The next morning, Devina found herself leaning against the wooden fence bordering the castle gardens. The crisp air carried the earthy scent of damp soil and the sweet aroma of blooming flowers. She had just finished her daily exercise routine and was now observing the bustling activity before her.
In the center of it all stood the head gardener, an elderly woman with large, round glasses and snow-white hair neatly pinned into a bun. She moved with quiet authority among her workers, her presence commanding respect. Devina couldn’t help but be reminded of herself in her previous life as a headmistress.
The gardeners moved swiftly under the head gardener’s direction, their hands deftly pruning, planting, and weeding.
After some time, the head gardener paused in her work, looking over at Devina with a piercing gaze. “Child, you’ve been standing there for a while now,” she said, her voice warm but tinged with the firmness of someone who had lived a long life and learned not to mince words.
Devina straightened, meeting the woman’s gaze with a small smile. “Just observing. You run a tight ship here.”
The head gardener chuckled softly, wiping her hands on her apron. “I’ve had many years to perfect it. Now, what brings you out here so early? Do you want flowers for your room again? Are you looking to throw a ball?”
“Not quite,” Devina said, matching the old woman’s smile. “I’ve been thinking about our little food problem.”
The head gardener snorted. “‘Little food problem,’ you say?” She muttered something under her breath that Devina could barely make out as “sheltered brat.” Louder, she continued, “There’s nothing little about it. As it stands, most of the crops are dying. At this rate, we’ll all starve next winter. I’ve petitioned your father multiple times to go speak to the alchemists’ guild, but did he listen? No. Instead, he runs away to hide like a coward.”
“You don’t seem to have a very favorable opinion of our family,” Devina observed.
The old woman sighed. “Forget what I said, child. I’m just—”
“I understand,” Devina cut her off. “And for what it’s worth, I agree with you. I’m actually here to get your help on something that might end this problem and help us get everyone through winter. If you can do the task that I ask of you.”
The head gardener seemed taken aback but waved her hand. “Do go on, child. This one I want to hear.”
Devina took out a few vines from the satchel at her side and handed them over. “Are you familiar with these?”
The old woman’s eyes widened in recognition. “Of course, but I don’t see how that would help us. They’re from the mutated forest. The Poison’s Embrace, we call them. They’re toxic—you won’t die from eating a few, but we definitely can’t feed those to anyone. You’d just throw up.”
“Ah, yes, that’s true right now,” Devina said with a grin. “But there’s something special about these plants. You see, if you cut them down, they will regrow in a single day. Their entire life cycle, from being a seed to growing up to reproduction, all happens in less than a day. Do you know what that means?”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The head gardener sank against the fence, deep in thought for a moment. Then her eyes flickered with understanding. “You mean… you want to breed these vines to be edible?”
“You catch on quickly,” Devina said, nodding. “Yes, if you can breed the poison out, we could eat them. I was thinking since they regrow every day, we wouldn’t even need to plant that many. We could literally have a new harvest every single day.”
The head gardener chuckled in disbelief, just now realizing the extent of what this could mean. But then doubt flickered across her features. “That is, supposing we can actually breed them. Do you know how they reproduce? We can breed animals because mostly there are two parents that combine their traits together to make offspring, so we can pick and choose those that have the traits we’re looking for. But we don’t know for sure yet how Poison’s Embrace reproduces. They might just be an identical copy of the parent.” She paused for a moment, considering. “But then, they’re still originating from the mutated forests, so their mutation rate is probably hugely accelerated. Even if that’s the case, we could just plant a whole bunch of them, then pick the ones that randomly have become less poisonous until we get one that’s mutated all the way down to not being poisonous at all.” She paused again. “It would take a lot longer, but it’s still possible.”
Devina held up her hand. “I leave the specifics and the ‘how’ to you. As long as you can get it done. What do you think?”
The head gardener looked up at Devina. “Honestly, I don’t know, but I think it has a good chance. And it’s the best chance we’ve got. If you let me run some experiments, I can tell you for sure.” She paused, a considering look on her face. “Say, are you doing this on your own, or is your brother involved in this?”
“My brother has got his plate full at the moment,” Devina said. “This is just me trying to help out where I can.”
“Interesting. But you must have gotten your hands on those vines somehow, so you must be working with the Rangers,” the old woman mused. “There’s some delicious fruit farther into that forest, but those plants always die when you bring them out of their ecosystem. I’ve been putting in requests for years to get some samples, but they always end up getting ignored. I’m sure there must be a way to graft them onto other plants that grow out here.”
Devina nodded in understanding. “That’s not a bad idea. I’ll tell you what—I can put you in contact with Ranger Sergei if you manage to make progress on the Poison’s Embrace.”
The head gardener’s eyes lit up at the prospect. Then she gave Devina a long, searching look. “Say, child, there’s something different about you. You act so much more mature now than the last time I saw you.”
Devina sighed internally. This had to be expected. If she acted differently than the original Devina, it was bound to be noticed. Yet it was a risk that she had decided to take since if she just continued acting out the role, she would soon be in huge trouble anyway with people trying to kill her. She had to find a justifiable balance of still pretending to be her old self while taking the necessary action. Now was the time to see if her prepared excuses would work.
“Oh yes, I’m glad you noticed,” Devina said, her voice taking on a more somber tone. “You see, a while ago, I had an eye-opening experience. I was attacked by bandits and almost died. In the process, I gained a new perspective on things.”
The old woman sent one last calculating look her way but did not argue. Soon, they said their goodbyes, and the head gardener sped off with the satchel and her assistants in tow, barking orders to start preparing experiments.
Satisfied, Devina headed back to the library. She had put enough pieces in motion and was getting used to her new role. Now she intended to spend the next few days focusing on training and learning more things from the library, as well as helping Elena acclimate to her new position.