The Last Flowers Ch. 14

"You were amazing, Hevani," she called out.

"We're all so proud of you," Sarielle said.

Amaranth smiled, but Hevani kept her head down. Confronting her father had taken quite a mental toll on her.

As the tribe neared the rock wall, they veered to the right for a while. There was an overhang in some rocks where they could stash the chests to keep them dry. Dendelyn hoped the elhuvens would stay with them forever, but that wasn't very realistic and there were things they'd need if they ever chose to start a new life somewhere else.

The cave was a couple of metres wide and barely high enough to stand hunched over. To get to it, they had to lift the chests up a shoulder-high section of rock and carry them across a sloping shelf. Dendelyn climbed onto the ledge to grab the box Rose and Flora hoisted up. Evadne took the other end and they carried it over to the cave, slotting it in beside the rest. Dendelyn waited for Evadne to climb down first then she sat on the edge. As she readied to go down someone further along slipped. They crumpled on the ground and started screaming. Dendelyn dropped to the dirt and hurried over. Sage was clutching her ankle, whimpering. Willow clambered down and rushed to her side. Flora knelt next to them to inspect Sage's leg, feeling the heat in the already welling joint.

"It's not broken."

"Can you walk on it?" Willow asked.

Sage tried to put some weight on it and shook her head.

Flora gently flexed her foot, making Sage wince. "It may only be a bad sprain. I'll mix you up something to help with the swelling."

"She's not going to be able to come with us, is she?" Aster asked.

The nymphs shared a look.

"No!" Sage cried. "I want to help." She clung to Willow and sobbed into her neck. "I always get left out."

Ellowyn crouched beside her. "You can look after Moonflower."

"Yes, we don't want her to feel like she's alone," Willow said.

Moonflower was too young to understand time or...anything else, but Sage didn't know that.

The rest of the tribe were sitting nearby, all sullen. Dendelyn went to sit with them to give Sage some privacy.

"What's wrong with your arms?" Abelia pointed to the thorns coming out of Rozenwild's wrists and ankles.

"Oh, you've turned into a prickle bush again." Kerensa smiled.

She grimaced. "Once it's happened it only takes me getting agitated for them to pop out again."

She shook her arm, trying to make them disappear.

"Do you need help putting them away?" Flora asked as she sat down.

"No," she snapped.

Laceleaf wandered over. "If you don't leave her alone they'll never go away."

***

They had to pull Sage up the cliff in vines, and then Willow carried her the rest of the way. The tribe gathered around the fire while Flora made her a poultice.

"It is still a time to celebrate." Laceleaf circled the group handing out nectarines. "You all did well." She offered Hevani a fruit. "You were particularly strong."

"Yes, well done, everyone," Sarielle said. "Here's hoping they change their ways."

"Do you think they'll do what we said?" Abelia asked.

Rozenwild gave her a sly smile. "We'll make them."

"Oh, I got something while I was at home." Sarielle stuck her hand down her blouse and pulled out a long yellow ribbon.

Kerensa gasped with delight. "You found it!" She clapped her hands. "Time to burn it."

Sarielle laughed at her friend's impish enthusiasm. She leaned over the hot coals and dropped the ribbon. Embers ate away at the edges and then flame flared along its length, consuming it until it was nothing more than a blackened squiggle on the charred wood.

Willow brought Sage over and gently placed her on the ground. Flora had wrapped her ankle in leaves to hold the healing concoction to the skin. Sage's spirits had lifted a little, but Dendelyn could see she was still disappointed.

"I'm going to stay with her." Willow guided Sage's head to her shoulder and combed her hair.

"The rest of us will leave in the morning. What is still left to prepare?" Laceleaf asked.

"We have to make sure everyone's protected from the tree if they get too close," Sarielle said. "Kerensa and I can use what's left of our locks, but Aster doesn't have one and Abelia took hers off."

"A few leaves and vines grown in strategic places would be suitable armour," Willow suggested.

"Great. Who else turned their lock into rings? Hevani?"

"We took hers off," Flora said for her.

"Evadne, what did you do with your lock?"

She looked dumbfounded. "I'm still wearing it."

Rozenwild screwed up her face. "How did you free Laceleaf?"

"I broke the middle bar."

Sarielle sighed. "Anyone seen the wire cutters? We better get it off her."

Kerensa dashed off to find them. She brought the tool over to Evadne and pushed up her skirt. Evadne flapped about in protest, but let her cut the metal free. "I guess you don't need them bent into rings like mine if you can use leaves."

"Who's going to be the bait? They need to give the tree access to their butt. It might be hard to make armour that allows for that." Sarielle said.

Kerensa grinned sheepishly. "I don't mind doing it again."

"And if you can't get that close?" Laceleaf asked.

Aster raised her hand. "I'll do it."

"You don't have a lock," Sarielle pointed out.

"She can have my chastity belt," Sage said.

Evadne rubbed her thighs together. "It feels weird."

"Here, I'll make you rings in case you need them." Kerensa started smashing a piece of the metal with a rock.

"Now then." Laceleaf drew a dot with her toe and surrounded it with a circle. "Let us go over the plan."

~

~*~:~*#L#*~:~*~

In the crisp air of morning, the group headed out with Willow and Sage waving them off. Laceleaf could see it hurt the elhuvens to leave them behind. She herself felt a little sorry for Sage, but it wasn't as if the woman could do anything to help anyway. And she'd slow them down.

The tribe buzzed with excitement at the coming adventure. They had two detours to make on the way. One was to the spot Willow had taken root. Hidden in the grass and leaves was Sage's belt, where she'd cast it off months ago. Next was the place they'd stashed the bottles of fire and pesticide they'd purchased from the sorceress in the city. And the axe.

Laceleaf had prepared herself for this. She knew the elhuvens used an axe to defeat the tree, knew that meant she'd have to see it.

Kerensa reached into the hollow tree and picked up the murderous weapon without a care. And there it was. Long wooden handle, worn smooth by hard-working hands. A blocky head, a lump of dull metal. The sharpened blade, sun glinting off the silvery edge.

Laceleaf's heart caught in her throat and she had to remind herself to breathe. Nice and steady. These creatures wouldn't hurt her. They were her sisters' mates.

She turned her head to stop herself staring. Evadne was looking at her with a pathetic sort of expression, but she didn't say anything or come any closer. Laceleaf received glances from a couple of her sisters while Dendelyn cautiously approached the axe to study it. Laceleaf cleared her throat and the young nymph leapt back as if it bit her.

"We need to keep moving," Laceleaf said flatly and began to walk.

She checked over her shoulder to make sure they were coming. Kerensa was close off her right side with Sarielle. Laceleaf focused on where she was walking, but couldn't help looking back again, uneasy with her being there.

"Come walk with me, blossom," Rozenwild said guiding Kerensa away with a glance in Laceleaf's direction.

Someone appeared on her left. Flora gave her a smile and reached for her hand. Laceleaf decided not to pull away, letting her slide her fingers between hers.

"You don't trust them," Flora whispered, seeing her checking on Kerensa.

"I want to."

"It's okay, Laceleaf. Would you prefer to carry it yourself?"

Laceleaf was horrified by the idea.

"It's just an object. It has no power unless someone wields it. If it's in your hands, you'll be in control."

Maybe it would be better if she were the one to have it. Her brain was playing through scenarios where an elhuven accidentally got too close to her and she responded by shouting rather harshly at them. She didn't want them to think she was completely unhinged. As it was, they were probably wondering why she was even frostier than usual. It didn't look like any of them had been told, but that wouldn't be for long.

When they stopped for a break, Laceleaf walked over to Kerensa. "That must be growing heavy. I'll carry it for a while."

"Thanks." Kerensa held out the handle across her palms.

Laceleaf stared at it, daunted by its closeness.

"Don't worry. It can't cut you." Kerensa moved the axe and Laceleaf flinched. "You have to put a lot of force behind it." She ran her bare fingers along the blade. "See, it's not sharp."

Her hand was indeed undamaged, but Laceleaf still wanted to turn and run. Kerensa looked up at her, beating her long eyelashes, oblivious to her fear.

"Why don't you put it on the ground for her, Kerensa?" Flora said gently.

Kerensa laid the axe on the dirt and backed away. Laceleaf glared at it, hating it for being such an awful thing. She crouched down and tentatively reached for it. Her hand glided across the smooth wood, took comfort in the familiar material, and wrapped around it. The weight of it surprised her, but she kept it in front of her rather than putting it over her shoulder. Flora was right. This was a much better place for it.

~

~*~:~*#E#*~:~*~

Ellowyn was bored. They'd been walking for hours and the conversation had died to a passing comment here and there. She'd never been this far west. It was outside their territory, but it felt safe. Even with nothing familiar around, it was still their beloved forest.

"Can anyone else feel a nymph?" Flora asked from the front.

Ellowyn could also feel a slight sense of proximity. "Yes."

Rozenwild frowned. "It's weak, but there's definitely something."

"But...everyone's accounted for," Dendelyn pointed out.

Ellowyn scratched behind her flower. "We must have miscounted."

Amaranth laughed and pranced off into the trees. "I'm going to find out who it is!"

The rest of them hurried after her, just as eager to meet up with an old friend. Even the fastest elhuvens were quickly left behind.

"What's she doing so far away?" Laceleaf asked, dropping into a jog to let them catch up.

That was puzzling. No one could have got this far away unless they'd left earlier, before the tree came into full power. Ellowyn couldn't remember anyone being missing, but maybe someone went looking for help.

The nymphs crested a hill and skipped their way down the bank on the other side, the elhuvens sliding down less gracefully behind them. There, in a clearing stood a small sprite tree, bare of flowers. The nymphs came to a sudden halt, taking small steps towards her.

"Who...?" Amaranth started.

"Who is that, indeed," Rozenwild finished for her.

"She's a sapling," Ellowyn said sadly. She reached out to touch her trunk. "Oh, flower." Her eyes grew damp with tears.

"You mean she's a baby? How can you tell?" Abelia asked.

"See how her trunk is round? It's missing the indent down the centre because she's never formed legs. And her taproot is tiny. They get bigger once they're used for the first time. Saplings also don't produce flowers until after they transform." Flora gave the tree a kiss. "Can you understand us, petal? Shake your leaves if you can."

Her meagre leaves rustled with the tiniest of trembles.

Rozenwild folded her arms. "This doesn't make sense. How is there a sapling when all of us have spent the past century frozen?"

Ellowyn chewed on the tip of her finger. "Maybe she's from another tribe."

Flora shook her head. "I remember talk of other tree nymphs existing, but so far south from here that no one alive had met any or knew if they were even the same species. She has to be one of ours."

Laceleaf put a hand on her hip. "So whose is she?"

They all looked at one another, but they were all just as stumped. No one had mentioned planting a sapling, or even meeting a mate in the months before the cursed tree came to be.

Amaranth pouted. "I guess she'll have to tell us herself."

Rose frowned. "Why hasn't she transformed?"

Flora pondered the question. "Maybe...she can't."

"If she were within range of either tree she'd be dead," Laceleaf said bluntly.

"Yes. She's definitely out of range. But what if a tiny trace of pollen reached her in a heavy storm?" Flora ran her fingers over the tree's bark, crouching to stroke a dent at the base of the trunk. "It must have affected her growth and prevented her from turning once she was old enough."

Dendelyn nodded. "She is kind of small."

"She's most certainly an adult though. See her ankle crease? It appears the day a sapling's ready to transform," Flora explained to the elhuvens.

"How do we help her?" Sarielle asked.

Flora looked pensive. "I'm afraid she may need to be roused the same way we were."

"But there's no one left to revive her!" Abelia whined.

"We have to do something. We can't leave her out here," Sarielle insisted.

Dendelyn grabbed Flora's arm. "Maybe one of us could try."

"That won't work," Laceleaf said.

"Can't we at least try? I know she's small, but she was able to grow into an adult. She wasn't constantly exposed like we were. Maybe she only needs a little lift to wake up."

"Anything worth's trying." Flora hugged the sapling. "Would you be okay with that? It will feel good."

The tree's leaves shivered.

"I call first turn." Rozenwild sashayed over to the tree.

Ellowyn grabbed her arm. "It's her first time. We don't want to terrify her."

"You don't believe I can be gentle?" Rozenwild slithered her hand up Ellowyn's body. "I'll have to show you what you've been missing after I'm done with her." She turned her back to her and caressed the tree's trunk. "Hello, little petal blossom." She kissed down her bark. "I am Rozenwild, and I'm going to give you a little bit of myself to help you feel better." One hand dipped under her skirt to touch herself.

"Um, Hevani's getting uncomfortable." Amaranth took her by the hand and they wandered out of earshot. Most of the elhuvens followed, not that Rozenwild cared about having an audience.

Flora placed her hand on Rose's shoulder. "Let me do it." Her tone was flatter than usual. "Please?" she added, slightly firmer. Her manner was enough to make Rozenwild check the expressions of her sisters.

Laceleaf shrugged. "She does have a way with things."

Rozenwild huffed out a breath. "Fine."

"It's probably for the best. She might not know what sex is. Flora will take it really slow and explain everything to her." Sarielle caught up to Rose and put her arm around her as they walked. "Don't worry. We all know how much fun you are."

~

~*~:~*#S#*~:~*~

Amaranth and Hevani had found a nice spot to rest while they waited. The two of them had carried with them a bunch of apples in a reed basket and Hevani passed them out to everyone as they sat down. Sarielle bit into the crisp green fruit, relishing in the satisfying crunch it made. Flora came back a while later looking thoughtful.

"Sadly, she's still a tree."

The group fell silent. No one wanted to leave a mature sapling all alone, especially after what she'd been through.

"Is there really no way one of us could help her?" Aster asked.

"What...if the elhuvens took turns to give her mana?" Dendelyn said quietly.

Sarielle raised her hand. "I'll do it."

Ellowyn yanked her arm back down. "It's too dangerous."

Flora paced around the group. "You had enough life essence to safely share with one of us, but much more than that would be detrimental to your health."

Kerensa frowned. "But doesn't ours regenerate? Willow's been taking Sage's energy for months."

Flora shook her head. "Small doses. Just enough to keep her in nymph form. And it left Sage fatigued. You're talking about taking a huge chunk at once. I can't say what it would do to you or how long it would take to recover."

Sarielle watched a droplet of golden sap on a path down the nymph's leg. She tried not to look up her skirt as she walked past.

"It might work." Amaranth said, catching Flora's attention. "She may only need a little and these girls are stronger from being with us. Sarielle more so because she's had a seedling. If we rotate them..."

Laceleaf snorted. "If she really wants to, why not? We can always pull her off if need be."

Sarielle stood up, but Ellowyn grabbed her around the waist. "I don't want anything to happen you to."

She turned around to look at her. "Then you can stand beside us and I'll let you know if I need to stop."

Ellowyn looked conflicted, but gave her a slight nod of agreement and trailed along with her over to the tree. Leaves crunched behind them as Rozenwild and Kerensa followed.

"I thought I could help," Rozenwild said.

Ellowyn folded her arms. "Did you have to bring her?"

"Yes, she's horny. And you need your demonstration, remember? I had hoped to perform it on you, but watching will have to suffice for now."

"Does any of it have to be now?"

"Our big sister's parading around with her skirt hitched up and sap dribbling down her thighs over there. Every one of those girls is wet. At least Kerensa's honest about wanting some."

"You're not supposed to sleep with her until after."

"She can either get near the tree or she can't. Once more isn't enough to change anything." Rose tilted her head towards Kerensa. "She's also Sae's backup."

Ellowyn sighed and kept walking towards the tree. The sapling was drenched in fluids, dripping amber sap from her root and trunk. Sarielle could smell the sweet aroma of it as she got close.

"I'm Sarielle and I'm an elhuven. I'm going to do the same as Flora."

She straddled the trunk and ran her fingers through her labia. They were slick with arousal and a quick tickle of her hole was all it took for it to beg for more. Sarielle grabbed the small, cum-coated root and positioned it below her entrance, then slid it inside. It was only a couple of inches long and she could barely feel it, but if she ground herself more than bounced, she could get it to rub her nicely. Soon her own juices were mixing with Flora's. Her thighs were covered in a mess of the two, the honey staining her skin. She looked for her friends over her shoulder. Rozenwild had Kerensa on her back in the leaves. It was...if Sae hadn't already been aroused, she'd be tugging on Ellowyn's skirt right now. Her partner stood on her other side, frowning. Ellowyn didn't seem to be enjoying Kerensa's sexy faces as much as she was.

"Should I not be watching?" Sarielle asked. "Is it wrong?"

"Nothing wrong with it, sweet peach. Ellowyn's envious that we're all having fun." Rozenwild winked at Sarielle. "You keep watching. She's extremely beautiful when she cums."

Kerensa whimpered and hid her face.

Ellowyn looked away and kicked at the ground. "I'm worried about you. Rose should be over here in case you need her."

"If she says one thing about being tired, I'm there," Rozenwild said. "In the meantime, you could enjoy yourself. Does she also like it in the rear? If not, Kerensa's arse is free."

Twin trails of sap were running down Ellowyn's thighs. She was looking a bit uncomfortable.

Sarielle brushed her arm. "She's really small. There's plenty of room down there for you."

The nymph thought about it for a moment, before moving behind her. Her shaft rubbed against Sae's lips, smearing sap over its length. Ellowyn picked her up under the thighs, holding her in the air against the tree. The tip of her root pressed against the opening to her pussy, forcing it wider apart and easing inside. Sarielle sighed with the satisfaction of fullness she'd been missing and leaned back against Ellowyn's chest. Her lover gently worked inside her, the thrusts lifting her and pressing the sapling's root into the front of her pussy. It ground her crotch against the bark, but the surface was already starting to soften.