There so many new places to explore in Onnen that it was unlikely that Mira even knew how far she had traveled. The little girl spent her days walking, swimming, and even flying across rivers and valleys–occasionally staying in towns and cities for a few days. Normally this would be a harsh burden on a child, but Mira was much sturdier than most children. Between learning about the world and keeping her treasure safe, every day was a busy one. For once, she didn't stand out in a crowd. Her dark curly hair and tanned skin, it was easier to blend in with the people going about their daily business. The little girl had gotten better at keeping her precious orb hidden, and today she was dipping her feet into the waters around the lake-locked city of Benin. Even though it was separated from the sea, there were tides here that were just as strong. Climbing up on a rock, she hopped into the currents with a big splash, floating up so she could look at the clear skies. White puffy clouds drifted lazily as she held her orb on her stomach while lying on her back. Closing her eyes, the sound of the waves crashing on the coast and the gentle bob of the water made her feel right at home. She could float like this for hours, free from worrying about bad people who wanted to hurt her or steal the purplish-blue crystal orb that meant more than life itself.

As she was getting ready for a nice afternoon nap, she heard several voices shouting from the docks. Sitting up, she saw a big wooden ship with people moving things in like ants. Most of the time there was only boxes, but Mira saw them carrying trees and flowers in. Curious, she swam over to get a closer look. With the top half of her head poking above the water, the little girl saw several trees and planter boxes sitting together, waiting to be loaded. She knew people would get on these big ships to go places, but she didn't know that flowers and trees rode on ships too. Were they going to visit new places? She snuck into the cargo hold while everybody was busy, and made a soft light glow from her orb. As she floated off the floor, the light from the great jewel illuminated the area, revealing a garden in the midst of the darkness. The trees were just as big as the ones outside, and there were flowers she had never seen before. It was a secret garden that only she knew about, and it was her new playground. 

Like a fairy, the dark-haired girl giggled as she flew about, weaving in between the trees. She smelled the flowers, touched the leaves of the bushes, and marveled at the exotic colors and shapes of ornamental plants. Finally, she settled down into a hidden spot formed from the arrangement of some bushes. Carefully setting her orb beside her, she curled up and waited for the ship to arrive at its destination. She dimmed the light from the orb and settled down to sleep. Hours later, the ship arrived not at the port of some faraway land, but at an island not too far from the capital city of Fulani. The gangplank was lowered and the cargo was being emptied, with several men carrying out the plants and trees in small sections at a time. Eventually they began moving the planters that made up her resting place, and there was a commotion from below deck as a few porters were trying to get a hold of the captain in a panic. "Sir, there's a situation happening down in then cargo hold! We've got a stowaway and–" There was a loud high-pitched shriek followed by shouting, and it was like something–or someone–was being thrown around. Try as they might, they weren't able to contain the problem before the owner of the island came to see the state of their newly-arrived shipment.

Simone had spent all day doing the first round of flower purchases. “It’s impossibly expensive. EVEN with Talon’s discount, we’re talking ten thousand silver per Wisteria tree.”

The phoenix arched an eyebrow, “Price isn’t a problem and we were well aware of how much it would cost to transplant these trees~ My husband is good for it.”

The man’s mouth dropped, “But your children…”

“Are well taken care of. I have a fund just for decorating the island.”

“Island…”

“My husband bought us an island,” Holding Everett with one hand she pulled out her diagram of the gardens and showed him how many wisterias she needed. “I’ll also need all of these as well.” She handed him a list.

She put Everett on her hip as they negotiated the last few plants. “I don’t even know where I’m going to get black lotuses… They are rare.”

“Raile said you were the best,” Simone sounded a bit disappointed. The merchant gave in and groaned at her. If he wanted his reputation intact he better find some.

What plants she could get locally were all put on the ship home including five of the Wisteria trees he had in stock.

On the way home she stayed up deck and showed Everett the water. He was cooing and Simone smiled down at him, “Do you like the water?” The water softly sprayed him and Everett fussed. “Not that much?” She chuckled a bit and kissed the baby’s forehead.

Fiori was at her check up with Lewis. She had told him that he would be bored if he went with her. So he got an equally boring task of taking their newest toddler to see their family doctor. Though Fiori was giggly and understood a bit more of what was going on than Everett. “Look Everett!” She held him up so he could see, “Look at the island! We’re home!” Simone stood up as the ship docked.

“Are you sure you don’t need a ride back to the castle?” One of the sailors was a bit concerned.

“A walk is good for Everett and me… Isn’t it?” Simone asked Everett who cooed up at her. The chaos that happened after was what shook Simone a bit. “What?” A stowaway? “Pull your men at once!”

She came below deck and saw some of her plants had been destroyed but it was the small girl who held her attention. Plants could be replaced, “Easy!” Simone held up a hand as she batted the sailors up the stairs. “I’m not going to hurt you… Look see?” She held Everett out. “Everett,” she pointed at the baby and then to herself, “Simone.” The dark-haired child was a beauty. She pulled out the diagram, "Look see? It's for a garden. My garden."

Mira had been giving the sailors a beating when some new faces showed up. A handful of the men were floored, some of them covering their heads and trying to take cover from her terrifying onslaught. When Simone and Everett came down, the dark-haired woman saw a small girl standing atop a planter with a large crystal orb in her hands. With arms raised above her head, the child had her cheeks puffed out in anger as she was getting ready to throw the adamantine sphere. There was some minor damage to the ship's hold, marking the places where the orb had ricocheted off of earlier. The pretty lady with the baby approached her slowly, speaking calmly. With a reassuring voice, she pointed to the swaddled bundle in her arms and then herself. The little girl furrowed her brow as the woman then took out a very detailed drawing, and said that it was for her garden. The sailors retreated and some peered to see if things would be alright. Having calmed down some, Mira wrapped her arms around her precious treasure and came to take a look at the diagram. 

"¿Para tu jardín?" Her purplish-blue eyes looked up as she shifted the orb to one arm and pointed at the remaining trees and plants. She didn't realize the plants were being moved out because this was where they were meant to be, and maybe the men weren't trying to steal her treasured orb. Mira felt bad for headbutting them earlier. Her eyes were drawn to the baby, and her eyes lit up as she had never seen one before. Its nose and mouth was so small! Her curiosity won out over her fear and anger, and she was peering at Everett. "¡Tan pequeño!" From her intuition, she felt that she could trust this lady. "¿Es tu hijo?" She asked, looking up at Simone then back at the baby. Her amazement at someone smaller than her was obvious. Mira's clothes and shoes were simple, but she didn't seem like a child that ran away from home. The only possessions she had were what she was wearing and the large crystal orb she was holding tightly. 

The orb was special and Simone could tell that immediately. This small child though… She was all alone. Her gray eyes softened as she tried to communicate with her. It appeared like the girl didn’t know how to speak common at all. “Yes, it’s for my garden. I’m giving all these trees and flowers a new home,” she motioned to the trees and pointed at their pots then to some tools on the walls. “My island needs color.”

Simone was glad she managed to get the same child to calm down and now her focus seemed to be on Everett, “This is Everett, he is only a few months old. He likes the flowers.” She got down a bit more on Mira’s level. “Do you want to come see my island? I’ll show you my garden I finished at the castle.” She offered the girl her hand.

Mira hesitated but after a few moments she took Simone’s hand, “I’m not going to take your orb.” She tucked Mira’s arm a bit more around the diamond ball to show she meant no harm before taking her above deck. “I’ll pay for any damages this little one did… Please make sure the flowers and plants that can be saved make it. I’ll pay extra for you to go fetch the ones that didn’t.” She spoke to the captain and got everything worked out.

The captain looked at her but nodded to Simone, “Very well Lady Terrowin.”

Simone smiled down at Mira and helped her along. “The big purple trees that were on the ship are going to go here,” she showed Mira where a Wisteria tree was sitting. There were some gardeners that were helping to fill the tunnel. “The long flowers are going to hang down like this,” she showed where the flowers were already set on the tunnel. “It’s going to alllll the way to the castle,” she pointed to the castle in the distance. “Mine and Everett’s home. Do you have a home?” She was trying her best to communicate with the small girl as they got closer to the closer.

Once they were in the peony garden she showed Mira all the large pink flowers. “These are peonies. They are my favorite.” She motioned to them.

The pretty lady with the baby said the trees and flowers were for her island. It must be a very pretty island, or maybe it would be once the garden was made. The lady then told her the baby boy's name was Everett. Mira had never heard that name before, but it sounded good. Bringing herself to where the child could see her better, she asked the girl if she wanted to come see her home. She promised to let Mira see her garden once it was finished. Instead of telling her not to worry or that everything would be alright, the lady said she wouldn't steal her treasure and helped move her arm so she could hold onto it better. Holding the lady's hand, Mira came out from the lower deck of the big ship to see the island the plants had come to. After a short talk with the men who were on the ship, the black-haired lady told Mira more about the plants and the garden. There was a big tree with purple flowers instead of leaves already here, and when she looked all the way back–there was a big castle. Gazing up at the wisteria tree, the child's eyes were almost a close match with the hanging clusters. "El árbol… ¡Qué bonito!" She had always thought that trees were mostly green with leaves. Even when they had flowers, they never made up the entire canopy.

When the lady said the castle was her and Everett's home, Mira pointed to it while looking up at her, asking in confirmation. "¿Tu castillo? Es muy grande." Anything bigger than her was very big, but if it was that big while still being so far away, then it was much bigger than that. When she was asked if she had a home, the child shook her head. She didn't hesitate when she did so, but she wasn't ashamed. Maybe it was because she was too young to know what a 'home' was. Finally, they arrived at what was currently present in the island's gardens. There were great big flowers that looked a lot like roses, but you could see the middle. Roses had lots of petals too, but they had layers that covered up whatever was at the bottom. The lady explained to her that they were peonies, and that she liked them very much. "Peonías…son hermosas." The little girl said with a serious nod of approval. Curious, she asked: "¿No son rosas?" Mira wondered why these flowers weren't roses, and why roses were roses. Did people give flowers different names because they looked different?

Simone laced her fingers with Mira’s small ones. There was something much more intimate about it when it came to children. Most of the time it would calm them down and depending on the child they could feel that everything was alright. Right now Simone knew the small girl needed the reassurance that she was safe or rather maybe that her orb was safe. She could feel the magic presence of the girl herself and it was just like hers but lighter after all Mira was a child and Simone was born from death’s flame.

Making an educated guess at what the child said Simone could respond thanks to how Mira’s eyes lit up and her excitement over the tree. “Aye, they are very beautiful. They smell good too,” using her upper body Simone looped her arm around Mira giving only a little warning with a head nod, and lifted the child finding her light. “Here, smell.” Simone smelled one of the hanging Wisteria flowers to show her and brought her to one. Once Mira was done she put her back down and took her hand. “This will all be Wisteria trees,” she motioned to where the holes were being dug.

When Mira pointed at the house Simone chuckled a bit and got on her level, “Yes, it’s a very big house. My husband and I are going to adopt a lot of children who don’t have homes or families. Like Everett.” she motioned to Everett. She had a feeling the girl could understand her by her responses even if she couldn’t respond to her in common. “We have a small daughter too. Her name is Fiori and she is a little under two years old.”

They continued to the gardens and Simone thought best about how to respond to Mira. It was hard to guess what she was saying so she summed up best she could. “I don’t have any roses yet but I want to make a rose garden for tea and picnics.” She pulled down a cluster of purple flowers that were with the peonies. “These are hydrangeas. They are poisonous so please be careful. They can hurt you if you try to put them in your mouth.” She warned Mira and was very careful of what Everett was doing since he liked the flowers a lot.

“Some flowers bloom in different seasons. Some bloom on stems, some bloom on bushes, and some are on trees.” She explained to Mira simply how there were different flowers. “Some flowers bloom all year long. Some flowers even turn into fruits like apples, oranges, and pears.” After a little bit, she took Mira over to a little aquatic garden off one of the incomplete gardens. There were lotuses and their lily pads. “There are even water flowers like these. Their stems go allllll the way to the bottom of the water. Their lily pads have stems too and they look like you can walk on them but you can’t.”

Taking one of the cattails from the side of the pond she held it up next to Mira. “Want to see something fun?” Taking the large brown pod at the end of it Simone broke it. The pod immediately burst apart like snow as the wind whipped the seedlings. It looked more like a mixture of snow and cotton to Simone. The pod didn’t even look like it could have held as much as it did but that was the fun part of it. “It’s called a cattail. They grow on the edges of ponds.”

One of her hanging baskets was nearby that she was going to carry to the gazebo and in it were long flowers that were burst open. They were a vibrant magenta with pink petals. "These are Fuschia. They are very pretty, don't you think? I'm going to fill this whole island with flowers. I want to make it beautiful so that my children, no matter how many of them there are, will always have a spot they can relax in and call home. Even if it isn't in the castle." She wasn't sure if Mira had caught on but she got back down on Mira's level and watched her eyes. "My husband and I can't have children of our own like other adults so we want to give homes to those children who don't have parents. We want to love them as much as possible no matter where they come from. No matter what they are or what needs they might have. We want a family of our own even if the children aren't born ours. We love them like they though." She untangled some of Mira's hair and gave a smile even though it was a sad subject for her. At least she wasn't bitter over it. "This whole island belongs to us and that means that our children can explore to their hearts' content and be safe doing so. Sounds fun right?"

Mira listened carefully as the lady introduced her to the different flowers in her garden. She learned things she had never heard of or never thought about, like how fruit came from flowers too. The pretty lady told her Everett had a sister named 'Fiori' too. She was old enough to know what was or wasn't food, so she admired the hydrangeas at a distance. Everything here was new to the child, but her eyes brightened when they came to the aquatic garden. Of all the flowers she had seen today, water lilies were one she did recognize. The lily pads here were so small compared to the ones in Jasumin. You could lie down on those there and sleep. "Ellas son demasiado pequeñas." She said pointing at the lotuses and lily pads. "Podrías caminar sobre ellos si fueran más grandes, ¿no?" The girl looked at Simone while stretching her arms wide as if to explain how to fix the lily pads so they could be walked on. 

She was thinking of dipping her feet into the water when the lady surprised her with something interesting. She picked a strange water grass, which Mira didn't think was very special. But then–she broke it and suddenly a flurry of fluffy things came out! With mouth wide in amazement, Mira's purple-blue eyes followed the seedlings as they drifted away. She reached up a hand and swiped some, rolling it in her fingers. The next plant introduced was another flower, this one a strong pink color that looked like hanging little petal trumpets. The lady then began to explain why she wanted all those plants in her garden. The lady and her husband couldn't have children, so they wanted to let other children without parents have a place to stay here. She wanted them to be happy, and the gardens with lots of pretty flowers would make them happy.

Mira mulled over the thought a bit. She never really understood what a family was, though she knew what it looked like. She remembered seeing groups of children with an adult in cities, talking and laughing together. Sometimes the adult would speak sternly to them when they were being naughty, sometimes they would smile and play with them. To be fair, it was natural that she didn't understand. After all, even if she didn't know it–what she was would explain why. She kept quiet when the lady looked sad while talking about this, giving her a sincere nod when she was asked about how she felt about the lady's idea. "Es bueno." The girl replied, then she pointed at herself and said: "Soy Mira." Looking at Simone, she then asked, "¿Cómo se llama?"