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Despite the shade from the branches above, the sun still made its way into the forest. Rays of sunlight filtered through leaves, causing them to dance when the trees were rustled by a cool wind. It was the only reprieve from the boiling heat – a constant on warm summer days in Cradle.On such a day, a captain from the Black Army was working alongside a known outlaw. The captain had arrived on horseback just before noon. While the sun moved across the sky, they made excellent progress on their task. The end was in sight.Harr slumped onto the grass, letting the shovel fall next to him. He took a moment to admire their handiwork as he stretched his fingers, giving them a moment to rest.“Don’t take too long,” his friend, Sirius, teased. “We’re almost done.”“I won’t. I’m just wishing I could use magic.” Harr eyed his friend’s winning grin. “It would be much faster, and I wouldn’t have more blisters to add to my collection.”“Oh, come on, don’t be like that. I use my day off to help you, and now you’re complaining about hard work?”“If you just let me use magic, you wouldn’t have to use your first day off from the Black Army to help me make a garden. You could get back and not raise suspicions.”
“They won’t miss me today. I already told them I was going to take the opportunity to visit my family’s shop – which was not a lie. I did visit them, if only to pick some things up. Besides…” Sirius drove his shovel into the soil, leaning his weight on it. “I can make the trip just fine at night and report for duty tomorrow morning.”“The woods are even more dangerous at night. You really should leave before sunset, even if we aren’t finished.”“And like I said, we’re almost done. Besides, what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t help you see this through? I can’t leave the job half-finished. You and your student need to grow your own vegetables and not keep buying from a store.”“But we can use magic. What’s the point of using shovels and such? There’s no way the difference between magic and doing it by hand is that large.”“Actually, it is.” Sirius offered Harr a knowing smile. “Zeta and I already tested that a few years back. While magic gets the job done faster, you have to buy a new magic crystal to tend to your garden when the one you buy runs out, and work at refining the spells you use. Additionally, the plants grew better when one manually sifted the soil.”Harr made a face. Sirius had shot down all the arguments he had been planning on making in a mere three sentences. “Fine. And speaking of Zeta, how has she been?”“Doing well. She’s eighteen now and finishing up schooling. Just in time, too, because she’s going to take over the shop after this year’s up.”“What?” Harr narrowed his eye at Sirius. “I thought your parents had taken it over again, in order to hold onto it for you.”“I broke the news to them this morning. I’m planning to make a career out of the army.”“But that’s a lie, Sirius!”“It’s not a lie when you can see the evidence for yourself. A young man, already a captain a year ahead of most recruits? I suppose that if school got one thing right, it’s that I have a knack for this sort of thing.” Harr caught the shift in Sirius’s demeanor – from beaming pride to somber acceptance. “Like I’m meant for it.”“You said you were only staying until you could help Lancelot, though!”“Yeah, but who knows how long it will be until that day? It could take years before he comes to his senses. You saw what happened a year ago, just as well as I did.”Harr’s jaw clenched. “I know. But you didn’t have to throw your life away for this, Sirius.”“Don’t worry. I’ll make the most of time there. I’m just going to aim for the upper ranks of the Chosen Thirteen. That will get me in a position where I can talk to him directly.”“Are you aiming for King?”“Nope. That’s aiming a little too high, don’t you think? I’ll aim for Jack, at most, but I’m hoping I don’t have to go that far before I get a glimpse of Lance.”“I hope so, too.” Harr used the shovel to pull himself off the grass, and the two men resumed their work. Within the hour, they had finished digging out the plot. Harr went up to the treehouse to get some water. Sirius went to his horse and removed a saddlebag, settling under the shade of the tree as Harr returned.“Thank you,” he said, accepting the glass. “I got a few things from the store that you can use. The tools are all yours, and so are these seeds. And I won’t take any money.” He held up his hand as Harr opened his mouth. “I’ll cover it.”“Fine,” Harr grumbled. “So, what did you bring?”“Just a few beginner seeds. I don’t want you doing anything too intense to start, or you might get discouraged.”“I’ll be able to handle it. What do you have?”Sirius reached into his bag, removing the contents one at a time. “I think you should start with lettuce. It’s great and can be used for lots of different things, and will keep growing after it’s harvested. Then, you have tomatoes. They can be grown in those boxes you’re planning to build. If you want to grow them in the garden, you’ll need a trellis, and I recommend exchanging that plot with peas or beans next season. Then you have some radish seeds…”Harr attempted to process the onslaught of information as it came. He juggled each little packet, nearly spilling his water in the process. It wasn’t long before he had too many, and he began to let them slip from his hands in order to grab more.“… So, does that all make sense?” Finally finished his explanation, Sirius seemed hardly out of breath as Harr took a moment to
reply.“You… might need to write that all down. …And teach me a few things before you go, please.”Sirius nodded. “That’s what I thought. Then, let’s get to work!”“Harr! Harr! I got lots of potatoes!” Loki lifted the basket, skipping excitedly towards Harr.
“Good job— oh, watch out!”Loki nearly tipped forward, but managed to catch his balance. The potatoes and radishes were spared from returning to the dirt. Harr paused his raking when Loki got close, peering inside.“Perfect. There’s enough in there to last us a while. Set the basket over there.” Harr jerked his head, indicating where a basket of raspberries and blackberries sat under the tree.
“I’m going to get blueberries next!” Loki declared, dashing over and seizing the last empty basket. He disturbed a few leaves as he ran past Harr again. “You promised a blueberry pie and some muffins if I picked enough off this time!”“Yes, but that means you can’t eat any!” Harr sighed as Loki seemingly ignored his warning and headed right for the blueberry bush. Resuming his work, Harr raked up the last of the leaves into a neat pile and started lifting them into a bag to make them into mulch later.By the time he was finished, Loki was too. He came back over with a full basket in hand.“I’m done, Harr! I didn’t eat any!”“Good job.” Harr looked to his student. He frowned when he saw his face. “And you said you didn’t eat any. What’s that on your mouth?”Loki gasped, covering it with his hand. “I swear, I didn’t eat any!”Harr smiled as he moved Loki’s hand aside. The blue stain on the corner of his lip was evidence enough of his actions. “You ate at least two.”He pouted, shaking out of Harr’s grip. “So what? There’s still lots in the basket! Look!”“There are. Enough to make the pie and muffins, as promised. If you want, we can make the pie today.”“Really? Then let’s go!” Pushing the blueberry basket into Harr’s hands, Loki dashed over to retrieve the potatoes and radishes. “But, do we have enough of everything?”“We do. I might even make some jam with the berries we collected this season.” The two of them fell in line as they walked up the ramp towards the house. “They would last us through the winter.”“If you make too much, could I see about selling some to people in town?”Harr turned back, surprised at Loki’s comment. “You mean try to make a profit off the garden?”Loki shrugged. “Why not? It gives me something to sell so we can have a little more money! After all, you get the seeds for free each year, right? So anything we make from the garden is basically profit.”“I suppose. But you shouldn’t be worrying about us and our money situation, Loki. We’re doing just fine.” He smiled as his eye shimmered red, opening the door to the treehouse. “Your eye for business ventures is appreciated, but make sure you take care of yourself first.”“I’m worried, is all. What if our crops suddenly die? If the fish in the lake dry up? Or if something happens to either of us?” Loki set his basket on the table alongside Harr’s. “I just want to be careful!”“Of course you do.” Harr reached out, patting Loki’s head. “But I promise we’ll be just fine. We can protect ourselves and take care of each other, right?”“Right!”“Good. Now, you said you wanted a pie?”Loki nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes, yes!”“Go clean up first.” Harr nudged Loki towards the other room. “Then you can help roll out the crust.”“Okay! I’ll be right back!”Harr stared across the room, basket in hand. He could not remove his eyes from the sight of Alice the Second, tying up her hair and beaming in his direction.“I’m glad you’re letting me help, Harr!”“Getting Loki to do anything around here usually involves me promising to make his favorite meal. However, if you came all this way to visit, I don’t want to treat you to another fish dish.”“You don’t need to worry about me.” She smiled as she stepped aside, gesturing for Harr to walk past her and lead the way outside. “You can cook whatever you want for dinner. I’m just helping out because I want to!”Her smile was as radiant as the sun that showered it’s warmth upon his garden. He could not resist it when she aimed his way. He was forced to bend to its whim and acknowledge it’s presence – which meant heading outside and into his vegetable garden.He always took a moment to admire it when he went outside, taking in the sight of how far it had come since he had started. This garden was a source of pride, and he intended to always take care of it.
“Sorry that this work isn’t very exciting.” Harr apologized as they settled next to each other on one edge of the garden.“That’s fine! I don’t mind. Are you sure you don’t want to ask Loki, though?”“He has more fun harvesting the plants. He gets excited over the prospect of what kind of food we will be able to make with it.” Prying a weed out of the soil, Harr placed it into the basket, slowly advancing down the rows of budding vegetables.“That sounds like Loki!” she said with a laugh. Harr listened to it rise and fade, not daring to respond to something so beautiful.After that, the two of them worked in silence. The gentle sound of birdcalls and rustling branches was the only sound that surrounded them. However, it didn’t last long. Her voice was a welcome interruption to the peaceful solitude.
“Harr, why don’t you use magic for this?”He kept silent as he thought about her question. It was not a strange question – and not unlike the one he had asked Sirius all those years ago, and that Loki had asked him when they first started working in the garden together. He tugged out a couple more weeds before responding, a small smile rising to his lips.
“Because gardens need time. Nothing can replace the time and care one can put into a garden. Not even magic. Besides…” Harr glanced her way, “you are always telling me to conserve my magic. Do you want me to use it for something like this?”“But weeding can’t be that taxing on your magic!”“Then, think about it this way. Imagine you use magic to decorate your cakes and cookies. It might produce the same results, but your hard work is lost.”She frowned, then nodded with understanding. “So, gardening is just something you have decided to put your time into.” She looked out over the plot. “It looks beautiful.”“It’s had a lot of years to establish itself.” Harr glanced over at the steadily growing stalks of corn. He glanced at the permanent tomato and bean poles, changing each season. At the fabric-covered area where he had planted some broccoli and eggplants. He took his time, giving each part of the garden a silent praise.However, her eyes were not following Harr’s. Instead, she was staring at his profile. There was a soft affection in his eyes, and, for a moment, he looked younger. Unbothered by the world that threatened to restrain him in the shadows. She might even call him more handsome—But when his gaze turned and met her own, she felt embarrassment flush on her cheeks. She quickly returned to the weeds before her.Yet she worked without knowing that Harr was admiring her quiet work, appreciating her presence. He rewarded her with a silent thanks, too – a woman who had come out the other side of a war smiling and happy, willing to visit an outlaw in the forest.Harr could only hope that she would continue to do so.