There was a garden inside a garden inside the Garden. It ripened with white flowers, each a varying shade of ivory and cream, their petals softly curing in circles around bloodless buds. In the space behind the great manor, this garden sat within a larger garden, with spirals of flowers creating winding paths, leading to the little stone house where the whitest flowers rested.

Zanya had guided Zez into this stone house, where vines covered the walls and crept towards the glass ceiling. Delicate leaves drifted down, scattering upon the cool floor, and Zez shivered in her thin shirt. She had always thought greenhouses were supposed to be warm, that flowers needed the sun to thrive.

Outside of the little stone house, she could hear the children running. Only one was laughing. Zez kept her head down, not knowing what to expect. She had seen too many horror movies, she couldn't believe she'd let this woman take her to a murder shack in the middle of her creepy garden.

However, Zez refused to notice a few key details. She did not notice that Zanya propped open the door with her silver staff, meaning any screams would be echoed across the hills. She did not notice how the back wall of the little stone house, albeit covered in vines, was a mirror. She did not notice how fondly Zanya gazed upon her.

"I really think there has been some sort of horrible misunderstanding," Zez said. "Your snake definitely bit the wrong person."

"I do not believe that is true," Zanya adjusted her staff, making sure the door stayed open, then walked over to her. Her skirts became tangled in stems. As she tugged, she continued, "I know my ways very well. It was meant to be you. And you can do this-"

"You don't know me-"

"I see courage in your heart," Zanya yanked herself free."I sense passion in your blood. I hear triumph in your bones. I know what I proposed in the dining hall was frightening and confusing, but please, I am begging you-"

"I want to go home."

"No," Zanya said. "I cannot allow that."

"You're keeping me prisoner?" Zez demanded. "Zanya, I left my mother! She thinks I went to see some nuns! She probably thinks I'm dead, that I veered off the road or....or...or something! I have to go home, right now."

Zanya stepped away and wandered to the other side of the stone house. Though there was only one room, filled with nothing but vines and flowers, she felt miles away. Zez trailed after her, fingers skimming the petals. They felt drier than she thought they would.

"Why don't you just go yourself?" Zez asked. "I don't know your country, I don't know how to hunt this lunatic, I'm not equipped to do anything you'd need me to do. And I'm certainly not going to kill anyone. Especially not a lunatic Vasser or whatever."

"I'm not keeping you prisoner," Zanya said, quietly. "But I cannot let you just go. I don't even know where you come from. I need your help," she plucked a flower and crumpled into between agitated fingers. "I...I beg no one. If it were possible, I would send the Maidens to hunt him. But he cannot know...I do not know what he has planned or prepared..."

"What, are you at war with this Vasser?"

"In a sense," she said. "Not a war of weapons, but one of wits. I must catch him before he catches me. But he is mad, and violent, and I," she lifted her chin. "I'm not mad."

"Good to know," Zez rolled her eyes. "But if you capture or kill him, he wouldn't be able to track you down. You can go, do that, and I can go home, and we can part ways-"

"You wish to part so soon?" Zanya asked. A smile played at her lips. "We've only just met."

Despite all of the irritation and confusion she felt, Zez blushed. Her cheeks were the warmest thing in the room.

"I, uh, well-" she stammered.

"You do make an excellent point though," Zanya said. "I have been so afraid of letting the Vasser get close. Yet, if I can get to him first...then my worries will be for naught. If I can keep my children, and my home safe, and still see him gone," she nodded. "Yes. Yes. You are quite clever, dear Zez."

"Great, so, I'll just get back to my car-"

"Oh, no, no," Zanya shook her head. "You and I shall hunt the Vasser together. You will play the roles I need you to play. I will have his head on a stick-" seeing Zez's horrified expression, she quickly added, "Figuratively, to be sure. But, oh, we shall have such an adventure!"

"Zanya, please. Please. I just want to go home."

"You will go home once we complete this," Zanya said. In a rush, she had circled back to Zez. Leaves of silver and pale green had fallen into her upswept hair. Zez resisted the urge to pluck them away. "I promise. You will be home. And I swear to you, about these flowers, that I would not ask you to do this unless I was absolutely sure you were my champion."

"Okay," Zez said, feeling very small. What else could she say? Fighting would get her nowhere, neither would sound reasoning. She just looked Zanya in those dark eyes of hers and trembled, overwhelmed by the stifling beauty of the moonlit garden.

"Oh, dear Zez!" Zanya threw her arms around Zez. Her squeeze was stronger than her small frame let on. "Thank you, thank you."

Zez did not know how to respond. She liked Zanya hugging her, but she didn't really like what she'd agreed to. When the woman pulled away, she looked absolutely ecstatic. Zez still could not place her age, somewhere in her late twenties, but...it didn't feel correct?

"I have so many questions," Zanya said. "About you! About where you are from, all about you, and I'm sure you have a thousand inquiries for as well, and we must prepare for our journey."

Despite everything that sat upon her shoulders, Zez smiled.

~

Zanya Selstonia explained several things to Imogen Zezinger on that endless evening. With the light of the oversized moon shining down, she proudly showed Zez the garden she had cultivated, explaining that this little stone house was very important to her. The mirrored wall, draped in vines and ivy, was ignored until Zez inquired about it.

"Looking glasses possess passageways we do not want to venture down," Zanya warned. She plucked a flower, curtsied prettily, and handed it over to Zez. "Our flowers are our most precious gift, you see. The Garden of Grace is for healing. We are the only people in the world who know the secrets of healing."

"Why are you guys hidden?" Zez tucked the flower behind her ear.

"We always have been," Zanya said, simply. "Just as that dreadful looking glass has always been in here. Just as the moon as always hung in the sky."

"Oh, yeah," Zez said. "What time is it?"

"I'm not sure," Zanya patted herself down. "It seems I have misplaced my hourglass. Now," she linked her arm through Zez's, grabbed her staff on the way out, and led them out of the strange little stone house. "Tell me all about where you are from. And tell me how your hair is so delightfully dark!"

"My parents both have dark hair," Zez said. "Does...does everyone in Tol Tava have white hair?"

"Everyone I've ever seen," she frowned. "I have heard rumors of those in Kaydelo and Onessa attempting to color, with some sort of root concoction, but I'm sure it looks dreadful. Yours is very nice though. It is the color of the sky!"

Zez looked up. The sky was pitch black, as it had been during her drive, and only punctured by silver stars and the white moon. The hills crawled above them, and their sheer height frightened her, so she glanced down again.

"What is your land called?" Zanya inquired.

"Well, I'm from this place called America," Zez said. She didn't quite know what to do. Zanya kept them both in place, their arms still interlocked, and her heart was racing at an alarming rate. "But your snake bit me in Italy. I was on vacation with my mom, you see."

There was an awkward pause. Zanya scanned the rows and spirals of gardens, seemingly looking for something.

"Did you say you were a healer?" Zez asked. "Is that why my calf doesn't hurt anymore? Or my legs or arms? Did you do something to me?"

"Yes," Zanya said. She gently touched the flowers twining around her staff. "Our flowers, our soil, our trees...they all contain healing properties. If brewed correctly, they can stitch wounds and heal heartaches and even, with the right women making them, bring forth heroes."

"Oh, so like potions..." Zez pulled her arm away and crouched near a bed of flowers. The edges looked almost pink. "All the white is pretty."

"Hmm," Zanya said. "I suppose."

"You prefer pink?" Zez said, eyeing her gown. It seemed a very impractical thing to wear, especially if one tended to a garden all day long.

At that exact moment, the little boys came bursting in from absolutely nowhere. They flew towards their mother, holding clumps of sticks and wilted flowers. The one chattered on and on about a bouquet. Their white pajamas were stained with dirt and their white hair stuck up at all ends. The silent one chewed the inside of his cheek, looking shyly at Zez. She gave an awkward little wave.

"Now," Zanya said, graciously taking her gift from the talking boy. "Did you two properly introduce yourself to my guest? Or were you like Esphina and just frightened her?"

"I don't know," the one mumbled. The other shrugged.

"Zez," Zanya said. "These are my twins. Dusk and Dawn. I'm afraid Dusk does not speak, but Dawn speaks enough for the both of them."

The quiet one grinned, while the other pouted. They were identical in every way, save apparently for their tongues. Small and nearly chubby, with those beautiful dark eyes...they were so endlessly dark. Zanya's eyes were more...Zez glanced over...the color of earth, rather than abyss.

"Do you raise them alone?" Zez asked, not sure how to phrase the question. She hadn't heard any mention of a partner, and Zanya was being so awfully charming towards her.

"I have Rhapsody and Esphina," Zanya said. "They were conceived while I was still the Viper, you see, but raised here in the Garden."

"Oh," Zez said.

She waved a hand. "Their father has been lost to mere memory. It is good to have my cousin, and sweet Esphina, but I suppose I am their only parent. Do you have children, dear Zez?"

"No, no, not at all," she shrugged. "Not that I'm opposed."

"Unfortunately a man is needed," Zanya waved a hand. "In all the technical terms. Do you possess a man, Zez?"

"No," she shrugged again. "Not opposed to that either. Man or woman, that is."

Zanya smiled in a way that made her stomach flutter.

"But I'm awfully young," Zez said, quickly. "For children. How old are the twins?"

"Pardon?"

"Your sons? How old are they?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand your question."

Now, Zez was unaware that Tol Tava was captured in constant night. There was no rise of the sun. There was only the stillness of the moon and stars. There was no years or months or measurement of time as she knew it. The people aged slowly. This was their nature. And Zez simply would have to learn this as the sun failed to rise.

"I have another question," Zez said, as they walked as a group back towards the looming manor. "Are the snakes because you are the Viper?"

"The snakes are an ancient symbol of the Selstonia family," she said. "Winning the position of the Viper was mere coincidence, but it all seems to fit rather well. I love my snakes, you see. They make delightful friends. They keep the flowers company."

"And is the Viper-"

"There is so much to do!" Zanya cut her off. "I have been waiting ages and ages for this. To have the courage to finally do something. So, we will spend time and prepare. I will teach you the geography of my land. We will see about that carriage of yours. I will restore balance to my Garden, you will be my champion, and we shall win this game."

"Okay," Zez took a deep breath. If she did want Zanya asked, she was sure she would be sent home. "Let's...let's do it."

---

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know your thoughts. Also, if you could tell your friends about this story and spread the word, it would be super appreciated. :) 

On Sunday, we go beyond the gates of the Garden and the hunt for the Vasser begins! 

Thanks for reading!