WARHAVEN

Twenty-Nine

"Like garden gnomes?" I smiled, I wondered if they were small and if they truly wore those pointy little hats.

I looked at the King as he laughed at my inner thoughts, "Sort of, but not really. Garden gnomes are loosely based on the real creatures. The gnomes were absolutely vital to the factions functioning. They are very sacred creatures. Each faction had a massive garden that would feed their people. This garden had every vegetable, fruit, herb, for food and magic. They were also the beekeepers. Their work kept us all alive and functioning. Without their connection to nature and their earth rooted magic, well, you see what the world looks like today. Plants and trees are dying, or barely living. We are low on food, and subjects struggle to keep their crops from dying. Creatures are dying of starvation. And there is little to no magic left anywhere. They were some of the most widely respected creatures to ever exist. We all relied on them for survival, and each faction would lay their lives down to protect them, warrior or not." We came to a massive red couch, it had a gorgeous floral pattern on it that somehow didn't seem overly done. It was gorgeous.

He took a seat and chose a matching armchair across from him. A servant approached out nowhere with a tea kettle and I could smell that it did not contain any tea. My throat came alive, burning so intensely, I stopped breathing just to stop the pain. I rubbed it softly as I eyed the cups as she poured one for each of us. It took everything in my to keep from pouncing on the damn tea kettle.

She passed one to each of us and dismissed herself with a bow. The King gingerly sipped his tea, politely, and I basically downed mine the second it touched my hand. The looked over the rim of my teacup to see the King laughing at me. I closed my eyes and cherished the sound. His laugh was so joyful, so beautiful. I hope he knew that.

"Thank you, Davina." He smiled genuinely. I forgot that he can hear my thoughts, I need to remember that, before he thinks I am catching feeling for him. God knows his ego is big enough. I chuckled softly, knowing he heard every word.

He let out a scoff, "My ego is not inflated." I rolled my eyes hard at the claim, of course it was. I mean, a servant just brought him warm blood in a tea kettle, that's pretty entitled.

He smiled again and looked at me and his eyes lingered on my crossed legs. Only my calves were exposed in my maroon dress he had given me before breakfast. It fit a little too well, and I had a feeling there might be a group of servants somewhere slaving day and night to keep up with my perfect attire.

His eyes felt like hands as they moved over my body. I had never had a man look at me with such intensity. I had lusted after in the tavern of course, they even got a feel sometimes, but I had never known a man whose look could cause a physical reaction in me. I didn't know if he was laying on the charm or using some kind of magic, but it was overwhelming. I needed it to stop before it caused me to explode from the tension.

I cleared my throat and placed my empty cup onto the coffee table. The blood residue made me feel guilty, where or who, perhaps, had this come from? Had someone lost their life so I could drink? I didn't like the idea, and I was far from ready to learn the truth.

"So, what happened to the gnomes? I've never seen one, and do they wear the little hats?" I asked seriously. I needed to know about the hats at least.

He laughed that joyous sound again and his eyes creased. A small dimple started to show in his right cheek and I nearly lost it. He was perfection.

"Yes, they wore the hats, but not all of them. Most of them were around four feet tall, so they were always small like the ceramic replicas." His smile quickly disappeared as he continued, "After the killings, the factions started to attack one another. It was bloodshed in every faction. The gnomes didn't approve of this, as they were a peaceful kind. Then, a fire in a nearby village ended up burning their garden in the dragon court. The fire was set by the witches amongst the terror of the War. They were so connected to the garden that they felt this was a personal attack, although it wasn't meant to ever reach the garden. The whole thing burned to the ground and many gnomes and their families died. It was horrible, the fire was nearly unstoppable, but thankfully the water fairies put it out before it spread any further, but the damage was done. The gnomes fled. They vanished, and no one has seen them since. Soon after that, all the gnomes started to disappear from all the factions, and we were left trying to maintain their masterpiece. No one was successful without their knowledge or earth magic, and the gardens died."

"That is...devastating." I didn't know how else to respond. It was heartbreaking. "It sounds like WarHaven used to be a beautiful place, and to see how it is now," I looked out the windows of the library to the land beyond the wall. The trees were dull, dying. Nothing was green, and it was supposed to be mid spring.

"It was indeed." He joined me in looking out the window. I noticed that within the wall, the plants were flourishing. I went to ask how, but he beat me to it.

"Within the walls of my castle, there is a spell. The plants never die, or change. If you pick a flower or leaf from a plant, it will never grow back. He looked sadly, and I followed his eyes to the white roses, the one I picked and ripped apart the other night. I felt intense guilt. I had no idea, and I was angry and sad. I turned to apologize, but he beat me to it once again.

"Its okay, Davina. You didn't know." He smiled a sad smile.

"It was wrong of me, and I apologize. I will never do it again." I promised, and I wouldn't. One last question came to mind, "King Augustus, how do you have so much food without the gnomes and their gardens?"

His smile was still sad as he responded, "Please, Davina. Call me August."