Really got back into the writing goove you guys! I hope you enjoy this short little chapter with more awkward fluff added to it.
Also to answer TopazDesiertoFleur: Yes, the moon rose is extremely critical to this story as we will find out soon enough!
Anyway hope you enjoy this latest update!
Tino pushed the dirt just enough to cover the wilted bottoms of the moon roses he had used for his bouquet. He hoped it would be enough to help start his garden again, but as he touched the soft silver petals that nearly broke off in his hand he was sure they weren't even going to survive the coming winter.
He sat back on his knees and wiped the black earth from his hands as he sighed out. He looked around the large vast garden, dark ebony leaves climbing up the mansion wall and around parts of the gate. He glanced down at the grass, even it was black. He looked back at the wilted moon roses and couldn't help but think how beautiful they were. They were like a ray of light in the ink splattered place, and how oddly appropriate for them to be dying. Slowly petal by petal did they die. The silver petals scattered across the small patch of earth to look like stars in the sky. How marvelously beautiful they looked even in death.
There was a loud bark that caught his attention, little Hana had ran up beside him. "Hey little cutie," he smiled reaching over for her. She kept barking and he furrowed his eyebrows before following her eyesight. His body had gone completely still.
Across from him, behind the large coal bars were two slits of yellow looking right at them. Tino reached for little Hana and pulled her into his lap, the eyes seemed to get closer until they were out of the darkness provided by the trees overhead and into the sunlight. The large snake stared at them, it's head probably half the size of Tino already; with feathers covering its entire head and body. Tino took a step back as the large snake got closer to the bars, but not close enough to touch them. The large snake could have easily slithered over the large gate that protected him and swallowed him whole, but it didn't dare move any closer.
The large jet-black snake stuck it's tongue out, even that was black, and it sent shivers down Tino's spine. It then turned it's head and headed back into the forest, and Tino watched it go as it seemed to go on forever and finally disappeared into the forest. He stood still and silent for a few moments and tried to calm his heart. "Let's...let's go inside," he whispered to Hana who had began to whine.
He got up wiping some dirt off his clothes and headed back inside the large mansion. He looked around seeing servants tending to the cleaning and only greeted him with a nod. He forced a small smile and went upstairs until he found Berwald's study room. "Come in," he heard Berwald say after he knocked a few times. He poked his head in and Berwald glanced up at him.
"Tino, come in, come in." Berwald said sitting up a bit straighter in his chair and shuffling some papers together. "What...what can I do for you?" Even though they were married it still didn't feel like it to him and he did enjoy every moment he had with Tino. No matter how small or insignificant they were.
"I… Well I was just outside in the garden planting the moon roses." Tino stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Little Hana squirmed in his arms until he set her down and she ran over to a corner of the room where a small toy laid. Tino smiled after her and he walked a little closer to the desk. "There was this large snake, and it had feathers on it." Tino rubbed his hands together and chuckled nervously hoping he didn't sound like a madman.
"Did it try hurting you?" Berwald asked quickly leaning forward in his chair.
"No, no, not at all. I was just curious about it. It had feathers and it was black like the rest of the forest." He sighed out, what was he even trying to say? "I just want to know more, about this place is all."
"Oh," Berwald glanced down at his papers and set them aside.
"I can come back if you're busy…"
"No, it's fine." Berwald stood up and went to a large book case behind him and scanned over it. "You just want to know more about the black forest?" Tino hummed in response, and Berwald pulled down a book from the shelf as he scanned the cover and then tuned to Tino handing it to him. "This is just one I have here, I'm sure there are more in the library."
"The library?"
Berwald stood still, had he forgotten to tell him about the library? "Yes, the library. Would...would you like me to take you to it?"
Tino smiled and eagerly nodded holding the large book to his chest. "If you don't mind that is."
Berwald shook his head as he walked Tino toward the library, little Hana following behind with her toy dangling from her mouth. As they walked along the mansion he mentally slapped himself, of course Tino would be interested in the library. Why wouldn't he be? He frowned harder than usual and cleared his throat, but fell silent when Tino started talking again.
"The snake was big, and a bit scary, but it was...beautiful. I wish now it could have stayed a bit longer by the fence," he said. He was already reading the book as they walked, well it was more of like a diary. A record of someone's trip in the black forest. It was hand written for sure, and it was a bit hard to read but he understood. "Have you seen it before? The snake?"
"Maybe," Berwald replied as he glanced over at Tino. "There are a lot of different creatures here in the forest. Some are cursed, others are just creatures, and some can take on more than one form."
"Like those crows you talked to?"
"Yes, most of those who can shift form I've talked too," he looked away from Tino just in time to see a statue right in Tino's path. He quickly pulled him by his waist so he wouldn't run into a statue and Tino looked up at him startled. "I'm sorry," Berwald said quickly letting go of him.
Tino smiled, "Don't worry, I should be sorry. I shouldn't be reading and walking anyway." He closed the book just as they reached a door.
"It's fine, I just don't want you to get hurt is all," Berwald said as he opened the doors to the library. The library itself was well lit-up a servant already inside doing some cleaning and they stopped to acknowledge the both of them. "This is my library, many books that my relatives and I have collected over the years. Most of them are in the same language, so you shouldn't have trouble."
Tino walked into the large library, his eyes barely could look away from the vast amounts of books that decorated each shelf. "This is amazing," he said more to himself. "How many books do you have exactly?" He turned to Berwald who seemed to be staring at him, the taller man glanced away when he realized he was caught.
"I'm not entirely sure," Berwald replied. "But you can read whatever you like, things about the black forest would be over there." He pointed to a particularly nice painted bookshelf that stood out from the rest. It had gold and black trimming at the edges and stood alongside a fireplace that seemed to be made of marble. He watched Tino gravitate toward the shelf as he looked over the rows of books and traced his fingers along the spines of each one. "If you like you can take them back to your room." He watched Tino nod and he shifted a bit, "I will be going back to my study now. If you need me I'll be there until dinner."
"Du...Berwald," Tino said catching himself. Tino watched as Berwald straightened up again, as if he was being called to attention. "Thank you," he nodded his head a bit.
"Of course," Berwald said and cleared his throat again before shifting awkwardly out of the library. His face heating up and he half smiled to himself, the beautiful colors that had surrounded Tino were certainly breathtaking. He sighed out to himself and headed back to his study.
Tino watched as Berwald left the room and smiled to himself. Berwald wasn't a bad man at all, he just seemed a little scary is all. He sat down by the bookshelf and opened the book once more, this time Hana jumping into his lap and curling up.
"God, it's so good to see you," Tino said hugging Lukas tightly. It was the first time he's been home since the wedding over two weeks ago. He pulled away from him and was hugged by his uncle Elo.
"It's good to see you too, Tino. How is the Duke treating you?" Elo asked letting him go as they walked a little bit farther into his house.
"It's good," Tino replied just as he felt Emil run up and hug his legs. He picked him up, "Look at you! Have you grown since we last saw each other?" Emil shook his head and he hugged him tightly kissing his forehead and set him down.
"What took you so long to visit?" Lukas asked as he shut the front door and went towards the kitchen.
"He wanted to make sure I was comfortable and settled first," Tino explained and followed him into the kitchen. A scent of fresh stew hit his nose and made his mouth water up as he walked right up to it.
"What's wrong do they not feed you enough?" Lukas chuckled.
Tino glanced away a bit bashful, "The food is good, but nothing beats homemade food."
"Got that right," Elo laughed. "I'll go check on your aunt Helina, hopefully she's awake."
"You don't have to," Tino said quickly not wanting to disturb his aunt.
"Don't worry, all she's been talking about is getting to see you since Mathias said you were coming." Elo gave a wide smile and then walked off toward the small room.
Tino sighed out and turned toward Lukas who was not staring into the pot of soup slowly stirring it. "How is she?" he asked.
"The doctor said she wouldn't last another week," Lukas said quietly, but a smile crossed his face. "She's lived two more weeks and is getting better everyday."
Tino's smile grew more just as his uncle called for him and he headed toward the room. Elo let him in and he saw his aunt sitting up in bed. "Tino, I'm so glad to see you," she said. Her voice was much clearer than the last time he saw her. Color had returned to her body and she held out her arms towards him. He eagerly walked over to her and hugged her tightly. "I've missed you so much," she said rubbing his back.
"I've missed you a lot too," Tino whispered already wanting to cry. He hadn't realized how much he had missed his family until that moment. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner."
"Oh hush, you're here now and that's all that matters."
Tino let go of her and sat down at the edge of the bed. "I"m sure you two have some catching up to do," Elo said as he nodded his head towards the two of them and walked out closing the door.
Helina smiled and held Tino's hand that rested on her lap. "Tell me Tino, how is it?" Tino smiled as he explained everything that had happened over the last two weeks. The two of them talking and laughing, along with some crying is just what Tino needed. "You sound like you're having a wonderful time."
"I am," Tino said a bit cautiously. His aunt Helina raised an eyebrow at him and squeezed his hand slightly. "I'm not unhappy," he said quickly. "I just… I miss everyone."
"Well that's perfectly understandable, love. I can't even tell you how it was for me when I first married your uncle." She laughed a bit and then coughed some but quickly recovered. "I love your uncle with all my heart, but moving from a home with seven kids to none was no easy feat."
Tino smiled softly and looked down at his lap wiping away some imaginary lint. "The Duke is a sweet person," he said softly. "He makes sure I'm as comfortable as I can be, and I absolutely adore Hana...but it's just not the same."
"You remind me so much of your mother. The first time I met her was right after she eloped with your father. They showed up here at my door the two of them." Tino looked up at her as she smiled remembering. "Cold and soaked to the bone the two of them. But they were so stupidly in love and happy it was like nothing could change it."
"Did...did she miss her family?"
"Terribly," Helina replied. "She missed them like a flower would miss the sun. She cried so much to herself, wondering if she had made a mistake in marrying your father." Tino furrowed his eyebrows but Helina squeezed his hand again. "But, once she saw your father again she knew exactly why she married him. Your father loved her for who she was. For everything she was and for everything she could be. He understood her like no one else could, or even tried to."
"What got her through it?" Tino asked hoping there was some way he could cope as well.
"We would spend so much time together, we were practically sisters." Helina smiled. Tino bit the inside of his cheek. "Before your father built the cottage we all lived together here. "The four of us, and we thought life couldn't get any better. Then your father finished the cottage,she moved out and became pregnant with you."
"It must have been wonderful," Tino chuckled and looked out the window to see the small pot and silver leaves. "A moon rose?" he asked.
"I think it's the one you gave to Lukas. He gave it to me when I became really sick." Tino chuckled and couldn't wait to tease Lukas about it. "By the way, how are those roses of yours doing?"
"Ah, well I don't think they'll make it past this winter," Tino sighed out.
"Then you should take that one. I'm sure it will flourish much more with you," Helina said as she shifted a bit moving to get out of bed.
"What? No, I can't. What if you get sick again? Maybe the leaves could help you…" Tino protested as he watched his aunt get up and grab the small pot and hand it to him.
"Nonsense, look at me. I can talk, I can walk, I can breathe. I told myself I would get better in order to see you. Even if it was the last thing I did. Now look at me, healthy as a horse!" she laughed a bit and sat down on the bed beside him. "Take it back with you Tino, grow it so you can restart that garden of yours. You take new life to that dreaded black forest."
Tino stared at her before his eyes began to water. "Thank you, so much," he whispered and hugged her as she kissed his forehead.
Hope you all enjoyed this! Please leave a review if you liked it or, if you didn't! Thanks you guys for all your support!