Page 24 of Ash and Roses

She ignores the question. “No amount of fiddling is going to make this dress fit any better. Let’s get you some dinner. We’re all eating outside tonight, but I can have food brought to you if you’d prefer. If you want that wound to heal, you need rest.”

The last thing I want to think about is being trapped behind walls. I’m not a prisoner here, and so I refuse to feel like one. “I’d love to join you.” I pat the wound on my shoulder subconsciously. It’s far from painless, but for food I can endure it.

* * *

Tess leads me through the castle. Down winding halls and dimly lit corridors. I’d assumed the castle was made mostly of stone, but now that I’m seeing more of it, wood seems to be the dominant material. Which makes sense, considering we’re in the middle of a forest.

The castle itself is smaller than I’m used to, but larger than I expected. I can’t believe I didn’t know this was here. I try to pay attention as Tess points out the various rooms, but I can already imagine myself getting turned around in these darkwood halls. Library, dance hall, kitchen—where Tess tells me I can always help myself—main dining hall, throne room. She points each one out with equal enthusiasm. I let her set the pace, never once asking to stop or explore one of the aforementioned rooms—though I will most definitely check out that library at some point. It isn’t until we come to a door covered in carved roses that my feet refuse to take another step.

“Something the matter?” Tess calls back to me when she realizes I’m no longer with her.

“What’s behind these doors?” The double doors are more ornately decorated than any I’ve seen prior, but that’s not what has me frozen in place. A scent so unbelievably intoxicating wafts out from behind it, and I know in my heart that there must be flowers—actual flowers—behind it.

“That area is off limits. You’re free to go anywhere in the castle and on the grounds, but don’t go beyond those doors.”

“Where do they lead?” I pull in a deep breath and let the scent engulf me. To smell this strong, there must be hundreds of flowers on the other side. Maybe even thousands. It’s only now that I realize that I’ve been smelling this since I woke up, but this is where it’s strongest.

Tess shifts her weight from side to side. “It’s just a garden. Come, let’s get you some food.”

I don’t move, and a few moments later I hear her sigh and then feel her standing beside me. “There are no flowers in Lunae,” I say, the words not meant for anyone in particular. I have to see what’s on the other side of those doors. I just have to.

“You’ll see plenty outside, that I can promise you. There are other gardens.”

I let her lead me away, though the gnawing need to see beyond those doors is still very much hammering away within my chest. I’ve never felt a pull like that before, and it’s going to take a lot to get me to forget about it. Even as we move further away and the scent hangs thinner in the air, the unknown beyond that ornate door beckons me. Whatever garden produces a scent like that must be breathtakingly beautiful, and it becomes suddenly apparent that simply seeing a flower is no longer enough. I need to seethoseflowers.

After another short but gruelling walk, we step outside into the evening air. It’s cool tonight and the smell of looming snow carries on the wind. It could be another week or two until we have the first snowfall, but it’ll come all too soon. “Are those…?” I ask when I see them.

Tess laughs. “Have you really never seen one?”

“Not since I was a child,” I say, crouching down beside a patch of small white flowers. I don’t know the name for them, but they look nothing like the carved roses all over the castle. “I barely remember it, but I know they were yellow.”

“We have plenty of yellow ones too, though you’ll have better luck finding them in the daylight. If you’re feeling up to it, you should walk the grounds tomorrow. Just don’t go past the tree line.”

For the first time, I really take in my surroundings. The sun must just be setting, but I can’t see it through the trees. Still, there’s just enough light in the air to cast a golden tinge over verdant land. There’s grass, moss, and trees in every direction, and I can see from one end of the kingdom to the other from where I stand. It’s small, consisting of only a castle with a city around it. ‘City’ might not even be the best word, as much of it is farmland speckled with wooden buildings. The trees encircle the valley in a near-perfect circle. Whoever built this place must have wanted to strike a balance between nature and human. This is a kingdom within a forest rather than a forest kingdom. I wouldn’t have thought there was a difference before, but being here now, I can see it. The land beyond the trees belongs to the animals...

And the monster.

Can the prince really travel out there so freely? Where would he go? Lunae is the closest kingdom, and he certainly isn’t going there. He could travel south to whatever remains of Marein, but there should be nothing but ruin. A pang of sadness comes like a punch to the gut when I think of it, because I’m reminded that Jade isn’t with me and Teagan is dead.

“Are you alright?” Tess asks when my eyes begin to water.

“Yes. It’s just the smoke.”

The smoke from a large central fire isn’t blowing in our direction, but she doesn’t question my answer. I would have thought an open flame this large would cast too much of a smoky glow to stay hidden, but as I watch the swirling tendrils rise into the air, they dissipate into sky before they can stretch above the tallest trees. No one outside of the forest would ever know they were here.

The darkened trees look like ink stains against the pale orange sky. Not a sound stirs from the forest. Not a bird call, nor the scurry of a small animal. It’s ominous, and yet I feel oddly at ease here. I’d been taught to both respect and fear the forest, but seeing it this way is an entirely new side to it.

We move to the fire, where fifty or sixty people sit and laugh around it. I expected them to go quiet when they notice me, but instead I’m greeted with sounds of welcome.

“You’re the girl!” a man as large as Ruben says as he offers me his hand. I take it, and mine disappears in the palm of his.

“Prin,” I introduce myself. I can’t risk a slip-up, so I need to get used to that name as well.

His face tightens for only a moment, but then softens into a smile. “I’m Ellis. Sit, please.” He offers me his seat by the fire, and voices from all around call over to introduce themselves. I’ll never remember these names, and I can’t figure out why everyone is so excited to meet me. Tess said I wasn’t the first visitor to Rosewood, so what makes me so special?

I’m handed a plate of vegetables and deer meat. I can’t even remember a time when I didn’t solely live off meat, so I greedily shove a forkful of a steaming orange something in my mouth. “What is this?” I ask when the sweet flavour hits me.

“Those are my carrots,” a man a few seats away announces proudly. “Grew them myself.”

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