Max woke in the palms of the tree giant, shaking his head of the memory. The liquid butterfly sprouted from his mouth, fluttering back with the rest surrounding him, like vultures flying around their prey.
Annabelle appeared, blew a butterfly to Max, and before he could refuse it, it splashed in his mouth, sending him back into a paralyzed comatose.
Max found himself laying on the forest floor, next to Amaris.
The magical forest of Findara satisfied their every desire for their simultaneous lust for beauty and peace. The dark featured man turned his gaze from the canopy above to meet the twinkling green eyes staring back at him.
"Are you happy?" Max asked, flashing a little of his whitened teeth.
"Do you want this..." Max stuttered over his words. "A family I mean..." He continued, moving his gaze towards her belly.
"I have never been happier." Amaris replied, slowly grabbing his hand, which was lying under the maroon leaves.
"A family..us..You are everything I've dreamed love could be. Everything I have envisioned a home and comfort to feel like. You are it." She replied.
They both peered back into the rustling trees above them. The small breeze softly shaking the branches.
They could hear the breaking of small twigs and the crashing of weakened branches, finally meeting their maker.
The magical beasts of Findara, with their thickened bark and giant stature. Max thought of the memory of what his blood mother used to tell him as a child before bedtime.
"Once the Giants of the magical forest lose a branch, it is almost the same as when a human sheds a tear."
"Almost Ma'?"
"These Giant Trees grieve over the loss of not only their own, but of the entirety of the world we live in. Connected throughout, whispering and protecting, casting shadows and creating new life, allowing some to gain nutritional value from their worth, and others a slow and painful death (when idiotic enough to eat a poison bushel). Every fallen branch is an expired life."
Luthien looked down at him, allured with her every word.
"The leaves that fill the branches are their emotions. The way they whirl around, change colors and decay. All representing how a particular Giant is feeling that day.. or season, for that matter."
She continued, taking a quick sip of her maple tea.
"Though they are connected on a level that not even us elves can comprehend. So many of their emotions, may it be fear, grief, or love if you will - are all felt throughout. Look outside."
Luthien picked Maximus up, pointing towards a tree. The leaves were blue with an accent of a swirling green. The tree looked healthy and full of life.
"What does that mean?" Max asked, curious as ever. "Peace."
He remembered her wiping his little tears from his rosy cheek.
"They grieve for the losses of their home, even for humans. The ones that take advantage, going on murderous rampages throughout the forest, disrespecting and causing rot wherever they touch with their grubby fingers."
Another fallen branch interrupted Max's remembrance. This time he saw it crashing down, shaking down the innocent bystanders of their leaves.
The man looked once more at the beauty of the alluring woman lying near. Watching her embrace all that surrounds them. Her aura brightening any darkness that dares to invade the happiness erupting from their touch.
ESTÁS LEYENDO
King of Shadows: Of Blood and Tears
FantasíaIn the small town of Shadow Grove, the sounds of his own uncertainty surround seventeen-year-old Maximus as he grapples with his identity. He is plagued with unrelenting episodes of sleep paralysis, his nights full of the sight of a dark creature lo...
