Chrysanthemums For You [A Twisted Wonderland Fanfic]

Chapter 7

Flower let out a gentle sigh as she stood at the edge of the sea, her toes meeting the cool kiss of the ocean. She stared at Sea's waiting hand. The lines in his palm called to her. They reminded her of the home she had left behind. They reminded her of what she was familiar with. The pomegranates of Nisi, the flowers that sprouted beneath her feet, Sun and Moon, and her family. They would be waiting for her in their little house at the base of the mountain. 

"It is time to go, Flower," Sea whispered, though he was patient with her. He would not sink beneath the waves any more than he wished. The sea knew him. Sea was the master of currents and wake. The froth of the waves would not disturb him as he waited for her.

"Flower?"

Flower turned and felt her heart break. Idia and Ortho were standing on the other side of the tiny island, Idia holding Ortho close to him. Flower could see the tears in the young boy's eyes as he watched Flower stand before Sea as he waited for her to take his hand.

"Where are you going," Idia asked, his hair starting to spark with worry. He didn't want Flower to go. Not yet. Not after he had... fallen in love with her. She couldn't leave him, not like this. He wanted her to stay. 

"Home," Flower answered in her usual soft voice. "It is time for me to go home. Sea has found me and Nisi calls to me." She took a step towards Sea, her foot sliding into the water and into the sand beneath. It felt strange to feel the sand on the soles of her feet. She had become so accustomed to the stone floor of Idia's home that she had almost forgotten what it felt like. She would have forgotten what grass felt like against her feet, and what vines felt like as they drifted across her skin if not for the garden. 

Idia released Ortho and the boy sped towards Flower, throwing his arms around her waist and hugging her close. He didn't want her to leave any more than Idia did. "No! Flower, you can't go!"

Sea frowned at Flower. "You allow them to call you Flower? Are they your friends?"

"Yes," Flower answered as she knelt to hug Ortho. "Yes, they are my friends. They cared for me after I was sent adrift." She turned her face away from Sea and nuzzled Ortho's flaming hair, finding comfort in the way that the flames licked at her skin. They didn't hurt. Not like a fire should. Not like Hearth's fire. Pulling away from the hug, she pressed her lips to Ortho's forehead. 

"I am sorry, little one," she whispered. "But I must go. Nisi calls to me."

Idia walked up to his brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ortho. Flower has to leave." It broke his heart to say it, but he couldn't hold her back. Not when her family was waiting for her. Not when her home had sent someone to find her and bring her back as if she were a lost child. Well, she was lost.

Flower stood and met Idia's eyes. And for a moment, Idia hoped that Flower would stay, despite the man standing behind her. He hoped that she would throw herself into his arms, begging for him to let her stay on the Island of Woe. But as her eyes fell away, Idia knew that no such wish would be granted. She would leave with this man, whom she called Sea, and she would disappear, back to her home. And Idia would never see her again.

"Thank you, Idia," Flower said. She reached out a hand and took Idia's intertwining their fingers together. "Thank you for everything that you have done for me." She lifted Idia's hand and gently kissed the back, her lips lingering on his pale skin before she released his hand altogether. "It was a wonderful three weeks."

And then she turned, taking Sea's hand, and allowing him to pull her close. Flower's hands tightened on the sash that was slung across Sea's chest, and as Sea guided them out into the waves, his trident held high to guide the way back to Nisi, Flower glanced over his shoulder. 

Her heart shattered. Idia was down on his knees, his hands gripping the grains of sand at the edge of the water, his hair bright as a true flame and sparking wildly. Ortho was hugging him, and even as the distance between them grew, Flower could hear Idia's heart-wrenching sobs and his choked-up voice calling her name. He called her Persephone. He called her Flower. And he begged for her to return to him. But Flower did no such thing. 

Instead, she turned away, a single crystalline tear slipping from her eye and rolling over the crest of her cheek, before falling into the line of her lips. She could taste the salt. She could taste her sorrow and heartbreak in that single droplet. Oh, how she wanted to be home, safe in her mother's arms. But she wanted to stay with Idia. She wanted to stop his relentless sobs and the violent shaking of his body. She wanted to give him her true name, the name that only he would be allowed to use for her. She still did not turn back. Sea was taking her home, to her mother, and to Nisi.

* * *

"Spring! Darling, you have returned!"

Sea released Flower as his feet met the shore of Nisi, and Flower pushed herself away from him, running into her mother's waiting arms. She sobbed loudly as she threw her arms around her mother, crying her mother's name over and over. Her father and brothers were close behind and threw their arms around the lost Flower, who had returned by the one who had stolen her from them.

"Sister, you have returned to us," Field sobbed. And as Grain released her daughter, Field threw his arms around his sister, pulling her into his embrace and sobbing into the crook of her neck. Flower was back. She had been returned. She was unharmed, and Sea had brought her back. She was safe on Nisi just as she had been. Never again would the family lose her. The loss of their dearest Flower had nearly destroyed them, and they were determined to keep it from happening again.

Once her family had finished hugging her, Flower got to her feet and bowed to Sea. "Thank you, Sea, for returning me to Nisi." 

Sea gave her a small smile and bowed to her. "It was the least I could do. Storm and I should not have fought as we did."

Grain approached her daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sun is waiting for you, dearest Spring."

Flower beamed at the mention of her friend, and she sped off, picking up the fibres of her skirt and holding them tightly as she sped up the mountain towards the summit where she knew Sun would be waiting for her.

"Sun," she called, cupping one hand around her mouth. "Sun! It is Flower."

"Flower?"

Sun peered over the edge of the summit and his heart leapt when he saw Flower running up the path towards him. He set his sword down and opened his arms, allowing Flower to run into them, throwing her arms around his neck and breathing in his scent of the rays of the sun and of the wood of his lyre.

"Flower, you have returned," he whispered, holding her as though he was scared that she would disappear once more. "You have returned."

"Yes," Flower breathed.

Sun picked Flower up, wrapping her legs around his waist, before walking over to the rock in the centre of the summit and sitting down. He continued to hold Flower tight, rocking her back and forth as he breathed in her scent. She smelled like Sea's salty waves, and like the gentle pomegranate fruits that she loved so dearly. 

"Promise me that you will never leave me like that again," Sun whispered, pulling away from Flower and cupping her cheeks. Tears were in his eyes and Flower gave him a small smile, hoping to calm his pounding heart. She gently stroked the space beneath his eye and he returned her smile, holding her hand against his cheek.

But then Flower remembered Idia. The boy with the hair of fire. The boy of the island beneath the sea. The boy who had saved her and who had protected her when the rest of Sea's waves threatened to drag her into the depths, never to be seen again. And her heart was torn.

"Flower? What is it?"

Flower let out a choked sob, unable to form words in her fragile state. But Sun understood and held the girl close to him, drawing his hand through her hair as she cried into his neck. Flower had been gone for the better part of a month, and now she was finally home. She was finally safe. She did not need to tell him what was wrong.