“It’s not really your fault, you know?” Vell said, glancing at Sonder. “Most people would have done the same. It’s instinct to protect yourself—and what else would you use against attacking plants? Fire, naturally.”
Sonder looked up at him, brow furrowed, but she said nothing.
He sighed and they walked in silence, his gaze drifting from her to the dense forest of Celadon behind them.
After a while, Sonder broke the quiet. “Will we ever get to go back?”
Vell paused, then sat on a fallen log and gestured for her to sit beside him. “Maybe,” he said, though his tone held little conviction. “If Mellea ever decides we’re worthy. But the queen’s right about one thing—they’re not one for forgiveness”
Sonder sighed and sank down beside him, picking up a smooth, palm-sized stone.
“Then how will I ever fix what I’ve done?”
She turned the stone in her hands, feeling its weight.
She thought about throwing it, to feel its flight and watch its fall and land with a heavy thunk on the earth.
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But instead, she held it a moment longer, then gently set it back on the ground, as if it belonged to this land more than she did.
She really didn’t belong here.
Without another word, they rose and continued on toward the edge of the forest.
At the border of Celadon, where the world opened into a wide grassland, Vell shook his head. “They expect so much,” he said. “They guard this place like every blade of grass is sacred. But they forget that mistakes are part of nature, too.”
Sonder’s gaze drifted over the vast grasslands, the open sky above them feeling unreal after Celadon’s dense trees. “Maybe they’re right, though. Maybe I should have known better.”
“Experience teaches,” Vell shook his head and looked her way. “Not expectations. You did what you thought you had to.”
As they began crossing the grassland, the soft, endless rustle felt so loud in comparison to the melodic brush of the leaves in the wind.
“Where will we go now?” Sonder asked dispirited.
“I’ll figure that out,” Vell said, offering a reassuring smile. “In the meantime, why not start small? Water a few withering plants along the way—think of it as the beginning of your amends to Celadon.”
For the first time since leaving the forest, Sonder smiled. She knelt by a patch of scraggly weeds at the edge of the grassland, cupping her hands around them.
She called to water, and hoped it would answer for the first time.
Slowly, the plants seemed to perk up, their leaves moist and brightening as though grateful for the attention and care.
“That’s the spirit,” Vell said with a warm nod, and suddenly an idea popped into his head. “I know where we’ll go next,” he added enthusiastically.