A/N: Hey guys! First chapter of this! I've been totally shipping Nod and MK and I totally wanted to write a fanfic so tell me what you think! Also check out my The Selection fic called The Elimination!
Nod shook his head and rolled his eyes as his father, a professional college football coach, went on and on about the weird bug he had seen while on a stroll through the forest earlier that day.
"Really, Nod! I'm not kidding. It had little feet and arms and a face and everything!" Coach Thompson exclaimed. "I think it was a girl, a real pretty one too. She had red hair and had the most beautiful green eyes…"
His son laughed. "Yeah right, Dad." Nod began putting on his football uniform as they had a game that day. "C'mon, we're going to be late," he urged.
Coach Thompson waved his hand in the air. "Yeah, yeah. Punctual as always, that's my boy," he said, rolling his eyes at his son. "You're just like your mother."
Nod scowled. "Dad, I thought we agreed to not talk about her again," he bit back, coldly.
"Nod, you have to get over that. She didn't leave because she didn't love you," Coach Thompson said.
His son nodded. "That's right. She left because she didn't love us."
"Mary Katherine, sweetheart?" Queen Tara called from inside her room in the royal palace.
The teenaged girl groaned as she trudged into her stepmother's quarters. "Tara, stop that! It's MK, remember?"
MK had only been adopted by the queen a mere week ago when her widowed mother passed away and Tara proved to be a little too affectionate and protective of her new stepdaughter, as well as a bit forgetful of her preferred name.
The queen wrinkled her nose. "Alright then… MK, would you please come here?"
"Well, I'm here," MK said, extending her arms as she stepped in front of Queen Tara who was lounging comfortably in a lily petal chair.
Tara smiled. "Obviously. Well, Mary Ka- Uh MK. You asked me about being a Leafman the other day, correct? I prefer Leafwoman but, whatever."
At the word 'Leafman', MK lifted her head and her ears perked up. "Yes? What did you decide?" She asked eagerly, rubbing her hands together.
Queen Tara laughed. "Hm well I had a word with Ronin," she began, indicating her boyfriend of many years. "And we decided that we'll put you in training but-"
MK didn't give her time to continue. "Whoo! Thanks so much, Tara!" She squealed. "I can't believe this! I'm going to be a Leafman. I'm going to be a Leafman!"
"You didn't let me finish, MK," Tara said, her smile disappearing.
The happy look on the 17 year old's face slipped away. "W-what? What is it?"
"We'll put you in training but until you pass the four tests, you are going nowhere near the fighting grounds," Tara said sternly. " We can not risk the next queen's life being lost. Am I clear?"
MK sighed. "Yes, Stepmother," she said exasperatedly.
Tara sighed before grinning. "Aw, come now, MK. Where's that smile?" She cooed.
The girl cracked the smallest of grins.
"There it is…" The queen smiled, smoothing her white and green dress down.
It had been a little thing between her, her mother, and Tara. MK's mother, Elodie, and Tara were best friends from childhood until the day the single mother passed from a poisoned syrup drink. Even at that very moment, Leafmen, along with Ronin, were out searching for the killer.
MK rolled her eyes and playfully nudged her stepmother. "Was there anything else, Tara?"
Queen Tara shook her head. "No, you can go out again if you'd like. Be back by 6:30!"
"Great! Bye, Mom!" MK shouted, as she turned on her heal and sped through the door.
The queen's eyes widened and her jaw fell slightly. Was it just her or did she hear her new daughter of just one week call her 'Mom'?
MK ran as fast as she could to her room to dress in her bird-riding outfit. It looked very similar to a Leafmen's armor and that was what she loved most about it. It was when she wore it that she could pretend that she was a Leafman. It had always been her dream to become one from the moment she turned 7.
"Mom?" Young MK said.
Elodie smiled sweetly at her little girl. "Yes, Mary Katherine?"
MK wrinkled her nose. "What are you wearing?" She ran a finger down her mom's Leafman uniform. "You look like a plant."
Elodie opened her mouth and the sound of her laugh like tinkling bells filled the small house that the mother and daughter called home. "Well, Mommy told you what Leafmen are, right?"
The little, 7 year old furrowed her brows and looked up as she tried to recall what her mother had told her. After a couple moments, a frustrated MK shook her head. "I can't 'member!"
"Leafmen are the protectors of the forest. They guard-"
"And they replenish the nature around us," another voice finished.
Both MK and Elodie spun around to find a smiling Tara walking towards them. The younger queen bent her knees and stretched her arms to her best friend's daughter. "Mary Katherine, don't I get a hug?" She teased.
MK giggled and ran into Tara's open arms. "Hi, Auntie Tara." She looked up into the queen's face. "Did you know that my Mummy is a Leafman? I thought she was a she but actually she's a he," she whispered. "'Cuz a man is a he."
Tara burst out laughing and smiled cheekily at Elodie who had a confused look on her face.
"What? Mary Katherine, baby, what did you say to Auntie Tara?" Elodie asked.
MK looked to Tara, as if to ask permission to pass on the message. Tara put a finger to her lips and shook her head coyly. MK turned back to her mother and pretended to zip her lips closed.
"Tara!" Elodie wailed. "She's not supposed to keep secrets from me until she turns 16!"
MK giggled at the memory. But ever since then, she'd always wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps, especially since her dad was a Leafman as well. He died before she could ever get the opportunity to meet him. Ronin told her that he and her dad used to be best friends and he died protecting a friend.
She began walking towards the balcony of her room where she kept her bird, Jade, a bright green hummingbird. Making sure her saddle was secure and strapped in well, she climbed onto Jade's back. "Hiya!" She yelled, snapping the reigns. Soon, she was off to her second most favorite place to be: the small café Tara and Elodie had had built for her 16th birthday.
"You did a great job today, Nod!" Coach Thompson shouted, patting his son on the back.
Nod held the 1st place trophy in his right hand and grinned broadly. He turned to his teammates and immediately his eyes became brighter. "What do you guys say about heading out to that café by the forest to celebrate?"
The boys roared in agreement as they rammed into each other, being the boys they were.
Coach Thompson laughed. "Alright then! To the van, boys! You guys deserve it!"
They all packed into their coach's white van and joked around with each other until they arrived at Mary Katherine's. It was a small, quiet café that few people knew about but had the best cakes and pastries, all made from natural ingredients.
Nod and the other boys pushed to get out of the vehicle and into the tiny café. When they were inside, a pretty, redheaded girl with bright, emerald green eyes came to greet them at the door. "Hi! For how many?" she asked, gesturing to the whole team of 12 people. Nod looked to her nametag and grinned.
"Well, Mary Katherine, we have 13 plus our coach but if you'd like to join us, that'd be 14."
The guys hooted and whistled, totally immaturely.
"Hm," she said, acting as if she was actually thinking about the idea. "Well… You know your math, that's for sure, Thompson."
Nod's eyes grew wide. "H-how do you know my name?"
"Oh you know… I just so happen to be psychic and plus, your last name's written on your jersey," Mary Katherine said, with a snort.
The boy's face grew hot as the others elbowed him and laughed. Even the coach grinned and shook his head at his son.
"Well, c'mon in then!" Mary Katherine said, happily. "I'll show you to your table."
The guys followed her with Coach Thompson at the rear.
As soon as they were seated, Mary Katherine looked up at the clock and her eyes grew wide. "Oh no," she whispered. The girl tore off her apron and shoved it in a nearby waiter's hands before grabbing a simple, green bag from under the cashier and running to the exit.
Nod, intrigued by her, got up to follow her. He stayed a good distance behind her as she sprinted to the back where he expected there to be a car but there was none. Just an empty parking lot that led out to the forest.
To his surprise, she dug into her bag and pulled out a little baggie. She unzipped it and her hand flew inside, pulling out a tiny flower bud. Mary Katherine looked around, as if making sure no one was there and saw no one. Nod was hiding behind the wall so she couldn't see him.
The next thing was bizarre. No it was beyond bizarre. She held the bud in both hands, closed her eyes, and began to glow.
Next thing you know, the previously 5'6" Mary Katherine was now just 2 inches tall.
A/N: So... Worth continuing?