Secrets In The Garden

Beautiful was an inadequate word to describe the open area at the back of the ramshackle house; there were dozens of trees, with fruits and flowers of every color of the rainbow. Most were unavailable to the general public; inventions of past apprentices. The grass was a pleasant, evergreen color and the smell was always pleasing. One large, beautiful oak tree sat at the center, with stone benches surrounding the base. The leaves, contrary to the rest of the trees around, were average when in bloom, but currently the tree was dead. It was the only clue as to what season it was beyond the perimeter. Although there was snow at the front of the house, and around the border of the garden, the fairies that lived there kept the garden in a perpetual spring. Fairies; the creatures Orion and Sinclair had been less than excited to encounter. Everywhere in the garden, the apprentices could hear the precocious laughter of the five inch tall inhabitants. 

    Due to their constant work, the smell of flowers drifted pleasantly on the abnormally warm breeze; some fairies were patrolling the border, stoking or restarting small fires with a clap of their hands. Others were watering various clusters of bushes, some covered in berries, others with flowers. The water seemed to flow from their fingertips. Occasionally, the clatter of things falling over, the clang of metal watering cans dropping to the ground, and the pop of what any bystander would assume was fireworks could be heard. Fairies, while keen gardeners, were notoriously clumsy. Everything they did, even if it was with the best of intentions (with the exception of gardening), seemed to be turned on its head. When they sparked from one place to another, they often overestimated the distance they had to travel, and knocked into one thing or another. 

    Once outside, Orion and Sinclair saw Cedar speaking to a pair of fairies who seemed to have adopted the apprentices; a brother and sister pair named Noc and Diena. Noc was a border patroller; he could manipulate fire, and his deep, amber hair and ruby eyes reflecting that. His twin, Diena, was paler than he, with amethyst hair and penetrating, ocean blue eyes. She worked on keeping the plants watered, and could manipulate the element. The boys groaned in unison; Diena seemed to understand she wasn't particularly helpful outside of gardening, but Noc…he was always determined to assist the apprentices in their studies. The three apprentices fell into a natural, albeit individual, pattern of study, which they were all very happy with. Although they barely spoke, their rhythm was one of practiced agreement, where they had had to figure out how to simultaneously work together while giving each other their space. 

    Orion, after practicing for a while, sat quietly on one of the benches, and removed a letter from the pocket of his pants, staring at it. He could hardly believe what was written, nor could he believe who the letter was from.

'Draoidheachd,

        The length between our last correspondences troubles me, my cub. I have done much contemplation on the state of our relationship, and have decided that I am displeased with what it has become. I realize now, after many moons, that I have not treated you as a boar should treat his cub. As you may well be aware, I have a number of campaigns under my belt, least of which is the abolishment of this abhorrent council. I need your help, Draoidheachd. It has been brought to my attention that, amongst your fellow apprentices, is the daughter of Blaire Walker. This girl, my cub, is worth more to me than most anything else in my plot.

    There is a flaw in her ability. While, from what I have been brought to understand, she has the ability to get into one's mind, it leaves her vulnerable to the same. She must not know it is coming, and if you can allow her to enter your mind, you can convince her to leave that disgraceful excuse for an educational establishment and come with you back home.

    I encourage you to think about what I have said, Draoidheachd. 

    Until the next, I remain,

Your Father' 

    Orion had not seen or heard his clan name since he was a cub, as his father kept referring to him. He ran a hand through his sandy hair and sighed. Absidae and he had an uneasy beginning to their relationship, and he did not know how he could adjust that. Before he had much more time to consider what he had just read, he heard a loud pop near his ear. He let out a low growl, and turned to face the small fairie. "Noc, I've asked you to not disturb me," Orion grumbled. 

    "Yeah, yeah, I know; just wanted to see what you were up to. I recognize a council seal a mile away!" Noc chimed, reaching for the envelope. Orion hastily stuffed the item back into his pocket. "No fair! Secrets don't make friends," Noc taunted, clicking his tongue in distaste. 

    The young werebear stood abruptly, knocking the fairie from his perch. "Good thing I don't want to be friends with the likes of you," he brooded, sauntering away from his perch. There was too much for the young man to worry about, and he couldn't be bothered to play nice with the obnoxious fairies that inhabited the garden. 

    "Where are you going?" Cedars calm, crisp voice rose about the popping sounds of fairies working here and there. "Paris told us to practice," She gestured for him to come back to the garden, which Orion ignored, gently shutting the door behind him as he retreated into his room. "What crawled up his rear?" Cedar mused, looking to Sinclair. 

    Jitterbug perched on his shoulder, Sinclair shrugged as best he could under her weight. "Moon cycle?" He suggested blankly, chewing his lip as he counted days in his head. "The new moon is in three days, and you know how he gets right before that. He should just stay in his bear form around now, it calms him down enough," Sinclair struggled to shrug again, glaring playfully at Jitterbug. He turned his yellow eyes to Cedar, who was twirling a loose curl around her finger thoughtfully. At one time, Sinclair would have considered her quite beautiful; not that he didn't still, only now they were more like siblings after spending four years together. "Look, he'll snap out of it. Orion always does, and then he goes back to playfully hating everything, instead of actually hating it."

    Cedar laughed, shaking her head. A loud pop sounded between their feet, causing Jitterbug to hiss in fear. Noc looked up at them both and sighed. "I was aiming for your head, Tree Girl," he clapped his hands together, disappearing with a loud crack and reappearing with a pop on top of Jitterbug. "GAH! Get me off this thing!" He whined, running the length of the snake until landing with uneasy feet on Sinclair's shoulder. "Look, keep the legless lizard away from me. I got some news for the two of you," Sinclair made eye contact with Jitterbug, who gave a disgusted hiss to the fairie before slithering into the bushes. "The Magic Bear got a letter from the Council," Noc disclosed once the snake was out of sight. 

    The two apprentices shared a glance, and then looked back at Noc. "What would the Council want with Orion?" Sinclair puzzled, picking up Noc and placing him on a branch at eye level. "Did you manage to read any of it? Who was it from? What did it say?"

    Noc growled, his eyes slits of aggravation. "I don't know what the Council wants with the Magic Bear, I only read a few lines, it was from his father, and I don't know what the whole letter said," the fairie grumbled on one breath. Sinclair smirked, but apologized. Fairies, he remembered, had to answer every question they were asked, truthfully, or they would suffer. What they would suffer, none of the fairies would ever tell; they would only shudder fearfully at the mention of lying. "What I managed to read was something about a plan, and then about the New One. I didn't get any details, except that they hadn't spoken in a while." 

    "I wonder what his father wants…they haven't spoken since before Orion came here," Cedar mumbled, perplexed by the situation. "Maybe you could go talk to him?" She looked at Sinclair, her eyes filled with a loving concern, a feeling he knew she would feel for any of them. "Please, Sin? You're his best friend. He'll talk to you," Sinclair couldn't deny that, and so he nodded, heading back inside their home, making his way towards Orion's door. 

    Cedar looked around at the garden, watching the few icicles that hung onto the oak tree in amazement. Tomorrow was the last day of Winter, and soon new buds would begin to form as the snow melted around all of Ceokia. She marveled at the one trees ability to disregard the fairies magical border. With that thought, she went about the garden, helping here and there to urge buds along. The fairies loved her, because she was always willing to help with the garden; in turn, Cedar loved the fairies for their quirks, their chaos, how everything they tried to do for the good of the situation ended up turned on its head. It always made her laugh.