Moonveil Academy: Trapped With The Five Kings

Chapter 86: Dream Weaving (II)

Esme:

I knew very well that doing all this work in a dream wouldn’t result in anything physical taking place back at my greenhouse. But at least I would get to have a good time with the plants and the beautiful woman still standing there while judging me.

"You are weird, Mr. Ashbourne." Elara finally whispered the words.

"Probably."

Her lips twitched in response and I noticed, immediately deciding that was worth whatever mental manipulation I had just committed.

"Come on," I said. "We have a lot of work waiting here."

She hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked toward me.

We spent the next several minutes working together. I handed her a small plant that had grown too large for its current pot, and she watched carefully as I demonstrated how to remove it without damaging the roots. Then I made her do the next one herself.

"You are doing it too aggressively." I ended up saying just because I wanted to talk to her.

She glared at me. She could have pointed out how she wasn’t being aggressive at all. And yet, she decided to treat fire with ice just like her true personality I almost started missing these past days she had been in the infirmary.

"I have watched you use gardening tools before. You are in no position to judge me."

I watched her in shock for a moment before finally speaking, "That doesn’t mean you are good at it."

"I hate you."

"No, you don’t." I disagreed immediately with so much confidence that it surprised even me.

"That confidence is terrifying." She snorted softly.

And the sound did something strange to my chest.

For a while, we simply worked. I explained the names of the plants while she occasionally asked questions. She told me which flowers she recognized from the academy greenhouse and which ones she had never seen before. Every few minutes, I made a joke simply to hear her respond. Anything to keep her mind away from the nightmare.

Yet as time passed, another thought continued bothering me.

The attack.

I tried to ignore it. I really did. But eventually, I couldn’t. I had been dying for answers since the moment I learnt of it days ago. And now that I had the chance to question her directly about that night, I didn’t really want to pass it.

"So..." I began.

Elara glanced at me while carefully packing soil around the plant in her hands. Then she spoke with a soft smile playing on her lips. "That doesn’t sound like a good start."

"Probably because it isn’t." I confessed honestly.

She waited.

I took a slow breath before finally asking, "What happened to you and your friend? How did you end up injured so bad?"

Her hands stopped. For one brief second, I thought I had ruined everything. Then she continued working.

"Five men blocked our path." She began softly.

My jaw tightened. "Five?" I found myself repeating. The official statement also said that Myra girl mentioned it was five big men who attacked them.

Elara nodded. "Yes."

When she didn’t continue on her own, I asked, "What did they want?"

"Who knows?" She replied with a soft shrug.

The answer came too easily. Too casually. I watched her closely.

Elara seemed to sense my gaze and finally looked up. "What?"

"Nothing."

"That’s not true."

I said nothing.

She sighed. "Fine. They attacked us. We fought. Myra got hurt. I got hurt."

"That’s all?" I pressed.

Her expression became more cautious. "What else would there be?"

I studied her. She was telling me the same thing the academy authorities had been told. The same story her friend, Myra, had given - a group of five thugsand an attack. Nothing else.

But there was something about the entire situation that didn’t feel right. Even Elara seemed to know it. Yet before I could ask another question, she gave me a small smile.

"They seemed to know I was the princess."

My expression darkened. "And?"

She shrugged again. "Maybe that made them think they could get good money from me."

I stared at her.

Her smile only widened slightly. "Unfortunately, I wasn’t carrying much cash. Nor was I carrying any of my bank cards."

"Elara." I found myself speaking in a much serious tone I had ever used with her.

"What?" She looked genuinely puzzled.

"Someone attacked you and left you unconscious for three days."

"And?"

"And you are joking about being robbed?"

She looked down at the plant again. And for a moment, something quieter passed over her face. Then she let out a soft sigh. "If I don’t joke about it, I’ll probably have to think about it."

The answer erased the amusement from my face. I understood that more than I wanted to. So instead of pushing her further, I reached for another plant and placed it beside her.

"Here."

She looked at it. "What is it?"

"A magical moon orchid." I answered, easing back to the carefree and natural energy between us.

"It looks like a weed." She said with a frown.

My mouth fell open, and she actually burst into laughter. Real laughter. The sound echoed through the enormous greenhouse, warm and soft enough that I felt myself smiling despite everything.

"There," I said. "I knew you could be rude without trying."

She laughed again. Then, after a moment, she glanced at me.

"Thank you." The words were spoken quietly.

I looked at her and asked, "For what?"

She seemed to hesitate. "I don’t know." Her smile became softer. "Maybe for giving me a distraction through... whatever magic is this."

For a few seconds, neither of us said anything.

Elara turned her attention back to the flowers, and I watched as she carefully repotted the next plant. There was peace in her expression now, instead of tears, pain, and grief. And that was enough.

I moved closer and picked up the gardening tools beside her.

She immediately glanced at me. "What are you doing?"

"Helping you."

"You were the one who forced me to do all of this." She accused.

"I never said I was a good host." I defended myself.

She smiled.

And this time, when her smile appeared, it was the last thing I saw before the dream slowly began to fade.