13 Dahlia

I spent the entire morning practicing archery with Rhys, who agreed to be my mentor. I didn't ask him to; he just volunteered. He seems to enjoy taunting me while I practice, which bothered me a lot. He keeps aggravating me even though he knows how annoyed I am.

I've been practicing until noon. Since the sun is already at its highest peak, it's too hot to practice outside. I figured that it's enough for today. I'm glad that I'm getting the hang of archery.

I pull the leather bracer and gloves off, shaking both my hands to loosen up. My arms were starting to hurt; archery is tiring. I pick up my sun hat and wear it on my head, securing the ribbon under my chin. Turning on my heel, I was about to walk back to the castle when Rhys decided to open his mouth.

"So, there's a festival happening in the town of tinkers in three days," I turn to Rhys, who's sitting on the bench, "do you want to go?" he asks. I turn back and face him, crossing my arms.

Town of tinkers, the place Blossom went to that night of the attack. I will be lying if I say I don't want to go out and explore what's beyond the castle walls.

"What festival?"

"It's called the Hyacintho Luna Festival, the sun goes down early on that day, and a blue full moon appears. The tinkers don't work during the night, so they take that chance and celebrate."

I have to admit. I'm curious about what kind of creatures these tinkers would be. Though, knowing that it is unlikely, I'd meet someone as human as me. Most humans either have magical abilities or are turned into creatures.

I stare at Rhys; he must have been human before. He looks very human-like, apart from having pointed ears. I must say he looks handsome.

"I know I'm handsome. You can stop admiring me now."

If only he weren't so arrogant. He plastered a grin on his face making me hiss, "so are you coming?" he asks, standing up from his seat.

"I want to," I say, seeing his face light up, "but you have to ask Blossom," and his face drops. He scratches the back of his head, looking conflicted when I mentioned her name.

"You desperately want to go, so why not ask her yourself?"

I blow the strand of hair away from my face and look at him intently, "I didn't say I was desperate; you wanted me to go with you, so ask Blossom," I say, turning on my heel and marched off the field.

"I saved your life!"

While walking straight ahead, I shout back, "I didn't ask you to!"

"A tree was about to fall on you," he laughs loudly, "you need not ask me; it was crystal clear from your frightened expression that night."

I take in a deep breath, not letting him get to me, "you should have let the tree fall on me!"

Shaking my head, I quicken my pace reaching the stairs. He shouts something back, but it was inaudible from our distance. I ignore him, running up to reach the castle.

The need for a bath and a change of dress has been bothering me since after the practice. Whenever I'm tired, I usually go for a long bath right away. So I push through the castle entrance, and by the door, I am greeted by two pixies that flew by me. I bow my head and smile to greet them back.

Whenever Blossom and I talk, we usually take a walk around the castle. Doing so has helped me familiarized the place so I won't get lost.

I reach the twin staircase, my favorite part inside the castle. It looks so grand and sophisticated. My hand runs through the railings as I head to the second floor.

My head turns left and right, trying to recall which hallway my room was on. But a door, halfway open with a streak of light coming from inside, catches my attention. There are two hallways on both sides upon reaching the second door, but in front is a sitting area with two doors behind it.

Suddenly, I hear a light whisper and a soft push on my back. I frantically look around me, inspecting every corner to see if anyone was there. The second floor is merely silent.

Then I hear the whisper again, "daughter of Rosetta."

It is very faint, but I understood what the whisper said. The voice seems to be a woman's voice and coming from the open door.

Unaware, my legs had already started moving towards the door. My eyes fixed on the light. My body feels like it's floating; I don't think that I'm in control of my body.

I lift my hand unconsciously, touching the wooden door and pushing it open. My eyes blink rapidly, the light blinding me. I thought it was sunlight coming from the large window on the opposite side of the way, but it isn't.

It's coming from a flower.

The room is empty, with only a table placed in the middle. On top of the table is a flower. A lovely looking pink flower with leaves that are segmented and toothed. It looks familiar; then I remember Aunt Zoey growing the same kind of flower when I was young.

It's a Dahlia flower. The light it's emitting is making it look majestic.

"Daughter," the whisper comes back, this time much clearer, "of Rosetta."

"Y-yes," I softly say. The voice is coming from the flower; it's alive.

"Granddaughter of Lucia."

Lucia, who is she? My grandmother's name isn't Lucia.

I remember the roses that represented Blossom and my mother's life. This flower looks to be the same, representing someone's life, but who's?

"Who are you?" I shiver when a bad feeling washes over me.

"You, you…" it repeats itself, "Bohr's necklace…"

Bohr's necklace, the cause of Dazia and Beorene's conflict. Whoever this being is, is looking for the necklace. It must be confused and mistaken since I don't have it. Blossom mentioned that Bohr took the necklace away, never returning it to his daughters.

"The necklace…"

I am starting to sweat, it is getting hot in this room, and the light from the flower is warm.

"I don't have it," I reply.

The light gets brighter, making me cover my eyes with my arm; it's getting warmer too. I start backing away slowly from the flower.

"WHERE IS THE NECKLACE!" the voice shouts, making me flinch.

I have to get out of here.

My eyes are now completely shut, afraid that once I open my eyes, I might go blind. I continue moving backward until I feel the door behind me. My hand feels for the doorknob. It feels like the sun is right on my face. It's so warm in this room.

"THE NECKLACE…GIVE IT TO ME," the voice shouts again.

Thankfully, the doorknob cooperated. I was afraid that I would be locked inside.

"I said I don't have it!" I shout back before twisting the knob, hurrying out, and closing the door behind me.

My breathing is abnormal; my heart is beating rapidly. What was that? I repeatedly ask myself. Finally, I open my eyes but only to let out a high pitched scream.

Blossom is standing by the stairs as she just got up. She rushes toward me as soon as I screamed, taking my hands in hers.

"Oh, it's just you, Blossom, I-" I try to say but was cut off by her.

"Did you go inside?" worry is plastered all over her face, "Rose, you can't go inside there, okay?"

"No, I just closed the door since it was left open. You surprised me. That's why I screamed," I lie, unsure as to why I did.

"Good," she stares into my eyes, which makes me want to slouch down for lying, "okay, just- don't ever open this door."

"Why?"

She sighs, "it's dangerous."