The Two of Us

Blooming in the Dark

Alice woke up early the next morning, determined to help improve the health of the dying flowers. She had told Sarah where she was going, regardless of her worried statements and protests concerning her safety.

It was still quite early in the morning. The only people awake at this time would be the servants. Alice bent down to touch the dying flowers, carefully examining it. She remembered this flower to be one to only bloom in the dark without any sun. She called for one of the gardeners: a middle-aged man named Simon, before doing anything to the flower.

She shared her knowledge of the plant with him. "Is that so, Your Majesty? High King Peter would be so pleased to hear about this."

Alice beamed at the gardener as she watched him shift the plants into a separate pot. "We should move these indoors, don't you think? But for now, I think we should place it in the shed until it blooms enough to be put on display."

Alice nodded, giving him further tips about taking care of the plant. "If it's okay with you, I'd like to drop by every day to observe the progress." The gardener nodded quickly, "Why of course, Your Highness! That would be most honorable."

Alice grinned at Simon before heading back into the Castle. She entered through the back doors and had walked into Susan on the way to her room. "Alice, you're up so early?"

"Oh, I just went for a morning stroll, that's all." Alice had not questioned Susan about the ball they were hosting next week. She did not know how to approach the subject.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

For most of the day, Peter was busy with his own Court business, so Alice had spent the remainder of the day with Edmund, Lucy and Susan in their library. Lucy was flower pressing while Susan was braiding her hair. Edmund and Alice were in the middle of a serious game of chess. It had been quite a while since Edmund had someone to compete against.

Alice smiled proudly when Edmund was struggling to escape her tactics. "Are you admitting defeat?"

Edmund sighed in embarrassment before nodding slowly. "I hate you."

Alice chuckled, helping Edmund pack up his golden chess set. "Maybe you'll win next time."

"You must be great at chess, Alice. No one has ever beaten Ed in chess before." Lucy chirped, giggling at Edmund, who only glared at her. Alice hadn't spoken to Lucy much at all since she had arrived, but she had the impression that she was a kind, bubbly little girl.

Susan suddenly stopped braiding Lucy's hair, quickly pinning it up. "Lu, Alice, Ed, I'll have to leave to discuss things for next week's occasion. See you theee later." Lucy, Edmund and Alice nodded, all looking at each other.

"I completely forgot about that." Lucy said, standing up. "I still need to get a dress made. Alice, do you mind coming with me?" Alice nodded, as the two girls exited the room, and headed towards the dress maker's room.

"I heard that you went out riding with Peter yesterday." Lucy said, in a whispering voice, which stilled echoed through the hallways.

"Why, yes, I did." Alice said, watching Lucy's face fill with saddness all of a sudden. "Peter never lets me out of the Castle. He says it's not safe. But it's not fair! The furthest I can go is to the gardens, but it's a bore."

"Do you enjoy gardening, Lucy? I heard you helped decorate the garden." Alice expressed, looking out to the garden. "It looks beautiful especially at night. It's simply amazing."

"Oh, I have never seen the garden at night. Peter would never let me out of the Castle at all at night. He says it's dangerous." Of course, as the eldest, Peter was the overprotective one. "Even with all those guards around?" Alice asked, pointing at the large number of guards in the gardens.

"Well, Peter can be very overprotective, trust me." Lucy giggled, as she opened the door to the dressmaker's room. Alice and Lucy were welcomed by a thin, young lady who had a measuring tape in her hand. "Oh, Your Highnesses!" she quickly bowed before suddenly taking measurements for Alice and Lucy.

Lucy asked for a sky blue dress, and a matching hair piece. Alice had no clue what to ask for, so she had many suggestions given to her. The dressmaker offered to make her the best dress in the Castle, since she was to be Peter's wife. "Nothing to outshine Susan's dress, please." Alice whispered before leaving the room with Lucy leading the way.

Lucy suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Alice, I would like to see the garden in the night. Could you possibly sneak there with me after dinner?" Alice nodded, "Of course! It would be nice." Lucy suddenly whispered into Alice's ear. "We have to keep it a secret, though. Peter would kill us." Both girls giggled before heading off into Lucy's room together.

"I'd spend most of my time with Susan, but now that she's preparing for the ball next week, so I have no one to hang out with." Lucy pouted, as Alice re-braided Lucy's hair. "It's alright, Lucy, I'll accompany you. Just come to me anytime." Lucy smiled, thanking her. "You know, Alice, you're very beautiful."

A smile spread over Alice's face. "Oh, I'm flattered, Lucy. You're a beautiful girl, as well." Lucy scrunched her nose, and shook her head afterwards. "No, no. Beautiful is like you and Susan. I'm--- I'm just--- Nothing special," Lucy was clearly upset, but forced herself to smile. "Not compared to you or Susan, at least."

After a few hours, it was time to dine in the hall once again. Alice and Lucy were the last to arrive together. Peter and Alice's eyes met, and they both exchanged sweet smiles. It was the first time Alice and Peter had seen each other for the whole day. Peter motioned her to sit in the seat beside her, and there she sat.

"How are things doing in Court?" Alice asked, taking a seat in the chair beside his. Susan was sittng on her right, and was talking to the others about her plans for next week. Two conversations had been ongoing at the same time. While Susan excitedly spoke, Peter and Alice were murmuring to each other.

"Quite well, actually. We've found solutions for your request of security in Valhalla." Peter said, a smile forming on his face. "Really? Thank you so much, Peter." Alice was now happier than ever. The safety of her people has now increased.

"The King of The Lone Islands is coming, and he is definitely the charmer!" Susan exclaimed, clasping her hands together. Lucy giggled as their Aunt laughed along with Edmund. "Can't believe our Susan is already getting married soon."

After dinner and a bit of chatter, Alice and Lucy had decided to go forth with their plans to sneak out to venture off into the gardens. As Alice had described, the garden was full of bright lights and beautiful flowers. "Wow... I've never seen it at night--- It's just--- S-So much more beautiful than I have ever imagined...."

Lucy was so surprised, her jaw almost hit the floor. For at least half an hour, Alice lead Lucy around the garden. Alice took Lucy to the shed to show Lucy the mysterious flowers she had managed to figure out. "They only bloom in the dark." Alice explained as Lucy looked at them in amusement.

"Flowers that bloom in the dark... Alice, these flowers are beautiful... But no one will see it in the dark.. What a waste. I wish we could display it in the garden, too. Mother would have loved it that way." Lucy set down the flower on the ground gently.

Alice and Lucy quickly turned around when they heard the sound of swords clashing and shouts outside of the shed. The guards were fighting with others. It wasn't just a spar. Intruders? Lucy gasped loudly when she had seen that all the guards had all been knocked out. The enemies were all hooded in black cloaks (one in red), and they were slowly approaching them with swords in their hands.

Lucy hid behind Alice, hand over her mouth. Alice bent down to pick up a couple of gardening tools, throwing them swiftly as if they were daggers, immediately piercing them through their chests. Just as the cloaked men had dropped to the floor, more castle guards had finally arrived to finish them off.

Lucy was hugging Alice's arm, obviously frightened. "Quickly, Lucy, we have to go." Alice dragged Lucy back inside to safety, a little out of breath. They stopped running when the sound of the swords were finally gone. "You alright, Lucy? I swear we could have died back there."

Lucy slowly nodded. "I-I'm alright now, thanks to you." Lucy hugged her tightly, as Susan and Edmund came running to them. "What happened?! What was all that noise?!" Susan and Edmund came out of their rooms, dressed in night gowns and sleepwear.

"We had intruders come in from the back garden," Lucy started, pointing towards the garden, "I swear we could have died, but Alice saved us by throwing knives at them!"

"Maybe you can learn from her." Edmund interrupted, smirking at Lucy. "What were the two of you doing in the garden so late at night, anyway?" Susan asked, eyebrows furrowed. "You both could have gotten seriously injured."

Lucy and Alice only nodded, Alice especially feeling guilty about the whole incident. As she headed back to her room alone, she couldn't help but wonder why the cloaked figures had seemed so familiar.