The Battle of the Trees - Sword, Ring, and Crown Book Two

Chapter Four

As Elsie escorted me to the lake, I admired the incongruent trees. Dreamlike pink trees with white blooms and bright yellow trees that made my hair seem dull in comparison competed against each other for the title of most beautiful. Trees that had green leaves had a vibrance incomparable to anything on Earth. It smelled like a garden, and as I inhaled deeply, I could pick out some familiar scents - apple, peach, rose. Most of the heady fragrance was unfamiliar, however, but irresistable.

Noman had caught up to me, and he chattered away beside me non-stop as he tried to impress me with his family's station in Aleria. He claimed to be  royalty in another land, and told me that his favorite tree was the holly. Most of his conversation was made up of how awesome he was and who he knew, plus details about holly trees. I had long since tuned him out because Erick was walking ahead of me next to Adrian, and they both had removed their shirts.

 Erick's unbound silvery hair swung back and forth against his finely muscled back. I gave an incredulous chuckle as it struck me that I was actually walking so close to my betrayer without murdering him. I would have never imagined it. Not only that, but I was also admiring his... shiny hair.

I never thought I would almost like him again, but he'd given me his true name. It was hard to dislike that trust. And Adrian... well, the contrast of dark and light was mouthwatering. Adrian had a thicker physique than Erick, but he was still lean... and nice to look at.

I pulled my gaze away from their shirtless backs and resumed studying my passing surroundings. I could hear rushing water ahead, and soon we came upon a bridge made of old red brick. It was slightly crumbly at the edges but looked sturdy enough. As I set my foot on the low step that led up to the bridge, Ciaran cupped my elbow and helped me up. My eyes widened since I hadn't realized he'd gotten so close. My smile turned grateful as I noticed he had displaced Noman from my side.

Noman had felt somewhat familiar to me, but I couldn't place why. In any case, I was glad that he wasn't bugging me anymore. I had heard enough about the awesomeness of hollies to fill a guidebook.

After we'd crossed the bridge, a small fluffy animal darted across our path. It had a light, cream-colored fur that gave off a glow visible even during the day. There was a glittering white stone in the middle of its forehead, and its ears were long, like a rabbit's. The rest of it resembled a small fox.

"What is that??" I squealed, immediately falling in love with it.

"A carbunclo. They're endangered," Luke said from behind me.

"They are?" I looked in the direction it ran. "Why?"

"The stone in its head gives a person wealth. Powerful people in the world make the stones into jewelry." Luke sounded disgusted by the practice, and I was glad.

"Poor guys! Can't you make an anti-poaching law?"

"We have one already, but there are many that ignore it."

I shook my head and added another item to the list of what needed to change. Little by little, the world was drawing me into more responsibility.

When we got to the shore of the lake, I gasped. Rose-colored sand created the shoreline. Dotting the area around the beach stood various fruit trees, most being apple trees. As we drew closer to the lake, it amazed me that the water was so clear. You could see to the bottom of the lake. Colorful fish of all shapes and sizes were swimming in it, along with other creatures. After we chose our spot, Adrian put down the towels, and Elsie set out the food. Jeanne had opted for a centaur-back ride with Brin. They were off quite a distance, but I saw her throw her head back and laugh over something he said. She'd gotten pretty close to the centaur, and their combined happiness traveled through the link, making me smile as well.