Petal's Initiation: Part Three

by acoustic_hathor

Fall to the Cave

Petal continued onward through the woods with a heavy heart. Her new friend, Pilot, though safe, was gone; her quest had started to look much brighter at the prospect of doing it with someone by her side, and now that he had disappeared, she felt her willpower to go on fading. Her wings felt heavy as lead; she barely had the willpower to lift her paws.

After a few hours of walking, Petal realised that she had passed the same tree four times now. "I must be going in circles!" she said aloud. A sob of frustration burst from her throat, and she slumped against the tree, crying her poor, lonely heart out.

"Petal."

Petal jumped. Had someone just called her name? She listened hard for a moment; then, not hearing anything, she sat back down and continued to weep.

"Petal."

Petal sprung back to her feet and stared around her. Now she knew that her mind was playing tricks on her; there was no one there - no one at all! "Even my own mind is trying to make me miserable!" she cried.

"Petal, come now. You know that isn't true."

The air around her shimmered, and then the Faerie Queen was crouching beside her, stroking her fur gently.

Petal wiped away a tear and, swallowing another sob, asked, "Why are you here? My three days aren't up yet."

"I know, dear," replied the Queen in her soothing, musical voice, "but I also know that you're having some trouble going through with your quest. Would you tell me what's wrong? Perhaps I can be of some assistance."

In a halting voice, Petal told her everything that had ensued that day: from having trouble learning to fly, to finally finding a friend and then losing him, and to her encounter with the Forest Spook. "I just don't want to do this anymore, Faerie Queen," she whined. "I'm lonely, I'm scared, and I want to go home!"

The Faerie Queen was silent for a moment. Then she said gently, "Is that really what you want? Because I can return you to your meadow to be with your pack; but you will never get a chance to become an adult Lupe, and you will never be able to succeed your parents' places as leaders of the pack."

Petal stared at her. "But can't I try again, some other time?" she asked. "Like when I'm older?"

"No," replied the Queen, firmly. "Every Lupe is given one quest to fulfill, and no more. You will not be given a second chance, Petal."

Petal gazed down at her paws as her vision blurred. Two fat, shiny tears slid from her eyes and landed with two soft plops on the ground next to her feet. "No," she whispered. "I guess that's not what I really want, then." She looked up at the Faerie Queen. "What I really, really want," she told her, "is my friend, Pilot. It was much less scarier with him by my side."

"Hmm," the Queen said thoughtfully. "I'm going to have to ponder this for awhile. You see, no one has ever had quite this sort of problem on a quest before."

"No?" Petal asked in surprise.

"No," replied the winged woman. "I will have to contemplate the rules very carefully. On the one hand, I have already given you your true request: to have wings, with which to fly. On the other hand, no where is it said that I cannot aide you on your journey."

Petal bolted upright. "So you can bring Pilot back to me?" she cried excitedly. "Boy, that would be perfect! How soon do you think you can bring him -"

The Faerie Queen laughed. "Hold up!" she said. "I haven't made my decision yet!"

"Oh," Petal said sadly.

"I need to go back to my tree and think," she told Petal. "When I make my decision, you will know. For now, continue, as you were, on your quest to find the Ball of Rainbows. You now have -" She looked up at the moon. "-two days left!" The air shimmered again, and she was gone.

Petal stood up slowly. She sniffed and started to walk again. "I guess I should probably try flying," she said to herself. "It would be faster, and I can see more when I'm up in the air than when I'm down here." When she reached a small clearing, she took a running leap, and was soon soaring through the clouds again.

She watched the trees below her very carefully. She couldn't see much besides dark green branches. The moon shone above her, a constant reminder that her time was quickly running out. She flew for an hour or more, looking around her, shivering in the frigid night air.

Then, suddenly, she thought that she saw something glimmer below her. She blinked, and looked again. Yes! There was most certainly something down there. She tucked her wings by her sides and dipped below the clouds to see better. There, between the trees, she could see a dull yellow light that lit up the trees around it. Petal drew a deep breath and headed for the light.

As she drew nearer, Petal could see a rather large hole in the ground. The light seemed to be emanating from this hole. Petal landed softly on the grass next to the gaping opening. She slowly and carefully leaned over, but she couldn't see anything besides the light.

She leaned over a little farther. Suddenly, a pink butterfly alighted on the tip of her nose. As fate would have it, the butterfly's tiny legs ticked her nose, and Petal gave an almighty sneeze, losing her balance and toppling headfirst into the hole.

Petal fell for what felt like an eternity. She tumbled over and over, bouncing off the close, earthen walls of the cavern. She tried to use her wings, but there wasn't room enough to spread them; it seemed that she was doomed to fall forevermore.

Finally, Petal saw that the light was growing brighter. It quickly grew more and more intense until she was forced to close her eyes, less she be blinded by it. She held her breath and, suddenly, she landed on something soft with a quiet plop!

She carefully opened her eyes, looked around her, and gasped. She was in an enormous cave, and each corner was filled with golden treasure! There were piles of gold coins, and golden chalices, and jewels heaped into little mountains. She saw swords that flashed in their own magnificent light, and she noticed an amazing emerald that was twice the size of her head, glittering and flashing in a corner on top of a mass of… of…

Oh my goodness! Petal thought, nearly crying out in shock. That diamond's lying on top of a bunch of skeletons!

It was true. There were arm bones, leg bones, wing bones, backbones, and skulls littering the floor all around the extraordinary jewel. Petal gulped. She couldn't help but wonder if she would soon be joining that gruesome collection.

She tried to look away from the grisly scene, but the emerald drew her eye with a paralyzing light. It glowed with some inward light. She stood up and sidled closer to get a better look at it.

It took her a few more seconds to realise that she wasn't looking at an emerald, but an eye - a bright green eye that stared at her with a lethal menace.

Petal had met the Snowager at last.

To be continued...