Fan Fiction ❯ If There Be Thorns ❯ One Price For Another ( Chapter 3 )

If There Be Thorns

By Maggie Griffin

CHAPTER 3: One Price For Another

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"I still can't believe I did that!"

Ai sat rather glumly on sand chair in the caverns below the desert. Sadira stood a few feet away, watching the smaller girl with sympathy.

"I told you, stop beating yourself up about it! So you lost control of a little storm, big deal! You sent it flying off away from Agrabah, so nobody got hurt. Besides, you don't think I've done some bad stuff with the powers before? I mean, I'm sorry for it now, but I did it on purpose back then. At least with you, it was an accident!" Sadira spoke, trying to cheer Aini up.

Unfortunately, Ai had been feeling sorry about the entire ordeal for the last hour and a half, and had been beating herself up for it.

"Still, what if there's a chance someone did get hurt? Then it was because of me...," she trailed off, getting slightly dewy eyed at the idea that some innocent traveller could have become lost in the sand storm.

"Would you just stop! There was nobody out there. The desert is huge, and besides, how long could a storm go on for anyways? It probably died down after a little while!" Sadira tried to reason, but saw the same depressed, guilty expression on Ai's face she had been seeing for the past little while.

Aini said nothing, and continued looking down at the floor, as if punishing herself for what had happened.

"Look Ai, I...," Sadira started, but was cut off as a rumbling sound filled the air around them. "What...is that?"

Ai looked around, and shrugged. Moments later, she was following Sadira down the caverns towards the exit. The walls and ceiling shook above them, and Aini feared that at any given moment, the entire place would come crashing down on their very delicate skulls.

They made it out into the desert safely, and stood side by side, trying to locate the source of the rumbling. With each moment, it grew stronger and stronger, putting a new fear into Sadira's head.

"It's coming towards us," she muttered under her breath, the realization hitting her like a rock.

"Wh...wh...what?" Aini found herself uncontrollably stuttering from fear, for she had heard what Sadira had said under her breath.

The other woman glanced at her, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder when she saw the horrified expression on the younger girl's face.

"Don't be afraid Ai! Whatever it is, I can handle it just fine! I'm an experienced Witch of the Sand remember. I can take it!" Sadira reassured, but a hint of doubt laced her voice.

"I BEG TO DIFFER!"

The thunderous voice scared Ai so badly, she yelped and backed away from Sadira's side, pulling at the witch's hand to get her to follow. At that moment, Sadira was considering dropping her macho act and doing just that.

Aini tried to find the source of the voice, but there was nobody around them. The earth now shook extremely violently, piles and piles of sand shifting around them, threatening to bury them if they weren't careful.

"S..S..Sadira, wh...what's happening?" Ai called as the noise grew louder.

Suddenly, Aini found herself falling backwards as the sand beneath her shifted violently, and the earth opened up into a wide crevice. It was only Sadira pulling her away that saved Ai from being sucked down into the hole.

From within the crevice, thin vines seemed to be dragging themselves out onto the hot desert sand. They slithered towards the two girls, who watched, horrified as a tall figure stretched himself out, blotting out the sun behind him.

He loomed over them both, casting a shadow that seemed to engulf everything it touched. Them included.

Aini strained her eyes to try to see more of the figure, and eventually her sight adjusted, allowing her to see what was really glaring back at them.

A willowy-like visage stood a good seven feet high, towering over them with a look of hatred on its face. At first, Aini thought it was just her imagination, but she suddenly realized that the man looked somewhat like...a tree!?

Shaking her head, Ai tried to dispel the illusion, but it stayed the same, and she came to realize that what she saw was no trick of the light. No hallucination. Indeed, it had spread what she had previously believed to be simply willowy arms out around it, and now she saw they were a dark brown colour, made of branches. Each thin finger ended in a wicked looking claw, and when it opened its mouth in a snarl Ai could see the pointed teeth inside clearly.

It wore a long red robe, which covered its bottom half slightly. Underneath was a green material.

~Leaves?~ Aini wondered, growing curious, but still deathly terrified.

Overtop that it wore a shield-like dark green armour, which sat around his shoulders and around his chest. From it sprang a number of large, sharp-looking thorns, intensifying the creature's image.

"YOU! THAT MAGIC WAS YOURS!" His voice boomed again, a deep, rich tone that demanded immediate attention.

Sadira looked back at him, trying to keep brave, at least for Ai's sake. She only vaguely knew what she was looking at, remembering a scroll she had once come upon, and a story Jasmine had once told her.

~Something, about a plant guy. Artos...Arbus...Arbutus! But I thought Aladdin killed him...~ Sadira thought to herself as she desperately tried to think of a safe way of getting both herself and Ai away. Whatever this 'Arbutus' wanted, it didn't look like he was here for a friendly chat.

"You, witch! I can sense the same magic that destroyed my beautiful garden. Burned by children into ashes. You sent it!" Arbutus growled, pointing an accusing finger at Sadira. Sadira blinked, still somewhat confused as to what he was talking about. "NOW YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR CRIME!" Arbutus screamed, stretching himself out even higher.

The realization of what Arbutus was talking about hit both Sadira and Ai at the same time, shock registering on both of their faces.

"Oh no.....," Aini whimpered, knowing that Arbutus was about to punish Sadira for a crime she had not committed. "NO! I...," she started, but Sadira cut her off, wrenching herself free enough to be able to take a breath.

"I DID IT! I KNOW I DID IT! PLEASE, IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!" Sadira hollered, seeing that Arbutus had finally taken full note of Ai and was not glaring down at her.

"And who is this little witch?" He muttered, as if she didn't interest him the least bit.

"NO, PLEASE! PLEASE, DO ANYTHING YOU WANT WITH ME, BUT DON'T HURT HER! SHE'S NOT RESPONSIBLE!" Sadira cried desperately.

"S..SADIRA, THAT'S NOT...," Aini tried to cut her off again, determined to say that she had been the one truly responsible for Arbutus' pain, not Sadira.

"SHUT UP AINI!" Sadira yelled. "PLEASE ARBUTUS, LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!"

Arbutus turned his sights back from Aini, to Sadira, that back to Aini once more. His eyes narrowed momentarily, as if recalling something from the past.

"Aini....flower! I once knew someone who's name represented the very things I love, and she betrayed me....," his words turned bitter, and Sadira realized he was talking about Princess Jasmine. "Why would the rest of your kind be any different? Why should it matter, if I take you...," he gestured to Sadira, "...or this little one!"

Sadira's eyes widened in horror as she saw the decisive look in his eyes, and watched as he turned to Aini, who could only whimper in fear as one long hand came swooping out of the sky, catching her in it and crushing her painfully.

She cried out, squirming to no avail, and that Arbutus would surely crush her completely now.

"Why should I punish you directly? Why, when I can take from you, what you took from me, and punish it in your place!" Arbutus hissed.

"NO!" Sadira screamed. "YOU CAN'T, SHE'S JUST A KID!" Her voice choked on the last word as a vine whipped tightly across her mouth, sealing in her voice. She protested through it none the less, the words coming out as little more then moans.

Arbutus ignored her sealed pleas and protests, setting his sights back on Ai, who was whimpering in fear, but stood her ground none the less.

~If I don't, he'll hurt Sadira. This way, I'll get punished like I deserve, and she'll get to go free!~

"I can sense your fear....commendable that you stay none the less, I had expected you to at least try to run away. Doesn't it bother you, that you should be punished for what the witch did?" Arbutus asked, his tone having lost the hiss and resumed a more gentle, although still frightening tone.

"I...I don't c...care! She...she's m..my friend!" Ai's stutter had worsened, but she tried to her best to ignore that, and concentrate on Arbutus.

"Touching, but worthless! No friendship is real, and no trust, certainly...," he trailed off, that same bitterness returning to his voice.

"Th...th...that's not true!"

Arbutus sneered, then brought her closer to his face. So much so that Aini was able to see into his eyes, and momentarily marvelled at the strange colour. A clear mix of brown and green, as if someone had taken two strips of paint and send them towards each other, letting them mix naturally.

"We shall see how you feel about your value of friendship and trust little one, when you endure what I originally had planned for your witch!" His voice was barely above a whisper, but Ai could hear each word clearly.

Aini gulped in fear, but kept silent. With a wave of his other hand, the tight vines that had held Sadira captive loosened, sending her crashing rather painfully to the desert floor. She coughed violently, rolling over to her side and trying to catch her breath. There was a horrible ache in her chest and ribs, from the vines crushing her so tightly.

"This is your punishment for killing my home witch! Live with the guilt of knowing you caused your friend's demise!"

Sadira cried out, more from his words then from the pain wrecking her body. She raised her hands, preparing to call upon the sand to try to retrieve Aini from Arbutus' grasp, but before she could do anything, the Earth elemental split the ground around them, vanishing the way he had come, this time carrying Aini with him.

"NO!" Sadira screamed, knowing her attempted self-sacrifice had been in vain. Arbutus had thought himself clever, thinking he would take Aini as punishment for what Sadira had supposedly done, when in fact it had been Ai who had done it. "She still doesn't deserve to die...it was an accident, I should have stopped the storm myself!" Sadira moaned, the pain loosening itself but leaving only the guilt behind.

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Time had lost meaning to Aini the moment Arbutus re-entered the earth, dragging her along, still clutching her in his hand. The journey seemed to last only seconds, yet when they re-appeared back on land, they were somewhere Ai had never seen before.

They stood on green land, not a trace of the desert around them. Directly in front were a pair of huge, towering gates. It was there that Arbutus set her down on the ground, but peered at her with a clear expression that should she try anything, there was nowhere to run.

Ai obliged, not wanting to anger him further.

Arbutus shrunk down in size, resuming his still-very-tall seven feet. This height was only strengthened by the fact that Aini herself was somewhat short at 5', something she was touchy about. The fact she was now standing in front of someone so tall only made her feel more self-conscious and afraid.

She closed her eyes, tensing her body for whatever horrible thing Arbutus had been referring to when he had spoken to Sadira about inflicting her punishment on Aini. With his tone of voice, it had sounded nothing short of certain death, torture at the very least.

She waited in silence for a moment, until she heard Arbutus speak once more.

"What are you doing?" He asked, seeing her looking like she was expecting something.

Ai opened one eye cautiously, then the other.

"Well?" She asked timidly, still frightened.

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to...," she paused, wondering if she really wanted to be in the position of reminding him that he had wanted to hurt her in Sadira's place. "...uh...p..p..punish me?"

Arbutus blinked, then sighed and shook his head.

"Come little one, I'll show you where you may sleep!" He muttered, heading towards the gate. Aini stared after him, completely confused. However, she chose not to bring the subject up again. If Arbutus had changed his mind about flat-out killing her, she wasn't going to start pushing her luck and asking why.

So she trailed behind him, becoming immersed in studying him further. Little things she hadn't bothered taking in note before. The way he moved, for one, was something that had her curious. He seemed to glide over the floor, creating an almost majestic effect. She became so immersed in watching him walk, that she stopped paying attention to where she walk walking.

Arbutus stopped suddenly, catching Aini off guard and causing her to walk right into him, jolting his frame slightly.

"Would you at least keep your sights on where you are going?" Arbutus' voice was now dripping with annoyance, and Aini felt herself shrink even further under it.

"S..sorry!"

Arbutus sighed, feeling the annoyance leave him as he looked down at the girl.

~She really doesn't seem that bad, but she must be terrified. Such a small thing, It's a wonder she could survive on her own, no wonder the witch was so protective of her~ Arbutus found himself comparing her momentarily to one of his flowers. Certainly they were in the same position, both in a place of danger, and both too weak to do anything about it.

He shook his head, shaking away the remnants of sympathy that had started to crawl into his mind.

"Just be more careful little one!" He sighed, and pushed open the gates with ease. When they entered the land behind them, Aini felt herself freeze up inside, the sight being too much for her to take in at a time.

Arbutus noticed her expression at seeing his garden, and felt a slight boost to his ego. The healing had completed as he had estimated, only bits and pieces of the attack remaining, mostly in a scorched leaf here or a bit of sand lying about there. Otherwise, the garden had resumed back to its immense beauty, flowers and plants creating everything around them.

There was a small stream that flowed in around the large garden, and in one corner a stairwell of vines which led up to an overlooking point high in the sky, a sort of tree house, beautifully patterned.

"You like my home little one? It is said to be the most beautiful garden in the world, and I should know, I have seen every one of them!" He smiled, momentarily reminiscing.

Aini nodded without a sound, her eyes travelling all around, unbelieving to the beauty around her.

"It's beautiful!" She whispered, her stutter gone in the moment.

Arbutus heard her, and felt a corner of his lips lift in a thin, almost non-existent smile.

"It is your home now, and I will expect you to respect that!" He said firmly, to which Aini looked at him in surprise, but nodded. "Good! Come then, let me show you all there is to be seen!"

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Next, Sadira seeks help from Aladdin and Jasmine, while Aini begins to see Arburus in a new light.