The Night Bloomers

It was pitch black during the night, except Natia has the light rod holding with her right hand which is the only source of light there is. She was half-conscious when she fell off the cliff facing towards the sky. She almost hit the ground but before it happened a force stopped her and floated 2 feet off the ground. If not for this skill, she would've shattered into pieces as she fell off from a steep cliff. The moment she opened her eyes, Root-like ropes shoot and wrapped her arms and suddenly restrained her from moving before she could react. The light rod was also caught by these vines. She looked at both of her hands and noticed that these weapons have markings on them that looked familiar. The feletors have these kinds of weapons that once were offered to her, but she rejected. Natia cannot see anything aside from her surroundings totally obscure. She accidentally inhaled toxic that made her fall into deep sleep. She was carried by strangers to the Lake nearby and awoke her when they arrived. Before she could shout out of fear, they all dove into the water. She couldn't breathe for a while. That brief moment frightened her. Little did she know, the water was just shallow. They touched the ground and she was shocked that they passed through the ground like there was a vast field that allows creatures to pass except for the waters above it. There was a huge herd of creatures beneath it. Some of them look familiar to her too. It was like a city down there, a whole kingdom.

"Where am I?" Natia asked in a low voice while looking around. She was carried by these night bloomers.

"You're in a hidden place where no outsider is allowed," Mandilla, a little fairy, said while flying by her side.

"I am an outsider, why are you take me in?" Natia said convincing them that they are wrong for taking her.

"You are a threat to our plans. We need to take away your memory, and then and your weapon. We will bring you back to the cliff if we're too nice. If we are not, you'll never get back," Mandilla said in a casual tone.

"You are familiar. You look like a fairy. An orange one, but your wings... and your skin... It is different. What are you?" Natia was curious and straightforward with her question.

"Think about it, you already know the half-truth of the answer," Mandilla smiled and was calm.

"Why does it have the seal of the fairy kingdom on these vines? These vines on my arms... I know that the feletors made them. Do you belong to the fairy kingdom?" Natia asked.

"Listen, I will make you forget everything you see here. There is no sense to ask these questions if you will forget them anyway. Don't ever ask that again or we won't be too nice. To be clear, we are not one of them!" Mandilla got mad with Natia's statements. The vines on her arms tightened as she shouted at her.

Natia was brought to a cubicle. She was left on the ground and the vines around her loosen up and released her, but the roots that arose from the ground to restrain her once again. She was watching what they were doing and it seems like they want to do something with the rod.

"Mandilla, we've been waiting for this, we cannot mess up and won't let the day come before it's is done" A night bloomer, Jakov was talking to Mandilla while she is draining the powers of the light rod inside a long poison flower vessel.

"The skoural sword was easier to kill. This one has light. It drains me." Mandilla said to Jakov. She was sensitive to light. This was a condition she grew up with.

"Are you the night bloomers?" Natia engaged in the conversation.

"I already told you. Your talking is nonsense," Mandilla shut her off.

"Wait! Stop. I may not understand anything such as why you are doing this or why you are here, but I am here to help you out. The Fairy Queen mentioned this kingdom. You were one of the kingdoms scattered when the skouras arrived here on Planet Pxi," Natia remembered about the night bloomers. She didn't know much about them, because they aren't too detailed about it when it comes to night bloomers.

"Do you believe whatever she says? You totally do not understand what you see. We are the Queen's enemies," Mandilla pointed clearly that they are not an ally of the fairy kingdom.

"What happened to you?" Natia asked. She realized that the fairy queen did not mention making a portal to the kingdom of the night bloomers which means she didn't know where they are.

"As you can see. We did not leave the Planet. We anticipated that situation and we're prepared. The elementals saw us being left behind. They offered their help to escape, but we rejected them. We don't need anyone but us! While they are busy escaping we are here strong and overcoming it. We did not run away. After that, we are forgotten by your beloved queen," Mandilla just showed her pride in being a night bloomer. While the queen made a portal to earth to escape before, the elementals can make components in outer space like comets that can make them escape from a planet. The elementals arrived to Planet Mazi.

"But you are only hiding," Natia said.

"We are hiding now, but we will prevail later. You will see what I am trying to say," Mandilla said while she continued watching the rod slowly lose its power. Natia tried to control the rod but her connection weakened. The light rod was dying because of the poison.

"I am the protector. If you are one of the fairies I can protect you from the skouras. I am a fairy like you too. So, please let me. There is another way to do all of this," Natia begged to stop soaking the light rod.

"Enough! You're clueless. Can't you see? I started all of this. I made the skouras attack the planet Pxi by growing my poison resource around them. They've ingested it with their food. It has been all around them. They didn't even know there was poison. When they found out, It was too late. I made them think it was the fairy kingdom who did it. The once innocent Skotadi Kingdom who was in a good relationship with the Fairy kingdom is now destroyed. They've now become too infectious with dark energy because of my resourcefulness. They are daunted. In the end, they haunted the kingdoms for revenge. I also told them the Fairy Queen's discovery that they will vanish forever in the near future. So now, they wanted to take over all the kingdoms and scatter to change that from happening. Who did all of this? Me. Who is the most powerful now?" Mandilla slipped her mouth because of Natia's nagging questions.

"Please, I will fix this. Reconcile again. I will help empower the night bloomers and gain your position. Just give the rod back to me. I needed that rod for my purpose," Natia begged.

"But, you don't serve our purpose. We don't need help from a little girl. How did you get this rod from the lightborns anyway?" Mandilla asked.

"I accidentally stole it. I was thrown into the dungeon, but I escaped. Fate brought me there. I needed that rod to survive," Natia said.

"And how did you escape all of that with your pettiness and limited strength?" Mandilla was bewildered and mocking her.

"I know I am limited, but I can be strong. A chroma born helped me escaped," Natia explained.

"Why would a chroma born help you escape? Enough of this nonsense. You cannot fool me," Mandilla follow-up a question.

"He was an outcast and was with me in the dungeon. He was punished for his wrongful act. He used to be a watcher of a portal by the queen. He used the portal once and was punished for it. He has the ability to escape but did not choose to. He stayed there and remained as an outcast," Natia said. On a slight statement of Natia. Mandilla stretched her arm on top of the rod. She lifted it with her powers to stop it from draining. She changed her mind.

"Ignus..." Mandilla whispered.

"Yes, It is him, how did you know?" Natia agreed.

"Part of what I am doing is to save him. He was the kindest man I know. He needs to be saved if he is not saving himself," Mandilla said referring to Ignus.

"He will be mad at you for draining the rod. He wants me to bring back the rod, in exchange for helping me. I need to fulfill that," Natia said.

"Ignus will be ignus. I don't care if he wants it returned. You obviously don't know. Ignus... He will never be mad at me. This weapon is the lightborn's leverage, this will help me take them down,"

"Please, don't be selfish at least for him," Natia tried to convince her to stop.

"We used to be just a part of the fairy kingdom. We, night bloomers are different from the others in our species. I personally, was an orange fairy. I have the same abilities as the others who could grow Plantae out of the ground beautifully but only for a short period of time. Mine always has poison in it that can harm. I and my creations were sensitive to light that hinders them to potentially grow. I was ridiculed for being like this. I isolated myself from them. Fae, a healing fairy, tried to heal me and the others from this. She was the fairy who had the golden heart for the ones "different", but it looks like that "it" was not a disease that can be healed. Some would say we are disabled or dysfunctional, but we are just different. The others have their own unique way of being different. It was hard for us to fit in. We had been criticized, rejected, and ignored. We hid in the shadows so that no one will see, harm, or make fun of us. We can never express ourselves when everybody is awake. Until I met Ignus one time when I grew humungous amounts of plants in a wide field. They were beautiful at first to see, but after a few, they all died from the poison. I told him, "At least for one moment, I saw their colors," He liked what he saw, but I disappeared right away because I cannot tolerate his light. From then on. He kept on searching for me and was kind to me like no other, which I didn't understand despite pushing him away. He was there to make sure I was ok. I had the others come to me when they are struggling with themselves. A lot of them came to me as they see me as the strongest in the group. I wasn't necessarily the strongest and most capable, but they made me believe I am. I became their leader. We step outside when there was no one to bug us. We celebrated during the darkest hours when no one is awake. We expressed, accepted, and empowered each other. After a while, we've been acknowledged as a new kingdom: the night bloomers. We separated from the fairy kingdom. We hardly see them, and the same for them. Except for Ignus who was our light in the shadows. He helped us feel better for ourselves and stay good to others. It became peaceful for a while. For them it is. All of this is not for our benefit, and we tolerated that. But, Ignus was also ridiculed and maltreated as a light born when they found out that he was always out there with us. I know that he struggled, but he didn't show us in any way. I tried to avoid Ignus for this reason that he didn't know about. He knew that I was just being me avoiding him. He was persistent. Ignus even tried to go to a portal to find me and was punished for a trivial mistake. I wanted my revenge," Mandilla told her sad story.

"You can use me. I can take Ignus back. I will return the light rod and take him back. I will tell King Luminous to free him in exchange for this light rod that I stole," Natia told Mandilla.

"I wouldn't agree to you if not bringing him in this conversation. I would do anything for him, he brings out the best in us. If you fail with this. The night bloomers will haunt you together with the other kingdoms. I will not take away your memory by feeding you a seed, but you must not tell anyone what you saw here. You must not tell anyone what you heard. If you do, there will be chaos to all, and there is nothing you can do," Mandilla freed Natia. Natia held the light rod. She felt its emotions as soon as she touches it. She cried like a child when the rod was dying. It lost most of its powers, but she is a little glad it is still alive.