Flora Rosewood's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

The pegasus set Flora down on a mossy ledge across the gorge. Flora slid off and stood on the forbidden kingdom's soil at last. Before her rose a wooden path toward a treehouse wrapped in moss and crystals. She took one step forward. The air grew thick, and a light flared across the path, blocking her way. A small fairy dropped from the treehouse rail and hovered in front of Flora. Her purple wings beat fast, and her brown hair sparkled with tiny flowers. She was no taller than Flora's hand, but she planted herself in the air like a locked gate. "Stop there," the fairy said. "No one crosses into this kingdom. That's the rule, and I'm the one who keeps it." Flora raised both hands. "I didn't come to break anything. I only wanted to see what was down here." "Everyone says that." The fairy crossed her arms. "Then they pick the crystal blooms and the kingdom withers. I'm Blossom Petalwing. I guard this ledge, and I don't move for strangers." Flora looked past her at the treehouse and the glowing flowers around it. She had spent weeks growing her hair, then given it up for wings, all to reach this exact ground. She would not turn back now. "I'm not a stranger to flowers," Flora said. She knelt and touched the moss. A ring of pink buds opened under her fingers. The flowers in her long hair had taught her how. "I grow them. I don't pick them." Blossom's wings slowed. She drifted closer and watched the new buds bloom. "You made those," she said. "Without tearing anything up." "I live in a tower with a garden," Flora said. "Everything I love grows there. I'd never strip your kingdom bare." The fairy hovered a moment longer. Then she flew to a cluster of crystals and mushrooms by the path. She gathered flowers, small caps, and shards of light into one bundle. It sparkled in her arms like woven glass. She held it out to Flora. "Take this," Blossom said. "It proves you came as a friend. Carry it, and the kingdom will let you walk." Flora took the bright bundle. The light faded from the path. The way ahead stood open. "But know this," Blossom added. She rose level with Flora's eyes. "The deeper roads have their own guardians, and they don't trade in flowers. Something has been taking the blooms here. The queen will want to know who sent you." Flora held the glittering bundle close and looked down the open path. She had crossed the gorge and passed the first guard. Now the forbidden kingdom pulled her forward, toward a queen she had never met and a thief she did not understand.