The Madness of Marius

"And here I prophesy: this brawl to-day,

Grown to this faction in the Temple-garden,
Shall send between the red rose and the white
A thousand souls to death and deadly night.
King Henry VI

I stood in front of the portal, where the Lady awaited.

She gestured and I sat, watching the flowers sway in the current. Tendrils of the plants reached out as if picking invisible details out of the water. Some of the long, thin vines were more like whiskers, quivering in anticipation of the Lady's passage.

"This is the Garden," she said.

I nodded, although I did not know what she meant. I heard the capital in the word, and knew that was some of what she was saying.

She wore black, black threaded with a green so dark as to be almost invisible against the silk. She was the tallest woman I had seen in this Rebman realm. She crossed her legs, sitting across from me. Some of the floating leaves brushed against her, caressing the long black strands of her hair.

"Secrets are planted in the Garden. Secrets can grow, but with proper tending they do not become choked with the weeds of deceit. I am the Lady of this Garden, Guardian of the Garden. There is a reason in the similarity of the words. I see that you want to transplant some of the secrets of this Garden to other soil."

"Do you know what I seek?" I asked. Perhaps I sounded skeptical.

"Your mother spent time in the City, in the Palace. What is the reflection of your Arden that lives in these waters?"

I did not know. I said nothing.

"It is of no importance." She reached up to caress another collection of hanging flora. It arched under her touch as if it were a cat. "Do you wish to play in the shallows, or swim in the depths?"

"I wish to learn," I said. It was a safe answer, giving away little, I hoped.

"Did you know that the darkness of the ocean's deep is also known as the abyss?" she asked casually, not looking at me for a moment.

I flinched. I don't know why.

"We are the people of the Tehom. Not all of us, but there are fathomless places to hide your secrets. Places where they grow in darkness, blossoming by night."

"Is Rebma affected by the moon?" I asked, thinking of the tides.

She smiled. "Do not be fooled. The silvery road represents more than the illusion." She stood up and strode over to one edge of the Garden. She pushed aside a piece of brush, and she silently examined the towers of the castle that wavered in the distance.

"This is not the courtyard," I said.

"No, the towers lie far away. They are each their own power." She smiled at me, letting the view disappear in a swish of vegetation. "Kingdoms of intrigue and etiquette. Shells, shards, and scavengers."

"So much power in one small place sounds like a recipe for conflict."

"Would you have us stewed in the very water that surrounds us?" She laughed, but the mirth never made it to her voice. "They fight for power, and the one that grows tallest has its head removed. And yet, they would climb on each others' shoulders to best reach the surface."

"What lies above?" I asked.

"So below," she smiled, and there was a wickedness to it. "Would you bargain for a foothold?"

"If I were to make the climb, I would chisel it out of the very face as necessary."

"Can someone drown in air?" she asked. It was a riddle that seemed familiar.

"You can be submerged in intrigue," I answered, thinking that was the answer.

"Old magics may be bound, but they are rarely buried," she said. "They shift and stir."

"They bring down towers?" I asked, feeling clever.

"Like dragons fighting underneath." That meant too many things.

"And why do you aid me?" I asked.

"I want you to bring me something. A rarity for the Garden," she said.

"Perhaps. Did you have one in mind?"

She nodded. "A firelily." Her eyes met mine.

I awoke in a panic.

Posted by Meera at September 15, 2004 03:55 PM