All Chapters of Dreaming of Flowers: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

"Chepi." I call, turning in my seat and hurrying towards her. I pause, grab my plate, and drag my servant out of the room with my free hand. "That girl just told me the Alva living here are forced to procreate. Is that true?" I whisper as soon as we're outside the dining hall. The evening is setting in now, the sun has turned the sky a light pink color, and the light is dwindling."Yes, Lady Delilah. I had my child four years ago but chose not to marry." I feel my jaw dropping at the news she so casually drops on me."So, you're saying you have a kid? Where is it? You're always with me and I've never seen a kid." I looked behind her as though it had been following her all this time and I just hadn't noticed."Come, let's head back to Erik's estate." She ushers me away from the dining hall, gently taking my plate as she does."Chepi?" I press as she guides me ahead of her. She was usually so anal about making sure I was always in front; I wonder why she was trying to scurry away from m

I move closer to the water, frowning a little. "Do you have something bubbly?" I ask Erik, hands still on the straps of my nightgown. The water was a little milky looking, but still too see through to be in it naked with Erik in the same room.I jump when he's in front of me suddenly, facing the water and dumping a bottle in. He doesn't look at me when he holds his finger above the bath and starts spinning it. The water moves with his finger, and the bubbles mix and foam."Better?" His eyes dart to mine. I nod, backing up a little, shooing him away. There's a smirk on his face, but he returns to his cart with no comment and turns his back to me. I very quickly let my nightgown drop and sit on the edge of the tub to sink in. I move to sit against the spouts, and so I have a good viewpoint of Erik. He turns after a moment, coming back to the water. He has another bottle of soap in his hands, and he's rolling up his sleeves."I can do it myself." I say quickly, almost standing up out of

"You probably didn't have to send them away for that, you know." I say to Erik as I finish the bread and pick up the cup of steaming liquid he had brought, bringing it to my nose to smell it. It smelled earthy, and a bit like mint and some kind of unfamiliar citrus. Its tea, I confirm as I take a small sip. I think there's even a little honey in it. "What's this fruit?" I ask, pointing to the hunk of orange colored flesh. Part of my problem with the food here was I didn't know what any of it was. I just kept getting plates full of small animals and unidentifiable produce."It's a natmelon. It's good, I promise." He leans over me and picks it up by its pale green colored rind and pulls a piece off with his finger. "Try it." He holds it out to me, and I realize he's expecting to feed me."I'm not helpless, you know." I say, instead of taking his offering. He doesn't drop his hand though; in fact, he raises his eyes to mine with a glint of challenge in them."Why would you assume I think

"Do you want to put your feet in?" Erik asks as we stand by the stream, holding his hand out. He's already removed his shoes and is standing in the water, so I nod, taking his hand. I hadn't been wearing shoes, unlike him. That was something else crazy about this world. I didn't have to worry about stepping on broken glass or a needle here. I didn't even have to wear shoes if I didn't want to and since Erik hadn't given me any, I'd just gone without."It's cold." I gasp when I close the distance between us. He chuckles, and I look up to meet his gaze. We're maybe six inches away, my hand still in his, just staring up at him. I can see a bunch of images of him in this creek going through my vision. Young him, older him, sad him, lonely him. My heart ached at how it seemed he always came here with tears in his eyes, or anger in his chest. He often picked up the rocks and hurled them at the wall on the opposite side or yelled into the sky and made sharp bullets of water pierce the trees.

We continue walking through the water, quiet now.After a little, we come to the source of the stream.It was a natural spring, flowing down from the top of a twenty-foot-high incline of jagged rocks, covered in moss and flowers and other plants. The pool at the bottom wasn't anything special, only hot tub sized I'd say, but the whole thing was so pretty and serene. The water looked so clear and clean, I bet I could drink it."Let's sit with our feet in the water." I nod, following him out of the stream so we can walk to the edge of the pool. He wipes a spot clean for me to sit first at the edge and rolls up his pants a little. I sit beside him and let my feet dangle in the clear water. It's cold, like melted ice temperature."Can I ask you something?" He says hesitantly after a moment. I look at him. "Do you think... you'll be returning home?" I look away, pursing my lips.That was a very good question.I shrug. "I don't know. I haven't really thought about it. I mean... I miss my ho