by SunnyJustice » Wed Feb 08, 2017 4:38 pm
Clock Tower
"Goodbye, miss," Ivana said with the same sweet smile. Her expression had never changed, although she was literally boiling with rage. The electricity barely controlled inside her was raising the room temperature several degrees. When the girl finally left, Ivana could not hold back her rage any longer, and she let the electricity surround her with wild bolts.
She was really losing her patience with these disrespectful, immature children. Thinking they could barge straight into her father's tower without any permission.
"I should excuse myself," Ivana said and walked towards the inner exit. "Call me if there is any trouble."
She left the room quickly before she could fry anyone.
---
Mountain Path
Gavotte had to really think about this now. He had so many stories he could tell, but there wasn't a specific one he preferred over the others. Since they were heading to the Sanctuary, and would probably meet Solara... Gavotte decided to tell a story about her. The one about her childhood.
"Have you heard the story about the Great Gardener? This takes place when Solara herself was very young. It goes like this..."
---
"Many, many thousand years ago..."
Tiny fingers clutching the bedsheets, burning dark imprints into the blankets, the young girl woke from yet another nightmare. She knew it was her mother who caused them. It was simply a joke to Agatha, a hilarious prank on her useless plaything. Young Solara had learned not to discuss this with her mother. The icy phoenix would simply beat her, ridicule her, and make the further nightmares worse. It was why her older sister Zelkova was dead.
The doorknob slowly turned. Solara knew her father would be in her room soon. She never made a sound, but he could sense the subtlest of emotions. Quietly, he slipped into her room, outlined in a faint golden glow. She could see the warmth he radiated as he knelt beside her bed.
Juniper was always first to find the suffering. He was compassion incarnate, made to be Agatha's opposite. But not equal. Juniper wasn't always a phoenix. He had once been human, and he had never rivalled his counterpart.
"... Daddy?" Solara whispered. She was only a child, her voice had not yet deepened. She looked and sounded simply as she was- a tiny little girl.
"Sunny, I would never drown you." Juniper's deep, gentle voice was a soft whisper as he reached out and held her tiny hand. He always knew exactly what the nightmare was about. This time, he had laughed as he submerged her in freezing water, but the voice was Agatha's shrill cackle.
Solara slowly moved her small fingers away from the blankets, revealing the blackened hand imprints on the fabric. Solara did not sweat, rather this happened. She looked into Juniper's face, able to see him because of the golden light, and she saw only sympathy. Not anger and not even disappointment. He sat down beside her on the bed and pulled her into his arms. A feeling of calm gently swept through her as her father's healing power slowly took effect.
"... I'm tired, daddy," Solara said as she nestled comfortably into his arms.
"I know."
Her father cradled her, the same way he did when she was a toddler. The same way he did, the day she entered her garden for the first time.
The toddler was blindfolded with her father's healing light as he carried her onwards. Finally they reached an area where the air was fresh and sweet, where the faint breeze carried a pleasant fragrance. He placed the tiny child on the soft ground.
"You can look now," Juniper chuckled as he lifted the blindness. "Welcome to the Celestial Garden."
Awestruck, young Solara stood and gazed upon the heavenly scene of beauty. Waterfalls cascaded down into pools adorned by green and pink things, and the land was covered with a rainbow of colors. The ground beneath her bare feet was green, with small projections that tickled her feet.
"... What is this, daddy?" Solara asked, kneeling down to touch one of the green things. It had four broad, flat pieces, and each one of them turned to face her.
"These are plants, Sunny," Juniper said with a smile. "I created them for you. This one is called a clover. From now on, the clovers with four leaves will represent good luck, because this was the first one you saw."
"... I love them," Solara said and rose to her feet. She surveyed the land, which glowed with life. Every plant reached for her, greeting her with their yearning.
"They love you too. Now run, Sunny," Juniper chuckled and nudged his daughter. She went into the heart of the garden as the plants welcomed her. With each step she took, her footprints were marked as the grass grew even taller in that area. In the center was a grove of sunflowers, guarding a miniature version of the garden itself; every plant grew in that circle of sunflowers, arranged just as Juniper arranged the big garden.
The little girl walked forward, and a sunflower reached towards her to kiss her on the nose. With a smile she reached out to hug it, and it returned her embrace with its leaves.
Juniper was right. Solara loved her garden- and her garden loved her back.
It was too short a time before Agatha burst into the room, snapping Solara out of her pleasant memories. Immediately the little girl was on her feet, protective instincts kicking into overdrive. It was natural for her after Agatha's horrible treatment of Juniper. Solara loved her dad and she couldn't stand seeing people hurting him.
It was her purpose. She was created to be a protector. One day she would fully grow into her role, and bring light to Hesenia. Her father believed in her, and she did not particularly care about her mother's apathetic detachment.
Unlike everyone else in the family, Agatha did not glow. Rather she seemed to sap the light out of the room. Her presence made the shadows surge forward and darken, seeming to come alive with malevolent energy.
"What're you looking at, maggot?" Agatha sneered and took a step forward.
Solara was completely silent. She had not even opened her eyes this entire time, but she could see perfectly. Everything was shining with light in Solara's vision, except Agatha. Her entire figure was darker than dark; only her top half was outlined with the faintest of lights, a sickly green glow. The color of decay and pestilence.
"Leave this room," Agatha snapped at Juniper. "Get the disgrace out of here."
Solara was not facing in her father's direction, but her vision extended all around so she could see him shaking his head. Agatha let out a shrill, humorless laugh. A dark icy glow began to emanate from her hands as she prepared to fire. Overcome with protectiveness, the little girl didn't flinch. The only movement that came from Solara was the gradual rise and fall of her small chest. Not even her deep, even breaths could be interrupted by emotion.
"... Daddy, you can leave," She said slowly, firmly.
Agatha laughed, probably ridiculing the small squeaky voice. Solara's voice matched her tiny size; her height hadn't reached the five-foot mark, and she was built as slender as her father. She had not yet gained the muscle that defined her build in adulthood. Her mother was much stronger by comparison. Juniper didn't stand a chance against her wrath. But Solara wouldn't back down this time.
"You heard the boy," Agatha sneered. "Get yer heinie outta here before I blast both of ya."
Juniper left. Solara caught a glimpse of worry on his face before he was gone. He didn't go far though; Solara could see the golden glow on the other side of the door. She could see through walls with her eyes closed and have no problem. Other people had their eyes opened, yet they lacked the same clear sight. Sometimes the superficial could obscure a person's true vision. People expected to be blind with their eyes closed, so they were blind. They didn't see what Solara saw because they didn't allow themselves to hope.
"What are you?" Agatha demanded, taking a step forward with a harsh laugh. "Thinking you can stand up to me. You're a little candle trying to chase away all the shadows in the world."
Solara simply nodded. She could understand the metaphor, but not the sarcasm behind it. "... That is what I am."
Agatha laughed even harder. "Then yer an idiot. Why do you even try?"
Another deep, even breath. "... It is my purpose."
"Purpose?" Agatha sneered. "No such thing. Yer just a little girl. Nothing ya do can make a difference. Everything you love, I'm gonna destroy it. Just 'cause it's funny. I'm gonna laugh, just like when I destroyed your garden."
Solara remained silent. Not a single disturbance in her slow, rhythmic breathing.
"But it wasn't me who destroyed it," Laughed Agatha. "It was you, hothead."
This memory came as a stab to her heart.
She was no longer a toddler, yet the garden never ceased to give her the same delight. Every day she would play in the flowers as grass tickled her feet, and trees watched over her every move. She would wake with the sun, and run down to the Celestial Garden to meet her best friends- the plants. Every evening she would go home and sleep at sunset, and the next day it would begin anew. The sunshine above cast a warm, gentle glow over the garden, cloaking the young girl with a soft light. She did not cast a shadow; shadows fled from her presence now.
Every morning the sun would rise. Every evening the sun would set. And every day, Solara would play in her garden. Her father's love for her was in every leaf, every flower, every sprout of grass that tilted its blade towards her. The Celestial Garden was made for her, and she belonged here. No trouble would come as long as she loved her garden, and her garden loved her. She would protect this beloved place from anything and anyone.
As she tended to the camellias, she realized something was wrong. Darkness was stirring. The sun was setting, not normally, but rather it was slowly disappearing behind dark clouds. The storm brewing in the distance was approaching fast. Solara stood up, although she was much smaller than the flower bushes. She took a protective stance as the shadows covered the sky, obscuring the sun. Every plant in her garden seemed to droop under the stifling, malevolent darkness.
"I can see ya, lil' twerp," Agatha cackled from afar. Solara heard the painful sound of wood cracking, again and again. She followed the noise through the hemlock hedges until she saw her mother, destroying the hedge itself. Behind her was a wasteland of trees and plants she had already ruined. Tulips and rosebushes were literally shredded, and great sequoias and willows lay on the ground, piles of sawdust and deadwood splinters.
"... Why?" Solara asked quietly, not understanding. Why would anyone want to destroy her beautiful garden?
"Just 'cause it's funny. Why else?"
Solara frowned, taking a step forward. Agatha only continued to ruin the garden, blasting beams of frost that sliced through foliage and flowers, before the ice melted and drenched the mutilated remains. Every plant wilted in her presence, darkening with frostbite.
"What ya want, kiddo?" Agatha sneered. "You want a piece of this?"
"... Leave my garden alone," Solara told her evenly.
Immediately she was met with an icy blast, hurling her into a bush. The branches broke her fall gently and helped her to her feet. Solara could feel heat rising in her chest, but she took deep breaths to keep it down. She was glowing so brightly that even the plants were beginning to flinch from her. She took a step forward again, more carefully.
"Coward," Agatha mocked in her harsh, grating tone. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! You've got great potential to help me out here, kiddo. Chop some firewood for ya ol' mother."
"... No..." The little girl protested quietly, "... Never."
Her heartbeat was accelerating with what could only be anger. This was a dangerous emotion. Juniper had warned her about anger, and the destruction it could bring. Solara in particular could never grow angry. The consequences would be dire. But this wasn't even her own anger, it was fury born from a deep darkness that had entered her at Agatha's attack.
"Do you feel it?" Agatha chuckled. "Welcome the anger in. Let it consume you."
The fiery glow surrounding the tiny girl grew more intense with each frenzied heartbeat, until her light no longer healed the plants, but rather burnt them until not even ashes remained. Solara shook her head, desperately fighting against the rage that threatened to control her. It was not her own, yet it was her own. The anger was inside her and she was losing the battle. No, no... she could not destroy her garden like this. It was hers to protect, hers to love. Yet anger could tear down everything that love had built. She couldn't let this happen.
Taking a last deep breath, she prepared herself, and leaped at her mother.
"... I didn't mean to," Solara said quietly. Every flower and blade of grass had been her friend. And she had ruined the Celestial Garden, the paradise her father created as a token of his love. She was trying to protect it from Agatha, but-
"But you destroyed it anyway. Burnin' down the garden you loved so much, ya poor kid." Agatha mocked, walking closer and tickling Solara's chin with her cold dead fingers. "Some love. Betcha it was at least a lil' bit funny, watching those sissy flowers go up in flames."
Solara shook her head and continued to take deep breaths. You are the master of your emotions, they are not the master of you, Juniper would always tell her.
"That's what will happen to everything ya love," Agatha said with a smirk. "You were never created for love. Tell me, does anyone love you?"
Solara didn't know what to respond. Agatha's icy touch sent shivers of apprehension through her skin, and her presence projected images in her mind she didn't want to see. She saw her garden burnt to a crisp, sparing nothing, every last bit of life obliterated. She saw her father on an endless cliff, and as she reached out for him, he turned away in horror and opted instead to step over the edge. Worst of all, she saw Hesenia covered by a shroud of eternal darkness that suffocated everyone but the darkest shadow itself: Agatha. The war-scorched ground was cracked and broken, with fissures leading to the underworld itself. Ruined buildings loomed in the distance, beyond the slightest recognition. The grim remains of dead trees reached towards the empty skies, like ghostly hands clawing out of their graves. Not even the sun would rise.
It brought her back to that night- that night she said goodbye to her garden.
Gradually, the red haze of fury cleared from her sight. The faint breeze lifted her wispy locks of dark hair, but it no longer carried the fragrance of flowers. Instead, the smell of smoke lay heavily over the garden. Not even the wind would blow it away. The garden... where was the garden?
Solara walked down a path lined with what seemed to be barbed-wire fences, convoluted and harshly outlined. The brittle, lifeless skeletons of giant structures loomed overhead. Small, blackened blades pricked at her feet and crumbled underneath her toes. There was an air of familiarity about this eerie place.
She arrived at a ghastly display of scorched tendrils, frozen in place like petrified talons. It took several minutes until the cold realization dawned on Solara. This was where her camellias used to be. This entire place was her garden. The 'barbed wire fences' were the remains of the hedges. The ruined structures were the trees. The carpet of grass was burnt beyond recognition, along with these bushes.
Agatha was gone from this place. But it wasn't Agatha who blazed the Celestial Garden into ruin.
It was Solara herself.
She reached out towards the lifeless bush. Her touch made it crumble into ash. It had borne flowers simply to bring a smile to her face, and she had destroyed it. No longer would the bushes cheerfully reach their leaves towards her, no longer would the trees cradle her in their branches, no longer would the vines coil around her in their playful embrace.
This was what anger could do.
"No," Crooned the cold darkness which refused to leave her alone. "This is what you can do."
"... No..." Almost silently, she knelt beside the ruined bushes.
"Doesn't this make you angry, little one? Take that anger and let it grow." Her heart began to pound again. "Take revenge... destroy everything in sight! That will show Agatha who's boss!"
"... Never again," Solara promised, bowing her head. She would not cave in. She would not give up. No matter what the voice said, she refused to grow angry. Her heart gradually slowed down to its normal pace, and her breathing was no longer troubled, despite the stifling smoke that coiled through the ghostly remains of her garden.
That night she went home in silence, and the sun did not rise the next morning.
"Do your friends love you? Does your daddy love you? Does Hesenia love you?" Agatha's relentless questions bombarded Solara as she stood, silently transfixed by the nightmarish scenes and memories. "They'll all be destroyed because of you, just like your garden. I'll ask you again: Does anyone love you?"
"Agatha, that's enough." Juniper's voice shattered the trance as he re-entered the room. "Do what you wish with me, but please let Sunny go."
"You don't love her, do you?" Agatha sneered as she grabbed Solara by the collar. The girl refused to flinch or struggle, despite the coldness lingering in her veins. She simply stood firmly and held her ground. This was just like another nightmare. She couldn't take Agatha's hideous lies to heart.
"How could you question my love for my daughter?" Juniper said, more hurt than angry. But Solara could hear the fury just beneath the surface. She had never seen her father angry before.
"If you didn't nurture her, she would become just like me." Agatha cackled as she pulled tighter on Solara's collar. "You fear it. You fear her destroying everything. Isn't that right? Is there anything wrong about my words?"
Slowly, Juniper shook his head. "But you worded that so carefully-"
"It doesn't matter. I'm right, just admit it." Agatha roughly threw Solara aside. The girl slammed into the floor, but she immediately stood back up and took a step towards her mother. The icy chill flooding her body was nothing compared to her protective instincts, which ran hot through her blood. Agatha was now confronting Juniper, getting up in his face. Although Juniper was tall, he lacked any kind of muscle- he was very fragile compared to Agatha.
"Yes, but-"
The slap turned his head sharply to the side. Any harder and she might have snapped the father phoenix's neck. Overcome with protectiveness, Solara would have lunged at Agatha if not for Juniper's gesture. The faintest shake of his head.
"You fear her. You've seen what she can do. She destroyed your garden, and you fear she will destroy everything else." Agatha said almost gently, placing a hand on his cheek, the same spot she had slapped him across his face. "She ruined the gift you gave to her. You've got no grounds to disagree with me on."
Juniper said nothing.
"There is no more Garden of Eden because of evil, and that evil is inside your precious lil' Sunny." Agatha laughed victoriously. Her hand rose to slap Juniper again, but he reacted fast and caught her wrist.
"You placed that evil there." Juniper's voice was dangerously calm. "You can fight me, but never hurt our daughter again."
With a nonchalant cackle, Agatha slammed Juniper into the nearest wall, then made her way towards the door. Just before leaving, she turned to Solara with a sweet little smile. "And remember, dearie. You were never created for love. You're closer to a machine than a human- and love was never programmed into you."
The door slammed shut.
Immediately, Juniper took Solara into his arms. There was a conspicuous body-shaped indent where he had slammed into the wall, and he was trembling slightly. "I'm so sorry, Sunny," He sobbed as he cradled his tiny daughter. "I cannot lie, and she worded everything so carefully that it was true."
"... You fear me?" She whispered as the cold darkness gripped her small body tighter.
Juniper ran a hand through her hair. "I fear what you could have become," He confessed, "If you followed the wrong path. But Sunny, that cannot happen. You are light itself. You cannot turn to the side of darkness."
"... Daddy, do you love me?"
"More than anything, my baby girl," Juniper told her. "Why would you ever ask that?"
She was silent.
"Do not worry," He whispered, closing his eyes. "I can see your love too, Sunny. You express it with your protectiveness. Your love glows with the same light as you do- it is pure, because it is unconditional. You will give anything to defend those you love. You would have given anything to defend your garden."
Solara nodded, nestling her head into his chest. She was certain she loved her father, and her garden. She never, ever wanted either to come to harm. Yet she couldn't protect Juniper from Agatha, and she couldn't even protect her garden from herself. If protecting Hesenia was her purpose... why was she unable to perform her one job?
"You are still young. There is still time. As you mature, you will be irreplaceable as a protector," Juniper told her. His eyes were still closed; Solara knew about his ability to read someone's emotions so carefully, he could glimpse their innermost thoughts. Even the thoughts of Solara herself, who was never endowed with a full set of proper emotions. He could understand her better than she understood herself.
"Of course I understand, Sunny," Juniper whispered. "It is my purpose. Now sleep. I will teach you a valuable lesson today." He placed his hand on her cheek, sending a peaceful feeling through her until it carried her into unconsciousness.
"Hey, sunflower!" Aeliana screeched from outside, her shrill soprano shriek making the window glass vibrate. "Come out and play, or I'm gonna smash your window with a gale!"
"You're making a bad choice, sunshine," Mariana teased. "There will be consequences for this!"
Terentia's deep, reasonable voice was unmistakable from her sisters' tones. "Let's go. Sunbeam's not coming."
"Triplet tower!" Aeliana ordered. "Mariana, you climb on top of Terentia's shoulders!"
Solara had not budged from her bed, where she had confined herself. Here she could not destroy much. She wouldn't test herself either. She refused to even let the sun rise. After what she did to her beloved garden, she could not risk trusting herself. Agatha plagued her with horrid dreams, but Solara endured them nevertheless. She could never let them kindle her anger again, no matter what. It was for the good of Hesenia.
Aeliana was swaying back and forth as she banged on the window. She was no doubt standing on Mariana, who was standing on Terentia. Solara shook her head at her sister.
"I'm about to fall, watch out!" Mariana yelped as they all toppled over. Aeliana screamed as she hit the ground loudly, and Terentia simply grunted. Solara rose out of bed and went to the window. Her sisters were lying in a heap on the ground, looking dazed but otherwise unharmed.
"Let's get out of here," Mariana snapped. The sisters gathered themselves and left, probably to embark on one of their other asinine marathons.
Solara returned to her bed and lay down. She needed to ensure she would never hurt her loved ones again, but how? Her mind kept returning to her destroyed garden, burnt into oblivion by her own blind anger. Love had not stopped her from reducing that beautiful haven to ruins. The passion of rage had sent the entire garden up in flames.
"Take revenge, take revenge," Whispered the dark voice.
Solara should have asked her father for assistance. Maybe the voice would leave her alone if she revived. But it seemed wrong to ask for help from Juniper, when she had destroyed his garden. He created it out of love, and she destroyed it by a moment's hatred. He looked upon her with nothing but compassion, and had offered her nothing but support, but Solara could only imagine how deeply she had wounded him.
"There is nobody left who loves you," The voice kept speaking. "Destroy it all... At least you can teach Agatha a lesson."
At this point, she was beyond even acknowledging the voice. Nothing it said could affect her actions. Solara would never let the anger get the best of her again. No matter how enraged anything made her, she would not go back on her promise.
"... Never again," She had vowed on the ruins of her garden.
And never again would she commit such an atrocity, indeed.
The young girl was blindfolded with her father's healing light as he carried her onwards. Finally they reached an area where the air was ominous and stifling, where the faint breeze carried the sharp smell of smoke. He placed the tiny child on the soft ground as she stirred from her slumber.
"You can wake up now," Juniper said as he lifted the blindness. "Did you miss the Celestial Garden?"
Petrified, young Solara stood and gazed upon the hellish scene of destruction. The cascading waterfalls had dried up, leaving deep scars in the barren rock, and the land was covered with a spectrum of blacks, browns, and greys. The ground beneath her bare feet was dark with dead grass, brittle and sharp underneath her feet.
"... Why are you showing me this, daddy?" Solara asked, kneeling down where her clover once was. There was no trace the tiny four-leaved plant had ever existed.
"This is still your garden, Sunny," Juniper said gently. "I created it for you. I see you remember your good-luck clover. In fact... I see you remember every plant in your garden. Every detail of the plants even."
"... I loved them," Solara said and rose to her feet. She surveyed the land, which was scarred by death. Every plant that had once reached for her, now lifelessly crumbled in her presence.
"They loved you too. Now come with me, Sunny," Juniper whispered and nudged his daughter. They went into the heart of the garden, and Solara remembered how the plants would once welcome her. With each step she took, her footprints were marked as the dead grass crumbled to dust. In the center was the grove of sunflowers, guarding a miniature version of the garden itself; every plant grew in that circle of sunflowers. They had not been incinerated by the fire.
The little girl walked forward, and a sunflower reached towards her to kiss her on the nose. With a haunted expression she reached out to hug it, and it returned her embrace with its leaves.
Juniper was right. Solara loved her garden- and her garden still loved her back.
But at this point, did she deserve their love?
"You do, Sunny. You had nothing but the purest intentions to protect your garden." Juniper picked her up and carried her through the sunflowers, towards the sound of running water.
"... I should not be here," Solara told him. "... What if the anger comes back?"
"It will not." Juniper sat down on a rock, dangling his bare feet in the clear waters. "When Agatha attacked you, she put darkness in you. It stayed inside you this entire time, yet you never gave in again. Not even when she strengthened the evil today. The anger was not your own."
"... It was Agatha's?"
He ran his fingers through her hair. "Yes. And the darkness is gone now. I am sorry for killing you, Sunny, but over-healing is the only way to cure Agatha's curse. Can you forgive me?"
Juniper must have killed her in her sleep, and she hadn't realized. "... What would I forgive you for? You were just helping me. But I forgive you, daddy."
"Thank you, Sunny." Juniper began to braid her hair with one hand. He was skilled and nimble enough to accomplish that. "The lesson for you today is exactly that. Forgiveness. Your garden forgives you. It is okay to make mistakes, as long as you do not repeat them. There is great danger in anger. It will take you on the wrong path, and that path leads only to destruction."
"... I won't," Solara told him firmly. "I'll never destroy any garden again- I will not harm a single blade of grass. I will protect this place. I will protect all of Hesenia so nothing like this happens again."
"That's my little girl." There were tears in Juniper's eyes as he looked down upon her. "You are fire, but I want you to be known for warmth and light, never for destructive power. I believe in you, Sunny. I know you will bring life and not death to Hesenia. Good will triumph, no matter how powerful the evil."
"... Thank you, daddy... I will prove you right. Can I fix what I have done?" Solara asked him.
Juniper chuckled warmly and placed Solara down beside him. "You could have fixed it a long time ago, my sunshine. Take my hand, and let the sun rise."
She let her feet dangle in the warm water. Small fish darted in the shallows and would occasionally nip at her toes. She placed her hand in her father's, and took a deep breath. As a new dawn broke over the garden, Solara let her warm glow intertwine with her father's healing light, and she watched as it spread out through the garden. When the light died down, she rose to her feet and exited the heart of the garden.
As she pushed through the sunflowers, which patted her on the back encouragingly, she marveled at the beauty. Her garden was restored, a living rainbow that danced in the breeze and light. The first thing Solara did was find her clover. She lay down on her stomach and touched the tiny, fragile herb gently.
"... Do you forgive me?"
It wrapped its four small leaves around the tip of her finger. Solara smiled as she lay there, not moving from her place. Agatha was wrong. Solara had always been intended for love. Not the intense romantic passion that humans knew, but rather an unconditional protectiveness that would never fade with time. This was her purpose. This was why Juniper had created her. To defend those who couldn't defend themselves from evil.
"Sunny," Juniper murmured from behind her. "Come with me."
"... Goodbye," Solara told the clover and rose to her feet. She followed her father, until they left the garden's boundaries. Yet they never truly did, for the rest of the world was covered with the same beauty. Forests, jungles, vast fields of grass extending beyond the horizon.
"This is Hesenia," Juniper told her. "What do you see?"
"... My garden," Solara breathed. She could see the humans also marveling at the lush foliage. Normally they would be chasing animals through a barren landscape, but now they were examining plants. One tasted a bitter herb and spat it out in disgust. Another bit into a fruit and called out for the others to come try. Two children were fighting each other with sticks, laughing in delight as their mother carefully ate a dark green vegetable nearby. Even the animals were nibbling at the grass. A wolf shook its head in distaste, and lunged at a nearby deer that was munching clovers. The deer kicked it in the face and continued to eat, a gleam of pride in its eyes.
"... All of this is my garden?" Solara asked her father, craning her head up to look at him. She had promised to never again let her garden come to harm.
Juniper nodded, placing a hand on her shoulder. "All of Hesenia."
"... Then I promise to protect all of Hesenia," Solara vowed solemnly. "This is my purpose. And as surely as the sun rises, I will always keep my promise."
---
Mountain Pinnacle
They had reached the top of the mountain by the time Gavotte finished. The rocky path stretched from one freezing summit to another. Cilan, at the head of the group, was now beginning to lead the way down the other mountain. Gavotte pressed close to Jen for warmth.
"... And that's why Solara loves everybody. Because we all live in Hesenia, which is her Great Garden," Gavotte finished. He had heard the story so many times, and was familiar with it. He knew history like the back of his hand.
It was important to know history, so they wouldn't repeat the worst of it.
Solara knew that very well.
)
