The Gardenkeeper's Daughters

Natrina- 9

There is an intoxicating joy that comes with being back on the road again. Of course, it's with Vivian this time, and while I'm willing to admit some of our first impressions may have been based on petty prejudices, it's still undeniable that her and I aren't getting along any time soon.

Despite that, I find myself enjoying the journey. We spend the first night in a house at the very edges of town, enjoying the hospitality of a small family who treat us as if we were gods. In fact, judging by how they look at Aislyn, they may think that.

We rest in a bed of wool near the back of the house, which they harvest themselves from the wild creatures who roam the hillsides nearby. They present our beds as if offering them up for sacrifice.

"Thank you." I say quietly, and the Canis gives me a stiff nod, mute as the Canira servants at the castle.

We wake up in the morning and they have prepared some more of that doughy stuff for us, sprinkled with what I recognize to be mulberries. Vivian stops us before we eat and sniffs the berries suspiciously before nodding to give us the go ahead.

I give her a silent what was that for and she looks back at me and puts a paw up to her mouth and slides it across. Not knowing exactly what message she's trying to convey, I eat the food slowly, making sure to savor it, and thank our guests liberally.

"All we could do to honor such important guests." speaks one of the younger Canis, probably a daughter. Though she speaks to me, she looks at Aislyn and Lotus.

It's kind of awful not to be the special one.

Despite that sad realization, along with my anticipation to get on the road, I'm almost sad when we have to go. Something warm and inviting is sheltered in the halls of friendly houses, which have a magic that even the castle can not measure up to.

It reminds me of home.

"Alright, we should really get going. What do you think the woods are going to be like?"

"Probably no different then they were the last time you were in the woods. That's the thing about forests- it takes a long time for them to change."

"Oh." Aislyn says, "Sorry, it's not always like that. There was this one dimension where the weather changed every single day and by changed, I mean, it would be thunderstorms until the rivers were flooded one day and then half the continent would be dried up the next."

"How was that?" Lotus asks, curiously.

"Their days were reaaaaaally long." Aislyn says.

"Say, Vivian? When we were in the little house... why did you have to smell those mulberries? It was really rude to our hosts." I say. Everyone glares at me, and I retort, "I'm not trying to start a fight this time, I swear!"
"Look." Vivian says, "Unripe mulberries cause hallucinations. I was just looking out for you guys."

"That was very kind of you," chips in Aislyn.

"Mulberries turn from bright green to dark black when ripe. It's not that hard to tell." I insist.

"I can't see color as well as you can." Vivian snaps. "It was late and any subtle difference would have been completely lost on me. Can you back off a little? I'm trying to enjoy the scenery." She keeps walking, striding a little ahead of us. She's trying to assert her dominance and remove herself from the conversation.

Clever. Very clever.

I flatten my Verhamera's Horns. "Look, if my sister or I eat any plant, it's definitely safe. We know plants better than Aislyn knows dimensions."

"I don't think any of us understand anything as well as Aislyn does." Lotus points out.

"Aw, flattery!" Aislyn says playfully. "I have been to a few thousand different worlds, but a lot of them were a lot like this one. I really prefer the weird ones because you don't have to risk meeting anyone you already know there and if you see people you used to know but you don't really know them anymore or in this world and then they don't remember you and it's suuuuper frustrating because they don't believe everything that you say when you say that you know that you know them-"

"Aislyn, shut up." Vivian snaps.

Aislyn looks deflated but she consents, and once again we walk on in silence, someone flinching every time Vivian grinds a stick under her paw.

Lotus rushes to her side after a while, and I hear her whisper to Vivian, "Hey. You alright?"

My stomach feels like it's full of exploding Firefruits and I feel nauseous. Keeper of Love my ass. Even my sister is far more sympathetic and caring than I am.

As we settle in for the night, I look up at the open sky and wonder if I'm really up for this at all. My musings don't last long as sleep tears at me, beckoning me home, and before I know it my eyes snap shut and I drift off into the endless darkness.

My paws land in grass. I realize I'm dreaming very suddenly, but as it is, I have no way of waking up. I look around, but all I can see is forest and nothing but trees to inform me as to where I am.

Wait- no. Pine trees! That's a clue. Pine trees mean coniferous forests, which means I could be further north.

"Hello?" asks a voice in the dark, making my fur prickle. Something about his voice is eerily familiar. I feel like I'm talking to an old friend alone in the dark, yet I know that in the waking world, I've never heard him before.
"Hello?" I echo back.

"Is that you?" asks the voice.

"Do I know you?" I whisper, half to myself. I feel like I need to remember this voice, but I just can't place it from anywhere.

A small brown Canis walks out of the darkness. He's wearing a bright red bandana and has huge purple eyes that stare into my soul as if examining me, testing my very being, but the rest of his face is nothing but enthusiasm and his tail is swinging like a branch in high wind."Of course I know you! I've been dreaming about you my whole life!" He says to me, his entire face lit up as if illuminated by fireflies. "You never talk back, though. This is a first!"

"You feel very familiar." I note. There's something slightly off about him, though I can't really place it. "My name's Natrina."

"I'm Gash, but my family and friends... well, they also call me Gash. I've been pushing for something longer and cooler sounding, but around here everyone has lame one syllable names." He talks as if we've known each other for years, a warmth on his face that I've never seen in anyone before (excepting possibly my sister).

"Names don't matter." I say, "If your name is your biggest problem, then I'd say you're better off than most."

He tuts quietly. "Nope. I have plenty of problems."
"Talk about it."

"But you're going to fix them all. I've had dreams about you and I, with three other Canis. We're going to do great things."

"Are you sure?" I say, "I haven't done much of anything but hurt others. I'm supposed to be the Keeper of Love, but I'm so lost and confused. I really wish-"

"Wish what?"
"I wish I could be better at this." I say softly.

He opens his mouth to say something, but a bright light shines in the clearing and I find my eyes open, the peaceful dream world melting away from my paws as I desperately try to hang on. All I can hold onto is his face, his words, his voice... but he slips beyond my reach.

Lotus stares into my face, and though I want to snap at her so badly, I just wag my tail. "Hey, Lotus."

"Nat! Did you sleep well?" she gets off me, still furiously happy.

"Yes. I did." I say confidently. "I think I'm ready to get going."