The Spirits of the Forest

Chapter 10

Sirius

half a year ago

She told me that her mother used to beat her. She told me that in a calm tone, as if she was just talking about the weather. And although I wanted to find out more, I had to be patient. My plan hadn't changed. I needed to befriend Harriot.

For now, the fact that she hadn't left yet felt like a big step to me. In fact, when I told her that her injury required more rest, she almost seemed happy. Or at least she should've been happy ; I gave her freedom to explore the whole palace, I offered her new clothes made from the finest plants, and I was ready to listen like an obsessed lover to everything she said.

I was just leaving Harriot's room, making sure she fell asleep when Arabelle's presence stopped me. At first, I almost expected her to just stare at me since we weren't talking anymore, but, surprisingly, she broke the silence:

"I don't like what you're doing, Sirius. You are pushing us away."

"What do you mean?" I stared at her, perplexed.

"You just decided to bring this girl without even consulting us!"

"Stop being so jealous! I found her hurt! It was the perfect occasion to bring her in and to make her see us as her saviors and friends! I'm sorry it wasn't a boy, ok?"

"This isn't about me!" she shouted. "It's about you."

"Well, don't worry about me. I'll handle her. You and the others should concentrate on the flower-bombs."

Flower-bombs. The most beautiful and dangerous flowers this world has ever seen. I stopped counting how many species we had to combine in order to achieve such performance. But in the end, we did it: we created a plant that reacted like a bomb if somebody smelled it. And who wouldn't smell it? Its scent tickled the curious nose, leaving the impression that the forest and the sea, the spring and the winter, were combined together. The strain and leaves of the flower were also trying hard to stun the eyes with their silver color that made them look like they were created from fallen pieces of the moon. The only modest ones were the white petals, which seemed to know that if they enchanted someone to smell them, they'll explode and die.

I could already see them being secretly planted in the capital, fulfilling their deadly purpose. However, where I couldn't see them was next to Harriot. The gardens of the flower-bombs were hidden inside the palace, and I wanted them to forever remain hidden for the human girl. That was the only place where she wasn't allowed to go, and luckily she didn't know about it.

Or at least not from me.

On one of my visits to our precious creations, I found her there, almost smelling the flower-bombs. The glass that protected the plants from someone's touch hadn't been a problem to her: she just broke it with her hands. My heart dropped to my feet, and for a moment, I couldn't stop her, just like the glass couldn't. A part of me wanted to see how the petals would crack and explode right under her beautiful green eyes. But just as I couldn't let her bleed in the forest, I now couldn't let her accidentally die either. And not just because the spirits needed her for information. Because I needed her, though I couldn't exactly figure out for what.

So I rushed to her, pulling her far from the plants.

"Sirius!" she turned at me, shocked. "I wasn't going to rip them! They just seemed to smell so good..."