Tale of Fey and Swans (previously swan lake)

Odette's Garden

If there was anything that could be considered magical about Odette it would be her ability to make plants grow and flourish in the Black Lagoon Forest. This was often a remark that Oak would make to her whenever they were in the Castle's garden. Odette didn't really see the value in it since all she really did was enrich the soil and dig out grubs when the need arose. Nothing special just mundane tasks for a half human half Fae.

"My lady won't you have a hard time with...that," Oak asked pointing a claw at Odette's sling. For a split second Odette had forgotten about her broken wrist. It wasn't like she hadn't been injured before due to her father's anger. Infact this had been rather tame considering the other time.

"I'll be fine. Hand me the shears please," Odette said as she crouched down beside a black rose bush. It was the jewel of her garden. The Black Rose had been a gift from her father some seven years ago when he was in a mood of generosity. Oak handed her the trowel and Odette turned her head to scowl at the Leaf Gremlin. Oak bowed her head and her cat-like eyes looked to the side. Such a feign on innocence, Odette thought. She shook her head and with her hand held out she waited for Oak to replace them with the shears. Oak waited a few more seconds chuckling to herself and then handed Odette the Shears.

Odette took the shears in her good hand and began pruning away the dead branches. It was slow but she used her bad hand to careful hold the plant still. Mist danced about the garden and around her feet. She smiled completely content on the Rose. Somewhere overhead a lagoon Sparrow sung a low melancholy song. Odette hummed along. She was completely content and even in the cooler shade of the forest's canopy she felt her mood brighten.

After the Black rose, plant was tended to, she moved on to her tuber vegetables and began pulling weeds with her good hand. Somewhere in the garden Oak was prancing around in the mist. Odette could hear her light footsteps on the gravel. Always close by but not crowding. The shade was growing slightly warmer which was Odette's cue to stop and take a break for lunch. She carefully peeled herself off the mossy ground and stretched her back. Bones cracked and groaned in protest. The canopy of the forest was a light shade of Emerald and a few rays of sun had managed to pierce the ground and scare away most of the mist.

Odette found herself patch of light and sat down in it. Her skin immediately warmed by the light. It as if she were sitting next to a campfire. She smiled and just let the sun warm her chilled skin. The simplest of pleasures were enough to keep her going. Oak plopped herself down in a smaller patch of sunlight and sighed with contentment. The basket that Oak had brought laong sat between the two of them. Odette rummaged through the basket trying to find lunch. When her hand hit a rather mushy turnip that oozed a grayish fluid she gave a yelp and flung it half way across the garden. It skipped over a few stray bits of gravel before landing next to a patch of creeping vine.

"Hey, that's my lunch!" Oak exclaimed. Jumping and running to retrieve the turnip. Odette watched the Gremlin snatch the turnip from the ground and gently carry it back to her spot. Oak carried the turnip as if it were an injured bird instead of a moldy vegetable.

"Sorry," Odette said with a chuckle," I forgot you like turnips though I wasn't expecting it to be....-"

"Rotten?" Oak supplied before she began not so gracefully devouring the turnip with a loud crunch as her needly teeth tore the soften vegetable to pulp.

"I was goign to say mushy."  

Odette continued her search in the basket and found her usual wooden box full of food. Oak normally went to the kitchen before entering her rooms every day. Since Odette wasn't invited nor wanted at lunch time by most of the court she often took it alone or with Oak. Today's lunch was a dish of cold wild rice topped with roasted wild boar and spring spinach. Odette's stomach was growling and before she could blink already half of her food was gone.

"Be sure to tell Monnie that he prepared an excellent lunch again," Odette said around another bit of wild rice. Oak meerly rolled her eyes and cleaned her paws. "What its true."

"Yeah, Yeah and I actually clean your rooms. No thanks I prefer my turnips," Oak said with a dismissive wave of a cleaned paw.

"You like his salted wild boar," Odette said with a smirk. 

"Yeah...well... only today," Oak said muttering her last words. Odette rolled her eyes and kept eating.

Monnie was the Castle's cook and resident grouch. He was half fire gremlin and half soot sprite and was always in a bad mood. either his very sharp knife-like teeth were sore, or he had bags underneath his eyes because he couldn't sleep well. He lived in the kitchen and controlled a hoard of very chattery soot sprites that followed his every order. Hence the kitchen was always a mess, but the food was always heavenly. It was so good that Rothbert had ordered all of the cleaning staff to steer clear of the kitchen. However, Oak had never listened and wandered in their countless times much to the dismay of Monnie and his sprite army. Nothing it would seem scared Oak. If anything, the grouchy cook only irritated her. Odette admired that Oak could be so brave.

"Well back to work. Care to help?" Odette asked as she replaced her box into the basket. Oak groaned and shook her head.

"I'm not good at gardening. I'm good at chasing the mist and sitting in the sun."

"If you help, I'll let you eat all of the grubs," Odette replied in a sing song voice. 

"And the ladybugs."

"You can eat the aphids."

"Fine I'll eat the aphids or whatever," Oak said.

Together the two of them started weeding the garden beds. As Odette promised Oak got all the aphids and a couple of wood beetles which had gotten into the creeping vines and tuber vegetables. By the time all the beds had been properly weeded there was a chill in the air and Odette knew night would soon be upon them. Which it was time for the most dreaded activity of the day court dinner.