Chapter 6
Shades On
I squeezed my eyes shut at first–the light outside was too much. As I waited to get accustomed to the brightness after weeks underground, I basked in the gentle breeze on my face and the warm sun on my skin. The fresh, rich scent of a forest filled my lungs.
My eyes watered when I opened them, and not just because of the bright daylight.
I found myself in a forest of evergreens–pines, spruces, and firs stood tall around me.
The sky, blue and cloudless, was peeking between the treetops.
Two birds darted across, chasing each other with excited chirps. Insects buzzed on their merry way.
The idyllic beauty made a sob rise in my throat–until I noticed what the elves were wearing.
Sunglasses. Karim and Tisvali had Terminator-style shades.
I faked a cough to cover up my fit of giggles.
“You all right?”
I looked back at Deidre. She didn’t wear sunglasses, perhaps because her human eyes were better adapted to daylight. She gave me an amused smile.
“Yes, just adapting to the fresh air,” I said, voice low like hers had been.
“Move as quietly as you can,” Karim told me. “Our surface territory is unguarded during the day.”
I nodded. Fear seeped into me, erasing all thoughts of laughter and tears at nature’s beauty. This was the post-apocalyptic world, not a leisurely stroll in the forest. If the elves were weary, I should be terrified.
Karim signaled us to start moving. I had him on my right side, Tisvali on my left, and Deidre at some distance in front of me. They each moved in a slight crouch, matching my pace, arrows at the ready.
My pace was slower than usual since I wasn’t used to walking barefoot and hadn’t stretched my legs this long since my capture. I also took my surroundings in, should this be the last time I ever set foot outside. Who knew if they’d let me live if the edelweiss didn’t survive?
The more I looked, the more certain I got where we were.
The combination of evergreen plant species was distinctive, suggesting human interference rather than a natural forest, and I noticed trail markers on some trees and large stones.
This was a nature reserve, and I knew of one located several hours on foot from the University Botanic Garden.
This had to be it. If I had the opportunity to run away…
The elves didn’t seem to be paying attention to me.
They kept a shades-protected eye on their respective perimeter, scanning the forest left, right, back, and up.
No one looked where they were stepping. Given that this forest was above their home and they had guard duty out here, I supposed they knew every inch of it.
We had walked for around ten minutes when Deidre left our formation. In the blink of an eye, she went up a pine and disappeared in the dense foliage high up. I looked at Karim, the question what was happening written on my face.
He surveyed the perimeter once more before stopping and turning to me. He pointed ahead to the left of the tree Deidre had climbed on.
At first, I noticed only a large yellowish fungus growing out of a nearby pine. Then my gaze slid down, and there, atop a moss-covered flat rock near the base of the tree, I saw a tiny white flower with a yellow center. The tiniest of edelweisses I had ever seen–real or photographed.
Truly breathtaking.
I went to crouch next to it. “Hello there, beautiful.” I carefully examined the way the flower was attached to the soil. “Aren’t you a tiny miracle?”
“Jesus, she’s talking to the flower,” Tisvali whispered to my left.
I ignored him, because now was not the time to explain that plants reacted to frequent speech directed at them, including music.
Classical music, in particular, had been found to stimulate plant health in some studies, but all I could offer this unique specimen were kind words. Hopefully, that would aid its survival.
And ease my nerves about the task at hand.
“You have found yourself a comfy spot, gorgeous,” I said softly as I determined where all the roots went. I would need a knife to dig around the roots and some of the original soil to transplant the flower. “Karim, I will need a–Prince Karim, I–”
He was already kneeling next to me and handing me a dagger.
I stared at the shiny blade with symbols etched into its smooth surface and gold handle. Where did that dagger come from? The only weapon I’d seen on him was his bow.
“Just Karim,” he told me, keeping his voice down. He had removed his sunglasses and had a soft smile playing on his lips.
“Umm.” I couldn’t talk, couldn’t think. I was mesmerized by his face, a breath away from mine, lit up by that smile. Gone was the stern expression he’d worn; excitement shone in his dark eyes now.
“The dagger. It is what you need, correct?”
Right! “Yes, thank you.”
I took the weapon from him with slightly trembling fingers. He was trusting me with a weapon and with a delicate flower. I didn’t want to break his trust.
“I need somewhere to place–”
He was already reaching for the quiver on his back. He pulled out a cylindrical container like the diploma tube I had from university but made of glass. Water sloshed at the bottom. “Will this do?”
“It’s perfect,” I assured him. “But I would suggest…” I hesitated, but encouraged by his smile, I continued more confidently. “You should replace the water inside with some moss and soil from where the roots are. The edelweiss does not like overwatering; several drops on the soil would suffice.”
He nodded, visibly pleased.
“Should I put the water drops here?” He pointed with his long, sharp nail at a section of the moss close to the flower.
“Asi.”
“How many drops?”
“Four or five, I’d say. One drop more or less should not be fatal.”
The serious tone with which he’d asked the question and the delicate way he measured exactly four drops of water, warmed my heart. He, a creature with the strength to lift a car, was now being as gentle with the flower as a mother was with her newborn.
“You put the moss inside along with the soil,” Karim told me once he’d gotten rid of the excess water. “I do not trust my hands.”
I bit my lip. “If I fail and this plant dies… Will I get executed?”
His gaze softened further. “No one is executing you, Jasmine. Go ahead without fear.”
I believed him. I didn’t know how, but I knew he was a man of his word. Or I was simply dazzled by his looks, his closeness, and the power behind his use of my name. Only time would tell. But I would give this replanting my all either way, because the edelweiss deserved my best.
First I prepared the flower’s means of transportation. Karim held the glass container upright and steady as I filled it with the necessary ingredients. Then I proceeded to the most delicate stage: uprooting the specimen.
“Come on now, little flower,” I spoke to my patient throughout. “A whole new world awaits you. You will probably have some company there, new friends to make–”
“Yes, you will,” Karim joined in. “You will have your own special place in my home but still have many friends nearby. You will be cherished, little one.”
I choked down the emotions stirred by his words and the lyrical qualities of his voice. It wasn’t right to crave being the one Karim was talking to.
To be cherished, to have a home and friends–those were things I could no longer experience, so it was normal to desire them.
But it wasn’t normal to wish to have them with an elf by my side.
I had to remind myself that these beings killed humans.
They didn’t consider us their equals. There could never be an us.
“There you go, beautiful,” I whispered when the edelweiss was free from its place. “Work with me now and hop right in. Almost there…”
I slowly placed the flower in the container Karim held for me. I felt like a scientist expecting her experiment to blow up in her face any second. Karim watched my every move as if under a microscope.
So far, so good…
“Done!” The edelweiss was nestled safely inside the container, and the lid was back on. I could breathe more easily now. Karim’s pleased smile my way made me grin as I left the flower in his hands. “Congratulations, daddy.”
The second I realized what I’d said, my cheeks and ears caught fire. “I–I meant that–your flower–like a baby–”
“It is all right, Jasmine.” In fact, Karim’s smile was broader now. He placed the container into my hands. “You keep it safe until you plant it in my garden, and I will keep you safe along the way.”
My heart skipped a beat at the warmth in his tone and the trust he was placing in me. “Are you sure? What if I trip and break the glass? Won’t it be safer inside your quiver?”
“You are steady on your feet; I saw you move. Even if you drop it, the container is made of an unbreakable crystal.”
“Oh.” I still hugged the container to my chest. I wouldn’t take any chances with this little miracle. I was going to make sure the precious specimen made it safely to its new home.
I got to my feet–
An arrow sank into the ground a few steps away. I jumped back in shock.
It was an elf’s arrow but its fletching was yellow instead of the black I was used to.
I turned to Karim in time to catch him exchanging a heavy look with Tisvali.
“We should climb up,” Tisvali said with urgency, “wait for darkness to fall. We can take them out then.”
“The flower will not survive hours in the crystal.” Karim sounded calm, but his expression had hardened, and the concern on Tisvali’s face was plain to see even with the sunglasses. “We fight.”
“Karim, Deidre’s message says they’re many!”
The Prince did not reply. He knelt before me with his dagger in hand. “Do not move.”
As if I would when a blade was pressed against my thigh.
One quick slash, and my dress acquired a slit from mid-thigh to knee. Giving me the freedom of movement to–
“Run straight, Jasmine. Do not stop until you reach the cave. Do not look back!”
Karim didn’t need to tell me twice. Not when I saw his usual confident look waver and Tisvali add a second arrow to his bowstring.
I ran.