Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A letter for King Alador. That's what this trip was for. Bernard looked around as his horse, Sutter, trotted along the path. He'd been in this forest alone for atleast 30 minutes. Everything around him was green, green, brown, and more green. The only thing that had been keeping him awake was the sound of the occasional deer bounding through the brush. Not even a thief to try and rob him or anything! Lame.

Bernard was almost passed out when he suddenly got blinded by a thousand suns.

"ACK- FROG!"

Well, he was out of the forest. He stopped Sutter, taking a moment to rub his eyes before continuing on. As soon as Bernard got past the cities wall, he was stunned. Even the outskirts of the city looked perfect! If only the Wolterstorff kingdom looked this good...

Bernard looked around. Any people who happened to catch his gaze immediately looked away and walked a little faster. Right. The Blights and Wolterstorffs had a strained relationship. And here Bernard was, a Wolterstorff official, going to Blight castle. He knew he should've changed into his civilian clothes.

Fortunately, he was soon able to get to the castle. He slid off of Sutter, tying him on the fence outside.

"Please don't get stolen, Yunan will torture me again." Bernard said to the indifferent horse, patting him before going through the gate into the garden.

Bernard's jaw dropped. The garden was like nothing he'd ever seen before. His eyes were overwhelmed with bright, vibrant flowers of every type. There were even some he'd never seen before. All of them were beautiful.

It was a while until sundown, and he never got to leave the kingdom... A little exploring wouldn't hurt, right? Bernard walked up to them. He had always liked flowers, especially ones with such intricate patterns...

Then the flower snapped at him.

Bernard shrieked and fell back on his butt, drawing his dagger at the plant. He could finally see a detail that somehow passed him at first glance. The flower had teeth. He was glad that the Wolterstorffs didn't have anything living in their garden.

"Oh- are you okay?!"

Bernard turned his head towards the voice. A girl around his age walked towards him, concerned. She was in a simple, well worn dress. And she was beautiful. Bernard felt his face get hot with embarrassment. She offered him a hand, but he got up himself.

"Yes, I'm alright." Bernard said curtly. "I assume you're the one of the gardeners here?" He looked at the patches of dirt on her dress and her equally dirty gloves.

"Yep! Well, I'm the only one!" The girl giggled and took off her glove, offering her hand for a handshake. "I'm Alexis, the Blight kingdom's royal gardener!"

Bernard put his dagger away before shaking her hand. He prayed that his gloves could mask the feeling of the scales on his palm. Luckily, Alexis didn't seem to notice.

"I'm Bernard, royal advisor for Queen Wolterstorff." Bernard was trying his best to be professional and stoic like the queen was, but this girl just radiated happiness. "I'm here on an order to deliver a letter to King Alador."

There was a brief pause as Bernard looked around the lush garden once more.

"So, you take care of all this? How?" Bernard was awestruck. This place was big with thousands of different plants. Did she really do everything alone?

"Everyone has their secrets!" Alexis grinned and made a shushing gesture. "But seriously, I just made a schedule of which plant needs what and when! It's a lot easier to manage things when you have a consistent order."

"Huh, I guess that would work. It's still insane how you do this. Wouldn't it get lonely?" Bernard asked her.

"Well, yeah, but I have the plants to keep me company!"

"That's sad."

"...I know."

Alexis looked a bit defeated. Bernard cleared his throat.

"Well, if you want a more... human companion, I'd be happy to accompany you here in the garden on free days." Bernard offered with a shy smile.

"I think I'd like that!" Alexis smiled. Bernard was going to have to think of some excuses to come back to this kingdom on the way home. Actually, why was he here in the first place?

"I gotta get this letter to the King... I'll see you later, Alexis!" Bernard ran off to the castle, leaving Alexis behind in the garden. Alexis watched him leave, sighing. She hoped they wouldn't get in trouble for this...

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Bernard walked out of the castle. That went surprisingly well. He didn't even check the letter this time! He was glad he trusted his future sight this time. Bernard scanned the garden from the raised steps of the castle. No sign of Alexis. He was a bit disappointed, but also relieved. It was getting late, and Bernard had to be back at the castle by sundown. He knew he would've been talking to her until the end of time if she had been there.

Bernard went through the garden and hopped on Sutter, who was thankfully still there. He rode off back to the castle, thinking of the gardener every step along the way.

Chapter Text

The sun beat down upon Blight Kingdom, creating a hot and grossly humid spring day for every poor soul in the area. Bernard and Alexis were situated under the shade of a tree in the garden. Despite the less than ideal conditions, they had been working all day. Of course, they had taken many breaks throughout their work, but the pair was still exhausted by the end of the day.

"You're burnt." Bernard pointed out to Alexis with a lighthearted grin.

"Aw, am I?" Alexis confirmed by touching her cheek. It was warm. "Ugh... well, at least there's no shortage of aloe vera here!"

Bernard chuckled. "Yeah. Man, this garden has to be exhausting to take care of."

"It is, but I like to think of it like another hobby! It feels less stressful than when I think about it like a job!" Alexis replied.

"Another? What other hobbies do you have?" Bernard asked as he sat criss-cross, resting his chin on his hand. Even though he had asked at least a hundred people this, Alexis' response was the first one he was interested in.

Alexis seemed deep in thought for a moment. "Well, I like to cook! The royal kitchen is usually open between meals, so I like to practice when I'm free! I'd like to consider myself a passable chef..." Alexis giggled. "Oh, I also like to spend time in the library! There's actually a lot of useful information in there!"

"Huh, I like to cook too! Yunan is really bad at giving us good food, so I just make most of my meals myself." Bernard shrugged. They might've had very different motivations, but at least they had something in common. Bernard pretended that he didn't notice the frown of concern on Alexis' face.

"Every time I hear something about your queen or your kingdom, it's somehow worse..." Alexis sighed sympathetically.

"It's not that bad!" Bernard was quick to get defensive. "It's... liveable." Bernard got quiet and looked down. He knew that was an awful lie.

"Sure..." Alexis decided not to push it yet. They weren't close enough for the conversation that would lead to. She decided to switch topics instead. "Do you want to go inside? It's still really muggy out here..."

"Yeah." Bernard stood, helping Alexis up. "We got a lot done today, didn't we?"

"We did! I'm so glad you helped out today! I don't think I would've done anything alone in this weather..." Alexis smiled sheepishly. "So, thank you."

"It's my pleasure." Bernard bowed slightly.

"I feel like I should give you something in return... Oh!" Alexis crouched down, carefully removing a few flowers from a plant. When she got up, she held 3 yellow roses in her hand. She carefully removed the thorns and handed them to him. "Here! They mean friendship."

Bernard hesitated before accepting the beautiful flowers. He couldn't help but grin. "I... Thank you. I consider you a friend as well." He said softly.

"I'm glad!" Alexis led him to the castle. "C'mon, I wanna show you around a bit!"

Bernard let the gardener drag him inside, goofy grin plastered on his face. He didn't think for a second about what would happen if he was caught together with a Blight.

Even if he did, he probably wouldn't have cared.

Chapter Text

Bernard put his hood up as he sprinted to the stream. He was late. He was late getting up, he was late getting his assignments, and he was late finishing them. Despite all of this, he would've gotten to Alexis on time if Yunan hadn't punished him for his mistake. He didn't even take the time to fix the cut on the cheek she gave him. He could feel blood dribbling down his face into the cracks between his scales. Gross.

He slowed to a walk as he heard the gentle sound of rushing water. The stress of the day seemed to be washed away as well when he saw Alexis sitting by the small creek. She glanced up, almost not recognizing the advisor with his hood up.

"Oh, hey Bernard!" Alexis beamed as she waved to him. She patted the spot next to her, inviting him to sit. "How are you?"

Bernard sat next to the gardener, trying to focus on her rather than the sting of his wound. "I'm good. Sorry for being late.."

"It's okay! I was a bit late getting here as well..." Alexis smiled nervously, toying with her hair. "Rogue plant."

"Yeesh." Bernard winced on her behalf.

"Anyway, what's up with the hood?" Alexis tilted her head with a soft smile. "It's such a nice day!"

He knew she was going to ask. "Just a little cut." In all honesty, he didn't know how severe it was. It didn't feel too bad, but you can never know.

Alexis got the feeling it wasn't a little cut. "Can I see it?"

Bernard took down his hood. He looked away in shame as Alexis stared in shock. Apparently it didn't look very good.

"Did you even clean it?" Alexis examined the dried blood on and around the wound. Bernard looked back up at her like a kicked dog.

"I didn't have time..." That was only slightly true. Yes, he would've been a bit later, but Alexis probably wouldn't have cared.

"You could've gotten an infection! And you know what happens to people who get infections!" Alexis' eyes were wide. "Can I at least clean it for you?"

Bernard thought about it for a moment and sighed heavily, "Fine."

Alexis reached out, then hesitated. "May I touch your face?"

"If it helps you help me, sure." Bernard shrugged, moving a bit closer so she didn't have to reach so far.

Alexis put a hand on Bernard's chin, angling his face to the left so his cheek faced her. The touch was soft and comforting. It was nice.

Alexis took a handkerchief from her pocket and dipped it in the stream. She started cleaning the wound carefully, periodically checking in on him to make sure it wasn't hurting too bad.

"Aw, it's all in your scales..." Alexis winced as she continued to clean up all the nasty dried blood on his face.

Alexis continued to talk to him, or rather at him, as she worked. Bernard was too distracted by her soft hand on his jaw to respond. He hadn't felt this safe since he became Yunans advisor.

Bernard was brought back to reality once Alexis put a bandage on his cheek. He didn't even notice when she had stopped cleaning.

"There! It's gonna scar a bit, but I cleaned up all the blood. I even got the stuff that got in your scales." Alexis smiled at him and let go of his face.

Bernard was a bit disappointed, but Alexis' warm smile was too infectious to stay sad. He touched the bandage.

"Thanks, Lexi." Bernard didn't even notice what he said until Alexis giggled a bit in surprise.

"Lexi?" Alexis looked at him in amused confusion. Bernard paled.

"I meant Alexis! Frog! Sorry." Bernard mumbled. He was embarrassed, to say the least.

"Don't be sorry! I think it's a nice nickname." Alexis reassured him. "I like it."

It was Bernard's turn to be surprised. "Really?"

"Of course! I mean, it sounds cute, and I think we're close enough for nicknames." Alexis replied. She thought for a moment. "I should give you a nickname!"

Alexis sat back and took a good look at his face. Jeez, he was handsome. Even his scales seemed to shine in the sunlight. And his little smile... What was she doing again?

She shook her head a bit to clear her mind. "Hmm.. Bernie? No, definitely not. You don't look like a Bernie.."

"Yeah, not a Bernie." Bernard agreed.

"Hmm.. Bernard isn't a name you can get a lot of nicknames from, is it?" Alexis said thoughtfully.

Bernard shook his head. Alexis closed her eyes and thought. "Hmm.. what about Nar-Nar?"

"Huh. I like that." Bernard grinned. Nar-Nar. That was a name he could accept.

The longer they talked, the more they settled into the nicknames. Neither of them had any nice nicknames before, but it felt good. They stayed there well into the evening, talking and laughing until Bernard's curfew. When it was time for them to part, they both promised that they would talk later.

But, they could never guarantee that they would see each other again. Neither of them bothered to worry about that. For now, at least.

Chapter Text

Yunan was annoyed. She sat on her throne, tail flicking every few seconds. Olivia was on the throne next to her, looking at her wife nervously. Nobody liked it when the Queen was upset. Even the Blue Knight looked tenser than usual, which was a feat itself.

"Where is he?" Yunan's cold voice wasn't loud, but it echoed in the silent throne room. Nobody replied. She refused to put up with this any longer. The newt stood suddenly, causing the Blue Knight to flinch.

"Excuse me." The queen said simply before disappearing into the corridor connected to the throne room. Her careful, calculated footsteps faded fast.

That boy had been slacking for far too long. If Yunan had known any better, she would've stopped this behavior as soon as she'd noticed it. Yet, she hadn't. Now, the most punctual member of her royal court was missing meetings constantly and getting his reports in days late. She walked faster, plotting ways to make him regret his laziness.

The newt crept into her advisor's quarters. She found him hunched over his desk, writing with a dreamy look. She stepped closer, taking note of how he didn't seem to notice that she was there.

The queen was right behind him now. His head jerked up as Yunan's shadow towered over him. The boy turned around, eyes wide.

"Your ma- GHK!" Bernard cried out in surprise as Yunan seized him by the throat. He clawed at the queen's iron grip in a blind panic, but he was severely outmatched. He kicked and flailed, but his desperate hits did nothing besides hurt his feet as they collided with her armor.

The edges of Bernard's vision began to blur. He stopped struggling after what felt like an eternity, but in reality it was only a few seconds. Yunan dropped him back down into his chair. The boy gasped for air like a fish. How dramatic.

"I assume you know why I did that?" Yunan hissed, leaning in close to Bernard. He recoiled at the sight of the queen up close. Scales that were identical to his adorned her slimy, coral skin in clusters. Her bloodshot, yellowed eyes seemed to stare right through him. The advisor shifted back in his chair.

"Yes, your majesty.." Bernard grimaced and nodded. His answer seemed to satisfy the newt, as she got out of his personal space and went to the door. Bernard didn't dare relax yet.

Yunan grabbed the doorframe. "Do not let this happen again, or you will be dead by the next day. Understand?" She didn't even turn to face him as she spoke.

"Understood." Bernard muttered. Yunan wouldn't kill him. They both knew it. Bernard had been the only competent advisor in a long time, and he rarely steered her wrong due to his future sight. She could beat him half to death, but she could never finish the job. He was far too valuable to lose.

Yunan left without another word, not even closing the door on her way out. Bernard got up, rubbing his neck and grumbling some unkind words about his ruler as he slammed the door.

Bernard returned to his desk, looking down at the unfinished letter that rested on it. He was glad Yunan didn't seem to see it, or he really would be dead. The advisor picked up his quill from the inkwell. He couldn't seem to put pen to paper, though.

He had written 3 pages, and it still wasn't enough. It sounded cliché, but there wasn't enough words for him to articulate his feelings. Bernard had never cared so much about someone before. It was like that gardener had put a spell on him. She was all he could ever think about from dawn to dusk. Yet, no matter how much he thought, he couldn't express the ache in his heart with a quill and ink.

Bernard groaned and put his head down on the desk. He didn't bother finishing the letter. After all, it would just be stuffed in a drawer with the rest, never to see the light of day.

He didn't even know what his feelings towards her were. This was more than what friends felt, right? Were they just best friends? Was the warm feeling she gave him normal?

Bernard sighed, sitting back up. He knew there was probably text printed on his forehead now. Great. His eyes wandered to the flower Alexis had given him a few weeks prior. Everything always led back to her, didn't it?

And honestly? He wasn't too mad about that.

Chapter Text

Alexis sat alone in the royal garden on a five minute break that had begun at least half an hour ago. The sun had started to set, casting a warm glow across the garden. It was beautiful. Almost as captivating as Bernard.

Oh, Bernard.

Alexis had fallen hard for him. The sleep deprived, scaly, irritable royal advisor of the enemy kingdom. He had a certain allure to him. Maybe it was his royal status, maybe it was the scandalous nature of her little crush, or maybe she just liked pathetic guys.

Honestly, as much as she hated to admit it, it was probably the third option.

Only when the sun dipped below the trees did Alexis realize how long she had been slacking off.

"Awh, dang it!" Alexis exclaimed in frustration. "I was supposed to get so much stuff done today..."

She huffed, getting up. She could always spend a bit of her day off doing chores. But Bernard was going to visit tomorrow... and she hated making him help out with the garden. He always had more than enough on his plate. 

The gardener cleaned up her work area, doing whatever quick tasks she could before the light completely disappeared. It was never good to be out after sunset, even in the well-lit castle grounds. Thankfully, she managed to pack up her tools and head home just before the last wisps of light faded.

Alexis reached her house quickly, since she lived just outside the castle's walls. It was here that she spent most nights. She did have a small room in the castle, but Alexis preferred her little stone house. It only had two rooms, but that was all the gardener really needed. It was just her. She had been living alone since she was hired to tend the royal garden, but she didn't mind anymore.

Alexis changed into her only nightgown, a simple white linen dress. It was riddled with patches and frayed edges, but it was her most comfortable piece of clothing. 

After she was dressed, she went around and extinguished every candle in the house but one. She left the last one in her room lit to prevent total darkness before climbing into bed. It was still summer, so she didn't bundle up too much, only opting for a single blanket. Unfortunately, this night was one of those nights where a blanket was awfully warm, but sleeping bare was way too cold. She was in for a long night.

The gardener thought of herself as a fast sleeper. However, tonight, her mind seemed unwilling to settle down. Alexis could feel a warm, yet painful and nagging feeling in her chest. Her bed was barely big enough to fit herself, yet she yearned for the feeling of someone next to her. Someone to rest her head on after a long day. Someone smart, someone handsome and sweet and thoughtful...

Someone just out of reach.

Alexis sighed and rolled onto her side, nearly falling off of her cramped mattress. Of course, she's had many fleeting crushes while working in the royal garden. The occasional cute guy or girl would walk past and give a polite wave, and Alexis would feel her heart skip a beat. Fortunately, she always forget about it by the end of the week, as she never really interacted with them after those few seconds.

That's why Bernard hurt her so much. He was tangible. Alexis could talk to him as much as she wanted, but she could never have him. That's what tore her up inside. She couldn't help but spend the night longing for him.

Eventually, Alexis' brain wore itself out, causing her to slip into a restless sleep. She just had to act normal for the foreseeable future...