The Lost Garden: The Complete Series

by D. K. Holmberg

  Chapter 36

  Eris stood in the hall. She’d not rested well. Dreams haunted her sleep. One dream bothered her most. In it, she surged through the forest, running from a creature with bright, golden eyes. Eris tried pulling on the power within the forest, but it failed her again. And as the beast reached her, she’d awoken, drenched in sweat.

  She knew she could never be an effective keeper until she had power over the forest. Until she could command rather than request the energy stored within.

  The creature frightened her. She had sensed it within the forest, but always it had been a distant thing, a presence the forest didn’t seem to mind so she never bothered with it either. What did it mean that she dreamt of it chasing her?

  When she’d finally managed to fall back asleep, she hadn’t rested any more soundly and finally got up to begin her day. Now in the hall, she stood near a corner, a grand display of flowers filling a massive ceramic vase. Thistlebuds, thulis, dyrans, and camogines all mixed with a few vipeslars.

  At first, Eris didn’t know what to make of the arrangement. She frowned, wondering if it was one of her sisters’ works. There was a certain power to the way the flowers were arranged, but nothing like what Lira would manage. The camogines were one of Desia’s favorites, so Eris figured it was hers.

  But something about the display gave her pause. Eris frowned, staring at it before realizing what she saw. There was a message within the flowers.

  At first, Eris couldn’t decipher it. What she’d told Jasi was the truth; working messages into the flowers wasn’t a skill she’d spent much time mastering. She held only a rudimentary understanding. This was complex, much like the mastery found in Lira’s arrangements.

  As she puzzled through the message in the flowers, it became clear. Keeper. Return. And Eris suspected the vipeslars implied the forest as they only grew beneath dense canopy.

  The Keeper of the Forest has Returned.

  Not Desia then. Eris hadn’t gone to her, and if even if she had, she doubted Desia would create an arrangement like this. Jasi wouldn’t have done this, would she?

  A young handmaiden dressed in servant white nodded to Eris as she passed. She had pale skin and reddish gold hair. “They are beautiful, aren’t they, my Lady?”

  Eris thought she should know the girl but couldn’t think of her name. “Do you know who put them here?”

  The girl’s eyes widened briefly. Likely she hadn’t expected Eris to speak to her.

  Eris tried to force a smile onto her face and make herself less intimidating, but most of the handmaidens stepped lightly around the princesses. Desia, in particular, could be harsh with the girls. Eris had never had much use for them, so perhaps she had been equally harsh.

  The girl bowed her head, keeping her eyes from looking up. Eris realized she carried a handful of linens as she worked down the hall. Toward Eris’s room.

  “I’m sure the Mistress placed them there. She puts many such arrangements around the palace.”

  Eris nodded and turned back to the arrangement. The girl waited for a moment before scurrying off down the hall, moving more quickly than she had before.

  The flowers. Something about the flowers.

  Eris touched one of the deep purple leaves of the dyrans. They furled together, rolling into a long, slender tube. The purple of the petals deepened the closer it got to the stem, until it practically merged with the deep green stem. She pulled on the energy stored in the flower, touching it lightly. The flower curled slightly inward.

  Eris frowned.

  This flower was not from the palace garden.

  She pulled a little harder on the energy, tracing the faint stores of power. A brief vision of a small meadow swam through her mind. Then it vanished. The meadow had stretched before a lake, a few trees dotting its shore. The sun shone bright overhead. A patch of dyrans furled toward the sunlight along the shore, taking in deep draughts of water from the water’s edge.

  Eris blinked. She didn’t recognize the lake.

  She touched the thulis. Again she felt a faint awareness that this wasn’t from Lira’s garden. As she drew on it, she had another vision, this time of a rolling hill dotted with different flowers. The thulis and the camogines grew here.

  Eris reached for the thistlebud. This was closer. Near the palace. She felt the draw of the palace from the vision, the strength of the nearby garden to the south.

  And then the vipeslar. This she touched hesitantly. Lira kept vipeslar growing in her garden, but she did so only surrounded by taller flowers—darthshades and piksans, each with long stalks that grew like trees rimming the vipeslar. As she touched it, she knew immediately that this was nothing like the vipeslar Lira grew in her garden.

  Eris had a surge of energy, stronger than the others. The leaves curled lightly before unfurling. The vision that flashed before her was one she’d seen countless times over the last few months. Massive Svanth trees grew all around, stretching high toward the sky, obscuring the sun. Thick vines swirled around the trees, the hint of the coming teary star along their stems. These vipeslars were from within the Svanth, though near the edge.

  Her hand trembled as she took it away. Who had placed this arrangement here? Who could have entered the Svanth without her knowing?

  Only another keeper. That meant Lira.

  But why would Lira place this arrangement here?

  Eris couldn’t think of any reason Lira would do so. Why place a message in the flowers for her sake?

  Unless it wasn’t for her.

  Would Lira have arranged the flowers for her sisters? Did she do so as some sort of test?

  That made little sense, but no other answer made sense either. She stared at the arrangement another moment before hurrying off, a quicker step driving her forward.

  When she reached the steps at the base of the western wing, she hurried up, barely pausing long enough to bunch her dress in her fists. She wore a simple green dress with hints of brown worked into the collar. One she never would have chosen before, but now the colors suited her better. She wanted to check on Terran but figured he would be happiest left alone working with Master Nels. Besides, hadn’t he wanted to reach the city more than her? And he didn’t want more questions about why he’d been with her during the last few months.

  Atop the stairs, she turned toward Lira’s quarters. It was time for the Mistress of Flowers to work with her. Eris had returned for whatever lessons Lira could offer, and waiting did nothing to get her closer to the knowledge she needed.

  When she reached the thick wooden door before Lira’s rooms, she hesitated. The last time she’d been here, she still hadn’t learned anything about her flower. She had barely discovered her flower, then. And now? Could she really have come so far since then?

  Eris knocked.

  There came no answer. In spite of knowing she should wait, she tried the handle of the door and pushed, opening it slowly.

  Flowers filled the room, but something about them was off. Rather than fresh-cut or planted flowers like she’d seen the only other time she’d been in this room, now the flowers had a sense of age. There was a palpable sensation about the room, prickling her skin. Colors were faded and muted, and the air held more of a musty sense than the fresh vibrancy she should feel when around the flowers.

  It took only a moment for her to realize Lira hadn’t been to her room in some time.

  The window was shuttered, and Eris threw it open. Warm sunlight spilled into the room, burning away the shadows. A breeze scented by the flowers of the garden outside gusted inside, whipping away the sense of age and ruffling the stacks of papers around the room.

  She shouldn’t be here—these were Lira’s rooms—but the room felt wrong closed up like this. Besides, for Lira to have left her quarters like this meant she was preoccupied with her healing of the queen. Likely Lira would never even know.

  Eris considered Lira’s quarters. The bed looked meticulously made, sheets and thick blanket pulled neatly up over the
mattress. It had no canopy, not like the one stretching over Eris’s, but massive plush pillows covered with colorful slips of fabric made the bed look inviting and cozy. One door to her wardrobe cracked open. Eris didn’t need to peek inside to know the types and colors of Lira’s dresses; she’d seen them often enough to know how Lira dressed quite properly, always in complementary colors to the flowers she preferred. Only now did Eris recognize how the clothing might have worked with her flowers. Had she selected the green dress for the same reason?

  And then there were stacks of books. Hundreds of books stacked along open shelves or tabletops throughout the room. Lira was nowhere to be found.

  Eris turned back toward the shutters, to close them despite the sense of wrongness they created. She could see her mother and delve the elms again and determine if there was anything more she could do. Heart heavy, she barred the light, once more.

  A flash of red caught her attention as she turned for the door.

  Eris spun, scanning the room to see what it might have been that caught her eye. At first, she didn’t see anything other than the bright leaves, and even those hadn’t been nearly vibrant enough to draw her attention.

  What then?

  A stack of books near the bed. The topmost one bound in a dark red leather.

  Eris glanced out the door but saw no sign of Lira in the corridor. She made her way to the bed and grabbed the book from atop the stack. Immediately, she recognized the author. Feliran. She’d sought books by Feliran for weeks while struggling to learn of her flower. Master Billiken claimed he’d once had several books by Feliran, but Eris had only ever found one. That book had been full of detailed drawings, depictions so neat—so perfect—Eris had no trouble identifying plants when she saw them again. She’d searched for a book on the Svanth region written by Feliran but hadn’t found what she sought, finally sneaking one from Lira without her knowing. And now here was another.

  Eris flipped it open. This was different than the last. Written in the same neat hand with pictures making it easy to see what Feliran drew. Notations in the margins hadn’t been in the book Eris had taken. The other book Eris had found depicted shade plants. From what she could tell, all the flowers in this book grew in bright sun.

  She skimmed through the book, glancing at the pictures and noting the names of different plants. Most she knew. The connection to the Svanth Forest gave her some knowledge, but the time she’d spent searching for her flower—time she once thought wasted—had given her the opportunity to study the hundreds of varieties throughout the garden. And with Master Nels always curating more, Eris had plenty of opportunity to continue to learn about different flowers.

  But it wasn’t the flowers in the book she found fascinating. As she skimmed through the contents, she read through notes in the margins. Most were simple comments on where certain varieties could be found or their related species. Some notes remarked on proper arrangements, color combinations, even ways to utilize particular blooms for different intents.

  They were Lira’s notes.

  Eris frowned. The writing in the margins looked so similar to Feliran’s neat scrawl, but there seemed differences as well. Almost as if Lira’s notes tried to mimic the tight writing Feliran preferred.

  She could learn much from this book, especially if Lira chose not to teach her.

  Eris glanced around the room. Would Lira even miss it? From the look of things, she’d been gone for days, possibly longer. And besides, it wasn’t as if Lira needed to study these anymore. Not with as much as she clearly knew, the way she used her keeper knowledge. Wouldn’t she want Eris to have it?

  No.

  Eris set the book back down atop the stack and turned from the room. She would have her knowledge, but not that way. Her mother’s illness might have changed the focus of her return to Eliara, but not the reason for it. Eris needed to learn what it meant to be a keeper. And Lira was the only one who could teach.

  As she turned back to the door, she touched one of the arrangements and borrowed some of the remaining energy stored before letting out a deep breath. Then she closed the door behind her.

  * * *

  Eris finally found Lira in the library. She hadn’t considered looking there, but after wandering about the palace and scaring a half dozen other maids, she’d made her way into the garden. She could use the connection to the flowers to determine if Lira was there, but felt nothing. On a whim, she’d gone to the library.

  The library had not changed since Eris last visited. Tall shelves filled with books stretched from one end to the other. A ladder on wheels leaned against one of the stacks. Frail Master Billiken glanced down at her through his thick spectacles as she entered, nodding as if she hadn’t been gone, before returning to where he shelved a stack of books.

  Near the back of the library was a long table Eris had used when trying to learn about her flower. Now, another keeper leaned over the table. Lira rested her chin on her hands, staring at a large, leather-bound book splayed open in front of her. One foot tapped against the stone with a soft regularity.

  Eris cleared her throat as she approached.

  Lira looked up. “Eris. Are you here for your studies?”

  Eris’s heart lifted. With the sickness that had taken over her mother, she’d feared Lira wouldn’t be interested in teaching her, but maybe she’d been wrong.

  “I tried finding you in your quarters.”

  Lira waved a hand and looked back to the book. She took one finger and began tracing lines of text as she read. “I haven’t been able to spend much time there. I need to focus on the garden, and I can’t do that from within the palace. Nels lets me stay in the greenhouse.”

  Eris tried imagining what it must be like staying in the greenhouse. The only time she’d been there, the sweltering heat and humidity nearly made her pass out. What must it be like at night, when the air cooled?

  Probably no different than staying under the canopy of svanth trees at the heart of her forest. Like the Svanth for her, the flowers in the palace courtyard were Lira’s garden.

  “Master Billiken should be back shortly,” Lira said.

  Eris nodded. “I saw him as I came in.” She hesitated, wondering how to broach the subject. Hadn’t Lira promised to teach her when they last saw each other?

  But why did Eris feel so nervous?

  “What have you come to research?” Lira asked.

  “Research?”

  Lira nodded but didn’t take her eyes off the page.

  Eris frowned. “I didn’t come to research.” She took a steadying breath. No use putting it off, and besides, she was a keeper. “I came to ask if your offer to teach still stood.”

  Lira’s hand hesitated as it slid across the page, and then she looked up. She blinked slowly, hazel eyes focusing on Eris. Then she sighed.

  In that moment, Eris knew the answer.

  “When I saw the power you wield when we were in the garden—”

  Eris cut her off, rather than letting her finish and tell her she wouldn’t—she couldn’t—teach her. “That’s just it. I can access great power, but don’t know how to use it, not like you. I can delve the roots of the trees—even the elms here in the garden have stories they can share—and even delve the roots of your flowers, but using that energy is another matter. The Sacred Mother knows I don’t even know how to set a proper arrangement, not as you do to focus the power of the garden.”

  The words came out in a rush. Eris noted how Lira simply watched her, palms flat on the table, the fingers of her left hand running over the edge of the pages.

  “Sit, Eris Taeresin.”

  Eris swallowed briefly and then complied.

  “Let me tell you of how I first came to Eliara.”

  Eris frowned. This wasn’t what she expected Lira to say.

  “By now, you’ve likely learned much about the Gardens of Elaysia.”

  Eris shook her head. “Terran has told me what he knows, and I’ve seen memories stored by the forest, but the
re is much I don’t know.”

  Lira smiled. “I’m sure Terran has told you what he can, but the gardens were destroyed before he ever had a chance to see them in full bloom. And your memory would be a pale reflection of what had been.”

  Eris remembered the vision the forest had granted her of a sea of flowers stretching as far as she could see, swirls of colors, each growing deliberately, the pattern only hinted about in those visions. What must it have been like to see those gardens?

  What must it have been like to lose them?

  Eris hadn’t given much thought to the pain Lira must have suffered at the loss of her garden. What grew now—both the within the palace walls and that which resided under the protection of the Svanth—paled in comparison.

  How would Eris feel if the Svanth were to burn? Would she have the strength to rebuild?

  She debated asking Lira about the message in the arrangement, but what would Lira say? Would she be frustrated that Eris had to ask? Lira seemed to expect something of her, almost as if she needed to have some basic knowledge before she would teach.

  But did Eris know what she needed? The Svanth hadn’t explained everything, and Eris didn’t have access to the great Gardens of Elaysia. If she had…perhaps Lira might be a better teacher.

  “I see from your face that you recognize what’s been lost.” Lira sighed, her shoulders sagging slightly. “The order of the keepers existed long before kingdoms ruled these lands. The keeper who instructed me claimed that once, everything around us was the domain of the keepers. Over time, the gardens shrunk, receding to what I remember. And now…now they are nothing. The keepers are gone.”

  “But they aren’t gone. You’re still here. I’m here.”

  Lira forced a smile. “I was not a keeper long when the gardens were destroyed. I had much still to learn, but in those days, I had many teachers. After the gardens were destroyed, most who survived scattered. But not me. I watched my teacher burn. I saw the destruction the magi inflicted.”

  Eris shivered at the darkness in Lira’s voice.