A Villain's Fall

She would eventually be affected by having too many nobility in one place. There was still an uneasiness about them that nothing could ever take away.

She took a little break and went outside to interact with the plants. Her dress pooled silkily at her feet as she rested against the railing in front of the pear trees, just past the hall where Annelise's celebration was bustling with activity. Hesitant footsteps came up behind them. She recognized the person without turning. She had, in a sense, expected him.

She let out a sigh. "Leave."

"Why?" Julian's voice was stern as he ordered. "I came to apologize."

Hot and abrupt, her rage blazed. "And you believe that saying sorry will make everything better?" Her eyes were burning with a glare as she turned to face him.

His expression was obscured by the light framing him from behind, but she could feel his perplexity and the sting of her rage. Given what he had done, he deserved it. He shot back, "Why shouldn't it?" "I can't really offer much more."

She gazed at him, unable to believe him. Could he really be so conceited, so naive? In all the time they had spent together, how had she missed it? How had he managed to hide it so skillfully—and how had she missed the malice that was hiding there?

Her words oozed venom as she snarled, "Are you stupid?" "You self-centered, conceited, stupid noble, nothing you do can undo what you've done. As you said, I will never again cultivate any living things in my garden! Are you content? You self-centered pigs have destroyed any possibility of reconciliation. To think that I was genuinely thinking about pardoning you! As she turned and ran into the gardens, tears fell freely down her cheeks.

She took sanctuary in one of the garden's numerous labyrinths, distraught and furious. She was unable to handle this. What was his level of bravado?

"Bloom!" He went after her, his voice pursuing her. She pressed forward, her hands tensed. "Bloom!" He caught up and grabbed her wrist to stop her from running away.

"You dare not touch me!" She let out a yell and wrenched free.

"Bloom, I didn't—"

Didn't you mean it? Oh, I see. Did you say that? However, you did! I assumed that you might have slipped and not really done it, but you did. You understand how much it meant to me, Julian, that you destroyed my garden. Didn't you think that may alter my perception of you?

She broke free of his hold and rushed farther into the garden.

"That wouldn't have happened."

She interrupted him by snapping, "Of course not."

"I never meant what I said, Bloom. I didn't do it.

The fear on his face caught her attention as she spun around. And I'm expected to accept that? All of you nobility are the same. Why I ever believed you might be different is beyond me. To you, we commoners are nothing more than liars and traitors. Are you fabricating this story because of my current identity? Julian, just leave me alone and go.

"You must believe me, Bloom. That is not what I would do!

“You self-centered prick, I don’t have to do anything!”

"Bloom, when could I have done it? Let me know when! The week after I told you that, I was on vacation, and when I got back, I didn't have time to stop by your house before your mother showed up. At what point may I have destroyed your garden?

She started to respond, but his words hit her like a ton of bricks. Her mouth slammed shut, then opened hesitantly again. Like water pouring through fractured clay, the rage drained out of her. Finally, she managed a slender, “Really?

Julian moved closer until he could put his hands in hers. In his hands, she sensed the tremble. His voice was as quiet as a prayer as he whispered, "I would never intentionally hurt you or lie to you."

Her deep purple eyes met his grass-green ones, and they locked eyes. “Really?” she said, catching a glimpse of the earnestness glimmering in their green depths.

"Really."

Then, to her astonishment, he leaned down and gave her a full lip-kiss.

For a heartbeat, shock gripped her. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his curly black hair, something she had wanted to do for a very long time but had been unaware of until now.

Nolan had told her to live and love again. Love and live.

Did she fall in love again? As they separated, she noticed the same feeling growing inside of her in his eyes.

Indeed. She was.

As he held her back, she lingered her arms around his neck and muttered, "I'm sorry." "I should have had faith in you. I ought to have known. Her cheeks were streaked with tears. "I ought to have—"

Julian used soft fingertips to wipe away the tears. "You had no reason to trust and every reason to doubt." It is easily pardoned.

"But I was aware," she cried. "I pushed you away even though deep down I knew you wouldn't hurt me."

He gave her another quick, gentle kiss. "I love you," was all he said. "I couldn't harm you in that way. I don't know how it happened, Bloom, but I liked you even when you were just a commoner.

She gave a shaky laugh. "I suppose it caught us off guard, didn't it?"

He kissed her on the neck. In her ear, he said, "Will you marry me?" Her voice was stolen by a wave of unnamed feelings that swept through her. Her throat was too constricted to speak, so she could only nod. She saw her own happiness reflected in his bright eyes as he pulled back.

"Who was it if it wasn't you?" Bloom inquired. He knew what she meant, but before he could respond, a another voice interrupted.

For that, I'm afraid I'll have to accept the award. It was a cold, poisonous tone. At the sound of that all-too-familiar voice, Bloom's body tensed and her face lost color. Julian looked to see what had captured her attention.

"No," she murmured. "No, you've passed away."

Drake Clearbrook made a spooky laugh. "Oh, little flower, am I? I'm afraid it doesn't seem that way.

To their surprise, a gate slammed shut with a loud clang. Bloom looked around. The only way out of the rose garden was now sealed, and they stood there.

They were confined.

Julian stood guard in front of her as a woman, a little older than Bloom, came into sight.

Julian spat, his voice full of disdain, "Clarissa Bartlett."

The woman's icy, lovely face was slashed with a sly smirk. Bloom felt a chill at her proximity.

In a scornful tone, she remarked, "It was a pity you two made up." Julian, I wish I could have been in your poor old mother's shoes. I guess I ought to have waited a bit longer before destroying what this child values most, don't you think?

"My garden was ruined by you!"

The harsh, piercing laughter of Clarissa Bartlett reverberated all around them. "Obviously! You exhibit sadness in the most intriguing ways, my love.

Bloom's already pallid face turned much paler.

"You didn't believe that I was the only one who wanted your brat dead, did you, little flower?" "Drake Clearbrook?" "It so happens that my cousin was the one who killed your beloved husband."

Bloom said, "Nolan," the name a shaky thread.

"That's correct. And now I might be involved in this one's death as well. You will be broken by it, and we will finally have what we really want.

Bloom's voice faltered and almost failed her. "What is it?"

Drake Clearbrook chuckled once again. "Oh, little flower, I admire your bravery! Why, of course, it's your gift. I've spent my entire life studying unique presents like yours. Did you know that the gift from the soul is severed if the spirit is broken before the body? You see, little flower, your sister, child, and husband did not die for nothing. Their passing motivated me to take advantage of your generosity.

"My sweetheart, I've had my eye on it for a long time. Actually, since you were born. You have a wonderful gift. I don't think anyone has ever used such seemingly ordinary qualities to wield such power.

"Unfortunately for me, the woman I hired to kidnap you did a terrible job. You see, she was one of those sentimental fools. She hid you somewhere secure after falling in love with your cute face. Naturally, she is now deceased.

"I was almost done with you. Then, just two years ago, I heard about a baby in my own community who had the ability to grow things! I looked into it, of course, and there you were, living a happy life with your family. I spotted the ideal opportunity.

"It was really simple. You were very trustworthy. I slaughtered your family, and I'm sure that killing your child will be the last of you.

However, I miscalculated you. I underestimated your strength. You managed to escape by holding onto your will to life. I guess that servant put you somewhere, because I didn't know where you'd gone.

In an effort to make you a social outcast wherever you stayed, I paid people to circulate false information about you in every town within a few days of my homestead. You must have been exhausted from all that mistrust, didn't you, my dear?

"To find you, I pretended to be dead and wandered around like a lost minstrel. Nobody takes notice of a bard. I was helped by Clarissa Bartlett's ability to create illusions. The ideal strategy came together after we located you: murder the girls in your town in strange ways to raise suspicions about you and possibly even provoke retribution. Although it was unfortunate to stop them, I treated myself first because they were pretty little things. It may have been a serious mistake, but the community failed to notice that a guy had sexually assaulted them, something that a woman like you couldn't have done.