Of course, I’m still a prisoner at Shadow’s End, so going for a long stroll is out of the question. However, I have noticed the garden, a walled area of trees and plants and flowers between the two main buildings of the castle. I can probably go there without breaking any rules or bending any wards.
I head downstairs, passing the creepy Deadhands as I go. They stare at me and I wish I knew what they were thinking. Do they even have brains? Do they have lives? Are the same as the Deadmaidens in that they remember the people they once were? Do they miss those people, those lives? Is this what they thought death would be like?
But I don’t have the nerve to try and talk to them. They might serve Death, but the last skeleton dead guy I had a run-in with ended up with him getting killed. Death was right when he said there were those that couldn’t be trusted in this castle. I have to wonder who else there is pretending to serve him. Because if not him, who are they serving? The Old Gods? Louhi?
While I ponder that, I have to go through the kitchen to get to the garden, and I pass Pyry, the Deadmaiden cook in her black garb, already making breakfast.
She’s not alone. Harma in her red veil is with her and they seem like they’re whispering about something, stopping abruptly when they see me. If they’re speaking telepathically, it’s not like I’d hear them anyway.
I give them an awkward wave. “I’m just going to the garden,” I tell them. “Finally a sunny day, Pyry. Hopefully the plants will take advantage.”
I hope so too, dear Hanna, Pyry says with a bow of her head. They both stay silent, watching me pass with their faceless faces until I get the hint and leave the kitchen. I know Harma told me that she was an ally, but since she hasn’t said anything to me since, I wonder what that exactly is, and if Pyry is in the same boat as her. Could they be like Surma, patiently working for Death while plotting to overthrow him? Not that Surma outright said he was, but he definitely wasn’t on Death’s side.
I try to shrug it off. It’s nothing for me to worry about right now. I have other things to concentrate on, like trying to get enough vitamin D.
And no, that wasn’t a euphemism.
I step through the door and into the garden, blinking hard at the sunlight while I try to take it all in.
Holy hell, it’s like stepping into another world, one so different from the interior of the castle. The place is gorgeous, with rows of the biggest roses I’ve ever seen, the blooms the size of dinner plates, their colors lush and jewel-like, while bushes of blue and pink hydrangeas reach for the sun, and twisted vines of wisteria hang in the sky like purple fireworks. Butterflies dance in the air, their wings shimmering in shades of cerulean and marigold and amethyst, the sight magical.
Beyond the array of flowers there are tidy rows of vegetables and herbs, as well as fruit trees and a whole variety of vines, plus other plants—trees, bushes, flowers—that don’t exist in the Upper World. I could spend weeks learning about all of them and still I don’t think it would be enough. A botanist would have a field day here, this place being their literal Amaranthus.
And in the middle of all this is Sarvi. I don’t see the unicorn that often, so to see it’s big dark form in the middle of the garden takes me by surprise.
Did I frighten you? Sarvi asks, turning to see me. I suppose you may have frightened me.
“I’m sorry,” I say. I gesture around me, hoping I’m not going to get in trouble for being here. “I’d never been to the garden before. Thought it was the best place to enjoy the sunshine.”
Sarvi lifts its head to the sky, closing its one eye, seeming to relax. It is a blessing to have Death happy enough for this to happen. Then its eye fixes on me. I hate to be presumptuous, but would you happen to be the cause of all this? If so, might I suggest you keep it up?
There’s a knowing tone there and I find myself blushing. Basically, keep screwing Death so we can get some sunlight. He doesn’t sound much different than Bell with her talk of blowjobs and sunshine.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I say. I then clear my throat. “So, what are you doing out here?”
Sarvi nods at a patch of ice-blue pumpkins. They’re my favorite. Ice pumpkins. I returned from the Frozen Void a while back with some of the North’s local delicacies, hoping to grow them here.