More Like A Rose Than Daisy [1]

Once more, Elijah was taking a stroll in the east garden.

It had become one of his favorite places in the mansion. He wasn't the kind of person who loved flowers. He didn't particularly like fragile objects because they break easily. Where was the fun in that?

But in this unfamiliar place, which was supposed to be his home now, the garden was the only place that he found comfort.

There were many different types of flowers at this location. Some of them he had never seen before. But then again, he had never seen flowers in person. He had seen them only through books and pictures, as he was never allowed to leave his previous residence.

His eyes caught sight of a beautiful lotus in full bloom, on the small pond. The beautiful pink bloom that contrasted with the emerald water looked so stunning.

It was his first time seeing a lotus, which he had only read about in books.

His mother strictly forbade him from venturing outside. His schedule was packed with various classes, from business studies to history.

Though it was suffocating, it was fun. The teachers were strict, but at least that place felt like home to him.

Then one day a stranger appeared, claiming to be his father.

His mother always avoided this topic or became agitated when asked about his biological father, to the point of becoming violent. He therefore stopped asking her.

But this man comes and claims to be in love with my mother and marries her. And now Elijah has to call this stranger father.

His mother, who never smiled in front of Elijah, started to smile again. She even became less violent. She was happy. So who was he to prevent her from experiencing happiness?

Not only that, but this stranger has a daughter, whom he now has to refer to as his sister.

Not only that, this stranger also has a daughter, whom he would call his sister.

He first saw her in the window, staring into the garden. She sweetly smiled and waved at him, as if they were friends. But he hated her. Hated them both, father and daughter.

They took away his mother. His mother, whom he loved dearly, would only look at the stranger with loving eyes and give her attention to the little girl.

He hoped both of them would die.

"How Pretty"

Elijah turned around to find the source of the sound. A girl looked at the base of the large shrubs, where a bunch of oval leaves were clustered together. Though the girl doesn't resemble the stranger at all, he recognised her. It was the stranger's daughter.

Just looking at her existence made him mad. What was she doing here?

Those were lilies of the valley, if he remembered correctly. They were also poisonous.

For a brief moment, he thought of stopping her from approaching them, but finally decided to let it go. That's what he wanted, wasn't it?

"Ah, you must be alone too, in such a spot without anyone to appreciate your beauty."

Huh? What was she talking about? But his anger went away when he saw the girl's initial curious expression change into something else. Something more bittersweet.

Her eyes looked as if they were lost somewhere he couldn't reach, somewhere far away. Her smile was a wistful, sad one. At that moment, she looked so broken.

Moments like this make him forget the fact that she was actually younger than Elijah. She acts more mature than him. He experienced the same feeling during their meeting in the dinner hall.

His body moved on its own, and his hand gripped her wrist to prevent her from touching the plant.

"Don't touch it-"

Their contact made her break out of her trance. Her dull eyes turned surprised, which afterwards changed into something else. Hate. The same expression that he saw when their eyes met for the first time through the window.

"-it's dangerous"

That hatred was for a split second, then it changed into an innocent one. She smiled brightly, like she did from the window.

"Hello brother, What are you doing here?"

He let go of her hand. "Viewing the flower," he said while covertly wiping his hands.

He had to start a conversation now that he had made himself known. And since he didn't want to upset his mother, he tried to be on his best behaviour.

"What about you? Shouldn't you be in bed since you were sick". He last heard that she was sick, so what was she doing in this place.

"Oh, how kind of you to ask, brother. Fortunately, I am well now," she replied. "I didn't expect anyone to ask me this," she continued.

She then looked back at those bell-shaped flowers. "Do you know about this flower, brother?"

"Yes, these are lilies of the valley. These can cause skin irritation if touched and are poisonous if eaten."

Layla wondered, tapping her finger against her cheeks, "Really? But they look so pretty"

He was getting irritated; he wanted to end the conversation, but she just wouldn't let go. He can't even leave her, that would be bad manners. And if she complained to his mother, he would be scolded again.

He should humour her until she becomes bored.

"Not all pretty things are safe. Now get away from it."

She looked up at Elijah. "Brother, what's your favorite flower?"

He thought for a second. Never before had he been asked about his favorite flower. He was always asked about the wars won on the Sokili Empire, the latest achievements of Emperor Tyrak, or even the relations between the royal and church. But never about his interests. So he never thought about it.

He thought for quite awhile before finally admitting defeat, as embarrassing as it was for him.

"I—I don't have one," he said with his head down, feeling embarrassed. He expected her to laugh at him and mock him or even curse him out like his mother, but she did none of that.

"Oh, is that so? I thought I would give them as a gift."

And that was all she said. He was surprised. He expected more than those few lines.

"What about you? What's your favorite flower?" he said, trailing his eyes at her.

She, too, pondered for a few seconds. "Haha. I don't have any either," she said with a chuckle. Then her eyes were lost in some other universe.

"I thought daisies would be your favorite."

"Really? Why? She asked with one eyebrow raised.

"I don't know. You seemed like a Daisy type of person," he said, looking away from the surprised eyes.

She laughed. "Daisy type, huh?"

There was a long silence after that. "If anything, I would be more like a rose."