A month later...

Petal was inside her grandfather's castle, walking through one of the castle corridors. Her hair was the same, and her outfit was now the same dress, but now it has a dark green long-sleeved over shirt, with bracelet that has the gem of nature connected to it. She was now the defender of all nature, now that the king had passed away of old age. It was going to be difficult for Petal to live in the castle, knowing her grandfather is now gone.

The female elf walked down the corridor, before stopping at a picture of her grandfather that was on a table near the entrance of the throne room. She picks it up, before taking a good look at it. She felt a tear coming down her eye, knowing the funeral was just days ago. It was hard for Petal to take in, given how close she was to her own grandfather. She knew that he was in a better place now, but it still hurts him to think that he was still gone from her life now.

Leaf walked into the throne room, as Petal walked into the room as well. Leaf walked in wearing the same old outfit that he usually wears, minus for the fact that his jacket was more of a longer jacket with yellow shoulder-pads on them. He just found this jacket around the castle, and decided to wear it for fun.

"Well hello there, Leaf. I'm happy to see that you're finally here." Petal said, bowing her head at the male elf as he entered the castle.

"Hey, dude." Leaf said, smiling at the female defender of nature. "I see that you're enjoying this place as it is, hmm?" Petal looks at the bracelet on her hands, frowning in sadness at it.

"I...still miss the king...it feels like he left all of us too soon...I really am going to miss him being alive." Sighing, Leaf pats Petal on the side of her arm, before giving her a look of sympathy.

"Hey...I know your grandfather has passed away. But if I know you more than anyone else in this entire kingdom, I can tell you one thing. Look at me, Petal." The female elf looks up at Leaf, who gave her a smile. "The king, and your own parents raised you right. You're smart, you're brave, you're...good with this magic, and...if anything, you know exactly what you're doing, no matter what. You're basically the smartest elf in this village, and...I could've seen myself as the protector of nature myself, but...really..." Leaf blinked a couple times, before looking over to the left. "...I feel like...really, you deserve to be saving nature a lot more than I do, considering that...I am not really as mature as the other elves, and...really, you'd be better off as this anyway." Leaf pats Petal on her shoulder, smiling at her. "If your grandfather is still alive today...I know he'd be proud of you as well..."

Petal stood there staring at Leaf without saying anything. She gave him a light smile, before hugging him. Leaf smiled back at the female elf, before hugging her back, closing his eyes. The two backed up from each other, smiling at each other, before Petal reaches into her bag for something. She pulls out a gem that was in there, handing it over to the elf in front of her.

"W-What are you handing me this for?" Leaf asked the defender of nature. Petal smiled at him.

"I believe that today will be your first day trying to check a place in nature." Petal said.

She winks at him, backing away from him. Leaf instantly knew what she was referring to. Leaf looks at the gem that was in his hands, before looking over to the castle doors out. He then looks back at Petal, smiling at her, before placing the gem into his pocket. He backs up from the female elf, still smiling at him.

"I believe you know where you got to go first." Petal said, smiling at the boy as he was heading to the doors. "There shouldn't be anything that's too much of a problem, but make sure you visit a certain place that you found them at, before heading off to see if there's anything happening in the parks of Texas." Petal bows her head, before Leaf smiled back at her.

"Thanks, Petal." Leaf said, before walking over to the castle doors. "Also...thank you for letting the elves no longer bully me for what I'm interested in anymore, Petal." The girl bows once again.

"On your way, then Leaf."

Leaf goes through the doors, smiling as he did such. Petal smiled as he exits the castle, ready to head off to his house once again. She looks up at the window that was above the door, smiling as she stared at the window.

'I think he's right, grandfather...' Petal said in her thoughts. 'Thank you for being in my life, and allowing me to become the defender of all of the elves.'

Leaf exits the castle, smiling at the looks of the entire village that was right in front of him. He pulls out a small radio that he actually found back in the warehouse before he came back. Shrugging at the looks of it, he presses the button on the radio, before beginning to walk into the village. The song 'I'm Still Standing' by Elton John was playing on the radio, as he was making his way back to the house.

The elf walks through the town, heading off to his house. A couple elves were watching Leaf as he was walking through the entire village. Some elves were just working as usual, as other elves were enjoying themselves as they were walking around the place. Leaf just continued to walk through the village.

A couple elves accidentally tipped over a basket of fruit, causing Leaf to throw some magic onto the basket, saving it from spilling all of the fruit inside of it. The boy then tosses some magic towards an elf carrying a stack of books, sending those books into the store for him. The elf gave Leaf a thumbs up as he entered the store. Leaf then walks over to a nearby bush, placing some magic onto it, making some flowers on it grow. He smiled, before he continued to walk towards his house.

Once he got to his house...

Leaf pulls out the gem that he was given, before holding it into the air. A portal came onto the same exact spot that Leaf made his first portal at before. He then notices that the song he was listening to ended, and the song 'Fly Away' by Lenny Kravitz started to play on the radio now.

He looks down at the portal, before pulling out a photo that was in his portal. The photo was of himself, Jenny, Makoto, and James. He gave it a smile, before he then places the photo back into his pocket.

"Well...where am I going first? Maine or Texas?" Leaf asked, before looking down at the portal. "You know what...let's go with Maine first. That...is where my best friends are." With a smile on his face, Leaf hops into the portal, heading off to see his friends off in a familiar part of Maine.

Note: Just like that, it's the end of the story. This story was something that I was passionate to create the moment I started it. Of course, I was inspired by the movie 'Hop' to make something like this, and it may show at some parts of this story. Either way, I hope you guys enjoyed this story, and until next time. Thanks for reading.