The Disillusion Mountains

Chapter 16

    "Hey Flower Girl!" Jace Sinclair called as Nimma was stepping out of barracks.  

    "Prancer!" Nimma called back warmly.

    "When's your next leave?" Jace asked while shaking water droplets from his head. The rain was forecast to last all week and already a gloomy though still alert feeling had settled over the base.

    "It starts in two days. Why? I'm headed for chow. Have you eaten?"

    "Yeah but I'll walk with you. Are you going home again?"

    "Not this time. I decided it's time for me to see some of this country we're trying to defend from a tourist perspective."

    "That's great!" Jace nearly jumped from his skin in excitement. "Kitten, Preacher, and I also have leave in two days. We have some buddies in the Marines and they have leave at the same time. We all got together and booked two suites in Logos City. They have laser tag, great bars, clubs, and some of the best food in the country. One of the Marines had to drop out because her sister announced she's getting married in two weeks and was asked to be maid of honor so she flew home. Do you want to come in her place? You'll have to pay Jodie back for the money she put in but it's going to be a great time and we really want to have even numbers for laser tag. You wouldn't always have to be with us but you're more than welcome to be."

    "Strangely enough that's exactly where I was headed. I've got family history there."

🌺

    Logos City. Nimma surveyed the twinkling skyline from the window of the hotel suite. At the time Regina lived here it bore the name Baria and was a small village on the very outskirts of the country. Now this place was a sparkling metropolis that housed a castle for the Draconian royal family and stretched far beyond its original city limits. She wondered what Regina would say if she could see it now.

    The next day Nimma played several rounds of laser tag with Jace and his friends. She emerged from the game sweaty but pleased she'd managed to score so many points. They went back to the hotel where the others began readying themselves for what was sure to be a wild night out. Nimma had been invited but she wasn't feeling like bar hopping.

    Instead she planned to go visit what was one of the city's biggest attractions; Baria Botanical Gardens. She'd heard about the place a few months ago and it was said to be a true wonder. Exotic plants, ones that normally only grew wild, where hybrids were created to make a more beautiful world, and it seemed like almost anything could be found growing there even if it was out of season.

    Nimma had been there for two hours. She wandered and took pictures and patiently waited for the night attraction. There was an entire wing of the gardens that held flowers from around the world that only bloomed at night. Most of the visitors had left. Those few who decided to stay were gathered with her on the balconies above the room anticipating the show.

    This was the only wing open to visitors after seven so it was either go there or go home. Nimma was glad there weren't many people there tonight. It was her, a very well dressed man with long dark hair, and a mother and her young daughter.

    All at once the gardens below opened revealing a beautiful scene. The purples, oranges, pinks, blues, and the slight mist still hanging in the air from the sprinklers were mesmerizing. She couldn't help but let out a contented sigh.

    The lights above the stairs turned green and the small gates retracted letting the visitors go down and walk among the flowers. Nimma nearly skipped to the stairs but was able to keep from embarrassing herself. The first flower bed Nimma saw held Dragonlillies. They weren't the flashiest or largest flowers in the wing and seemed to be often passed by as the three others ignored them in favor of the more popular buds farther down the walk.