The Blackest of Knights

Chapter 1

"Have a wonderful day Miss!" Elena waved to the customer and began puttering around her perfect little flower shop. She had a wide variety of species that were all different types of colors, but her pink selection was by far the biggest because she was biased.

She made her rounds and watered every single plant whether they were inside or outside the shop. The smell of the many pollens was heavenly and familiar to Elena, bringing forth heartwarming memories of her younger years.

Pastel pinks, blues, and greens made up the majority of the flower shop's decorations and the dark wood flooring, shelves, and doors brought a joyful feel to the atmosphere and made everything seem neat and tidy. It made her happy and she hoped that it also made the shoppers happy.

Flowers hung from the ceiling and walls and sat on shelves and the floor. There wasn't an inch of the place that didn't have some type of plant. Even the counter was covered, leaving just a little bit of space for transactions, which happened often. Business boomed during all the seasons because Elena managed to grow and keep flowers alive during the cold winter and fall, much to the amazement of the people in Dongle Kingdom.

Elena's flowers were bought by many and she was very well known, even having flowers used for the royal wedding between the old king and a young princess from the kingdom over. Classic red roses had been weaved into the princess' hair and scattered about the isle. Tables and chairs held red tulips that were in full bloom no matter the time of day and vines with small red flowers weaved anywhere they could. It was truly magical, especially in the middle of winter.

Elena was on her last group of plants when she notices her favorite customer of all outside.

The bell on the door dinged as she opened it and Elena propped it open with a tiny flower pot that had a few daisies inside it. "How's it going Paisley? You visited a little late today," Elena said, laughing in delight. Her friend was in fact a brightly colored songbird who made daily stops at the flower shop. The shops location in the middle of a bustling city did nothing to deter the bird and Elena looked forward to its visits everyday.

The bird chirped and flew onto the young woman's shoulder, pecking around and looking for something. As soon as Elena pulled the seeds from her pocket, Paisley chirped erratically and hopped around on the florist's shoulder. "Sometimes I wonder whether or not you come for me or if you come for my food. It's too bad you're too cute for me to care," Elena said as she hand fed her little friend.

Strolling back into the shop with the new addition, Elena went back behind the counter and sat on her stool, pulling out a book and her reading glasses before getting cozy. She left a couple of seeds out for Paisley and made sure the door was wide open in case the bird wanted to leave.

***

A slight cough startled Elena out of her book and scared Paisley off her shoulder and out the door. Taking her glasses off her face and letting them hang around her neck, Elena looked up and smiled at her latest shopper. He was a bit older, seeming to be in his 40s, but stood tall and strong with his shoulders thrown back. His face was stone cold with a scar running from the right of his lip to the bottom of his chin and his nose was slightly crooked. This did nothing to hinder his beauty, if anything it made it more intense. Stark white hair was shaved all the way down on the sides, but the top had enough hair to be braided down the middle. Elena imagined that it would be fairly long if let free. His ice blue eyes and thin lips really brought his whole look together and it was obvious the man had many suitors.

Elena, though sensing something was a bit off with this man, smiled brightly and welcomed him just like everyone else who entered her shop. "Hello! Welcome to Cecilia's Flower Shop! How may I help you today?" He eyed her with thinly veiled disgust.

"I need all of your flowers that can survive a harsh and cold climate." He stared her right in the eyes when he said this, almost challenging her to deny him. The air around him screamed arrogance and danger. He was very intimidating and was definitely trying to scare her. Elena found that she did not like his attitude one bit.

Her smile thinned and she knew her eyes were filled with irritation. "If you'll follow me this way I'll show you our selection." She walked to the rear of the store and pointed to three pots. "I'm afraid that this is all the flowers we have that will survive in a winter-like climate." Normally, the fact that she had such a disappointing selection would make Elena feel bad and she would offer a cute little flower pot filled with cute little flowers as compensation, but she was almost giddy that she had so few flowers to choose from for this cold man.

The man stared coldly at her once again. "I was told that your flowers lasted throughout the winter, so do you care to tell me why this is 'all you have'?" Elena shivered under his gaze.

"I apologize for the confusion. Once outside the shop for more than a week during cold weather, almost all of the flowers inside this shop would die. I hope you find these three satisfactory, and if not I can direct you to another shop if you like?" She was so ready to get rid of this prick.

"No. These will have to do."

"Wonderful! I'll pack them up and you can be on your way."

***

After that little incident, Elena was ready for a good night's rest so she closed up the shop early. Turning off all the lights, she opened the door at the back of the shop and prepared for bed.

Unnoticed by her and everyone else, a man stood across from the flower shop. He was staring at it intensely, eyes on the little door in the dark door that had just closed. Waiting.