Too Sweet To Be Real

Sweet scents flooded the clearing, the sticky sweetness of fruits and nectar which had never before touched the mouths of the strange Islanders. Alpine crawled cautiously over a fallen log, blue eyes locked on the clearing and observing the mass of bustling iguanodons. Their hulking forms were pristine and perfect with nicely groomed scales and finely preened feathers… They were beautiful, almost startling so. In the center of the mass Alpine could see her in all of her glimmering glory, Queen Rhys, from where she sat upon a blanket which separated her pristine feathers from the dirt below. The sun glowed off her shoulder plates, casting streams of concentrated light up on her pale pelt. She was ethereal.

And terrifying.

Despite her ethereal beauty, the Queen was the worst of them all. Uncannily cheerful with that sickly sweet smile and eyes that glistened with something far from genuine. Not that Alpine dared to point out the Queen's unsettling nature to her court who bustled around her like busy worker bees. The court truly was like a hive, constantly bustling with controlled chaos and ready to defend their Queen with a mere flick of the tail. However, Alpine thought them more to be like wasps than bees.

A bee was dangerous if provoked, a wasp was deadly if you turned your head the wrong way. Few of Alpine’s acquaintances would agree with such thoughts of the courtly iguanodons, however, those individuals had not seen the things Alpine had seen.

Alpine had seen several rise against Queen Rhys, and pay for it. The dangerous and messy games which took place within the Queen’s favorite clearing or the way she smiled just slightly too tightly whenever a concern was brought to her attention. The court, and especially their Queen, was dangerous. Lying in wait for the opportune moment to finally strike with sharp stingers. She had seen the way the iguanodons and the lumbering guards would jump to dismantle any perceived threats to the cause or their Queen… They were going to spread their seeds up onto the islands, and Alpine was helpless to stop it.

Unease prickled at Alpine’s feathers as Queen Rhys’ golden gaze finally landed on her crouched form.

“Ah, Alpine! Come, come!” Her voice cut through the bustle and suddenly, Alpine found that a path had been carved through the moving bodies for her to reach the Queen's side.

Great.

Alpine’s sickle claw anxiously tapped at the ground as she slunk through the makeshift path, very few of the behemoths even bothered to look down at her as they passed. Here, she was no predator. No threat to them. Here, Alpine was just as much prey as any small animal scampering through the underbrush.

When Alpine reached the queen the great feathered iguanodon tapped the ground next to her, signaling for her to sit and so… Alpine sat. Even if the very thought of being this close to the queen made her feathers bristle and her claws click anxiously.

“Today, we shall have a feast. And you my dear, our loyal companion, are invited.” Queen Rhys all but purred to Alpine, and suddenly- it all made sense. The bustling, the sickly sweet smell which permeated the very air around them. Blue eyes rapidly tracked the movements of the iguanodons now as they gathered berries and fruits from the various bushes and trees which lined the clearing. Each plant was vibrantly colored, some even sporting a spined shell which protected them from most animals. Her mind raced. Could she even eat these plants? Would they make her sick? Images of sick animals eating toxic plants wormed their way into her mind, would she end up as one of them? Cold and long forgotten in this forsaken some?-
The Queen interrupted her thoughts, “We have carefully selected fruits which will be more-” Her eyes flicked over Alpine’s form, “more suited to your unique palette, based on information gathered by our loyal oviraptors.” From the corner of her eye Alpine could see and oviraptor, Pokie, skittering away from one of the iguanodons who held something slim and yellow in her beaked mouth.
Bananas? Bananas were okay, she could stomach that.
Wait. Was Queen Rhys staring at her?
An exhale, “Thank you, Your Majesty.” Her voice came out so much smaller and meek than she had originally intended, however her discomfort seemed to cause Queen Rhys to preen. As if she was proud of the discomfort that she was imposing upon Alpine.

An oviraptor approached them, decorated in the vibrant colors of the jungle. Paradise, Alpine remembered his name being, lowered his body in a deep bow before Queen Rhys. In his beak she could a leaf bundle, and after his bow he carefully set the bundle upon the well trodden earth. The leaves fell open like a blooming flower, revealing ruby red and royal purple berries; from which it seemed the sickly sweet aroma originated. His eyes tentatively darted up to meet Alpine’s own before he turned and skittered off to continue his duties to supply the banquet with ample food.

“Our first course, my favorite berries.” Queen Rhys’ smile was pointed and tight as she looked at Alpine before lowering her snout, scooping a very berries into her maw. Letting Alpine see her consume them, as if to show they were safe to consume. Alpine’s own stomach gave a demanding growl before she dipped her nose low, sniffing at the sickly sweet berries before lapping them up from the leaf.
They were as sweet as they smelled, like honey mixed with mild forest berries. The sweetness made her stomach twist, it was almost too sweet to handle; however, she dared not face the consequences of spitting out the Queen’s favorite meal. Alpine swallowed the sickly sweet paste, before turning to the rest of the food which had been brought while she was occupied. Various alien looking fruits and plants were strewn across large leaves, though she could see the familiar flash of bananas and mangoes among them.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be all bad.
Even if Queen Rhys’s gaze burned into Alpine’s back.