Tressa's Treasures (The King's Jewel Book 1) by Belinda M Gordon Page B
Authors: Belinda M Gordon
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of the things that might go wrong. There will always be bad in the world; grab onto the good while you can. Trust me. Better yet: trust your instincts."
I grabbed a pair of garden clippers and a long flat basket from a cupboard in the kitchen. With the handle of the basket hanging from the crook of my elbow, I headed outside and walked north. I strolled, surveying the changes to the foliage as the season made ready to turn into summer.
All hints of brown had left the grass. It was now in its young yellow-green stage, and it would soon be the blue-green of summer. The forsythia bushes had lost their yellow flowers and were covered in small green leaves instead. In fact, leaves covered all the trees, and the estate looked lush and healthy.
The garden my grandmother sent me to was not the herb garden used by Jenny, planted near the kitchen door of the main estate, but the one in the far northern edge where the clearing met the forest, almost a mile from the buildings. It didn't look like a garden at all, but it appeared to be the forest's natural attempt to extend into the clearing. This was intentional to avoid the curiosity of the non-fae.
The first clipping I collected was the three-leaf sprig of a poison ivy plant. I had no concerns about touching it, despite the rash it would give a human. Next, I grabbed the base of a horseradish plant. The textured leaves were course beneath my fingers. I gave it a firm tug and pulled it out by its fleshy root. I shook it to dislodge any loose dirt before placing it on top of the poison ivy leaves.
Lastly, I moved to the feverfew plant. I picked out a stem with several open flowers, held it between my fingertips, and used the clipper to cut it at the base. After placing it in the basket I reached for another stem. My hands froze in midair when I heard someone approaching from behind me.
It was Alexander. He was still some distance away, so I quickly finished taking the clippings I needed and walked toward him to greet him away from the plants.
I smiled cordially as I got closer to him, more relaxed than when I had encountered him in the past—Mamó's influence no doubt—and my smile became genuine.
His gait was smooth and agile. He had the small rubber ball in his hand that he squeezed and released rhythmically with his stride. I wondered what his aura looked like to my grandmother.
He returned my smile, seeming genuinely happy to see me. Perhaps he hadn't been avoiding me.
"Good afternoon, Alexander." I looked away from him awkwardly when I said his name. I could never come up with a nickname for him. Without an alternative name to use, I avoided eye contact when I said his name—though I'm sure it looked rude.
Nicknaming people was something I did regularly. Since I couldn't hold Dominion over someone unless I used their full and proper name using nicknames was a habit I had gotten into long ago to avoid any accidents. We fae folk didn't use our true names, for if a fae knew your name, they could control your every action.
"Can I help you find something?"
He chuckled. "Actually, I was looking for you."
The space between us closed, and he turned and walked with me as I continued back toward the house.
"First you're avoiding me, and now you're looking for me?" The question popped out before I could censor it.
This time he laughed that good hearty sound I liked so well. "No, I've just been helping you avoid me," he said. I blushed, embarrassed that he knew what I had been doing. Then I told myself that it only showed that he paid as much attention to me as I had to him.
"I rarely come to this end of the estate; it must have taken you a while to find me. Did you go to the lake first?" I worried that he may have found Shamus there while he was talking to Kelly. What would he have made of that?
"No, I figured you would be here."
"Why would you assume I was somewhere that I rarely go?"
He shrugged but didn't seem inclined to answer.
"Well here I am. What can I be
I grabbed a pair of garden clippers and a long flat basket from a cupboard in the kitchen. With the handle of the basket hanging from the crook of my elbow, I headed outside and walked north. I strolled, surveying the changes to the foliage as the season made ready to turn into summer.
All hints of brown had left the grass. It was now in its young yellow-green stage, and it would soon be the blue-green of summer. The forsythia bushes had lost their yellow flowers and were covered in small green leaves instead. In fact, leaves covered all the trees, and the estate looked lush and healthy.
The garden my grandmother sent me to was not the herb garden used by Jenny, planted near the kitchen door of the main estate, but the one in the far northern edge where the clearing met the forest, almost a mile from the buildings. It didn't look like a garden at all, but it appeared to be the forest's natural attempt to extend into the clearing. This was intentional to avoid the curiosity of the non-fae.
The first clipping I collected was the three-leaf sprig of a poison ivy plant. I had no concerns about touching it, despite the rash it would give a human. Next, I grabbed the base of a horseradish plant. The textured leaves were course beneath my fingers. I gave it a firm tug and pulled it out by its fleshy root. I shook it to dislodge any loose dirt before placing it on top of the poison ivy leaves.
Lastly, I moved to the feverfew plant. I picked out a stem with several open flowers, held it between my fingertips, and used the clipper to cut it at the base. After placing it in the basket I reached for another stem. My hands froze in midair when I heard someone approaching from behind me.
It was Alexander. He was still some distance away, so I quickly finished taking the clippings I needed and walked toward him to greet him away from the plants.
I smiled cordially as I got closer to him, more relaxed than when I had encountered him in the past—Mamó's influence no doubt—and my smile became genuine.
His gait was smooth and agile. He had the small rubber ball in his hand that he squeezed and released rhythmically with his stride. I wondered what his aura looked like to my grandmother.
He returned my smile, seeming genuinely happy to see me. Perhaps he hadn't been avoiding me.
"Good afternoon, Alexander." I looked away from him awkwardly when I said his name. I could never come up with a nickname for him. Without an alternative name to use, I avoided eye contact when I said his name—though I'm sure it looked rude.
Nicknaming people was something I did regularly. Since I couldn't hold Dominion over someone unless I used their full and proper name using nicknames was a habit I had gotten into long ago to avoid any accidents. We fae folk didn't use our true names, for if a fae knew your name, they could control your every action.
"Can I help you find something?"
He chuckled. "Actually, I was looking for you."
The space between us closed, and he turned and walked with me as I continued back toward the house.
"First you're avoiding me, and now you're looking for me?" The question popped out before I could censor it.
This time he laughed that good hearty sound I liked so well. "No, I've just been helping you avoid me," he said. I blushed, embarrassed that he knew what I had been doing. Then I told myself that it only showed that he paid as much attention to me as I had to him.
"I rarely come to this end of the estate; it must have taken you a while to find me. Did you go to the lake first?" I worried that he may have found Shamus there while he was talking to Kelly. What would he have made of that?
"No, I figured you would be here."
"Why would you assume I was somewhere that I rarely go?"
He shrugged but didn't seem inclined to answer.
"Well here I am. What can I be
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