The summer sun was too hot for anyone to be outside without any protection. The layers and layers of protection that I wore were not for the heat, but for the frigid temperatures inside the greenhouse.
I was promoted to tend to the Ice Queen Roses, which meant I worked in a freezer. Every few minutes I stepped outside to warm up. Before sweat beaded on my brow I ventured back inside for my hands to go numb from the cold within seconds.
This section of the greenhouse was built with thick sheets of metal. A spell was carved into the walls that kept the room in frigid temperatures. I started my work day by reactivating the spells. To activate it, I needed to place my hand on the carvings. The cold from the steel passed through my gloves as if I had none at all and turned my hands white.
I wanted to be outside in the heat, but I sucked it up. The pay raise and the rising opportunity in another promotion is too amazing to pass up.
I walked outside to bring life into my fingers, I rubbed them together to hasten the warmth. I stepped back inside. The Ice Queens were neatly placed in long rectangular pots of frozen dirt and created rows for me to walk between and tend to each side. The number of flowers in here did not compare to the amount that blossomed during winter. We're simply keeping these alive for their seeds to replenish Lady Deinans garden for next winter solstice.
I cringed at the sound of metal screeching against metal as the door opened. Von stood in the door frame, he hadn't taken single step into the freezer yet he shivered and turned blue.
"M-M-Mae…" He wrapped his arms around his shoulders.
"Yes?"
"Th-the-theres a little b-b-boy in the shed… Is he y-your s-s-son?"
"I'm really sorry. I hope he's not causing any trouble, my mother is in the market today and my husband works too. I was without a babysitter today."
"I w-wish you would have told me sooner." Von's shivering became more violent.
"Do you want me to step outside?" I asked. I couldn't tell if his bobbing head was from nodding or shivering. It wasn't until he stepped out of the freezer that I took it as a yes.
I followed him outside. Standing next to him I looked like a puffy cloud as I wore three layers of thick coats. The heat outside was too much to bear after a few minutes. I relieved myself of a few layers.
"I wish you would have told me." He said, I opened my mouth to reply but he lifted his hand to stop me. My mouth snapped shut. "As long as he remains in the shed he may stay. Just tell me ahead of time if this happens again..."
"Thank you… He isn't causing trouble is he?" I asked as my heartbeat pounded in my chest with fear.
"He's been asking about lunch."
"Thank you…" I cringed as I had thanked him before. "again…"
If I had told any normal person off the streets that I left my son in a shed they'd take him away from me. Lady Deinans shed was decorated to look like a fancy little living room. There was a brown couch against the adjacent wall, a small wire table with a plate of sandwiches on top and wire chairs placed around it. Paintings gave color to the dull green walls and a window that poured light into the room. This was where Von held interviews for new hires and where the workers go for a break. There was a small corner where I set a blanket and some toys for Dodger.
Dodgers head turned quickly to the sound of the door opening.
"Hi, buddy, it's your mommy."
Dodger's lips quivered then dropped into a pout. His eyebrows furrowed, and he began to cry.
"I'm sorry, I know you're hungry." I lifted him into my arms then walked to the small fridge on the opposite side of the room. I pulled out a sack that was tied around the top and had my name stitched with tan string on the front.
I placed the sack on the table and sat with Dodger on my lap. Mother packed lunch for us the day before, the contents inside were a mystery.
We splayed out plump strawberries, crackers, sliced cheese, and a loaf of bread. Dodger gobbled it up without examining each piece with touch. When he finished eating he slumped into my lap to relax. I felt bad for leaving Dodger in the first place, I hadn't the heart to do it again. I wanted to take him with me but bringing a child into a freezer would be more cruel than leaving him alone.
Von walked in suddenly.
"V-von…" My legs shook as I stood. He strictly told me just ten minutes before that Dodger must stay in the shed. "Dodger is really bored, and scared to be by himself… I-uh I-I did finish with the ice roses, I was thinking that maybe I could take him with me to tend to the rest of the garden."
Von rolled his eyes. Before he said anything I quickly spoke up.
"I'll keep a really good eye on him!" I said.
"Fine. But if he ruins one thing that's on you." He pointed his boney finger at me.
"Thank you!" I picked up Dodger and ran outside to finish the rest of my work.
I assisted the other gardeners in the courtyard with the weeding. We worked cautiously to avoid Lady Deinans fearful gaze. Von had instructed me during training to hide when Lady Deinan was near so we don't obstruct her view of her precious plants. Even from a great distance, we hid. If I could see her then she could see me, and she doesn't stroll through her garden to gaze wondrously at dirty poor girls. She can visit Arvon'te's dirty slums for that.
This task of hide and seek was difficult more so because I had Dodger with me. I had to pull him this way, tug him that way, and pick him up every few seconds to keep him out of view. My back ached from all the twisting and turning.
In a little flat, grassy area between a few trees I placed Dodger gently on the ground out of obvious sight.
"I'm going to take care of these bushes over here. You can still hear me." I took the shears and pulled the handles apart, they shrieked open. The shears clicked when I snapped them shut, now Dodger knows what to listen for if he thinks I'm too far away.
I returned to work by trimming the hedges and watering the plants. Dodger remained in his spot. I turned quickly to check up on him after ten minutes of work. He was feeling the grass and the tree branches. He looked content. Another couple minutes of work and I turned my attention to him again. Dodger had laid his head down on the grass, his eyes shut. His tiny tummy moved up and down as he hummed peacefully in his sleep.
Work went by quickly while Dodger slept. I didn't need to check on him every ten minutes. The reassurance he would stay still and not harm anything in his sleep helped me focus.
Lady Deinan had walked into the courtyard and sat inside the gazebo that peered over the pond. She had a stack of mail and placed it next to her on a table crafted from thin wires. It was seconds later when her maids served tea in a porcelain teacup with blue flowers painted on the rim. She enjoyed reading her mail outside. With a garden like this I'd never go inside either but it sure made it a pain in the ass to work and dodge her.
I returned to my work, shoving grass clippings into a bag for mulch and compost. Staring back up from over the hedge, Lady Deinin was draped across the table, her shoulders moving up and down. Slight sounds were drowned out by distance.
Was she crying? I wonder what made her so upset?
A small itch in my brain told me to check up on Dodger, when I turned around he wasn't in his designated spot. My heart raced, I dropped low to get a better angle. Underneath the hedges were twigs and two beady eyes of a brown dragon, but no Dodger.
I jumped up, but stayed low to hide from Lady Deinan. My eyes wandered over every leaf, around every tree, and through the branches of bushes, Dodger wasn't anywhere. When I thought my heart couldn't pound harder, I turned towards the gazebo. Dodger had walked up to Lady Deinan and she acknowledged him. My heart dropped into my stomach and my throat tightened to suppress a wail of shock.
Dodger lifted his stuffed Chimera towards Lady Deinan. Her back was to me, I couldn't see her face but I could tell that she hesitated by a slight movement of her hand. I sprinted to Dodger and stopped abruptly when Lady Deinan took his offer then rubbed his cheek gently.
"L-Lady Deinan." She turned around. I bowed. "I'm so sorry, I hope my son wasn't a bother!"
I rounded Lady Deinans chair and stood behind Dodger. My hands rested on his shoulders, ready to pick him up and run away. I felt as if I would drop if my knees wouldn't stop shaking. Lady Deinan's eyes were red and glimmered with tears. She sniffled before speaking.
"He is no bother… What a sweet little boy." She said with sincerity in her voice.
Working in the garden, avoiding her gaze, I've only made out her ghostly white hair. From the horror stories I've heard about Lady Deinan, I imagined her to have large green warts protruding from a beak like nose, deep wrinkles in her pasty skin, and thick hairs randomly poking out of her chin. But she was beautiful. Her skin was tight and shone from the oils she must have used to keep her aged face looking young. She wore eyeliner and lip gloss that glistened over pink lips. She smelled of the flowers that bloomed from the Fairy Tree, the scent was unique. It had a sweetness that matched the taste of gummy treats covered in sugar.
"Thank you." My eyes wandered to the letter that made her cry. It had the royal seal imprinted in white wax but the words were too small to read. I minded my own business and took Dodger away after Lady Deinan gave me his chimera back.
~~
The events from today had my heart pounding. Lady Deinan's garden means everything to her, if Dodger had done anything to cause the head of a single flower to fall I'd be fired, or so Von would say if he were here. I'm starting to think differently about Lady Deinan.
The door creaked open. Daniel wasn't home yet and neither was mother. It was just me and Dodger. They'd be here soon enough and hungrier than ever. I took Dodger to the water pump down the street and filled a cauldron. As I had to carry the heavy pot with both arms, Dodger grabbed onto my dress to be safely directed back home.
The water boiled, the bones from the roast we bought last week made a nice gravy. I strained the bones and the other bits that floated to the top, then added flour, salt, and pepper until the consistency was thick. The potatoes plopped in as I cut them into small squares and the carrots into thick slices.
As I prepared the dinner by the fire, Dodger sat on the floor playing in the soot from yesterdays fire as Robber pawed playfully at Dodgers fingers. Dodger brushed his hair from his nose and smeared ash across his face.
Dinner was done, and I took it off the fire then transported it to the kitchen to cool. The steam lessened.
"Here, try this." I said to Dodger, I dipped the wooden spoon into the stew and fished out a carrot. I brought the spoon to Dodgers mouth, he sniffed then ate it. He hummed with amusement. "Good?"
The door burst open.
"Mae!" Daniel ran to the kitchen door looking frantic.
"What is it?"
"The queen is dead."
"What! How did she die?" I asked. Daniel lifted the newspaper and waved it.
"A disease, she's been sick for awhile now. It seems she lost the battle."
"I guess it makes sense then…"
"Excuse me?"
"Lady Deinan was in the garden crying today. She had a letter from the royal house. Being a lady and all she must have been close to the queen."
"That's so unfortunate…"
Daniel left the kitchen and returned to the living room to relax and finish his paper. Mother returned home shortly after with the same news.
We ate dinner and went to bed after reading bedtime stories to Dodger.