Pash
With a cloud of dust and a rumbling of the earth, the bridge fell into rigidity.
A straight path opened up to them, right up to the doors of the Stone Tree. Had the Queen not warned them of the bridge's predatory nature, Pash was sure they would have tried to cross it without a second thought.
"Is that our job done?" His master asked.
"It is," the Queen replied gently. "You have done me a great service. It would be wise if you stood further away when battle breaks out, for I will not be able to spare any of my strength in protecting you."
'Battle?' Pash thought to himself. It didn't seem like it would be much of a battle. More like a demolition. A bridge was a bridge, wasn't it? No matter if it could move or if it couldn't.
"We'll leave it to you then," Ermos said. "Come on, Pash, let's find ourselves a seat."
Pash shrugged and went after him. His master's version of a seat was the thin low hanging branch of one of the naked cherry blossom trees. He heaved himself up onto it, and the whole limb flexed beneath his weight. "Are we really far enough away?" Pash asked.
"Any further away and we'd miss the fight," his master explained, making himself comfortable. "Are you not coming up?"
The backpack weighed heavy on Pash's back. If he lugged it up into the tree to share his master's branch, it would definitely snap. Besides, he wasn't sure that he felt comfortable sitting leisurely in a tree when there was such danger present. He wanted to be able to run at a moment's notice. "I'll be fine," he said.
"Suit yourself."
Whilst they had fled for a small measure of safety, the girls had not moved. They were stood there smiling confidently like life-sized dolls, completely oblivious to the prospect of danger. Pash called out to them. "Shouldn't you move further back too?"
They turned to him as one, as though they were merely reflections of the same person. It was unnerving to watch. "You had need not worry about us, young warrior," they said.
"They're not human, Pash," his master butted in, "trying to get friendly with them will only get you turned into a tree."
He blushed at his master's accusation. "It's not like that… Chevalar are meant to protect the weak, aren't we? That's all that was."
"Heh…" Ermos looked at him with a sly smile, as though he could look right through him. He didn't need to say anything.
Pash turned away, twisting his lips unhappily, feeling his ears burning.
"Your master is right," one of the girl's said.
"We are not human," another said.
"But nor are we weak," said a third.
"We will be joining this fight alongside our Queen."
"I see…" Pash said, scratching his head awkwardly.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the bridge move ever so slightly. His gaze flickered towards it.
Snap!
With the quickness of a snake, the bridge trapped its prey. Pash's heart stopped at the sight of it.
Both ends of the bridge were raised high into the air, sending whatever was on them tumbling towards the centre. With the suddenness that it happened by, it was like someone had cut the cord on a catapult.
The mouth had revealed itself as well. A protrusion right in the centre of the bridge. It was huge. Black and oily like a poisoned muscle. It covered the entire walkway. It could likely swallow three whole carriages at once. Its lips were grey cracked stone. Three rows of pointed stalactite gave it teeth. A long snaking tongue waggled itself greedily, preparing to catch the falling meat.
But no prey fell into its mouth. It waited a good while for it, allowing gravity to do its work, but nothing came.
A low rumble of dissatisfaction came from the bridge, a sound that must have come all the way from the underworld. It waited a few more moments, then its mouth disappeared once more beneath the brickwork. Both ends of the bridge lowered themselves back down, and then with the slowness of a turtle, it began to walk sullenly back to where it had been before.
Pash looked to the Queen seeing that, wondering why she had not yet launched her attack. That was the whole reason she had gotten his master to lure it over, wasn't it? So that she would be close enough to attack it? She stood with her arms out wide and her eyes closed in intense concentration. She looked like the statue of a goddess.
"Hey… Is that you doing that?" Ermos complained. Pash looked up to see the branch wiggling beneath him.
"I think you better get down, master," Pash advised.
"No way," Ermos said stubbornly. "This is my branch."
All the branches were moving now, wiggling by a breeze that did not exist. Pash saw his master's knuckles turn white as he gripped onto his branch as hard as he could, determined not to be vacated from his seat.
And then, the branches began to grow. It was as though time had been sped up around them.
They watched as small green shoots poked their way from mature branches and grew right before their eyes.
Within the span of a minute, a green shoot had thickened itself to the width of Pash's wrist, and that was happening all around him, hundreds of shoots per branch, hundreds of thousands per tree, and perhaps even hundreds of millions around the whole perimeter of the moat.
Ermos had to dodge each branch as they grew at him. He moved with a grace that made Pash sigh.
The Queen of Flowers opened her hands wide, spreading her fingers as far out as she could. The branches began to grow even faster. Space ran out. It was inevitable that one branch would soon clash with another.