8  Pretty Little Lies

As soon as Aspen knew she could no longer be seen by the guards, she threw her hands in the air and allowed herself a reckless run down the hall. Presently, she struggled to feel any emotions, but sneaking around Odin and his guards made adrenaline course through her limbs. She grinned as she descended the spiraling stairs for the first floor. When Odin had left her alone earlier, nearly forty minutes ago, she had been tending to the indoor garden. Her favorite part of the whole property, the indoor garden was in the atrium, below the balconies, and lush with rainbows of flowers, potted and trimmed trees, leafy emerald-pigmented tropical shrubs and even a couple waterfalls. Whenever she walked amongst the plants, she could forget where she was and instead imagine herself in an equatorial escape. Sometimes, it was so easy to picture the dreamscape she could even see and hear the birds; other days she struggled to feel the imaginative sunlight warming her skin.

Bunching up the skirt of her dress, she quickly walked over to the garden’s edge and meandered to the center of it to wait for Odin to return. At the center, a sunken pond with fish swimming in crystal-like water reflected the natural light from the atrium into her eyes. I wonder what Odin had to rush off to earlier. He said it would only take him a second, but it was long enough for me to sneak off, she thought while seating herself on the edge of the water. Leaning on her right arm, she splayed her bluebell-hued dress behind and on top her relaxed legs. She reached a finger out and slowly stirred the surface of the water, sending out ripples in every direction. She smiled as a fish swam up to her finger tip and nibbled on it.

Without her noticing, Odin had walked into the center of the garden, and now stood at the fringe of plants, watching Aspen. He admired her slight smile as she played with the fish, and how the mirrored light made her blonde hair glow golden. He let her sit silently, swirling the water and stroking the fish for a few minutes before he made his presence known.

“Making friends, miss Aspen-Fauna?” he asked, stepping into the ring of light around her. She sucked in a small gasp, and twisted towards him. Her smile faded slightly, and she retracted her hand from the pool and shook off the drops clinging to her finger.

“Oh, hi. You scared me,” she said, rising from the ivory colored stone and brushing her dress straight. Odin proffered his forearm, indicating for Aspen to hook her arm around it. She complied and asked, “what took you so long? I was waiting here for nearly an hour.”

“And that was very good of you waiting for an hour. I had some very important business to attend to, the likes of which probably wouldn’t interest you.”

Aspen was certain that this business would very much interest her. Although she would love to pry, she also knew that he would not answer her, or if she pushed too far, she could incite him. But I wish he would at least stop talking to me like I’m a child. He seems to forget that I have the intelligence of a fully grown adult, just as he does. She walked in silence with Odin, not answering him or trying to start up the conversation.

After traversing the whole mansion and ending up in the north wing, Odin finally talked again: “What do you want to do? I have some free time now.”

“Are you sure that nothing will come up again?” Aspen flintily asked. Although she was annoyed at how Odin treated her, she also was extremely satisfied that she had made him talk first.

“What’s with that tone? I disappear for one hour and-”

“And what Odin!” she demanded, and wrenched her arm from the crook of his elbow, stopping them both directly in the middle of the hallway. Careful now, a small voice in her head reminded. “You never have time for me anymore! By heavens, you never even let me go outside anymore! Why can’t I go outside? That’s what I want to do!” She glared at Odin, trying to be intimidating despite being seven inches shorter than him. He pondered her words for a long time before he responded.

“You’re very lucky right now that I love you. I love you, and that is the only reason I am not going to slap you right now for being so insolent,” he said in a perfectly level voice, only his fiery gaze breaking through his cool exterior. “But, I can’t deny that you’re right. I have been busy, and I haven’t spent enough time with you, and I’m sorry for that. As for going outside-” he suddenly had to clear his throat and look at the floor, then at the wall. “You can’t go outside because… I’m working on a surprise for you. But I promise that you’ll be able to see it within the month.”

What is he doing? He hasn’t allowed me to go outside already for two months, and now three? She looked away, wishing that she was back laughing with Sam or being cared for by Adonis.

“I accept your apology. I look forward to the day you will stop preventing me from seeing the real garden, and feeling the sun and rain on my face,” she caved inward, suddenly seeming much smaller and more fragile.

“Of course, princess. Now, how about we go get something to eat from the kitchen? You seem like you could use a meal,” he turned and resumed walking. Aspen had no choice but to follow him, but she walked nearly ten paces behind him. She trailed after him to about the middlish of the wing, where he turned right into the cavernous kitchen. Odin glanced behind himself and waved Aspen forward. She looked around, taking in the familiar space; polished concrete countertops, polished exhaust hoods, two stainless steel refrigerators, bright LED lights embedded in the high, pale blue ceiling, and countless pots and pans suspended from aerial hooks. Odin walked up to the head chef and asked her what they were preparing, and whether the cooking staff had some to spare at the moment, perfectly polite and cheerful.

Aspen’s eyes glazed over and she completely tuned out their conversation until she heard “…it’s strange, but one of our large serrated knives has seemed to disappear,” and snapped back to reality. She saw Odin start to twist towards her, and she quickly averted her gaze and studied a small, shriveled flower someone had placed on an exposed spice shelf.

“…Interesting. I wonder how a whole knife could disappear,” Odin rhetorically asked. He readjusted his glasses and slowly turned back to the chef. “Anyways, if you could prepare a plate for my wife. She is hungry. And do it quickly now.” Odin stepped next to Aspen and leaned on the wall behind her.

“So, where did you have to go earlier so suddenly? I was just about to show you my botanicals but you had to dash out,” Aspen looked up to his face while asking, searching to see whether she could discern anything from his indifferent shell.

“Oh, one of the guards had a family emergency, I had to go deal with that. I ended up having to depose him. A shame, really; he was fairly young,” he said while dragging a hand down his face, cradling his chin at the bottom. “Do you possibly know what could have happened to that knife? See or hear anything suspicious from the garden?”

“No. I was watering all the roses and succulents while you were gone. It’s quite a complicated process, actually. You have to water them slowly, from the base and-”

“That’s nice, Aspen. Grab your food the nice lady is bringing you, and let’s go upstairs,” Odin blatantly cut her off and dragged her out of the kitchen as soon as she thanked the chef. “My office, or our suite?”

Aspen shuddered at the thought of having to face the office, his office again. She could still feel the heat of his words, the prick of the glass shards slicing her skin; it wasn’t far enough in the past to ignore it quite yet. “Let’s go to our bedroom. You seem like you need some cuddles after your hard day of work,” Aspen performed for him, fake pouting, appeasing him, distracting him. Anything to make him forget about the knife.

“Thank you, Aspen. I know I can always count on you to make my day better. Want to play games together? For old time’s sake?”

“Sure,” Aspen said. Games are good, but I need to really capture his attention. He does not forget things very easily, especially about me. Aspen tripped herself on the back of her heels and cried out, “ah! Stupid heels. My feet have been so sore lately. Odin, would you mind carrying me up the stairs?”

He peered down at her, chuckling lightly when he saw how she had landed on her knees whilst still clutching her meal. “Of course, love. You’re lucky you didn’t spill your food, with such a spectacular fall,” he said while scooping her up, precariously balancing the plate on her stomach while she laid her hands on his neck.

“Thank you, Odin,” she whispered. His breathing became more labored as he ascended, passing through all four floors to reach the top. As he padded down the hall, he stared at Aspen through the thin lenses on his glasses. Aspen met his gaze and watched his emerald-green eyes narrow slightly, a crease furrowing between his brows, his breath hitching in his throat. She tilted her head up and kissed him on the mouth, letting her tongue explore his mouth. He arrived at the entrance of their suite and opened the doors using his back, then closed them with a swift kick.

“I knew you were hungry,” Odin mumbled into her lips, placing the plate on a dresser then tossing Aspen onto their bed. “PC or console?”

“Console, of course. I’m totally ready to absolutely annihilate you at fighting,” Aspen challenged him while bent over to slip off her high heels. “Set it up while I put on something more comfortable.”

She returned from her private walk-in closet in an oversized lavender t-shirt, black runners’ shorts and fuzzy socks. Odin had the game loaded and had also switched his dresswear for a pale blue sweatshirt and black jeans. Odin and Aspen plopped down next to each other on the bed and spent the rest of the day alternately beating each other in fighting, racing or building games.

For a short time, a few fleeting hours, they lived a lie. Neither Odin nor Aspen sat on the bed; only Jeff and Fauna. They bandied jokes between them, remembering the chaotic situations they always managed to tangle themselves into in high school. They embraced this lie, both craving the distraction, momentarily sending themselves back to easier times. Simpler times where Jeff was just awkward know-it-all, and Fauna still dreamed of becoming an artist. Even though it was all a lie, an illusion, it was, for a short while, a beautiful one.