150 or Below

by KwirkyJ

Camellia

Celestia dragged her sleep-addled self to the balcony as she always did to raise the sun for the morning. As she always did not, she trod muzzle-first into a dense thicket of leaves and twigs.

There should be no bramble here, she realized. The sensation was novel, tickling her face, and the scent very familiar... Then she felt the tendrils wrapping around her head and she lurched away -- in surprise more than panic (it hadn't been moving that fast).

Her chamber doors burst open. "Princess! Good, ah, take another step back, please!"

She did, and turned to see her royal horticulturist. "Silver Twig. Good morning. Might this have something to do with that breakthrough you mentioned yesterday?"

"Ah. Yes, Your Highness. We seem to have hit a bit of a snag. The good news is, once this is all sorted out, we'll have top-quality white tea for years."

Author's Note:

Written for the March 2021 prompt, "Accelerated Evolution"