A Wicked Game [The Crown Saga II] (Under Editing)

Adeena's Garden

Brisk, icy air hit my face, sending shivers down my spine as the breeze crept down the unguarded collar of my dress.

The tip of my nose turned faintly blue, and my cheeks stung, but I barely paid any attention to it.

The garden was covered in soft, white snow and surrounded by towering brick walls. The layout was hardly distinguishable from the garden I'd been able to gaze upon from the windows of the Parlor, but the structures themselves looked vastly different.

The four gazebos in every corner—each tailored to represent one of the four elements—had seen much better days.

Iron grids wrapped the pitch-black stone pillars of the fire-inspired gazebo, keeping the crumbling structure from collapsing. Countless eroded lanterns hung from glinting ebony chains rooted to the dome-shaped roof.

Bubble-shaped, transparent chairs lay slanted on the floor of the air-inspired gazebo. Slackened silver chains snaked down their shells as if they had once been attached to the glass roof.

Naked Birchwood trunks stood in flawless condition, constituting the seven pillars of the earth-inspired gazebo. Their branches had been manipulated to grow inward, constructing a netted roof. I could easily imagine it during the Spring and Summer—a lush wonderland of life.

The water-inspired gazebo had definitely seen better days. Its glass-fashioned pillars had cracks and tiny holes along the tall construction. Water had likely once filled those pillars and leaked from the damage caused by age.

The gazebo in the middle of the garden was grand, with white alabaster pillars towering far above the elemental gazebos. It reminded me of structures from some of Dad's history books about ancient civilizations before Heliac's time.

A time without magic, governed by a divided world and populated by people who used to worship gods that we'd long since forgotten. It was strange to consider that a world like that once existed.

I leaned forward, eager to step inside the garden that offered a small glimpse into a past that existed long ago—to walk where Adeena had once walked and to stand where the great Jonathan Pavo had once stood.

A gasp ripped through my throat as an icy chill clamped around my ankles, and I jumped back into Caiden's chest.

"What was that?" I whispered, looking down to find the hem of my dress completely soaked and the snow scattered all over the ground around me.

Caiden started laughing, which I saw absolutely no reason to do. I had nearly fallen entirely through.

"I take it that you have never had the pleasure of encountering snow," he said, gently grabbing my hand while placing the other around my waist.

I didn't answer him, too preoccupied with staring at the two holes that had formed in the snow in front of me.

We didn't get snow in our small area of the Bronze Region. It could get cold during the winters, but the rain never seemed to fall during those cruel months. Nor had we ever traveled to the Golden Region when the skies had blessed them with this strange phenomenon. All I'd ever touched was ice and muddy soil.

I had seen pictures of it, and I believe Dad once tried to explain the concept to me in my childhood years, but I hadn't exactly listened that well. I knew it was generally white and came from the skies instead of rain when it was cold.

Caiden guided me closer to the border I'd already tried to cross. I held my breath, terrified that it would swallow me whole if I dared myself too close again.

"Caiden," I hissed and clenched his hand.

He chuckled and stopped before he stepped into the white wilderness.