Evening Star
Chapter 5
The late evening sky painted the sunset onto the horizon. A bright yellow sun lowered from an orange sky, clouds scattered across that sky. Trees raced beneath Peony and Firefly as they flew over the lush landscape. The redhead’s eyes felt so heavy compared to before, exhaustion plaguing her. It had been hours since they took off from Flamba. Hell, Peony’s parents might be home by now. Wait no, they’re probably still at the counsel getting drunk. A light rubbing caught her attention. Firefly was rubbing his head on her hand, clearly asking for a rest.
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“Ok, little guy…” Peony spoke barely above a mutter, “Let’s land soon.”.
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The dragon nodded before turning back ahead. The horned-girl scanned the terrain for a clearing, struggling to keep her eyes open. The river they followed was literally called The Willow Creek, so she figured it would lead to The Kingdom of Willow. But it seemed to only lead deeper into the never ending woodlands. Paired with exhaustion, it was almost impossible to spot a nice landing spot. Firefly got fed up with looking as he started to descend. .
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“Wait, Firefly!” The redhead yelped, feeling the sudden rush..
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Wind rushed past her ears and knocked away her bangs as they descended lower and lower. She clung to her dragon’s scales for dear life as he wove through trees. The ground came fast and rough, sending Peony tumbling off her dragon. She rolled onto the soft grass with a thud. A groan escaped her lips as she pulled herself onto her knees..
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“Did you really have to do that?” The horn-girl grumbled, staring at her dragon.
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Firefly shrugged and came up her, pushing his head under her chest..
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“Stop! You’re still too young for that!” The redhead laughed as Firefly tried to push her up with his head. .
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The dragon let out a huff before continuing. Even though he was a toddler in dragon terms, he was a mighty little thing. He’s only nine years old and can carry the weight of a buffalo. Peony was a pebble to him, so he could lift her. His scales rubbed against the bronze of the redhead’s armor with each push. His puffs began to carry smoke, so she gave him mercy and pulled herself off him. .
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“See? You’re still a baby.” Peony cooed, getting a glare from Firefly..
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With that, she looked around the place they landed. The surrounding woods were nearly pitch black as sunset turned to night, but the vegetation was still visible. Trees towered above the skyline and shaded the forest floor. Leaves covered the canopy all the way to the soil underneath her boots. Moss and fungi thrived from the dark damp conditions, along with the rest of the plants here. Rushing water could be heard from not too far away, meaning the river was close by. The pair should sleep over by the river to avoid getting lost… but her legs were just so heavy. Firefly almost looked exhausted, maybe they should just stay here?
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A grumpy noise came from right beside the redhead. Firefly was laying next to her, clearly needing rest. She needed rest too as she could barely keep her thoughts coherent and her eyes open. With a sigh, she went into her satchel and pulled out an unused journal. .
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“Alright buddy, we’ll stay here for tonight.” Peony muttered, so tired she could barely talk.
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The redhead ripped some pages out of the journal and place them on a bed of leaves. With a snap of her fingers, she held a small flame in her palm. It rolled onto the pages which caught fire in no time. The fire was a small one, but it would do for tonight. She moved her hand to pet her dragon while staring at the fire. Each flicker caught in her eyes, reflecting into them. The woods sang her a lullaby of chirps and howls. Light purrs could be heard from Firefly that echoed through the forest. Peony only stayed awake for one more thing; a quiet prayer.
“Persimmon…” The redhead whispered, letting tears build from her eyes, “Can you hold on for me? Just a little longer?”
A tear fell as she continued.
“I promise I’ll find you, even if it takes the rest of my life I will…”
Her eye fell closed while she finished. The surrounding black was welcome as she finally fell asleep, the forest cradling her in its arms.
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“WHAT’D YOU MEAN PEONY’S MISSING!” The Satanic Bull King bellowed.
His deep brown eyes were frenzied, worried and enraged at the same time. His wife was rather worse as mascara ran from her eyes. Both stood at their castle’s front door, where a bull clone had come forward with the bad news. That bull clone was Rex, trembling in his boots.
“She j-just is!” He stuttered, lying through his teeth.
“THAT’S MY CANDLE YOU LOST!” Madame Iron Fan wailed, distraught about her daughter’s disappearance.
“I didn’t see anything! She was just in her room all day until she wasn’t!” The clone swore again.
To be fair, he wasn’t all out lying. Peony HAD been in her room all day in a distressed state. Other clones and human servants asked if she was okay, and she couldn’t answer. Just hid in her room. That was until he found her at the backdoor decked out for an adventure. The clone knew he couldn’t tell her parents that though, he’d be in the flaming wreck on the palace steps. So he decided to beat them to the bush and tell them himself. Great idea then, very bad one now.
“Fine, I’ll believe you.” The angry bull growled, glaring at Rex, “But if I find out you’d lied I’ll personally see to it that you’re taken to the scrapyard.”
The bull clone felt the color drain from his face. Bull king was absolutely fuming, which could never end well for him. Maybe he should confess to letting her leave. He’d be spared a harsher punishment. WAIT, that’s an even WORSE idea. He had assured Peony he wouldn’t tell on her if she brought back Persimmon. He had to keep it behind closed doors or else he’d break it word. And he NEVER breaks his word.
“I’ll send out a search party soon.” Rex said before walking into the castle.
The royal couple followed him as he led them to the throne. The queen really needed to sit down from the stress. A guard came over and proceed to carry Madame Iron Fan to her throne. He placed her in as she was nearly choking on her panic.
“Oh, thank you.” She panted, struggling to regain her breath.
Satanic Bull King didn’t sit though. He stood looking at her throne, but didn't sit. His face was unreadable, glossy eyes and a tense face.
“Are you okay, my king?” Rex asked.
The bull king didn’t react for a moment. He balled his hands into fists before responding.
“... I mocked Sun for not being able to protect his daughter at his own counsel…” He muttered, “And, yet I can’t even protect mine.”
His shoulders slumped in defeat, something the bull clone never saw before. The king finally sat in his throne, a silence falling over the room. Madame Iron Fan had regained her breath long before, leaving only fury. She pounded her fist against the throne’s armrest, terrifying Rex.
“Start the search party now, Rex.” Madame Iron Fan demanded, “My daughter won’t be a victim to the same mess!”