The sun was warm.
Too warm.
Elowen groaned as she flopped onto her back in the middle of the garden, arms spread wide like she had completely given up on life.
"I can't do this anymore," she declared dramatically. "If I hear the words 'proper posture' one more time, I might actually die."
Beside her, Pippin tilted his tiny head, blinking slowly.
Elowen turned her head to glare at him. "Don't look at me like that. You don't understand my suffering."
Pippin squeaked.
"Oh, really? Then you try memorizing twenty noble greetings while balancing books on your head."
She rolled onto her stomach, burying her face into the grass.
"I was not made for this life…"
The garden was peaceful too peaceful. The kind of quiet that made her thoughts louder.
Then
Something moved.
Elowen's head snapped up.
"…Huh?"
At the edge of the hedges, something flickered.
Not a servant. Not an animal.
A shadow.
It shifted unnaturally, its form low to the ground—almost like a small creature, but wrong somehow. Its edges wavered like smoke, yet it moved with intent.
Elowen's eyes narrowed.
"…What are you?"
Pippin let out a sharp, uneasy squeak.
But Elowen was already sitting up, curiosity sparking in her chest.
That wasn't normal.
And if there was one thing Elowen had learned—
Anything not normal was worth investigating.
She stood, brushing grass off her dress. "Stay here," she told Pippin.
He squeaked louder this time, almost like a protest.
"I'll be fine."
The shadow shifted again.
And then it moved.
Without thinking, Elowen followed.
The deeper she went, the quieter the garden became.
The neatly trimmed hedges gave way to overgrown paths. Flowers grew wildly here, colors blending into each other in a way that felt almost… untamed.
The shadow slipped ahead of her, always just out of reach.
"Hey wait!"
It didn't.
It glided along the ground, vanishing behind a cluster of tall bushes.
Elowen pushed through
And stopped.
"…Oh."
In front of her stood a structure she had never seen before.
A greenhouse.
Its glass walls shimmered faintly under the sunlight, though parts of it were fogged and covered in creeping vines. It looked old but not abandoned.
Just… forgotten.
Elowen frowned slightly, glancing around.
The shadow was gone.
"…Where did it go?"
Silence.
She stepped closer, curiosity outweighing caution.
Her fingers brushed against the door, and with a gentle push
Creaaak…
The door opened.
The moment she stepped inside, she froze.
"…Whoa…"
Flowers.
Everywhere.
They bloomed in colors she had never seen before soft glowing blues, deep crimson petals, pale silver blossoms that shimmered like moonlight. The air was filled with a faint, sweet fragrance that made her feel strangely calm.
"It's so pretty…"
She wandered further in, completely captivated.
"This place is amazing… why haven't I seen it before?"
Her fingers hovered over a delicate glowing flower
"You're not supposed to be here."
Elowen jumped.
She turned quickly
"Noel?!"
He stood near the entrance, as if he had always been there, his expression calm but his gaze sharp.
"You scared me!" she huffed.
Noel didn't apologize.
Instead, his eyes drifted around the greenhouse, something unreadable passing through them.
"This place…" Elowen gestured around, still in awe. "What is it?"
A pause.
Then—
"It used to belong to our mother."
Elowen blinked.
"…Used to?"
Noel nodded slightly. "She took care of every flower here herself."
His voice was quiet. Not cold but distant. Like he was speaking about something fragile.
Elowen looked around again, her expression softening.
"It feels like her," she said without thinking.
Noel's gaze flickered.
"…What?"
"It feels warm," Elowen continued, spinning slowly as she took everything in. "Like someone really loved this place."
Silence.
Then Noel spoke again.
"Father doesn't allow anyone to come here anymore."
Her movement stopped.
"…Why?"
Noel didn't answer immediately.
His eyes lingered on a cluster of pale flowers before he finally spoke.
"…Because she's gone."
The words settled heavily in the air.
Elowen's chest tightened.
"Oh…"
For once, she didn't know what to say.
So instead, she smiled softly.
"Well… I like it," she said. "Even if no one else comes here… I will."
Noel looked at her.
Something unreadable flickered in his eyes.
"…Do as you want."
Elowen grinned slightly
But then
Her gaze shifted.
At the far corner of the greenhouse
Something moved.
A flicker.
That same shadow.
Her smile faded.
"…So you're still here."
"What is it?" Noel asked.
Elowen hesitated.
"…Nothing."
But she knew.
Something had led her here.
And it hadn't been coincidence.
Elsewhere…
Darkness.
Not the absence of light but something deeper.
Something that breathed.
A faint sound echoed.
Drip… drip…
Then
Movement.
A figure stirred.
Slowly… deliberately.
Red.
That was the first thing visible.
Eyes.
Deep red eyes opened in the darkness, glowing faintly like embers beneath ash.
Silence stretched.
Then, a voice low, quiet, almost detached.
"…Again."
The figure shifted slightly, shadows curling unnaturally around him, as if they were alive… as if they obeyed.
A hand lifted.
Pale fingers.
He stared at them for a moment before lowering them again.
"…That dream."
A pause.
Then
A memory.
Faint. Blurred.
But persistent.
A girl.
Hazel eyes.
Auburn hair, catching the light like fire.
Her face was unclear like something just out of reach.
But her presence…
Lingering.
"…Who…"
The question faded before it fully formed.
The shadows around him stirred.
Restless.
Unsettled.
As if reacting.
His gaze darkened slightly.
"…Annoying."
And yet
He didn't forget her.
Even as the darkness curled tighter.
Even as silence swallowed the space once more.
Those eyes.
That color.
Stayed.
Watching.
Waiting.