Catholicon

In a world that was real and yet not real, in a garden born from simple-minded joys and terrible hatred, things were changing.

In the center of the Garden, where ringed by the greatest wants of the world- the black daffodils of death, the copper roses of eternal life, and the daylilies of true love- the hatred of the Princess grew, something was changing. White arms encircled the chasm, embracing it. Love, true and never fully bloomed, seeped into the Princess's last vestiges, mingling strangely.

From the depths of pure evil came forgiveness, a foreign emotion. Guilt, the double-edged sword as deadly as passion, sliced through the gloom. Love, unselfish and unwanting, bloomed fully at last. For he first time, a wind was allowed to blow through, carrying the faintest scent for the briefest moment.

White plum.

For a single instant Tomoe existed; than she faded, into a world beyond comprehension, into a heaven she had won at last.

But the Garden was still changing. Its newly born heart beat, sending power and feeling pulsing through its whole. A thousand foreign emotions came forth and were discarded as the heart of the Garden learned itself and its name. And then it reached out, longingly, sorrowfully, towards the man it had wronged and the woman it had changed.

In a world that had once housed Time itself, but was now controlled by it, the Garden reached toward the sleeping couple, sprawled across a bed. Kaoru, still too beautiful despite her tousled hair and pained expression, slept fitfully. Kenshin, whose dreams were filled with the unfamiliar sounds of laughter and singing, lay protectively over her.

The Garden lavished magic over the both of them, bringing them sleeping peace and pleasant dreams of one another. The jasmine vines, wilting, grew green and richly scented. Through the house and dojo the Garden sent twin branches of happiness and serenity. Having done all it could in that world, the Garden began to restructure its twisted form.

Pieces of a thousand lovely dreams, of every fulfilled wish from every maiden, of children's laughter and lover's glades the Garden remade itself into perfection and light.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

She awoke to sunlight streaming over her, shining through the open window. Kenshin was still there, and she just stared at him. The sun suited him, making him look more substantial than ever before. It was as if one of her paintings had come to life.

Braiding her hair loosely to keep it out of her face, she stood up and moved toward the door, meaning to go and get ready. Before she had take even two steps, however, Kenshin woke, eyes blinking confusedly at the sunlight. He looked at her for a moment, the brightness of his eyes undiminished by the morning sun. She came back to the bed and sat at his side, admiring him.

"You should come and see me in the sun more often. It suits you." Kaoru said.

"Not as much as it suits you." He replied.

She left to get ready, for the day, while Kenshin stayed awkwardly in her room. He wasn't used to being seen by anyone in the sunlight of the real word; normally he stayed with his master or in the Garden. He wondered if the sunlight actually suited him; he'd been told he looked sickly, but that was hardly a surprise. He'd taken to sleeping during the day so he could spend his nights with her. Who could crave the day when it was by moonlight that he could see his love?

Kaoru retuned after only a quarter of an hour, dressed in a loose shirt and jeans. She was carrying a painting that made her look even shorter than she was. As he hurried to help her lift the thing, she moved to lay it down on the unmade bed. Sitting there on the twisted covers, the glossy paint shined in the light. It was a painting of the stone at the center of the Garden, formerly inscribed as Princess's Royal Garden of Heaven. Now it simply read Garden of Heaven. Where there had been a royal seal before, there was now a simple heart and flowered vines decorated the stone.

"Did you do this?" She asked. "It was different when I painted it. I never had this shade of green, and it was night."

"Somehow the Garden's power leaked through you while you painted it." Kenshin said, tracing the lettering with a finger. Kaoru shrugged bewildered, and put the painting on the blank easel. She didn't now much about magic, and it seemed weird to think she'd been influenced by it without knowing for so long. But, there was nothing she could really do about it now.

"I need to return." He said with a sigh.

"Are you going to the Garden, then?" Kaoru asked slowly.

"Yes." He said quietly, looking at her speculatively.

"Take me with you." She begged. "I think...I think I need to see it."

He hesitated. "You might not be able to return."

"Will you come and see me, if that happens?"

"Of course."

"Then it doesn't matter."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you wander in the dark of night, lonely and mysterious, through the woods and fields, you may find yourself at a ruin lovely in its crumbled state.

Walk though the ruin, examine the remains of the castle, and you make stumble upon walls, adorned with ivy and myrtle. Touch not the vines if you fear the night, but if you have nothing left to lose, part the plants and seek the door in the wall. Feel for it carefully, it is well-hidden, and push back the heavy iron bar. Dare you g through it? It will open at the slightest brush, your hand upon hewn rock, and you will see a footpath meandering ahead.

Walk lightly, and come to the wrought iron gates crossed with roses of amber and blue. Open the gate- has your courage failed you? If so, then run as far and fast as you can! And step into the Garden of Heaven.

All you have ever wanted grows here, in the flower beds. Ask before you take, and be forewarned: Three wishes are all you'll get. Choose your blossoms, your fruits wisely.

If you wander in the dark of night, under moonshine glowing bright, through heather and hale, you will come without fail to the Garden of Heaven, Earth's own Eden.

Look carefully as you walk its magic ground, and you may hear a faint laugh or an endearment sweet.

For immortals and beloveds walk these same grass-lined roads, and care for them as you might care for a child. Treat it well lest you lose their favor.

You are never alone in the Garden; the ones who it was made for come there still, bound in love for all eternity.

The End