She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not

Chapter 1 - The Yellow Zinnia

It's always quiet at my home since it's in the woods outside of town of Braera. But as I rolled out of bed and headed for the shower I could hear even the birds weren't singing. Maybe there were poachers out again that had spooked the birds. I hurried with my shower and got dressed for the day deciding on a floral tank top with a mint colored cardigan and dark pants.
The sun was just starting to creep over the tree tops when I left my log cabin to go to my shop that was in the middle of town. As soon as I left my front steps and got into town I noticed the change. There wasn't crowds of people on the street like there is usually. There were no vendors outside of the shops trying to sell their goods. The people that were outside were whispering to one another or were hurrying to get to where they needed to be. They weren't lingering too long outside.
The north side of town where stores are located are usually buzzing with people. They are usually busy selling their wares from baked goods, apparel, jewelry, almost anything you could want. The stores are next to the river at the bottom of the cliff. If people weren't shopping they were taking a stroll by the river's edge. Occasionally stopping to ask fishermen how the fish were biting. The streets were lined with alternating magnolia trees and peonies over the whole town. When they bloomed it would make the town smell amazing. Royals or knights even ride their horses down the winding dark grey cobblestone street from the castle on top of the cliff to grab a tasty baked good, flowers, or go further south to do business with the blacksmith.
Then there's the travelers that seek a place to lodge, eat, and refill their supplies before heading out again. They are easy to pick out when they first arrive because they often have an overwhelming body odor wafting from them. The nearest town is two days away so they don't have a place to shower in between.
The town is surrounded on the east and west side with a dense forest. Further north is jagged cliffs that are impossible to navigate making the spot where the castle is perfect to keep it safe from attacks from the north. On the south is a rolling green valley. A road goes through the middle of the valley from the south to town and another road from the west through the dense forest. When the travelers come from the west they usually looked more exhausted. People didn't like spending the night out in the forest if they didn't have to. A couple exhausted travelers and a few whispering shop keepers were all that were on the street when I made my way to my shop.
I walked towards the back of the shop in the middle of the main street. I fished out the keys from my pant pocket and unlocked the door. The fragrance of flowers flowed out to greet me as I flicked on the lights. Making my way through the aisle of plants I went to unlock the front door. The walls were lined with flowers with the options people could choose from if they wanted a custom piece. The corners had some hanging baskets with more options for draping flowers. And for the ones that wanted a quick grab and go I had one row in the middle of the shop with premade arrangements.
I could see it was another sunny day from the big windows that lined the front of the store. People should be out and about buying things so where was everyone? I couldn't focus on that all day. Maybe if it was dead for most of the day I would close early and enjoy it.
I walked back to the right side of the shop and made my way behind the counter and through the door to the back room. It was small but all I needed it for was the sink for water and storage area for my supplies. I grabbed my evergreen colored watering can to start the long process of watering all the plants in the shop. Carefully I walked to the front corner on the opposite side of the store trying not to splash water all over the floor.
Just as I started watering my calla lilies the bells above the door jingled to announce the first potential customer. It was Beth, a regular visitor in my flower shop. She must of been up early today because she looked tired and pale. I'm not sure what she has going on that it would cause her to lose sleep. She lives alone on the edge of our small town by the forest on the east side. Her only neighbor to the south was the Lloyd's. The Lloyd's are a husband and his wife who manage a small field, some chickens, and a few dairy cows.
Beth liked to have her nose in everyone's business which is why I think she's alone. No one likes having their news all over for everyone to talk about.
This of course makes Beth want to be my best friend since I interact with many people. Being an owner of a flower shop does give me a lot of information on people's personal lives. I usually know when people get married and to who, when people pass away, when there was an argument and people order flowers to make up. O yes, I was absolutely someone Beth wanted to be friends with.
I, of course, would not share the more touchy subjects like spats between couples or things similar. That would only hurt my business and that came first before Beth's insatiable need for information.
"Dahlia, you better go over to the Lloyd's farmstead when Patrick gets back." Beth said to me by way of greeting as she scurried over to me. Beth was a stout lady with strawberry blonde hair that was almost always pulled back into a bun. Her silver eyes were wide with the excitement with the latest hot story that she was dying to tell everyone. She propped her glasses on top of her head just behind the part for her bangs.
I turned my tan face towards her. Studying her with my moss green eyes. My brows furrowed debating if I should take this obvious bait. I groaned internally as I pushed my straight obsidian hair back. "Why is that?"
"I went over to the Lloyd's place because their animals were causing such a ruckus! And I found the farmer's wife, Sadie, laying in the field. I could barely recognize her. O it was horrible! Her face was all scratched up and blood everywhere!" Beth shivered and dropped her voice to a whisper, "But I think someone might of been there before me."
"Why do you think that?"
"Someone left a flower by her body. I'm not sure what kind it is exactly. A yellow one with a bunch of petals. You probably know, you know flowers so well."
"That's a very general description. It could be a dandelion for all I know," I replied with a shrug of my shoulders.
"It's not a dandelion! I know what those are. Plus, I said a flower not a weed. You must have one around here." Beth said as she scanned the store. "That one! By the door, it was that one."
"A zinnia?" I asked with brow raised.
"Yes, that was the one. Seems like an odd choice for a flower. I already informed the king so they should know all about it and will be investigating it. I'm curious as what they'll figure out. I'm sure they'll be dropping by here to see what light you can shed on this. But in the meantime I would definitely get in touch with Patrick."
"Do you know when he gets back?"
"Should be tonight. I can't even imagine what he's going to be going through. So horrible!" Beth let out a long sigh.
I nodded, "Ok, I will do that. Thanks for letting me know."
Beth looked out the window and movement across the street caught her eye. "O, Linda! I need to talk to her. She needs to know they need to get a burial plot ready. Talk to you later, sweetie!" Before I could even respond she was out of the door scrambling across the street.
It was no wonder why the town was so silent if Beth has been working her way around like that. Everyone probably knew by now.