11 Chapter 11 - The Garden

Aether gazed at the hand that was offered to him with great reluctance. After the King had made the decision that they should stay for lunch, a maid came from a door on the side. She had gray hair and stood upright as she walked. Her head stayed lowered and her eyes were staring intently at the ground. She did not twitch or move when the King spoke nor did she speak when being addressed. She simply lowered her hand towards Aether indicating for him to take it. It was a polite and expected gesture, but one Aether was currently dreading. He really didn't want to stay for lunch.

"Erik," the King spoke up while Aether reluctantly took the maids hand and stood up. "There are some urgent matters that need to be discussed. Let us head to my study." The King did not wait for his father to respond before he made his way to a door behind the throne.

His father watched the King disappear from view, his shoulders were tense and his eyes narrowed. He clicked his tongue.

"Leon, take your brother to the garden."

Leon faltered at his fathers words. He raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Aether, then back at his father. His face said everything he was not.

Aether thanked the maid and glanced over at Leon and his father, observing their conversation. 'The garden? Why would he send me there?' 

The garden, though a nice place to stay hidden, wasn't the ideal location for safety. Even though it may be surrounded by the Palace walls, it was still out in the open. If something were to go wrong or he were to be attacked then he would not have many places to hide. 'Then again, the garden doesn't have many visitors. If I stay there while waiting for lunch then I'm pretty much guaranteed to not run into the Princes.' Aether smiled. The garden was sounding more appealing with every passing second.

He got ready to follow the maid, but Leon did not move from his spot. He stood there staring at their father as if he had grown a second head.

"What is it?" Their father questioned with a look of annoyance.

Leon was quick to respond, "Why the garden?"

Their father froze for a moment and then his annoyance morphed into one of disbelief and then rage. He looked at Leon and with a snarl he pulled Leon by the collar, to the point where their faces were inches apart. 

Leon held fast despite his clothes beginning to rip. His face was stoic and calm as he met his father head on, but Aether could see that his legs were shaking ever so slightly.

"Why can't you use that useless brain of yours? If you did, you would have realized that the garden is the only safe place for someone like him. Especially in this hell hole. " he pushed Leon away and fixed his clothes, "Now, go." Their father turned around and left in the same direction the King did. 

Aether waited until he could no longer see his fathers shadow before moving. 

The maid that had assisted him was no longer at his side, but at the entrance of the throne room waiting for them to come towards her. Aether shot her a reassuring smile even though she wouldn't see it and went to his brother's side waiting for him to come back to his senses. Leon was fixing his shirt, something he had been doing for over a minute now. He frowned as he looked intently at the ground. 

They weren't going to get anywhere if this continued.

"Brother?" Aether patted his brother's shoulder lightly, his voice light as he spoke. He hesitated on what to say. "Are, um…Shouldn't we be going to the garden?" Aether internally cringed. He had to admit, it probably wasn't the best thing to say, but he wasn't the best when it came to cheering up siblings. After all, he never had siblings before this. 

Leon paused in his movements. He glanced back at Aether, his eyes dark and gloomy. Aether tried his best to give him a warm smile, but that did little to help Leon's mood. Leon shook his head and walked towards the entrance where the maid was waiting.

"Let's go."

Aether didn't have to be told twice. He quickly caught up to his brother and trailed after him like a little duckling.

The walk to the garden was peaceful and uneventful. It was the perfect moment to simply enjoy life, but Aether found himself rather tense. Despite knowing that he was relatively safe by his brother's side, his eyes kept wandering to the shadowed corners and empty hallways. At first he thought he was just being paranoid. That his eyes were making things up, but as their walk continued he could have sworn he saw someone move within the shadows. 

He shook his head. If it was someone or something then his brother would have noticed by now. He glanced at Leon who still walked forward, his eyes glued to the path before them. His eyes narrowed and he glanced back once again, this time his eyes caught a pair of blue eyes and he flinched.

Grabbing onto Leon's sleeve he halted the others movement and gestured to the corner, "Brother, over there I think…" he trailed off. The place that he had seen the blue eyes was now empty. Aether dropped his hand, "What? But there…" he didn't finish. 

Leon was frowning, his eyes kept glancing at the spot Aether was pointing at as if he were searching for something. Without a word he grabbed Aether by the hand and dragged him away from the spot. Aether had to jog to keep up.

Aether had a hunch that Leon knew something, but wasn't saying anything. He wanted to dig a little into it, but a gnawing unease that overcame him like a tidal wave convinced him that it was best he didn't know.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the Palace garden. 

Aether half expected that the Palace garden would look exactly like the rest of the Palace, empty and gaudy, but to his surprise he found the garden to be magnificent. The garden was located in a large courtyard surrounded by the Palace walls. Tall trees covered said walls creating the image that they had walked deep into a forest. Flowers he had never seen before lined the cobblestone walkways. There were even small ponds scattered about. Aether caught a glimpse of the water rippling and knew that there had to be fish in the ponds. He decided to take a closer look. 

The pond was clear and Aether could see the small multicolored fishes swimming around. They were kind of cute. "Brother, what kind of fish is this?" He asked, his gaze not leaving the fishes. 

Leon frowned and walked over. The maid that had led them to the garden bowed and left without a word.

Leon stopped by Aether's side, his eyes were not focused on Aether nor the fish, but on their surroundings. Aether frowned when he didn't get a reply from his brother. When he noticed Leon looking around he followed his brother's gaze and saw a few windows visible through the trees. 

"It's not safe here." Leon grabbed Aether by the arm. He hoisted him up and dragged him away from the pond despite Aether's protest. 

Leon dragged him to another spot, paused, looked around and clicked his tongue. With a firm grip on Aethers arm he pulled him to another spot. This went on for a while, placing him in one spot and then another. The process was never ending and Aether was growing tired of his brother's antics. 

Leon seemed dead set on finding a spot that was completely free from any windows, but it didn't matter where they moved. In every spot a window could be seen. Leon growled in frustration and dragged Aether to a small gazebo nestled in the back of the garden. It was out of the way and even if there were visible windows, the roof of the gazebo would keep any prying eyes from seeing them.

His brother let go of Aether's arm and pushed him towards the gazebo. Smirking triumphantly, Leon crossed his arms and stood right outside the gazebo, his head held high as if he had figured out the impossible. Aether tried his best not to roll his eyes. 

His new brother really was simple minded.

Though the gazebo was deemed the safest spot, his brother would not relax. He stood still for maybe a minute or two before he started to pace. It didn't take long for his pacing to turn into scouting for enemies.

Leon never went too far. He would go to the edge of the gazebo and look at a bush, then back to his original spot near Aether and then to another bush. He repeated this a couple of times, and sometimes he even crouched down to investigate the bush itself. Of course he never found anything. 

It was kind of comical to witness a burly man rummaging through small bushes covered in cute multicolored flowers. A few leaves even lingered on his head, making him look more adorable than scary. 

Leon stood up from another small scouting and looked back at Aether. His eyes wide and filled with expectancy. 

Aether smiled, 'I guess I could humor him.'

"Brother," Leon perked up, "I'm sure there are no enemies in the garden." His brother's shoulders dropped slightly, "You did such a good job at scouting and your reputation alone can scare any enemies away. I don't think you have anything to worry about." Aether chuckled as he saw the different emotions flash on Leon's face. It was obvious Leon wasn't used to hearing praise, but from his personality it seemed that he craved praise more than anything. 'I could use this.' 

Aether gently patted the spot next to him. "Come make some flower crowns with me." Aether didn't wait for Leon to respond. Instead he got off the gazebo and headed towards a small flower bush. 

Leon panicked and quickly rushed to his side. He grabbed Aether's arm and pulled him back, "It's not safe outside the gazebo." 

"But it is." Aether smiled brightly, "Brother has been scouting for enemies all this time and hasn't found anything, so now this place is safe." He repeated. 

Leon hesitated. Once again different emotions flashed across his face. His eyes darted to their surroundings before landing on a window that was barely visible from the position. He seemed hesitant, but in the end the smiling Aether won.

"Fine." Leon gritted out in defeat, "but only for a little while." He grunted as he stood closely behind Aether.

Aether ignored Leon and instead focused on gathering a few flowers and vines. Without glancing back he threw a couple of flowers into Leon's unexpected hands. Leon fumbled as he tried to grab the flowers without crushing them. 

Aether smiled and once he deemed that they had enough he made his way back over to the gazebo and took a seat. Leon placed the flowers down, but did not sit. Deciding instead to stand right at Aether's side and observe. 

Aether didn't mind Leon's nonparticipation. Focusing, he began to weave the vines and flowers together and crafted a flower crown. It wasn't his best work. The flowers were falling off and the vines were not staying together, but it would do. He placed the slightly deformed flower crown to the side and began to work on a second one, this time for Leon. He didn't get far before a guard came running into the garden.

Leon was the first to notice his presence. Without missing a beat he stood in front of Aether, blocking him from view. 

The guard took a deep breath as he slowed to a stop in front of them, "Si-Sir Leon! Pardon the intrusion, but…" the guard trailed off, his eyes landing on Aether. Leon scowled and moved so that he was inches away from the guards face.

"What?" Leon glared down at the guard.

"Apologizes!" The guard bowed, "There has been...an intrusion at the front of the Palace gates." 

Leon raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms, "So?"

The guard frowned, "I-I thought that you would want to know and possibly come and help calm the situation." The guard grew quieter as he spoke. 

Leon's eyes sparkled at the mention of resolving the situation, but with one glance behind him his gaze firmed and he blatantly refused the guard to the surprise of both the guard and Aether. 

Aether observed his brother with a calculating gaze. Leon was described as one that always took the opportunity to prove himself no matter what the situation. It was strange that he wasn't taking an opportunity such as this, but then again if he were to leave and go help, it would go against his fathers original instructions. 

It was a conflicting situation that Leon probably never had been in before.

"Brother." Aether spoke up once the guard gave him another pleading look. 

Aether sighed in his heart. 'If the guard is this desperate then the situation at the front of the Palace must be more dire than what the guard was letting on.' 

Aether could understand why his brother was hesitant on leaving his side. In fact, he too was now second guessing if he was making the right decision. If his brother were to leave, there was no guarantee that the situation would be handled. In fact it could get worse and the moment Leon leaves something could happen in the garden. Though that was highly unlikely it was still a possibility Aether had to entertain.

'But what if Leon didn't leave?' Aether thought for a moment and shook his head, 'No, if the guards were going out of their way to come and find Leon then the situation has to be dangerous.' He glanced over at Leon who was still stubbornly scowling at the poor guard, 'It would be better if he went.'

"Brother." Aether gently tugged on Leon's sleeve, "I'm okay by myself." When Leon didn't budge Aether took it a bit further, "I won't leave the gazebo, I promise." To make sure that Leon understood that he wouldn't leave, Aether scooped up the flowers and vines and showed Leon before spreading them out on the table and dutifully continuing to make flower crowns.

He gave his brother a warm smile, "See, I won't move from this position. I have a lot of flower crowns to make after all." He paused and gently added, "I promise." Leon glanced at Aether than around them once again. His eyes briefly paused on the barely visible window. After some hesitation, he nodded and motioned for the guard to lead the way.

Aether let out a sigh when his brother finally left. 

It was strange. He didn't remember anything in the novel regarding a situation at the Palace. Almost all the major events happened outside of the Royal Palace with only a select few scenes taking place inside the Palace Walls. 

'But then again, I was never supposed to be here.' He toyed with the flower in his hand. 'Did my presence affect the novel's plot? Or am I just witnessing things that happened off the page?' 

Rustle, rustle.

Aether's head whipped towards the small sound. His hands clenching, smothering the flower within his grasp. 

The bushes beside him swayed unnaturally as if someone or something were rummaging through them. He froze, his mind on high alert. He didn't move towards the bush. Instead he took a small step back and hid behind one of the pillars of the gazebo. Watching the bush with anticipation, he also began to gauge which route would be best to take in the worst case scenario.

He was pleasantly surprised to see a small head pop out from the bushes. The little head belonged to a small girl, no older than the age of six. He stood up with the intention to say hello, but once she spotted him she yelped and ducked back into the bushes. 

Aether frowned. 'Am I scary?' He looked at himself briefly, shook his head, then made his way over to the bush. He pushed the bushes aside and silently cried at the cute figure huddled up. 

'Wait a minute is this…' upon closer look, Aether immediately recognized who this was. She wasn't that important in the novel and whenever she was mentioned she was usually glanced over like a second thought. In all honesty, Aether didn't expect to ever run into her and yet here she was. 

The little girl was none other than Irina Soline, the youngest and only princess of the Soline Empire. She was even cuter than the novel had described her. Her long curly black hair coiled around her and her chubby little face was red from crying. Her big bright purple eyes were a unique color that she inherited from her grandmother. Her skin was flawless and she was dressed in a simple, but extravagant purple dress with frills and bows. In her hair was a single purple bow connected to a headband. There were small pearls dripping from the bow with a single jewel situated in the middle. 

She sniffled at him and curled into herself. Aether pursed his lips at the action. He knew that the princess was given cold treatment by everyone in the palace and that affected the way she interacted with people, but to see it first hand was too disheartening. 

 "I'm sorry," Aether reached out towards her, "I didn't mean to scare you. My name is Aether, what is yours?" He gave her a warm smile, but she was on guard. Her eyes narrowed and she frowned. For a moment she gave off the best mimic of the King's personal frown. It took everything for Aether not to laugh.

"Here, I made this." Aether pulled out the poorly made flower crown he had made and passed it to her. She hesitated, but Aether knew he won. She stared at the flower crown with wide eyes and reached out to grab it. Her small chubby hands held the object with care and gentleness. 

"Wh-what do I do with it?" She gazed up at him with admiration and confusion. Aether giggled and showed her.

"After you make it, you place it on your head like this," he placed it on her head, "and now you have a flower crown." 

Her eyes sparkled. A faint blush rose on her cheeks and she beamed as she twirled around with the crown. "I love it!" She jumped into his arms and gave him a hug.

Aether smiled and returned the hug.

"...Irina…." 

What? Aether glanced down at her. Her voice was so soft, barley above a whisper. 

"My name….is Irina…." She avoided his gaze, but her ears were painted red.

"Irina." Aether repeated, "What a beautiful name!" 

Her head shot up and her eyes had gone wide with amazement and disbelief. She pointed to herself, "My name is pretty?" 

Aether's heart ached for her, "Of course, what a beautiful name for a beautiful girl." 

She smiled again and Aether helped her out of the bushes and towards the small gazebo where an abundance of leaves and flowers sat. "Would you like to help me make flower crowns?" 

Aether didn't know at the time, but this interaction was the first interaction Irina had ever had that was positive. 

"Mkay!" Irina sat down with Aether and they diligently started making flower crowns. 

"Irina, What are you doing out here on your own? Shouldn't someone be with you?" While they were busy building flower crowns, Aether was also keeping an eye out for any maids or guards who were looking for the young princess, but to his shock there was no one.

Irina did not respond. In fact, she acted like she had never heard the question. Humming a cute little song, she put all her focus on the flower crown in front of her. Aethers frown deepened. He guessed that it was true what the novel had said about her being given the cold shoulder, but a small part of him was sure that she was supposed to have someone by her side no matter what.

Just as he was about to ask another question, a rustling sound and a black silhouette caught his attention. The butler's mouth fell open when he saw the two, but quickly calmed himself and put a hand on his chest.

'Ah, so there was someone that was supposed to be at the Princesses' side.' Aether's anger simmered down knowing that the Princess, though alone, was never truly on her own.

"Greetings…" The butler murmured off, a confused and strained look in his eyes as he stared at Aether. Aether almost felt bad for the butler. If he was in the presence of his brother or father he would have surely been injured by now for the disrespect of not knowing who he was, even though no one really knew who he was. 

'Wow, this is really going to become annoying as time wears on.', Aether thought to himself. On the outside he gave a warm smile and gave a pilot greeting, "My name Is Aether Frenzel. It is a pleasure to meet you." 

"Frenzel?" The butler's face turned pale and for a moment it looked like he would faint. 

'Ah, so this was the normal reaction people had when they saw a Frenzel.' Aether couldn't tell what he preferred more, being ignored or having people be frightened at the mere mention of his last name.

The butler paused for a brief moment before patting his fist against his chest, "My apologies, I…" the butler trailed off his eyebrows furrowing as he thought about something, "Pardon my rudeness, but I thought there were only two Frenzel children…" the butler once again trailed off. 

Aether was silent for a while. He turned his focus back to the flower crown Irina was making, helping her correct a few parts that were not weaving together. 

"There are actually three, um, but it's not well known." Aether struggled to explain the strange scenario. 

The butler's face went from one of confusion to one of enlightenment, "I see. Apologies for my rudeness. May I join you in your flower making?" 

Aether did not see any harm in letting another join them, so he politely nodded his head and gestured to another seat for the butler to take. The butler beamed and took a seat, eagerly reaching out for a random flower and a few vines. He glanced at Irina who was dutifully bending a vine to fit into her flower crown, then he glanced at Aether. 

"Apologies, but I'm not sure how to make a flower crown." He looked at the others hands and then at his, "Does it require me to embed the flowers and vines with my ability?" 

The question alone was strange to hear and for a moment Aether had a strange feeling. "No," he shook his head, "You just weave the vines and flowers together, here I'll show you." Aether picked up some flowers and began the weaving process.

The butler followed suit, smiling as his crown slowly came to be. "But," the butler glanced down at the flower crown, "wouldn't it be better if you added your ability to the vines and flowers to make them last longer? That way they would not wither and die in a day." The butler slowly grabbed the flowers. The flowers' shadows wavered and like a crack they rushed off the table and enveloped the flowers, leaving a black residue over them. 

Aether frowned at the withered colors.

Though he had to admit, in the end having them last longer might be better, but at the cost of their beauty? Was it worth it? 

"I guess it would be, but I don't like the way the shadows dim the colors." Aether mumbled more to himself. 

"Oh? Apologies, but they only look like this due to my shadow ability. You have nothing to worry about, right?" his head tilted to the side, "Unless your ability is also shadows like your fathers and brother? Or maybe you inherited the ability of fire and water instead. How beautiful would the flowers look encased in a blue or red glow." the butler went off on a small tangent. His words caused Aethers frown to deepen. 

He hated these feelings. The feeling of inferiority. 

The butler was not explicitly stating anything that would warrant this feeling, but to Aether it was a cruel reminder of where he stood in this world even if he carried the Frenzel name.

He may be a Frenzel, but he was a Frenzel without abilities. Compared to the rest of the world that had abilities he was more useless than a new born baby. He glanced at the others flowers then his own. He couldn't even do the simplest of tricks.

"Sir?" the butler noticed his strange mood. "Is something wrong?" The butler must have thought he was confused on how to maneuver his ability and took his hands and helped him into the position, "Here, now with a small movement you should focus your ability into the small flower and let it encase it like a hug, but make sure not to make it too…Sir?" the butler noticed something was wrong and glanced up at Aether once again, dropping the others hands in the process.

Aether grimaced and forced a smile that looked more pained than reassuring. "It…it won't work." 

The butler smiled, "Of course it will. Here let me help. Not everyone can get it on the first try. Even I had a hard time-"

Aether shook his head, cutting off the butler. "I-I don't have an ability…" He looked away, shame burning his face. 

"Is that so?" 

Aether froze. The butler's voice was no longer warm and carrying, but sharp and harsh. It was wrong, something was wrong. He turned to face the butler, but he was no longer there. Only a small flower encased in darkness sat idly where he was sitting.