On with this story! I had writer's block for the longest time with this. And honestly, I'm not entirely convinced that I'm satisfied with this chapter…

I finally have a copy of Gnomeo & Juliet! Hopefully that'll make writing this a little easier….

FYI: This chapter is in Cleon's POV.

Chapter 2: Childhood Innocence

I scrambled out of the bushes and raced to the gate, heart still racing. I'd never met anyone like this Katharine. Most of the girls in the red garden were relatively simple minded. But her…..

I reached the gate without finishing my thought and pulled it open with the string I had attached to the latch. About four months ago, my mate Paris, had despised a way for us to easily open the gate from the ground. Of course, he was too much of a scardy-gnome to actually climb up and attach the string to the latch so I did it for him. I actually don't mind climbing; it's just that Paris is well, smart but not so brave. And one day, when I'm leader of the red garden, Da says I need brave gnomes who'll fight to the death against those blues.

I raced out the gate into the alley, heading for the hole I'd discovered yesterday. But I realized it wasn't just the thrill of adventure exciting me. I was also dying to meet Katharine. The blue. She didn't seem so bad. She didn't seem anything like what dad said blues were. He always says they're not to be trusted, that they can smash you with the slightest notice. And yet, here I was, going off on an adventure with her. The thought had just popped into my head while I was staring into her eyes: I should check out the Lawrence garden for seeds. Normally, I would've asked my little brother Ulrich, or my mate Alarbus or even Paris to tag along on a mission like this. But somehow, when I heard Katherine's voice and looked into her eyes, I knew she would be the only one to come with me this time. According to Da, I shouldn't ever trust a blue, not with anything. But it had been so easy to trust her… there was such innocence in her eyes…. And if it turns out she wasn't to be trusted…. I was starting to have second thoughts… maybe I should turn around right now and forget the whole thing…

I was halfway across the alley when there was a creaking noise. I whirled around. The blue gate was opening. For a split second, I froze in fear. Then I smiled. A blue gnome kid was running towards me. And it was exactly who I thought it would be. Katherine caught sight of me and flashed a smile as she ran forward. She looked heftier then most of the other girl gnomes I knew. And just as Da had promised, she was blue all over. Her hat, her skirt, her eyes….. she was so….

"I'm going to beat you!" Katherine's yell of triumph distracted me from looking at her. She was almost level with me. Despite her body and the large blue skirt, she moved fast! I raced towards the hole. She was not going to beat me!

"Look out!"

We skidded to a halt in front of the hole, barely avoiding crashing into each other as we both landed in the dirt.

For a few seconds, we said nothing as we were too out of breath from laughing and running to speak.

I looked up and found myself staring into her eyes again.

"Well…. Are we doing this… or not…?" She was still gasping for air but her eyes were shining. It was so hard not to stare. I could admire her for hundreds of things but it would always be the eyes that caught my attention. They were not the blood-thirsty eyes of a murderer that Dad always described. They didn't have tiny pupils or an evil glare. No, they were soft and curious, a dimpling shade of blue rimmed by delicate lashes. Katherine wasn't a killer. She was a kid, like me. As I looked into her eyes again, all my doubts vanished.

I stood up, trying to gain control over my breath as my heart raced excitedly for more than one reason. "Yea. Let's go." I offered her my hand but she was already clambering onto her feet.

"This is where we go in?" She poked her hat and head through the hole, peering into the garden. Before I even gave her an answer, the rest of her body followed her through the entry.

"Wait…" I struggled after her, still a little out of breath. As I ducked my head to get my hat through the opening I heard her say. "Wow….."

I finally burst through the fence and stumbled into the garden. I stared in amazement. This was my first time actually setting foot in this garden. My whole life, all I'd seen were the inside of my garden, the alley and (as of today) a tiny glimpse of the blue garden. Now I saw what I was missing. The lawn before me was perfectly manacled, framed by flowering bushes and trees. A pool was inset in the middle, startlingly clear and surrounded by stones. The large house that commanded this lawn (ivy slowly climbing its walls and more plants framing its doorway) was proper and modern. The whole place was a beautiful, lush mix of green and white. Our garden seemed tiny and childish compared to this one.

That's when I realized what was missing from this scene: my blue companion.

"Katherine?" The garden seemed very empty without her.

"Over here!" The voice came from the other side of the bush on my right.

I raced around the bush, sliding in the dirt a little. She was standing on the opposite side, staring up at a glass wall in front of her.

"look at that!" I followed her gaze up at the wall. Katherine had found a greenhouse in the back of the garden. How had I missed that?

"This place'll be great for finding seeds! Let's go!"

I reacted faster this time, grabbing her arm before she could rush in.

"Katherine," I said gently, trying to act like my father when he gives advice. "This place could be dangerous. As the caller of this adventure, I think I should be the leader." Okay, maybe I also wanted to be in charge just a little…

She looked at me innocently, as if the thought of danger had never occurred to her.

"I found it, I think I should go in first." She said stubbornly.

I sighed. "Okay, but at least wait for me this time."

She pulled her arm out of my grasp, but not harshly. "I thought we agreed there would be no waiting on this adventure?" The mischief was back in her voice and her eyes danced as she challenged me.

I had to smile. "Yes, we did." Without thinking, I took her hand in mine. "Let's go." She smiled back and we set off together. As we started around the greenhouse to find a way to get in, I looked down at our entwined hands. I wondered if this had ever happened before. A red and a blue working so closely together, so comfortably. Why wasn't this happening in our families now? Why were we supposed to hate each other?

A few minutes later I found a broken pane at the back of the greenhouse. The only flaw in this perfect garden. It was just big enough for the two of us to squeeze through. It was steamy and green inside the building. Most of the floor space was taken up by large and small plants but there were several sacks sitting around the floor, almost like someone had dropped them there and forgotten about them. We wandered slowly through the house, taking it all in. Our hands were still touching and Katherine was the quietest I'd ever heard her be as we examined the greenhouse. She was so peaceful here, nothing like the wild girl outside. Her unpredictability was so… well… unexpected…. One thing was certain; she was no devil- fighter. My da is fond of calling all blues "ruthless smashers".

"That's why we fight." He always says to me.

"But fight for what?" I asked him once.

"Fight those bloody blues of course!" was all he said, spitting on the ground when he mentioned them. And I'd just smiled and cheered along at his ranting, spitting next to him, mirroring his hate…

"Look at these." Her voice broke through my thoughts and her hand slipped from my grasp. She was pointing at some of the bags on the floor of the greenhouse. They bulged promisingly and were slit open at the top. The bags were taller than both of us put together! I grabbed the one closest to me and heaved mightily, trying to tip it over. To my embarrassment, the bag did not budge.

"Let me help!" Katharine came up next to me and began to push. I was about to say that I had it (I was the man after all) but then I realized it was probably stupid. I obviously didn't have it, not one bit. So I placed my hands next to hers and together, we shoved the bag over. It was so much easier with two pushing. The bag toppled over, spilling its contents across the greenhouse floor. I felt my breath catch in my throat.

"what are those?" Katharine asked examining one of the objects.

"haven't you ever seen tulip bulbs before?" I asked her. She shook her head.

"there's none in my garden."

"mine either!"

"then how do you know about them?"

"my da. He's been describing them to me forever! He says if we had some beautiful red tulips, we'd never be bothered by…" I trailed off, realizing what I was about to say.

"by what?" She was so innocent! Did she really not know how much my father hated her?

"nuthin…" I said. I stooped and began to gather up several bulbs. "help me get some of these back."

The feud had defined my life since birth. She had not been touched by it yet. It appeared she was not even aware of it yet.

"What would bother you?" She refused to let it go.

I straightened up, laid down with the precious tulip bulbs. "Forget I said anything. Just help me get some of these back to the hole." I began to make my way back to the broken pane, not looking back at her. I was not going to be the one to ruin the best thing about Katherine: the innocence that made it possible for her to trust me and to be with me.

After we deposited the bulbs by the hole to the alley, Katherine slipped her hand into mine and we set off in the opposite direction from the greenhouse. She didn't ask about my momentary discomfort and coldness back in the greenhouse; the curiosity was making her forget about it. As we walked around the pond in the middle of the lawn, something caught my eye.

A tiny shed, tucked miserably in the corner of the garden. The perfect place to find spare seeds and fertilizers.

"Let's check that place out!" I said to her, pulling my hand out of hers to point.

"Okay!" The calm curiosity was immediately replaced by eagerness.

We took our time getting to the shed. Maybe she was remembering my warning about caution or maybe she just wanted to be with me longer, I wasn't about to ask.

To my disappointment, there was a shiny new lock barring us from entering the shed.

Katherine rubbed her chin thoughtfully as she stared at it. "How can we get inside…." It was more a question to herself than to me. I answered her anyway. "I'm going to look around back for a loose panel or something. See if you can find anything to pick the lock with!"

"Sure." She began scanning the ground nearby as I rounded the corner of the shed.

I made my way slowly around the shed, fantasizing about what treasures could be inside as I searched for evidence of flaws that may permit us to enter. Unfortunately, the same luck that had helped us enter the greenhouse didn't seem to apply here. This shed was sealed up tight. Absently, I tapped on one of the boards, trying to see if it was hollow enough to break easily.

Something tapped back.

I jumped backward, startled. Was there something alive in there? Or was it just…?

"Katherine!"

"What, Cleon?" She poked her head around the far corner of the shed.

My heart started pounding. There was no way she could've gotten out and on the other side of the shed so fast…. No…. there was something in this shed.

I motioned for her to be quiet and started to tiptoe towards her.

A sudden storm of banging and crashing from inside the shed made me jump so hard I fell in the dirt. Katherine's face disappeared back around the corner as the noise intensified. It sounded like whatever was in there was about to break down the wall to get me.

"Cleon?" Katherine's anxious voice barely carried over the banging.

"Run! Run!" I was screaming, trying to get back on my feet.

Suddenly, I heard a terrifying battle-cry from the other side of the shed and the banging abruptly stopped. Terrified, I picked myself up and raced around to where the yell had come from.

It was coming from Katherine. She was yelling her battle cry and banging fearlessly on the door of the shed, disorienting and confusing whatever was inside. As I came towards her, she grabbed my hand and together we sprinted away. We didn't even pay attention to where we were going; we just knew we were getting away from that shed.

When we finally stopped to catch our breath, we were back behind the greenhouse.

"What…. What was that?" Katherine asked between gasps, her hand falling out of mine.

"I have no idea…" I answered, heart still pounding. I leaned forward, hands on my knees, trying to slow my breathing.

After a few more labored breaths filling the silence, Katherine suddenly began to giggle.

"What… what is it?"

She only laughed harder. "You… should've… seen… your…. FACE!" She collapsed, howling with laughter.

I couldn't help it. I started laughing too.

"And you..! what was with that battle-cry?"

We descended into a funky of laughter. When I finally stopped to breathe again, I noticed the sun approaching the horizon.

"Oh no…. its getting late…."

Katherine followed my gaze, all the happiness leaving her face.

"We'd better get those tulips back…"

We walked slowly back to the hole and began to gather up the scattered bulbs.

"I can't wait to see them in your garden!" Katherine said as she scooped up an armful of the weapons we would use against her. "I bet they'll look so pretty!"

I felt myself flinch. "I don't think you should come into my garden…." I said slowly.

She turned her huge, innocent eyes on me. "Why not?"

I had to turn away… I couldn't think about those eyes in my garden…. Facing that anger, that hatred. "my…my da is really strict…" I began slowly. How could I make her understand this? "… and ….. and you'd be the only blue there. I wouldn't want you to feel out of place."

"Oh…"

Her head fell. She looked miserable. Did she really want to see my anti-blue garden so much?

"Does… does this mean… we can never meet again…?" Her voice quavered and I could've sworn her eyes looked wet.

I stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "No. I said. Definitely not."

I looked around at the empty garden. No one was here. No humans, no gnomes…. It was the perfect place for two secret friends to meet.

"We should meet here." I said firmly.

The hope in her eyes made my heart soar. "Really?"

"Yes. We can climb and dig and look for seeds…. And be together."

The glint was back in her eyes. "But we'll stay away from that shed?" She asked.

I glanced back at the haunted shed and laughed.

"Definitely."

Katherine waved goodbye and raced back into the blue garden. I couldn't wave back because my arms were full of bulbs.

Did it make me a traitor that I'd agreed to meet with her in secret again? Did it matter that I didn't care what anyone would think? All Alarbus, Paris and even little Ulrich cared about were beating those blues. Sadly, that used to be all I'd wanted too. To fight those 'devil blues.' Now… Katharine had changed all that. She was the bravest person I knew. She'd practically saved my life! And she was so smart….. and those eyes…. The blue eyes…..

I pushed my gate open with my hip and walked inside but my mind was back in the garden across the alley…. Running hand in hand with her. The blue girl.

This Katharine was special. If all the other blues are like her, why do we hate them so much? Is there any way we can learn to live together?

I wasn't aware of it at the time, but somehow, Katherine and I had a destiny that revolved around the coming of this future.

Please review! And let me know: was it better or worse than Katherine's chapter? Should I stick to one character's POV or switch it up every chapter?