The Queen's Garden

Cypress

I lie in the sand, watching Ivy run out of sight through narrowed eyes. Pain burns across my side from where her elbow had driven into the hole. She's just as temperamental as I remembered, but her fighting has definitely gotten an upgrade or two. Unfortunately for her, I'm not the same as I once was either.

I take another moment to catch my breath before I get to my feet slowly. The pain in my side is slow to subside but I find I can easily push it from my thoughts after a moment on my feet. I eye what little she left behind curiously. A small tote with a blue beach towel poking out lies near where the chair had sat.

I dig through the tote, curious about what she would decide to bring with her. A paperback copy of some new romance novel where the man on the cover has lost his shirt is half-hidden by the end of the towel. I raise an eyebrow and pick up the book, thumbing the pages curiously. An aged piece of parchment flutters out from the pages and I cringe internally. Ivy will never forgive me for losing her place in her book.

I press my thumb into where I hope the parchment had fallen from and stooped down carefully to pick it up. My hand pauses as I stare at the familiar sketch on the faded parchment Rose had done all those years ago of a scene she was hoping for once we retired. I was sitting cross-legged on the end of a diving board, grinning down at Ivy who was glaring up at me from inside the pool. Sage was lounging on a floaty with his eyes closed, one arm dangling in the water lazily. She had drawn herself mid-jump, about to land on Sage and wake him up. Lily sat on the edge of the pool with her legs dangling in the water, a bright smile on her face.

My hand trembles as I run my thumb over the familiar ink, trying desperately to push back the surge of emotions that threatens to overtake me. Why would she still have this if she was so against getting back together? I carefully fold it back on the creases and slip it into where I hope her place is in the book. I put the book in my back pocket.

"Okay, Ives, let's see where you ran off to," I mutter to myself. 

I walk calmly through the sand towards the city, mentally cursing at the piles of sand in my shoes, though I'm thankful for the distraction from the throbbing pain in my side after getting shot. I pull out the folded up piece of paper the immigration desk had with her last known address.

It strikes me as odd that she would continue to go as Ivy if she didn't want us to get back together again. Something doesn't quite add up with this whole situation. Though, nothing makes sense about anything that's happened in the last twenty-four hours.

I slip into an alley, avoiding the four kids running through the street. I smile a little to myself, recognizing the look of them. I stand at the edge of the alley, watching them. They must be around six or seven years old, a bit older than when I started. The ringleader, a scrawny little girl that seems to be a head shorter than the three boys, moves through the streets. She slips wallets, bracelets, rings, and other smaller goods into her hip satchel without alerting the owners.

"Good luck, kids," I mutter before turning down the alley.

I couldn't waste time watching them or waiting to see if they get caught. I have to find Ivy before she disappears. I don't think she will use her name again, and she has scores of aliases she had stashed away when we were still part of the Garden. Now, fifteen years later, I can't even begin to fathom how many aliases she has stashed away.

I slip quietly down the alley, keeping my eyes peeled for her. I turn down another alley, then another, darting down the familiarly structured alleyways. I'm careful to keep my footsteps light, but they still echo off the stone walls around me. Luckily, there doesn't seem to be anyone else using the alleyways.

A familiar flash of silver catches my eye as I spot Ivy dart into the alley. I duck behind a dumpster, hoping she didn't see me. She peers around cautiously, her eyes glossing over my hiding spot without a second thought. She pulls up the dark hood of her dark cloak, hiding her face behind the worn black fabric.

I trail her as she hurries down the alley, a black duffle bag gripped tightly in her hand beneath the cloak. She glances over her shoulder, nearly spotting me before I can duck behind a half wall. Ivy's being careful about being spotted is what makes the reality of this all sink in.

Yes, I'm getting the Garden back together, but I didn't pause long enough to think about what that meant to the others. I didn't think that they might have lives they had crafted for themselves after everything that happened.

The guilt makes me sink to the ground and hold my head in my hands for a moment. Maybe it would be best if I went about this on my own. I had already been shot at, and it would reduce the risk of one of them getting hurt next. I swallow back the regret that threatens to break free from me and start to stand.

Ivy's scream tears through the alley, high pitched and utterly terrified. It freezes me in my tracks before I can start to leave. I turn around but she's nowhere to be seen as if she had just vanished into thin air while I was hiding behind the wall. A gunshot echoes loudly and the scream cuts off. My feet are moving before I can process what I just heard.

Please be okay, please be okay, I mentally pray as I race towards where I last saw her.