~ Mimus polyglottos ~

The group was awoken by the booming sounds of the clock, striking ten times before falling silent. Delphinium stood in front of the house, looking up at the large moon hanging in the sky. Phlox stood beside him, soon accompanied by the twins.

"The one we'll be meeting is an old friend of mine named Juniper.. She works at a family owned spice shop, but that's more of a cover up than anything." Phlox shook his head with a chuckle, Delphinium turning his head to look down at him.

"Secretly, for generations, they've been able to pass down the business and money to the eldest child, and Juniper just so happens to have accepted.. She controls the ships that come into Nightshade, which is how she'll get us out. We can't blow this, not now."

Delphinium nodded his head without uttering a word. He reached up, bringing his fingers to his mouth and blew a mighty whistle. Seconds later, Gladiolus- with an excited Teasel- trotted over. Delphinium reached up and ran his fingers gently down Gladiolus' strong neck, then gave it a pat. He leaned over, resting his forehead on the beast and uttered softly, "We have another journey ahead of us, but do not worry my friend, I will take good care of you" Gladiolus nodded his head multiple times, then let out a sigh.

The journey to the meeting point was not long, thankfully so, since they only arrived a couple of minutes late. Surrounding them was a vast selection of boats tied onto the large dock. Up ahead, they could see a small group of people waiting beside a fair size boat. It was bigger than most of the others. Rather than being painted a shade of white, this boat was made out of wood.

Phlox tensed as his eyes scanned the group. He could recognize some, but others not. In the middle was Juniper, nodding her head to a man to her right. They didn't realize the others' presence until Gladiolus let out a soft whine, a couple of meters away. Everyone stopped talking as Delphinium dismounted off of Gladiolus. He let his hand glide alongside Gladiolus as he walked by, towards the group. Juniper and her bodyguards, from what it seemed, stood there agape. There stood the Ruler of Viscaria, looming over them. Rather than looking at them menacingly, Juniper noted the soft smile they were given. She did not expect this to be who she thought Delphinium would be like.

Ever since they were kids, they were told that the Ruler of Viscaria was a hermit that never left his land. He was a man that was never to be crossed and people suffered when with him. What no one knew is that he was the complete opposite of what people said. Delphinium was an honest man and was willing to help any stranger. Although he was very tall and had pitch black eyes, he was a kind hearted man through and through.

Delphinium bowed his head, taking the group by surprise. His long hair swooped down, off of his back and landed beside his face. A small leaf escaped the hold his hair had on it and descended onto the ground.

It was then they realized who truly was in front of them. Not only that, but bowing in front of them.

Juniper was the first to correct herself, apologizing under her breath and bowing a full 90 degrees. The rest of the group of men followed behind her, sincerely apologizing.

Seeing as Delphinium was another Ruler, people still had to pay their respects, as much as they didn't want to.

"There is no need for you to apologize." Delphinium said, causing them to look up at him.

"Sincerely, as the Ruler of Viscaria, I thank you all for helping us escape.." he pointed to the people behind him.

"But I must advise you we only have a few more days, and the village is already suspicious."

"Yes, right this way."

Juniper led everyone up a ramp that hung from the side of the boat. Once everyone was on board, although getting Gladiolus on was quite a task, she pulled up the ramp with the help of her bodyguards and set it aside.

"Welcome aboard.. I haven't thought of a name for this baby yet, though." Juniper leaned back on the side of the boat, tapping at the wood. "We'll leave as soon as we get the sails up. It won't take long."

The woman nodded at her men, who then made their way to the front of the boat. Not long after starting to untie knots, before their eyes, appeared the light Delphinium had been chasing.

Phlox gasped softly, shoving the Ruler beside him slightly, causing him to look up. Delphinium cocked his head to the side with a slight smile, "There you are.." he said absentmindedly.

Juniper stood in front of the gleaming shape as it floated just meters away from her. She slowly reached out an arm, taking a step forward. Phlox quickly ran towards her, grabbing her arm.

"Don't touch it!" he ignored the sparks that traveled through the tips of his fingers all the way up to his spine. "No one touches it!"

As fast as it appeared, it was gone.

The boat rocked with the rhythm of the waves as the moon pulled them closer to their destination. Juniper walked out of the small galley and into the sitting room where the Ruler and his company sat. Her crew was upstairs, chasing the moving light, along with Gladiolus who could not fit down the stairs into the living space inside the boat.

She placed a steaming pot of tea and a couple of glass cups down on the table. They were beautifully handcrafted with long brown branches and pink cherry blossoms. Delphinium picked one up, the cup seemingly disappearing within his large hands, and took a sip. He hummed softly in delight, closing his eyes for a moment.

"This is wonderful, remind me, next time, under better circumstances, I shall stop by for some tea." Delphinium said, raising the cup up into the air.

Juniper shook her head as she took a spot next to Phlox on the small couch that was placed in the corner of the room. She flattened out a corner of the small napkin that was under her cup before speaking,

"About that light.. What exactly was that? Why can't we touch it? Is what the prophecy says is true?" she couldn't help but stand back up, taking Delphinium's hands in hers.

"This better not be a dream-" Juniper quickly pulled her hands away from Delphinium, sitting back down, realizing she had just touched a Ruler without permission.

Delphinium only let out a husky chuckle in response, then took another sip of the tea.

"I have never heard of such a prophecy until it was explained to me when I arrived.. That thing, is what brought me here. I had seen it one night, flying by my house and out of the woods. Of course I had to go and save it. What had urged me to leave without it was that clock.. I have only heard it ring once in my life; before my race was exterminated.. I must warn the other Rulers."

Mallow and Laburnum kept their eyes on the Ruler, as did everyone else. Juniper looked from him to Phlox with a frown. "Well, that light must have really taken a liking to you.. Do you know what it is?"

Delphinium shook his head, "I have only touched it once, and it caused me to lose consciousness. When we woke, the dead plants around us had turned into a field of flowers.. I think that whenever it is touched, it let's out some sort of energy, causing things to come back to life. Although that had happened to me when I first entered Nightshade, I had enabled the spell just incase someone decided to follow the green path. What happened in Rhododendron is the light's doing."

The group remained silent then, staring anywhere but Juniper.

Phlox noticed just how much he hated the wallpaper the longer he looked at it. It was a beige colour with brown, even stripes. The floors, thankfully, were the same as on deck; a polished hardwood. Phlox could not fathom the reason why the walls were not left as wood, since that was what the rest of the boat was. He decided he had enough of the dining area and looked at the kitchen. It was a small, simple galley with an 'L' shaped counter. He noticed the large amount of papers lying around and wondered if being heir really was stressful. As long as he could remember Juniper had never wanted to do what her family did. Unlike everyone else, she enjoyed working at the spice shop. She had always complained about her parents having men follow her around for her own safety. Maybe him leaving caused her to say yes. Phlox's thoughts were interrupted when Juniper moved around in her seat.

She frowned, looking down at her hands that were placed on the table. Juniper picked at the dirt under one of her nails before looking up at Delphinium. She wondered what exactly that light was, and what did it want? Was this truly like the prophecy? From what she could tell, it sure seemed like it.

"I believe you.." she started to say. Everyone at the table alongside her seemed to visually relax as she said those words. "Because of Oleander, people are being taught to hate the other Rulers, and I don't think that's right. Saying that, I will not only bring you to Caladium, but I will accompany you wherever you go. As the heir of Hydrengea, I insist. I give you my life."

Delphinium closed his eyes and slowly nodded his head. "It has been decided then."

Phlox looked from one to the other, shocked. "Juniper, you can't mean that. You know what will happen-" he was cut short by a glare. Furiously, he shook his head and stood up, making his way to the door.

"Stop running like a coward, there is no where for you to go." Juniper said icily, looking at him from where she sat.

Phlox stopped at that. He looked down at his feet for a moment, then with a scoff he walked up the stairs and out onto the deck.

Delphinium ignored the sudden outburst and reached into a pocket inside his cloak, taking out something small. Everyones eyes were on him as he placed a small bundle of flowers down on the table. The bright colours popped as they lay on the white surface.

Juniper tilted her head to the side, having never seen these flowers before. She had not only read about them, but drawn them too. She had wished real flowers grew where she lived, but Oleander wouldn't let that happen.  "What are those?" she asked, tilting her head.

"These? Well.. These are the first flowers to grow since Oleander's destruction." 

Juniper walked up the bow of the boat, where Phlox had been standing for the past few hours, gazing at the starry night. She noticed him shiver, causing her to smile.

"Beautiful, isn't it? I used to lay here, watching the stars before falling asleep." Juniper said as she extended out her arm. Phlox turned to her then, looking at the blanket that was draped over her arm. Hesitantly, he reached out and took it from her. He then realized there were two and laid one down on the wooden deck. Juniper slowly sat down on the blanket, placing the oil lamp down in the middle. She let out a sigh once she was laying down, under the stars, beneath the other blanket.

"Oh! And here, this is from Delphinium. He called it a buttercup. It's pretty isn't it? It's one of the first flower to grow here.. He gave one to all of us.. Can you believe it? The Ruler of Viscaria is here. He-"

"Why are you acting this way? Did you not hate me just days ago?"

Juniper stayed silent, looking at the flower in her hand. She noticed just how much she had in common with it. Although it was very pretty to look at, it's too delicate to be handled roughly. It seemed to wrinkle the more she rubbed one of its petals. Soon enough, it would fall, leaving it's friends behind. She then decided, later she would place it in a book for safe keeping.

"I didn't hate you.. I just hated what you did."

Phlox sneaked a glance at her, then shook his head.

"Why didn't you tell me about you accepting.. I expected you to tell me that, at least."

"I didn't think you would have wanted to hear from me, and it was bound to happen, whether I wanted it to or not." Juniper said, keeping her eyes on the stars.

"Well, that isn't fair.." Phlox turned, laying on his back with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Life isn't fair, out of all people, you should know that"

There was a pause before he answered, "..That was uncalled for"

Juniper didn't answer in words, rather she shrugged. He looked over at her, wanting to read her expression. He couldn't help but chuckle when he noticed her asleep. Phlox leaned over, moving the oil lantern away so he could move closer. He managed to slip under the blanket with her, trying his hardest not to wake her up.

It felt like he had stared at her for the longest time, memorizing everything about her. Just when he thought he knew everything about her, he would find something new. He had twirled her hair between his fingers and let his eyes travel over the curve of her nose. He would have stared longer if he hadn't been interrupted by the girl herself,

"Stop staring at me, I can't sleep."

Phlox couldn't look at her anymore, especially with a face red like a tomato. He quickly shuffled around, turning the other way and squeezed his eyes shut. He hoped she would assume he was sleeping and that he hadn't been staring, but when he swore he heard her chuckle, he knew he was in too deep.