“Ah…she does love lilies.”
Lira nodded. “A simple flower but it suits her well.”
“When will I see something from Eris?” Her mother looked up and met Eris’s eyes.
Eris only shrugged. She could not begin learning the art of arrangement like her sisters until she learned about her flower.
“Eris is on a different schedule,” Lira answered.
Her mother’s mouth turned in a flat line. “Always on a different schedule, I’m afraid. If she troubles you, Lira, do not be afraid to send her to me for discipline. There are better ways for you to use your time, especially now that the garden has been damaged. She should consider herself lucky to have such an opportunity.”
Eris noted her mother did not speak directly to her, preferring to speak through Lira. Were she Jasi or Desia, possibly even Ferisa, she was certain her mother would make a point of speaking to her.
At least she made no mention of her other studies. Either her mother didn’t know how she’d neglected them, or the instructors simply didn’t report. Eris enjoyed the time away from sitting on the hard chairs with the seamstresses and the lessons with the master of maps on geography. Did her sisters continue those lessons? Since she hadn’t been allowed into Lira’s classes, she hadn’t really asked. Maybe she was the only one ignoring her other studies.
“She has been no trouble, my lady. Do not fear—I will continue to work with her. There is potential there, whether she chooses to see it or not.”
Eris suppressed a shiver. What kind of potential did Lira see in her?
“It would be nice if she showed promise in something,” her mother remarked, looking at the arrangements made by Eris’s sisters.
The magi cleared his throat. “As it appears the flower mistress is quite well…”
Her mother turned toward him and waved her hand. “Yes, yes, Davin. You may leave. I thank you for accompanying me.” Dark eyes brushed over Lira as he left. “The King sent him to offer guidance about the storm when the serving girl found me. He seemed quite concerned about your well-being.”
“I am sure he was,” Lira said.
After the magi left, the queen leaned toward the flowers again and took a deep breath. “Wonderful.” Then she turned and swept out of the room, her handmaiden trailing after her.
Eris watched her leave, wishing her mother would have asked her how she was doing, shown a real interest in her other than to compare her to her sisters, but she had not.
“You should be learning about your flower now, Eris Taeresin,” Lira said softly after her mother left.
Eris opened her mouth to say something before clamping it shut. Lira had already given her all the answers she needed.
Chapter 11
A gray sky hung overhead the next day, the air smelling damp from the rain that had passed over. A gentle breeze blew out of the north, pushing cool air down and through the garden. Eris suddenly wished she’d chosen warmer clothes than dark green pants and a simple woven shirt, but a dress wouldn’t do for what she planned. She still laughed at the reaction she’d gotten when she made her way through the palace. Likely the servants thought she’d lost her mind.
Master Nels moved quickly throughout the garden, hurrying from place to place as he went, directing some of his assistants as they replaced flowers in dark beds of earth. Most of the flowers remained surprisingly unharmed, just uprooted when wooden planters had been destroyed. He glanced at her and almost made a point of ignoring her, before remembering propriety and hurrying over.
Eris stood near the center of the garden. Glass from the greenhouse glittered beyond the trees. Rows of beds were set onto the ground with varying degrees of damage. Some were splintered, wood cracked or even singed, spilling dirt onto the ground. Plants were tossed to the side or tilted in the soil. Other planting beds looked salvageable. The plants in these were in better shape, most solidly in place.
She looked around. This seemed a sort of triage area. She hadn’t noticed on her way toward the center of the garden the damage around her. The planters in some places were gone, small craters all that remained. Now that she noticed, a hint of charred wood hung on the air, though the wind helped push most of it away. Assistant gardeners moved quickly, carrying the long beds to new locations or cradling damaged plants they brought toward the greenhouse. She didn’t see Terran anywhere.
Master Nels swept his hat off his head when he reached her and nodded briefly. “My lady, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I can’t have you interfering with our work today. With the storm damage and the coming wedding only a week off, you understand that I need to work quickly?”
She understood. He didn’t want her bothering Terran. She had expected that reaction, but was determined to spend time in the garden. How else would she learn what Lira intended for it before Adrick returned? And when he returned, she would speak to him, find out the truth about Lira.
“I understand, Master Nels. I simply came to offer my assistance.” She held gloved hands up and wiggled her fingers.
A debate raged across his face. Did he accept any help, especially with the time constraints suddenly placed on them, or did her turn away the princess?
“I’m certain your mother would not want you working in the garden, my lady. Such things are simply not proper.”
Eris laughed. She could just imagine how her mother would react to knowing she dug her fingers into the dirt, gloves or not. “Mistress Lira wishes me to help,” she said. She counted on the fact that Master Nels wouldn’t have time to find Lira to verify. And if he did, Eris only faced a minor punishment and could state she needed to learn more about the planting of flowers to understand hers. Surely Lira would agree to that?
Nels’ brow furrowed. His eyes flickered from side to side, the amount of work left undone plain on his face. “The mistress wanted you to help?”
Eris nodded.
“But you will need guidance. I can’t have you replacing flowers in the wrong bed. There is structure here. Some need more water, others more sunlight. You don’t know these things.”
“You don’t think you could use the extra help?”
Of all the places Eris could offer to help, this was the one thing she thought herself most suited to do. She couldn’t help Jasi with wedding planning. Desia seemed too preoccupied with assisting Lira with the floral arrangements. And Ferisa was almost overwhelmingly distraught over the garden. She stayed locked in her room, with the offer to work on the embroidery for the wedding dresses as a way to calm her mind.
“She can work with me.”
She turned and saw Terran standing behind her, his hat pulled tight down over his head. The heavy bags under his eyes looked almost like streaks of dirt, leaving her wondering how little sleep he’d gotten overnight. Had they stayed up all night working?
In spite of the dirt, there was something surprisingly handsome about him. He tipped his head and his lopsided smile spread across his face. Eris looked away. She shouldn’t feel like that around some gardener.
Master Nels frowned. “I need you focused on the pattern—”
“I know the pattern, Master Nels. She can help with the shade plants along the perimeter. You said those were important to get reestablished first.”
Master Nels nodded slowly. “Yes. They take longer to solidify their roots. A disturbance like the one last night can be especially dangerous to them. And the mistress requests they be planted first. Somehow she expects me to increase the shade in the garden to support more shade plants.” He shook his head. “Perhaps it’s a good thing we didn’t get the delivery from Baylan. We wouldn’t have been able to support that and the dozens of new plants Mistress Lira supplied.”
Eris looked from Master Nels to Terran. “You will let me help?” she asked.
“You don’t have enough help along the perimeter of the garden,” Terran started, “and I don’t think I can work quickly enough to get all of them established by the full moon.”
Mast
er Nels crushed his hat between his hands and then stuffed it back onto his head. “If you think you won’t be slowed.”
Terran shook his head.
“But if I see you’re taking longer than it should, I’ll send her back to the palace. The mistress can find her own way to use her.” Nels started away, pausing to bark directions to one of the assistant gardeners working nearby.
Terran grabbed her arm and pulled her down one of the narrow side paths.
“Thanks,” she told him as they moved away from the center part of the garden.
Terran looked over and seemed to take in her attire for the first time. He laughed, a deep rich sound. “Did the mistress really assign you to help?”
“You think I’d lie to Master Nels?”
Terran laughed again. “Yes.”
Eris looked away to keep from laughing along with him. “So, Lira wants the shade plants taken care of first?”
They had nearly reached one of the outer walls. The damage was not as much here, but still terrible. Eris had to step over and around flowers strewn on the path or piles of dirt and cracked stone from a particularly powerful lightning strike.
“She wants the garden repaired,” Terran answered.
“Why do you think the storm struck here?”
Terran looked at her with a knowing expression. “Bad luck, I guess. Master Nels hasn’t seen anything like it before.”
Eris didn’t push but had the sense that Terran knew more than he shared. Did he know about Lira? About what she planned?
He stopped in front of a row of damaged flowerbeds. The flowers had already begun to wilt, their deep violet petals rolling in and sagging. Terran pulled them out of loose soil and held them carefully in his hand. He motioned to Eris. “Hold them carefully by the stem. Try not to touch the roots or the petals while they’re out of the soil.”
She copied him, gathering the flowers carefully in one hand. When she had nearly a dozen, he pointed her toward a nearby empty bed resting on the ground. It had some damage, the wood frame was singed, leaving the once-white bed now streaked with dark soot. A long crack worked through one end.
“Now we’re going to dig a hole wide enough for the roots. Then you set the teraspal in carefully.” He demonstrated by digging a hole and then holding one of the flowers in the soil. “Cover the roots carefully. Don’t pat it down. Once they’re established they aren’t so sensitive, but until then, most of these shade plants are pretty delicate.”
Eris started working. Digging her fingers into the dirt felt strangely relaxing. She worked carefully, burrowing out craters of soil before resetting the teraspals into place. When she finished the collection in her hands, she looked over at Terran.
“There’s plenty more. We’ll stick with the teraspals for now. When we’re done with those, we can really have fun. You can try not to prick your fingers planting spiny loras.”
“Maybe you won’t need my help then.”
Terran laughed. “Well, since the mistress sent you out here to help, you wouldn’t want her to hear how you abandoned your work too soon.”
Eris tossed a handful of dirt toward him.
The work went quickly. As they planted the teraspals, Terran would occasionally pause and show her some additional trick—a way to make certain the flowers stood straight, or how far apart they should be, or some tip to heaping the soil to make it harder for pests to burrow in. Eris found herself increasingly impressed with just how much he knew.
She stole a few glances at him as he worked. Terran had broad shoulders and a steady hand as he dug through the dirt, quickly moving plants. He had an interesting way of pursing his lips as he did, almost as if he might whistle.
When he saw her looking, she flushed and turned away.
Eventually, an easy comfort fell between them. Neither found it necessary to fill the silence as they went, content to work. Terran moved with efficient motions, digging and planting, propping the flowers in such a way she could hardly tell they’d ever been disturbed. When they finished with the teraspals, he moved her closer to the wall.
Thorns rimmed not just the stems of the flowers here, but the leaves also caught her gloves. Even the flowers themselves, long reddish needle shaped things, hinted at the danger of the rest of the plant. “I take it these are spiny loras?”
Terran gripped one by the stem and lifted it. These flowers hadn’t wilted as much as the teraspals. Stems stood rigid, and the thorns remained firm along the sides. He held them carefully between his fingers. “They are. Odd little flower, if you ask me. Grow best in thicker shade, though Master Nels managed to coax them here near the wall well enough.”
Eris hadn’t seen them before, though if Master Nels was right, there were over two thousand different flowers in the garden. There seemed no way for her to have seen all of them. The beds of the loras were not as damaged as others. She wondered if the wall protected them or if they simply hadn’t been targeted.
She picked up one and held it like Terran demonstrated. “The thorns of the spiny loras grow first. It takes a generation before the flower even emerges.” She remembered reading that in one of the books Master Billiken found for her, one on shade flowers.
He nodded. “That’s correct. Most of these have been here a few years.”
“I thought the garden only recently reached the walls.”
“It did. But spiny loras and a few others have been here for a while.”
Eris didn’t remember any flowers along the wall before the garden stretched this far. “Where were they before?”
“They’ve been here.”
“I haven’t seen them.”
He shrugged. “The shadows off the wall likely hid them. That’s where these really thrive. Now, with these, you need to dig them deep. They’re a little hardier than the teraspals because their roots will essentially regrow, but they won’t have enough support as they do. So the soil has to support the entire stem.”
Terran made a deep hole in the dirt, placed one of the long-stemmed flowers into it, and pushed the soil back around it. When he let go, a spot of blood bloomed on his finger where one of the thorns had bitten.
“Does it hurt?”
He shook his head sheepishly and wiped his hand on his pants. “I’ve still got a few things to learn. Master Nels wouldn’t let them bite him like that.”
“I’m not sure anyone can really avoid the thorns on this plant.”
Terran grunted. “You haven’t seen Master Nels work.”
He grabbed another of the spiny loras and carefully placed it into the dirt. This time, he managed to do so without the thorns poking him. Terran moved carefully, his motions slightly exaggerated so Eris could see what he did and could copy. Once she’d demonstrated she could plant the loras without injuring herself, he nodded and simplified his movements.
A steady hammering came from near her, and Eris looked up. One of the palace carpenters worked to repair a nearby flowerbed. As she watched, he tore off the end of one splintered bed and replaced it with a flat unfinished board before moving onto the next damaged bed.
Eris suddenly wondered—even with the gardeners and their assistants working at full tilt, how could they replace all the plants in the beds within a week? Doing so was not just a test of how quickly the gardeners could work, but of how well they could get the beds repaired. Had Lira exaggerated when she’d said they would have the garden back in shape in a week?
“And she wanted more shade plants?” She said the last aloud, remembering what Master Nels had said to Terran.
“Ow!” Terran pulled his hand away from the spiny loras and shook his finger. He scratched his cheek as he looked over. “What was that?”
“Nels said Lira wanted more shade plants?”
Terran shrugged. “She’s using the storm as an opportunity to create different arrangements.”
Eris frowned. “In the garden.”
Terran only shrugged again. “Can’t say what the mistress wants. That’s between her a
nd Master Nels.”
“What do you think of her?” Eris asked suddenly.
Terran worked for a moment before looking up. “The mistress? The same as you, I suspect.”
Eris doubted that. She no longer knew what to think of Lira. But she didn’t know who to talk to about her fears, either. Her mother wouldn’t listen—she supported Lira fully—and she hadn’t managed to see her father in the last few days.
“Master Nels doesn’t determine the arrangement within the garden?”
“They work together. She suggests ways the flowers might complement each other, but Master Nels knows how to get the flowers to succeed where she suggests. A balance of sorts between the gardener and the keeper.”
“Keeper?” She’d heard the term before but couldn’t remember where.
Terran tipped his head in a nod. “The mistress.”
“Why would she want more shade plants?”
Terran shrugged. “Can’t really answer that. I just do what Master Nels asks of me.”
Eris frowned at him
Terran laughed softly. “Well, most of the time. When I don’t have princesses bothering me.”
“I bother you?”
Terran’s face flushed. “I didn’t mean it like that. Just that I—”
This time, it was Eris’s turn to laugh. Terran’s flush deepened. He winced and jerked his hand back.
“Let’s finish with the spiny loras and get on to something a little less painful?” Eris suggested.
Terran nodded. “Might be best.”
“We could leave these for Master Nels.”
Terran laughed. “If only I could. He wants nothing to do with spiny loras. Made it clear these were my responsibility.”
“Just these?”
He shrugged. “All the shade plants, really. Thought it’d be good if I became more comfortable with them. As I said, they take a different touch than those in full sun.”
“You don’t seem annoyed by that.”
“Should I be? I mean, these have a different type of beauty than those in the rest of the garden. And besides, you’re stuck here with me.”
The Lost Garden: The Complete Series Page 10