A Bouquet of Flowers

Sybille tapped her pen against the paper, at times writing, at times crossing over, but at the end of it all, always crumbling her work, and throwing it to the flames of the fireplace.

“This is not adding up,” she went. “This is just not adding up!”

She had been cross-examining the books of the monastery for weeks. There was something that was missing, she could tell, but could not piece just what.

A knock came on the door to the library.

“Bastion?” said Sybille

Leona opened the door.

“Sorry to disappoint,” she said.

“Oh, it’s you. What do you want?”

Leona walked around the library, looking around the littered books and notes.

“Nothing,” she said. “I just wanted to ask you something real quick.”

“Asking things is something,” said Sybille. “But alright. What did you want to ask?”

“First of all…” said Leona. “Why do you hate me? There has to be a reason.”

“I…” stammered Sybille. “Well, you tried to kill Bastion! Don’t you remember?”

“Yeah… I do suppose that first impression is on me,” said Leona. “So, any chance we can bridge past that? If we are going to be working together, at least it would be best if we can trust each other.”

“Uhm… well, it does not sound bad, but…”

“Trust doesn’t grow on trees, does it?”

“I guess not… but I don’t hate you, as in, hate you, Leona. I just, well… had that impression. Forgive me.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. We all have rights to keep grudges. So, on to my second question…”

“Hmm… I thought you just had one question.”

“Two! Or three.”

Sybille chuckled.

“Okay, ask a million,” she said.

“Do you know what the hell pizza is? Bastion keeps bringing it up, but I have no idea what it is. And what about pineapple?”

“I don’t know… I think it is some type of food, maybe?”

“Right. Okay, now the real question. Do you know anyplace where we can find some everglow flowers?”

“Everglow flowers?” said Sybille. “What for?”

“Just a gift for a friend,” said Leona.

Sybille squinted her eyes.

“Who exactly?” she said.

“Don’t worry, it’s not Bastion,” said Leona. “I’m not into rocks.”

Sybille blushed.

“Why would I be worried about that?!” she said, giving out a pout.

Leona chuckled.

“Sorry, sorry!” she said.

“Well… if you have to know, they grow in caves near the sea. I think that there is one in the village east from here.”

“I see. Thank you.”

Leona headed out to the door.

“Wait!” said Sybille.

“Hmm?” said Leona, hanging unto the door frame.

“You’re not going alone, are you?” said Sybille. “Everglows are beautiful, but you do know that they tend to grow where monsters are, right?”

“Monsters are no big deal. I can handle them.”

“If there is a monster, there are a dozen.”

“I guess that’s true. Gonna help?”

Sybille pouted.

“I guess…” she said. “Is there anything in it for me?”

“Well,” said Leona, “the friend I mentioned might have an old book lying around for you.”

Sybille’s eyes went wide.

“Book?”

***

A blast of wind broke open the tunnel path blocked by boulders. Leona walked into the tunnel first, holding a firm grip on her halberd, and inched closer with her ears raised high in wary precaution against any and all monsters that may lie within. Sybille came after her and illuminated the path through the shine of her staff.

The tunnel path was narrow, at first, but as with many cave systems, they eventually opened up to larger chambers. The first one was clear. However, the unnatural growth of corrupted fungi spread through the floor, as well as patches of plants surviving from the stray rays of light that squeezed through from the holes in the cave ceiling.

“There they are!” said Leona.

Everglow flowers. A whole field of them was blooming right in the middle of a large clearing in the cave chamber, and blessed with open air from a large opening in the ceiling. Sunlight there was so abundant that even a tree was growing there.

“Looks like there aren’t any monsters here,” said Sybille. “I guess we lucked out.”

Leona went to the field of flowers, got to her knees, and went picking up flowers one by one and bringing them into a basket.

“Oh, yeah, I am talking a whole bunch of these to…” went Leona, and in her gathering of the flowers, she stepped on a branch.

“Ah!” Sybille screamed.

Leona was surprised at first, but when she realized it was just Sybille, she smirked.

“Fraidy cat,” she said.

“You be careful!” said Sybille. “One wrong step and we could be surrounded by…”

“Ah!” Leona screamed.

She pointed her halberd at something at the wall, and then, Sybille came over to light the chamber.

It was a long, green fruit hanging from the tree.

“What was that?” said Sybille.

“It looked like a snake!” said Leona. “Sheesh…”

She cut down the fruit with the blade of her halberd.

Sybille chuckled.

“What did you call me, again?” she said.

“Oh, nothing,” said Leona. “Maybe if…”

The ground trembled.

“What was that?” said Sybille.

The tree at the clearing moved. It uprooted itself, letting its base grow lengthen, and its lower branches shift into arm-like tendrils. The tree’s trunk transformed, opening a giant mouth-like opening, and a pair of glowing eyes rising from its center.

It bellowed.

“A tree monster?!” said Leona.

“A spriggan!” said Sybille.

Sybille charged her staff with flames, and blasted out a ball of fire towards the spriggan.

“No!” said Leona.

She dashed through the air, and cleaved apart the spell with her halberd before it could reach the spriggan.

“Leona, what are you doing?!” said Sybille.

“Protecting the flowers!” said Leona.

“This is not the time for that!”

“That is what we are here for!”

The spriggan slammed down with its full weight focused into an arm, down towards Leona. The lioness blocked, but the sheer weight of the attack, and the structural instability caused by its roots moving, made the ground break down.

Leona fell to a precipice, with the tree alongside her.

“Leona!” said Sybille.

She managed to cast wind magic to let herself levitate, but was not fast enough to catch the lioness.

“I have to go after her,” said Sybille, and flew down into the precipice.

***

Leona pulled herself out from a pond of water. She had landed in something of an underground lake. At least, the spriggan that caused the ground collapse had fallen down as well, and impaled itself with a stalagmite. It was dead.

“No, no…” muttered Leona.

The basket of flowers that she had gathered had all been destroyed. If not by the fall, then the water.

“Hey!” said Sybille. “Are you alright?”

There was sincere worry in her voice. That much, Leona could tell.

“No,” said Leona. “The flowers are ruined.”

Sybille floated down to the ground beside Leona.

“Well… they are just flowers,” said Sybille. “Can’t you just get any other ones?”

“No. It has to be these ones.”

“I really need to ask… why? Why these specific ones?”

“It is not any of your business,” said Leona.

Sybille raised an eyebrow.

“I came here to help,” said Sybille. “I am worried you could just get yourself into trouble, just like that. I know you are a very private person, but does it even help you being secretive like this?”

“Oh, you don’t want to talk about self-help,” said Leona. “Have you done anything for to help yourself lately?”

“What do you mean?” said Sybille, her tone turning grim.

“You don’t do anything but dedicate every moment of your day for someone else,” said Leona. “You are the only one who you don’t help. You have never done anything for your own sake, have you?”

Sybille glared at Leona.

“And what’s wrong with that?” she said. “From what I can tell, every moment of your day is dedicated for yourself. If you are not thinking of revenge, you just sleep, eat, or do whatever you want.”

“What?”

“You have said it yourself. The only reason you are in the monastery right now is that our interests temporarily align. In the end, you just live for yourself. So, don’t tell me how to live my life.”

Leona returned the glare.

“You don’t know the first thing about me,” said Leona. “And don’t twist my words.”

“Then, I’d like to know,” said Sybille. “Because I don’t understand you. You obviously want to be close to people, but always push others away. Why the secrecy? Is it something forbidden?”

Leona closed her fist.

“It is not forbidden,” she said. “It is just not any of your concern.”

Sybille raised an eyebrow.

“Is that so?” she said.

“Fine!” said Leona. “It is because I don’t want you to know. Satisfied?”

Sybille sighed.

“If you’re just embarrassed, you should have just said so,” she said. “It is about a romance, isn’t it?”

“No.”

“No need to be shy now,” continued Sybille, going with a teasing voice. “Going after a friend’s favorite flowers, being upset to lose the flowers, then…”

“They’re funeral flowers.”

Sybille fell to a silence.

With that, Leona let the tension in her body dissipate.

“I…” said Sybille. “Leona, I did not mean…”

Leona let out a long exhale.

“Everglows are the traditional funeral flower for those of South Lumeria,” said Leona. “They are rare here in the Istellian Isles, though, so finding them is not an easy thing. The leader of my previous party was a South Lumerian. He came here to this country with his family, and now… now they need the flowers.”

Sybille looked down at the ruined basket of flowers.

“I see,” she said. “I am sorry I said those things. I take back what I said.”

“Apology accepted,” said Leona. “But I am not doing any retractions. I meant it when I said it you help everyone and anyone… but that is a good thing. However, you should also take care of yourself. You are a kind soul, and I should have never rocked the boat.”

Sybille smiled with relief.

“Well, we should take care of these flowers first,” she said.

With that, she placed her staff upon the basket, and cast a spell of healing light, restoring each of the flowers to their bright bloom.

***

The next day, Leona arrived at certain village, and attended a certain funeral with a bouquet of everglowing flowers in her hands. It was one that she cast with closure into the grave.

“I will miss every one of you,” Leona thought in silence. “May we meet once again in the afterlife. Until then, though… this world needs my help.”

The flowers fell upon the coffin with silence.

It was time to move on.