Return to the Tree (Free Fantasy Short Story)

"I don't understand why we have to do this," Troy grumbled, following Beenie's lead as she flew out of sight of the rabbits at the catacomb entrance.

"Because I want to know what's going on," Beenie said, a grim set to her mouth. "And maybe there's something we can do to help."

"You mean like what we did last night?" Troy asked. "Make the whole thing worse?"

Beenie turned to face him.

"Troy," she said. "This is all our fault. I want to do what I can to fix it."

"And you're planning on doing this by breaking their rules?"  

"Yes," Beenie said.

"On what world is that a good idea?"

Beenie didn't answer, only flew ahead. Her eyes had filled with tears, and she was trying hard not to sniffle.

"Beenie?' Beenie, wait," Troy called.

She relaized she had been speeding ahead of him, and she still didn't know her way around well enough to find her way alone. She slowed down, and discreetly wiped her eyes on the back of her hand.

"Beenie, I'm sorry," Troy said. "I just don't think that we should be breaking more rules. We only made it worse last time. Maybe they gave us those rules for a reason."

Beenie hovered in the air, facing away from him, and trying valiantly not to cry.

"Beenie?" Troy darted underneath her so he could see her face, and she turned away again - but not before he had seen.

"Beenie, you're crying!" he exclaimed. She would have laughed at his comical surprise any other time.

"Yes, I'm crying," she said, sniffing loudly. "You'd be crying too, if everything was all your fault!"

"But - but - but-"

troy obviously couldn't think of anything to say.

"Just show me the way," she said, sounding like she had a cold.

Troy did so in silence, glancing back at her occasionally, as if to make sure she was still following.

They went without talking, growing more and more quiet as they progressed.

"We're almost there," Troy said in a whisper.

Beenie hurried up to join him, and a few minutes later the giant tree that the gnomes used as a tower was looming before them.

They hid in a shrub nearby with a good view of the entrance and exit, as well as a good view through the windows.

What they saw inside made Beenie gasp in horror.

"They're rebuilding it!" she hissed.

"We have to tell them," Troy said. "Beenie?"

She had pretended not to hear. All of their hard work the night before, when they had messed with the giant machine of destruction. was being undone as she watched. Soon enough, that giant thing would be out, and wreaking havoc. And, unlike before, the gnomes now knew that the forest creatures were aware of it.

"We have to stop them!" Beenie said, her wings fluttering angrily.

"No, Beenie!" Troy cried, grabbing onto her ankle as she tried to fly toward the tree. "You can't," he grunted, pulling her back.

"Why not?" Beenie asked, wings straining. "Let go!"

"You'll get caught! Why don't we just go tell the others?"

"But we can stop them," Beenie said.

"Not by ourselves," Troy said. "Look at all of them." He pointed with his free paw at the mass of gnomes swamring over the machine. "We'll never be able to do anything as long as all of them are there like that. Let's just go and tell Peter. Please?"

Beenie looked back at his pleading eyes, and he held her gaze for a long minute.

Then she relented, and lowered herself back down next to him, head bowed.

"All right," she said softly.