Queen of Rosewood Forest (On Hold)

Chapter 11

Neven waves his hand out in a sweeping motion and the gate opens. The buildings that I first see here aren't much different than the ones in my village, and most of the people look relatively normal with the exception of a few who have animal-like features. There's one main path that seems to branch out into different areas of town and directly ahead is a tall church-like building.

As we walk in, a couple people begin to stare at Neven and me. I see one girl catch a glimpse of us together and run away in tears while many other people begin to whisper. Neven escorts me down the main path and into the tall building at the center. The inside is lit by two chandeliers hanging in the center of the room. There are black banners with the same four-pointed star symbol lining the walls and at the back is a large table with four chairs on one side. There are people sitting in each chair and a tall black haired young man with locks is standing in front of them.

Anger rolled off him in waves so strong that my breath hitched slightly as I fought back tears and forced myself not to flinch. "It could have been anything! I'm not wasting my whole stealth team on a few scouts reports about a lost girl. You already sent Alun there to deal with Neven and he said the situation is taken care of!" The young man's yelling didn't seem to agitate the other people at the table, who I assume were the elders. "We have more pressing matters than some flowers and a tree in a forgotten castle. Alun didn't find anything so I'm not going to waste their time with this fool's errand!" As he spoke the fire on the candles seemed to grow and diminish with his rage. "I refuse! It's a waste of everyone's time!"

Neven clears his throat to announce our presence to the room and everyone turns to us. He walks me up closer to the table and the young man steps to the side. "Look, I know you all are mad at me, but because of my supposedly reckless decisions I now have the answers you are looking for in this matter," he said casually. If I didn't know any better I would say he was constantly in trouble and this was just another typical day for him. The elders glared at him in silence and waited for him to continue. "This is Evette. She was lost in the woods and came upon the castle by accident due to the scouts chasing her. She found sanctuary in the castle where the azaleas were beginning to bloom and she as a florist decided to take care of them." He spoke calmly but the elders did not seem amused. "She found out recently she has powers much like some of the people here in Rosewood and would like to reside here to learn more about her powers."

"See, she probably just helped them along a little which allowed them to grow." The young man quipped. "She's a gardener, not a tyrant."

The elders look between each other for a while leaving the room in complete silence. Finally, one speaks up. "What is your name, Miss?"

"Evette," I say, trying my best not to shake. "Evette Vita."

"Where did you come from?" He asks squinting his eyes at me in suspicion.

I take a breath to calm my nerves then begin as a couple of tears slid down my face. "I hail from a small village to the south of these woods. I went into the woods to find vegetation since we had some crop damage this year and I got lost." I hate lying, but if it keeps me safe then so be it. "I found out I had powers to help plants grow in my father's shop by accident. One day I was just working on a withering rose while hoping it would heal and the next thing I knew, it was healthy again." My voice cracks a few times but overall I do a decent job at selling the lie since part of it was true. A few more tears ran down my face as I sniffle, "No one in my old village knows of my magic but they don't like anything strange and if anyone found out I would be in danger. Please, I don't want to go back."

Another Elder, a woman, begins to speak, "Well Evette, since you seem to have done nothing wrong you are free to stay here as long as you work with the farmers. Aaden will escort you out so we can finish deliberating on the matter." She gestures towards the young man off to the side who steps forward.

I wipe my face and sniffle again, "thank you."

The man who spoke up first looked towards him. "Aaden, show her around and introduce her to Melissa and make sure she gets placed somewhere today. We won't send your team out right now." Aaden bows his head slightly and then begins walking out with me following.

As we walk out, I hear Neven pleading his case. "Everyone knows that tower is my hiding place, and I was just scoping her out to make sure she wasn't a threat. I did you guys a favor." That's all I hear before the door closes behind me. I hope he isn't in too much trouble.