When Simone came to, the bag had been removed from her head and everything around her shimmered with a strange blue light. It rippled and danced along dark walls - cave walls, she realised, as she saw that the dark rock stretched out all the way over her head.
She jumped as hands gripped her shoulders, fingers digging painfully into her flesh. She tried to move, to break away, but realised that her hands and feet were tied to the chair she was sitting on.
“Nowhere to run now, little girl,” the fingers moved to grip her chin and pull her head back, her captors nails digging into the skin beneath her jaw. She gasped for breath, but he held her mouth closed. Simone squeezed her eyes shut as she felt him lean close, the stench of his breath reaching her before she felt the warmth of his whisper against her ear. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you, catching only fleeting glimpses as this wretched city kept hiding you. And now, finally, I have you right where I want you.”
Simone clenched her fists.
“No, please—“ It was inevitable, she supposed. She’d always known this would be her fate in the end, dying at the hands of a wretched man—
The man released his grip on her head, pushing her away even as he burst out laughing. She lurched forward, the chair tilting forwards as her body strained against the ropes binding her before regaining her balance. His boots crunched on the cavern floor as he walked around to face her, crouching down so that they were face to face. A cruel smile twisted his lips, the blue light seeming to darken to shadow everywhere it touched him, hiding most of his features.
“Why so scared, little girl? This is your chance to shine. The Royals have waited years for another Gifted to show and tend to their stupid gardens. Tonight, you’re going to be that gifted. Hope you’re ready to perform, otherwise…” He ran a calloused finger down the side of her face, and she jerked away from his touch. He laughed again, the sound echoing off the cavern walls.
“Gifted? I don’t understand—“
“Oh, it’s not something you need to understand. You just pretend like you’re meant to be there and I’ll take care of the rest.”
Ice cold fear gripped her heart, and Simone felt her chest constricting as the meaning of his words sank in. The Royals… Supposed rulers of the city, but the cruelest masters of them all. They made the poorest citizens fight for their lives, all just to get a few drops of water to sustain them another day. The suffering of others were mere sport to them, something they seemed to go out of their way to create. She shuddered. Even more than staying alive among the day to day rabble of the streets, she had spent her life trying to stay out of sight. Out of their sight…
“Please, I don’t understand… Why me?”
A cry escaped her as the man backhanded her, a ring on one of his fingers cutting the skin on her cheek. “Pay attention girlie, I already said. You’re gifted.”
Simone shook her head, but she kept silent. Sure, the city seemed to have taken a liking to her - or it had, anyway - but she’d always thought that had been some strange magic belonging to Oasis itself. There’d always been rumours of the city being sentient somehow - not as a person, but enough to take an interest in the affairs of its citizens. There was nothing special about her, especially now that her special luck with the city seems to have run out, or at least no longer helped to hide her as it did. As she thought things through, she stole glances at her captor who was pacing up and down the cavern and muttering to himself. In an instant, she made a decision — with this man, displeasing him meant a certain, very unpleasant death. And only after he had— No, she wouldn’t think of that. She knew the rumours about the Royals were terrible, and she’d seen first hand in the city square the cruelty they could hand out. But surely not all of them were that bad, were they?
* * * * *
The moment Simone laid eyes on the group of Royals lounging in the underground gardens, she wished she could go back and undo her decision. Her captor prodded her in her lower back and she staggered forward.
Too late now, girlie, she thought, clenching her jaw. Best make the most of it before they tear you apart for sport.
“Ah, Alexis! Some entertainment for us this evening, I see.” A melodious voice rang out and echoed through the cavern, and others joined in laughter.
Simone kept her gaze straight at her feet — she would give them no chance to hang her, or worse.
She saw her captor - Alexis - bow beside her, and a quick prod of his elbow had her following his example, staggering into a deep curtsey.
“Your majesty, tonight I have a very special treat for you.” Alexis rose, spreading his arms as if he was one of their incessant performers ready to put on a show. “A bit of entertainment might be fun for a night or two, but this here is something much more… I give to you… Your gifted!”
With another clandestine shove, Simone stumbled out of her curtsey and forward towards the group of Royals. She threw a dirty look back at Alexis before she could catch herself. He glared back at her, making shooing motions with his hands. The Royals were either still far enough away from them to notice all of this, or they simply didn’t care. Or they’d been inebriated enough that it didn’t matter, Simone thought as she noticed how some of them were slumped over the couches and loungers that had been set out for them.
For a moment, she forgot their presence as she registered the extent of the gardens before her. A path laid of stone steps meandered through broad leaves, tall ferns and other trees stretching out above the lower plants to create a kind of arch beneath the cavern wall. Balls of floating lights were strung out all across the cavern roof and walls — some of the Royals’ magic perhaps, or some other unknown method, as these weren’t mere lanterns. The balls seemed like little bits of daylight caught in the golden light just before sunset, giving a deep glow to the cavern. The plants in turn, reflected that light in a rainbow of colours - some bright green, some capturing the light amongst colourful blooms and reflecting it back in a beautiful array of patterns that glittered against the cavern walls. Even as Simone almost felt she should shade her eyes from the colours and light before her, it seemed to dim slightly as if adjusting to her senses. A broad leaf, interspersed with small holes among its segments, brushed against her hip, and she let her fingers trail along it. Her eyes closed and an involuntary smile curved her lips.
So this is what it feels like to belong, she thought, feeling a zing of electricity connecting her and the plants around her. In her mind’s eye, she could picture the entire garden, the entire underground space, the connections, the lack—
Her eyes flew open, her heart beating in her chest. The beauty was still there, but now she saw the signs. A curled and browned leaf here, a withered tip there… The Royals’ eternal garden was dying.
“How do we know you haven’t just brought us another fake, hm Alexis?” A crass voice cried out, breaking Simone’s reverie. One of the princes, lounging towards the bag, a tall-stemmed glass with purple liquid dangling from his fingers.
Alexis cleared his throat, about to say something to defend his good name, Simone supposed, but instead, the Queen spoke.
“Quiet. Look.” She pointed towards Simone and she followed the Queen’s gaze to where her fingers still touched the plants growing beside the path.
Simone gasped. Where her fingers touched, the plants seemed to surge with new life, their leafs lifting with new vigour, their colour turning truly bright. Deadened tips bloomed with new colour, blossoms lifted their head and to her left, and entire vine burst up the side of the cavern wall and erupted with flowers of pink, orange and purple.
Stunned applause sounded from the Royals. Simone dared a glance at Alexis, who was looking at her with a smug smile.
Told you so, he mouthed at her.
Simone felt her joy turn bitter in her mouth. Was he doing this somehow? She certainly couldn’t have, she’d never even seen plants in real life before, never even touched one… Instead, he’d said how he’d been looking for her for years, perhaps. Surely he’d had it all planned… Why her she still couldn’t figure out, but certainty settled like a stone in her stomach — this was all his doing, a kind of illusion perhaps, to fool the Royals into trusting her. Why, she had no idea either, but at this point she had no choice but to go with it.
Ducking her head, Simone sent a whisper of a prayer down to the city, to save her. Or at least not abandon her. As she looked up, she tucked her shoulders and decided to give it her all. She had been looking for an opportunity to change her circumstances all her meagre sixteen years. Now that it had landed at her feet, she would certainly make the most of it.
“My Queen, Royals… I am at your service. Your Gifted has arrived.”
She wish she knew what that meant, but she would do her best to go with it. For now.
