Dark Crow Rising

"Looks like I was putting on the act a little too well." I quietly complain to myself with my words. Wiping down my chest some more, I solve my leakage problem for now and dispose of the old towel. Taking up a fresh one, I wrap myself up purely to keep my chest contained, regardless of how unbefitting it is for someone like me. Standing up with a flick of the hair, I go and leave the building.

Taking up the pair of tubes I called for earlier, I slip them on and seal them onto my legs. I step out into the unrestricted opening in the valleys and head back towards the flower. I look to my left, up at the camp the Gilded-Bark has once again set out from. To his knowledge, the Thief was not among those the Champion saved.

As I will have him think, forever.

I managed to convince him closer to the moment that she was nowhere to be found. Though, knowing he would not believe it until he saw it, I had the Thief snatched away in secrecy. Before even the Valkinvar found the Champion... She won't spoil my victory.

However, while I wanted to just kill the Thief, I found myself thinking of something far more suitable. She's always been more befitting of a root's hideous, heavy attire, anyway. It is a contradicting state my victory has left me in, though. The Gilded-Bark remains miserable, even more so in fact.

I can't bare seeing him the way he is right now, but, it's for his own good...

But, once my plan is finished, there will be nothing to worry about. This worsening depression of his will make him unwilling to handle his usual duties. I can take full control of them with the strength of my name and position and handle them how I want. I am personally thinking of exile for the Thief, letting her just wander the world...

Alone.

I smirk joyfully as I enter the flower with my escort. Thinking of how painful I can make the Thief's punishment alone makes me tingle with delight. But, for now, my plan is not air-tight, I still need to remove her discovery from reality itself. I have a few ideas in that regard...

Firstly, maybe I should just let her rot in a quiet portion of the Root's end of the flower. Enjoy the fact that everyone will just see her as a root, the thorns will beat her back into squalor again and again. Her smell will be drowned out and camouflaged by her new life and those around her. Nobody will question it even if a bit of her yellow hair slips out...

"No, I need to be firmer in my efforts." I verbally go as I look around for inspiration. My eyes land on a thorn as she polishes her helmet for the moment. I glance at her purple hair and its spikey, prickly shape. Thistles.

I could seal the magic of her hair with special, purple dye and make it so everyone thinks she is Thistle'lhia or something!

I smile at the idea but then the Champion suddenly enters my thoughts from nowhere. I feel a slight reaction coming from my chest and I peek down the towel. I groan as I watch my sticky honey form strings from my breasts to the white fluff of the towel. But, feeling honey run down my chest forcefully, I firmly place the towel back and somewhat seal my breasts up.

"Oh, Champion, how I am annoyed by you." I quietly remark as I suddenly develop trouble stopping my mind from thinking of other things. My mind knows who my desires are truly for, but my body seems to be particularly misinformed... Gods and goddesses be willing, their blessings will ensure my plan works. The door to my love's heart will finally be open to me.

Though, with my chest acting up the way it is, I will need to change my immediate plans. So I start to head towards the brambles I have the Thief locked up in. My escort disperses and I spot the confusion amongst those guarding this here 'root.' But, ignoring them, I focus all of my justified malice onto the bound creature inside of the bramble.

I have the thorns open it up and then dismiss them with a quiet wave of my hand. My breasts stop leaking and I stop my smile from coming out, keeping my joy on the inside. I can't be wasting my sweet, luscious bounty on towels, it is for him. When the time comes...

Her hair is dirtied, but still bright and rich with magic, as is befitting of a petal. Her skin is much the same but bruised and bloodied as well. Unfortunately, it is not my work. Though, rather conveniently for me, she is starting to wake up.

Groaning herself awake, she manages to spit the gag out of her mouth and she looks up at me. Sneering, I kick her to the ground and look at her brightly glowing bulbs. She's confused, begging and fearful. I smile and pop them under my narrow, metal-covered tips and she screams against the ground.

Relaxing to the sound of her crying, I grab and lift her up. She rarely spoke with words whilst she walked around my stolen love. He will not recognise her by her words... No one will understand her, few actually speak words in our flower.

She cries and cries as she bleeds across the ground. I start to laugh at her misery, kicking her away once again. There is no reason for anyone to help her. No thorn, stem, petal or even my stolen love, the Gilded-Bark himself will help a crippled root like her!

None of them at all!

"Well, well... Would you look at this, a pathetic, wilted creature who I could cut down so easily is before me. But, I suppose killing you now is more trouble than it is worth. A murder in the flower is too loud, executions are rare, only what you stole can authorise that, Thief!"

She responds with pained, distorted crying.

I slam my right point into her face and she falls back against the spiked, twisting bars of the bramble. Blood runs down her fitting attire and across her face. I want to do it more, but I know I shouldn't. Even with all my frustrations towards her...

I sneer at her and snatch her up by her destroyed bulbs and I spit on, then drop her.

"Your efforts to steal my love from me end here. It will all go according to plan this time, you won't snatch away the Gilded-Bark's unfortunately bastard child. You. Will. Suffer." I tell her as a cruel smirk appears on my lips. Beautiful magic howls out of my left hand and I grip the nearest metal bar so I can better control it. I let it build up even more until it starts to flare out of an easy state of handling. It's brighter than even the Champion's power!

I place my left hand against her bloody face, tightly grasping it. The magic flows into the hated thief and she struggles to scream against the magical winds forcing their way down her throat. Bubbles form under her skin and she violently convulses as I blow her body up. Red starts to pop out across her body and she flails about, desperately clinging to life.

She falls limp and I let go, flicking my hand mostly clean of blood.

Stepping out of the bramble, I walk to the nearest thorn with a relieved sigh.

"Close it up, make sure she lives." I brightly order them to do as they get over their discomfort. I think back to my idea of dying her hair, I smile at it. Her body is destroyed, but there are still hints as to who she once was. I need to destroy that too.

I walk into the home of the Petals and head towards the appropriate bulb, stepping into it, I am greeted with joyful, fluttering lights.

"Oh! Ivy-Mother! A pleasure as always to see you here! Can I help you with anything? Does the Valkinvar need anything? Or even the Champion perhaps!? I heard he woke up earlier!" the young, blue-haired petal ecstatically bombards me with as she threatens to destroy her true-voice with sheer excitement.

"Another time for all these questions, but, it is a pleasure to meet you as well, fellow petal. Now, I'm wondering, may I borrow some of your supplies?" I ask her with my true-voice as I start to walk around for the sake of inspecting things. Then, spotting what I do need, I come to a stop near some hung-up skirts.

"Hm? What do you need? We have plenty of everything a petal might need in their dressing habits!" she eagerly asks as she tries to follow my gaze.

"Do you have any purple, magic-sealing dye I could have? Preferably a small jar, enough for one person." I ask as I head towards what I want. Picking a vial up, I swirl it about and inspect how it messes with my vision. It deceives me into believing the magic around it is purple in colour and my eyes hurt a little looking at so much of it in one space.

Our hair is a curious thing, even whilst our magic is varying shades of leaves, grass and moss, maybe even as sparkling as emerald... Our hair matches the flower we are born under. If I remember correctly as well, this kind of hair dye is made from the hair of our deceased ancestors. The last vestiges of their magic in this divinely-made world.

"I can get our finest, rose-red dye?" she offers as she rapidly gestures towards the, in-comparison, regal vial. I look at it for the sake of it and smile at the gorgeous colour. It's not as nice as my own hair, but, I might come back for it, now that I see it. I can have so many patterns painted onto my naked skin!

It might go particularly well with the dress of my station, maybe even my...

"No, purple will do me just fine for now." I tell her as I hide the insidious smile I can't help but develop.