The Nameless Luna – Book One: Chapter 14

I walk through the elaborate garden, my eyes wide with awe. I’m surrounded by a profusion of colors, scents, and sounds. The sun is higher in the sky now, shining down and casting dappled shadows from the tall trees that tower above me. The air is filled with the sweet fragrance of blooming flowers as a gentle breeze stirs the branches and leaves.
Lucy walks beside me with a proud smile on her lips. ‘Well?’ she asks, and all I can do is look back at her in amazement as I continue to take in the sights of the villa’s garden.
We come upon a lush green lawn dotted with vibrant flower beds. Each is a symphony of color, with hues of red, pink, yellow, and purple. Butterflies flit from flower to flower, drinking nectar and spreading pollen. I stop to admire a rose bush, its blooms a deep red and full of life. The flowers stand tall, nodding in the breeze. I can’t help but reach out to touch one of the petals, soft and velvety as silk, and I close my eyes and breathe in their heady scent.
‘I’ve never… I don’t… it’s so…’ I don’t have the words, and Lucy laughs as I stutter in a futile attempt to find them.
‘Agreed,’ she says. ‘The enchantment on the Villa du Lac extends to the grounds beyond the villa itself, though it’s hard to say exactly where the spell ends since the gardens fade into the forest glade towards the edge of the property.’
The garden is a true feast for the senses, with something new and beautiful to discover as far as the eye can see. I cannot tell where the magic ends, and nature begins. ‘It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,’ I say at last, and a part of me expects Lucy to laugh at the statement.
She does not. The black-haired girl gives me a kind, curious smile and then sighs contently, following my gaze towards the landscape that surrounds us. ‘Go on then,’ she says softly. ‘I’m going to go meet Nico, but feel free to explore the gardens and the villa’s grounds. I’ll be back in a while, and we’ll head downtown together.’
Before she leaves, I call out to her, wishing I could express how much this means to me. ‘Thank you,’ is all I manage. Lucy just nods at me with a twinkle in her eyes and then walks away, leaving me to wander about.
I come across a section filled with towering sunflowers, their faces turned towards the sun. The flowers are a bright, cheerful yellow, and I can’t help but smile as I walk amongst them. I pause to admire a beautiful magnolia tree, its branches heavy with fragrant, delicate blooms in shades of pink and white. There are also fruit trees in full bloom. The air is filled with the sweet scent of blooming flowers, and I can see the first signs of fruit starting to form on the branches. I walk amongst the trees, admiring the delicate beauty of the apple, pear, and cherry blossoms. The sun is warm on my face, and I pause to take a deep breath of the sweet, fresh air.
I continue my exploration, coming across a bed of luscious peonies, their fluffy petals in shades of pink, white, and peach. When I turn down another path, I am surrounded by yet another riot of color as I pass by a vibrant bed of tulips, their petals puckering up toward the sky.
It’s like something out of a fairy tale, and I lose myself in the garden, forgetting everything but the beauty that surrounds me.
Lucy was right.
Though magic clearly fills the grounds, it is impossible to discern exactly where the spell stops, as if the enchantment were crafted directly into the forest, weaving and fading into it organically.
I could get lost in this place forever and never wish to be found.
I drag my fingers over the cracks in the bark of an oak tree, its branches spreading wide and its trunk towering above me, admiring the diversity of life that surrounds me. It seems to have been there for centuries.
The sun is shining down, casting a warm, golden light over the landscape. I can hear the buzz of bees as they collect nectar from the blooms, but in the distance, there is a different sound.
A song.
I dawdle by a bed of fragrant lavender, the purple flowers filling the air with their calming scent. As I do, the ghost of a melody reaches my ears. I follow the faint music until it grows clear and discernable, a piano piece that matches the garden’s ethereal ambience perfectly. I pluck a fallen daisy from the floor, twirling the stem between my fingers as I listen.
Enchanted, I trail after the song, passing a small pond surrounded by tall reeds and water lilies. The water is calm, reflecting the sky and the trees around it, and the occasional fish breaks the surface with a gentle splash. Through the greenery beyond the little pond, there’s a tall set of glass sliding doors that have been pushed open to let the breeze into the hall on the ground floor of the villa and let the music out.
Tristan, like the brooding subject of a Renaissance painting at the edge of the garden, sits on the stool beside the grand piano.
I stand there frozen, listening to his song, once again consumed by the sensation that this is a dream, and any minute now, I’ll wake up back in Viktor’s cellar. Surely something so sweet and soft cannot be real.
The music stops, but Tristan’s hands go still over the keys as a breeze sweeps my golden hair about my face. I realize he’s picked up my scent. I consider turning on my heel and hurrying back through the gardens before he can chastise me for interrupting him, but then he turns, and his eyes settle on me, pinning me in place.
His amber gaze flicks down to the daisy in my hand and the faintest smile dances on his lips before he turns away from me, his attention back on the piano as he closes the fallboard over the keys.
‘Are you lost, little flower?’