He flinched behind his arms, but the fruit still struck—splattering across his cheek like an accusation.
"William! What's this about?" John shouted, wiping his cheek with his palm. "We've all been selling rotten lately, so why am I your target?"
A small mob had gathered at the town square, just outside John's fruit stand—angry faces, early sun, and tension so thick it might curdle milk.
William stepped forward, shovel in hand.
"Lies!" he barked, slamming the blade into the interlocked tiles with a sharp clang.
"Your fruits are worse. Your stall smells like rot. Like betrayal."
John's brows furrowed.
"Look, William—I don't know why the spikes ruined my crops more than anyone else's. But I do know it has nothing to do with Princess Alicia."
He gestured vaguely toward the edge of his farm.
"We barely interact. She's never even come close to my land."
A whisper hissed through the crowd.
"He's still defending her..."
Another voice snapped from deeper in the mass.
"Well, he can speak for himself—but not for his daughter, PomPom. I saw her snooping around that shed of hers."
Murmurs spread like kindling catching fire. Heads turned. Eyes narrowed.
John's stomach dropped.
"Bring PomPom out!" William roared, his voice cracking like a whip.
"Or we'll burn your store, and your farm, to the ground!"
He turned slowly to face the swelling crowd, eyes wide with fury.
"We can't let you spread that monster's curse to the rest of us!" he ignited their hearts even further.
John's jaw clenched hard.
Because he knew the truth.
PomPom wasn't in the house.
She was with her.
Somewhere not too far away, in a quiet alley just beyond the market, the rhythm of joyful skipping and soft singing echoed—
From a little girl in a ruffled yellow dress.
Her braids bounced with every step, bits of hay still tangled in the ends.
A strange amulet swung from her neck, clenched gently in her small hands.
Her voice rose like birdsong—bright, wild, and without care.
PomPom, the farmer's daughter—
Too young to know fear.
Too stubborn to stop smiling with her missing front tooth.
"Fly, fly, fly away! PomPom's gonna fly today—yay!" she sang, twirling with a laugh.
Her feet came to a scrunchy stop on the hay-strewn path, caught mid-skip by a sudden spectacle.
A wave of blue light shimmered through the air—each arc like a brushstroke across the morning sky. With every swing, the air split with a crisp whisssh, leaving glowing trails and flying straws in its wake.
Alicia.
Dressed in her battered green armor, she moved with focused fury—training outside the barn like the world depended on it.
She stopped.
"Come out. Now."
Her shimmering blue eyes scanned the edge of the barn—then landed on the small shape peeking from behind the wall.
PomPom squeaked.
"I–I'm sorry! I didn't mean to spy! Honest!"
Alicia blinked, the heat of her stance fading.
A small shiver ran through her as she slid the sword back into its sheath.
The blade dissolved slowly—blue bubbles rising and vanishing into the air—
until only the hilt remained.
"Oh, no—PomPom, it's okay. I thought. I sensed someone else..."
She raised both hands, slowly, palms open—like calming a frightened animal.
"You're not in trouble. I promise."
PomPom's fingers gripped the barn wall tighter.
"Are you sure you're not mad at me?" she sniffed.
"PomPom didn't mean to peek. PomPom's really, really sorry."
Alicia tried to smile.
It came out… weird.
Half forced, half tight-lipped. She wasn't great at this.
"It'd take more than a little spying to scare me off," she said, her tone sounding tougher than she meant.
She hesitated—then added with a shrug,
"Besides… I've never had such a small audience."
Her smile lingered, but her eyes had already moved—drawn toward something… just out of view.
PomPom stepped into view, brushing straw from her dress, face bright with excitement.
"Okay!"
"Your sword looks really cool! Can I hold it?"
Alicia blinked.
Was that normal?
"Uhh… no?" she said, wincing slightly at her own response.
"I mean—sorry, PomPom. It's kind of... only for me."
PomPom's smile wilted.
Alicia panicked a little.
"But!" she blurted. "I can… I can take you flying instead."
She dropped to one knee, raising both hands like she'd seen healers do with scared foals.
"If you want. I mean. I've got a crystal left. And legs. Strong ones."
Nailed it? I think, Alicia told herself.
"Really? Yay!"
PomPom's eyes lit up like twin suns.
"I've always wanted to fly!"
Alicia blinked.
"Wait—you have?"
"Mmhmm!" PomPom nodded so hard her braids slapped her cheeks.
"Birds get to fly. Bats get to fly. But not PomPom. It's not fair!."
Alicia couldn't help it—her mouth twitched upward. Not a full smile, but the kind that almost escapes before you catch it.
"Well… we can fix that."
She stood up and unsheathed her swordless hilt, tapping the glowing crystal embedded in her chestplate.
A low hum vibrated through the air—warm, steady, alive.
Then it began.
From the hilt, slow blue bubbles emerged, each one pulsing like a heartbeat.
They floated upward, swirling and fusing—
until they formed a semi-liquid blade, translucent and shifting, like water held in shape by forces unknown.
At its core, a root-like structure ran down the center—twisting and living.
Her weapon wasn't forged.
It was grown.
PomPom's heart raced with excitement, her eyes wide with wonder as she reached for the blade.
"No touching, PomPom," Alicia said gently, pulling the sword just out of reach.
"Aww," PomPom pouted.
"Now… close your eyes."
"Huh? But why?"
PomPom scrunched her nose. "I wanna see my house from the sky!"
Alicia hesitated. Her smile faded just a little.
"I know," she said softly. "But just—trust me. Please. Eyes closed."
Her voice wasn't stern.
It was… distant.
Pompom reluctantly closed her eyes.
Alicia took in a deep breath.
"I hope this works like it did in my head," she muttered, jamming her sword into the soft hay behind her.
One second later.
With both hands.
PomPom was launched into the air like a slightly panicked volleyball.
The force of her ascent made her braids clutch to her ears like startled clips, her arms rising beside her like waves in the wind.
Then came the sound—
That sneeze-like burst of air, violent and sudden,
And then… silence.
Light flooded her eyes as she opened them, blinking against the sun's pale blaze.
For a moment, everything slowed—
Her thoughts, her breath, her heartbeat.
And up there, suspended in the sky, where houses looked like boxes
She saw it:
The cracked sun, just as it always was.
Like a broken yolk spilled across heaven.
But before a smile could form on her face.
Her descent began, so did a sharp feeling of helplessness
Her hands thoughtlessly reached out, as if to hold onto the sun.
Pompom was falling.
Alicia panicked.
"Wait—no! Not yet."
But the sky didn't listen.
PomPom was coming down faster than she'd gone up—
The wind howled louder now, cruel and sharp.
Her tiny arms flailed like a panicked fish in the open air.
"Ahhh! Sistah Alicia!" she cried, voice cracking.
"I'm falling!"
"Wait!"
Alicia raised the hilt of her sword with both hands, the liquid blade humming to life
Then, with a breathless yell, she drove it into the ground like a shovel.
BOOM!
The surrounding hay exploded outward, scattering like golden shrapnel.
The ground split beneath Alicia in a spiderweb of devastating cracks.
She shot upward with the force, ascending like a launched spear, her left hand outstretched like a superhero, her right hand wrestling to control the turbulent sword.
The sword propelled her forward, its blade roaring with rocket-like thrust, dragging her wherever she aimed the hilt.
But PomPom was already falling.
And fast.
Alicia's eyes widened.
"Oh no—
If I hit her with this much force, I'll shatter her bones!
Why couldn't I catch her at the summit like I practiced?!"
"I can't stop. I can't slow down."
PomPom's eyes met hers—terrified.
"Think, Alicia. Think!"
She flipped her grip into a reverse hold—blade aligned with her forearm, her elbow prepared to bend.
"I need to time this just right."
PomPom's braids, falling, were now no more than a hand's length away.
"Not yetttt…" Alicia breathed, muscles coiled.
Then
In one swift motion, she swept the sword from left to right, like rowing a boat through open sky.
A burst of propulsion flared again beneath the tip of the blade.
But she misjudged the angle.
She passed PomPom by too fast.
PomPom's eyes widened as Alicia drifted past her in slow motion.
And then—barely audible.
"Help me," she whispered.
Her lips trembled.
Voice small as gravity pulled her faster.
Suddenly.
PomPom's collar tightened around her neck, choking her slightly.
She gasped, feeling a sudden yank at the back of her dress.
Someone had her.
Alicia.
She swept behind PomPom in a tight arc, guiding the sword's propulsion in a sharp half-circle.
The grip tightened.
And the floor closer as they began to see the roof of Alicia's barn more clearly
PomPom blinked, air finally returning to her lungs.
"I got you," Alicia muttered through clenched teeth, straining against the speed.
But she couldn't hold it for long.
The sword's thrust faltered—brief, but enough to jolt her balance.
Gritting her teeth, Alicia swung the blade sideways—rowing it against the air like an oar to steady herself and get a better hold.
The sword surged again, rocketing her forward with a violent jolt.
PomPom's collar loosened.
Two arms curled around her, not fully, not tightly.
But enough.
Like a half-handshake.
Awkward. Lopsided.
But human.
Then
Alicia stabbed the air beneath them.
The blade flared again, launching them upward.
This time, PomPom was pulled tight against her.
But not for long.
The sword's propulsion sputtered—its limit reached.
They began to descend again, hair streaming in the opposite direction.
Alicia grunted and stabbed the blade downward once more, reigniting its thrust.
From the ground, the whole sequence—up, down, up again—looked less like flight, and more like a strange, clumsy air-hop.
They hovered so high, the houses became tiny boxes, the fields a patchwork quilt stitched by light.
"Sistah Aliciha…" PomPom whispered, tilting her head up.
Alicia glanced down.
"Oh no."
She's going to cry, isn't she?
"That was—so. Cool!" PomPom's eyes sparkled with unfiltered joy, her voice almost bursting.
"Eh?" Alicia blinked.
"You're… not afraid? I mean—not that I want you to be, but—"
"Oh, I was," PomPom nodded quickly. "When you zoomed past me? I thought I was toast."
She giggled, her amulet whipping in the wind.
"But then you spun around and bam! grabbed me—like a hero! That spin made it extra cool!"
Alicia exhaled, shoulders sagging.
For a moment, PomPom felt lighter in her arms.
"Hero," she echoed, voice barely above a whisper.
"I wish the other children thought so too."
"Mhmm! I'll tell them," PomPom said cheerfully.
"They're gonna be so jealous of my birthday gift. It's way better than what Papa gave me!"
Alicia's smile faded.
The word Papa hit harder than it should have.
"You should cherish what your father gives you… However small," Alicia said softly, her voice hitching like a hiccup as they hit another air-hop.
"Nuh-uh," PomPom replied, puffing her cheeks.
"Papa gave me this weird amulet, and it doesn't even do anything."
Then—
"Oh! My house! And—woah!"
PomPom pointed downward, bouncing in Alicia's arms like they hadn't just escaped a mid-air death spiral.
The sword flared again, light bursting beneath them like a comet's tail.
They rose through it, wrapped in rushing ribbons of wind and blue shimmer.
PomPom clung tighter—not out of fear, but wonder.
The world below unfolded like a painting in motion.
The white church shimmered with golden trim, its steeple catching sunlight like a blade.
The circular town square bustled with movement, the people below no bigger than crumbs.
Then she leaned over Alicia's shoulder—
And saw her favorite sight.
The World Trees.
Two giants on opposite ends of the horizon—one bursting with lush, green life, the other veiled in dark clouds and coiled shadow.
From this high up, they looked like thin sticks piercing the sky—
But PomPom's eyes lit up all the same.
She took a deep breath—then shouted with all her joy:
"This. Is. The. Best. Birthday. Ever!"
Her arms flailed wide, fingers slicing through the wind like wings.
"Woah—careful there, PomPom!" Alicia panicked. "I'm still getting the hang of this!"
But before she could steady them—
PomPom's amulet swung forward—
—and struck the glowing crystal in Alicia's chestplate.
CLINK.
The contact was light.
But the sky went still.
The crystal's light dimmed.
Her sword—
Vanished.
Only the hilt remained, humming faintly in her palm.
"Huh? What?"
Alicia's heart dropped.
She looked down at the dead crystal in her chestplate.
It was gone. The light, the hum… the power.
She felt—
Empty.
They slowly began to lose speed. Then they fell.
Straight into the town square,
Where PomPom's father was waiting.