A Fear of Flowers

Larkin was shaking with fear. A small black crate was sitting innocently in the middle of the marigold field. The marigolds were ridiculously oversized. Instead of being ankle-high, these flowers reached to her waist. Larkin believed walking a path with giant flowers on both sides was one of her challenges, but no, that would be too easy. Conquering her fear of plants was hard. Before coming to the castle, Larkin saw one plant in her entire life. Plants were so vibrant and green that her eyes avoided them.

Now there was a box. A box with air holes. Damn it. She should turn back now. She would not turn back because she knew if she bypassed the box, her quest was over. Larkin had not seen another creature, human or otherwise, on the road. This was her enchanted road. She was following the map the Queen’s agent gave her to travel to her first assignment. Or so she thought. It looks like the first trial was before she even got to town.

The pungent marigold scent was distracting. She stopped smelling the fragrance after the first day of walking, but now it was back, gagging her. She had spotted the box when she reached the top of a hill. The enormous flowers stretched as far as the eye could see on both sides of the road. The road Larkin stood on was the only path through the ocean of flowers.

The black box had to be a challenge. The testing to become a Silver Knight was unrelenting. What did she have to retrieve the package? Larkin carried her sword, her bow, her dagger. In the pack on her shoulder was her mother’s journal, a water gourd, and a day’s food. Not much.

Larkin thought back to her meeting with the Queen. No one expected her to qualify for Silver. She was a girl from Backspan, an iron city. She had no mentor to train her. She knew no one who understood the rules of Knight acceptance. All she had was her mother’s diary of her mom’s journey to becoming a Bronze Knight. Larkin wanted to be a Bronze like her mom but showed Silver potential.

At the post-testing orientation, Larkin wore her most acceptable dress and shoes. She had her mother’s Bronze dress in her pack, but they told her she could not wear the dress as she tested Silver. The black dress and shoes were the best she could afford. She stood out because her garments did not glitter and shine as did the other candidates' clothing. Her classmate’s makeup was flawless; their dresses of spun bronze and silver with strands of color depicting their strengths. All Larkin could manage of sliver was the scarf tied around her neck.

They held the indoctrination in the largest room she had ever been in. Its high smooth walls of white stone were beautiful. There were huge windows, but not in the walls, in the ceiling. The sky was everywhere, filling the room with sunlight and making the tiled grey floor glow from within.

At the coordination meeting, Larkin noted she was one of two women with three strands: Teacher (blue), Diplomat (green), and Warrior (red). Since she had no way to incorporate the colored strands into her dress as the others had done, she braided the long ribbons with her scarf. The ribbons and the scarf glittered around her neck, making her simple black dress stand out even more. When asked why she wanted to be a Knight, Larkin answered truthfully, “My mother was a Bronze Knight. Her dying wish for me was that I get out of the iron city and test for knighthood. I’m trying to keep that promise.”

The Delano Queen greeted each of them one at a time. When she met Larkin, she smiled a knowing smile. What was that about? After introductions, the Queen spoke, “There are thirty of you here today. Six will become Bronze Knights, and four will be Silver Nights. Only one of you can become the Golden Knight. The rest will fail and be sent home. We have determined your strengths. Use them.”

The Queen continued, “A designated Silver cannot become a Bronze, but a Bronze can become a Silver or the Gold after completing your year of challenges. A Silver can reach for the Gold as there are no designated Golds. Each of you will receive quests to complete. You may use any resources at your disposal. The challenges will not be marked. We will set obstacles and rewards on your path. We are watching your every move. One mistake could eliminate you from the challenge. Evaluate everyone and everything that crosses your path.” From her mother’s diary, Larkin knew the challenges started easy and became more complex over the years’ time.

Larkin’s mind went back to the crate sitting in flowers. Her fear review revealed her weaknesses. She had an unreasonable fear of walking through fields. Kraken did not bother her; there are Kraken throughout the waters around the city. Monsters didn’t bother her. An iron city was a collection of monsters. Since she was eight, whenever her mom got sick, she’d been negotiating and fighting with monsters, human and otherwise. The undead caused her no fear because they only came out at night, and she knew how to kill them, but a field of bright orange fragrant flowers was her Armageddon.

Something in the crate moved. There was something alive inside! Now she had to examine it. Her mother’s journals revealed there were rewards for acts worthy of a person seeking Knighthood. The wrong decision would waste time and could remove a participant from the trials.

Larkin walked to the edge of the flower field. She stuck her sword into the flowers, cutting off one small leaf from the stalk of a marigold. As she suspected, the smell emanating from the cut flower was pungent. She choked for a few seconds. Something in the crate coughed. So, she could not chop a path to the crate. She would need to walk gently through the waist-high flowers. The plant's orange heads bobbed back and forth as the wind blew. Larkin knew the flowers were sneering at her distress.

Before stepping into the field of flowers, she pulled down her sleeves and tied them shut with two pieces of cord from her tunic’s pocket. She checked her clothing for holes and stuffed her pant legs into boots. She was already sweating. Pulling a scarf out of her pack, she covered her hair. Larkin placed her right foot into the field and froze. There was movement in the field. Of course, there was. Her heart was beating so fast she could feel the blood pounding in her head. Her fingers were tingling. Sweat poured into her eyes.

The movement was a big brown and black catter, dangerous if upset. Larkin reached in her pack and pulled out her food. Opening the pack, she waited until the catter smelled the meat and moved toward her, claws out, mouth open. Leaning back, she threw the meat into the marigolds across the road. The animal leaped after the food into the other field. She could see the razor-sharp teeth as it raced after the delicious smelling roasted meat. Oh, well. She didn’t really need to eat every day anyway.

Larkin put her left foot into the field. She plodded through the waist-high flowers, taking care not to damage them. She walked slowly for what seemed like an eternity. Each step was a win of her will against her mind. Then Larkin froze. Her head was spinning. Her feet would not move. She stood there frozen with fear of moving forward. She closed her eyes, thought of her promise to her mother, and took more steps. When she took the fifth step, her foot stopped against the bottom of the crate.

Sweat was trickling down her legs into her shoes. Would her shoes slip off from the moisture? The thought moved her closer to the edge of the crate. Larkin opened her eyes. She reached inside herself and walked up to the thing. It was too much. Larkin collapsed from the stress.

When she came to, Larkin was dizzy. She sat up, looking for her prize. She picked up the box and opened it. Inside was a Golden flicker fairy. The fairy’s arms, legs, and wings were triple bound. Larkin’s eyes widened. She had heard rumors of Golden fairies but had met no one who had ever seen one. She put the fairy in her lap. Larkin removed her dagger from its sheath.

This action alarmed the fairy, who attempted to roll out of her lap. She cradled the fairy and gingerly cut the fairy’s bonds. The fairy stood up and said, “Took you long enough. Give me some water, do it.“

The tiny creature had golden eyes and golden hair and was attired in golden clothing. There was an empty sheath on the side of its tiny waist. Larkin gave the fairy water from her gourd. “Do you have any food?” Larkin shook her head no. The beautiful creature snarled, “I have to be rescued by a fool who is afraid of flowers and travels without food.”

This fairy was not particularly grateful. “You can have 75 fawens or one year's service for releasing me,” the fairy said. 75 fawens! Larkin licked her lips and returned her dagger to its sheath. She thought for a moment, closed her eyes, and considered the options. She wanted the money but chose the years’ service. She thought, “A Golden fairy as a traveling companion will be valuable.” Unexpectedly, she was suddenly standing in the middle of the road with the fairy in her hand.

She could see a town in the distance. That town wasn’t there when she walked into the field of marigolds. Taking out her map, the place where she found the fairy now had a small silver star on it. The town in the distance was also on the map. Larkin grasped the strap on her pack and walked down the road toward the town with the Golden fairy riding on her shoulder.