Freya wasn't wrong about Blackworth being beautiful. Flowery meadows of yellow buttercups spread for miles into the distance cut by shallow streams and towering oak trees.
The air was pungent with the smell of flowers, like it was about to rain perfume.
"Wow, it smells strong here." I whined, "It's giving me a headache."
"That's because we're close to the residence." Freya said, scrunching up her nose.
For a few moments confusion filled my mind as I tried to figure out why being near the residence would make the air smell stronger, and then, as we came to the other side of a small hill it became clear.
My eyes widened in awe. Sprawled out over acres and acres of land the most beautiful garden I had ever laid my eyes on expanded over the terrain. There were orchards and flower gardens and vegetable patches and sculpted hedges all in a rainbow of colours across the horizon.
"Is that Master Hector's doing?" I asked breathily.
Freya nodded, "We told you he was obsessed with plants. Hopefully you'll be able to find him somewhere in the gardens, apparently that's where he spends most of his waking hours."
My jaw dropped at the massive undertaking, that would be like finding a needle in a haystack! I stared at Freya desperately, hoping for some magic solution. Instead, she simply gestured towards the picturesque expanse, a teasing smile across her face.
"Have fun!" She jested, winking at me. "Me and Helga are going to go and paddle in the lakes!"
I sighed, nodding resignedly.
"See you later." I huffed, trudging down the hill.
I set off with a brisk pace, wanting to get the job done quickly. Unsurprisingly, I was not soon after distracted by the vast variety of weird and wonderful plant life.
One apple tree caught my eye; the red fruit was sparkling as if the skin had been decorated with glitter. My mouth watered and I found myself reaching upwards to grab one. And then I looked at the label, 'Poison Apple' it read and I quickly snatched my hand away.
I turned around and scooted away, knowing that if I kept staring at it, I would be tempted like Eve. It just looked so juicy!
The gardens were immaculate, not a leaf or flower out of place. I wandered around, dumbstruck by the beauty of everything. I admit, I completely forgot about the task at hand as I admired everything from the dangerously spikey to the curiously motioned; some flowers even spun like pinwheels, while others bobbed up and down.
That was until I heard talking through the trees of the orchard. I crept forwards, peering through the maze of towering trunks. I saw a few servants standing illuminated by bright sunshine. They giggled conspiratorially, and I immediately got bad vibes from the group.
"Just talk to him for me!" One of the servants laughed mockingly as if taking someone off.
Another servant laughed, rubbing at his temple in exasperation. "I can't wait for him to be released, I'm sick of all of his stupid instructions."
"He asked me to pluck every fourth rose the other day! As if he'd notice the difference." Someone else complained.
I inclined my ear further, they were definitely talking about Master Hector, and very disrespectfully at that.
"Do you think he'll notice if we go for a drink instead?" One suggested, winking at the others.
"Well, I don't think he'll be escaping the enclosed garden anytime soon." One smiled.
If I were a dog I'm sure my ears would've pricked upwards. Enclosed garden? I didn't think such a thing existed in this era; Master Hector was certainly a man ahead of his time.
I recalled when I had stood on the hill's vantage point earlier and looked over the garden from above. All the buildings had been arranged together around the large manor.
I made my way towards where I'd spotted the house, moving cautiously so as not to attract the servant's attention, although they seemed preoccupied anyway. As I approached, I thought I could guess which building was the enclosed garden as it was different in style to the rest of the Manor.
While the main house was made of cobbled stone and wooden supports, the enclosed garden looked more of a mishmash of materials. Vines creeped up its exterior and flowers grew along its base.
One thing that shocked me was the large amount of glass. In the short amount of time I had stayed in this period, I had barely seen any glass. The castle's windows were just holes in the walls with wooden shutters. But this enclosed garden had many windows made from various colours of different glass, all stuck together in an uneven puzzle of pieces and filled with lead in-between the cracks.
I squinted as I moved closer and I could just see through the translucent glass a shadow moving around. I skipped over, excited. But as I approached, I noticed the front door had a series of complicated metal locks and a wooden bar hanging across it. It was like they were trying to contain some kind of rabid beast.
I had no chance of getting in. Instead, I realised there was an area of the glass that had cracked and fallen away enough to leave just a head sized gap in the window, I crossed over to it.
Hector was humming away, in his own world as he tended to a tomato plant with the roundest, reddest tomatoes I had ever seen. My mouth watered at the sight.
He whipped around moving to do something else, and then his countenance switched from serene to panicked. His eyes widened and he flew backwards, flailing around like a fish out of water.
"It's just me! Joan!" I shouted so he could hear me through the glass.
He clutched at his heart, his breathing rapid. He scurried forwards like a terrified field mouse. I fought to contain my amusement, knowing he wouldn't be happy if I laughed at his fright.
"What are you doing here?" He whisper-yelled, his green eyes wide and decerning as he crossed over to open a tiny window near where I stood.
"I had to ask you something!" I said, leaning against the glass, "I want to know what you were looking for, that day I scared you to death by the dragon's bones."
He rubbed a stressed hand against his forehead, "That's what you're here for? That doesn't matter, just go!"
"Please!" I begged, pressing my forehead against the glass. "I want to solve the mystery."
Hector looked at me knowingly and I squirmed under his gaze. He knew obviously the dragon was fake too.
"People died, Hector." I pleaded, "I want to know who's responsible and I don't know if it's really Prince Arthur."
He sighed deeply, "Fine, I'll tell you."
"You will-"
He cut me off my holding up a finger. "But I want you to do something for me first."
I straightened excited, "Say the word and it'll be as good as done!"
Hector's expression lightened and the dark cloud that seemed to be hanging over him lifted.
"I've been confined to this room as punishment for embarrassing my brother, but the servants here are useless at attending to my garden..." He trailed off as he lost his confidence.
I looked around the enclosed garden he was confined to, there was no bed, no heating, just hard floor and countless species of plant to keep him company. I felt a pang of sympathy inside me although I tried not to let my pity show.
"What is it you want me to do? Just tell me." I urged.
"There's a plant I want you to talk to for me."
🌿🌿🌿
There was a time, when I first transmigrated, that I had assumed all the drama surrounding Master Hector was just that... Drama. And that his 'outlandish' and 'crazy' addiction to gardening was overexaggerated. He's just misunderstood; that's what I told myself.
But I admit, as I walked down the stone brick path he had instructed me to follow, I was coming to the swift conclusion that he was completely and thoroughly nuts.
He had asked me to have a conversation with one of his favourite plants! I chuckled to myself at the absurdness of the request, looking forward to what was shaping up to surely be one of the most insightful conversations of my life.
At the end of the path was a wooden, gazebo-like structure with a massive clay pot positioned snugly in the centre. My laugh died away, getting caught in my throat as I took in the colossal plant. It was a huge Venus flytrap, with three massive heads.
My heartbeat stuttered as nervousness washed over me. That thing was big enough to bite off my whole head!
Thankfully however, it seemed wilted and its large leaves looked dull in colour, its viny appendages dropping into the dirt as if it were sad.
I approached slowly, "Uh... Hi, I guess." I said, shrugging away the ridiculousness of the situation.
The flytrap jerked into life; it's heads and leaves flying upwards as if it had been awoken from a deep sleep. The muted green colour of its flesh washed away, and a vibrant green replaced it.
I tumbled backwards in shock, a scream getting lodged in the back of my throat.
"Good morning, young human." The flytrap replied, one of its three heads moving its mouth like lips.
"What am I witnessing?" I gawked from the dirt, "You can talk?"
The plant actually laughed at my bemusement. "I can."
"Wooooow!" I yelled, leaping upwards in excitement. "That is so cool! How?"
The plant touched its 'chin' with one of its leafy arms. "I don't really know, how come you can speak?"
"Touché!" I cackled, "Master Hector told me to come and talk with you."
If the flytrap had eyes, I'm sure that it would've looked me from head to toe. "You're not one of the servants?"
"No, I'm Master Hector's friend." I replied, not super sure if the term was applicable.
The plant drooped again, melancholy settling over it. "I thought I was Master Hector's friend." It sulked.
I laughed, sitting with my back against the clay pot. "You can have more than one friend." I told him.
"You can?" The flytrap asked happily, "Then can you be my friend too?"
"Of course! Why not?" I agreed.
"You seem quite a lot nicer than other humans, though I still like Master Hector more." The plant said matter-of-factly.
I put my hands on my hips in mock offense, "What's so great about him?"
"Oh everything!" The plant exclaimed excitedly, "When I was just a small sprout, my stem barely poking out from the soil, I spoke to a human for the first time.
I was so excited to say my first words. The human looked down at me in wonder, and I thought that a new exciting new period of socialisation was about to start in my life.
Little did I realize what a valuable thing I was. I was sold to royalty far away from here.
They were not nice. They would lock me in a dark room for days at a time and only take me out to humiliate me in front of other humans.
I still remember the sting as they pulled off my leaves one by one and the agony as they tore off my heads.
I did not like humans much after that. That was until I was rescued by Master Hector. I was told he went through a great ordeal to acquire me.
He proved to me that he was not like other humans, he would care for me, talk with me and let me feel the sunlight again. He is a wonderful human."
I found myself unexpectedly moved by the flytrap's story but somehow, I didn't find it surprising. Master Hector was someone that had an aura around him that screamed harmless but for some reason he was distant and hard to reach.
"He sounds great, but in truth he doesn't actually talk to me that much. In fact, sometimes he seems terrified by me." I said, confiding in the plant.
The plant made a thinking noise and then piped up. "Ah! Maybe he feels how I did once. Maybe he thinks that all humans are bad because he hasn't met a nice one yet."
Shocked by the plants wisdom I turned to face it, "You might be right, you know!"
"I am? I am!" The flytrap exclaimed, overjoyed.
"Well..." I trailed off, standing up. "That was a more interesting chat than I had expected."
"I'm glad you think so, I'm still getting used to the intricacies of human interaction. Although you seem to speak differently from other humans I've met."
"I'll tell you a secret, but you mustn't tell anyone." I whispered in response.
"My many mouths are sealed!"
"I actually am from a very far away place, where humans act and live very differently. I'm still getting used to living here." I told him as honestly as was comprehensible.
"That must be very difficult." The flytrap sighed sympathetically, "Are you like me? Do you ever feel lonely?"
I froze, taking in the loaded question. And then that feeling overcame me again, like a heavy weight had been placed on my chest and the whole world was collapsing in on me. The burden of everything I knew and everything I didn't know.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that-" The flytrap panicked.
"How do you live with it?" I interpreted, clutching at my chest.
"I'm still figuring that out myself." The plant said, placing a delicate leaf on my shoulder.
And that, I found surprisingly, was the biggest comfort to me so far after arriving in this era.