The garden was a welcome sight, a beacon of civilization out in the middle of the wilds. Elijah rushed towards it, mustering the last of his strength not to stumble on the way. It had been three days since he’d had anything to eat, and what water he still carried he was carefully rationing. Even so, he doubted he had all that long before he ran out of that as well.
He’d gone to seek his fortune, setting off with the clothes on his back, a pack full of supplies, and enough coin to get by on for a month. His plan was to set himself up in the next city over and eventually prove to his father that he was more than just an unnecessary second son. The only problem was he lost most of that money two nights in when a cutpurse attacked and made off with all but a few paltry coins.
Also they stole his horse for good measure, leaving him to finish the journey on foot.
Greyarch was much, much further away when you had to walk there, and without a horse or any way to pay for transportation, Elijah had no choice but to glumly trudge on as his supplies dwindled. Either that or return home a failure.
Death out in the wilderness would be preferable.
He’d just about given up hope when he saw that beautifully-manicured garden, completely out of place among the heather and scrubby plants. A garden might have fruit or vegetables he could eat, and maybe even water he could drink. A lot of fancy gardens had fountains, right? As long as the water was fresh, Elijah would be willing to drink out of a birdbath right now. More importantly the existence of it meant people. Someone had to maintain it, and someone had to own it. Perhaps they’d be kind enough to let him rest for a while, maybe even resupply and be on his way.
In better times he might have questioned why such an elegant place was out in the middle of nowhere, but right then he was too hungry, tired, and thirsty to care.
Aside from a plethora of flowers in an array of vivid colors and impressive sizes, there were fruit trees lining the garden path. Elijah reached up and plucked a plum from the nearest one, biting into the fruit. It was far sweeter than any he’d ever tasted before, and before he knew it he’d devoured the first and was reaching for a second.
“…Hello?”
Standing a polite distance away was a silver-haired girl in a black dress, a matching cloak around her shoulders. Her funereal appearance made her seem out of place, a stark contrast to the vibrant color all around her. Since she didn’t seem like a groundskeeper, Elijah assumed that it must have been her property he’d invited himself onto.
“Oh,” he began, face flushing red. “My apologies. I should have asked before taking anything, but I was so hungry that I couldn’t help myself.”
“It’s quite alright. Besides,” the girl added, “you look hungry.”
“Thank you very much, Miss…?”
“Lila. Lila dels Ossos. And you might be?”
“Elijah Hadley,” he said, searching her face for any kind of recognition. Hadley’s Exotic Imports was a purveyor of all manner of fine goods, and surely this girl would have had to availed herself of some. Much as he wanted to prove himself, Elijah wasn’t above riding his father’s coattails a little, especially if it might be to his advantage.
Disappointingly, Lila didn’t react to his name beyond a curtsey and saying how wonderful it was to meet him. As they spoke, she led him to a small patio in the shade of some large fruit trees, motioning to a servant to bring them tea and something to eat. While they waited, Lila spoke of how her family had tended to the gardens for generations, planting and caring for all manner of trees and flowers. As to why they chose to live out in the middle of the wilderness, she was coy.
“My family’s always loved nature,” she said with a smile. “And it’s difficult to enjoy nature in the middle of a big city.”
Fair point, but big cities weren’t the only things there were. The countryside was dotted with all kinds of little towns and farming villages. It’d make a great deal more sense for her estate to be near one of those than it was just out in the middle of nowhere. How did they even support themselves? Where did the staff even come from? There wasn’t a house or an inn for miles.
Before he could ask anything else a platter of all sorts of fruit-filled pastries arrived, along with a pot of a wonderful-smelling floral tea. Smiling, Lila poured him a cup and nodded towards the platter.
“Try the berry tarts. They’re my favorite.”
Picking up a blueberry tart, Elijah bit into it and marveled at how sweet the berries were. Just like the plum he ate a little while ago it was far better than any other fruit he’d ever had.
“You know,” he said earnestly, “If you don’t already, you should think about marketing your fruit. Probably not fresh, we’re too far away from any towns, but maybe in the form of preserves or perhaps pickled…”
Lila just smiled and shook her head. “We can discuss that another time. For now, relax. Enjoy your stay.”
Elijah’s stay, which he only expected to be a day or two, ended up lasting for weeks. He’d intended to ask Lila for enough supplies to make it to the closest town, and perhaps a horse if she had one to spare. All to be reimbursed when he got his feet on the ground, of course.
The thing was, he never seemed to work up the will to do it. He couldn’t bring himself to leave the beautiful gardens or the mysterious girl. He felt at peace there, and the idea of setting out again became less and less appealing by the day. Lila for her part seemed perfectly happy to let him stay as long as he liked. His guess was that she was lonely. Despite talking about her family Elijah never saw any of them, only servants who quietly went about their duties. They might as well have been ghosts.
Slowly his plans began to change. Why struggle to set himself up with a new business in some strange town? Bowing and scraping to his father’s associates, trying to establish contacts of his own, worrying about his bottom line, all for what? His father’s approval? Hardly worth it.
In fact, he’d decided to stay with Lila if she’d have him. He’d learn to garden, to repair things, whatever she wanted him to do. A simple life with her would make him happy.
When he went to ask her permission, she smiled. It was a strange smile, a little too broad and toothy, but that had to be because she was happy.
“So you’ll stay with me? Spend forever with me?”
Forever? That was an odd thing to say. “I mean, if you’re talking about marriage, I suppose we could see where things go. You seem like a lovely woman, and I’m sure you’d make a wonderful wife.”
Still smiling that smile, she took him by the arm. “Come with me, Elijah. There’s something I want to show you.”
Though he was a bit confused, he followed as Lila led him out into the gardens. They stopped in front of the rosebushes, her expression becoming less happy and more strange by the second.
It was actually beginning to remind Elijah of a skull. He edged away a bit while she rooted around in the flowerbeds.
“Since you agreed to stay, I can let you in on my secret. You asked before how I keep the garden so lush, right? Well, here you go.” Lila plucked something round and white, holding it up.
A skull. Covered in soil and threaded through with plant roots. A single daisy poked out of one of the eye sockets. As he gaped at it, horrified, she giggled.
“It’s only fair, you know. The plants here nourished you, so you should pay them back in kind.”
Elijah tried to bolt, but roots had snaked quietly up from the ground, wound their way around his legs and were in the process of pinning his arms. Try as he might to pry himself loose, the roots were far stronger than him. As he was dragged helplessly back to the plum tree he’d taken fruit from when he first arrived, the servants stood silently, watching him.
Only now did he realize they truly were ghosts.
The roots dragged him down, leaving only his head above ground. Lila leaned in close, but instead of the kiss of her lips there was only the clatter of bone.
“Enjoy your stay.”
The plant is a real man-eater.
And Lila's surname (Dels Ossos- Of The Bones) is apt.
That was a good read. I should save that for Halloween.