The Black Rose

by Diana Sweeney

  “What did you do!” Lily demanded as she jabbed her finger into Edmund’s chest.

  “Lily!” Orchid exclaimed in horror. She grabbed the girl and pulled her back, “Sorry Lord Edmund, she’s just a little upset.”

  “It’s alright,” Edmund sighed, “Let her go.”

  “What did you do?” Lily asked once she was free from Orchid’s grasp.

  “I told her the truth.”

  “You had to have said something else! Rose is in the garden crying her eyes out,” Lily huffed. She looked like a little dragon.

  “Sometimes the truth hurts.”

  Lily was about to yell at him again, but Orchid covered the girl’s mouth. It was her turn to speak. “For now, I think we should let Rose have some time to herself. She’ll come back inside when she’s ready. She’s just a little confused. Why don’t we start lunch?” Orchid offered uncovering Lily’s mouth.

  “Sure,” Edmund nodded. Orchid smiled before leaving.

  Lily followed after her solemnly. She didn’t like the fact Rose was sad. Before leaving the room, she turned to face Edmund. He looked lonely as usual. She felt bad for yelling at him. In her anger, she had forgotten that Edmund also had feelings. He just didn’t show them. It probably hurt him to see Wilhelmina upset, probably more than it hurt Lily.

  “I’m sorry,” Lily said quietly before leaving the room.

  Edmund was a little startled by Lily’s apology and realized it was because she felt sorry for him. He looked down at his desk. He wondered if all his maids did. The poor sorcerer who hadn’t done anything wrong, abandoned, banished, bitter, lonely…. Edmund formed his hand into a fist and slammed it hard on his desk.

  Wilhelmina cried until her tears ran dry. She knew crying wasn’t going to solve anything and Edmund was probably right. Would her family care for her if they knew killing her would end the curse? In her heart she knew her mother wouldn’t. She remembered the fear in her mother’s face and her scream as Wilhelmina was taken away from the church by Edmund. Her mother loved her, but her father… well her father was more of a practical person. He probably would have had her killed.

  Wilhelmina stared at the castle. She didn’t have to stay here. She could leave, but the truth was she didn’t want to. It scared her how much she wanted to stay here since her mind was screaming for her to leave, but her heart told her she was safe.

  The wind blew and Wilhelmina stood with her arms wide open, welcoming the cool breeze. She turned toward the forest. The leaves were changing colors, autumn was coming. It was nice out and the sun was up in the sky, it was no longer morning. She looked at the castle again. It was strange; it was as if it called to her, like she belonged here. She wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that she grew her.

  It was still weird to her that she had been a rose. She wondered if she had any other memories of being a flower. She tried to think, but none came to mind. It had been such a long time ago after all. However, this place strangely felt like home.

  Wilhelmina headed toward the castle and stopped in front of the door. What was she going to say to Edmund? Would she say anything at all? She still had questions for him and despite what he said; she still had feelings for him. She knew he was just telling her the truth. It was just too much for her to handle.

  Wilhelmina’s feelings for him grew at that moment. Unlike her parents, he told her the truth. He didn’t lie. A trait like that was admirable. However, she wondered how much more he would tell her and there was only one way to find out. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

  She had come in the back entrance this time, so she wasn’t surprised to find herself in the ballroom. What caught her attention was the smell of food. Her stomach growled reminding her that she had not eaten yet. “It must be close to lunch time,” She thought and headed towards the smell. Where there was food, there was a dining room and a kitchen. She knew her palace well and though this one was designed a little differently, it wasn’t too hard for her to find the dining area.

  The dining room consisted of a long oak table and a magnificent chandelier hung over it. The walls were painted green and had bronze flower accents. Wilhelmina began to wonder if green and bronze were the colors of Celewyn and then shook her head. She remembered from an old story that Celewyn’s colors were red and black. Green must have been Edmund’s color of choice.

  This room, like the others, lacked any décor. Wilhelmina wondered if Edmund preferred things to be simple and plain. Though Wilhelmina was no Edolie, she had to admit that the room looked rather boring. She would have liked some sort of centerpiece on the table, even if it was just a vase full of flowers, and maybe a couple of paintings on the wall. She sighed; it wasn’t her castle to decorate.

  “Rose!” Lily exclaimed running out of a white swinging door at the back of the room.

  “That must be the door to the kitchen,” Wilhelmina thought as Lily hugged her. Orchid exited the same door and smiled.

  “How are you feeling?” Orchid asked.

  “Better,” Wilhelmina forced a smile. Just then Edmund walked into the room.

  “Come on Lily, let’s finish up lunch,” Orchid said grabbing Lily. Lily was about to protest but Orchid made a hush sound and both left quietly.

  An awkward silence filled the room. Edmund wasn’t sure what to say and Wilhelmina was still trying to figure out what she should say. Edmund sighed, someone had to talk or they would be standing in silence all day, “I’m sorry.”

  Wilhelmina looked up at him. She wasn’t expecting that nor was she expecting such a solemn look on his face. It was then she realized just how lonely he was. Edmund had been cast away at eighteen and he had been living here for over twenty years. Wilhelmina had to guess since she wasn’t sure how long he had been exiled for before she was born. All of a sudden she felt bad for him and understood why he did what he did even though it wasn’t right.

  She smiled, “No, you just told me the truth, and I’ve been lied to all my life. It was just a lot of information all at once. I couldn’t take it. I’m sorry.” She paused for a bit before speaking again, “I still have a lot of questions though if you don’t mind….” Wilhelmina was cut off by the sounds of carts being rolled around. Lily and Orchid were bringing food out from the kitchen. Lunch was being served.

  “We can talk more after we eat,” Edmund smiled. Wilhelmina nodded and followed him toward the dining table. He pulled out a chair for her. She blushed and sat down. Wilhelmina wasn’t used to such treatment. Edmund sat across from her. Lily and Orchid joined them as soon as they finished bringing out the food. Lily took a bite out of a chicken leg and Edmund’s eyes looked as if they would pop out.

  “They don’t normally eat?” Wilhelmina questioned at seeing his shocked reaction.

  “No,” Edmund said as Orchid giggled.

  “Before we didn’t have to, we didn’t have hearts,” Orchid said touching her chest, “It’s as if we became human.”

  “But how…” Wilhelmina began. She had no idea how she had made them come to life and that was one of the many questions she wanted to ask.

  “The black rose is said to possess strong magic,” Edmund answered, “Not even I know all its secrets. I only know what was written by Lord Lamont. He was the sorcerer for Celewyn…” He stopped for a moment and continued, “anyway, you might be able to bring the others to life too.” He then continued to eat.

  “Well then why doesn’t she?” Lily piped up.

  “Right now?” Wilhelmina asked.

  “Yeah, why don’t we get the others and have Rose use her magic to bring them to life,” Lily exclaimed hopping out of her seat.

  “Well then, go get them,” Edmund said amused. At his orders, Lily then ran out of the room.

  “How many…” Wilhelmina began feeling nervous.

  “Ten for now,” said Edmund, “Don’t worry. If you can’t do it again or not all of them, it’s not a big deal…”

  “I just….” Wilhelmina began looking at her pla
te.

  Edmund smiled, “Just eat for now; you might not get a chance to once Lily comes back.” Wilhelmina nodded and began eating her food. They ate in silence. It was awkward but neither wanted to start a conversation in fear of being interrupted by Lily. Wilhelmina was also feeling rather nervous since she wasn’t sure if she could give the others life.

  Orchid smiled. She secretly hoped Edmund and Rose would fall for one another. It was obvious they both liked each other. They would make a cute couple.

  Maids soon began walking through the door and Wilhelmina became too distracted to eat. She was trying to guess what flower each girl was in her mind. Once all eight were lined up, Lily hurried over and went back to eating her meal. Wilhelmina recognized the girl with the violet hair. She was in her room the first night she was here.

  “Should we make a game out of this?” Edmund suggested as he noticed Wilhelmina staring intently at the maids. Once her attention was on him, he continued, “Guess what flower each girl is.”

  “Sounds like fun!” Lily exclaimed.

  “I suppose I can try….” Wilhelmina said feeling nervous. She didn’t know very many flowers and was sure she would screw up.

  “It’s just for fun,” Edmund smiled.

  “Well I know Magnolia from earlier,” Wilhelmina said. She decided to get the easy ones out of the way. She turned her attention to the other girl she met before. “Violet hair, yellow eyes, short, strapless, purple dress…” Wilhelmina thought and then spoke, “Violet?”

  “Correct,” Edmund said.

  Wilhelmina sighed and moved on to the next girl. The next girl had short, wavy, yellow hair, gold eyes, and she was wearing a white bubble dress with puffy sleeves. What flowers were yellow and white? She knew the girl wasn’t a daisy since the dress just didn’t fit so she had to be… “Gardenia?”

  “Correct again,” Edmund answered and the process continued until Wilhelmina had named every girl correctly. There were a couple she stumbled on and one that she had no idea.

  “Amaryllis, Violet, Hibiscus, Marigold, Lobelia, Gardenia, Magnolia and Lotus,” Wilhelmina said going through the girls in the order they were standing.

  “So then let’s see what you can do,” said Edmund. He stood up and walked over to Amaryllis.

  Amaryllis was slightly taller than Wilhelmina. She was wearing a tea length red dress that had off shoulder sleeves. She had short red hair and bright green eyes, “Just like Milly….” Wilhelmina thought as she walked over to Edmund and Amaryllis.

  She missed Milly and Amaryllis could have practically been her twin. She pushed those feelings aside and focused on the task at hand. She had managed to make Orchid and Lily speak, but could she do the same for all these girls?

  Wilhelmina took a deep breath, “here it goes…” and then touched Amaryllis’s arm. She sighed in relief when she felt the strange tingling feeling in her hand. She let go of the girl’s arm once the tingling stopped and watched as Amaryllis turned to look at her.

  “Try talking!” Lily exclaimed from the table. Orchid had gotten up and was walking toward them.

  “I…” Amaryllis began before covering her mouth with her hands in surprise.

  “Amazing,” Edmund managed to speak. He watched Amaryllis and noticed Wilhelmina just standing there, “Well go on!”

  Wilhelmina jumped at Edmund’s order. She was still nervous, which made her jumpy.

  “Alright…” She said and moved on to Violet, the tallest of the all the girls. She was still shorter than Edmund though, who was about a head taller than Wilhelmina. Wilhelmina touched Violet’s arm and relaxed when she felt the strange tingling sensation. She was still worried that she might run out of power and not be able to transform them all. She prayed that she could and continued on down the line.

  Wilhelmina remained nervous until she had finished transforming the last one. She sighed in relief after Lotus smiled at her. She had managed to give all the girls hearts.

  Each girl had their own reaction to coming to life. Most of them were like Amaryllis and just stood in shock. Magnolia, on the other hand, was like Orchid and acted as if nothing had happened. She was a sweet girl and Wilhelmina already liked her. The only girl that gave them any trouble was Lobelia.

  Lobelia had blue hair and yellow eyes. She wore a dress similar to Amaryllis except it was sleeveless and there was a white sash that went around her waist and tied into a bow in the back. She was a little taller than Amaryllis. Lobelia was the only girl that had a panic attack. She started jumping up and down. Orchid and Magnolia had to calm her down. Lily and Marigold, on the other hand were no help.

  Marigold was a lot like Lily. She had a very bubbly, young personality. She had bright orange hair that matched her eyes and wore a short yellow dress that had an orange bow tied on the front.

  Eventually all the girls calmed down and Wilhelmina felt exhausted. She hadn’t notice it before, but her body began to feel weak. The room began to spin and then she felt her feet give away. However, instead of hitting the hard wooden floor, she fell into someone’s arms.

  “You alright?” Edmund asked as he helped Wilhelmina back up to her feet. All the girls had become silent and were now looking at her.

  “Just tired,” Wilhelmina said as she leaned on him for support.

  “Using too much magic can wear you out,” He said and then lifted her off her feet.

  “What are you…”

  “Carrying you to your room, you can’t possibly walk,” Edmund said as he carried her out of the room. He could hear the maids’ voices as he carried Wilhelmina up the stairs. “Sheesh, those girls are loud,” He thought to himself, “Then again, they never were able to talk before…” The girls probably had a lot to say to one another. Edmund also suspected that they were talking about him and Wilhelmina.

  “I’m not tired in that sense!” Wilhelmina complained as Edmund carried her into her room.

  “I know,” Edmund said setting her down on her feet, “I just wanted some alone time with you.” He sat down on her bed.

  “Oh…” Wilhelmina blushed and sat down next to him. She still felt a little drained, but sitting down helped with the dizziness.

  “You still had questions for me right?”

  “Oh right,” Wilhelmina said as she remembered all the questions she wanted to ask. The tricky part was picking which one to ask first. She decided that getting to know him first would be better, “How old are you?”

  “A lot older than you,” Edmund grinned.

  “What does that mean?”

  “Well I obviously created you…”

  “No, I know that,” Wilhelmina shook her head; she knew he was at least eighteen years older than her. “You look young…. ”

  “Well, a sorcerer can live longer and can also make himself look younger….” Edmund said, “So though I look twenty, I’m a lot older…”

  Wilhelmina sighed, “You’re not going to tell me are you?”

  “Does age matter?”

  Wilhelmina smiled, “No …so who are you exactly?”

  Edmund raised an eyebrow, “You already know that.”

  “I know you’re Lord Endymion Melanthius, but you call yourself Edmund?” Wilhelmina asked beginning to realize just how confusing it was, “Why? What’s your real name?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “Well I have all day,” Wilhelmina said staring at him. She wasn’t going to let him get away that easily.

  Edmund sighed, “My real name is Edmund. The reason I went by Endymion Melanthius was because my mother didn’t want anyone to know who I was.”

  “Why?”

  “My mother is, was Lenora.”

  “You mean the enchantress?”

  “Yes, she had fallen in love with one of her students, my father. It’s forbidden for an enchantress and sorcerer to be together. Their powers are different and combining them would create a different kind of being, one more powerful, or so that is what has been told. There is no proof as to whether o
r not it’s true since the rule has been around for hundreds of years. My guess is there was one half breed that became dangerous and to prevent anymore, the rule was made. Anyway, my father left my mother and went on to work for a kingdom. My mother raised me by herself and only she called me Edmund, around others I was Endymion and then at Aridale, I became Lord Endymion Melanthius.”

  “So then your father’s name…”

  “Is my name, yes. I never met him.”

  “What happened to…”

  “She died shortly after leaving me in the hands of King Wilhelm.”

  “How?”

  Edmund shrugged his shoulders, he honestly had no idea, “If I had to guess, a broken heart.”

  “Is that really possible?”

  “We, magical beings, have the ability to choose when to end our lives, but I like to think it was because of my father….”

  “I’m sorry,” Wilhelmina said taking hold of Edmund’s hand. She never expected him to have such a sad past, “So does that mean you have more magic then…”

  Edmund shook his head, “I don’t know. If I had to guess, I would be if not even, less powerful than Yolande. Sorcerers are normally weaker than enchantresses. Enchantresses are only female though… If I had to give a title, maybe male enchantress or I guess enchanter would be an appropriate term.”

  “Sounds confusing,” said Wilhelmina. She still had a few more questions, but for now, it was probably best to save them for later. She had already asked a couple of really personal ones.

  Edmund didn’t seem like a bad guy. He was just lonely and that loneliness had made him bitter. She sympathized with him. After all, she spent many lonely years in her tower. On the other hand, she had Milly. All Edmund had had were a bunch of lifeless maids.

  “If it’s any consolation, I think you were unfairly punished…”

  Edmund turned to look at her. Their eyes locked and he knew she was telling the truth. He kissed her. He had thought all hope was lost, that she could never love him after knowing the truth, but here she was in his arms, “Thank you.”