by Dawn Brower
“I can,” she replied. “When it is warranted. Why should I listen to you?”
The bird drifted higher above the flowers and twirled in circles around them. Its feet danced on the petals as the flowers started to hum a tune that seemed oddly familiar. The bird stopped suddenly and flew over to her. Its wings flapped so fast that a gust of wind poured over Elodie’s face.
“I’m the princess of the flowers,” she said. “But you can call me Lulu.”
That was different. None of the strange entities had bothered to introduce themselves to her as yet. What did the bird have planned for her? She itched to pull her blades out to protect herself. Something inside of her decided to trust the silly bird.
“Hello, Princess Lulu,” she said. “I’m Elodie.”
“Do you take me for a fool?” The bird pulled its wings back in a haughty manner. “You’re far more than an Elodie ever could be.”
“Oh?” she raised a brow. “What do you know about Elodies?”
This had to be the silliest conversation she’d ever had in her life. Her name was Elodie; it didn’t designate what she was. The bird would probably be affronted to be called something as lowly as a flying creature.
“I know they are rare, and that a lot of the inhabitants of this land wants to catch you.” She floated upward. “It would be a tragedy if you let them.”
Truer words had never been spoken to her... “What do you propose I do about it?”
Lulu the crazy princess bird cackled. “What do I know? I’m the princess of the flowers. No one tells me anything.”
She started to twirl in the sky again—spinning and spinning wildly. She darted upward and then floated to the ground. One of the flowers lowered its head and caught the bird, cushioning it with its petals. The bird spread its wings across it and almost blended in with them.
Dawdling around doing nothing didn’t help her find Cale or Daire. They could end up in a trap designed for her. There had to be a way to find them. Perhaps the easily distracted bird would have an idea where they were. If she could get the blasted thing’s attention again.
Elodie cleared her throat. “Pardon me, princess…”
The bird jumped up and appeared to do cartwheels across the flowers. She didn’t understand the hyper creature and wasn’t sure if she wanted to. It stopped on the flower closest to her and turned to face Elodie. “I thought I told you to call me Lulu.” Then it started to skip across the flowers singing a euphonious melody.
“Princess Dear, Princess Dear, turn around. Princess Dear, Princess Dear, touch the ground.” Lulu did the motions of the song, spinning and spinning until she fell to the ground. “Princess Dunce, Princess Dunce, follow the clue. Princess Dunce, Princess Dunce, you know what to do.”
Elodie was mesmerized by Lulu’s song and dance, but it was different then her previous encounters. The bird, in a strange way, appeared to want to help her. She wasn’t sure what the song meant, but it must be important in some way. On the other hand, she wasn’t entirely sure if the bird was referring to her as the dunce or not. Perhaps she should be offended.
“Princess Darling, Princess Darling, you’re certain to err. Princess Darling, Princess Darling, remember to say a prayer.” The spores fell from the sky and hit the ground around Elodie’s feet. She cringed pulling her arms and legs tight against her body. Damn bird—just when she had been starting to trust it. “Princess Dimwit, Princess Dimwit, beware the light. Princess Dimwit, Princess Dimwit carry on the fight.”
Oh yes, the bird was definitely insulting her… Elodie frowned as it soared by her once more. Her irritation was increasing as she endured Lulu’s shenanigans.
Lulu spun around in the air and then floated down until she was directly in front of Elodie. Birds, as far as she was aware, did not have the ability to smile. This one however had mastered it in some form. Its beak twisted upward, and it was terrifying to behold. Elodie wasn’t sure if she ever wanted to see anything like it ever again.
“There are rules,” Lulu said. “They must be followed or else.”
“What are these rules?” Elodie asked.
“The first and most important one is to never tell.”
That wasn’t going to be useful in helping her out of the strange world she’d found herself in. The bird was probably trying to give her something to work with, but for the life of her, Elodie didn’t know what it was.
“What can you tell me?”
“Daft you are,” Lulu said, cackling. “Remember the first rule.”
Had that been what she had been telling her to begin with. The most important rule was that she could not tell her any of the rules. How was she supposed to know if she broke them if no one could tell her what they were? That was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard.
“What was your song about?”
“That one is easy,” Lulu sat on top of Elodie’s head. “Think hard and you’ll figure it out.”
Elodie tapped her chin and did a big production of thinking about it. The main topic of the entire song had been a princess, but Lulu had declared herself the princess of the flowers. It could be about the bird. Somehow, Elodie doubted it was though. “Let me see,” she said. “Was it about you?”
“And the others call me a birdbrain.”
Elodie’s lips tilted upward in the first true smile she’d experienced since she woke in the strange world. “Don’t birds, by the very definition, have birdbrains?”
“Not you too,” Lulu exclaimed and leaped off her head. She floated in front of her face and pecked Elodie’s nose.
“Ouch,” Elodie yelped and rubbed her sore nose. “Damn it. Was that necessary?”
“My intelligence is not to be questioned. I am far smarter than you are. At least I didn’t trap myself in a sleep of no end,” Lulu said haughtily.
Silly bird didn’t realize how close it was to being chopped to death with one of her short swords. “Will your clue help me escape?”
The bird seemed to shrug. “Depends on the path you take. Treachery lurks where you least expect it and will strike after you think you’ve won.”
So far, that hadn’t exactly been her experience. She had been attacked twice now, and she still wasn’t sure if Lulu was on her side. The bird certainly seemed to want to aid her. Perhaps, at least for the moment, she would give the bird the benefit of the doubt.
“How will I recognize it?”
“You won’t,” the bird said haughtily. “You’re the fool and have much to learn.”
How weird was it she was contemplating asking the bird to tutor her in the fine art of navigating a dream world? Would Lulu be willing to help her? She was already doing much more than most of the individuals in the world had.
“It’s too bad I don’t have someone smart enough to teach me,” she said with a sigh. “I fear no one is brave enough to do it.”
“You’re forgetting something,” Lulu said in a singsong voice.
“What?” Elodie asked, encouragingly.
“You’re the nitwit, not me.”
She flew up to the flowers and nestled against the petals, hugging them with her wings. Was that it? Did Lulu already give up on her and now she was on her own? What would it take to entice the bird to help her?
Elodie bit her lip and studied Lulu. She was pecking her feathers and ignoring her completely. Or was she? The bird kept glancing at Elodie. Was she checking to see if she still watched? Maybe it was time to call Lulu’s bluff. She snorted and turned her back to the bird. “I’ll be off then,” she called out. “Have fun being princess of the flowers.”
“Wait,” Lulu called out. “What about the knight and the prince?”
Elodie spun on her heels and faced the bird. “Do you know where they are?”
“I might,” she said. “Or might not. Will you take me with you?”
That did not make sense. Could she not leave of her own accord? Perhaps it was more complicated than that. Maybe the bird was a spy of some kind and meant to keep an
eye on Elodie’s progress. Could she take the risk and allow Lulu to travel with her? She calculated all the possibilities and decided to hedge her bet. The feathery creature could be out to deceive her, but on the other hand, she could be useful navigating the dreamscape. Elodie could use all the help she could get.
“What’s in it for me?” She lifted a brow.
“A life for a life,” the bird said. “You free me, and in turn I’ll help you free the newly minted knight of the flowers.”
Elodie narrowed her gaze. Did Lulu mean what she thought she did? “Do the flowers have Cale?”
“Ssh,” Lulu said. “Not so loud. A birdie should never tell.”
The more time she spent with Lulu, the crazier she was starting to feel. Elodie was plain tired. Exhaustion seeped down to her bones, and she did not have the time or inclination for any more games. Unfortunately, she would have to play them a little longer if she was to save Cale. Why she should exert herself on his behalf, she still wasn’t sure, but it felt like the right thing to do.
“Do you agree?” Lulu buzzed by her ear and sat on her shoulder. “Say yes, and I’ll give you your heart’s desire.”
At one time, she’d wanted Cale with everything inside of her. A lot had changed in a short time, but it wasn’t so easy to give up on him. Her heart still carried a whisper of hope that she had somehow been wrong about him. What did she have to lose? Oh yeah, her life. She had to take the chance though. If the flowers were holding Cale hostage, she had to try to free him. He may or may not have betrayed her. Either way, her knight did not deserve to die.
Elodie nodded, “Your terms are acceptable.”
“Follow me,” she said. “And don’t say a word.”
She took a deep breath and did as the bird said. It was time to be the princess in shining armor. Elodie followed Lulu through the flowers. They parted for the bird opening up a path, bending left and right with each step she took. Lulu remained silent and flew through them with ease. They reached the center, and in the middle, Cale laid on the ground with hundreds of tiny white flowers and vines wrapped around him. His eyes were closed and his pitch-black hair was pulled tight between a pair of choking sea green vines.
How the hell was she supposed to get him out of this particular mess without the flowers killing them both. She would ask Lulu, but the bird had made her promise not to talk. There had to be a reason for that. Was speaking a way of inviting them into your mind? Had she inadvertently given the others permission to invade her thoughts, and in turn, the means to kill her? Was that how she had been a fool from the start? The more she traveled through the world, questions built up. No sooner did she get answers to one of her questions than several more pop up.
Elodie glanced at Lulu. The bird hovered several feet above Cale. She looked over at her and nodded. Her golden beak glistened in the sun as she descended over him. She landed on his head, and his eyes flew open. He writhed against the vines, attempting to free himself. His muffled screams filled the area and the flowers tightened their hold on him. His face colored into various shades of red, purple and blue as the air was being squeezed out of him. Elodie had to act fast or he would die soon. Why hadn’t someone told him not to make a noise? His grunts and groans had to have alerted the flowers to his presence. They were more reactionary than anything else.
Lulu pecked his head. It must be her way of trying to get the knight to relax. Elodie rolled her eyes. Didn’t the bird realize that was what aggravated him more? It couldn’t feel good to have something sharp and pokey beating into his flesh. Cale continued to struggle against the vines as Lulu did what she did best—became even more irritating. Her silver tipped wing quivered through the air and created a windstorm around them. Dust blew in every direction, but it did the one thing Elodie needed. Cale finally stopped moving and watched Lulu warily.
Elodie studied the vines and considered all of her options. She had to cut him loose, but wasn’t sure how fast the vines could react. Why hadn’t Lulu given her more information to go on? What if she made the wrong decision and Cale ended up dying?
He would die anyway if she didn’t figure it out. She pulled out her short swords from the scabbard and moved toward him. The vines slid in her direction, and she had to hop out of their reach. As Lulu continued to hover over Cale, Elodie slid each blade underneath the vines and sliced them. Some of them started to twist around Cale’s feet, trying to keep him in place. The knight was not having that. With his sword arm free, he yanked out his weapon and began to chop them into several tiny pieces. It probably was not a good idea to laugh at his vengeance against the plant.
Elodie reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder to still his movements and then held her finger to her mouth, letting him know to remain quiet. She tilted her head in the direction they had to head in order to escape the wrath of the flowers. Cale hopped to his feet, keeping his broadsword at the ready. Ever the warrior, he was prepared to battle their way out of the killer blossom’s domain. Lulu drifted over their heads and used her wings to create a path out. Once they were several feet away from the circle of flowers, Elodie sheathed her blades.
She turned to face Cale and waited for him to catch up to her. He had bruises on his face and forearms. The plant had squeezed him rather tight, and the marks were an indication of how much pressure they had put on his body. He moved easily, not showing any indication he was in pain.
“You don’t have to put on a brave face,” Elodie said. “We’re safe enough for the moment.”
“How did you find me?” he asked.
“I didn’t,” Elodie said. She pointed to Lulu flitted above them. “You have the princess of the flowers to thank. If not for her, you’d still be captive.”
Cale shuddered and took a deep breath. “I was beginning to think I’d never breathe freely again.”
Elodie didn’t want to think about how hard it must have been for him. His life had been slowly draining from his body. The squeezing may or may not have asphyxiated him; it was more likely he would have passed out from other reasons first. There was no real way to know what the plants’ aim had been, and she did not really want a second chance to figure it out.
“We have to keep moving,” Elodie said. “Have you had enough time to rest?”
Cale nodded. “I’ll be fine. Where are we going?”
Lulu landed on his shoulder and nipped at his ear. “Our journey begins and ends through the lush valley filled with the dust of our dead. At the end, a cave will beckon, and through your fury and perseverance will you find what you seek.”
Cale’s mouth opened as he glanced at the bird resting by his ear. “She talks?”
Elodie laughed. The expression on his face was priceless. Lulu was a little bit to take in. “Cale,” she said. “This is Lulu. She’s going to be our guide.”
“I’m one half of a whole,” she said. “To make our way through the Valley of Darkness, we must find the one able to claw her way through.”
What the hell did that mean? “And who would that be?”
“We call her Lipsy,” Lulu said. “But don’t ever say that in her presence or you won’t live to see another day. She prefers Queen Kalypso.”
Elodie turned to Cale and said, “I guess we are searching for two. The queen and the prince.”
He frowned. “Who is the prince?”
She should have referred to him by his name. “Prince Daire of Katriel,” she said. “Who else did you think I was talking about?”
Cale groaned. “I forgot he was with us when the flowers weaved their magic. He could be anywhere.”
Lulu pecked Cale’s ear. Elodie had to wonder why she kept doing things to irritate the knight. Was it a form of affection? She lifted her wings and flapped them until she rose above Cale’s head. “Not so hard,” she chirped. “He’s being held prisoner by the queen. He’s fortunate she hasn’t killed him yet.”
Great. Therefore, Daire had pissed off the queen, and Elodie had to ask her for help. Was this going t
o become any more difficult? She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and prayed for patience and the strength to find a way out of the hell they had been dumped into.
She opened her eyes and said, “Let’s go find the queen and hope she’s in a benevolent mood.”
The three of them started on their journey with Lulu leading the way. Elodie was not sure what she would find when they arrived and hoped they were up to the challenge. Otherwise, none of them would live to see another day.
To Catch a Tiger
Lulu drifted ahead of them as they walked along a path carved out of stone. The walls on either side of them were bronze-streaked rock with a sprinkle of gold flecks glittering the surface. They were several feet high and un-climbable. Once they entered them, they could either keep moving forward or decide to turn around and go back the way they’d come. To put things more clearly, once entered, their choices were extremely limited. Elodie hoped they had not made a mistake in trusting Lulu. So far, she had not done anything that indicated she wished to kill them, but maybe that was because she was playing the long game.
“I don’t like this,” Cale ground out. “What if we’re walking into a trap?”
Things Elodie had considered, but she did not want him to question her decisions. She had her own trust issues to contend with where he was concerned. She still didn’t fully understand what he was up to with her stepmother, and if or why he had betrayed her.
“Then we will deal with it when it happens,” she replied.
“How can you be so blasé about all of this?” he asked. “We’re following a bird. There is nothing normal about anything happening here.”
Elodie glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He was so handsome and strong. Why did he have to break her heart? What reason did he have to collude with Fiona and work against her? She had always believed he was on her side and that his agreement to train her was part of his unquestioning loyalty to her. Had all of it been a part of Fiona’s plans? Had any of it been real? Until she understood his actions, she could not place her trust fully in him again. She might need him to escape the hellish world they were trapped in, and for that, she was willing to use him. His skills were all she wanted from him. The rest could be damned.