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Authors: Nathalie Mallet
Tags: Fantasy
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I assumed that there were more of these stoves placed throughout the conservatory. On sunless days and cold winter nights, these kept the conservatory warm enough for the plants to survive. A rustling of leaves on my left made me look in that direction. "Milo?"
"Yes, my lord," Milo answered from my right.
I turned left, where the sound came from. For a second I thought I saw a woman staring at me. But when I looked closer I saw nothing there but foliage. Still I could swear I'd caught a glimpse of someone: a pale-faced girl with mousy brown hair, rather plain looking despite her striking green eyes.
My curiosity piqued yet again; I walked toward the area where I thought I had seen her. Cutting through a thick groundcover of fern, I left this artificial jungle and entered a rose garden. A heady tea scent choked the air; it was so powerful that it was nauseating. I tried taking shallow breaths while gazing at the roses. They came in all colors, varieties, and forms. This was a stunning collection. As I was admiring the shrubs, I noticed that the one growing beside the pathway had a broken, dangling branch. This seemed out of place in this otherwise perfectly manicured garden. Once I got closer to the shrub, I saw a fluff of brown fur stuck in its thorns. I heard a rustling of leaves behind me; I turned and watched Milo emerge from the bushes.
"There you are," he said, joining me by the rose shrubs. "What's that—brown hair?"
"You think it could belong to one of the king's hounds?" I whispered, rolling the fur between my fingers.
Milo kneeled down a short distance from me. "My lord, by the size of these tracks it would have to be a very big hound."
I moved to Milo's side and looked down. "LORD!" I exclaimed upon seeing the imprint; it was twice the size of my foot. "What animal can make such a print?"
"A big nasty one," Milo ventured before inspecting the rest of the area. "My lord, I see another track over there."
We both rushed to it. This new imprint was made in softer soil, therefore it was clearer.
Milo placed his hand beside the print. "Look at those claw marks. They are as long as my fingers. What monster is this?"
"I don't know, but if we follow its tracks we might discover clues about its nature."
A brief search uncovered a third track, then a fourth farther away. However, we failed to find a fifth one.
"My lord, come see this!"
"You found a track, Milo?"
"No, I found a flower garden."
Quickly passing through the bushes where I had been seeking tracks, I joined Milo. In front of us was a neatly arranged little garden. For most people, it probably looked like any common flower garden, but to my expert eyes it was far more than that.
"This is an herbalist's garden," I said, eyes roaming over the vast selection of medicinal herbs growing here: caraway, chamomile, rosemary, and sage, to name a few. This garden contained all the ingredients needed to make cures for a broad variety of ailments. However, some of these herbs were also used to make magical potions and spells. A beautiful stem of mauve flowers captured my attention. Or to make poison . I shook my head in disbelief. The king had made such a scene over my almonds, and all this time he had true poison growing inside his keep.
I pointed out the plant to Milo. "See that flower at the back."
"Yes. Pretty."
"Indeed. But also deadly. It's commonly called foxglove. Its true name is digitalis; its essence has a sweet sugary taste that if added to desserts or to sweeten tea is undetectable . . . and mortal."
"Could the flower be grown just for its beauty?" Milo asked.
"In a different garden I could believe that. In this one—no. Whoever planted this garden only chose useful plants. And as far as I know digitalis's only use is to make poison."
"Maybe we should warn someone about this, my. . . . " Milo's words were buried by the flapping sound of a hundred wings, as all the birds in the conservatory took flight at once. When the birds finally
"Yes, my lord," Milo answered from my right.
I turned left, where the sound came from. For a second I thought I saw a woman staring at me. But when I looked closer I saw nothing there but foliage. Still I could swear I'd caught a glimpse of someone: a pale-faced girl with mousy brown hair, rather plain looking despite her striking green eyes.
My curiosity piqued yet again; I walked toward the area where I thought I had seen her. Cutting through a thick groundcover of fern, I left this artificial jungle and entered a rose garden. A heady tea scent choked the air; it was so powerful that it was nauseating. I tried taking shallow breaths while gazing at the roses. They came in all colors, varieties, and forms. This was a stunning collection. As I was admiring the shrubs, I noticed that the one growing beside the pathway had a broken, dangling branch. This seemed out of place in this otherwise perfectly manicured garden. Once I got closer to the shrub, I saw a fluff of brown fur stuck in its thorns. I heard a rustling of leaves behind me; I turned and watched Milo emerge from the bushes.
"There you are," he said, joining me by the rose shrubs. "What's that—brown hair?"
"You think it could belong to one of the king's hounds?" I whispered, rolling the fur between my fingers.
Milo kneeled down a short distance from me. "My lord, by the size of these tracks it would have to be a very big hound."
I moved to Milo's side and looked down. "LORD!" I exclaimed upon seeing the imprint; it was twice the size of my foot. "What animal can make such a print?"
"A big nasty one," Milo ventured before inspecting the rest of the area. "My lord, I see another track over there."
We both rushed to it. This new imprint was made in softer soil, therefore it was clearer.
Milo placed his hand beside the print. "Look at those claw marks. They are as long as my fingers. What monster is this?"
"I don't know, but if we follow its tracks we might discover clues about its nature."
A brief search uncovered a third track, then a fourth farther away. However, we failed to find a fifth one.
"My lord, come see this!"
"You found a track, Milo?"
"No, I found a flower garden."
Quickly passing through the bushes where I had been seeking tracks, I joined Milo. In front of us was a neatly arranged little garden. For most people, it probably looked like any common flower garden, but to my expert eyes it was far more than that.
"This is an herbalist's garden," I said, eyes roaming over the vast selection of medicinal herbs growing here: caraway, chamomile, rosemary, and sage, to name a few. This garden contained all the ingredients needed to make cures for a broad variety of ailments. However, some of these herbs were also used to make magical potions and spells. A beautiful stem of mauve flowers captured my attention. Or to make poison . I shook my head in disbelief. The king had made such a scene over my almonds, and all this time he had true poison growing inside his keep.
I pointed out the plant to Milo. "See that flower at the back."
"Yes. Pretty."
"Indeed. But also deadly. It's commonly called foxglove. Its true name is digitalis; its essence has a sweet sugary taste that if added to desserts or to sweeten tea is undetectable . . . and mortal."
"Could the flower be grown just for its beauty?" Milo asked.
"In a different garden I could believe that. In this one—no. Whoever planted this garden only chose useful plants. And as far as I know digitalis's only use is to make poison."
"Maybe we should warn someone about this, my. . . . " Milo's words were buried by the flapping sound of a hundred wings, as all the birds in the conservatory took flight at once. When the birds finally
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