Blue and Black Stemmed Rose (minkey)

The Garden

It was a week, at least Kibum thought it was that long, since he and the king of the Underworld made their wager.  A week since the other man visited him.  During that time Kibum figured out he was good being specific on the time.  Mainly because thanks to an explanation from a brunette, blue eyed soldier with a dark green snake tail for legs as well as other snake-like features called Jinki, Kibum found out that time in the Underworld works the same as on the surface.  However since there is no sun the people have to rely on this time scale that counts the years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds so that no one lost track.  It was good for the vegetation god to find out because he worried that time would be really different, but it isn't.  All he has to do is wait out the days and months until the deadline ends.  Three months and then he'll be able to see his brother again.

Overall though he didn't complain one bit about being the guest to the king.  Since the first night he was treated like royalty and was feeling a sense of independence for the first time.  On Olympus he was always shadowed by his mother so he barely got to experience things for himself.  Here though he was allowed to go wherever he wanted in the palace without someone always on his back about doing anything without their permission.  At first he had to get used to the servants here, which were just shades, because he's never been waited on.  Even on Olympus there was no one to serve you, everything you did you had to learn how to do it by yourself.  Eventually though he grew to like it a lot.  Even though they were just a silhouetted echo of people that were once alive they treated him well.  Like helping him out with his bath, leading him to rooms inside of the palace when he wants to explore, or getting into the white hanbok he still wore.  They helped him with whatever he needed and he was grateful to have them.

Now as he is in his room, reading a book about the war between the first Olympians and the Titans, Kibum felt more relaxed than he had in years.  Which is why he jumped when someone knocked on the door.  Settling down and closing the book he cleared his throat, "Come in." The door then opened.  It was one of the shade servants, except he didn't recognize this one.  The shade bowed before saying, "My master wishes for your presence in the throne room." Kibum nodded in understanding before standing up, "Lead the way then." The shade turned away to lead the young god to the throne room.

The whole palace was black and drab, in Kibum's opinion.  Even the hallways were the same color.  Though there was an interesting tint to them that reminded him of the black glass texture that's inside of obsidian, which was probably the kind of rock this palace is made out of.  At least there were torches so that he could actually see where they were going, but if he could just add some color around here then it would make it feel more welcoming.  The thought brought him happiness.  As he basked in it though he didn't realized as he was walking, that with every step he took flowers started growing.  Looking behind himself when he and the shade arrived at their destination Kibum saw roses and peonies of darker colors were alive on the floor.  He decided to deal with it later.  For now he had business to take care of.

The throne room was big and in the middle sat Minho himself on a grand throne made out of bone and metal.  He looked just as intimidating as the last time Kibum saw him.  With a deep breath he followed the shade until they were both standing in front of the king.  The shade bowed deeply, "Master, the god as you requested." Minho inclined his head in understanding.  The then made a gesture with his hand and the shade disappeared from the room, leaving the two gods alone.  Minho then asked Kibum, "How has your stay been?" Taken aback Kibum thought about it for a bit before saying, "It's been enjoyable, different but still good." The king nodded as he stood from his throne and walked to be right in front of the other.  Minho then extended a hand to him, "I want to show you something." Kibum looked at the hand, hesitating to take it.  The vegetation god didn't know where this man would take him, and he's heard stories about this man that warranted concern for his well being.  Especially since the king kidnapped him in the first place.  However he was the guest in this lord's home and like his mother taught him, it's better to be respectable instead of being rude.  So he took the other's hand, "Show what you need me to see, my lord." This brought a satisfied look on the other's face as he began to lead Kibum out of the room.

~~~~~

Kibum had his eyes shut on request of the king as they were getting close to the place.  They then stopped, he heard the king going behind him and felt Minho place his hands on his shoulders to gently push him forward a bit.  He then told Kibum, "You can open your eyes now." Kibum did just that.  As soon as they were open they widened at the sight he saw.  He took a few steps forward to get a closer look, making sure it's not a dream.

For what he is seeing is a garden.  Not just any garden, but a garden full of unique and yet familiar flowers.  A lot of the colors were dark in their petals but there were some light ones as well.  There was even a large pond full of white water lilies and giant pomegranate trees.  By far though his favorites were the roses.  They were in one section of the garden, it was full of his favorite colored ones and a kind of rose that was so unique it made him want to add them to his list of favorite flowers.  For the unique roses were blue but they had black stems instead of green ones.  He was overwhelmed by all that he was seeing.  It almost reminded him of when he was a child and he would play in the fields that his mother owned.  How he and Taemin would run around, playing games in the tall grass and forests.  The more simpler times, before their mother became so protective of them that they never would visit those fields anymore and were forced to stay up on Olympus.  Dwelling in the nostalgia he felt tears well in his eyes, but he wouldn't cry.  Not in front of the most fearsome god of all time.  So he took a few quiet deep breaths in order to keep the tears at bay.

When his eyes finally were free of wetness he turned to face the king.  With the most neutral kind of tone he told him, "Thank you my lord, this is wonderful." To his surprise the king smiled.  It wasn't fake or evil but a genuine smile of happiness.  The blonde was even more shocked when Minho told him, "Well, if you like it then this garden will be yours, after all I made it for you as a welcome present." Not sure if the other was joking or not he asked, "Really, this is all mine?" Minho nodded.  At the confirmation Kibum had to fight the urge to scream in joy, and run over to the other to hug him.  Instead he told him, "Thank you, my lord." It was silent as he kept admiring the beautiful garden that was now officially his.

All the while Minho stood there watching Kibum wander around the garden more.  He was happy to see that the other had enjoyed the gift that was given, even if he didn't show it.  Hours after the wager was set he thought about doing this, since he figured that Kibum will inevitably miss being able to see any kind of flora whatsoever.  So with the help of Jinki they both made the garden for the vegetation god to have.  After a few days of getting the plants and making sure they would actually take root to keep growing in the Underworld, the king knew that it would be perfect enough to show the vegetation god.  This garden will mark the first step for Minho's plan to woo Kibum to become his bride.  The death god wanted to win this bet no matter what, but if he lost then he will return the other to his home like they agreed on.  For unlike his brothers, Minho was a man of his word.