Flower 16: Hurried Ascension

  Violet bobbed in the sky, the last member of Mine’s party, making her way to the castle at the peak of Olympus. In front of the full moon, she appeared as a tiny speck, unnoticed from the ground. She had zoomed into the sky to avoid being struck by Zeus or crushed by a Bodoluu. Humming to herself, Violet had already locked onto Ryder’s location. As she approached the castle, she picked up an odd signal from above.

  “Zzzz…. Is… she… present…zzz,” A female voice buzzed in and out.

  “This… is… last known… location…zzz…. How to… pro…” the transmission cut out.

  “Zzz… destruction… eman….” the females voice was cut off again and the signal was lost.

  If Violet had shoulders she would have shrugged as she finally made it to the castle and made her way into the enormous crystal structure.

  ***

  Snap!

  Mine’s arrival echoed through the empty halls of the castle and he was greeted by Sister Verda in the foyer, “Your here.”

  “That I am,” Mine said with a smile, “Were you worried, dear?”

  “Queen Zeus can be quite fearsome,” Verda said with a blush on her cheeks.

  “Tell me about it,” he snapped again, and both Gilda and Kyan’s unconscious bodies hit the ground beside him. “If it weren’t for Royal, I fear these two would have been cooked. Not sure what you're gonna do with them, but I figured it would be safer for them to be here than to wake up out there.”

  Verda’s lips pressed into a hard line, and she reached into her cloak and moved over to the twins. She administered a glowing potion to both of them, and after a few seconds, they started to stir. She looked up at Mine and said, “Thank you.”

  “No worries, dear,” Mine replied. “Do you know where I can find the children and Mr. Gear?”

  Sister Verda nodded, “They’re in the hangar. Sister Ember and Astra are assisting with takeoff preparations.”

  Mine clapped his hands, “Ah, delightful. Thank you, dear.”

  When he snapped and vanished, the Titan siblings started to stir. Gilda rubbed her head and looked around. When she saw Sister Verda, she scrambled away from her. “What happened? Where am I?”

  “Your safe,” Verda said with her hands up.

  “Gil?” Kyan muttered as he groaned and held his chest.

  When Gilda saw her brother she remembered the last thing she saw and crawled over to him. She hugged him tightly and said, “I thought Mom killed you.”

  “Not this time,” Kyan chuckled weakly, “You called her mom,” he teased.

  She punched him and he groaned, “Shut up.”

  “I’m still sore,” Kyan managed, “Where’s Ryder?”

  “He’s preparing to leave with Mr. Heart,” Verda said with her hands clasped in front of her. “I’m happy to see the two of you reunited.”

  “You knew about Kyan,” Gilda growled accusingly.

  “Of course,” Verda said, “All of us knew.”

  Gilda’s eyes started to glow and she lunged at Verda without a moments hesitation. She reached for her throat but Kyan pulled her back, “I hate you!” She roared. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Verda sighed and closed her eyes, “We were forbade from ever mentioning Kyan’s name.”

  “It’s not her fault,” Kyan said as he pulled his sister into a tight embrace.

  She kicked and fought angrily until she started to cry and yelled, “You all lied to me. You kept me from my brother. You hid him from me.”

  “I’m sorry,” Verda said simply.

  “Don’t apologize now!” Gilda howled, “All of you were supposed to be my sisters and you kept my brothers existence from me.”

  Verda opened her mouth to respond but stopped. She closed her eyes and said, “I only wish to right my wrongs. Our time is short as is. Can I take you to Mr. Heart and the others?”

  Gilda finally used her sway to free herself from Kyan’s grip. Her turquoise fog filled the room and she hissed, “I don’t need you.” Her fog vacated the room rapidly.

  Kyan and Verda stood across from one another and she bowed her head, “I truly am sorry Prince Kyan.”

  “Nah,” he shook his head, “Don’t call me that. Just show me my way off this rock.”

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  “Very well,” Verda bowed her head and waved for him to follow her.

  ***

  The hangar of the castle, located in the highest tower, was adorned with dust, as the use of any spacefaring vessels had long been prohibited by the monarch. The equipment needed to warm up, and despite having other duties to fulfill, the Fates did as they were always meant to—see to the fruition of the prophecy with the least amount of destruction.

  Ember directed Ryder to the only operational platform and he tossed the glass bottle in the middle of it. The glass bottle shattered and the ship her and Kyan built in the bowels of the mountain started to take shape and grow. Trey and Molly stood back and watched as the ship fleshed out in front of them.

  “Are you sure this thing can fly?” Trey asked as he tilted his head. To him the ship appeared off balance and awkward.

  “Of course,” Ryder said, he did well to hide his own skepticism.

  “I’m opening the bay doors,” Astra yelled from above.

  As she did Violet zipped inside and made a beeline for Ryder’s head and slammed into him. “Ryder! Your still alive!”

  “No thanks to you,” Ryder grumbled as he pushed himself off the ground, “Where have you been?”

  “You know, surviving,” Violet said.

  Molly winced when Ryder was knocked across the floor by his clunky helmet. Gunther stepped from behind her and asked, “Is everything ready?”

  “Almost,” Trey said, his eyes narrowed as he noticed Gunther was staggering, “What’s wrong with you?”

  Gunther waved him off, “Mind yer business.”

  Molly smiled and pulled Gunther into her lap and watched everyone work while she sat on the bench. She rested her chin on the purplish-blue plush beaver’s bicorne hat and kicked her feet patiently. She looked up at the brightening sky and sighed. Mine appeared beside her with his arms spread on the back of the bench. He smiled down at her and asked, “What did I miss dear?”

  Molly smiled up at him and shook her head.

  He stood up and walked to the edge of the dock and titled his head as he examined the shape of the ship, “Are we sure this thing can fly?”

  “That’s what I asked,” Trey announced from the platform. “Ryder claims its ready but he won’t let me get on.”

  Ryder appeared in one of the the windows with his finger raised to Mine and his voice echoed from the ship, “Just fine tuning some last minute details. It’ll get us out of here for sure boss.”

  “If you say so,” Mine said as he turned back to Molly and Gunther clearly unimpressed. He walked over to Ember as she moved around a giant computer. “Do any of your star vessels work?”

  “Not really,” Ember said, “Queen Zeus had the last engineers rip out the hyper drives. They’ll get you off planet but not much further.”

  “Hmph, very well.”

  A thick turquoise fog filled the room and moved towards the ship that Ryer occupied. Gilda took her solid form again and Ryder’s terrified scream was audible to everyone.

  “Don’t do that,” Ryder barked, “You scared me.”

  “What ever,” Gilda said as she plopped down in one of the eight chairs and started to strap herself in. “Don’t talk to me.”

  “Don’t talk to me,” Ryder mimicked her and said, “Whatever you say Princess.”

  Gilda narrowed a steady gaze at Ryder and asked, “What did you call me?”

  Ryder started to stutter, “Uh, uh, ummm.. Nothing.”

  “That’s what I thought,” Gilda said as she folded her arms and looked out the window.

  “Well I guess she’s coming with us,” Mine said and turned to Molly and Gunther. “We can all start to board, dear.” She approached him with Gunther tucked under her arm and reached for his hand.

  Ember saw the exchange and smiled, “You’re good with kids.”

  “I’m just old and have a lot of patience,” Mine said, “Thank you for your assistance, dear.”

  “As the Fates, it has always been our duty to see that this day comes and goes with the least amount of damage done to the planet. There’s no need to thank me.”

  “What was all that hubbub in the cemetery?”

  “We would have killed anyone who didn’t have what it took to fulfill the prophecy,” Ember said without so much as a thought. “Your death would have been swift and we would have continued.”

  “Good to know,” Mine said with a nervous chuckle.

  “Wait for me!” Kyan shouted as he scurried into the room in his pygmy marmoset form, “Don’t leave me!”

  He blitzed past Mine and dove off the dock and scurried up the ship’s hatch. Trey and Gilda were already strapped in and he gave them two eager thumbs up. Ryder was pressing buttons on the ships console and it choked before it came to life with a low but constant hum.

  Ryder clapped his hands triumphantly and shouted, “That’s it. Look at me!”

  Mine couldn’t help but chuckle, “This journey home keeps getting more and more crowded.” he looked down at Molly and Gunther and asked, “Shall we?”

  Molly nodded her head excitedly and Gunther gave Mine a weak thumbs up. He smiled at Ember and bowed his head before he took Molly’s and snapped. They appeared on the ship and Mine looked around. The inside was a lot more appeasing than the exterior of the ship. The control panel was elaborate and windows opened up giving them a full three sixty view of their surroundings.

  “What d’you think boss?” Ryder asked.

  “Not bad,” Mine said as he nodded his head, “How she moves in the void is everything.”

  “Let’s get out of here.” Kyan shouted. “Woooooooooooooo!”

  Trey clapped his hands over his ears, “There’s no need to yell. We’re all right here.”

  “Sorry little bro,” Kyan said in a quieter tone.

  Trey smiled and said, “First time off world?”

  “Yeah,” Kyan said, “Can you tell?”

  “Kinda,” Trey said. He looked to Gilda and asked, “Aren’t you excited?”

  “I just want to leave,” Gilda said.

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Mine said, “Whenever your ready Ryder, dear.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I hear all of ya,” Ryder said as he strapped into his chair. He turned back, “Anyone care for a countdown?”

  “No,” Mine, Trey, and Gilda said in unison.

  “Absolutely,” Kyan shouted in defiance. He noticed everyone looking at him and said, “Nah, I’m good bro.”

  Ryder started to laugh and said, “Here we go!” He hit the button in front of him and the ship started to rumble.

  The hangar's platform ascended, and as the ship sprung to life, the platform descended swiftly. The vessel embarked on its rapid ascent, leaving Olympus and all of Thessaldonia shrinking in its wake.

  And that’s a wrap for Flower 16: Hurried Ascension! ??

  We’re officially in space, folks! The crew is growing, tensions are rising, and the stakes have never been higher. Gilda’s emotions ran high this chapter, and Ryder’s ship might not be the most reliable, but hey, at least they made it out… for now.

  What do you think will happen next? Will the crew finally get some rest, or is trouble waiting just around the corner? Let me know your thoughts below! ??

  If you’re enjoying the story, don’t forget to rate, follow, and leave a review—your support keeps this adventure going strong! ????

  Until next time, stay awesome!—T. M. Ashley