Wandering about the castle was frustrating as all hell. Who designed this place? Flora was contemplating whether or not murder was still possible after someone was already dead. As far as Flora was concerned, the people responsible for this mess needed to be punished. However, the good thing about the winding hallways of this huge palace was that Flora had yet to run into anyone else in the half hour she had been exploring. Even though she knew that she didn't have any restrictions like back home, Flora still couldn't shake the feeling that she was breaking some rule.
The further that Flora went, the warmer the palace became, and soon the magically produced light turned into pale sunlight shining through the occasional window. The windows were high up on the walls and slanted to brighten up the area. The atmosphere was quickly becoming less intense. The black stone from the mountain was still overwhelmingly present, but it was a lot less suffocating. It felt to Flora like the sunlight was both warming and comforting the stone. For a moment, it seemed like there was life within the rock.
At the end of the hallway, there were two thick glass doors leading outside into what at first looked like a courtyard. Flora pressed a hand against the glass, feeling the chill coming from outside. It was still the last stages of winter, the transitional period before spring would come, so it would be awhile before the weather warmed up. She wasn't even sure what spring would look like in this mountainous area; from reading books in the library, she knew that spring would come a while after what she was used to. Flora hadn't brought anything warm to wear outside, because she wasn't expecting to leave the palace. However, she didn't think it would hurt to take a peek outside for a second.
Pushing the heavy doors outward, Flora stepped into the frigid morning air. She immediately wanted to run back inside, but resolved herself to spend a moment longer looking about the courtyard. The path outside of the palace doors was decorated with beautiful, intricately placed stones, creating a winding path through what would probably become a garden in a few short weeks. There were birdbaths carved out of the black stone, shaped like a strong woman supporting the bowls. Although it was barren right now, Flora supposed that it would look quite stunning in the summer. Maybe she would sit and meditate on one of the metal benches laid around the path.
As she was about to turn and go back inside, Flora caught a whiff of something sweet. She recognized the smell, but was having trouble putting her finger on it. Flora decided that she was going to follow the floral smell down the path and around one of the corners of the palace. As she swung around the corner, Flora beheld a large structure made completely out of glass. The building was about the size of one of the clusters of town houses in the village outside of the palace gates. The walls were fogged up, but Flora could catch a glimpse of green behind the moisture. Flora knew what this was! It was something that she had read about before but had never actually seen in person. This was a green house, and there should be plants growing inside even though it was too cold for them to survive alone.
Excitedly, Flora rushed up to the door on the side of the green house and pushed her way inside. A wave of warm, wet air flowed over her as she entered the house. The smell that she had followed here was now one of many mixing together in the enclosed garden. The walls were lined with shelves of potted plants, many Flora couldn't even begin to name. There was also a variety of flowers planted in a line raised beds, running from one side of the green house to the other. There were a few more rows beyond the first line of beds, a few feet between each one.
Something clicked in Flora as she remembered what the smell was. She had followed the sweet scent of hyacinths into this green house. To her left was a few clusters of the bright flower, in shades of pink, blue, and purple. Flora bent down and sniffed one of the stalks, admiring the spring scent in this cold place. She couldn't wait to examine the flora planted throughout the house. Maybe she could even find a book somewhere to identify and learn about them. This palace was big enough that there had to be a library or two somewhere.
"What are you doing in here?" a small voice snapped behind Flora. She shot upright from her bent position and whirled around to see a young girl with crossed arms glaring at her. "Well?" The girl tapped her boot impatiently as she studied Flora. She was dressed in a plain grey dress, that only went down to her knees. The girl wouldn't have been cold though, because she had a pair of thick stockings tucked into her boots. She flashed Flora an incredulous look as she flipped her long black hair, her pale blue eyes showing her annoyance.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Flora stuttered, "I didn't know that I couldn't come in here." Flora didn't even know why she was explaining herself to a kid. Even if there was the off chance that she was someone important in Leosta, it was extremely awkward trying to explain herself to a literal child.
The girl scrunched her face up in disapproval as she said, "well this is MY green house, and I didn't give you permission to come in here."
Ah, so she thought that she ran this garden. "I'm sorry for trespassing, I just wanted to smell the hyacinth flowers." Flora looked back at the bright, fragrant flowers. "They are one of my favorites."
Lifting a brow, the girl cautiously asked, "you like them?" She walked around Flora and crouched by the bed, smoothing the dirt surrounding the flowers. "They are my mother's favorite."
"I can see why." Flora squatted next to the girl, still patting down the dirt. "Every time I smell them, it reminds me of spring. There used to be a whole row of them by my favorite bench near my room."
"A whole row?" the girl asked, eyes wide. "I've never seen so many before, since their smell can be a lot."
Flora stood up, shrugging her shoulders, "yeah, but because there were so many, the scent would drift all the way up and through my window." The girl mulled over Flora's words, obviously very passionate about flowers. Flora remembered what it was like to have an obsession as a kid. Sometimes, she would talk about something she had learned every second she got, and it was disheartening when the adults around her ignored or shooed her away. All she wanted back then was for someone to share an interest with her, not be annoyed by her enthusiasm. "Are you the one who takes care of all of these plants?"
The girl's eyes brightened, and she puffed out her chest in pride. "Yep, this is my green house so I am in charge of everything in here. Well, except for those herbs on the shelves, those are the physician's." She turned away from the unimportant herbs, focusing on the flowers in the center. "This is where most of the work is. It's really hard keeping them alive and in bloom up here in the mountains, but with this green house, and my expertise, it is a breeze." Pleased with herself, the girl placed her hands on her hips, allowing Flora to bask in her awesomeness.
"Wow, that is quite impressive." For some reason, Flora liked the girl. She might be a bit of a brat, but who isn't when they are that age? "Especially for someone your age."
"Humph!" The girl stomped her foot down in a huff. "I'm not that young. I'm already ten and a half!" She gave Flora a glare, as if to say she was much bigger than she was.
Flora turned her head a bit to hide her smile from the girl. "You're right, you're not that young, but I don't know any other ten-year-olds that have something as grand as this." Flora gestured to the garden laid out before them, and made her way down the isle. "I've never actually seen a greenhouse in person before." Flora glanced towards the girl. "Do you know how it works? Why is it so warm in here?"
Surprised, the girl questioned, "you're asking me?" Flora nodded warmly, expecting a positive response. The girl folded her arms, declaring haughtily, "Of course I know how it works! This is MY greenhouse after all." She pointed to the sloped edges of the ceiling as she explained, "the plants obviously need the sunlight to grow, so the walls are made out of glass, but what makes the house warm is that the sunlight can't exit the glass in the same way it came. So, all of that energy stays inside here, making everything nice and warm."
Nodding along, Flora scratched at her chin. "You are quite knowledgeable; I can see I have a lot to learn from you." Flora grinned at the girl who was admiring her garden. "You know, I don't know your name, mine is Flora."
The girl jumped back startled as she realized Flora was still in her space. "hey, wait a second! I never said you could be in here!"
Flora made a sad face, sticking out her bottom lip for emphasis. "Aw, that's too bad... I was hoping you could teach me a few more things about these flowers." She dramatically twirled her skirts, looking over her shoulder at the girl. "But I mustn't intrude any longer." Flora gambled that the girl would want to share her information more than she wanted Flora gone.
Biting on her thumb nail, the girl considered Flora's presence. She looked back at the doors that Flora was facing and mumbled, "you can stay here if you want, but don't get in my way, alright?" Flora nodded seriously, satisfied with the permission. The girl picked at her nails, deep in thought before she added, "call me Hyacinth."
"Like your mother's favorite flower." Flora smiled, relieved that she didn't recognize the name from anywhere. Even if she was a noble, Flora wouldn't have to put too much effort into appealing to the girl. It would be nice to have someone to talk to, even if it was only a kid. The palace seemed a lot less commandeering now that she had found this special place.
"Oh, one thing you should know," Hyacinth stared at Flora with an expression that was far from childlike. "Make sure you don't go past this greenhouse. This is my place so I decide who can come in, but the palace past this courtyard is off limits."
"There's a palace behind here?" Who knew that the Leostan palace would be even more enormous than what she had already seen?
Hyacinth nodded sternly. "Yes, it's the empress's palace and only those who she allows can enter. If you just waltz right in there you will get into serious trouble." She watched Flora closely, making sure she understood how crucial it was to heed her advice. "The empress doesn't like it when random people invade her home."
"Thank you for telling me that Hyacinth." Flora locked away this bit of information. The way Hyacinth had described her, it seemed that the empress was a private person that didn't like to be bothered. At some point Flora would need to meet her, but it would be best to avoid the edges of the courtyard from now on. Flora redirected Hyacinth's attention, pointing towards an unusual looking pink flower clinging to a trellis. "Can you tell me about this one?"