At Night in the Nightshade Court

They slept on cushions and piles of soft quilts in the room where they had dined. Lady Aubergine covered the birdcage when darkness fell at last. Although the raucous finch-like birds were quiet, the hedge-walled palace was never silent, as wind rustled through its branches and servants hustled through its halls all night.
Mirabelle woke once to see a pale green light bobbing in the doorway. A thin purple man was watching them sleep, carrying an algae lamp like the ones their mother made. She sat up to ask what he wanted and he scurried away before she could speak. Annabelle woke.

“What is it?”

“An eggplant was spying on us,” she whispered back. “I wish these houses had doors.”

Annabelle looked up at the night sky above them. The swirling clouds shone faintly, perhaps lit by a full moon somewhere far above them, where the sky was normal and the Schöneluft flew.

“What was the green light?”

“He had a lantern like Mother’s.”

“Ugh. I wish he hadn’t.” She didn’t add ‘I wish we were home’ for that would be too obvious, too painful to speak. “Green is a nasty color to see by. Gold is better.”

“Do you think it was all right,” Mirabelle asked, “to tell the eggplant lady about where we come from?”

Annabelle thought a while. “I don’t know how it could hurt. We just want to get back there. Besides, Bettina likes her. Bettina likes so few grownups it’s hard not to trust the ones she does.”

Mirabelle and Annabelle lay in the dark for a while, listening to the rustling walls and watching for spies before they fell asleep holding hands, something they had not done in years.

They woke at dawn to find clean clothing provided by Lady Aubergine. It was simple, but of better quality than the servants wore, all in tomato red and leaf green. The Annuum came over from the next rooms to breakfast with them. The yellow-skinned couple, Wyn and Addfwyn, were indeed well mannered, although their green son was awkward. He said little, but watched Claire throughout the meal. Whenever she looked at him he ran his hand through his shock of yellow hair.

After the meal Eglantine proposed fresh air and exercise in the garden. Addfwyn Annuum leapt on this idea, offering her son as guide and companion. Adolphus sidled up to Claire.

“Should we invite your green bean boyfriend?”

“I think they’re bell peppers, actually. That’s why he keeps playing with his yellow hair. It shows he’s maturing.”

“Ripe for a girlfriend, eh?”

She rolled her eyes. “Stop speaking German in front of them, it’s rude.”

She turned to the boy, who was called Rhodri. “Please do come along. You can show us what games you play here.”

The game Rhodri showed them was similar to lacrosse, which the children knew about but had never played. Rhodri stammered his way through an explanation of the rules, then seemed very keen to show Claire how to hold the stick. The younger children heartlessly abandoned her to his attentions and practiced tossing the ball back and forth. Eventually Annabelle took pity on Claire and threw the ball to her, hitting Rhodri square in the chest.

After he recovered they played a regular game, boys against girls, with Bettina running about smacking the others in the shins with her stick regardless of side. When she tired of this fun, Lady Aubergine took her for a walk in the gardens, showing her which plants were friendly and which would try to kill her. They were some way away, then, when the Queen approached.