Samurai Jack and the Forest of
Shadows
A fanfiction by Prairieghost
Chapter Five
The Forest of Dreaming
Jack soon learned that "just down the road" was not as brief as Lora
had lead him to believe. They had to stop several times for the
Guardian to rest, and their progress was slow. They traveled for
a day and a half, Jack in a constant state of anxiety over Lora's
condition as she guided him deeper and deeper into the unending
woodland. Her usual graceful movements had become jerky and
unsteady, her dulcet voice small and weak. Even the shining
quality of her hair had dulled, the silver strands hanging bedraggled
and gray over half of her face.
It was the first time since their
journey had begun
that Jack's attention was not on the forest around them, so when he
first caught motion of out the corner of his eye and turned to look, he
was shocked to find not birds as he'd expected, nor insects or flying
lizards, but fish! Swimming casually through a tangle of
low-hanging branches as though submerged in water, was a large,
shimmering trout, the rainbow hues of its body reflecting brightly in
the sunlight. Jack turned with mouth agape to ask Lora about this
phenomenon, but before he could speak an entire school of
brightly-colored guppies darted across the path in front of him, a
large oscar following in hot pursuit.
"F-fish?" he sputtered at last.
"Flying fish?"
"Welcome to the Forest of Dreaming,"
Lora said
coolly, looking at him.
"But, how is it possible?"
Lora shrugged, wincing at the pain in
her shoulder.
"Something about the way water reacts
with the
biology of living things," she explained, gesturing to a stream near
the path, where fish dipped in and out of the water as readily as
though the barrier between the two did not exist. "Fish and other
aquatic creatures are completely airborne, while non-aquatics with a
high percentage of water in their bodies are unable to fly, but capable
of some impressive aerobatics all the same."
Awed by this, Jack watched fish and
birds dart
through the trees, often in pursuit of one another. Sparrows
darted after minnows, then fled from a very large bass cruising near
the forest floor. Tiny bluegill hovered perfectly still but for
the subtle motions of their tiny fins, staring at a tree trunk, the
baby fish nipping lightly at the insects on the bark before becoming
motionless again.
The fish that caught his attention the
most,
however, was a large, fat fantail goldfish the color of butter cream,
with one golden eye and one blue. The goldfish wobbled a bit as
it swam through the air, its large, double tail elegant but
clumsy. It swam over to Lora, pecked once at her nose, then swam
away again, the Guardian nodding and closing her eyes.
A moment later, a girl dropped from the
trees, her
bright brown eyes wide and excited as she bounded towards Lora,
wrapping the Guardian in a hug around her middle and squealing
gleefully. Jack was momentarilly alarmed, worried that the
exhuberant girl would aggravate Lora's injury, but the look on Lora's
face was more resigned than pained.
"Lora Lora Lora! Are you here for
a visit?
I've missed you so much! Should I tell Mother you're staying?"
the girl yammered on, her face flush with excitment.
"Gently Fonnie--I'm injured," Lora said
calmly, and
the girl released her immediately.
"Ooo, it was those mages, wasn't it?"
Fonnie
growled. "I swear when I become Queen I'll pulverize the lot of
them!" Jack watched in amusement as "Fonnie" punched at empty air, Lora
resting her hand on the girl's head to calm her.
The girl looked to be no older than
sixteen--though
after meeting Lora and Tut, Jack was reluctant to assume anything about
age from appearances. She dressed in elaborate but practical
clothes, her hair cropped artfully and pinned up in a style that
reminded him suddenly of home. As she beamed at Lora, the fat
goldfish orbited her head, occasionally pecking at her shoulder or face
before resuming its airborne swim.
"Fonnie, I would like you to meet
Samurai Jack,"
Lora said, breaking Jack from his thoughts. "Jack, this is
Princess Fonifisous Odrin, or 'Fonnie' for short, and this is Piebald,
the goldfish," She went on, gesturing briefly to the fish now greedilly
devouring little pellets of food from Fonnie's offered hand.
"A pleasure to meet you!" Fonnie said
brightly,
bowing her head quickly and keeping her bright eyes on Jack.
"Likewise a pleasure," Jack responded,
bowing deeply
to the princess before turning to Lora. "Is this the place we
will be taking sanctuary?" he asked her.
"Not here," Lora replied, shaking her
head.
"In the palace. Fonnie, if you would be so kind..."
The young princess nodded once with a
large grin
before turning and bounding away down the road. Jack noted with
amazement how light the girl was on her feet, able to jump as high or
even higher than even him. She would skip a ways down the path,
either through the trees or along the ground, then stop and wait for
them to catch up, using that time to gather wild fruits and nuts from
the trees.
As they traveled, Jack began to catch
glimpses of
the palace through the thick canopy of leaves, its tall walls and
turrets carved of white stone and gleaming in the sun. The sounds
of people bustling about on their daily tasks reached his ears,
comforting him in their simplicity. The dirt trail became paved
with cobblestones, the trees beginning to make way for cultivated
farmland and homes. Jack supported Lora as she started to sway on
her feet again, and she didn't protest, her head hanging slightly from
weariness as they approached the city gates.
They stopped to have a few words with
the guards,
but Jack did not hear them. His eyes had scanned up the side of
the palace walls, past the notched turrets to see a massive shadow pass
over head. His jaw dropped in amazement as an enormous humpback
whale cruised leisurely over the palace wall, its long, knobbly fins
seeming to just miss grazing the top of the wall. Jacks neck
craned back as his wide, astonished eyes followed the whale until long
after it had passed over head, and it wasn't until he heard a soft
cough and giggle from Fonnie that he snapped back to reality.
"Truly your world is amazing," he said
absently as
they were lead into the palace, his eyes still wide with shock.
As they were guided into the palace courtyard, he found himself
surrounded by lush gardens and fountains, fish darting amongst the
flowers like finned butterflies, birdsong filling his ears.
Fountains portraying winged people, unicorns, dolphins, whales, and an
assortment of other creatures splashed and bubbled all around, Piebald
darting off to dip into one of the fountains before rejoining Fonnie
once more.
They were led to a regal-looking woman
with a
handsome face and calm eyes, her voluminous gowns elaborate and
heavilly decorated with embroidery and frill. As she turned her
gaze to study Jack, she bowed her head slightly, and Jack bowed his
head in return, still supporting Lora.
"Always an honor to have you grace our
realm with
your presence, Lady Guardian," the queen said, noddiing once.
Aware that Lora was on the verge of collapse, she did not wait for a
response. "Your usual room is ready and awaiting you, my
lady. Should we arrange seperate quarters for your companion?"
"I doubt," Lora breathed, her voice weak
from
exhaustion, "that he would want me out of his sight, honestly."
Jack flushed bright red and looked at
the queen
sheepishly, but the monarch meerly nodded again and gestured for a
nearby guard to lead the way.
"As you wish it, my lady," she said.
Fonnie followed them through the various
corridors
and passageways that took them by and by to Lora's quarters.
Jack's mouth dropped open again as they neared the massive double-doors
carved of rich, dark wood, two enormous stone unicorns flanking the
door.
"If you ever get lost," Fonnie told him
with a grin,
"just ask for directions to the Unicorn Room."
The interior was just as extravagent as
the
exterior, the room large enough to put to shame most royal quarters,
one wall a row of brightly-lit windows opening out onto a vast
balcony. Potted plants grew and bloomed and vined their way
throughout the room, a few small fountains splashing amongst
them. There was only one bed, and Jack's face grew red again, but
before he could protest, servants arrived with a bedroll, laying it out
near one wall and bowing to him.
"I hope you don't mind just a matt on
the floor,"
Fonnie said, looking at him.
"Compared to sleeping on the rocky
ground, it will
be heaven," Jack assured her, helping Lora to the bed. The large
bed looked soft and welcoming, but Jack was content with the roll he'd
been provided. Lora seemed in a state of incoherency, concious,
but only just, her eyes glazed and shadowed, staring at nothing as she
laid down upon the bed and rolled onto her side.
"We should let her rest," Fonnie
interjected, taking
Jack's hand and guiding him away. "Come on--I'll give you a tour
of the palace."
Samurai
Jack, Aku, and all
related characters and story lines
are copyright Cartoon Network.
Lora the Forest Guardian, the
Forest of Shadows, Fonnie, Lenmana, and
all other related stories and characters are copyright Prairieghost
a.k.a. Lydia A. C. Jacobs.