Exploring the wild, Jadus discovers a palatial, glass greenhouse. Inside, a pretty, shy woman tends to the whispering plants. She awaits the arrival of a promiseful suitor her absent father promised to send her way, and Jaden has no idea, feigning to be him, that the poison in her veins, in the plants, will prove him otherwise.
Read this fantastic excerpt from the original fantasy-romance novel written by
I
Coated heavily at the base, nearly swallowed
by ivies, he spots a massive structure
made of glass and without any near road.
Jadus squints, taking in the shining picture
of a greenhouse, sized like a palace,
stuffed with botanical treasures plenteous.
Hacking his way to it, he presses his hand
on the glass; the first man in Rhymeland
to glimpse this most secretive place.
Heart races when it thwarts his expectations
wildly with all its vivid implications.
Abandoned it is not, a pretty face
his to study as she eats at a table
stocked with fresh foods, her hair sable.
II
The walls, tall, curved, and crystalline,
rather attractively showcase
a realm quite paradisial and pristine—
where frittering, vivid green leaves enlace
with intricate patterns in the canopy.
Upholding trunks, scaled with bark, panoply
thick and impenetrable, she decorated
with glass beads on strings. Ameliorated
he finds himself, but steps back, unsure
if the surrounds make his heart pound
at her sight, or if her beauty does; astound
him, lure him, the woman a fairy, pure
and real, he longs to speak with inside.
His hope for love begs her to not hide.
III
I must get in there and meet her, he thinks.
She’s timid, and I’m the real danger between
her and me when it comes to what stinks.
Ha-ha! Acquainting is routine.
A cinch I like. Tiptoeing like a mouse
to get inside the palatial greenhouse,
Jadus discovers a door, framed with
geometric gold but made of glass. A myth
he recalls, shuddering to forget
it as it makes him second-guess
his actions. A fairy temptress
I hope her not, he thinks. I might regret
thinking of her oppositely.
Information from hers all I need really.
IV
Jadus takes a deep breath. Knock! Knock!
“Ahh,” he whines. “Who am I kidding? She won’t
even open the door for me.” Tick-tock!
Already, he feels seconds don’t
work, time gone, the transference
of time not occurring, and each instance
his heart beats he interprets an hour
went by. On his tongue, he tastes something sour.
The air from inside the greenhouse
leaks out of a spidery cracked seam.
He thinks, strange flavor for plant-pumped steam.
I much prefer citrus and do denounce
anything that isn’t sweet. Sourness
reminds me of poison and foulness.
V
Ivies sway behind the see-through door; two eyes,
emeralds full of shine, blink behind
the luscious twists and spirals, green ties
grabbing his wonder, rendering him blind
by sheer fulgent splendor. Mesmerization
he shakes off. “My imagination
gets the better of me,” he says. “Might
I come in and have a chat this night?”
His hand extends. “Wild animals prowl the woods,
and I’m hungry and hopelessly lost.”
Closer her eyes come, growing and glossed
magically, neither bad nor good.
Lashy, large eyes pupillate as she dares fiddle
with the door lock, rattling its middle.
VI
Woah. She really isn’t human, he thinks,
watching how supernally bizarre
her eyes behave. His twitchy face pinks.
Maybe she’ll think me a bit debonaire
and give kingly treatment. This maiden
winks and smiles like she’s heavily love laden.
She stands before him, nodding; her hand
extends, beckoning him in at demand.
“Your hospitality is much
appreciated,” Jadus says with a bow.
“Normally, I won’t let anyone plow
inside the greenhouse,” she says, “with a rush,
since you’re here, my love, I must break
the rule for the first time.” Her pale hands shake.
BELLA RARIORA 