Queen of Rosewood Forest (On Hold)

Chapter 28

"Let's go," Eben waves us towards the door, and as we walk through the castle to the exit I notice him admiring the azaleas. Aaden and him keep glancing back and forth as we walk as if a whole conversation is happening between them without words, just looks.

Once we get to the doors Eben opens them for us then goes back inside. "Did one of you leave something?" I ask curiously.

"No, he's doing some personal research. He's never seen these types of flowers before and he gets excited about new discoveries."

"Oh," I say softly. "Well, should we wait for him?"

"No, he knows his way home from here. Plus, we need to get you home before anyone else notices you are gone."

We walk along in silence until we get to the gates and Aaden takes me along the wall to a camouflaged door. He pulls out a small key and unlocks it. Once inside we are greeted by a guard who looks at Aaden and I and then looks at a sheet of paper on the desk. "Sir, I don't seem to have a note of you using this exit today."

Aaden raises his hand to silence the guard and points to the sigil on his chest. "Elder business." I get the Idea that I should not speak and just let him take the reigns.

We walk through some passageways built into the wall of the village and eventually we reach another door. He pushes it open and I look into a familiar little park. A smile breaks out on my face as I make my way over to a small bench and sit to take in the last little bit of twilight.

Aaden lets me have these moments and gives me some space but I notice I'm never out of his sight. For some odd reason there is just comfortable silence between us, not the awkward tense silence I used to have with John. I must admit it is very confusing but I try to push it away for now and just enjoy this time in the park before it gets too dark.

My stomach is twirling and my nerves are tense as we walk to the house in more silence, the comfortableness slowly fades away as Aaden lights the lantern on the porch for Eben while I go to my room. Part of me still wants to leave, but I have a feeling that due to my attempt at escape they will be on high alert for a while, constantly watching me every chance possible.

It makes me wonder how the next few days will go now. I get out of bed and head to the window to look at the moon and stars. My thoughts are spinning, making it hard for me to get any sort of sleep at the moment.

"Do you want to go outside so you can see it better?"

I turn to see Aaden standing in the doorway. "Um...can I?" I ask nervously, not really sure how to go about the house since I know he's still a little leery about me leaving.

"Just stay in the back, I'm going to wash dishes, Eben should be back soon," he nods as he leaves the doorway.

I look at the doorway in confusion, I thought for sure he would follow me around to make sure I don't escape but now he's just letting me go wherever I want to some degree? This is all very confusing.

Deciding not to take the gift for granted, I head down the hallway towards the back yard, eager to see the moon and stars without restrictions. "Don't stay out too late," Aaden says as I pass the kitchen. I freeze and turn to face him, but only see the side of him since he was busy drying a plate. "You need to get some proper sleep, in the morning we will be working on figuring out your powers and limits."

"Oh, okay," I nod, then when he doesn't say anything else, I head outside and sit on the bench, tilting my head up to look at the crescent moon. There's barely any clouds in the sky so the stars sparkle bright against the dark sky.

My mind drifts back to memories of sitting outside with my father while he would point out different stars and tell me the names and stories with each of them.

"Where's Evette?" Eben's voice drifts out, snapping me out of my memories.

"Out in the back," Aaden answers back, "she's looking at the stars thinking. Give her space. Did you get all the information you wanted?"

"No, but I brought some of the flowers and some seeds," Eben answers back. "I want to plant them in the back and see if they will grow here so I can study them more."

"We can try," Aaden says. I notice his voice is getting closer so I turn back to the stars. "Evette?"

"Yes?" I say without turning away from the stars.

"Time to come in and go to bed," he says, watching me. I can feel his eyes on me. "You will have a busy day tomorrow."

"Can she help me plant these first?" Eben says coming over to us. I notice he grabbed four full grown azaleas and a few seeds. "She is a florist after all."

"Fine," Aaden nods, "but after that bed, both of you. It will be a long day tomorrow."

I follow Eben over to a clear patch and kneel down to dig the holes. Feeling the earth in my fingers, a soft smile crosses my lips. Peace comes over me as I work with the earth and take the flowers from him to plant them just right.

"You look happy," Eben speaks softly.

I barely nod, "I am most happy when I'm with the flowers," I admit. I notice Aaden just a few steps away from us. I figured he would have gone inside already but he just watched and waited patiently. "I always have been."

"We'll remember that," Eben says as he pours water over the dirt.

Eben stands and holds his hand out to help me up. I place my hand in his and he helps me stand. Aaden clears his throat, "Alright, time for bed. We have work in the morning."