Lullaby

The foothill of the giant Auremaru was home to a dense forest, full of life, full of bushes and flowers, guarding the mountain that was just as lively with Udari sheltered inside.

When the Royal Army inevitably approached it, swords and axes in hand, they hacked their way towards the main entrance to the city of Aure.

But instead of finding an army of fighters or mages like they had expected, they found a lone girl.

“A… girl?”

The girl was enough to stop the marching army in its tracks. The wind swept the trees and the bushes, leaving a mixture of leaves and petals flowing through their ranks.

A commanding officer was necessary, as none of the Royal Army dared march on a girl, standing there defiantly, without being ordered to.

But before they could proceed, the girl spoke instead.

“This is Auremaru. Our home,” she shouted. “You are not welcome here.” The girl was about half the size of an adult Uman at the time. Her long, beautiful yet somewhat disheveled light pink hair flowed with the wind. The sun illuminated her dazzling hair, a color unknown to Umans.

The army was confused, expecting more resistance than a lone girl. Incredulity, hesitation, and even humor circulated through their ranks. But the girl quickly dispelled their wandering attention.

“This mountain is off limits,” she insisted. It was the sight of a girl staring down a beast much larger than her, either because of her strength, or her ignorance. “I… warned you.” Her brave face slowly dissipated, with a far sadder one taking its place instead.

“Get the girl out of the way!” An officer shouted. “What are we waiting for? Stop wasting time.” The officer finally urged the army forward.

The girl closed her eyes and chanted, “ul maes nouirs lus etregs.”

Amidst the extremely rooted and growing sense of confusion in the Royal Army, the girl started singing.

“Afari afari,

Nouirs nul maes

Nouirs nul saf,

Alari alari!”

“Get her! We detect magic!” A Royal Mage urged the army forward, but the confusion of the moment made them hesitate before charging at her. Multiple soldiers marched on as spells were being prepared behind them.

But it was too late. The land had heard her call. Her voice bounced endlessly through the maze of trees, amplifying and ensuring her voice reached every person present.

The leaves of the trees and petals of the flowers gathered in a vortex, sweeping them away from the mountain, cutting through their armors and skins. The gentle surfaces of the flora had become sharpened by the girl’s song.

Where more strength was warranted, branches of trees descended on the soldiers, knocking them down, too heavy to continue.

The Royal Mages tried to shield the barrage from nature, yet slowly started feeling drowsy as her voice gradually grew louder, creeping up to them as a dream. While they were prepared to fight a physical army and the elements, the song’s effect on their body was something they had never experienced before. They slowly became captured by the song’s dream encroaching on them.

But the scene wasn’t anything like a dream. The land had rejected them, listening to the voice of the child, calling to the land for help, crying to save her homeland. A nightmare took the place of the dream.

The land became the weapon itself, mightier than anything the Royal Army had experienced. The nightmare soon took over them, as the soldiers one by one fell asleep, unable to wield weapon or magic against the forest, let alone the girl.

“Afari afari,

Nouirs nul maes

Nouirs nul saf,

ALARI

ALARI!”

The girl's last words echoed through the entirety of the mountain and the forest around it one last time.

The land returned to the undisturbed quiet it was used to. No soldiers, no Umans. No Udari, either, as the girl slowly tumbled and crawled to lean next to the closest tree.

An Udari woman stumbled on her way towards her. The scene was far too grim to retain an even gait. Yet she held on, as much as she could, to her consciousness. The soldiers were not so lucky: if the land hadn’t claimed them, then the song’s nightmare had.

“Adari…” said the girl to the woman who picked her up.

“It’s all… alright child.”

“Did I do well, Adari?”

“You did great.” Adari’s tears started flowing uncontrollably.

“Then why do you look so sad?”

Adari didn’t answer for a few seconds as she ran back into the cave, carrying the girl in her arms. “I’m not sad,” she said after a while.

“Does this mean no child will grow alone anymore?”

“It does, Uisempuli. It does.”

Ui smiled, yet her eyes were too heavy to remain open. “Will you show them my flowers, Adari? Maybe they will find them pretty, too.”

“I will, Uisempuli.” Adari avoided speaking too much, her words breaking with tears. “I will.”

◆

“Ui.” She heard inside her dream. “Ui.” A shove woke her up.

“Cro...” Still on that bench, Ui hugged her brother tightly. Cro had somehow offered his shoulder in her sleep.

“We can go back home now.” Cro looked towards the bed of flowers.

Ui hid her crying behind her brother’s shoulder, trying to not get tears on his uniform, and hugged him as tight as she could.

“Is anything wrong?” he asked.

“No, just…” Ui looked around, finding herself in the Royal Gardens once more. “Go ahead… I’ll meet you outside the park.”

“Sure.”

Ui sat on that bench and made him wait longer than she intended to. Her eyes were fixed on the pale pink flowers in front of her. She realized it once more: their color was exactly right. A strong breeze blew straight into the flowerbed, sending the petals upwards and away, floating, dancing, flying away from the grey city and into the blinding sun.

Ui breathed deep, got off the bench, and jogged towards her brother, away from the park and the memories.