War of the Roses (3) (MANUSCRIPT)

Stem 7: The Lion, Part 3

      "L- Leleonus? Since when in the heck did you get the balls to treat Madame President like this?" Vaal glared, picking himself up from the dirt. 

      Looking away and snorting, Leleonus returned a cold look at Vaal. "Didn't you hear the conversation? Vervain hasn't always been 'Vervain', Vaal, and from the looks of things, she doesn't plan on continuing to be 'Vervain', either." 

        "What?" Vaal frowned. 

       "Oh, God. Why is he the most dense out of all the Flower Children here?" 

       "Here's to hoping he was incredibly smart in a past-incarnation." Vervain shrugged. 

      His heart zipping, Leleonus activated the spore by blowing on it. "Here's to hoping that this has some sort of answers to any of my past-lives." 

      Shivering, Vervain swallowed as a cinematic scene exploded out from the spore. 

     Through the powdery residue of the plant, Ms. Dendron appeared, standing in front of a chalk-board.

      "To start off, I'd like to pass on my best regards to each and every student here at Private Flora Academia. The teachers and faculty of this institution have had such a wondrous time getting to know all of you. That said, it's time that I say my farewell. You see, each of you here has a special sort of secret that you've all... forgotten."  

      Vaal's face fell. "Th- That's-" 

      "Yeah, I know. When'd she get around to doing this, I wonder?" Leleonus tightened his grip around Vervain's leg. If this is a further distraction from who I used to be, prior to showing up on Francis' doorstep, I'm going to make sure that Vervain, Danica, or whoever this woman wants to be called, has to endure a lot of pain. Just like I... did! 

      Vaal held his breath. Making eye-contact with the apparition of Ms. Dendron, he squinted. Tossing his gaze to Vervain every few seconds, his shoulders tensed. 

      Around them, the sun continued to almost bleach the insides of the giant tree with a brighter color. Once dark oak now appeared the hue of honey. Rings and flaws ran through the thick wood. 

       "This may come as a shocker to you," The projection of Ms. Dendron put her arms behind her back in this grainy, magical film. "but there's always been more to you, as Flower Children, than I've ever let on. You see, long ago, the Flower Children were the most feared and persevering creatures on this planet. No one could stop us, not even the ancient deities. Because of this, as time rolled on, we decided it would be fun to have an 'arms-race'. The Flower Children, despite being imagined as peaceful 'dryads', actually decided to see which of the different clans was the strongest." 

      C- Clan? The corners of Leleonus' eyes crinkled. 

      Ms. Dendron's chest rose, then she continued with, "Each Flower Child belongs to a specific family, you see. There used to be hundreds upon hundreds, but after the Great War of the Petals, only four remained." 

      Vaal stood up, his arms out by his sides. "F- Four? No way, that woman's playing us! And why are you even showing us this anyway, Madame Vervain? I don't get it."  

      Vervain rolled her eyes. "To bring you -- oh, how do the humans say this -- 'up to speed'." 

      "The first of the survivors were the Tulpas, for Tulips. The second family to come out from the fearful seeds, since the war had spread over half of the entire planet, and much blood had been spilled -- granted, it was sap and nector in this case -- was known as Clan Wildos, for the Wild Blossom Flowers. Thirdly, the Carwell family, though only a few of them remain to this very day. Not only did four families survive, as unfortunate as it is, but the members of those families were few in number, too. Hm, and to top off this list, I end with... the Lavendelle." 

      Smirking, Vervain slid out from Leleonus' vines. Not paying it any mind, Leleonus continued to watch Ms. Dendron. Creases forming around his eyelids, gasps popped out from him every few minutes.

      "The Lavendelle family had only one survivor, primarily because this individual was a traitor in some instances. Being a source of friendly fire, this person, known only as 'The Lion' back then, took out many from his own family. Whether it was on accident or not, it's hard to tell! The war came and went, and the world was able to regrow as though nothing ever happened. Nature eating itself just breeds more nature, as it were. However, some say that this 'Lion' was able to not only reincarnate, but split himself into two people." 

      The message falling on his ears, Leleonus held his breath. His vines weakened, falling next to him, and detaching from his back. Vervain began to take a few steps away from the boys, showing a wry smile. 

       So, my brother was- No! That can't be right. Solomon was real. Solomon was alive, damn it! Of course. He was just another Lavendelle, like me. There couldn't have been just... one survivor.

      "This era of peace- This long, drab peace that we Flower Children have all experienced, shall soon come to an end. You see, I was always a member of the Wildos clan, and it has come to my attention that other members of Wildos have wished to reinstate another world-wide 'duel'. Yet again, the world wishes to see who the strongest Flower Child is, once and for all." 

      The grainy film exploding in front of him, bits accumulating back up into an ashen pile of dead dust, akin to a dandelion, Leleonus stared onward. His gaze going nowhere in particular, his eyes glinted. His neck tightened. 

      "This... can't be true!"