Chapter Sixteen
The boys were busy talking to cute girls, and the old man had vanished into thin air.
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James awoke to the smell of thousands of flowers in bloom. Sneezing, he blinked and took in his surroundings.
It looked a lot like Bel’s rooftop garden, if such a garden featured a massive throne of knitted tree roots in the center of it with leaves overhead that glimmered silver and purple in the soft light of early morning.
Far too early to be awake, but that was just his opinion.
“Green lady’s palace?” he muttered, rubbing at his eyes and pushing his beard out of his face.
“Indeed,” Reginald rumbled from somewhere high above James’ head. Squinting around, James caught a blurry glimpse of the giant’s smart dress shoes a short distance away.
“We’ll have to part ways here,” Archibald said. Based on the shoes, he seemed to be standing to the left of Reginald.
“I’m sure no one would mind if you stayed,” James said blearily. “It’s pretty handy having big friends who can traverse mountain ranges with ease.”
“I don’t know if that’s strictly true,” Gabriel said. “At least the first part.” He was also standing over James, who seemed to have woken up on the soft, plush forest floor. As far as sleeping accommodations went, the Green Queen’s outdoor garden palace was the nicest so far, even if he’d been napping on the ground.
James looked up at Gabriel and then where the young man was covertly gesturing with his head. That’s when James noticed the young women, each covered head to toe in configurations of leaves, vines, and flowers they had somehow used to make elaborate dresses. Each of them had green skin as rich as the thick carpet of grass James was currently lying on and large violet eyes. They were also currently cowering, large eyes staring at the giants’ impeccable shoes with horror and fear.
“I see.”
“It’s no problem, we were happy to aid you on your quest. If you manage to rescue the Green Lady, we should be able to eat well again,” Ferdinand said. “And I have so many new recipes to try out after that exquisite meal you treated us to.”
“Besides, the lady’s palace isn’t really suited for large folk like us,” Reginald noted with a deep laugh that shook the towering trees surrounding them.
James looked up into the foliage and noticed he could only see the giants’ shoes and well-pressed slacks. Their heads and torsos were nowhere to be seen. It did seem like Archibald, Reginald, and Ferdinand would have a struggle navigating the Green Queen’s palace, even if they crawled on their hands and knees—which would ruin their expensive suits, and who knew where they’d gotten such massive designer clothing in the first place.
“Thank you for accompanying us and helping us cross the Mountains,” James said in his best wizard voice. “We’re much closer to saving the Green Queen, and I will not forget the debt we owe you.”
“Just feed us dinner again sometime,” Ferdinand was quick to say.
“It’s a deal,” James said with a nod the giants likely couldn’t see.
With that, the giants departed, and with a single step James and his companions could no longer see their massive friends.
“So, what now?” Night asked as Gabriel extended James a hand to help him up. Day was standing beside her brother, her dark eyes examining the garden with an intensity she probably usually reserved for juggling terrifying objects, like knives or something.
“Well, I know I’ve kept saying the Green Queen will be at the king’s castle, but I figured since the queen’s palace was on the way we should stop here and investigate, see if we can learn definitively where she was taken and maybe why. It looks like we could talk to some of her assistants and ask them questions.”
“Makes sense, good idea,” Day said with a nod. James blinked. Maybe he was still asleep after all and having a vivid dream. The young woman wasn’t immediately questioning James’ methods?
Oh well. He’d take what he could get.
“Let’s split up, we’ll cover more ground that way,” Night suggested. He seemed eager to talk with the green-skinned women throughout the sprawling, lush garden.
“Okay, Night, what would you suggest?” James asked, wincing as he tried to straighten his back and heard a small symphony of cracking and creaking.
“Umm… you want me to decide?” The young man suddenly looked far less sure of himself.
“Why not? I don’t know anything about this place or the people here,” James said honestly.
“Well, I guess before we make any decisions we should try to find the person who’s currently in charge with the Green Queen’s absence.”
“Lead the way,” James said, grateful for the hundredth time he’d taken the time to get a broom from the wizard tower’s closet. His homemade staff was the only thing keeping him upright. Greenie had helped too, but she was currently devouring as much grass as possible, her large brown eyes almost bugging out of her head as she chewed with delight. The queen probably wouldn’t be thrilled when she got back and found a cow-dragon sized patch of dirt in the middle of her beautiful garden, but hopefully the happiness she felt from being rescued would help tilt the odds in James’ favor.
Night carefully set down his bulging pack like he would a newborn child before striding silently up to one of the women tending the garden. Day walked to a different woman working in the east, and James and Gabriel made their way over to a woman working to the south. They approached slowly, James shuffling and Gabriel patiently keeping pace.
“Hello, would you mind answering a few questions for us?” James said in his softest voice, hoping he wouldn’t startle the young woman, who was apparently engrossed in her task of watering this small section of the garden now that the giants had left.
When she heard James’ voice, her head lifted and her large violet eyes stared at them cautiously like a deer caught in headlights.
“How may I be of service?” she asked demurely. Her hair was maroon, with hundreds of delicate purple flowers braided throughout. James idly wondered how long it must have taken for her to accomplish such a feat when she added in a soft voice, “Please excuse my not noticing you earlier. It is not often we receive visitors to my lady’s garden.”
“We’ve come in search of the Green Queen. Just James, our esteemed wizard and my good friend, thought it would be wise to search the queen’s palace to see if any clues were left behind regarding her disappearance. Are you the lovely woman in charge of the queen’s estate when she isn’t here?” Gabriel asked in a kind voice, his bright blue eyes soft.
“And what is your name, golden-haired one?” she asked. Unlike most other women when they first saw Gabriel, the young woman seemed merely curious and friendly. She continued to remind James of a deer with her large, soft eyes and green skin that looked almost like it was made of velvet up close.
“My name is Gabriel. And you are?”
“I go by Lissandre. As for your question, Wizard Just James, my lady did not leave one of us in charge when she was so cruelly stolen away from her palace in the middle of the night. We all assist the queen in her garden, and no one of us holds higher standing than the other. That being said, it would likely be wise to talk with each of us, since we have each observed different moments and information about our queen that could be of aid to you in your worthy quest. Rest assured that we will do all in our power to aid you in her safe return.”
“How many of you work here in the garden?” James asked, stroking his beard in an attempt to rid it of twigs and grass.
“There are seven of us, Just James.”
“And is there anything you can tell us about the queen and where she might have gone? I’ve been acting under the assumption that the king took her to his castle and is hiding her there, but I figured if there was any way to guarantee that before we walk the whole way, that would be best.”
“A wise course of action,” Lissandre said with a nod. She was as tall as James and only slightly shorter than Gabriel. She ran her fingers through her maroon tresses for a moment as she thought to herself.
“It is likely the king stole our lady and retreated to his fortress. I do know that the queen had no prior knowledge or warning before she disappeared. I was the last to speak to her before she vanished.”
“And she didn’t seem to have any idea she was about to be kidnapped?” Gabriel asked. He was studying the flowers blooming all around them in interest and sniffing them when he thought no one was looking.
They were beautiful, James had to agree. Bel would have loved a garden like this. He was sure if she’d had this much space and seven talented assistants that she would have a garden just as sprawling and majestic as the one they now stood in.
“No, I do not believe so.” Lissandre reached out a slender green hand and a butterfly with striking orange-and-black wings landed on the tips of her fingers. “The queen and I were close. But now that I think back to that evening, I do seem to remember something that might be of consequence. The queen had been feeling uneasy. She said the plants of the garden seemed more timid than usual, less willing to bloom. Almost as if they were on guard. I do not think my lady knew exactly what would happen, but she did seem alert to the possibility of something being wrong.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Hmm.” James needed time to walk around the garden and search for clues. Gabriel seemed like he’d have no trouble talking to the other six assistants, especially with Night and Day’s assistance.
It was time to explore.
“If it’s not a problem, I’d like to look around, see if the king left behind any clues when he took the Green Queen. Would that be alright?”
“Of course, High Wizard.” Lissandre bowed her head briefly. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“If you’d be willing to help Gabriel and my other two companions, Night and Day, talk to the queen’s other assistants, that would be wonderful. I won’t go too far, but I’ll see if I spot any physical clues while they gather all the information they can from you lovely ladies.”
“Call my name if you need me, Just James,” Gabriel said with a broad smile before extending his arm toward the pretty young woman. Her cheeks colored faintly before she accepted and the two walked away, heading for the siblings, who were deep in conversation with a woman with the longest, blackest hair James had ever seen. As he glanced at his companions, he noticed Day’s eyes narrowing as she observed the beautiful green-skinned woman accompanying Gabriel.
James was tempted to spy on the encounter and see how Day responded to Lissandre, but the same feeling of urgency he’d felt since his nightmare about Bel compelled him to stay focused. If he could find proof that the king had taken Bel… the queen to his castle, then he and his companions could forge ahead with confidence. Especially if the Crimson King’s castle did turn out to have three thousand stairs like the detailed illustration on the map seemed to suggest. James was not about to scale any number of stairs unless he was beyond confident the queen was at the top of them. It’s not like Greenie would be much help to him when it came to making the climb anyway…
As he looked around the vast garden, he felt his heart sink. There was no way he could cover so much ground quickly, and what was he even looking for? There was no end to the trees, bushes, vines, small streams, and flowers—every conceivable kind of flower. Bees and butterflies flitted from plant to plant with lazy contentment. It was so peaceful James briefly considered taking another nap on the cozy carpet of grass but thought better of it.
He was a wizard. If he needed to do something unreasonable, like comb through an entire garden palace to search for clues, he would use something equally unreasonable, like an overpowered spell to get the job done.
He hadn’t come up with any of his own spells since the mountain incident, but this might be a safe opportunity to test out his wizardly powers once more.
As he puzzled through various rhymes and tried to come up with something a little more eloquent than “whatever those are good for,” he found himself admiring the oasis the queen had created. He was sure whenever the queen herself was present that the garden, already inspiring, would probably be stunning. The many colors of the flowers were nice, but he could tell they weren’t as vibrant and full as they usually were. The rest of En obviously had it worse off than the queen’s palace, but even her own domain was starting to show the first signs of strain. This world needed its Queen of Life back.
And James really needed to make his way back home.
As he continued to think and walk, he suddenly found himself in front of the queen’s throne. It was in the center of the garden, but it was almost unnoticeable due to the vibrant surroundings that overshadowed it. It almost looked more like a comfortable wicker chair where the queen could prop her feet up on a nearby stone after a long day gardening and whatever else she did. Weeding? Did a fantasy queen need to weed her magical garden?
The chair did look comfortable. James’ feet were aching, and no one was around that he could see. After a couple fugitive glances around at the trees and flowers, James took a seat in the throne.
It was comfortable. Much nicer than the thrones James imagined most royalty had sat in on Earth over the centuries. His spell was coming along nicely. Just one or two more rhymes and he would be ready to use his magicalness to verify the queen’s whereabouts. James rested his arms on the armrests, frowning when he felt something hard and cold under his right arm. He lifted up his arm and satiny robe sleeve to reveal a handheld mirror.
He picked it up and looked at it, curious to see his reflection for the first time since coming to En and becoming a wizard. Did the beard actually look distinguished, or did he just look like a hobo? And the hat? Did it make him look smart, or was it too big, or…
The face staring back at him in the mirror wasn’t his own.
James almost dropped the mirror in shock, but he couldn’t help himself from gasping softly.
“Bel?”
The face in the mirror could have easily been Bel’s sister. The only difference between Bel and the woman in the glassy reflection were the eyes. James would recognize Bel’s eyes anywhere. This woman, with the same long white hair, high cheekbones, and intelligent expression as Bel, had deep green eyes the color of life. But they weren’t Bel’s constantly changing eyes. These eyes were always green. The woman in the reflection was also wearing a crown made of roses, roses as red as the sun right before it set in the evening.
This had to be the Green Queen.
The face in the mirror didn’t speak or respond to James’ presence, and after staring at the woman a while longer, James returned the mirror to the armrest of the throne, sitting in silence even as his mind started racing.
He had to talk to the Green Queen as soon as possible.
And that would only happen if he could find her.
It was time for magic.
James took a deep breath, smoothed out his dark-blue sleeves, and spoke.
“I need to find the Green Queen
And discover where she was last seen.
My eyesight isn’t the best,
So help my eyes survive the test,
By seeing the tiniest detail…
And not be as slow as a snail.”
Well, it still wasn’t pretty, but he was making progress. He hoped.
That optimism quickly faded when he realized two things.
One—he could now see the tiniest details with ease.
Two—he, being the genius he was, had somehow shrunk himself down to the size of the many bees buzzing around the garden.
He sighed.
***
“Where is James?” Day asked, looking around the queen’s verdant palace in confusion. She’d been covertly keeping an eye on the old man and had noticed him take a seat in the large throne that occupied the center of the garden when he thought no one was looking. But now, as she glanced back at the throne, she didn’t see him. And James wasn’t exactly the picture of speed and stealth. She would have noticed him getting up and leaving… she thought.
“He said he wanted to search for clues while we talked to the queen’s assistants,” Gabriel helpfully supplied. That woman—Lissandra or whatever—was still on his arm, and Day resisted the urge to flip her hair in Gabriel’s face and stalk off to go sulk somewhere. She wasn’t jealous. Besides, it was hard to be mad at someone like Gabriel. He was kind to everyone. It probably wasn’t possible for him to make any enemies.
“Never mind,” Day said under her breath, striding off toward the throne like a wraith. Nigel was busy talking with one of the other green-skinned assistants—Day thought her name was Krissa or something.
The boys were busy talking to cute girls, and the old man had vanished into thin air.
It was time for Day to take matters into her own hands. As she made her way over to the throne, she took a handful of small stones out of one of her pockets and started juggling them. It was just something she did when she was deep in thought. Which seemed more and more often recently. When the old man who claimed to be a wizard had snuck up to their table and stolen their dinner while listening in, she’d been skeptical. Those feelings had changed to disbelief and amusement when James had somehow turned the innkeeper’s fat cow into a “dragon.” And then there was the whole “mountains to dust” incident… she still wasn’t sure what she thought about that one. But despite her personal misgivings regarding his magical abilities, he’d never come across as anything but sincere when he said he and Gabriel were on a quest to find the Green Queen and restore her to her throne.
Day’s parents had been struggling to make a living with the land so parched and dry, and even if Nigel had missed their panicked expressions when they went out to the fields only to find little more than dust and dirt, Day hadn’t.
Nothing escaped her, even if she wished that wasn’t always the case.
And sure, maybe the hero farmer Gabriel was not completely hideous looking and wasn’t a complete jerk.
Ha.
“I just want the queen back so life can go back to the way it was,” she muttered under her breath. She might not believe it, but it was the story she was telling.
When she reached the throne, the stones she was juggling in one hand fell to the lush grass at her feet.
Well, she’d found the old man.
“Need a hand?” she said dryly to the tiny wizard sitting in the very center of the throne, muttering to himself in a high-pitched voice she was tempted to giggle at.
But Day was not the type to giggle.
“Not small, not too tall… no, what if I end up some strange size? Guess I’ll have to be more specific…”
He sounded like a squeaky mouse—if mice had the gift of speech, long white beards, and wore billowing blue robes.
“Come to gloat?” he asked her, folding his tiny arms over his tiny body and making a tiny frown.
It was actually pretty adorable.
“I’m guessing this is another one of your homemade spells?”
“Maybe,” he squeaked with a huff.
“Mind if I sit down?” she asked. When he nodded his tiny hat in her direction, she very carefully placed him in her palm and took a seat on the throne.
“What were you trying to accomplish?” she said.
“I was trying to find physical clues as to where the king took the queen,” James grumbled.
“Well, you might notice details the rest of us wouldn’t at that size… although I don’t know if I want to know what your plan was for traversing the garden while you’re so tiny. Maybe ride a bee?”
“As if.” Suddenly, his tiny eyes lit up with excitement and he looked up at her hopefully.
“Mind giving me a ride?” he asked.
“That sounds preferable to talking to Lissandra and her six pretty friends.”
“Lissandre.”
“Whatever. You want a ride or not?”
James nodded vehemently and his tiny hat fell off.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Let’s go.”