She would trade all the spells in the world if it meant she could tell a lie.
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Merle of Thorne is An Anthology of short stories made from prompts under the Fantasmical Contest 2023.
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Nemredith dubbed it 'The Black Garden'.
Merle frowned as she strolled about, her wings resting behind her with an occasional flutter.
Except for the Black Lilkies, the mystical counterpart of White Lillies, nothing in the garden was black. They were Nemredith's favourite, which explained the name.
Regardless, Merle relished every moment she was free to spend in it, no matter how brief.
With Nemredith gone for a week, she had more time on her hands.
This was only the second time in her 200-plus years—about 150 of which she had spent in Nemredith's service—that she didn't have the Witch's constant presence hanging over her.
She stopped in her tracks when she caught sight of a creature. It was a caterpillar, one of her favourites. This one was blue with white stripes on it.
"Such a lovely thing." She reached out to hold it in her palms but as she touched it, something unexpected happened.
The ground beneath her shifted, the world around her swirled and the air strained. She recognized immediately that this was no ordinary caterpillar.
It was a portal.
Her theory was confirmed when she found herself somewhere that wasn't The Black Garden.
Her eyes and senses took in the world around her as her feet began to connect with the earth beneath her.
It was an array of colours, some she recognised and others she didn't.
Waters of dazzling light streamed in little springs over the land as creatures descended from the sky and arose from the earth.
She ambled on until something caught her eye. Something white that kept on grumbling.
She crept on closer and when the creature spun, it screeched, leading her to shriek even louder.
"You!" It said, it's eyes wide.
"Me!" She responded as a smile stretched her lips. She recognized it. What was it the humans called it—
"You are a winged creature!"
"And you are a teddy bear!" She exclaimed reaching out to pick it up.
The softness of its fur crept through her fingertips as she threaded it.
"Ooh so cute." she cooed but it shrugged and fussed till it fell and landed with a thud. It struggled but eventually got to its feet.
