The Legend of the Thorny Rose by Sherrie Dolby

Author:Sherrie Dolby [Dolby, Sherrie]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Sanhedralite Editing and Publishing
Published: 2013-11-05T16:00:00+00:00

“Company, halt!” called out one of the creatures, the one marching at the head of the great column. The rose could not tell precisely how many of the things there were, but she imagined there to be several dozen.

“About face!” called the lead creature again and all of the tiny, sharp-edged things turned on their tiny heels in an almost mechanically precise movement to face the roses. The leader also turned to face the rose and spoke.

“May we ask who here speaks for the roses?” it asked in a voice that, though high-pitched, commanded attention and strongly discouraged disrespect. The wise rose realized that the other roses were alert to the presence of the creatures and some of them were fearful. They murmured amongst themselves but none spoke up. The wise rose, lost in the spectacle of having seen such beings as these for the first time, finally remembered that it was her reply that both the creatures and her fellow roses were awaiting.

“I do,” she said. “I speak for the roses in all things. May I ask who is addressing me?”

“I am Gren, commander of the population of the land of Thorn. I seek shelter for myself and for my people. A strange blight has overtaken our home, and we have been forced to leave and search elsewhere for a new place to live.”

The rose briefly wondered if perhaps it was humans that had been the blight, coming to take away the thorns and perhaps keep them as pets.

‘No,’ she realized. ‘No human would want to even touch such a sharp thing. They would surely injure themselves in the attempt.’

“I see, Commander Gren,” the rose replied. “And where did you hope to find this shelter?”

“Wherever it may be available for the taking,” Gren said. “We are a hardy and adaptable people. We could live anywhere and thrive. We require no food and little sleep. Even our children are born able to fend for themselves and require no coddling.”

“I see. You are a formidable people indeed,” the wise rose said.

“Yes but not so much as to be able to withstand the blight that causes us to run before it. We have, I believe, escaped its clutches, but we can never return to the place we once called home. We must now seek a new place but only one that is freely given to us, for so much of the world is already occupied, and we have already been denied shelter by many.”

The rose thought to herself that it was not surprising. She could not think of many creatures that would willingly share their homes with creatures that, though they might not intend to, could so easily cause damage to others. Suddenly, her own thoughts returned to her with the force of a great wind blowing through her mind...

No human would want to even touch such a sharp thing. They would surely injure themselves in the attempt!

The roses were things of beauty, not creatures built for toughness as these people of Thorn surely were.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.