PRESENT DAY

Audrey sat on the bed, reading a book about legends-one of the stories that piqued her interest was the Witch of the Moors. It was a dark urban legend about a spirit who afflicted the human lands with the terrible Forces of Nature. According to the story, long ago, the witch had an intense hatred for humans that she sent a series of supernatural calamities: swarms of creatures, unnatural, destructive storms, invasive plants that tangled in people's homes, even poisoned water sources. The war went on for a long time between the Witch of the Moors and the humans-they destroyed her home as well, intensifying her hatred. Due to each others fear, they built protective barriers to keep each other out: the humans built a dome while the Moors had a solid large impenetrable wall of thorns. Neither dared to approach the homelands due to their intense fear and hatred.

Audrey was often curious about the outside world, looking at the wall that encompassed the town of Thneedville. No one was allowed to go outside the wall. No one was allowed to speak about the Outside. She dreamed of sneaking out of Thneedville, imagining finding a way.

Sighing, she knew it would never happen. The walls were high, the dome was impenetrable and all the exits were watched carefully by Mayor O'Hare's multiple security cameras that were concealed all over the place.

The bell rang as Audrey went inside to Thneedville High School, sitting with Ted in her English class. He looked frustrated. He was currently working on an article for the high school newspaper. Ted was more interested in stating facts and was cynical of the supernatural.

By the time it was lunch time, he was grunting in frustration and smacking his head, running his fingers through his hair. He cursed under his breath.

"What's wrong, Ted?" asked Audrey.

"I'm supposed to be coming up with questions for Mayor O'Hare for the field trip in a few weeks," he grumbled.

"Oh that's right!" Audrey gasped. "I completely forgot we're touring O'Hare's Air Factory."

"Don't tell me you forgot already, Audrey."

"Well, I've been distracted," she admitted. "I'm hoping to try and intern for the Thneedville Environmental Agency."

"The most top secure job in Thneedville?" Ted asked. "That's nearly impossible to get into...especially if you're a high school student."

"I know," Audrey said. "I figured I'd give it a shot."

"Don't they have rules about not talking about what goes on during your job?" said Ted. "Maybe that'd be a good article to write."

"I don't think so," said Audrey. "I remember the time in fourth grade I asked about why nobody talks about trees in science class, the teacher just evaded the question. Next thing I knew, I was getting a visit from Mayor O'Hare who warned me never to speak about trees again. Not to mention, all the books in the library that talk about biology have been removed from the shelves."

"Hm," said Ted. "Have you tried the bookstore?"

"They don't have them either."

"Maybe they have a contraband section. Ask around."

A smile curved in the redhead's face. "I might just do that."

****

The day went on as Fiora lay at Mother Tree's roots in deep sorrow. The Truffula Moors seemed like it was dying: the air grew colder, the colorful flora began to dull and dry up; even the tufts on the Truffula trees grew pale.

Fiora felt dead inside. She grieved for the loss of her wings; she felt the occasional flapping of invisible wings. She felt so contrite for her foolishness for trusting and falling in love with a human. She could imagine the whole scenario happening when facing her teacher: how the Lorax would say 'I told you so' or something harsh. He'd banish her from the Moors, stripping her of her position as Guardian.

To save herself the humiliation, she decided to leave the Moors forever. She was unworthy anything: to live here with the animals, the trees and Fair Folk, to be Guardian of the Moors. She was nothing but a foolish child. Feeling more tears forming, she brushed them away, telling herself that she wasn't a child anymore. She had learned a very cruel lesson today and wouldn't make that mistake ever again.

She started to stand up, only to groan in more pain. It just hurt to move at all. Her gait was unsteady due to her missing wings. She staggered and fell to her knees with another painful moan. She sighed despondently, ready to cry. She blinked her tears back. This wasn't the time to be a child anymore. She had to leave the Moors before the Lorax woke up and found her like this.

Spotting a broken twig at the base of Mother Tree, Fiora picked it up and began to channel her magic; in a glow of a green light, the twig began to grow into a large walking stick to her size. She smiled, pleased to see she still had her magic despite her wings being gone. Feeling inspired, shakily she pushed herself up from the ground and leaned against it, making sure it held her weight. She still limped painfully as she practiced walking, stumbling as she went to leave the Moors.

Pipsqueak, a baby bar-ba-loot, watched curiously from the trees, seeing their protector leaving. He wondered why and where Fiora was going. The baby bar-ba-loot began to follow Fiora, grasping her dress, begging silently not to go. She coldly brushed him away and kept her eyes ahead of her, looking in the distance of the human lands where she could truly be alone.

Fiora kept wandering aimlessly through the human lands, avoiding some that she crossed paths with; they avoided her as well when they saw the green girl, quite afraid.

Wandering further into the mountains, she found an overgrown, abandoned building that was falling apart. A large tree had sprouted in its center, giving shelter. She caressed the tree, looking at it. It was old, but strong. Abandoned bird's and bees nests roosted in the broken windows and roof corners, the floors were covered with moss. Strangely, she found this place comforting. It was rotting and abandoned, like her heart.

She watched quietly out the broken window in silence. A seed of hate grew inside her. Thorny vines formed around her heart, protecting her from whatever forces that once brought love and compassion. Voices whispered in her mind as she thought of them. True, one human had lied and stolen her wings and broke her heart, but more humans had tried to destroy her home.

They were all the same. Cruel. Selfish. Greedy beings. They did not deserve to share this space with Nature.

A harsh cawing interrupted her thoughts and plans for humankind. She glanced towards this plain bird for a moment, feeling envious of its wings-they reminded her of the ones she lost. Annoyed, she blew the wind to drive it away. It cawed and ruffled its feathers, leaving her.

By the next day, the same blackbird had returned. It followed her. She was annoyed by its presence. Couldn't it understand that she wanted nothing but to be alone in her bitterness? She tried to drive it away, but it stubbornly followed her.

"Why do you follow me?" she said harshly. "Go away!"

The bird landed in front of her, looking at her curiously, cocking its head as if it understood what it was like to be lonely and unloved. While the forest spirit would've welcomed such creatures, she was not in the mood to interact.

"I SAID GO AWAY!" she shouted, shooting a bolt of green magic.

Plants with thorns erupted from the earth; twisted and dark and hard. All like her heart. The bird took off, flying away, leaving her alone. Fiora watched as the crow flew, continuing to envy its wings. How easy it would've been to just leave if she had her wings back. She broke down and cried a bit, thinking of Once-ler's betrayal. She had to know why he did this to her. She glanced towards the human lands, contemplating whether she should confront him.

If she was planning on confronting him, she had to think this out carefully.

Yet what would be the point? He was a human. They were all the same. Why should there be any explanation?

Her mind continued to argue over whether or not to speak with Once-ler. Sighing from exhaustion, she sat at the base of the old tree, drifting off into an unsettled sleep.

****

The Lorax searched all over the Moors. He had all the animals and the fairies search as well. None of them had seen Fiora. He was worried. They reported they had seen their protector leaving.

"We have to find her," he said. "Bring her back."

Pipsqueak stepped forward. He was so afraid of keeping this secret from the Lorax that he had to speak up. The baby bar-ba-loot pointed to the forest to imply that their Guardian had left. The Lorax's face fell when he heard this. Confusion ran through his thoughts. This was shocking-all those years of training his young pupil and she left? He didn't understand.

"She left? What do you mean? Why?"

The bar-ba-loot gestured to imply the fairy's shame and that her wings were gone. The Lorax's eyes widened. He couldn't say he was surprised but it was shocking. He knew humans weren't to be trusted, but this was really bad. It was bad enough to make his former student leave. He thought of all the times, wondering whether he was too harsh on her.

"I'll go look for her," he said to the residents. "I'll secure the Moors with the border patrol. Tell the others to get somewhere safe."

The Guardian left to speak with the border patrol and gave the order to protect the border until he came back. Make sure no humans came to the forest. Should the forest come under attack again, defend the border. Make sure everyone was safe. The Lorax went out into the human lands to search for his wayward student and bring her back. He would do whatever it took.

****

Once the Mayor's money came in, Once-ler began his business. He was quite pleased by how many people were buying his new invention. Thanks to the Mayor, he had put the word out to buy his Thneeds. He promoted it and soon everyone wanted one.

The more money that rolled in, the more Once-ler became successful. His family was quite pleased that they could finally live luxuriously thanks to his product. Despite his resentment of his family, he gave them jobs to help him.

Eventually, the Thneeds were running out. The orders had to be placed on back order. He wasn't sure what to do or how to get more Truffula tree tufts. He looked towards the Moors, frowning. He regretted what he had done. He decided to talk to Fiora. She deserved an explanation for his actions. But no excuse in the world could make up for what he had done. He stole her wings and broke her heart. This was unforgivable.

He headed to the forest. He entered cautiously, staying just between the border of the Moors and the human lands. Odd. The forest was unusually quiet. It was too quiet.

"Fiora!" he called.

His voice echoed throughout the forest. No answer. Odd. He peeked in, avoiding the border patrol. He saw the trees looked sickly pale. The air was colder. Everything seemed to be dying. Frowning, he could see his business was going to fail if he didn't collect the tufts soon.

"What are you doing here?" said a gruff voice.

Once-ler whirled around to see where the angry voice came from. His heart leapt and his stomach flip flopped. It was the Lorax, standing cross armed and looked indignant.

"Sheesh! Meatloaf...you scared me!" Once-ler said with a nervous laugh.

"Why are you here, beanpole?"

"I was..." he stammered. "Looking for Fiora. Have you seen her?"

"You really have some gall showing up here after what you did to her," Lorax replied coldly.

"W-what are you talking about?" Once-ler said, his cheeks flushed and his stomach leaped even more.

"Oh you don't think I don't know? You're despicable, Beanpole. Leave! Vacate the premises. Take your human self and GET OUT! Do NOT come back here and do NOT see Fiora ever again."

Once-ler's face fell. "I wanted to explain..." he said.

"Apologies and explanations are just words. Your betrayal speaks loud and clear."

"I didn't mean to..."

"And to think, I almost considered giving you a chance, but clearly you proved otherwise. Now GET OUT!"

The thunder rolled up in the sky as he shouted, scaring the young man. Once-ler ran away from the Moors. He was scared-and yet desperate. His business would fail if he didn't get more Truffula tufts. His back orders were piling up and money was going to run out.

Perhaps the Mayor could help him with a few permits.

He headed to the Mayor's office, knocking on the door. The Mayor's face brightened up when he saw the young man who had given him the best trophy: the giant green wings that hung proudly in his office in a glass display. He showed it off to his clients, bragging about how he had done this.

"Once!" he cried joyfully. "Good to see you! What can I do for you?"

"Well, my orders are backed up...I'm running out of supplies to make the Thneeds."

"I see," said the Mayor. "I take it the pesky orange guardian and the wing clipped girl aren't pleased."

"Well...the thing is...she's gone."

"Gone?"

The Mayor rubbed his chin, thinking clearly. Of course! The forest was unprotected. Now was his chance to strike.

"Well, the forest is all yours now. No one is protecting it. Might as well get to work. I'll get permits to build a factory and clearing the forest so you can get your supplies. Might take me a bit, but I think I can pull some strings."

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate it."