Beautiful Moments

It was yet another day of preparing the garden for the King’s visit, a boring and tiresome job of pulling out the weeds and patting down the soil around the vast maze, new flowers and leaves sprouting and blossoming into the warm spring evening. Andromeda had her bright red hair in a large bun behind her head, sweat shining on her brows as she straightened her back with a large groan.

Beyond the large garden lay the wide and open forest, the greenery finally beginning to creep back in as the seasons changed. The leaves on the tall trees had finally begun to sprout and the grass began to grow. And nothing more made Andromeda happier.

The sudden change from winter to spring was her favorite, allowing her to watch the flowers slowly come out of their buds and the bare trees finally become full and lush. Though her job was in the gardens, she always managed to sneak into the forest, even if it was for a few minutes. With the sudden end of the war against their enemies, the King and his oldest son had finally come home. She faintly remembered seeing the prince years ago, while gardening alone after missing a week of work because of the flu, and he had asked her if she needed help.

And then he’d left for war.

Andromeda brushed her hands against each other, trying to get rid of the dirt as she looked around to make sure no one was watching. The other gardeners were busy with their plants, patting down soil and planting new seeds. She slowly grinned, eyes traveling to the edge of the forest, eyeing the crack in the white fence. She made her way down the wide path, her old shoes lightly tapping against the ground as she turned the corner behind a large pot, a beautiful green plant already blossomed and standing tall, hiding her behind its large leaves. One of the workers walked past, wiping sweat off of his forehead.

She sprinted for the fence, crawling under the wooden planks and onto the other side, dashing behind one of the tall trees, hoping her boss wouldn’t catch her. 

And perhaps fire her from her job.

Though it was only her and her mother, the toll from the war had raised prices in the markets and had forced her to work longer hours in the garden and sometimes even in the woods. 

There was never enough money.

But Andromeda hadn’t lost hope. The King and his son were finally back and the town was preparing a feast! Her mother and she would definitely attend. The thoughts of hot steamy soup, fresh meat, and well-baked bread made her mouth water.

But it would be a while before she got to taste the wonderful wonders of the King’s royal kitchens, and even longer before she’d be free enough to finally visit the forests again. The many trees and lush green leaves gave her a sense of home, the feeling of danger lifted from her heart and replaced by a sense of safety. 

One day, when she had been sneaking around in the forests in the dead of winter, she’d come upon a frozen pond, snow covering the very sides of it, the cold winter winds blowing the bare frozen branches, casting shadows over the pond. Andromeda had promised herself to visit it again in the spring, hoping the small chirping birds and sprouting green leaves would finally be there to greet her. The thoughts of running her fingers in the cool pond made her head spin.

Andromeda trekked over the wet grounds, shoes getting wet from the melted snow and moist ground. She faintly remembered the path she had taken to get to the pond, the small carvings she had made with her dull small pocket knife on the thick bark of the trees, small X’s on the side. But they had seemed to disappear. Andromeda wondered what would happen if she got lost in the large and vast forest, alone with the tall scary trees and the creatures of the night. Would someone come looking for her?

She laughed at the absurd thought.

Of course, they would!

Andromeda fixed her dirty dress, pulling the small coat she wore closer to her body, stopping at the center of the path, looking up at the blue and open sky, breathing.

She let out a loud sigh, still smiling when something caught her eye. A small figure running, scurrying over the wet grounds of the forest and behind a tree. She squinted, catching the pointy ears of the small creature as she ran after it, grabbing her dress as she did.

“Excuse me!” Andromeda called. “Excuse me!”

The pointy-eared creature froze in its shoes, one leg lifted slightly as if it was about to take a step, hand clutching a small staff, wide blue eyes turning to meet her, surprised.

Andromeda stepped back, unable to think, “w-what are you?”

“You can see me?” It whispered, inching closer, curiously. 

She clutched her skirts tightly in her hands, nodding slowly, “of course I can. I have eyes, you know!”

“Oh I can see that,” the creature shot back. “I’m just surprised-”

“What are you?” She repeated, taking a cautious step forward, eyes narrowed. “Where do you come from?”

The creature rolled its eyes, “I’m an elf...duh.”

“And where do you come from?” Andromeda demanded.

“I’m from here!” The elf squeaked. “I live here!”

Andromeda frowned, “I’ve never seen you before.”

“I’ve never seen you before either, miss,” it admitted. “But you’re a pretty thing.”

She couldn’t help the smile that came onto her lips, “thank you. You may call me Andromeda.”

“Where you off to Andromeda?”

She sighed, looking around the forest, and sniffling, the cold making her nose run, “there was this pond I can upon once, and I was hoping to find it again, but oh dear. I cannot find it anywhere!”

The little elf smirked at her, disappearing from where he had stood only a few moments ago, dashing from behind the tree and onto the path that she stood on. She turned quickly, eyes widening and she giggled, feeling more happier than she had ever in ages. 

“Where’d you go...oh goodness! Wait!” She cried as the elf began to run down the wet path, and she followed, almost slipping on the moist spring ground.

The elf dashed from side to side, leading her down a small hill and jumping over a nearby fallen tree, dodging small bushes with small leaves. Andromeda grabbed her dark green dress in her fists as she tried not to slip on the ground and ruin her clothes completely. Though gardening did ruin her clothes, she wore long aprons on top to keep the mess at bay. But in the middle of the forest, there was no way she could come back from that.

“Wait!” She called, panting loudly as the elf stopped in front of some large trees, leaves almost covering its entire branches, the grass where they stood greener and the sun almost brighter.

It was magical.

The elf pointed at a small man-like creature walking by, disappearing into a hole inside a tree that was shaped like a house, small glass windows carved and fitted into square holes in the bottom of the trunk. The elf put his hands to his mouth and called, “Mr. Squabbler! Mr. Squabbler!”

The creature stepped outside, looking around before spotting them in the corner, and yelled, “what do you want Totu?”

Andromeda laughed, “are you a gnome?”

“Oh dear, another one of them?” Mr. Squabbler made a face. 

Totu, the elf stuck out his tongue at him, wiggling it before bursting out in squeaky laughter, making Andromeda look down and giggle, slapping her hands to her mouth as if just realizing.

The elf jumped from where it stood and towards the trees, scurrying away and disappearing into the trees, making Andromeda hurry after him, eyebrows raised in curiosity as she peaked beyond the trees. The sight was truly breathtaking, and her wish had come true!

The pond that she had seen was sparkling in the sun, the grass around it glowing and fresh, the sounds of birds chirping making her walk into the small clearing and taking off her small coat, dropping it to the side and taking in a deep breath of the fresh spring air as the sun glared down onto her face.

And after a long tiresome weekend, she finally felt happy.

And she felt oh-so free.

As the birds chirped their beautiful songs on the lush green trees, and Totu the elf sat near the water, humming along, Andromeda allowed her eyes to wander around the small clearing, eyes landing on a small figure laying near the water, legs spread out, face taking in the sun and the air the great weather had to offer.

Andromeda smiled, biting her lip as she walked down the small hill to join the man who lay on the soft grass, hands behind his head, eyes closed.

She lay down beside him, taking in a long deep breath and whispering, “it’s rather beautiful, isn’t it?”

The man blinked, turning his head towards her, his beautiful brown eyes looking at her, the sun making them glow like honey as his sandy hair blew with the spring winds, “and who are you?”

“Andromeda,” she grinned, not bothering to get up. “And you?”

“Jaxon,” he smiled.

It was her turn to blink. Oh, he looked so different! When they had met in the gardens, he was so small, so chubby and quiet. But now...he was a man.

“Sometimes when I close my eyes I can see woodland creatures,” she said wistfully, eyes traveling down to Totu who was still smirking at her, giving her two thumbs up from the other side of the pond.

Jaxon followed her eyes, “I see you have met Totu, then.”

“You can see him too?” She asked, sitting up quickly. “I thought I was finally going mad!”

“Of course,” he sent her an amused look. “You could see him too.”

“No,” she shook her head, “I could not.”

“Then, perhaps you never looked,” he teased. 

“Or maybe I never believed,” she said quietly.

Jaxon lightly shoved her with his elbow, reassuringly, “it’s really all about having a good eye, you know.”

Andromeda suddenly kicked off her shoes, wiggling her fingers at him, slowly unbuttoning her dress and turning to catch Jaxon’s surprised look. She grinned, slipping off her dress, standing up, and dropping it onto the floor, making her way to the pond only in her thin chemise and loose white pants. She let her red hair free from her tight bun, slowly creeping into the moving waters, diving inside, the cool water sending shivers up her spine as she rose up, water running down her face, the sun glaring down at her back. She looked back innocently at Jaxon, waiting for him to join her. She smiled brightly at the matching grin on his face as he took off his loose shirt and kicked off his boots, diving into the water beside her, sending a shrieking Totu back. 

Andromeda laughed, flicking water in his direction as the small elf hissed, jumping and screaming profanities at her. Jaxon roared in laughter beside her, joining in the fun.

And for a moment, they were Andromeda and Jaxon. For a moment, they forgot the life that awaited them outside of the vast forest and the beautiful royal garden. And for a moment, they were happy because life was bright.

And as the small woodland creatures surrounded them, the small birds sang, making that moment the most beautiful moments of all.