Frost Whisperwind's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Frost Whisperwind held one seed in her palm, and she had nowhere to plant it. She wanted a grove of her own in TakeaMehHerea, a place where a single bloom would open only for a love that was true. But every clearing she knew belonged to someone else. Boots crushed the young sprouts. Curious hands dug them up before they grew. Her white hair hung loose from her messy bun, and her butterfly wings folded tight against her back while she stared at the seed and thought. She walked the forest edge until she found a wall of vines she had passed a hundred times. Today a rainbow rodent slipped through a gap in the leaves. The small creature had huge ears and fur that shifted through soft rainbow colors as it moved. Frost had never seen it before. It stopped, looked back at her, and squeaked once, as if daring her to follow. "Where are you going?" she whispered. She pushed the vines aside. Behind them stood a broken stone wall, half-swallowed by moss and flowers. A hidden door leaned in the middle. Frost stepped through, and her breath caught. Inside the ruin sat a still pool, clear and glowing with a quiet blue light. Old stone walls circled it, wrapped in vines and blooms no one had planted. Wildflowers grew from every crack. No path led here. No footprints marked the moss. The little creature drank at the pool's edge and watched her. Frost knelt and pressed her hand to the ground. The soil was rich and damp. The walls hid this place from every road. No boot had bruised these flowers in years. This was land wild enough to hold a secret, and no one would find it by accident. "This is it," she said. Her voice shook. "This is where the grove will grow." She dug a small hole near the pool with her fingers. She set the seed inside and covered it. She cupped water from the glowing pool and poured it over the spot. The rainbow creature curled beside her and stayed. For a long moment Frost let herself hope. Then she saw the mark. Near the leaning door, a symbol was carved deep into the stone. It was old and worn, but someone had made it on purpose. This ruin was not empty. Someone had built it, and someone might return. Frost looked at the fresh mound of soil, then at the carved mark. She had found her secret ground at last. But the ground was not hers, and she did not know whose it was.