The Land of Flora

by Marie Springberry

  “Well, the country used to be called Yamato if that’s what you are asking for,” answered Meg.

  Then the king and the prince looked at each other, and the prince asked, “How did you get into our Kingdom?”

  “We were on a plane, and it suddenly lost its height. We are not sure how we ended up here.”

  “What is a plane?” asked the king.

  “Well, it’s like a machine that flies in the air,” said Ken, failing to provide an accurate description.

  “So you were flying.” The prince said.

  “Well, sort of,” said Ken.

  “Couldn’t they be users of sorcery?” the king whispered to the prince, “They could still be spies of Tulitta who are in disguise.”

  “There is no way Tulittalians know of the Story. It was you, father, who told me that Story is enchanted and nobody can speak of it outside of our realm. Besides we have to rely on whatever help we can have to break this situation,” whispered back the prince. And then he politely asked the two to introduce themselves.

  “Well,” started Ken, “My name is Ken Narushima, and this is my sister Meg. I am 15, and she is 19. We were on our way from the States to Japan. But could you tell us what’s going on?”

  “It’s a long story. We can’t explain everything to you right now. That has to wait until dinner table.” The prince said. “But I am Prince Prligion, the prince of the Kingdom of Rosetta. I serve King Raligion, who is my father. This is Captain Curlipius, the chief of soldiers and guards of Rosetta.” He indicated the man who had taken the two to the castle.

  “Our Kingdom is at peril these days,” Prligion continued, “as our borders are threatened by Tulitta, our neighboring Kingdom. Rosetta and Tulitta have had equal power, but a grave event recently happened to us. Tulittalians do not know of it yet, I believe, but we need to come up with an effective solution.”

  “What does your plight have to do with us?” asked Ken.

  “In Rosetta, there is a legend. The legend called the Story of Fair Lady. Fair Lady is the creator and the ultimate protector of this Land of Flora, and the story is said to have been bestowed on our ancestors by the Lady. Again, the details of the story have to wait until dinner table, but you two appear in the Story as saviors of Rosetta when it is in peril.”

  “Wait, we’ve never heard anything about the Land of Flora or whatever. How can you tell we are the ones who are talked about in your story?”

  “We’ll explain everything later,” the king said. “And you are invited to the feast tonight.”

  “We are not satisfied with your explanation. Why did you treat us like that in the rose garden?”

  “Well,” the prince said, “please wait until the feast to hear the whole story and explanation. We don’t have time now. But as for the mistreatment, we apologize sincerely. We had no idea who you were. The Garden is the most sacred place in our Kingdom, and only Rosettalians are allowed to enter. Now, the king, the captain, and I have to talk over some issues before the feast begins. We will arrange a room to stay for each of you. Please stay in the room until the feast. Now, for your servants, Tithy and Mothy, you are needed!” the prince called out to somebody.

  “But…” Ken tried to speak, but Meg said,

  “I understand, Sir. Thank you for your kindness,” and then whispered to Ken, “There is nothing we can do. Let’s comply until we know of our identity in this Kingdom.”

  “Our identity?” Ken whispered back.

  “Yes. Don’t you see? We are in the world of fantasy just I’ve been dreaming of. Can’t you see we are destined to be the saviors of this Kingdom just as in other fantasy stories?”

  “Sis, stop dreaming…” Ken tried to retort, but at that moment, he heard something running toward the room.

  Then the prince said, “Tithy and Mothy. You have your masters.”

  With the call, two creatures entered the room. The creatures were rabbit-like just as the other ones in the room, only a little bit smaller. Each creature came and stood up beside Ken and Meg’s chair.

  “Introduce yourselves,” said the prince, with a kind tone.

  “Hello,” responding to the prince’s command, one of the creatures spoke to Meg. “My name is Tithy. I will be your Rabimou. It will be my pleasure to serve you,” and softly touched Meg’s knee with its cute nose.

  “Hello,” the other creature spoke to Ken. “My name is Mothy. I will be your Rabimou. It will be my pleasure to serve you,” and did the same movement as Tithy.

  “Tithy will serve you, Meg, and Mothy will serve you, Ken.” The prince said.

  “Thank you. But what, ah, who are they?”

  “They are Rabimous. Each member of the Castle is served by one of them. Rabimous stay with their masters all the time unless he or she is told by the master otherwise. They take an oath to be loyal to their master, so they are allowed to follow their master even to secret meetings. Tithy is a girl, and Mothy is a boy. They have just completed their training. They will be your servants and friends. Now, they will take you to your room.”

  “Please follow us,” said Tithy and Mothy together, so Meg and Ken stood up, and followed the Rabimous.

  ***

  Ken and Meg were brought along the corridor. The corridors were beautifully decorated by wooden carvings of roses.

  “Everything here seems to have rose patterns on it,” commented Ken.

  “It’s because roses are the most important flowers in Rosetta,” Mothy said, “And this is your room, master.”

  They have reached the door of light brown color. Mothy opened it and asked Ken to enter.

  “Where’s Meg going to stay?” Ken asked.

  “Right next to your room. Your rooms are connected by a door and you can visit each other’s room freely.” Mothy said.

  “If I allow you to,” said Meg, grinning.

  “Oh, Sis” said Ken and decided to enter the room, believing that Meg would be all right.

  “Master, your room is here.” Tithy said to Meg, indicating the white door next to Ken’s.

  “Thank you, Tithy,” said Meg and entered the room.

  “Wow!” Meg was amazed to see the room wonderfully adorned. In the center of the room was a king-size bed with a canopy. It had gorgeous drapes of pale pink around it. There was a desk and a chair, with beautiful carvings of rose buds. There also was a closet, again with carvings of roses. There was a window in the room, and the setting sun was casting light into the room. Two doors were there, at each end of the room. One door led to Ken’s room, and the other led to the bathroom.

  “This will be your room from today. As the tradition of this Kingdom, I will be staying in the room with you.”

  “Oh, I see. Where are you going to stay?” Meg asked, thinking that Tithy does look like a rabbit. Meg long wanted to have a rabbit as a pet.

  “Well, we usually sleep in the closet, but…” Tithy mumbled.

  “You don’t like dark places, don’t you?” guessed Meg.

  “I’m afraid so, master.”

  “Then, you can sleep with me in my bed.”

  “Thank you, master!” Tithy said happily.

  “And you can call me Meg. I don’t feel very comfortable addressed as master.”

  “Thank you, master, I mean Meg!”

  “When will the feast start?”

  “In two hours, I believe. I will come and call you. Do you need anything now?”

  “Do you think I have to change clothes?”

  “I will find something for you, Meg.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Would you like to take a bath?” Tithy asked. “I am good at making a bath with essential oil of roses!”

  “Thank you, Tithy. I’d love to.”

  Tithy hopped into the bathroom to prepare a bath for Meg. Soon, the room was filled with refreshing fragrance of fresh roses.

  “This is just what I’ve been dreaming of,” Meg was thinking, “I always believed there’s a world out there that I can live happi
ly.”

  ***

  At the sunset, Meg and Ken were invited to the feast. They both had a good bath, and were fully refreshed. Meg was wearing a long dress of pink silk, with stitches of roses, and Ken thought she was very beautiful. As for Ken,

  “Ken, you look so, well, different,” said Meg, muffling a giggle, as Ken was wearing a gown of pale blue, looking like a girl.

  “I know. I didn’t want to wear this. But Mothy says that this is the traditional garment of this Kingdom.”

  “It is, Ken!” Mothy said.

  “For your information, I’m still wearing jeans under this stupid dress.”

  “That’s true, Meg.” Mothy said. Ken and Meg had asked Tithy and Mothy to address them by their first name.

  “Ken doesn’t agree to take off the funny tube-shaped cloth.”

  “They’re called jeans!” Ken said grumpily, and Meg started to chuckle.

  Chapter 5: The Feast of Eclipse

  Meg and Ken were taken to a large dining room. When they arrived, the room was already filled with people. The king, the prince, and the captain were sitting at one end of the table. Meg noticed that Prligion had changed from the armor to a gown of dark blue. He stood out, as he was the tallest one in the room. There were nine men on the right side of the table. On the other side, four men and three women were seated. There were two unoccupied seats, and the siblings assumed the seats to be theirs. At the other end of the table, three creatures were sitting—a pigeon, a rabimou, and a horse-like creature. The horse-like creature was standing as it did not need a chair.

  “Welcome to the Feast of Eclipse, Ken and Meg.” Prligion stood up and greeted.

  “Please seat yourselves. Ken, the seat next to me is for you, and the seat next to Ken’s is yours, Meg. It indeed seems like a fate that you have arrived on the day of an eclipse.”

  When Ken and Meg sat in their chair, the prince continued, “Today we have unexpected guests. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce you to Meg Narushima and Ken Narushima. They are visitors from the far away land, and we believe they are the siblings mentioned in the Story of Fair Lady”

  “Can they be? I didn’t believe I’d be able to see the legend coming true,” said one of the men with a tone of surprise.

  “Yes, Professor Sherikson. We sent the men to check the Garden again, but it was apparent they came from nowhere.”

  “Nowhere?” Ken thought, but decided not to articulate his doubt.

  “Indeed.” The man shook his head.

  “Now, may I ask each of you guests to introduce yourselves?” the prince said, and the guests started to greet Ken and Meg in turn.

  “I am Captain Curlipian. I apologize for the mistreatment early on today. As your Majesty has told you, I am the chief captain of all guards and soldiers of Rosetta. I lead my own group called roseknights.”

  “The elites of the guards,” the woman sitting next to Meg whispered into her ears. “Most of the men at the table are group captains of guards or soldiers. You are going to hear similar introductions, but you have to bear with them.”

  And sure she was right. Similar introductions went on and on.

  “What’s the difference between guards and soldiers?” Meg asked the woman.

  “We only make a rough distinction, but guards are mainly responsible for protecting the castle, and the soldiers are responsible for battling in the fields.”

  “…the captain of Group Heisai…” the introductions went on.

  “Do you remember all of their names?” Meg asked again.

  “Only the ones close to me. I think you’ve noticed the names of captains and groups are in the alphabetical order.”

  “Yes, I have,” said Meg, as she has indeed noticed the alphabetical order.

  “We refer to them by the alphabet, like Group A and B. So don’t worry.”

  “Isn’t it impolite?”

  “No, no. They are used to it, and they do so even among themselves.”

  “…the captain of Group Shoya…the captain of Group Urutas…” Meg noticed another thing.

  “Why do you skip some alphabets?”

  “We now have Group A to Z. So there are 27 Groups if you include the roseknights. The groups which aren’t here are protecting the fields and borders.”

  “I see.”

  The introduction went on, skipping the three creatures at the end. The man who spoke out before was also skipped, and a woman started to introduce herself.

  “I am Captain Xhysha. I am the captain of Group Xia. My group consists entirely of women. There are two other groups, Group Y and Group Z, which consist of women. Group Y is at the east border protecting the ocean, and Group Z is at the north border. It is my pleasure to meet you.”

  Then the man who had been skipped spoke out. “Now that the introductions of the captains are over, let me introduce myself. I am Professor Sherikson, the guardian of books and legends of this Kingdom. I am also the principal of Bara University, which is the sole provider of higher education in this Kingdom. I am a historian. I search the truth in the past, and I also learn legends from the past. I believe I am here to tell the whole story today, but that can wait. For now, it is my honor to see you two.”

  Then it was the two remaining women’s turn. The woman sitting next to Meg said,

  “Let me introduce myself. I am Professor Mistel. I help Professor Sherikson with his work. I am a linguist. I believe I am responsible for sharing the secret of True Language.” Then she winked and continued, “But I am also a good tour guide of the City. It’s nice to meet you two.”

  Now it was turn for the woman next to Professor Mistel. She said with a mysterious tone,

  “Greetings, children. I am the first servant of the Temple of Fair Lady. I only show up for the Feast of Eclipse. I don’t know of your true identity yet, children, but you’ll soon be seeing me at the Temple.”

  Finally, the creatures at the other end of the table introduced themselves. Ken was surprised to learn that all of them, including the pigeon, could talk. The pigeon was the Chief of the delivery system, the rabimou was the Chief of the housing, and the horse-like creature was the Chief of the transportation system. “I am the Chief of houmas,” he said, “we carry people between areas in times of peace, but we carry and fight with soldiers in times like this. We understand your language, but most of us do not choose to speak it.”

  With introductions finally over, the prince stood up again and said, “Thank you, everybody. Last time we gathered like this, we didn’t expect we would be in a plight like this. Let’s pray this will not be our last Feast of Eclipse together. We will be discussing grave issues after dinner, but for now, let’s enjoy together! Now, let the feast begin!”

  With the call, rabimous served the first dish and matching drink. The matching drink turned out to be mineral water. The first dish was,

  “This is herb salad. The cherry tomatoes on top are well ripened. Please enjoy it with the taste of fresh lime and apple,” explained Mothy to Ken and Meg. He was sitting on the armrest of Meg’s chair while explaining.

  “Thank you, it looks delicious,” said Meg, resisting the temptation to pat Mothy on the head.

  “Professor Mistel?” Ken whispered over Meg, trying not to be heard by the prince.

  “Yes, Ken?” the professor answered, “and you can call me Mitchy if you want.”

  “All right then, Mitchy, I have no idea what issues are going on. But, don’t you discuss those over dinner?”

  “Ah,” said Mitchy, “we don’t spoil food even in times of danger.”

  Ken gave up, and decided to focus on the plate. Ken was not particularly fond of salad, but the dish turned out to be very good.

  “This is green soup. We mixed cucumber with spinach, and added dandelions to add flavor of spring.”

  “That’s gross,” thought Ken, but the soup again turned out to be to his taste.

  “For the main dish, we prepared a zucchini boat. Inside the zucchini are sauté of broccoli, m
ashed potatoes, baked carrots, and so on. The sauce is juice of orange and strawberry, mixed with the essence of spring flowers.”

  “Vegetables for the main dish?” Ken thought. This time, Ken decided to ask about it. He looked his right and left, and decided to ask Mitchy rather than the prince. Besides, the prince was in a heated discussion with the king over the recipe of the dish.

  “I don’t understand what these people are thinking,” Ken said to himself, “they say they are in a plight, but they don’t seem to be worried.”

  “Mitchy!” Ken found a good timing and asked, “do you only eat vegetables?”

  “I was wondering about that, too,” said Meg.

  “Oh, of course,” answered Mitchy. “What else can you eat?”

  “Well, meat or fish, for example,” said Ken.

  “Can you eat such things?”

  “Don’t you eat meat or can’t you eat meat?” Meg asked.

  “That is a good question, Meg. We live on vegetables, fruits, and flowers, and most importantly,” Mitchy reached for her glass, “pure water.”

  Puzzled by the answer, Ken continued, “have you tasted meat before?”

  “No, no. We cannot eat meat. The foods I mentioned are the only things we can digest. Can you digest meat?”

  “Of course. You aren’t joking on me, are you?”

  “No. That’s very strange. Well, after all, you are not Rosettalians, so you might be different.”

  “We are human beings just like you,” retorted Ken.

  “That is a matter of definition,” winked Mitchy.

  At that moment, dessert was brought in. It was a fruit plate as Ken had expected. It was accompanied by blackberry mint tea.

  When everybody at the table finished their meal, the prince stood up.

  Chapter 6: The Story of Fair Lady

  “Ladies and gentlemen, please pay attention. Where shall we begin?” Prince Prligion started to talk. “As we have newcomers today, we have to start from the very beginning. I’m sure some of you already know most part of the Story, but please bear with us. First, let me explain who we are and why we are facing difficulty.”

  “Excuse me, Sir,” one of the captains interrupted. “Are you sure you can trust the newcomers?”

  “I’m certain. They came from nowhere into the Garden. That has been confirmed by the roseknights. Their name and personality bear traits that are written in the Story. Moreover, they have brought with them the true evidence of their identity. Only the Professors, the king, and I knew of the evidence beforehand, and therefore, we are now sure of their identity, understand?”