The Petal Kingdom (Bringing Life, Falling Ash Book 2) Read online

  Bringing Life, Falling Ash #2:

  The Petal Kingdom

  CS Patra

  Editing by Ultra Editing & Cover Design by CoverMeDarling

  To everyone that’s still sticking around with me

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 1

  The night was dark with a few clouds and snow was falling. It should have been a night where everyone would stay inside. It wasn’t a night to be walking about, looking at things, or running from problems. Yet tonight, of all the nights in the world, Princess Lavinia of Themasa and her friends were doing just that. They were trying to get away from those out to find them.

  “Are we far enough yet?” Lavinia asked. She looked ahead to where two of her friends, Kian and Alice, were riding. They managed to get their things on top of a dragon made of ice and were trying to find a place to make camp for the night. “I think this poor dragon is going to be tired soon.”

  “I know, but it’s not safe yet. The entire ground is covered in snow and ice.” Kian pointed down to the ground and she saw what he meant. She had almost forgotten where she was at that moment; the Frost Kingdom. It was nothing more than a world of snow and ice and everything was made out of those things. “I’m going to see if I can find some solid ground or a village. It may not be ideal, but it would be better than this.”

  Alice turned to Lavinia and sighed, holding tight to their pets so they wouldn’t fall out of her arms. While in the Frost Kingdom, they had managed to find a tiny ice snake and a small ice dragon. They had named them Madelyn and Elias respectively and seemed to follow the two of them around. Right now, she didn’t know how powerful they were but they did have a lot of energy inside. Lavinia closed her eyes and tried to stay focused.

  Tell me why I agreed to do this. She asked herself. Going back into her mind, she remembered that it was her idea to come out this far. It was her idea to leave Themasa and go on this adventure. It was her idea to try and travel around the Frost Kingdom. Of course. I’m the reason that we’re out here right now. We’re flying on a giant dragon made of ice because I want to get away from the Frost Kingdom.

  Flying against that cold wind wasn’t very comfortable but they all held on. The one good thing about being on an ice dragon was that it could handle their bare touch. These ice creatures did not dissolve due to their touch so they were able to travel without much of a problem. The bigger issue was the weather. The snowstorm had picked up and it was getting colder by the second. They could feel that icy wind and snow hitting them as they went further ahead.

  “How much further do we have to go?” Alice asked as she tried to get warm. “I think we need to land soon. We’re not going to be able to make it through the night.”

  Kian coughed. “I’m still looking for a place to land, Miss Alice. I need it to be close to a village so we can go and get supplies. We will need them.”

  “It doesn’t have to be close to the Petal Kingdom, Kian. Just somewhere that we can spend the night will be fine,” Lavinia said. “If we have to stay outside, then we will have to find somewhere warm.”

  “That’s easier said than done, Vinnie. I see nothing but snow and ice below. That cannot be warm or comfortable for anyone to lie down on.”

  “Well, this poor thing needs some rest as well. See if you can find some ground that doesn’t have as much snow. We can make camp there for the night.”

  Lavinia turned to Alice. “Isn’t this exciting?! We get to spend a night out in the Frost Kingdom!”

  Alice forced herself to smile. “It is something new for both of us. Although I will admit that I would rather be sleeping in an inn than out in the snow. Are you sure this is a wise idea? Kian’s right that it wouldn’t be comfortable. However, you’re also right that our dragons need rest. If the nearest village is still too far, they may not be able to make it.”

  “Ah, that’s just like you, Alice. Always looking to see the good in both sides.”

  Alice had grown up in Themasa without much knowledge about her family or how she had gotten this curse. From a young age, she had learned to keep her powers to herself. Her bare skin could create life out of the dirt and any living thing that she touched. At first, she was scared to touch anything but saw that it didn’t always happen. Whenever she was walking on concrete or wood, nothing seemed to grow out of them. As time went on, she became more aware of what she could do with these powers. She just had to be careful not to touch anyone.

  Since she had been raised mostly by bakers, Alice learned how to bake as well. It was a skill that she picked up very quickly and soon became a well-liked baker in spite of how young she was. No one seemed to mind that she was good at making cakes, tarts, and pies. They were just happy that someone out there could make their favorite treats. For her part, Alice was careful with her work. The people at the bakery knew her secret and they were not telling anyone.

  For many years, Alice had a typical job of going to the bakery early in the morning and coming home late at night. She didn’t get to have much fun outside and she rarely had free time for herself. She had heard a lot about the king and queen’s heir, but never knew much about her until now. Most people didn’t even know that they had a daughter for the longest time. Now that Princess Lavinia would turn eighteen in a few more days, they were ready to accept her as their new queen. That should have been the end of it but Lavinia had other plans. She didn’t want to be queen just yet because she didn’t know the kingdom that well. Despite living in Themasa for her entire life, she knew almost nothing about the people living in it.

  It was hard to believe that Lavinia was the princess of Themasa because she had been hidden for a long time. No one knew what kind of person she was. Even now, Alice wasn’t sure if she knew everything about her. She knew that Lavinia was cursed with the ability to turn anything she touched into ashes. The king and queen were afraid that their daughter’s curse would be revealed to others and they would see her as a monster. As a result, she was kept locked away behind the castle walls. Everything that Lavinia had learned, she learned from reading books and hearing stories from others. It was nice to learn that way but it was nothing compared to being outside. She was missing out on more than she realized. Her eyes had been closed until the moment she stepped beyond the castle walls.

  Since she was so unsure about the outside, she needed people to help her around. She couldn’t tell any of her servants because they would keep her from doing what she needed. They felt like they had a need to protect her. That was kind of them, but Lavinia had enough of the walls and protection. She was not going to fix herself unless she left. The only ones that she could trust with her secret was this sixteen-year old baker named Alice and her fellow baker, Kian. The former was the first person that she felt she could trust and the latter owed her something. Up until recently, Kian was the thief that had been breaking into houses of wealthy people and stealing whatever he could find. He had never been caught because he was so fast and he broke into homes when no one was around. It wasn’t until he tried breaking into the castle that he lost his nerve.

  The only reason he was still standing was because of Lavinia. She had
found him and he had learned her secret. He had seen what her touch could do to a living being and he was afraid of being turned into ashes. That scared him more than being thrown into jail or being hung at the gallows. Lavinia struck a deal with him; if he helped her get rid of the curse, she would drop any charges against him and let him go free.

  For many years, she hadn’t seen anything and now she had gone to many towns and villages. She knew how people were living in poverty and that there were changes that needed to be made. So many of them had been waiting for help but it had never come. Lavinia had made a promise that once her curse was removed, she would come back and start to help others. She wanted to be a queen that everyone could trust, not just the people of Themasa. That was how it all started.

  Unfortunately, no one knew what they were in for until they came to The Frost Kingdom. A place of eternal winter, it was still lively and full of people. The ball was supposed to be a fun moment for all of them as well as an important. Since sorcerers and witches were invited, they had hoped to find one who could remove the curses. What they ended up learning was something far more disturbing. The Frost Kingdom had a powerful called The Frost Witch and she wanted to gain control over all the kingdoms. That was a problem due to the fact that she was fighting with The Petal Witch and The Sugar Witch for control. Since they were very powerful, any war between them would lead to destruction and death.

  Lavinia was not happy to learn about this and she wanted to do something to stop the war from starting. She didn’t know what the Frost Witch, Petal Witch, or Sugar Witch looked like but she was sure their magic could rip the world apart. That was a reason why people in The Frost Kingdom were preparing themselves. If a war of magic were to start, they had to fight back. They had to be ready for anything. Lavinia was even willing to fight and die in the war if needed.

  “It is my duty as future ruler to protect the people.” She had said, hoping that Kian and Alice would understand. Instead, neither one looked confident about this idea. “I know it’s going to be hard and I may not survive but I need to be prepared for the worst.”

  “You don’t know what war is like, Vinnie,” Kian told her. “Even if you succeed and win, you will still have plenty of losses. There will be many people who will be hurt or die in the battle. Have you ever fought anyone before? Have you ever used weapons or made a plan of attack? You can’t run into this without a plan.”

  “I’m aware of that, Kian. I will admit I don’t know much about battle, but I do know that I can’t be stupid about this. I can’t do it alone but I have to do something. Even if I’m not running into battle, I have to prepare the ones who can fight. I just need to find a way to get people to trust me.”

  Kian looked at Alice with doubt and worry. They both knew that Lavinia’s heart was in the right place but she was going about this the wrong way. For them to go into this war and stop the witches, they needed more reinforcements. They needed people who were willing to believe them and help out. Kian was especially afraid because he had known people who had fought in wars. He knew that they had been changed forever and sometimes it wasn’t for the better.

  Alice had no idea how things had gone to this point. One day, she was working in the bakery with all her friends and her curse was a secret from most people. She always wore gloves and kept herself covered so she didn’t accidently brush against anyone. Her curse was a strange one. She didn’t understand who thought it was smart to make her create flowers and leaves from her bare hands. At times, she could touch anything without things growing from it. Touching the dirt ground with her bare hands was fine. She had no problems washing herself when she needed to or walking on wooden floors. A part of her wondered why it didn’t seem to work like normal. Was her curse going to disappear anytime soon? Is that why it was changing so much?

  The dragon was sleeping on the cold ground even though it had moved under a tree to get some cover. At first, no one knew if they wanted to sleep on the dragon, move to the ground, or find the closest inn. The latter was preferable but Kian noticed that the nearest one was still quite a distance away. By the time they would get there, the sun would be up. As cold as the ground was, it was more comfortable than trying to sleep on the dragon’s icy scales. They would set up camp here tonight and then make their way to the Petal Kingdom.

  “You don’t think my father’s men are on their way, do you?” Lavinia asked. “We’ve traveled so far. They don’t know which direction we’re headed.”

  “For now, they won’t be able to find us,” Kian promised. “We’ve taken some of the deeper roads that are blocked by ice, fallen trees, and snow. Even though we’re still in The Frost Kingdom, we’re far from the harsh weather. It’s cold but we can manage to sleep here.”

  Lavinia found her blankets and tried to lie down. “Oh, it’s very cold! The ground is also very hard to lie down on.”

  “I somehow doubt we’ll find anything softer than this,” Alice said. “I know it’s not an ideal place to sleep but it’s the best we can do for now. If you want, I can give you an extra blanket to keep warm.”

  “I’ll be fine, Alice.” Lavinia fluffed her makeshift pillow to try and make it comfortable. “I know that we can’t afford to be in an inn all the time. Besides, I think it will be fun to sleep outside for a change. It’s cold but we’ll be warm with the fire. Just don’t keep Madelyn and Elias close to it.” She looked at the larger dragon who already sleeping. “We need a name for him too. He’s taken us where we need to be. The least we can do is to give Kian’s pet a name.”

  “My pet?” Kian was surprised. “I only bought him as a means of transportation. The only reason we were able to get out of The Frost Kingdom was because of how fast he was.”

  “That’s not fair though. He should be part of our group like the others. We’d be nowhere without him.” Lavinia looked over at the dragon. “I wonder if he is cold.”

  “He’s made of ice, Vinnie. I doubt he knows what cold is. There’s a reason he’s not sleeping close to the fire like we are.”

  “Still, he must feel lonely. After all this is done, what will we do with him? We can’t abandon him and I don’t know if he could survive in Themasa. At the same time, I don’t want to send him back to be sold again. We can’t put him through all this just to give him away. And more importantly, will he be able to survive in the Petal Kingdom? I know there will be more sun there so what if he melts? We have to keep him safe.”

  Alice sighed. She knew that Lavinia was thinking about the dragon’s well-being but they had other things to worry about. “I’m sure we’ll be able to keep him safe, Vinnie. Right now, we should do what he’s doing and get some rest.”

  It was easy for her to say that but Lavinia had a hard time trying to get sleep. She didn’t know if an ice dragon could survive in warmer climates. She had read a few books about them but nothing mentioned an ice dragon surviving in various climates. She also worried about Madelyn and Elias. Was it a terrible idea to bring them along after all? She could feel Madelyn slithering next to her, coiling up and getting ready to sleep. Around the fire, she could see Alice and Kian bundled up to stay warm. She wasn’t sure if they were awake but they probably weren’t in the mood to talk.

  She saw a few sprouts of grass growing nearby and she wanted to touch them. She wanted to know what a blade of grass would feel like against her fingers. However, she didn’t want to risk killing it before it had grown. All she could do was touch the dirt far from the grass and let it fall through her fingers. For some reason, the dirt never turned to ash. The only time it seemed affected is if there was something growing underneath it. This dirt remained the same so she was relieved. At least she could lie on this ground without worrying about destroying anything. It was nice to know what dirt felt like.

  Looking at Alice’s body, she wanted to get close to her so they could keep each other warm. It was just a shame that they both had curses that kept them from touching. The happiness she had earlier was started t
o fall. She had spent years wondering what a hug felt like. When she was younger, she would watch from a distance as people danced around and talked to each other at the balls. She saw the way that couples held each other. They didn’t realize what a gift they had with being able to touch. They had no idea what it was like to be careful everywhere they went.

  It wasn’t just the random people either. She had seen the way her mother and father hugged each other. She had seen how they held hands and caressed each other’s faces. She had seen children running around and being hugged by their parents. They were lifted in the air and given love that she wasn’t able to experience. She was probably the only child who had no idea what it felt like to be hugged by anyone. She didn’t know the warmth of skin or the feel of lips against hers. It made for a lonely life as a result.

  The hardest part now was wanting to do more things with Alice. There was something about her that was warm and caring. For the first time, she wanted to open up to someone. Alice was just a year younger than her and she seemed to understand all that Lavinia went through. She didn’t know the touch of a human hand either. She had never been hugged by anyone. She had been lonely except for the times she was working at the bakery. They both were stepping far away from things that they knew.