does that say about the kingdom? In fact, I don’t think we should stay here for long.”
“Let’s stay and see what the ball is like. If we can’t get any answers this way, at least we’ll find something there.”
“Maybe.” Lavinia began to step back as the awful feeling came over her. Above them, several birds were swirling around and none of them looked like the friendly kinds they were used to. These birds looked ready to strike them down. “I think something is watching us. We need to go.”
“What do you mean?”
“We need to go now! RUN!”
Lavinia started running in the other direction and that was when the birds swooped toward them. Alice realized what was happening and tried to ward them off. She reached down to touch the vine bridge and watched as more plants grew from it, creating a way for them to get through. Unfortunately for them, the birds squawked and tried to attack again. Lavinia didn’t want to use her ability to turn them to ash. These were living, breathing creatures. They were attacking only because they saw them as a threat.
The problem now was that anywhere Lavinia turned, she accidentally ended up touching either the bridge or one of the vines. It quickly dissolved into ashes and started to fall apart. The bridge was coming down under her feet and she nearly slipped into the water. She tried to grab a vine to pull herself up but that also fell into ashes. She found herself hurling toward the river below and started to scream.
“ALICE!” She yelled, trying to grab something that could support her. Before she hit the water, something swooped in and scooped her up. Still, she kept calling out. “Alice! Alice, help me!”
“Keep quiet!” Her savior hissed. “The louder you are, the more they’ll come after you! You must stay perfectly still and silent!”
“But I…”
“Silent!”
Lavinia went quiet at that moment and looked up at the sky. The birds were still circling them but they had stopped making noise. She didn’t even know where Alice was but this person holding her hadn’t turned to ash. They held onto her until they were on the ground and stayed by her side until the birds started to fly away. She watched as they went away and then her gaze fell on the remains of the Petal Bridge. All those flowers and vines were now gone, turned into ashes and blowing away.
“I don’t know how…” She began.
“Don’t.” The stranger told her, trying to keep her down. “They are gone now but they will be back. Save your strength and go find a safe hiding place. Do not wander alone around here for the Skinned Demon is lurking as well. It wants food. Those birds over there are its pets. It sends them out just to scavenge for food a
nd to find victims. You are very lucky to be alive as is your friend.”
“The Skinned Demon?” Lavinia blinked and finally saw who saved her. The person was covered completely in clothing save for their dark eyes. “I don’t know who you are but thank you for saving me. How can I repay you?”
“Do not worry about that. I want to tell you and your friend that you should leave. The Skinned Demon is the main reason you’re not finding many people here. Everyone is scared to come out because of those birds. If I were you, I would head out of here and go somewhere safe.”
