Bonjour! First off- I'm super excited about the response I got from the first chapter! I mean, 20 followers, 12 favs and 7 reviews (FANGIRL ^_^)?! THANKS YOU GUYS! As my first story, I never expected getting over 3 reviews especially when I'm writing in a POV I'm not super comfortable with. That said, I'm thinking about making my next chapter in 1st person POV starting with MK and maybe switching off to the other main characters. Ya see, I get my writing 'ability' from reading books, and most of the books I've read are in first person. I feel like I can get deeper into a character and just make it more personalized. I picked 3rd person for this because it WAS a movie, so I should let my 3½ readers think of it as a movie, right? but I reread my first chapter and I feel it wasn't as… personal as it could have been. Anyway here is the second chapter (in 3rd person) and I hope you enjoy! Allons-y!
MK opened her eyes to herself surrounded by pink. Wait, pink? Yes, pink! Her old bedroom, the pink mess that she had as a little girl. She was back in her old room, in her old house, with her dad. It must have been a dream, all of it. I mean, tiny people? Riding birds and talking to slugs? She laughed at her active imagination and sat up to go find her dad.
She stopped dead as she saw she was instead sitting in a hut, made up of intertwined twigs and beautiful pink flowers for decoration. She sighed and suddenly pain exploded in her head. She leaned forward and pressed her hand to her forehead.
"Easy there," said a familiar voice, though a little fuzzy.
She gave a small laugh, "I feel like I got kicked in the head by a horse."
"A what?" said Ronin's voice, more clear now.
"Never mind, what happened?"
"You mean you don't remember?"
"No-well yes-I think, but I want to make sure I'm right before I sound insane," she said as she opened her eyes to look at her friend.
"Well, you reached the bud in time, were sent into the air on a current of light, and now you're the Queen of the Forest. You were about to speak to the leafmen before you passed out," he said nonchalantly with a sympathetic smile.
MK looked at him, eyes wide, and then nodded, "Yep, that's what I thought."
She glanced down and saw the gorgeous gown she had appeared in after Queen Tara chose her. There was no question about it, she was the queen. She searched into herself to find how she felt about, but she only felt… numb. And lightheaded.
"So what know?" she asked looking inquiringly up at the leafman.
"You rest."
"Do all new queens get sick when they get chosen?"
"No, but your no ordinary queen. You were a stomper. A shrunken stomper had never been heard of before, let alone the idea of one becoming Queen on the Forest, but never the less you are our queen, and we need you healthy so you can address the people."
"But I feel f-"she gasped as another wave of pain erupted in her head, "Yea I guess you're right." She said as she lied back down and Ronin left.
The next time she woke up she felt another presence in the room, but only a dull ache in her head. She sat up and looked at the flowers she thought were the walls of her old room. They were beautiful but simple, and the ends of the petals drooped to the floor. She reached out and gently touched one of the petals. She was surprised when the flower reacted to her touch. The petals stiffed and the drooping ends rose up. It seemed to gravitate towards her then settle, perfectly content to be nearer to her. The flower looked more… well, alive. MK gave a breath of exasperation and stroked the petal.
"Wow," she whispered to herself.
"You're getting the hang of that, are you?" MK jumped at the sound of Nod's teasing voice behind her. She turned around and found him leaning against one of the walls with that half-smile he always wears on. It took her a second to comprehend what he had said, then shrugged.
"I didn't really do anything. How does that work?"
"Beats me, for some reason they wouldn't let me be queen."
"Yeah, yeah, alright. So how long have I been out?"
"Only a couple weeks"
"WEEKS?" she bolted up out of the bed, but swayed as her head ached.
Nod held her up by her arms, "Take it easy, I'm only kidding. You were out for about a day."
She pushed his shoulder and wobbled over to the window, but soon regretted it. Crowds of people were packed into the small space outside, what MK guessed was, the hospital. She backed away before she was noticed and Nod stepped up behind her.
"Should I tell them you're awake or do you wish to keep your eardrums?" he asked as they looked out on the crowd.
"So what happened after my… tired spell?"
"Well after you completely blacked out, I had to carry you to the hospital while hundreds of people were trying to either help or get a good look at the new queen. Ronin had to round up a group of his finest leafmen to get through the crowds."
They stood there for a while looking out over the crowds of forest creatures who were waiting for MK to wake up. Their observations were disrupted when the door behind them opened and a small group of leafmen stepped in, leaded by none other than Ronin. He greeted them and addressed MK.
"We can get you to your own home for the day to rest and get emotionally stable. I know this is a big change, and the leafmen want you to be as comfortable as possible. Follow me please."
MK and Nod looked at each other and followed the warriors out of the hospital. As they walked towards the crowd MK realized why they needed a group of warriors to escort her, the crowds were basically crawling over the leafmen to get a look at her. MK suddenly found herself being self-conscious. The striking bun her hair was in had fallen out and her messy hair hung loose around her shoulders. Her gown she knew was beautiful suddenly seemed to girly and young. She fidgeted with the leafy dress and her stringy hair all the way to their destination until she saw where she was actually heading.
Her mouth dropped as she looked at the giant (in a tiny way) hut hidden away in the trees, surrounded by nature. At a glance, it looked like a pile of branches and leafs, but up close MK could see all the intertwined branches and twigs. The leaves that looked like they were messy and random were actually woven in complicated and beautiful patterns. The group led the new queen to an opening inside one of the trees connected to the hut, leaving the crowd far behind. MK ducked through a small unnoticeable opening in the bark, into a dark room. Once here eyes adjusted to the new light she saw she was inside the tree. It was hollow and had stairs spiraling up the walls. They walked up the stairs until they were about half way up the tree. The stairs kept going, so MK didn't understand why they had stopped.
She looked questioningly at Ronin but he just stepped past her and searched the wall of the tree with his hand. Apparently he found what he was looking for because he nodded then reached out for MK's hand. Confused, she put her hand in his hesitantly. He gently put it on the bark. For a moment, nothing happened, but then the spot under her hand glowed and became warmer. Shocked, she tried to pull her hand away, but Ronin held her firmly on spot. Suddenly, swirls of pink light reached out of her hand on the wall, and then went on to trace a large arc from the floor to a little above MK.
The pink glow disappeared and the hollow tree seemed desolate. Then one of the leafmen pushed the wall, and it swung open like a door in the exact shape the glowing light had traced. MK filled through the door behind a couple others and stopped dead when she saw the scene in front of her. Where they were wasn't the surprising part. They were inside the hidden hut MK had seen from outside, she knew that, but she never expected the interior.
One would never believe the beautiful mess that was the façade of the hut hid the organized, shocking inside. The floors and walls of the hut were made of light, intertwined twigs. Some places there were intricate designs. There were two levels. The second ended with a balcony looking out over an adorned living space. Under the balcony was a kitchen of sorts, plus a door that MK guessed led to a bathroom. The entire place was decorated with flowers and leaves. MK figured at one point the nature made the place dazzling, but the flowers were nearly dead, and the leaves shriveling up. It was gloomy… The atmosphere in the group automatically changed.
MK stepped forward into the living space and looked around. As she stared at a group of dead flowers she felt a deep sorrow inside her, but she couldn't place why. I mean, the atmosphere was depressing and the dead plants were dejected, but something about the place felt…flawed. She turned around to the group. She noticed Ronin looking around the room looking almost as bad as she felt. The others weren't too cheery, either.
"This is where you will be staying, my queen, until you are ready to address the public. This can remain your abode if you wish it to be, but you may choose wherever you want to live," said one of the soldiers to MK.
"Um, thanks…?" she trailed off, not knowing the leafman's name.
"I am Lukah, my queen," he said.
"Oh, thank you Lukah, but you can, ah, call me MK," she said back.
"Good luck with that," budded in Nod, "They don't believe on being in a name to name relationship with anyone important. Ronin is captain, and the Queen of the Forest is 'My Queen'."
Ronin gave Nod a look and turned his attention back to MK. "We will search the home for any unstable or unsafe problems. It won't take long." Ronin set off with his men through the house, sullen and dutiful.
MK walked over to a drooping rose and stared at it sadly. She noticed someone step up behind her, and passed it off as one of the leafmen inspecting, but she turned to find Nod looking at her curiously.
"Are you alright? You've been acting weird ever since we got here."
MK sighed, "Yeah, just a lot to take in these past days, and something here just doesn't settle with me. It feels… wrong. You know what I mean?"
"Yeah, I can feel it. Why do you think that is?" he said in a way that hinted he knew why but wanted her to figure it out.
MK thought for a little while when it suddenly hit her. She raised her eyebrows in shock at her realization, but soon the sadness returned, even greater now that she knew the root.
"This is where Queen Tara lived, isn't it?" she asked Nod. No wonder all the plants were dying. They lost their queen. And Ronin…
He nodded sadly and looked away, "It's tearing Ronin apart, that's what gets to me."
MK just sighed, not knowing what to say or how to fix the situation. Unexpectedly, she had an idea. She remembered the drooping flower in her hospital room, and stepping forward, she touched a petal of the dying rose. At first, nothing happened, and MK's heart sank, but surprisingly, red started flowing into the leaf from where her fingers touched, and the petals raised themselves up. Soon a healthy, beautiful red rose stood tall in front of them. MK smiled and looked a Nod, whose eyebrows were raised in amazement. He looked back at her and their eyes met. Blood rushed to MK's cheeks as she remembered their kiss back at Moonhaven.
"Weird," he breathed. "Your eyes are brighter than before."
MK's confused response was cut off by a couple leafmen reentering the room. She turned around to face them, just a tad annoyed by the interruption. Lukah stepped forward from the group, "Everything looks good, Queen Mary Katherine, we'll leave you in peace."
"Thanks"
They bowed and exited. MK notices Ronin was not among them and was just about to go look for him when she heard a snort behind her. She turned to find Nod holding in a laugh, and failing for that matter.
"What?" she asked peevishly.
He held in a laugh long enough to say, "Queen Mary Katherine… quite a mouthful, not to mention so girly-"
She rolled her eyes and pushed his shoulders.
"Don't ever call me that"
"Okay! Okay," he surrendered, putting his hands up. "Mary Katherine," he muttered/coughed.
"Ugh!" she shoved him, harder this time, "How did they even know that was my name?"
"Your father," said Ronin's voice behind them.
They turned and MK's mind raced.
"My dad? How did he-"
"We contacted him the day you were out, made him aware of the situation. We talked for quite a while, though I assume it would have gone faster if he wouldn't talk so slowly."
"And… what did he say about all this?" she asked, scared of the answer.
"He said he wished to speak with you whenever you came around."
MK nodded and Ronin came closer to speak with them.
"The place looks secure," he said, still with that forced submissive attitude. "You can-"
He stopped dead when he noticed the rose, tall and shining, behind MK and Nod.
"How-" he shut his mouth as the explanation came to him. He looked at MK and smiled proudly. He bowed his head and departed the house, leaving just MK and Nod.
"So… I guess I should be going to," Nod said awkwardly.
"Yeah-I mean-if you want to."
"I do-no I mean, I don't, but you need your rest," he stumbled.
"Yeah, no-totally. And I need to fix this place up."
"Yep, well I'll see you around," he said as he walked to the exit. As he stepped through the doorway he muttered, "Queen Mary Katherine," then bolted down the stairs. MK made a sound of exasperation, marched over to the door, and shut it loudly, ignoring Nod's laughter as he sprinted down the stairwell.
She leaned back on the door and stared at the desolate room, then ran over to the nearest flower, and touched it, waiting for life to return to it. Soon the whole room was full of beautiful, blooming flowers and plants. Exhausted (for some odd reason, because there weren't many flowers to revive) she searched the downstairs, and then the upstairs to find a bed. When she finally did, she laughed, delighted.
The bed was made of layers of moss, covered in soft leaves, and the sheets were beautiful white flower petals. For some reason, these plants weren't sad and dying like the others. She lied down gratefully on the soft bed.
As she shut her eyes, she realized what a journey she was in for. First things first, even before talking to the creatures of the forest, she had to talk with her father. She let herself have one single moment of complete and utter panic overcome her, and then quickly composed herself. Then she let herself a moment of complete and utter joy. However, she let this feeling linger, and soon she lost herself in the fluffy, flowery pillows, effortlessly loosing herself to destiny, letting it take her wherever it wished.
Okay… so I know this is sort of like the first chapter with set up and all, but I really wanted to get in this amazing house I made up in my head. I'm thinking about drawing a picture for visual effect. I've already drawn and photocopied a picture of MK's dress, but I'm waiting until next chapter to post it cause I'm actually going to describe it in detail. Also, I snuck a little Nod/MK action your way, but I couldn't really find much space for it! BUT DON'T WORRY, this story WILL have lots of fluff because that idea is where it all began! If you don't like it, GET OUT! no, im sorry, im kidding, please don't leave… ANYWAY, please review (it keeps me a-truckin ) and in those beautiful reviews, TELL ME IF I SHOULD CONTINUE WITH THIRD PERSON OR NOT. . I don't want to peeve some of you off with changing the POV so tell your opinion! Oh, and btw i decided just to update whenever i finish a chapter, but hopefully it wont take longer than a week. this chapter happened pretty fast (in my opinion) because it was basically still set up. i want to go deeper for my next chapters so if you want quality it might take a while :] sorry in advance. Thanks for reading I hope you liked! Au revoir!