I could feel the sun beating down on me as I trekked through lush green grass. I was currently walking through the garden, and honestly I must’ve been completely lost at that point.

Still, my mind was too muddled to be preoccupied with something as small as getting lost. In fact, a part of me wanted to get away from that mansion as quickly as possible, to intentionally obstruct its views with the help of the crowded forest it neighbored.

I raised a hand up to my face to protect myself from the sun’s bright glow. Buzzing rang in my ears, and the sound of running water soothed me somewhat, allowing me a chance to fade out whatever thoughts I wanted to mute.

When I stopped to look at my new location, I breathed a sigh of relief.

I didn’t know which direction I came from, and nor did I know exactly how I arrived there. After that small meeting, I stormed out of the room and made my way to the garden via an opened door.

At that time I didn’t really care where I went, so long as I was out of the sights of anyone, especially him.

That boy named Lucas . . .

Surely he wasn’t real. Maybe I’d just dreamt up the whole conversation? Maybe I had sunstroke?

I shook my head at nothing in particular, leaning on a stone archway covered in vibrant green vines. The flowers amongst them were fluorescent pink with white gradient petals and yellow pollen. They swayed as a light breeze came over us, enveloping me coolly, allowing me to breathe.

The garden was, I admitted, very beautiful. I was standing in a rectangular lot, with walls of stone blanketed in vines. A walkway of grass decorated in saturated flowerbeds led to archway openings on all four sides of the place, and a splashing fountain with three tiers sat in the middle of it all.

This certain location was but a dot amid the entirety of the place. The garden must’ve been as big as the forest itself. I was, definitely, lost in it all.

Silently, I watched as a hoard of bees festered in the flowers to my right and left. There was no place spared here. Flowers were in abundance. I could smell it from where I stood. I could smell it everywhere.

It was magical.

Everything about the place was magical. The mansion was enchanting, the garden, the connecting forest, the people—

I turned away at the image of the boy I’d met only moments ago. It was hard not thinking of him without feeling a little angry.

But when taking care of children, I needed to gather my patience. He was grown, yes, though with time maybe he’d learn that some things were considered rude. For example, speaking in such a tone towards other people was definitely not allowed in normal society.

His grandmother was right to have him being watched over. I didn’t know if I really was the most eligible person, though I could make it work.

The problem at hand was probably due to the fact that he was still heart broken over his girlfriend. He hadn’t mentioned her during the fight, so was it a sensitive topic?

I thought over this, letting this information run through my mind.

Grandma was correct. Taking care of someone my age was a lot harder than I’d anticipated.

My hands ran along the wall of stone as I entered another green lot, this time with only three walls. A greenhouse sat where there should’ve been another archway.

Slowly, I stooped to look at the different variety of flowers there. So many types of plants bloomed magnificently against the backdrop of green grass. I reached out to drag my hands through them, only to find bees landing and flying away from my palms.

I was about to reach out once again, when a particular flower came in sight. My fingers grabbed the silky white petals, feeling the delicacy of such a plant.

It was the same white flowers in the vase near our room. An elongated flower with white bulbs and spiky green leaves, very elegant. It was gorgeous.

I made an act to pick one from the earth, but I stopped abruptly. A figure appeared in front of me, hovering over me.

With a sweater-paw hand, I shielded my eyes away from the sun to get a better view of the individual. It was an older girl.

She had her hands on her hips, as if questioning why I was about to pluck the precious flower from its home. “What are you doing?”

I pulled myeslf back quickly. “I was—I was just looking at this flower.”

The girl knelt down as well to see it up close. She studied it. “Ah, that’s a Larkspur.” Her tone of voice was monotonous.

Before she could look, I stuffed my hands into my jacket pocket. I’d been caught. I knew I shouldn’t have been too curious.

I backed away little by little, “A Larkspur?”

She nodded with a blank expression. “A popular flower for decorating. Highly poisonous, and goes great with flower arranging.”

“Poisonous?” I was taken aback.

If I had known, then I never would’ve stopped to regard it in the first place. I wiped my hands against my jeans. I’d only touched the petals, but I was still scared.

The girl watched me as I did this. “Why are you interested in this certain flower?” She asked, suspicion in her tone.

I shook my head. There really was no other reason besides the fact that it was beautiful. “It’s beautiful.”

She laughed. “People are afraid of it at first, with it being poisonous.” Her gloved fingers grabbed the petals gently, stroking them. “But in all actuality, the flower is actually used for medicines. The meaning is better than the actual appearance too.”

“Ah . . .” Is all I said. I didn’t mean to sound like I only cared about the ‘beauty’ aspect of such things.

“My girl—” She stopped herself, and then continued in a more monotonous tone than previously. “My friend doesn’t like this one, and neither do I. It’s not exactly unique in the flower world.”

I returned to looking at the plant. The girl’s character slipped just now for some reason. I tried not to reveal how I caught onto it.

“What’s the meaning, then?” I asked. I was genuinely curious.

“This one, the white one, symbolizes happiness.” She told me. She pointed to another one close by, this time blue. “Blue symbolizes first love.”

“I like the white one the most.” I told her.

“I guess you’re not a romantic.” She cracked a grin, though somehow it remained without feeling.

I shrugged. “Why have a first love without happiness?”

The girl brought a hand to her chin and thought. “I guess you’re right.”

Laughing softly, I extended an arm out to the girl. She was wearing gardening gloves, a cap, and rain boots. We were most likely co-workers.

She took my hand and shook it strongly. She had incredible strength.

“My name’s Sammy.” I said.

“Brenda.” She replied. “I’m guessing you’re the babysitter.”

The reminder of my role stabbed me. The garden did indeed distract me from it for the moment.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

Thankfully, she didn’t dwell on the subject further. Instead, she stood up and dusted herself off. It was then that I realized how much taller she was than me, probably taller than Lucas as well.

I had to look up to actually speak to her, while on the other hand she had to look down to talk to me, “I’m the daughter of the gardener here. Maria told me about you this afternoon. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you.” I smiled.

“I guess I’ll be seeing you around then.” She said. “Just be careful. People get lost in the garden sometimes.”

That was what I’d been thinking of previously. Thankfully, I’d come across her. “I was afraid of that happening.”

“Yeah. If anything, I’d suggest bringing master Lucas with you.” She said. She clearly did not know what had just happened. Was she on good terms with him?

“O-okay.” I managed to say.

Maybe it was best not telling her my impression of him.

Truthfully, it was better when I got to know him via other people. The staff here didn’t act as if the young master was cruel. They all seemed as if they believed Lucas was just another ordinary young man. So why did he act like that?

She wiped her brow. “It’s funny you liked this flower.”

I pushed away my jumble of thoughts to respond, “Why?”

The girl named Brenda took a shovel from the floor, “That’s the flower master Lucas specifically requests. It’s all around the house.”

I shook my head furiously. “No—no I just found it beautiful. That’s all.”

She stared at me without saying a word. It was hard reading her when she merely looked on with an unreadable face. “Really? You chose the white one among the other five colors—”

“Nope.” I cut her off before she could begin exposing me. “I just thought it was pretty. That’s all.”

For the first time in our conversation, she slipped a small, knowing grin at me, though it disappeared as quickly as it came.

She was wittier than I assumed her to be. She was also straightforward. 

I pointed in the direction I came from, “Should I go out through here, or . . . where?” I asked. Even though I’d brought myself there, I didn’t know how to get back.

Luckily, she was the one who knew this place better than anyone, besides her father. “Follow the green grass. After you pass the third fountain you see, make a left and you’ll end up near the bigger fountain by the stairs leading up to the West Wing.”

“Thank you.” I said sincerely. Thank goodness she had arrived. Other wise I would’ve had to sleep in the garden.

She waved me off as I left.

Still, as I walked back, I did not know if she intentionally made me embarrassed over the fact that I’d favored the one flower. If I’d known, I would’ve gone for a rose instead.

I smacked my sweaty head.

I really was an imbecile at times.

Why did someone like him enjoy flowers anyway?

I fumed as I traversed the hallways, now finally in the mansion again. The lady said to begin today but—that sounded extremely hard after our first encounter.

All I wanted to do was lay down and think. If possible, I also wanted to sleep, so that I wouldn’t have to deal with the young master for the rest of the day.

I’d deduced that we wouldn’t be speaking to each other. That was impossible. I did want to calm my boiling blood as well, so that I would have less of a chance of strangling that boy.

Who did he think he was?

Who did he think I was?

Without much thought as to where I was going, surprisingly I found myself in front of my opened room by way of the ballroom once again. I hardly left anything locked. As for the young master, his door right behind me was tightly shut.

Light exuded from below the crack, indicating to me that he was there, avoiding me at all costs. I followed in suit and closed my door from the view of his, but not without slamming it loudly.

I pressed my back to the cold wood and stared up at the ceiling. Slowly, I slid down until I was sitting on the floor, eyes dazed.

When I looked to the bathroom, light shone as well. Even from here I could see his door firmly closed. I sighed.

This was never going to work if we didn’t smooth out our edges. It was difficult though. His impression didn’t leave a good feeling in me. He appeared spoiled, ruthless, and judgmental.

I could still remember his eyes, exactly like his grandmother’s. Cold, hard, icy, so very intense against my brown ones—but even then, his entire appearance was just as so.

What was I to do with such a boy? He was a difficult case. In fact, he must’ve been the iciest person I’d met in a long time.

After my leave of the office in the afternoon, I felt his eyes watching my back. They pierced me even when I was walking through the garden, though I knew he wasn’t there.

A little part of me wanted to carry on this way—to be there in his presence at all times only to annoy him. But another part of me also wanted to smack him upside the head and leave.

Who did he think he was, talking to me like that?

And I knew what he was referring to when he said, ‘Someone like him.’

He obviously pointed out that I was below him, poor. I didn’t need him to tell me something I already knew!

I pouted. “I hate him.”

Dragging myself up from my position on the floor, I made my way to the bed and climbed atop it. My eyes gazed up at the velvet canopy, the intricate design stitched into the rich fabric.

I really did not belong there. I would’ve preferred the sight of my popcorn ceiling instead of this.

Sadly, I was starting to miss home. It’d only been one day, and I was already feeling homesick. How weak was I?

But then again I never travelled much. I also never moved, and nor had I struggled with making new friends in different schools. I lived a perfectly normal life.

As for that young master . . . well, I had no idea what he’d seen or done.

I should've tried to understand him a bit more. If it wasn’t for my temper, then maybe I could’ve handled our first meeting in a calmer manner. Mom was gonna be disappointed, and so was grandma, because I should’ve known better than to simply blow up.

The garden had eased my anger, though my conversation with that girl Brenda hadn’t helped much. I was only curious about that beautiful flower, but now it seemed to haunt me, especially since there was another reason why I'd chosen it—

The girl didn’t need to know about it though. I didn’t need to reveal it.

I slipped my jacket off, throwing it onto the floor without much care. Now was a good time to sleep, otherwise I would've spent the entire evening thinking about . . . him.

Closing my eyes, I tried to nod off, but it was difficult.

Hopefully, dreams would leave me alone for the night. 

I turned to my side, gripping the soft sheets.

Hopefully, I wouldn’t dream of that.