Back to the rocking chair.Back to staring at the darkness.
The rain filtered through the leafy roof outside.The oven glowed.The dandelions prowled outside, and she was safe in here.It would be fine.
Eventually, exhaustion won, and she lay back down.She slept, dreaming of white eyes and red cracks and grass that went on forever.
***
DAWN CAME GRAY ANDcold.The oven had burned low—she'd need to replace the sunflower again, but first...
She went to the window and looked out.Two dandelions prowled the perimeter.
Two.
Her stomach dropped.She grabbed her boots and ran outside.The fog had lifted slightly.She could see her grove, the shield wall, and there—
Scattered plant matter.Shredded dandelion fluff caught on the grass.A hollow stem torn in pieces.One of the dandelions was gone.
The other two came to her immediately, pressing close.The larger one had scratches along its flank—deep gouges in the translucent stem.
"What happened?"
They couldn't answer, of course.But she could see the evidence.Claw marks on the ground near the shield.More damage to the red, cracked section.Something had tried to get through.The dandelions had fought it off.One had died protecting her.It was a plant, sure, but she still felt bad."Thank you," she whispered to the survivors.
The two remaining dandelions pressed closer, flanking her, their fluffy manes tickling.
She looked at the shield.The cracks were worse.Definitely worse.If she hadn’t created the dandelions, it might have been worse.
And she was down to two protectors instead of three.
Walter appeared at the door."Madam?Are you—" He saw the scattered remains and went quiet.
"We're going today," Wren said.Her voice was steady.Flat."As soon as the safe window opens.We can't wait any longer."
"Yes, madam."
She went inside to prepare.To eat something even though she wasn't hungry.To put on her velvet and boots and gather her highly visible spearmint spear.
To try not to think about how badly this could go.
The clock—she didn't have a clock.But Walter did, somehow.Squirrel magic, maybe.
Four hours until eleven.
Four hours until she walked into the monster-infested grass with two plant-lions and a sharpened mint stick.
She sat at the island counter and waited for the safe window to open.
***
SHE SAT AT THE COUNTER, hands wrapped around a cup of tea she wasn't drinking, staring at nothing.
Wait.
The dandelion.It had scattered everywhere, yes, but—
Seeds.
It had to have seeds.That's how dandelions worked.The fluff carried seeds.
