Days passed, with Roux watching the sky. Clouds floated over the valley, some fast, some slow. Some in the shape of lemons. Most in the shape of clouds. Roux couldn't see them at first, he only had a dim awareness of things close to him. That wasn't good enough. He was terrified the bird would come back, or some other creature. He needed to see them coming before it was too late. So he grew eyes.

  He didn't know where the ability came from, he simply knew that it was similar to how he learned to speak in creatures' minds. He needed the change, so with great effort (and a noticeable loss in the energies he was absorbing from the magical fruit), he grew eyes.

  It was wonderful.

  He watched trees swaying in the wind, he watched distant birds playing. When any creature came too close, he mentally shouted at them, scaring them off. It must be quite scary, Roux mused, to have a lemon shouting in your head. None of the creatures he shouted at ever came back a second time.

  At night the clouds were harder to see, but that was no problem, because Roux was treated to a multitude of stars, and the moon with its many phases.

  Roux lay there with his magical fruit for quite some time, content as a lemon could be. But unfortunately this paradise was coming to an end. While Roux remained a vibrant yellow, as healthy as can be, the magical fruit started glowing dimmer and dimmer. One day the glow faded completely, and the fruit began to rot. When it was truly dead, Roux knew he had to move on, lest he himself follow the same path. It felt momentous, seeing the death of a loved one. Something in him suggested he should say a few words. But what to say?

  It was a good fruit, he said in the minds of any creature nearby. There was a collective shriek as all living things fled the area in terror. It will not be forgotten. Roux finished softly to himself. That felt like the right sort of thing to say.

  The lemon pondered his next move. Without the constant supply of magic from the fruit, Roux would certainly fade away, before dying. That would never do. Roux wanted to watch the moon with all its phases for many seasons. He wanted to live. For the first time, he also wanted to explore. If one such magical fruit existed, then surely there would be more. Roux wanted more magic. More life. More... capacity. He enjoyed shouting at the local wildlife, and seeing the clouds, stars, and moon, but he needed to get around.

  He needed legs.

  After an exhausting day of growing some, Roux stood up. It was the strangest sensation. He'd lived his whole life on the ground, and now he was standing. He took a step, and then another. A giggle bubbled up from within him. He was a walking lemon. Not just a lemon, but a lemon that could walk from one place to another. The absolute top of the food chain. He started walking faster, breaking into a run.

  Ha HA! He crowed, running at the nearest creature. The squirrel screamed and raced to the very top of the tree, where it leapt off, sailing forward, and landed in the valley's river. The squirrel was never seen in that valley again. Roux barely noticed the poor creature's plight. He was leaping, jumping, dancing. Oh this is good! He declared to the valley. I should have tried legs weeks ago!

  For the rest of the afternoon, Roux walked, leaped, and danced his walk around the valley. It was a wonderful time. As the sun grew closer to the horizon, Roux sat on the bank of the river and sighed contentedly to himself.

  What a day.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Watching the setting sun, he thought about his best friend, the now-dead fruit that had given him life. He looked at his legs, marvelling at how well-defined and muscular they were. Perfect for walking about. He eyed the river.

  Can I swim, too?

  It was the perfect solution for his need to travel. The magical fruit seemed quite special and rare, there certainly wasn't another one like it in the valley. So he needed to travel far. Walking was great, but perhaps he needed an extra boost...

  With a small "plop", Roux jumped into the river. Bobbing along with the current that swiftly headed out of the mountains that formed the valley. He spent the next few days in the river enjoying the wandering nature of the currents. Sometimes he swam, sometimes he simply lay there and watched. He saw the sky, similar to his experiences before, but he also saw the water. He saw fish swimming around. At first he scared them away, but then he realized that he no longer had a magical fruit to protect. He started to allow the fish to get closer, and watched as they searched the waters and the mud for small creatures to eat. Some fish even ate each other. Roux wondered idly if he would eat another lemon, should such an encounter ever happen. Probably, he concluded. The fish sure seemed to enjoy it. He would need a mouth for that, but he didn't want to burn through the magic in him too quickly. It was his very lifespan. First, he needed another source of magic. Then he could try eating lemons. And fish. Maybe they would go well together? Roux gently spun in circles as he enjoyed the sunlight warming his front, while the water cooled his back.

  ***

  The kingdom of Roth was in a panic. Servants rushed around the high courts, frantically delivering messages. They were torn between decorum and urgency. A young boy would bow and shout at the same time, trying to be heard over the maid next to him, who was curtseying and screaming incoherently. They were shoved aside by the lords and ladies who had sent them, the nobles too distressed to wait for the normal means of communication. Messenger birds clutching tiny scrolls fought each other in the courtyard, stealing each others parcels, overwhelmed by the panic in their masters. A few managed to leave the chaos, soaring up and over the city, where the gates were completely blocked by crowds of people all trying to leave at once.

  The Fox Sage had left.

  Every full moon, the fox would appear at the top of Noble Hill. In exchange for crates of the finest delicacies the kingdom's bakeries could produce, the fox would whisper secrets of the neighboring kingdoms. Nothing was off limits. Any secret, for the right amount of pastries. No matter how cunning the bordering nations were, they could never outwit Roth, for they could never outwit the fox. Plots were foiled, plans were undone before they even started. The kingdom had grown rich and fat, surrounded by enemies yet completely untouchable. And now the fox was gone. The full moon came and went. All that the people found on the hill was a note:

  The winds are no longer certain. No longer safe.

  In bewilderment, the nobles had waited all night. Then the next. Then, when the next full moon came and went, the truth finally started to settle in. The fox was gone. It wouldn't come back. A day later, the citizens awoke to see the small bordertown of Lief on fire, enemy troops surrounding and overtaking it in the middle of the night. It blazed brightly, a beacon to all, friend and enemies alike, that Roth was no longer safe.