Chapter 4
Effie’s mouth dropped open. Someone was behind her! Oh gods! Act Cool Effie, maybe he isn’t here to arrest you. Effie thought in a panic. Spinach fell from her mouth as she turned around, trying to stand up straight like a normal human and not an animal savagely eating table scraps that fell on the floor.
Effie smiled, trying to hide her full mouth, for some reason thinking that it would play off well. “Um hello.” she mumbled while assessing this stranger.
Cole pushed his light brown hair out of his face and back, kept shaved smooth on the sides of his head. His blue eyes take in as much of Effie as she was of him, but he’s probably being more suave about it than her. They didn’t speak for an awkward amount of time, each not sure if they were as obvious to each other as they tried to hide.
“I guess I need a haircut again already.” Cole chuckled as he practically subconsciously pushed his hair back again, annoyed by his hair but also maybe trying to impress her. He wasn’t sure why he was acting so coy with the girl. She didn’t seem impressed by him at all, she was more focused on getting her fill of food before being kicked out. He tossed her a cloth bag, to hold her stash in. She caught it, impressively without dropping any food.
Avoiding the heat of the greenhouse air, Cole took off his jacket, the wealthy always wore too many layers as a statement that they’re better than the next person, but Cole wasn’t really into that, he was content with a coat that kept him warm and kept it at that.
Effie eyed the man now in a white shirt, seeing his tattoos, down his neck out his shirt sleeve and ending at his bicep. It was very unusual for the nobles to have tattoos. They didn’t see tattoos as expensive, as artists would work for little money, and the rich could read. Most people could not read as it’s been illegal for longer than any of them have been alive. Learning to read might have been difficult even if it wasn’t illegal with the constant warring between Newcastle and the neighboring kingdoms. Plus, it would require someone already knowing how to read, in order to teach it.
So people used tattoos of symbols to remember - stories, histories, and lost people. Usually only the most important information, so if someone had as many symbols like this man, either they lost their people to the wars or they had a lot of knowledge to carry on. So Effie tried to not offend him by staring, just in case he’s some type of healer or sage.
“You eat here often?” Cole joked, feeling stupid for saying it as soon as he had. His smile flashed from his beard catching Effie’s eye again. His beard was dark brown, with lighter highlights in his mustache that made it stand out. He picked a strawberry and tossed it to Effie.
Her reflex to catch it was almost as impressive as her ability to eat it entirely in one bite.
Slightly rough for a lady, Cole thought. Ignoring her outfit, demeanor, and generally obvious signs of being an outsider, Cole’s focus was on her passion for the food in her hand. He worked hard on the garden, someone should enjoy it. Since his great grandfather built the gardens, his family has maintained it. But the people who enjoy it, the nobles, don’t actually enjoy anything. They don’t savor anything, they have access to everything so they actually eat very little of it. Long since bored of every type of amazing flavor, and endless food at peak freshness; The people of the City rarely stop to taste anything, instead turning to nutrients in bags and types and pills.
Effie wasn’t sure what to say to this guy, he obviously should know from her tattered dress, missing shoes, and general grunge from fighting for her life for these past few…weeks? She wasn’t sure how long it had been since she survived the river. But she wanted to fill this bag given to her as much as it would hold and she knew that much.
“I don’t want to give you trouble. I am not even sure how I got here, there was a wall…” Effie looked around, now pretty concerned the wall was nowhere to be seen. Was she hallucinating? Would he think her mad? “But if you don’t mind me filling this bag, I won’t bother you again.”
“Fill ‘er up. I won’t stop ya. I have never seen anyone eat an apple as if it was life itself. You can take as much as you can carry… then we’ll figure out how to send ya back before someone who actually would care catches you.”
“Thanks” surprised Effie said, before leaning over to grab handfuls of lettuce and spinach. Cole gestured towards a field, “Have you tried the citrus?”
Effie’s glance followed to the field across from them, an orchard of citrus trees, each brightly covered in oranges, yellows, greens and pinks. Every citrus fruit you could think of grew from each tree, and all on one tree. Looking up she sees an orange the size of a baby’s head; alongside it lemons… limes, and GRAPEFRUIT! All of them in rows upon rows. Effie felt her legs shake, she wasn’t sure she could contain her excitement nor exhaustion. Eager to grab as much as possible, doe legged and deliciously tired, Effie walked to the nearest tree and filled the bag as quickly as possible with each kind.
But as she looked in the bag to see how much room was left, the bag seemed barely full. Staring up at Cole, wondering if this was a trick.
“Its an endless bag, you can fill it till it’s too heavy to hold, but the bag will stay the same size.” If you need a cart to carry it, let me know.” He sat down, kicking back, to eat an orange he’d peeled. A smile on his face, knowing he was blowing her mind.
Running now, Effie scrambled to fill the bag, hoping to feed as many as possible. She grabbed giant garlic as big as fists, and every color of onion, as she pulled them from the ground, their green shoots shot back up through the soil as if she had never been there. Potatoes pulled from the ground as if the dirt was helping push them up. Then she hurried to the herbs, shoving each in, no longer careful to avoid squishing anything, all she could think was this magic bag and this magic food had to come home to her people. The smell of rosemary, thyme, and mint filled the air, like an explosion of spring.
Even if this is all a crazy dream, Effie had to accomplish as much as she could for the ones counting on her. Even if she wasn’t sure how to ever get back to them, she was still thinking of them. By the time she sprinted to the artichoke fields, she was falling to her knees. On her hands crawling, trying to carry on gathering more food.
Cole stepped in, “Hey I didn’t mean to wear you out, you should sit for a bit, you’ve eaten a lot now but when was the last time you slept?”
“I am fine, I’ll leave, I shouldn’t be here. Which way back to the wall?” Effie knew it was only a matter of time before this man or someone else figured out she didn’t belong there.
“What wall?” Cole asked, looking around.
“The one…” Effie turned looking over each shoulder before saying “wait, what? There was a wall, made of rocks, the tallest I have ever seen and… I don’t understand, how could I have fallen so far from it?”
“YOU CLIMBED THE BARRIER?!” Cole exclaimed, “that wall is at least 50 feet high! You are lucky to be alive! What were you doing on the wrong side of the barrier??” he inquired, while looking up at the sky walking back and forth as if looking for the answer in the clouds.
“What?” Effie looked too wondering what could he possibly be staring down.
“Why were you climbing the barrier?” Cole turned to her now, looking rather stern. Picking up a long pole against the waist high post fence, he took a bandana out of his pocket and attached it like a mop. Walking to the edge of the orchard he then swung it up in the air as if to swat a fly just out of reach.
A static sound echoed through Effie’s head, and above them the sky seemed to crack. Sparks dazzled around, cleared and the wall stretched up high above them, the rocks she had seen filled in the space in front of them, but this side was free of blackberry brambles. Like an invisible fog had moved and a wall appeared in its places.
Effie stepped backwards, unsure what she was even seeing. Her eyes had seemed to fail her so much she wasn’t sure if this dream was making any sense. “What is happening?” Effie asked with fear in her voice.
Cole, seeing her fear, finally realized why this strange girl was acting especially weird… she didn’t just not belong in the garden, she wasn’t from here at all. She didn’t seem to have any tattoos, so he couldn’t make any assumptions, but could tell from her thin frame, and lanky limbs, she was not familiar with being well fed, she must be a peasant. Feeling foolish for scaring this odd young lady, he felt he should start over.
“My name is Cole, this is the royal garden we are in, and I maintain it. Beyond that barrier there are miles of wilderness, rivers, deserts, forests, and every type of land imaginable before the nearest village. How did you get here? Where are you from?” he inquired, trying to not spook her into running or lying.
Effie feared still that he was going to report her, or that at any moment all of the royal families would come out to see her pitiful state and arrest her on the spot. “I… I am called Effie. I don’t really know how far I traveled. But after falling in the river, I ended up too far from home to know where I was. I won’t tell anyone, I am so sorry for trespassing. I will leave if I can, please.” shakingly Effie begged for any option to leave. She didn’t mention being thrown in the river so Cole would assume she was a criminal.
“You don’t have to run off, you have come so far, you are lucky to be alive. Don’t worry I am not trying to freak you out. It’s been a long time since anyone enjoyed the work I do in this garden. I am not trying to chase away my only fan.” Cole laughed to himself. “Come on, you will need a few things before you can figure out how to get home, including some rest.
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