The Last Flowers Ch. 06

"Whoa. You don't look it."

"We age differently to you. Only in our last decade do signs of the end show. Our elders remain more youthful looking than yours, but their colours fade and their skin gets dry and rough. Toes turn to roots and eventually they change back into a tree. Some months later they die and the tree starts to decay."

"Huh, that's...fascinating." She glanced at Ellowyn. "What about you?"

The cute nymph smiled, squinting her eyes. "I'm twenty-seven."

"We must seem really young and foolish to you," Kerensa said. She was hanging her head.

Rozenwild nuzzled her ear. "Do we not seem that way to you? Nymphs are renowned for their playfulness and exuberance. A satyr once told me we're a bunch of immature dreamers with no responsibilities, which was a bit unfair, but not completely untrue."

"She has a point, Kerensa. What twenty-seven-year-old do you know who acts like that?" Aster gestured to Ellowyn.

Sarielle patted Ellowyn's leg, in case that comment hurt her feelings, but the nymph looked more bewildered than anything else.

"They don't have fun?" she asked.

"Well...not in that way. At least where we're from. Maybe it's different here." Aster sounded genuinely hopeful at the prospect.

Rozenwild snorted. "I'd hope so. You're home sounds abysmally dull and torturous."

Sarielle slowed the cart for an intersection. "Do you know where this boy lives, Kerensa?"

"He told me they have a store near the square with a fountain."

"We'll have to ask directions." Sarielle guided the horse into a space on the side of the street and climbed down. Ellowyn landed gracefully beside her and grabbed her hand, pulling herself close. Sarielle yanked away sharply. "Ellowyn, don't! What if someone sees?"

The nymph looked heartbroken. "I'm sorry. I thought you'd like it."

"I do, but we could get in trouble."

"Why?" Rozenwild asked.

"Because they're both girls." Kerensa answered.

Rozenwild cocked her head. "Yes."

Kerensa sighed. "So, we're not supposed to do those sorts of things with each other."

She made a sound of disgust. "What utter nonsense! You can have relations with whomever you please. And this is not just for those in the forest. I heard it was commonplace throughout these lands too." She was becoming irate. "Those townsfolk have fed you nothing but lies. Filthy bastard—"

"Rose." Ellowyn grabbed her shoulders. "Rose, calm down."

Rozenwild shrugged her off and walked a circle muttering quietly. "Stupid...fucking..."

"None of it matters anymore. We're free of them," Aster said to soothe her a little.

Ellowyn caught her friend's eye. "Rozenwild, it's been a long time. Things could have changed. We should be careful until we know for sure."

Rozenwild grumbled a reply and crossed her arms. She stayed by the cart when Kerensa and Aster ran off to ask strangers. Ellowyn still looked hurt and distant. Sarielle felt terrible. She wished she hadn't been so rough. She really wanted Ellowyn to like her. Now she knew girls could love each other, she knew that's what she wanted.

"Sorry, I panicked." She cupped a hand to the nymph's ear. "As soon we get somewhere private I'm going to kiss you."

The nymph gazed at her in disbelief, before smiling and scrunching her nose in an adorable way.

Rozenwild had stopped sulking by the time it took the others to return. They came back flustered and tired.

"We got lost." Kerensa groaned. "But we know where to go. It's not far."

The two of them led the way, arguing almost immediately about which way to go. The rest of them followed on foot with Sarielle leading the horse. Kerensa gave up trying to navigate and let Aster take over. The older girl seemed suited to it and brought them to the square without another misstep.

"That must be it there." Kerensa pointed to one with a green sign.

They all filed in and waited for the clerk to finish serving a female elf. He was a tall man with tawny coloured skin and auburn hair. Sarielle wasn't sure, but he looked like a species called sand skirmers.

"Yes, ladies?"

"We're looking for Gawain," Kerensa said.

He raised an eyebrow. "All of you?" He sighed and pointed with his thumb behind him. "He's out the back. GAWAIN!"

A muffled response came from somewhere else in the building. Kerensa was first to open the door and let herself into the narrow passage behind the shop. Someone thumped down the stairs beside them and swung around the bottom just in time to come face to face with her. The man was a younger variant of the one they'd just seen, but with a narrower jaw and freckles.

He jumped backwards in fright, remaining surprised when he recognised who it was. "Kerensa? Uh... what are you doing here?"

"Well that's a nice way to greet someone."

"Sorry. 'Tis good to see you. I just...I hadn't heard from you and..."

"We need your help."

"Um...I..."

She leaned closer to him on tiptoe. "I let you cum in my arse. The least you could do is offer some assistance."

He scratched his head. "Yeah, okay."

"Thanks." She pushed passed him into the room and he backed up to let the others pass.

He gave the first nymph a once over. "Hello."

"That's Rozenwild. She's...um..."

"Her lover," Rozenwild purred.

Sarielle couldn't see Kerensa's face as she was still in the hall.

"Oh." Gawain pursed his lips and nodded. As Sarielle passed, he cocked his head at her, his face twisting up with a slight smile. "Hey, you're the girl..."

She put her hands on her hips. "Gawain, when I told you to enjoy the town I did not mean for you to fuck my second cousin."

"I...urh..." He looked around for help.

Sarielle liked how uncomfortable she made him. It was amazing to feel in control of a situation for once. "You've caused her a great deal of suffering."

"Um...sorry?" he offered.

"Good." She patted his chest and went to stand next to Kerensa.

"I'm Ellowyn," the nymph said delightfully. "And this is Aster." She brought the elhuven with her by the hand.

A brown dog came in with his tail wagging, whole body wriggling. Benip saw Kerensa and bounded over to her. She bent to give him a hug and squealed when he licked her ears.

Gawain surveyed the collection of women in his house. He looked uneasy and slightly irritated. "They banned my brother and me from trading in your village."

Sarielle didn't want to hear any of that crap. "And they locked Kerensa in a cell, publically shamed her, and her father refused to let her sleep inside."

His face lost the annoyance and turned guilty. "Damn. That was uncalled for."

Kerensa smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "Was it really worth travelling over that range only to deal with the self-righteous men there anyway?"

"Yeah, you're right."

The door banged in its frame and the other man came into the room. "Gawain, what the swashwak is going on? Who are all these women? Since when does an ogre like you attract this many girls?"

Gawain didn't share his humour. "They're from Selrilve. Kerensa's the girl I met there."

He frowned. "You mean the girl you stupidly fucked that got us kicked out?"

"Treyton, stop. She got worse than we did." He gently pushed his brother. "Go back to the shop."

"The most pious town in the lands and my idiot brother goes and shags one of their virgins," he mumbled as he was pushed down the hall. "'Tis a strange place, brother. They've probably sent her here because you owe her marriage or something." He broke free and came back into the room. "No one gets married here, dear. You'd do best to run while you've the chance rather than go back to that awful place."

"She's got a girlfriend." Gawain hissed, wrestling his brother back into the hall.

"So? Maybe 'tis part of it. Who knows what sort of crazy traditions they have there. Hmm...maybe you should consider it. They're very beautiful."

"I don't want two wives. I don't want any wives!" He got his brother out of the room and came back shaking his head. "You better tell me why you're here before he decides to come back."

Between them, they ran through a short version of their predicament and what they were trying to find.

"That is a messed up story." Gawain braced his fingers behind his head. "I'm glad you all got away. I'll do what I can, but I'm not much help."

"Anything would be appreciated," Kerensa said, patting Benip's head. He'd been doing circuits of the room, getting love from everyone, but kept returning to her.

"This guy sounds like a real master of magic. There is a sorceress here, but she only does simple stuff."

"Can you give us directions?" Aster asked.

"Sure. Have you money?"

"We have cheese." Sarielle smiled.

He gave her a blank look. "Cheese? Well, 'tis going to have to do. We don't sell cheese, but it shouldn't be too hard to find someone who does."

The girls streamed out into the shop with Gawain bringing up the rear.

Treyton grabbed him by the arm. "Ho! Brother, where are you going and what are you doing with them?"

"Out, to help them with an errand."

"Are you engaged to any of them?"

"No."

He smiled and patted him on the back. "Have fun. Don't get anyone pregnant."

The horse was as obedient as they come and hadn't moved. Sarielle got a handful of oats from under the seat to give her as a reward.

"You left it unattended?" Gawain said. "You girls are either brave or incredible naïve. Ah, I already know 'tis the latter."

Sarielle didn't think that was a very fair observation. They were somewhere unfamiliar. How were they to know its customs and downsides?

"Do people often steal things here?" Aster asked.

"There's not a lot of crime, but if you leave something sitting around long enough there's a chance it might wander off. How much do you usually sell this stuff for?"

"I don't know," Sarielle admitted. "Father only gives me what I need to buy our food. I don't know what he spends the rest on when he's out of town."

"It any good?"

"I made it, so I like to think so."

He chuckled. "Of course."

~

~*~:~*#R#*~:~*~

After a short walk they came to a produce shop, with many cheeses displayed in the window. Rozenwild stayed outside with the elhuvens and let Gawain handle the negations, for which he seemed to have an aptitude. He came out smiling and proudly handed over the sum he'd collected.

"Handmade by beautiful elhuven maidens," Sarielle teased, passing him down a box.

"I don't think he added any extra for that fact."

"Shame."

Once they'd emptied the boxes of their cargo, Gawain took the group across the other side of town. The sorceress's shopfront was so tiny you'd miss it if you weren't paying attention. It was narrower than the cart, just a small display case next to a door. The stained glass hid what lay beyond.

"I'll wait out here," Gawain said.

His wariness wasn't a good sign, but they had no choice. Rozenwild went up to the door, but wasn't sure how to make it open. Sarielle turned the round metal thing for her and Rozenwild followed her in. It was dark and a sweet musky odour hung in the air. Ellowyn was right behind her, nearly tripping over her heels. There was nowhere to go besides up a steep, narrow cliff made of wooden steps.

"Who is it?" called a women's voice.

"Um...we're...we need help," Sarielle blurted.

"You'd best come up then."

Rozenwild went first, the stairs creaking with every step. At the top she hesitated outside a curtained doorway.

"Come in," the voice beckoned.

She parted the fabric and crept into the room. A table was cluttered with...she'd forgotten the word for them, but they were paper collections bound in leather. More of them spanned an entire wall. Pots and jars lined the shelves, hundreds of ingredients. In the middle of it all was a tall, skinny woman with floor-length white hair and orange skin. She regarded them with burning purple eyes and rose from a cushioned velvet...sitting thing. It probably had a name that wasn't 'chair', but that was the only word she knew.

"I am Celestra, Mage of the Hazelands. State your business."

Sarielle glanced at her friends. "We want to kill the evil tree in our forest."

"Define evil."

"It's killing us," Rozenwild said.

"Hmm." She went to the bound papers to search. Her bangles chimed as she pulled out a volume. "Botany...possession perhaps? How long has it been doing this?"

Rozenwild stepped forward to tell her the details, everything she remembered from before.

Celestra shook her head. "I've heard about this guy. Nothing good. This is gruesome, a horrid spell. It's highly skilful, but incredibly stupid."

From her bag, Kerensa produced a wrapped seed, saved from destruction in case it was needed. Celestra took it and let it fall onto a metal dish. She poked at it with a tool of sorts, frowned and went to find another paper collection.

"This is not the sort of thing you should mess with. His soul must be paying for it in the afterlife." She flipped a thing open and skimmed the pages. She caught Kerensa eyeing off whatever was brewing over the stove. "It's tea, dear. No need to look so frightened. Look, you'll waste your time waiting here. This could take me forever to unravel. Come back tomorrow."

"How much will it cost?" Sarielle asked.

"More than you have. However, I don't like the idea of these things being out there so I'm prepared to forego my usual rates. I'm not fond of free samples though, so I'll take what you've got." She held out one hand expectantly.

"Thank you." Sarielle handed over the money.

They all thanked her on their way out and returned to the fresher air of the street. The light was starting to fade now. Gawain had actually waited as promised and left the conversation he was having with someone to come back for them.

"Any luck?"

"We have to come back tomorrow," Kerensa told him.

He sighed. "Let me guess, you have nowhere to stay?"

They could always sleep in the back of the cart.

He groaned. "Come on."

Ellowyn trotted up beside him. "Gawain, is it okay in this town for two girls to date?"

"Huh? Sure, why wouldn't it be?"

"It's not allowed in Selrilve," Kerensa said.

"You're joking? But, 'tis fine everywhere. I've never heard of anywhere that frowns upon it."

"So I can do this?" Ellowyn hugged Sarielle tightly.

"You may. Just don't get too handsy out in public."

Rozenwild slithered her hand over to squeeze Kerensa's and let her know she was on her mind. The elhuven didn't seem as receptive as Sarielle, at least not openly. It looked more like nervousness. Probably all that nonsense they fed her. Sleeping with her would help that, if she let her. Rozenwild was usually very upfront about her attraction to someone, but these elhuvens were akin to newly adult saplings and would need a gentler approach.

~

~*~:~*#S#*~:~*~

Gawain took them around the back of the shop, where he helped Sarielle put Missy in an empty stall and give her some feed. Then he brought them inside the cramped house. Treyton came out of the kitchen and saw them all squeezing into the living room.

"No." He shook his head at his brother.

"They've got nowhere to stay."

Treyton groaned in the same way as his sibling "Can they at least help with dinner?"

All three elhuvens stood up to volunteer and soon they were busy preparing a meal. Treyton gave up trying to help and let them take over.

"They won't let me in my own kitchen."

Gawain shrugged. "You wanted their help."

He crossed his arms and watched their guests. "Okay, I know what they are." He gestured to the elhuvens. "But what are they?" He nodded towards the nymphs.

"Dryad type creatures from the ___ forest."

"I didn't think things came out of there."

"They do if a problem gets bad enough."

His voice dropped to a whisper. "Be careful, brother. The things from that place...magic abounds...you don't want to get on their bad side."

"They don't look too harmful. They're smaller than the elhuvens."

"Don't be fooled by appearances. Some creatures can be quite deceptive."

Kerensa ladled stew into five bowls while Sarielle dished out the nymphs' dinner. They'd made a soup with only vegetables and no stock or seasoning. It looked bland and unappetising.

The nymphs had been ushered to sit on chairs at the table rather than the floor they'd tried first. While they waited the boys had brought in some extra chairs and boxes for the rest of them to sit on. Kerensa ferried out the bowls to them while Aster took the ones for the nymphs. They accepted them gratefully, but were confused by the contents.

"It's warm," Ellowyn whined.

"It's soup. Well, a basic one, just cut vegetables in hot water really."

She saw what was in the other bowls. "You made this just for us?"

"Mmhuh."

Rozenwild was trying to sip from the edge of her bowl, not realising the spoon sticking out of it was a utensil. She hissed as it burned her.

"Can we eat hot food?" Ellowyn asked her.

"I don't know. That hurt."

Sarielle sat down her bowl and came over to take theirs. "Sorry, I didn't even think about that. Here, I'll add some cold water." She brought them back a moment later. "We should have just stuck a raw carrot in a glass of water for you, shouldn't we?"

The nymphs shared a guilty look.

"I didn't realise you were going to such trouble for us," Rozenwild said.

"We ate earlier, so just the water would have sufficed," Ellowyn added.

They didn't hand the bowls back though, and both of them tried to use their spoons once they saw everyone else doing it. Although Rozenwild got frustrated after only a couple of attempts and threw it on the floor. Ellowyn however tried valiantly, gripping it like baby. Both of them looked to be enjoying the taste. Kerensa brought out some crusty bread and handed out chunks slathered in butter to the boys.

"What is that?" Ellowyn asked.

"Butter."

"Ellowyn, no dairy," Rozenwild scolded. "You'll make yourself sick."

The younger nymph watched Kerensa spread it, mesmerised. "But it's like sunshine." She took an unbuttered piece and nibbled on the corner.

"And lay off the bread."

Ellowyn paused before stuffing the rest of her bread in her mouth.

When everyone was done, Sarielle went to wash up, but Kerensa shooed her from the kitchen. The nymphs were clearly unnerved by the foreign environment and sat waiting for guidance. Ellowyn's timid expression made Sarielle want to wrap her in a hug. As soon as Gawain and his brother went to bring in some firewood, she took her by the hand and pulled her into the corridor leading to the shop. She pushed Ellowyn up against the wall and met the nymph's lips with her own. Ellowyn made a peep of surprise, before kissing her back, taking over with her more practiced movements. Sarielle tried to learn from her, wanting more. Her hands slid up Ellowyn's slender body over her ribs, but didn't know what else to do. Ellowyn gave her an idea when her fingers strayed over her breast and squeezed gently. The nymph didn't have much to squeeze, but Sarielle tried anyway, eliciting a sigh of pleasure from her. They broke apart, panting hard, foreheads touching. Ellowyn smiled at her sweetly. Gods, she was beautiful.

Sarielle licked her lips nervously. "Ellowyn, will you be my girlfriend?"

She blinked her big eyes. "Your girl...friend? Really?!" Her face lost some excitement. "We don't really use that word though. I think it means something different to you. We're not monogamous creatures. We may have a preferred partner, but we have other lovers as well."

"Oh."

This wasn't going as she'd hoped. Wait, she hadn't said no though.

"Non-nymph partners are usually called mates, because we mate with them."

"Can I be yours?"

She did a happy wriggle and threw her arms around her. "Of course you can! I would like that very much. I got so worried earlier when I thought you didn't want me."