To The Moon And Back

Chapter 11: A Rose for Love, A Thorn For Pain (The Garden, Part II)

This time, Kai seemed more forthcoming with his love of his mother's garden. He talked about the types of flowers that grew there, the types of bushes that also grew and the medicinal effects of their leaves, and how sometimes he would snatch an apple right off the tree when no one was watching. Selene listened patiently, noticing the glint in Kai's eyes and wisely declining to interrupt.

"And these are our roses. My mother used to-" Kai broke off in the middle. "-oh, stars. I'm boring you, aren't I?"

Selene felt the corner of her lips dart up into a natural smile. "You  never bore me, your highness. At least, not yet. Who knows? Maybe one day I could drag you to Luna and show you all of the flowers we have to offer. Maybe that would shut you up." Selene paused. She wasn't really sure if her relationship with Kai had developed to the point where she was allowed to tell the crown prince of the Eastern Commonwealth to shut up. "But really, I truly love your garden." Selene hastily corrected herself. 

Kai laughed, and gestured for Selene to sit down next to him, on a stone bench that was surrounded by rose bushes. "This garden means a lot to me."

"I can tell."

"I just feel responsible for it. My mom, she would take me here almost every single day to teach me about the flowers."

"She sounds like a gentle person."

"She was." Kai paused. "She would've liked you."

Selene looked down. "Too bad I can't say the same for my mother and you."

Kai smiled. "Yeah, I'm not sure it works quite like that."

"Hmm." Selene murmured. "But I guess my mother and I had a good childhood together. Spending my childhood, I mean. She took me out to the bakery every week, to look at the pastries and the cakes and the different types of breads the people baked. The owner was always there- someone my family knew for decades. Her name was Cyra Lyanius." Kai was listening intently, hands folded in his lap, eyes focused on Selene's face. Selene realized suddenly how close they were, and instinctively, she leaned back a little, cheeks becoming hot. Kai leaned back as well, ears bright red.

He cleared his throat. "Um. . . go on?"

Selene afforded him a tentative smile. "Uh, yeah, sure, totally, um, where was I?"

"Cyra Lyanius."

"Oh, right. So every week, my mother would take me to see her. And for a while, without fail, she would always sneak me a piece of whatever cake was being taken out of the over. It was the best part of my week." Selene looked wistful.

"If you don't mind," Kai said. "You said, "For a while." What happened?"

Selene sighed and closed her eyes. "Four years ago, Cyra's son was conscripted to join the Lunar army. He refused, and they dragged him away. The entire Lyanius family was thrown into jail and their bakery was shut down. Most of them died. Cyra was one of the last ones left. I went to visit her once, and she looked at me and whispered, "This is a cruel world, Selene. They- they took my son. They took my sister, my husband, my father. They took them in spirit and in body, and they will try to take you next. But you are strong. You will make it. I cannot hold on.""

"Oh." Kai wasn't sure what to say. He knew what had happened, what had become of Cyra Lyanius.

"The guards found her hanging from a bent screw in the ceiling a week later."

"It wasn't your fault." Kai's first instinct was to tell Selene that, especially since she looked as if she was going to cry. "You couldn't have done-" 

"-yes, I could have. We all do things we regret, but what about the things we don't do? We can regret those as much as the decisions we've already made, right?" Now Selene was actually crying, her voice becoming more shattered by the moment and her eyes beginning to turn a bright shade of red.

Without thinking, Kai reached over and wrapped his arms around Selene, leaning her against his chest. She shook against him, and he felt her tears staining his shirtfront. "It's. . . it's okay. It's not your fault, Selene, it really isn't. There's nothing you could have done, it's just. . . it's just how life works."

"I- I know. I- I- I just- I wish that- things could be diff-different." Selene let out one last sniff, and suddenly pulled away. Wiping at her face in a most unprincess-like way, she murmured, "Sorry. I'm a mess."

"Oh, it's okay." Kai replied, still tentative. "I don't mind. I mean, I'm okay with- I mean, I don't want you to be happy- I mean sad! I'm the real mess, um i-"

Selene let out a breathy laugh. "It's ok. really, I'm great."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Definitely."

Kai could feel the unresolved tension in the air. This was easily the most awkward thing he had ever been involved in. "Uhhhh. . . "

"Hmm?"

Kai didn't have anything to say, and he felt his palms getting sweaty as Selene's eyes remained fixed on him. Thankfully, Selene realized what was happening. "These roses," she said hastily, pointing to a myriad of bunched up roses behind the bench. "What were those planted for?"

Kai leaned over to peek at the scarlet buds. "My grandfather. My mother's father. When he died, she stayed in the garden for hours. She didn't let anyone in, not even my father."

"Oh."

Kai smiled. He could remember that day, bittersweet as it was. "After half the day was done, she came up to me and asked me to come into the garden. It turned out that she had spent the entire day planting flowers and vegetables in the garden. She sat me down on this bench, the one we're sitting on now, and she told me about how roses were for love and how they represented eternal devotion. But she also told me about how roses come naturally with thorns."

"And?"

"That even though love is beautiful, it hurts more than anything else in the world sometimes."

Selene leaned back and contemplated his words. "If love hurts so much, then is it really worth it?"

Kai looked down at the grass. "I don't know," he admitted. "Sometimes you don't want to feel the pain, but you can't stop loving forever. It's just not possible. Sometimes the pain is worth it if you truly want to love."

Selene opened her mouth to respond when a shout was heard from across the garden. "Kai! Kai!"

Kai shot to his feet, Selene trailing behind him. Running towards them was Konn Torin. His graying hair was in disarray, his clothes rumpled and wrinkled. "Oh, your highness," Torin said hurriedly, giving a shallow bow before grabbing Kai's wrist. "Kaito, we must go. I apologize, your highness."

"No prob-" Selene began to say, but Kai and Torin had already disappeared.

~*~

Sorry for not updating sooner! School's been really busy and I haven't gotten a chance to really write a lot. On the other hand, WINTER IS COMING OUT IN SEVEN DAYS! 

I'll try to update at least once a month, but I'm expecting that it won't be that easy. I have the story line written out, but writing is more difficult than it seems. I'm sorry if this chapter seems especially choppy, I just wanted to get this up as soon as possible.