Elven Roses

"So all these plants are now extinct?" Mericlou said, coming back down from her elation.

Aldrec nodded as he brushed his hand upon a bush with leaves that shifted color rapidly with his touch. "In the outside world, yes. Maybe one day, I'll have produced enough seeds to re-plant them, but until then, this remains their home." "This isn't the only reason why you brought me down here, is it?" Mericlou said, eyeing the elf with a shrewd, yet amicable look.

"Aldrec smiled. "No. There is another reason. You see, I had an idea." "An idea?" Mericlou said, her curiosity peaked.

"Yesterday, you told me that your job doesn't get much elven patronage for your job, and that you wished you did, right?"

Mericlou nodded.

"Well, I want to hire you." Mericlou stepped back in astonishment at the elf's offer. "Hire me?"

"Yes, Mericlou," Aldrec answered. "I want to entrust my garden to you, to help me take care of it."

"What?"

"Of course, you'll be getting paid for the work. As I need someone who can tend to each of the plants' specific needs, an android would be best suited for the job. Rather than having time wasted on training and reviewing with another elf or a human, you can download all the information on their proper care and …"

In the middle of his sentence, Aldrec suddenly found himself in the grip of a tight embrace.

"Yes!" Mericlou cried out. "Yes, of course! I'll do it!"

"Are you sure?" Aldrec wheezed, once he managed to pry himself from the near-crushing grip. "It's not going to be easy."

"Are you kidding? It's the chance of a lifetime!" Mericlou squealed, at the same time, panting with keen excitement. "I mean, how many people get this kind of chance? You think I'd pass it up?"

"All right, all right," Aldrec said with a merry laugh. "I guess that's true."

Again, with a feat of magic, he opened his hand, revealing a small silver data disk that had not been there before. He handed it to Mericlou.

"This contains all the information that you'll need to know about my plants: their life cycles, their care and feeding, everything. And this-" he produced a small roll of money, once again out of nothing "-will be your first week's pay … in advance."

Mericlou felt a rush of guilt as she accepted Aldrec's bank notes. She did nothing to deserve this; why was he being so nice to her?