Title: A Different Kind of EPIC

Rating: T (just to be on the safe side)

Warnings: Mild action, brief rude language

Spoilers: Pretty much the entire movie

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by the company that controls Epic. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended

Author Notes: I have other stories planned, but I just couldn't get this idea out of my head. I've seen it done for other categories. Basically this is a re-telling of the movie EPIC, but with a twist. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Review if you want, I welcome any and all.

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Someone once said; that if you stand still in the forest long enough, you'll see signs of a hidden struggle. Raging between forces of Life and Decay. That the survival of the Forest itself depends on the outcome. And that the Good Guys need all the help they can get.

And if you don't believe it, take a close look.

And if you still don't…

Look closer.


Deep in a wild forest of south-western Connecticut, the raucous cawing of crows broke the silence. A trio of crows were in hot pursuit of a much smaller, faster prey. The object of the chase was doing everything it could to escape, darting all over among the tree branches, but with three large and determined birds on its tail, the tiny flyer was having very little success.

High on a tree branch, a video camera activated. Servos whirled as it began tracking the aerial chase. At the base of the camera was a red LED light, which began blinking as it transmitted an alert back to the GPS unit that was connected to the surveillance system.

Not far from the camera's position, a loud beeping sounded as the alert reached its intended recipient. A gangly middle aged woman, with wild brown hair tied in a mess bun and wearing a beige shirt and long khaki skirt, started at the sudden sound and yanked the GPS unit off its holder on her belt. She glanced at it, noting the direction and position the alert was coming from, and started running along the forest path, humming quite happily. Unfortunately, Professor Rachel Bomba was not the most graceful runner out there. Almost immediately she ended up tripping on a rock to land flat on her face.

That wasn't that uncommon of an occurrence for her and she never let it slow her down in the pursuit of her research. At once, she was back on her feet, peering up at the sky through a strange headset of her own creation. It consisted of a special camera and microphone set mounted on a set of straps and connected to a set of modified goggles.

"Ah oh oh!" she exclaimed as she caught sight of the chase going on over her head. Quickly she adjusted the set of lenses on one side of the goggles so the bird chase was slowed to the speed she thought was needed for what she was searching for.

The crows and their prey moved further off into the forest and Rachel followed along behind. With all her attention on the birds, she missed the tree root across the path and promptly tripped over it as well. Again she didn't let it stop her and the woman was back on her feet and running after the birds.

The crows were closing in on the tiny bird, cutting off any escape. As it tried to dodge in one direction, one of the large black birds struck at it. The blow was decisive and sent its victim spiralling out of the sky. Its pitiful peeps followed it down.

Rachel Bomba immediately made a dive to catch the little creature. Yet again, her clumsiness struck and she fell just a few inches short. Still she wanted to check that the poor little thing had survived its fall so she reached into the bushes where it landed. What she found was a small ruby-throated hummingbird. It cheeped at her as she pushed up the goggles and adjusted her glasses. The little bird gave her fingers a few pecks as she peered closer at it.

Hummingbirds weren't that strange. In fact the Professor had noted there were quite a few that lived in this forest. This one, however, was definitely strange and actually gave her some of the first definitive proof of what she had spent most of her adult life searching for. Not only did the little bird have a bridle set over its beak, it had a perfect tiny saddle on its back.

The Professor gasped softly in surprise as she stared at this amazing find. Her light green eyes lit with wonder. Slowly she got to her feet and looked up into the tree branches. There was no longer any sign of the crows, not that she was much concerned about them, but she was hoping that once, just once she might get a glimpse of the very thing she looking for.

But from her place on the ground, there was nothing visible.


High above in the tree canopy, it was a different matter. The three crows, having dealt with the hummingbird, had swung around to take care of its rider. On the backs of the large birds were creatures one would expect to see in nightmares. Grey-skinned, bug-like, with armour made of bones, old bits of wood and desiccated nutshells. These were Boggans.

One of them spotted their quarry. It screeched and drew back an arrow on the crude bow it used. Released, the arrow flew straight at the teenaged girl dressed in bright green armour who was hanging at the end of a thin twig. At the last second, Nodine was able to swing out of the way of the oncoming threat. The arrow shot passed, barely missing her left side. Nodine gasped with the effort of avoiding that arrow. Her hazel brown eyes darted up then down as she looked for an escape, realizing how much trouble she was currently in.

Another arrow was fired at her and the girl was forced to release the grip of her left hand to avoid it. She dangled for a second by her right before losing that hold as well. Luckily there were many more branches below. She bounced off the first one she hit with a groan, but was able to just catch herself on the second.

Nodine was about to pull herself up when she had to suddenly yank her right arm away as another arrow hit the branch. Right at the point of impact the wood of the tree swelled up, infected by Boggan Rot. That was the greatest danger from Boggan arrows. Not the injury caused by the arrow, but the Rot that the arrow points were coated in. The young teen knew she didn't have any time to waste if she wanted to avoid that fate. She hauled herself up and started running along the tree branch, darting from side to side to make it as difficult as possible for the Boggans to fire more arrows at her.

The Boggans were determined though. One swooped close and fired again at the fleeing teen. Nodine was forced to leap off the branch just as the arrow zipped by and the crow dove past. She managed to, by swinging her arms and legs then stretching her body, to land crouched on another branch some distance down. The girl panted a little, trying to catch her breath as she looked back to see if she had managed to escape. The same crow dove again at her and she had to make another leap.

She had just made it to third branch when three arrows hit in rapid succession in front of her. Nodine turned to go back the way she came only to be blocked by a fourth arrow strike. Before she could formulate any sort of plan to get away, another crow swooped by overhead. It passed so close that just the wind from it knocked the teen off the tree branch and sent her plummeting again. She couldn't help but scream as she fell.

In another stroke of luck, she was able to slow her fall by grabbing onto a down-hanging oak branch. The leaves smacked past her face in rapid succession. She had hoped to hang onto that branch, but lost her grip because of the sudden stop once she reached the end of the branch.

"Whoa!" the teen cried out as she slipped. Still she was able to land on her feet on the limb below.

Barely. Almost as soon as Nodine's feet touched the branch, the first Boggan crow was diving at her again. She made a frantic somersault over it then slid on her knees under the second bird, before having to avoid another three arrows and finally using the very end of a twig to spring-board away from the third crow.

Nodine snagged a branch in the neighbouring tree, whipped once around it before swinging onto a much larger one. The sudden change of trees had given her just enough time to start running again before the Boggans caught up. Only, running was not going to help her to escape pursuit for long, she needed another way to flee.

As if right on cue, a trio of hummingbirds appeared flying along on her right. All with riders in the same sort of armour she was wearing. Unfortunately, the one flying closest to her was the very last person Nodine wanted to see her in this particular situation.

"Need a lift?" The older woman asked, one hand resting on the hilt of the sword at her waist. The sunlight glinted off the golden circle crest on the woman's helmet. That crest and the white, gold embroidered vest she was wearing indicating her high rank. Yes, General Rona was not the person Nodine had wanted to be rescued by.

"I don't need your help!" the young teen answered. The unevenness of the branch was making her wave her arms to keep her balance as she ran.

"Uh… You're running out of branch there, my dear." There was almost amusement in Rona's voice as she pointed out a very important fact.

Nodine smirked. Oh, she was more than stubborn enough to continue denying the truth. "Still don't need your help!" As if just to prove her wrong, at that very moment one of the Boggan crows swooped down behind her and latched onto the shoulder pieces to her armour. She screamed as she was carried off.

Rona's expression dropped from slight amusement to annoyance as she watched the three crows cart off the younger girl.

Boggans were not the most careful flyers and the crow nearly dropped Nodine at one point. When she was snagged again, it was by her left foot. This left her dangling upside down and caused her helmet to go flying off her head. The ponytail she kept her dark brown hair in whipped in the wind as Nodine struggled to figure out her next course of action was going to be.

"Whoa…oh!" Nodine cried out, looking up at her captor.

The Boggan flying that particular crow gave a stuttering screech, please with its prize. So pleased in fact that it never noticed the hummingbird matching speeds with it high above, or the green clad figure that dropped from it. Rona landed square on the monster's back, causing the crow to veer sharply midair. The Boggan tried to grab its attacker, but Rona flipped back, landing near the crow's tail feathers. She narrowed her blue eyes at it, evaluating what its next move might be.

The Boggan screeched in anger and swung its club at the older woman. Rona ducked the attempted blow and managed to circle around so that she had switched positions with the Boggan. She didn't even draw her sword from its sheath as she rammed the hilt into the Boggans face. She followed that strike with a kick to the creature's chin.

A second Boggan fired an arrow at one of the other warriors as it zipped past. The woman, slightly younger than Rona jumped straight up out of her saddle to avoid the arrow and fired one in return before dropped back into the saddle again. Her arrow hit the Boggan in the chest and knocked it from its crow.

Rona made another strike with her sword hilt, managing to knock the Boggan back for a moment. In that brief period, she decided it was time to have a few words with the wayward teenager who was the cause of all this. "Why aren't you with your group?" she demanded.

"What? I fly faster alone." Nodine answered with a grin.

Rona stopped herself from rolling her eyes at that just by sheer force of will. Dealing with this girl was so exasperating at times and this was fast becoming one. "How do you not get this? You're not the only one on this team, you know." The older woman glanced up to check that her hummingbird was still overhead.

There was a tinge of laughter in Nodine's voice. "So yell at one of them for a change." No matter how much trouble she ended up in, she usually could not act serious about any of it.

Before Rona could answer to that sally, the Boggan was up and about to attack again. Rona barely flicked her eyes away from the younger girl as she blocked the intended blow with her still sheathed sword. Then she turned to look at the Boggan. "Do you hear that?" she asked it. "What am I supposed to do with this girl?"

The Boggan was not at all interested in conversations, even if it could answer sensibly. It screeched as it tried to press down on the older woman. Rona sighed and made a slight shrug as she told the Boggan "Yeah, you're right. You've got your own problems." With that she shoved the creature back just enough for her to flip over its head and give it a sharp kick off the crow. It gave a screeching scream as it fell away.

Rona's hummingbird flew up alongside the crow and the General jumped back into the saddle. Once settled there, she brought her bird down so she could speak face to face with Nodine. "You're a Leafwoman. You know how important today is." Annoyance was beginning to colour her tone as she spoke to the younger girl.

Nodine shrugged and twisted from side to side a little. "You know what? I'm thinking maybe I'm just not cut out for this." Honestly, being a Leafwoman had never been her idea in the first place.

"That's the problem." Rona retorted. "You are cut out for it. But I'm tired of waiting for you to prove it. Get a bird and get back to Moonhaven, or you're done." Having made her point, Rona started to turn her mount away.

"What?" Nodine asked in surprise. "You're not going to help me now?"

Rona paused for a moment and gave the tiniest smirk. "I just did." She said. With that she and the other two warriors turned and flew off. Nodine stared after them in disbelief. She couldn't believe that Rona had actually done that. Literally left her hanging.

As the crow continued to carry her off further across the forest she shouted after the others, her voice rising as the distance grew. "That's cool! I could probably jump from here! JUST FOLLOW THE LAST GUY DOWN!"


The tiny creature fell through an open space in the trees. Unfortunately for it, it met the end that many a bug does every day. It landed with a green splat on the windshield of a fast moving yellow taxi. At the 'bug's' impact, the elderly, grey female driver let out a cackle.

"Whoa! Incoming." She glanced back at her passenger as she flicked the wipers on. "Bet you don't see bugs like that in the city."

The teenage boy, a faded red hoodie up over his head, watched as the splat was smeared across the glass. "Yeah. I miss it already." he murmured in a rather disinterested tone. BJ truly wasn't interested in making conversation.

The driver turned in her seat for a moment to look back at him before facing the road again. "He talks! Something on your mind, kid?"

BJ sighed. "What do you say to a total stranger?"

"Stranger?" the old woman exclaimed, staring at the teen in her rear-view mirror. She made a pointed gesture to the fare counter on the dash. "You and I go back twenty minutes!"

The attempt at humour managed to get a chuckle out of the teen. "Not you," BJ leaned forward a little read the name off the displayed driver's license, "Lorna. I mean the person I'm visiting."

Lorna blinked and frowned a little. "I'm leaving you out here with someone you don't know?" She turned around again to look back in concern.

BJ just shook his head and leaned across the backseat of the taxi to stare out the passenger-side window. "It's okay, Lore. We weren't always strangers. Maybe now things will be different."

At that moment, Lorna pulled off the main road and onto up a winding dirt driveway, leading off through some trees. The driveway curved up into the over grown yard in front of a rather run down looking house. As soon as the taxi came to a stop, BJ opened the door and stepped out, hauling a small roller suitcase out as well. Lorna rolled down her window and leaned out, looking up at their destination.

"That… That's not a house, that's termites holding hands." She waved a hand up at the building. "No offense."

BJ chuckled. "Don't worry Lore. I'll be…" Before he could finish his sentence, the taxi sped off with its tires spinning in the dust.

"Call me you need a quick get-away kid!" Lorna called as she drove away, leaving the teen standing alone.

"…fine." BJ finished. With a sigh he pulled back his hood, revealing short red-brown hair, as he looked up at the house he hadn't seen in over ten years. It was both familiar and not at the same time. He could barely remember the last time he had been here. Slowly he made his way up to the front door, his heavy combat boots thudding on the wooden steps. Heaving another sigh he wiped his left hand on the leg of his black cargo shorts then knocked lightly on the glass of the door. When there was no answer, he peered in through one of the windows on either side of the door. Had his arrival been forgotten?

BJ shrugged and tried the door, finding it unlocked. Once it swung open, he called out a questioning, "Hello? Anyone home?" There was still no answer. He glanced around the entryway for a moment before stepping inside. The house was silent except for some soft electronic noises coming from a room filled with monitors and computers just off the front hall. "Hello?" he called out again.

Hanging on the wall were several shadow box displays. Most contained preserved insects and beetles. One did catch BJ's attention however. Instead of insects it had a display of what looked like miniature spears, arrows, clubs, and other bits of tiny armour made of wood and bones. He bent down to take a closer look at it.

At that moment a door back in the kitchen slammed shut. BJ looked up to see his mother, Rachel Bomba wander in. The older woman was muttering to herself and examining something in her hand.

"Okay. No, actually, you know what? I should check this out…" She hurried down the hall, paused then turned sharply into an extremely cluttered messy room, not even noticing her guest. "Yeah yeah… No that's right there… Uh…"

BJ straightened and walked around the corner to watch as his mother literally started climbing the walls in search of whatever it was she was looking for. He was completely unsure of how to take this absent-mindedness.

Um… Do we have – I had it we – Oh, no, it's over here." Rachel jumped down from the bookcase she had been climbing and snatched up a worn notebook off the table in the middle of the room. "Okay, yeah. Uh, let's see…" Instantly her nose was buried in its pages. She was oblivious to everything as she walked across the hall to the equally cluttered library. BJ had to jump back a little to avoid being run over by her. Rachel's voice lifted from a mutter to more of a lecturing or teaching tone as she voiced the conclusions she was drawing. "Made of – oh gosh! I don't know, polished acorn shell and thin leather? Perhaps mouse-hide."

She passed back into the first room, again brushing passed her son. This time she seemed aware that he was there, only since she gave an absently muttered, "Pardon me, excuse me, sorry." She looked closer at the object in her hand then leaned over the table and adjusted a magnifying glass. "Correction: not mouse-hide. Shrew perhaps. Or – uh- you know what actually, it could be vole."

BJ sensed that there was no other point in waiting for his mom to notice him. "Hi Mom." he said, standing in the doorway behind her.

"Oh!" Rachel started in surprise at the sudden words. She had been so focused on her discovery that she had forgotten everything else around her. She dropped her find on the table and whirled around, peering through her glasses at the teen. "Benny James!"

"Yeah." The teen answered.

"You're here!" The Professor rushed forward and hugged him tightly.

"Yeah." BJ repeated.

"I didn't realize today was… today." Rachel looked up to examine the large and complex time keeping device hanging from the ceiling. She rested one hand on her hip as she frowned slightly at it.

BJ looked up at it as well as he answered. "It always is."

Rachel grinned and looked back at her son. "Hey. Let me look at you! Oh, you look just like your father." She stepped forward and put her hands up on his shoulders. BJ actually stood a few inches taller than her. The smile on her face turned nostalgic for a moment then she realized exactly how that sounded, especially considering her ex-husband's recent illness and death. "Like – like he did…" she trailed off stammering in embarrassment. "You – you would if you know what I mean…"

BJ's expression turned somber as well and he tucked his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie. "Mom…" He started to say.

"Do you… want to talk about it, if that's…?" Rachel asked, but the teen just shook his head.

"Thanks, but I've been reading up on the five stages of grief. I'm working through them myself. I'm good like that." BJ looked down and gave a sigh. "Actually there are a few things I'd like to talk about."

But before he could continue any further, they were interrupted by a series of loud barks. BJ turned in time to see a grey ancient looking pug dash pass. It was bounding as fast as its three little legs could carry it, headed for the still open front door. Rachel jumped and lunged after the little animal.

"Oh, oh, oh! Mollie!" The Professor landed, as usual, face first on the floor, but she managed to snatch up the pug before it could make its escape. "Look who's back!"

BJ's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Mollie? She's still alive?" he asked. He honestly couldn't believe that the small dog that he could remember getting as a young boy was still around.

Rachel got up on her knees, struggling to keep a hold on the spunky old dog. Mollie alternated between trying to wiggle free and licking the woman's face. "Well, you know, most of her. She may be down to three legs, but she'll make a break for it the first chance she gets." She chuckled as she lifted one of the dog's ears and spoke loudly into it since the old animal was also starting to go deaf. "Mollie, go say hi."

"Here, girl" BJ called, patting his legs as he bent down.

With that she set the pug down facing BJ and released her. Mollie ran almost straight for the teen who crouched down to greet her, but at the last moment ended up veering off and running into some boxes under the table in the room behind them. Both Rachel and BJ stood up again.

"Ah, there she goes." The Professor laughed as the little dog circled around them. She continued cheerfully. "Her depth perception's a little off, uh, and she has a tendency to run in circles. But, hey, that was closer than usual. She remembers you."

The teen just stared at his mother as they could both hear glass shattering in the next room from something Mollie had knocked over. Just like the first glimpse he had had of his mother, BJ was not exactly sure what to make of all this.

Rachel quickly gathered up BJ's suitcase and headed up the stairs. "So, I have a little surprise for you up here. Just follow me, take a look." She hefted the suitcase into her arms for the last little climb. The young teen followed along behind his mother.

Mollie was following as well. BJ grinned and scooped up the pug. The little dog started licking his face, causing BJ to laugh. "Mollie! No… No kisses." He gave the dog's head a rub as he reached the top of the stairs.

"Well, here we are." Rachel said, rather proudly, as she opened a purple painted door. "Welcome home."

BJ's eyebrows shot up as he took a few steps into his childhood bedroom. He stared in disbelief at the fact that absolutely nothing had been changed. The room was still decorated for a six year old child. The bed was far too short and was actually still one of those race-car beds. "It's like I never left." he said, unable to come up with anything else to say about it.

That seemed more than enough for Rachel. She stepped into the room behind him, eager to show everything off. She started pointing out all the different things that were still there. "All your things are here. You know, you got your cars and your comics, your turtle…" She trailed off then, seeing that the turtle tank actually had no occupant and was filled with long dead plants and cobwebs. "Oh dear…"

For the life of her, the Professor could not remember what had happened to that turtle. BJ just smiled a little and sat down on the bed. Rachel started stammering again as she turned back to her son. "Well, it-it's good to have you back Benny James."

The teen set the pug down on the floor. He had never liked his given name and had long since picked out a better nickname to go by. "Actually, I go by BJ now."

"Oh! BJ. I like it." Rachel washed her hands together in nervousness. Having her son around was going to take some getting used to. She wasn't really sure how to handle things, especially since she had had almost no contact with BJ since she and his father had divorced. "It's more, um, grown up."

Just then the GPS unit on her belt went off again. "Oh! Um… Hmm…" Rachel exclaimed. She wanted to rush off to see what had set it off. Still, her son had only just arrived and it seemed rude if she did that.

"Do you have to get that?" BJ asked, eyeing the unit.

"Oh, no. No." Rachel insisted, quickly turning off the alert. "That was just one of my sensors. I got a lot going on right now. Today is actually a highly unusual day." She walked over and sat down on the bed next to him. She poked at the moon-shaped nightlight plugged in next to the bed. "There's both a full moon tonight and the Summer Solstice, which only coincides every hundred years or so. So you know, I mean, you know can imagine, it's just crazy over here."

The temptation to see what the cameras had recorded was too much for the Professor. She just had go see. She jumped back to her feet and made her way to the door. She took the handle of the suitcase and guided it over to the side of the bed. "Hey, uh… You probably want some time to settle in. I'm just going to let you make yourself at home, Benny Jam…" She was about to close the door behind her when she caught her mistake. "Oh! Nope. Who's Benny James? BJ I mean." She had leaned back in as she made her correction, but then vanished out the door again.

BJ could hear her retreating footsteps as his mom practically ran back down the stairs. He shook his head at her quickly made escape. Leaning over, he reached into the front pocket of the suitcase and pulled out a framed picture. It was a shot of him and his dad, a tall man with dark brown hair, both smiling at the camera with their arms around each other. He leaned back on the bed and braced his feet on the end.

"Okay, Dad. I'm trying. That was the deal." He said to it, his voice thickening a little. He rested the rested the picture on his chest and closed his eyes. This was going to be harder than he thought.

Downstairs Rachel was busy checking the various monitors that showed views of the forest around the house. It didn't take long for her to find which camera had been set off and as she went over the footage, she was sure she had caught something this time. She tapped in a command on the keyboard to zoom in on one image. The image was grainy and very blurry. Anyone else would dismiss anything in it as nothing at all, but Rachel Bomba was certain it revealed the image of something riding on the back of a hummingbird. She grinned in excitement.


In the forest, Rona and her two companions were making their way back to Moonhaven. None had noticed that they had zipped past one of the many cameras set up amongst the trees. The trio flew a winding aerial path, following the course of a steam. The birds would occasionally shift positions in the formation, but for the most part Rona's remained in the lead.

Finally they reached the last leg and flew up a waterfall to come out over a wide pool of crystal clear water. They had reached the Jinn city of Moonhaven, the center of their world. Many different types of Jinn were going about their business. Dandelion Jinn, Thistle Jinn, Pinecone Jinn. Nearly all glanced skyward as the three hummingbirds passed.

Normally the returning Leafmen warriors wouldn't attract this much attention. However this was Rona's unit and ever since she had accepted the rank of General, hers always was noticed. She was after all the first female General in many many generations. And since Jinn have very long lives, that meant many centuries of time.

They passed a male Daisy Jinn and a young Marigold boy. "C'mon dad, you're going to miss them." The boy said excitedly to his father.

Two more Jinn children bounded after the flyers crying out, "Hey, Leafmen!"

One bounced off the cap of a Mushroom Jinn who looked up startled. "Huh? What?"

Rona paid no attention to the watchers as she and the other two came in for a landing at the great rock spire that was the very heart of Moonhaven. She was pleased to note the many Leafmen and women standing guard around it. She felt that even here, they couldn't be too careful about the safety of the place and its inhabitants.

A junior Leafwoman stepped forward to hold the reins of her bird as it landed. As her two companions landed on either side of her, Rona swung out of the saddle. A double line of guards came to attention as she marched up to the entrance. The ferns covering it unfurled as she reached it.

The General paused as the vines covering the inner sanctum pulled back out of her way. Before entering she pulled off her helmet, revealing very short silver grey hair. She tucked the helmet under one arm as she walked to the center of the room. This was actually more of a large indoor garden. The intertwined stalks of flowers were like columns and the blossoms were the roof. Once at the middle, Rona immediately dropped to one knee, bowing respectfully to the room's occupant.

"King Tarn, we need to discuss today ceremony. The Boggans have crossed our borders again and…"

"You're not getting enough sunlight." A rich male voice said. Rona looked up to see her King standing over a rather sad looking blue flower bud. The dark skinned man, in green leaf trousers, tunic, and white petal cape, was paying absolutely no attention to his General kneeling in front of him. Tarn cocked his head slightly, listening to something only he could hear. He smirked, brushing back his long black tail of hair. "Yes, it's Rona. Well, I think she looks silly kneeling, too, but I can't get her to stop doing it." He said to the flower, shooting a glance in Rona's direction.

Rona tried not to sigh at this. This was a habit of the King's that she found rather irritating. She decided to ignore the flower conversation and continue with making her point to him. She rose to her feet and stepped forward. "I think the Boggans are scouting our defenses. You know they would do anything to stop you from choosing an heir. But don't worry, I got a plan."

"When we were kids, she wasn't so serious." King Tarn continued to the flower, still ignoring Rona.

She held out her free hand, trying desperately to draw his focus to this important matter, if only for just a few moments. "Would you like to hear my plan?"

Finally the man stood straight and looked at her, though his words were still directed to the flower. "And she had the most adorable smile." Rona was not about to be side-tracked by the King's little trip down memory lane. Since it looked like she actually had his attention for the moment, she was going to make certain he heard her out.

"Look, instead of a public ceremony, I go in with a small platoon," she said quickly, "pretend we're stopping for a drink. We grab a pod, bring it back to you. It blooms, the Life of the Forest continues. We're in, we're out."

Tarn chuckled. "It doesn't work like that. I can't choose unless I'm there. It's about the feeling." He turned away from Rona and slowly waved a hand up at the great flowers overhead. They began to spread apart, letting in more sunlight. "I get it from the pods. I get it from the forest. I get it from all of us. There we are." He looked back down at the little flower which was responding to the increase of light by blooming fully.

With that task completed, King Tarn walked passed one of the many pillars, lightly running a hand along it. "Don't you have feelings, Rona?" he asked in an oddly pointed manner.

Rona wanted to sigh again in exasperation. It would not do to strangle some sense into her King, no matter how much she wanted to. She made to follow him, but not fast enough to keep him in sight. She glanced around trying to see where he had disappeared to. "Yes, I do. I feel this is a bad idea. The Boggans have never been this aggressive."

She was so busy looking around and more focused on trying to talk the King around to her point of view that she didn't notice the thin vine circling around her until it was too late. She gasped as it tightened, pinning her arms to her sides, and lifted her off the ground. The vine turned her so that she was facing Tarn again. The King was pretending to examine his fingernails.

"I'm not completely helpless, you know." The dark-skinned man pointed out. Indeed, Tarn's power over plants was his greatest defense.

Rona forced herself to not roll her eyes. "I am aware. But you're the Life of the Forest. Looking after you is my duty."

Tarn slowly turned to face her. "Is that the only reason you do it?" he asked, stepping closer. A slight smile was playing on his lips.

"Isn't that reason enough?" Rona asked back, raising an eyebrow. The two of them did have history together. As children and youths they had been very close friends. Unfortunately, when Tarn was chosen as King, the difference in rank prevented them from becoming anything more. It had not been an easy decision for Rona to make.

The king stepped closer until they were nearly nose to nose. He caught her blue eyes with his warm brown ones. "If that's the only reason there is." Tarn had never felt that rank should have been what had come between them. He had always wanted to be more with the silver-haired woman.

"Your majesty…" Rona breathed softly, her mouth going dry.

"Yes?" Tarn drew out the single word as he leaned closer. The smile was much more pronounced now.

Rona suddenly felt something brush her ear. She suppressed the shiver that light touch caused and was very glad for the long sleeves of her uniform shirt for they hid the gooseflesh that was raised along her arms. She broke eye contact and saw that the very end of the vine holding her was the culprit. This time a sigh did escape her. "I'm not ticklish."

The King threw back his head and laughed. "Oh! You used to be." He wrinkled his nose at her and made a cutting gesture with one hand as he stepped back. The vines holding Rona relaxed their grip and dropped to the floor. Now Tarn's voice went from playful to very kingly. "Very well. I understand your concern. But this is the one day in a hundred years I can choose an heir. If I don't do this today, there won't be a future to protect."

Rona frowned as she watched King Tarn move off deeper into this inner garden, out of sight. This interview had not gone as she had hoped, and now she was faced with having to make sure Tarn stayed safe during this very important ceremony.