Sam leapt from one branch to the next, growing irritated with every passing second. She had been searching for almost two hours now. It was all well and good for Papa to send her out on a mission to someone who desperately needed help. However, she couldn't exactly help anybody if she had no idea as to how to get to them. As usual, Papa only concerned himself with giving her the broad picture. He didn't really seem to care about the minor details such as directions to the distressed individual in question. Or at least some idea as to where she needed to be. No, all that was up to Sam to figure out for herself. Good thing she and Papa had informants posted practically everywhere in the forest that could provide some sort of clue, otherwise she'd be wandering around in circles. Still, as many eyes as they had watching everywhere, those eyes weren't always able to spot every single inch. So Sam sometimes ended up having to guess where to go next. And after a few too many dead ends and wrong turns, she was starting to get frustrated. Her growling empty stomach did nothing to help appease her bad mood. So much for Papa's promise about being back home before supper.
Just as she was thinking she had made yet another wrong turn, a whistle sounded above her head. She lifted her head up to see that on the branch above her was a violet-blue bulb covered in dark purplish spots sprouting out from a thick stem. Seeing that he had Sam's attention, he nodded towards the ground. She looked down and finally saw her. Her stem had already given up long before Sam had even got there and had collapsed, drooping her entire body down to the ground. Her once sparkling white petals that had covered her head had all fallen except for two. And even those petals no longer even remotely resembled what they once were, for they were all shriveled and brown. Finally, Sam had found who she was looking for.
Sam only needed to touch the trunk of the tree for him to know exactly what she wanted. A large, leafy, thick vine appeared before her feet. She stepped onto it and held on tight as the vine lowered her back down. When she was low enough, she jumped off and started walking to the sick little flower. Poor thing. No wonder Papa sent her here. All previous unpleasant thoughts Sam had towards her geographically-challenged father had disappeared as she knelt down and stroked the little's flower's weak stem. Sam placed both hands on top of her new patient, covering her up entirely. It didn't take long for Sam to feel the energy flowing through her arms and out through her fingertips. A few nearby flowers and bulbs all watched with interest as the surrounding soil under her hands lit up as if a light had been struck deep beneath the dirt. She kept her hands there for a few more seconds before drawing them away. Sam could no longer see that sickly, weak little flower. In her place was a flower whose re-hydrated stem lifted her head up high so that the world may see her new hair of pure, snow white petals sprout and blossom up towards the sun.
The surrounding vegetation who had been lucky enough to watch this miracle stared in amazement not only at their cured friend, but also at her savior. If anyone in the forest had any sort of doubt that Sam was their queen, it was all gone now. For only a queen would be able to perform such an amazing feat. Well, only a queen and her father, that is. No one can ever forget about him, now could they?
Satisfied that all was now well, Sam stood up and brushed the dirt off her little green dress. It was long past supper time and Sam wanted to go back home now. Fortunately, the way back wasn't nearly as difficult as the way before. Since she didn't need to rely on her informants or guess at almost every other turn, she was able to make it back home in a little over forty minutes. Sam walked to a large clearing in the forest and sat down with an exhausted sigh.
"Well, Papa," she said, wiping her brow, "It wasn't easy, but I was able to help cure her. No thanks to your incredibly vague directions."
A low rumble started from beneath the ground. Then a small stalk sprouted out right next to where Sam was sitting. The rumbling grew louder and the stalk grew taller. An arm formed on the growing stalk, and Sam soon found herself sitting in the middle of a palm of a green hand. The stalk was soon wearing a leafy green cloak with mushroom-capped shoulder pads. Vines started to grow on the front and sharp, black thorns grew from its top all the way down to its back. Red eyes and a giant beak formed soon afterwords and scowled at the smiling girl sitting in his hand.
"I did not give you vague directions," he argued, "I was very clear."
"Clear?" Sam snorted, "A 'look for a patch of wild flowers around some sort of tree' isn't exactly clear. We live in a forest! We're surrounded by wild flowers and tree!"
"I still told you where to go. It's not my fault you don't listen!"
"Oh, right," she rolled her eyes, "How stupid of me. I should have listened and went 'left of that green tree over that way. Or, maybe you're supposed to go right. Wait! Is that even the right tree? I think you should go to that tree! Or maybe this one!'"
"Alright, alright! You've made your point! Even so, you were able to figure it out eventually."
"Yeah. It only took, oh, about two hours of dead ends."
"Look," he said, turning his scowl into a proud smile, "You were able to find her eventually and restore her back to health. And that, my dear daughter, is all that matters right now."
He raised Sam up so she could reach his beak which she promptly hugged. After approximately five seconds later, he lowered his hand down to his shoulder pad and allowed her to climb up on top. She latched herself onto one of the thorns sticking out and prepared herself for Papa's walk toward their supper.
"Now then," he said as he started to move, "Let's eat. I'm just about starving!"