The Garden of Shadows

“What will happen to the hotel with Mr. Crowe gone?” I asked Henry Crowe as we stood in the hotel lobby.

Our last day at Revival City finally arrived. The students and faculty members of Blackthorn Academy were busy spending the last day packing up and buying souvenirs before our scheduled departure at seven in the evening. There was a constant stream of students entering and leaving the building.

Earlier this morning, I stopped by Alistair’s store to give him a little gift as thanks for his guidance. I noticed he liked to nap behind the shop counter, so I got him a small pillow he could use for that purpose. He thanked me and told me to write a letter or visit. There was nothing else for me to do after that but to wait for the departure time, so I idled around in the lobby.

“I will take over all of Father’s business dealings. It’s my duty as the eldest brother. It’s going to be difficult, but I’m sure I can manage. Father did take me around and teach me a thing or two about it.” Henry was more noticeably hopeful today, although I was sure he hadn’t fully recovered from the loss of Mr. Crowe yet.

“And the book?”

“We haven’t completely given up on him yet. As long as he’s alive, we’ll find a way to get him out. Until then, it stays with us,” he replied with a distant look on his face. “I just wish we’d known the true nature of the book sooner. Maybe we could have persuaded Father not to pursue it. I suppose anything that has to do with gaining power always has a price tag on it.”

“So what is the Garden of Shadows exactly?” I asked.

“A trap designed by a member of the Blackthorn family to ensure that those greedy for power would be unable to leave. I think the one who wrote it made it specifically for their relatives who were abusing their power to get to the top of the city hierarchy.”

I recalled the poem Ophelia wrote about me. The tragedy of a downfall handwritten by you. I was the one who decided Salamander should live on as a vampire, which allowed Mr. Crowe to drag us both into his plan and give him the confidence to complete it. In one way or another, his fate was the result of my actions.

Suddenly, the couplet started to make sense now. A fair trade do they declare and from the serpent’s platter they feast! This first line must have been referring to how Mr. Crowe and Clementine first tried to bargain with the snake guardian and later stole the fruit. Toss the ring into the sea! Fortune comes to those who want the least. Alistair’s interpretation might have been close: Like how Polycrates was urged to throw away what he valued most, the couplet urged us to let go of the tempting pursuit of immortality. Only Salamander and I escaped because we didn’t eat the fruit. Ophelia must have seen this future in her vision, which made her pull out of the planned heist.

“I suppose the plan failed?” I guessed.

“As far as I know, the Blackthorns are still in control. They must have discovered the plot, hid the book, and then donated it to the city museum to get it off their hands.”

“How did your father even know about the Garden of Shadows?”

“Mother… No, Clementine…,” he corrected himself. “She mentioned it to him. Her mother married a Blackthorn, so she heard stories about it. They planned the heist together.”

“In the end, they completed it together.”

“Yeah. At least they have each other in there. When we manage to break them out one day, I hope we’ll become a family again. My younger siblings don’t really talk about it, but they miss their mother.”

“I hope things work out in the future. I’ll keep an eye out for any useful information about the Garden of Shadows and mail you if I find anything.”

He turned towards me with a warm smile. “Thank you, Remina. If you’re ever in the city again, don’t be a stranger. Things probably would have gone worse without you, Salamander, and Elliot. It might not have been the best outcome, but at least there were no fatalities.”

I noticed a raven perched on the window beside him. With the way it was looking at me, I assumed it was probably Lottie trying to observe and listen in.

“Good luck, Henry,” I said and also gave the raven a smile.

“You too. I hope you enjoyed your stay.” He walked over to the counter to pick up a letter for me. “I almost forgot. This came for you this morning.”

I received the letter and examined it. There was nothing written on the envelope. After Henry walked away to attend to other matters, I opened it and read the letter inside.

Dearest Remina,

Please burn this letter once you finish reading it. I’ve managed to escape with the help of a society sympathetic to my plight. They’ve told me the truth, one which I learned you managed to unearth. You stayed hopeful for me and I am thankful that I’ve been given a chance to have a future. Though I may not be able to remain by your side any longer as a classmate, I will watch over you from the shadows. Nothing will ever sever our bond.

Yours truly,

Emma

I quickly looked for a newspaper lying on top of the café tables. Finally, I found one and picked it up. The day’s headlines confirmed it: ‘Girl on Death Row Missing.’ Emma really did break out of prison.

I read over her words one last time, committing them to memory before summoning flames to turn the writing into ash. I was going to miss Emma, but I was relieved to know that she was alright. That was better than nothing.

Elliot suddenly appeared beside me, peering down at the newspaper headlines. “Did she…?”

“She escaped,” I replied.

“I hope she’s alright.” He sounded genuinely worried.

“She’ll be alright if she manages to evade capture.”

“Do you think we’ll ever see her again?”

I thought about his question. “I have a feeling we might someday.”

He gave a hopeful look before excusing himself to go finish packing his things and submit his essay. I decided to go with him to see Salamander and tell him the news. The elusive snake boy wasn’t anywhere on the ground floor that day, so I figured he was probably holed up in his room. When we opened the door, the room was empty.

“Have you seen Salamander at all today?” I asked Elliot.

“I think I saw him on the top floor balcony,” he replied. “He might still be there.”

I walked all the way up to the top floor. Indeed, Salamander was there staring at the view with his silver snake on his shoulder. He looked solemn and deep in thought.

“Salamander? Are you ready to leave?” I asked as I joined him.

“Just give me a few more minutes. I want to enjoy this view one last time,” he replied.

The clouds were stained with an orange hue as the sun began to set over the city. I moved beside him, staying silent for a minute before finally asking him the question that had been on my mind, “Why didn’t you just take the flower? It was your chance to become normal again.”

He didn’t say anything for a while and just continued staring at the view. Eventually, he did reply, “I was afraid of losing you. When I saw you in danger… I just immediately acted without thinking.”

“Do you regret it?”

He shook his head. “I’d rather see you alive, honestly. I’ll continue to look for a cure, but I think I can live with this for now.”

“Sorry. If only I had been more careful, then maybe you could have gotten the flower.” My words were sincere. I really did feel guilty about it.

He turned to look at me. “It’s not your fault. Besides, you’re more important to me than some inconvenient thing I have to live with.”

I just stared at him, attempting to read his expression. I wasn’t used to him being this honest. He never said anything like that to me before.

“What?” His face was completely red, probably realising the implications of what he just said. “Stop staring at me.”

“You know, you’re sort of cute when you’re embarrassed,” I said bluntly. Even his own snake was teasing him with a funny dance.

“Stop it.” He looked away to hide his face. “I’m not cute.”

I kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks for saving me.”

“You’re just doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” He sounded a little annoyed, his face even redder than before.

“Maybe?” I smirked.

“Alright. You asked for it…”

He kissed me gently on the lips, lingering in that position for some time before pulling back. It caught me off-guard, but it also felt like the most natural thing in the world.

He then said softly, “I hope you didn’t regret that.”

I couldn’t help but smile. We watched the sunset in silence before finally preparing to say our final farewell to Revival City.