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The garden was beautiful as usual this morning. The lilies bloomed like bright stars in the night sky, the hydrangeas sprinkled in morning dew, sparkling like jewels on the breast of Queen Victoria.
Yes. They were indeed beautiful. And he, the gardener Naib Subedar, the Clarity, was proud.
It was like the flowers were smiling at him, thanking him for doing so well. Although that should be a given, he was a forest elf after all. Everyone knew forest elves had an affinity with plants and medicine. Even if he was once apart of the royal guard, his love for botany was stronger than his loyalty to the royal family.
His little cottage was in the center of a forest, surrounded by a beautiful bed of flowers he grew himself, in a meadow blessed by the sun and the moon. It was quaint. Comfortable. A shining pond used for the source of water glimmered underneath the sun and moon, with lilies floating across the surface. Nobody would dare to bother him after all, even though the occasional youngin would visit for medicines, herbs and potions. There was even one who wanted to learn swordsmanship from him— and had proudly become a knight in the royal guard last he heard.
There was only one who trespassed onto his territory. A human. A young man, lost and confused, in such awe of the flowers that he'd made a flower crown with the wild ones.
"A human has made his way into my garden? How interesting. Are you lost?"
The human had turned to look at him with a surprised face, before smiling such a beautiful smile, Naib's heart had stopped beating for a single breath.
"No. I was simply entranced by the beauty of these flowers that I could not help myself."
From thereon, the human would visit sporadically, bringing human delights such as coffees and snacks and cookies. But Naib was mainly one for teas and cakes, herbal ones in fact. Coffee was simply too strong for his elven nose.
"Don't you have anything better to do than visit me and my garden?" He had asked him one day, though he secretly wished that he were to stay. The human smiled his beautiful smile once more and shook his head, reaching up to place a book back on the shelf for him.
"I enjoy visiting you."
Those words were enough to make his heart flutter, with a faint blush forming on his cheeks as he looked back down to the Dahlias in his hands, white and unblemished like a paper canvas untouched by it's painter.
"Do you, really?" He whispered, softly, to the flowers and they winked back at him as if to say there was no mistake. The human was speaking the truth. And he, too, enjoyed his visits. "Then... Please come often." Naib said, returning a smile of his own (and he would later be told was beautiful as well), never noticing the excitement in the human's eyes and his bashful blush was like blooms of china roses on a blanket of snow.
He forgot the name of that human. It had been so long. At one point, he had abruptly stopped visiting. But he waited, longing for his touch once more, longing for his beautiful smile, his charming laugh.
Longing to kiss his sweet lips again.
And yet he never came back.
Even after he professed his love for him. Ah, love is such a fleeting thing. Humans were such fickle creatures, their lips whispering sweet words while their hands would be killing another. To backstab another was human nature, right?
A bout of sadness and anger flashed through the elf, his hands tightening his grip around the roses he held. Red dripped down his wrist, falling onto the cuffs of his blue sleeves— and for a moment, he felt a movement upon his eye and chest, and for a moment, his world was red. The flowers dyed with crimson, the sky dark like blood. Even the sun, which was once a burning gold, was white like the moon.
But that was only for a second.
Everything was back to normal.
Of course it was.
He was a fool, to suspect he would leave him behind.
Nothing was wrong, right?
He still loved him.
And his world was as calm and colourful as ever.
The wind was kissing the side of his face, the sunlight reflecting off his midnight blue hair, golden eyes looking lovingly towards the flowers he tended to.
Yes, he would continue to wait for his beloved. He was simply waiting for him to return. His human, his love, his life. He would show him all the flowers that he grew in the past years, the sunflowers he loved so much had finally bloomed in his hands, facing the beautiful sun that blessed the ground they walked on.
He would be so very happy to see his work. Yes. Of course he would. He loved flowers just as much as Naib, he would tend to them along with him. They would clear out the weeds together again, drink tea and eat cake together, stay in each other's arms until sundown and sunrise. He would sing and brush his hair, whispering sweet nothings into his ear as he always did, so lovingly and gently. Just as they always did. Surely, he was waiting for him, too, waiting to come back into his arms so they could stay together forever.
He stopped watering the flowers and placed his watering can back down next to the pond. Tomorrow he would do this routine again. Wake up, eat, water the plants, prune and sleep. He wonders when he had gone onto autopilot, doing these without a thought. He didn't visit anymore, but he would come back one day, yes! He wouldn't abandon him. He would never abandon him, he promised.
He promised him.
...
He awoke to the smiling sun, pulling open his curtains to see his garden again. He smiled along with the sun, his garden was as peaceful and beautiful as ever.
He went outside to water his plants once more, humming quietly to himself as he worked, pruning the roses so they may bloom well again.
But something was different today.
There was someone here.
He looked towards the entrance to the forest, seeing a figure standing there. Black vest and golden hair, ridiculously large black hat and handsome smile. Tall stature and strong arms— was it him?
Was it really him?
Had he returned?
"Norton..." The name slipped past his lips so quickly, like water falling down a cliff. The wind whispered excitedly, brushing his hair as if to say "he's here! He's back! After waiting so long he has returned!"
He placed his watering can to the side as he slowly began to walk towards him, excitement pumping through his veins. Yes, he is back. He can hold him once more, he can kiss him once more.
But as he and Norton got closer, the world began to flash. There were visuals of red around him, roses painted crimson, blood, bones and silver butterflies. But that wasn't real, right? His world was... Colourful.
"Naib..." Norton's face was blurry. His smile was blurry.
He lifted a hand to his cheek.
"Naib, I'm so sorry."
"What do you mean?"
"I should have come earlier..."
"But you're here now. Look, I've been taking care of the flowers, they're beautiful, right?"
"Naib, there are no flowers."
"What?"
"Look around you. There are no more flowers."
"But I planted them! I planted the sunflowers that—"
"Look around you, Naib!"
Naib looked around him.
The world was crimson.
The flowers
were
all
dead.
"Huh...?"
"Naib. Naib, look at me."
He returned his gaze to Norton's face, which was no longer blurry. He looked different now. His hair had a tint of glowing purple, his eyes a void of black, and yet his face was showing a sad expression.
"There aren't any flowers anymore."
Ah.
That's right.
He wasn't taking care of flowers anymore.
"Where did they go?"
He could see the crestfallen expression upon his beloved's face, but why was he so sad?
"Cariño, five years ago the Cerulean Lily was placed in your care. Do you remember?"
The Cerulean Lily? Ah, yes, it rang a bell. The Queen of Elves entrusted him to watch the Lily, and it was no trouble at all. In fact, it was simply another flower in his garden.
"Three years ago, humans wanted to steal it. Naib, you died."
"I died?"
"You held a grudge. You turned this place into a battlefield."
"But what about my flowers?"
Again. Again about the flowers.
"Naib, your flowers are all dead! They died along with you!" Norton was now desperate to wake him up from his delusion, and finally, Naib saw a silver butterfly flutter it's wings passed his eye. His eye? Ah. His only eye. As his other had been devoured by butterflies.
He remembered.
The day the humans invaded his home, tearing down his flowers in search for the Cerulean Lily. No matter his strength, in magic or combat, he was outnumbered. A blade had passed it's way through his heart, and he had been left to bleed on the ground.
His blood seeped into the dirt, his flowers bring trampled and ripped from their roots, and yet he could do nothing. His blood dyed his blue shirt a dark red, and with his final breath he unleashed a curse through his lips before he died and was reborn as a malignant entity.
The elf fell to his knees and cried.
"No... No, no, no, this... that.. There's no way... I didn't do it, no, they-"
"Naib!" Norton grabbed his shoulders to comfort him but alas, the thorns that must have been the roses he thought he held burst out of the ground, a mutated form of flowers trying to protect their master. They thrashed around, revealing hundreds of corpses that must have belonged to soldiers trying to stop his insanity were revealed underneath these roses.
"It's not my fault... they- They did it! They made me— no- what about you? Where did you go? Why did you leave me alone? How could—"
"Please, Naib, wake up, I'm sorry—"
An anguished scream ripped from his throat, the pain and reality of it all burst from the bottle that kept it shut. The thorns began to get more violent, until it finally grazed across Norton's cheek, dark blood seeping out from his wound.
They stopped.
"Oh, no, no, your face..." Naib's insanity disappeared the moment he saw the wound appear. He caressed his face and wiped the blood away, his worry and concern making Norton's dead heart squeeze in sorrow.
"I'm fine, mi amor, blades and weapons cannot hurt me anymore."
As if to show him, the wound healed itself by a small green flame.
"But... You, Naib..."
Naib didn't even seem to notice, or at least, he didn't even care. He just ran a thumb across his cheek, softly humming the song he would sing while watering his flowers.
"We can make a new garden." He said, smiling a little, his eyes clouded. "And we can... We can have our own home somewhere. The sun will be gentle, the moon will be... We can-"
"We can't." Norton grabbed his hand gently, kissing his palm lovingly.
"Why not?"
"Because you're dead."
"No."
"What do you mean no—" The man sighed. "Cariño, you're crazy."
"I'm... Not crazy. No. There's nothing wrong with me."
"Please, Naib, open your eyes— er, your eye- no! Please, you need to understand..."
"But... But we can make another garden..."
Norton pulled him into his chest, his arms tight around him as if this was the last hug he would ever have with him. And, in a way, it was, he supposed.
Because Naib was meant to die.
"I'm so sorry, mi amor."
Naib could feel his arms shake.
"Am I going to die?"
"... I'm sorry."
"I see."
He sighed, finally returning the hug.
The delusion was no use anymore.
He remembered.
"May we meet again in our next lives." Norton whispers softly, pressing one final kiss to his forehead before Naib felt a thrust into his chest.
And yet he was not afraid.
Nor was he angry.
Nor was he sad.
He was at peace.
Underneath a bleeding moon...
... The Man in Red had been put to rest.