Sleeping Roses

Briar

"The rose garden?" Jeremy copied that evening at dinner. "It's right up at the top of the briar bush. You used to be able walk around it, then one day it shot a hundred feet up in the air and we haven't seen it since."

"But, where did it come from?" Kilan pressed.

He hadn't been able to ask much after his first sighting of the giant bush. No sooner had he been told it was the rose garden then all the carts had just ushered down under the castle and everything had to be unloaded in quick smooth succession so the carts could be put away and the horses taken care of. Unloading led to packing and storing; preparing everything so the kitchen staff could find what they needed without wasting time searching through the massive storeroom. Then there had been just a bit of time to head back to rooms to wash up before dinner was called for those on Kilan's rotation. He and his group arrived just as the group before left.

Jeremy shared his dinner timetable that day; Millie had been in the group before. For the Lower Castle staff, dinner times were pretty much the same each day, it varied for the Upper Floor staff as their duties could vary drastically from day to day depending on what was happening up there.

"But where did it come from? How did it just appear all of a sudden?" Kilan asked.

Jeremy shrugged as he took a bite of stew. "I couldn't say. Only The Masters saw it happen. They said it just appeared."

Kilan just frowned at him. "There has to be a spell or enchantment that caused it," he said and Jeremy just rolled his eyes and gave him a smile.

"Kai, I've lived a good few years under enchantment now and I don't care to deal with more of it. Sure, there was enchantment involved in that briar bush, there's a lot of enchantment still floating around the castle, you'll see it soon enough, but I don't want to get involved with it anymore then I have to, I refuse to be turned into a dog again."

Kilan raised an eyebrow at him and Jeremy waved it away.

"My point is, unless you out-and-out ask one of The Masters about it, leave it be. You're here to earn enough to travel the continent right? Enjoy the break from chasing stories and just focus on the money. Master Beldon is paying you really well after all."

Kilan opened his mouth to answer when someone caught the back of his waistcoat and near wrenched him off his seat. Jeremy grabbed his wrist to yank him back and they both looked around to see some of the children of the castle.

"Can you tell us a story?" one of them asked, looking up at Kilan with huge brown eyes while three others hid behind him, peeking up at Kilan.

"Kids, he's trying to eat, leave him alone!" called one of the adults, "Come sit down and stop bothering the grownups."

"Oh, I don't mind," Kilan said, looking around. Everyone within hearing distance looked at him as soon as he said that and he blinked. He hadn't expected the reaction.

"Careful, Kai," Jeremy chuckled as he finished his stew, "You being a storyteller has had everyone in a tizz, all wanting to hear something from a 'real' Collector — one who isn't going to try and take someone's head off."

Kilan stared at them, then ran a hand through his hair. "I... well I don't mind, it's my job after all... though perhaps not during dinner."

"During Firelight Time!" the children cheered suddenly, making Kilan jump and they raced off to their seats again and he looked at Jeremy.

"It's child talk for the evening break," Jeremy explained, "Every servants gets time off in the evening, and children stop working from dinner onwards, so the break is their playtime before they're readied for bed. Other servants return to their work until lights out and the children are in the care of minders until their parents return to them. You might end up as a minder at some points if you show any affinity with the little ones."