Cornucopia wiped a smear of blood from her face, the green silk of her glove now stained with a crusted black and red, the blood of a creature which should have been dead a long time ago. These horrific human-like creatures had been relentless in their attacks, only growing more and more insistent as time went on. It was only yesterday that they had finally started attacking the Arboretum directly, and while the first wave had been instantly mowed down by row up row of pistol-wielding bushes, the next wave had come, and the next. A never ending tide of human flesh, throwing themselves towards their own destruction. But why did they stop? She mused.
The hordes had been drawing steadily closer to the center of the Arboretum, forcing Cornucopia back to her dwelling, and then suddenly they'd all stopped, twitching. She had taken advantage of the distraction to slaughter all those she could see, but then no further waves of them had come. The rest of the night had passed without issue, finally, the sun had risen, a clear, bright day. Cornucopia's wounds had begun healing over at an accelerated rate until finally her skin was smooth and unblemished once again, aside from the smatterings of blood.
Moving back inside the house, she saw one of her remaining servants, huddled in a corner, a metal poker held before him defensively, sweat staining the formal suit he was wearing.
"Be a dear and run me a bath would you?" She said quietly. "It's been a dreadful morning."
The young man sat still, eyes still wide in panic, not seeming to understand what she was saying. He lowered the poker slightly and began looking around furtively, keeping his form as small as possible.
Cornucopia sighed and raised one, lofty finger to point outside.
"They are all dead or gone, I have some peace at last, and for me to enjoy that peace I need to rid myself of... this." She gestured towards the filth and gore staining her clothes and skin. "So please, a bath?"
Without waiting for an answer she moved towards the bathroom, standing in front of the mirror and examining her own features. Dark circles lay under her eyes, her hair was a mess, and the earth that usually stained her clothes and hands was completely covered by blood and pieces of meat. With disgust she flicked one piece off and then began changing to a bathrobe and poured some water onto her face, ridding herself of the worst of it.
A sudden, sharp pain sprung in her shoulder.
She spun around to see the same frightened servant, eyes confused and harried, looking at her in panic. The poker he had been holding clattered out of his hands with the force of her spin.
She sent a rush of power towards the boys stomach, finding a small seed from a lemon he must have eaten last night, the seed quickly began swelling, unfurling inside of him, spreading roots through his body.
In a moment the boy coughed, spattering her in a fresh coat of blood as his innards were torn apart, a bloodied root system began emerging from his abdomen. The lower half of his body fell to the ground, limp, but his torso was now held stiffly in place as a thick woody trunk began to grow inside of it, eventually bursing his neck open as the tree began forming in earnest.
Plucking a small, withered, and oddly red-colored lemon from the tree, Cornucopia kicked what remained of the body to one side and began moving to the outside. She needed sunlight, she needed to heal. The house could be replaced later if she required.
Rushing out the front door she collapsed onto the ground, eyes closed, she moved the robe from her shoulder to expose as much skin as possible to the sunlight. She felt the pain soothe, the wound, slowly beginning to draw itself shut.
Just in time for Jenna, the only other of her servants to catch her in the stomach with a kitchen knife.
"We need her back." The woman choked out. "Ever since she left everythings been... we need her back, I need it back."
Jenna continued hacking into Cornucopia's body, inflicting damage faster than it was healing.
A loud bang echoed from among the trees as one turned its branch, aimed a pistol and fired. Jenna's body collapsed ontop of Cornucopia, the blood of both bodies mingling slowly on top of her.
Weakly, Cornucopia managed to push the body off of her, pulling out a mobile she dialed a number.
"Rainmaker, my Queen, I nee-" A violent cough racked her body, unable to fully heal wounds this powerful without a stronger source of sunlight. "Cornucopia, in the Arboretum... need.. light."
The phone fell from her hands and she lay on her back, dress torn apart, wounds closing but not fast enough to replace the blood she was losing. The Arboretum rustled as every plant within a mile of her began shifting, branches waving as though in sympathy of her pain.
"Hush now." Cornucopia crooned. "Soon she will bring the light, and we can all bathe in its warmth."
She closed her eyes, feeling the gentle breeze from the plants, the soft dappling of light on her skin as clouds passed in front of the-
Her eyes lazily opened.
"Clouds?"
Looking into the sky she saw small wisps of white forming, thickening into grey. Passing in front of the sun. Cutting off her light.
"Not rain. Need sun." She muttered.
The clouds continued to thicken, all of them blocking the light. All of them forming solely over the Arboretum.
Her watery eyes began to fill with a red haze as she realized what was happening.
"No. No, you need me." She said, clutching at her stomach, her voice cracked as she began screaming into the clouds. "I provide for you! I provide for all! All the worthless people in that city live at my whim! Food, water, power, weapons. All of it is ME!"
The thick cloud cover blocked the last rays of sunlight reaching her body.
Cornucopia stared blankly into the clouds. Why? Why was this happening? What reason could Rainmaker possibly have?
Summoning what little willpower she had left, she clutched at her stomach, feeling her blood seeping out, watering the surrounding plants with her own life.
"It doesn't matter." She said, hanging her head down. Droplets of rain began to fall, wetting her hair, straightening the few curls that remained, plastering it all to her head and the sides of her face. One tear from each eye joined the falling droplets of water.
"Fine. If our alliance ends, then let it end."
She raised her head, staring at the plants that drank in the water from the clouds.
"Children. It's time." She said. In contrast to her softly spoken words, the burst of power she sent into the ground was anything but soft. A harsh, violent burst flooded the surrounding greenery, some plants began groaning under the force of her command.
And deep under the earth, a complex network of roots began constricting, pulling themselves tighter. Tighter around the triggers they held.
Laying back down, Cornucopia tilted her head to the side, taking in one last view of her garden.
"Beautiful."
The ground beneath her, the forest around the Arboretum, and the streets of the cities of Corvallis. All heaved upwards as countless millions of explosives detonated from beneath them.
