#taela

Taela continued forward, a white queen in the mists of greys, greens, and browns. She came to the part of the Deep Paths where the trees stood tall and thin, the ground mostly empty, and the leaves lost to the grey mists. 

She waited. The flashes of white in the dark appeared to her after just a moment's wait. Or it could have been hours of waiting. Nothing changed in this part of the wood. Nothing dared change.

The flash belonged to the fish. Ancient beings in the shapes of the fish that swim in rivers, but these ones could only be found here in the mists. Whether they were memories from when this land had only been ocean, or the forest’s will manifested, Taela did not know, nor did she care. 

She reached her hands out to them. They came to her. Two of them. Mates. The circled her nudging her, not quite solid but definitely there. She followed them through the paths. Startled deer lifted their heads and bounded away, predatory teeth showing all the way up their wolf like snouts. Taela ignored them. They were of no consequence to her. 

The fish led her to the place that became even more murky. Even more like being underwater. Her white hair turned blue in this lighting. The fish stopped in front of a cave. She peered inside. Grey orbs glimmered and flashed, tiny black spots moving within.

“The Next,” she murmured, the silence accepting her voice warmly. She turned with a content expression to the guardians of the center of the Deep Paths. “I am glad.”

They seemed to bow their heads to their Queen. She walked on through the mists. Until she stepped through a wall of gray. Then it cleared in an instant as she reached the center. She had reached the Deepest of the Deep Path.

A lush green garden, sparkling blue butterflies flitting through the air. Animals of all kinds wandered through. Taela walked through the lush grass and flowers and came to the throne at the center. Carved from the bones of the giants that once roamed this land, it was now covered in flowers and vines. She sat down in it, white fairies placing a flowering crown on her now pink hair. The Queen had returned. Just as she always had since she had first found this place. Her people poked out through the misty walls that surrounded the lush garden and came to stand before her. She looked them all over. She was like none of them, and yet, they were all one in the same. She stood, tail sweeping out.

“My people,” she said softly, though she knew by their cocked ears they all heard her. “There is joy to be had. The Guardians have laid their next generation.”

There was a whisper of pleasure through the clearing.

“And yet.” Silence. “And yet, the city still remains. Talk continues of entering the forest and taking the trees.”

More silence.

“I declare,” Taela hissed, eyes dark and mouth twisted with anger, “If they dare come into the Deep Paths, let them…. But they shall taste death on our fangs.”

Snarls of agreement went up among the people. They were people who had forsaken the world to protect the forest. Many of whom lived in the city. Many of whom love the Deep Paths more than anyone or anything in the city.