The bridge shifted and swayed from right to left as Poire slowly inched herself closer to the pile of giant fluffy clouds. She could hear the wind howling in her ears, and as much as she tried to ignore it, the gravel beneath her feet that detached itself from the old planks and dived straight down to their demise. The lemur, on the other hand, did not seem troubled at all as he skipped across from one part of the sickly-looking rope to another.

As they neared the clouds, an eagle squawked above their heads, distracting Poire as she wailed and accidentally stepped into a space between two boards. She wriggled her limbs. A cry of terror escaped past her lips as her leg dangled into the empty space. “Calm yourself, girl,” the lemur said, “you still have a long way to go. If you hesitate each time because of minor distractions, you might as well jump off now.”

Poire took a deep breath. She shut her eyes and imagined that she was walking on pavements from her street. “Geez,” Poire muttered, “you’re as lovely as always, mister lemur.”

The lemur cackled. “Say what you must,” he said as they continued to advance into the unknown, “but it seems like it worked after all.”

Poire paid no heed to his words even if she did think that he might have a point for once, for at this rate, she would be done crossing the bridge by nightfall — and the thought of having to camp out in such a location pleased her even less than the despicable crossing she currently had to endure. So, she shut her eyes, and she released the thin rope by her sides. Keeping her back straight, her hands aligned with her shoulders, Poire walked onward without ever stopping once. Until she reached the end, where her foot slipped as she tripped over a pebble, and begun to fall.

Poire’s eyes went wide.

Her shoe slipped off her foot, and disappeared instantly, yanked down by the forces of gravity.

She hoped her screams would be heard amongst the howling wind.

“Help—”

But her cries were soon silenced as another hand, one that appeared so incredibly human, grasped her own. Poire gasped. She was hanging over the cliff’s edge, just like the bridge, except her string was but a stranger’s arm — one she found herself praying to be friend and not foe.

And it seemed that the god of this land chose to answer her calls, for Poire was soon pulled up by the man’s strength, her feet touching the ground once more.

She glanced up to meet his eyes but found herself gasping in surprise.

He was just like her.

His body had remained human, yet, he had seemingly misplaced his head. In comparison to Poire’s, his petals were not made up of violets, greys and blues — they were golden, a rose. Just like a prince, Poire thought.

“I’m glad I made it in time,” he said, giving her a curt bow. “Any later, and you would have been done for, Poire.”

“I-Ivan?” Poire blurted, wondering what he could be possibly doing here, and why.

“Oh, please, no.” The young man waved her words away. “Don’t compare me to that filth,” he said.

“S-sorry…” She muttered, “it’s just…” Poire clasped her palms together behind her back and fiddled with her fingers nervously. “Y-you have his voice,” she said.

He shrugged. “Sure I do. However, that does not mean we are one and the same. I am the Prince of this land,” the Prince said with a palm pressed to his chest, “he is the scum of his classroom. But I do admit he had quite the nice voice, so simply put, I allowed myself to borrow it.”

“W-wha— that’s possible here?!”

“Ahem,” the lemur cleared his throat, “it seems like you’ve forgotten about me,” he said as he stepped between the two.

“Urgh,” the Prince groaned, disgusted, as he motioned towards the lemur. “Why in the world would you bring that thing here?” he snapped, “it’s repulsive.”

“I-I— I didn’t mean any harm by it!” Poire said as she rocked back and forth on her feet. “He just brought me here on the back of a giant beetle, and the next thing I knew I was crossing a bridge, and then… you appeared.”

The Prince sighed and shook his head. “I suppose I’ll have to let it slide this time. It’s not like you could have helped it.”

“Hey!” The lemur shouted, “seriously? I do all this work. I bring her to you. And this is how you thank me? Not even a nut? Water? Spaghetti Bolognese?”

This time, it was Poire’s turn to react. “Spaghetti Bolognese?” She tilted her head and glanced down to the lemur, “Um… I don’t mean to pry mister lemur, but that might not be the healthiest diet for—”

“What do you mean I can’t enjoy a tasty plate of Spaghetti Bolognese?!” He screeched and waved his arms around in anger.

Figuring he was a lost cause, Poire turned to the Prince and asked him, “Why does his voice turn into a booming echo, amplified tenfold, when he pronounces the word Spaghetti Bolognese?”

The Prince only shrugged again. “I guess he just really likes the dish, that’s all,” he told her.

“You...” Poire’s shoulders slumped, “you guess? Shouldn’t you be a little more sure since you make the rules around here?”

“Poire,” the Prince turned to her and pressed his palms to his hips, “do you truly believe I would find it appropriate to implement a rule, stating that when one pronounces the words Spaghetti Bolognese, it would be heard throughout the land?” He shook his head, “please do not be ridiculous. I’m not that kind of ruler. I decide what the people cannot do. I do not stop them from loving what they must. Anyway,” he turned back to the lemur, his arms crossed, “you cannot enter my castle, and that is final. If you stay put, I will then consider rewarding you with something you may or may not enjoy.”

The Prince spun around on his two feet to face the tall and hollow entrance to his domain. His cape fluttered in the wind as he held out a gentle hand for Poire to take. “Shall we go then, Poire?” he said.

As Poire’s hand brushed against his, the wind blew even louder, brushing both of their petals and the clouds surrounding their figures. The lack of fluffy whites revealed to Poire that the entrance was, in fact, linked to a giant pear.

She gasped, “You— You live in a—”

The Prince nodded. “I hope it is to your liking, Poire,” he said as he urged her to follow in with a gentle tug to her arm.

Poire’s surroundings went dark. The long hallway cast shadows against their skin, turning porcelain whites to coal, as Poire left the lemur and a world filled with clouds behind her — for one that would soon fill her with inexplicable wonder.