The Lavender Room

     In Neovia, one of those little secrets was a small shop named “Brigham & Becks”, or, as its most frequent customers affectionately called it, The Lavender Room. It was a cosy little building. All old-time Neovian charm, with elegantly weathered velvet curtains and large windows, the walls covered in flowery lavender wallpaper. Everything was served in beautifully painted plates, and in teacups with handles so delicate only a Neovian would have the courage to handle them.

     “What would you like today, ladies?” Lisa Becks, the current manager of The Lavender Room, asked. The blue Zafara smiled pleasantly at her regulars, a middle-aged pair of Ixis who came in for brunch every Tuesday, right from when her mother was the one running the shop.

     The yellow one glanced at her friend before replying. “Lisa, is it true? Does the Benvolio girl always come here? Are you friends?”

     Lisa blinked. “Little Lily?”

     “Yes, her! Lillian Benvolio.” The Ixi lowered her voice conspiratorially. “I’ve heard that family is full of witches! You must be careful.”

     The red Ixi nodded in agreement. “Cara Benvolio can tell you where you’ve misplaced your lost things, if only you can remember a time when you had it last.”

     “How do you know that, Maisie?” The yellow Ixi narrowed her eyes. “Don’t tell me you’ve-”

     Maisie nervously fanned herself. “Goodness! Never! I- I only heard so! I’ve heard half of them are ghosts, cursed to remain in this world; there one second and disappearing the next!”

     “Well,” Lisa interjected sagely, making both Ixis turn to her, “I’ve heard that they have a pact with the Brain Tree, that’s how they know so much.” She grinned. “A bit ridiculous, isn’t it? Have you seen Little Lily, with her pigtails? Her, a witch?”

     The red Ixi started to say something but jumped when the bell over the shop door jingled. In walked a little brown Aisha, dark hair dutifully pigtailed. It was, of course, Lillian Benvolio. She waved cheerfully at Lisa.

     Maisie muttered a prayer.

     ***

     The things Lily liked about Valentine’s Day in Neovia were, in no particular order: the abundance of chocolate, the tasteful little lights and garlands adorning the shops, and the very precise nature of its date. The 14th day of Awakening, every year.

     It was such an interesting day.

     The gossip was wrong, you see. The Benvolio family wasn’t made up of witches, nor were they cursed (to their knowledge). The jury was out on whether it was a blessing, but the fact of the matter was: The Benvolios were time travellers. Not all of them, but enough to get the rumour mill started and chugging along.

     Their seeming omniscience hinged on this strange talent, and precise dates. Two purposeful steps forward took them into the past, but only if they held a certain date and its significance in their mind. Another one, purposeful or not, brought them straight back. A tourist’s look into the past, but usually enough to tell Mrs Higgins where she left her bracelet or if it was Emily or Andrew who broke the vase.

     “I’ll be with you in a minute, darling!” Lisa called out. “Go ahead and pick out what you want.”

     Lily nodded and jogged towards the display cabinet at the end of the shop. Every two steps, she allowed herself to slip back, watching the images of the past fly by beside her like a film reel. A dozen Valentine’s afternoons superimposed over each other.

     Couples chatting away with their food long gone cold, sisters sharing cake, parents helping their young children eat huge whipped cream sundaes… Lily abruptly stopped with one leg raised, windmilling her arms so she wouldn’t fall. She swayed on her foot, watching Lisa as a young girl.

     Lily wasn’t worried she’d be seen. Whatever magic it was that let her family do this, it also did a magnificent job of keeping the timeline intact. No one ever looked her way while she was using her powers, in the past or in the present.

     (Most of the time.)

     Satisfied with her peek, she placed her foot down. The present rushed back into focus. Lisa, the grown-up Lisa, was walking towards her.

     “Another bunch of chocolate flowers this year, Lily?” She smiled kindly as she unlocked the cabinet.

     “Yes please.”

     “What a polite girl! There you go, are you having it here?”

     Lily accepted the bouquet with both hands. This was the shop’s signature product: a bunch of chocolate roses and lilies, the symbols of the two families who owned it. Lily marvelled at each delicate, hand-crafted petal. The Brigham and Becks artisans were unmatched in their craft. They were two of the oldest, most respected chocolatier families in town.

     “No, Miss Lisa. I’m going to the Chocolate Show field, to see the other shops’ displays.”

     The Neovian Chocolatier Association held a show every other year. It was nowhere near as grand as the Chocolate Ball in the month of Gathering, but Lily liked how there weren’t any tourists. Besides, something very special had happened at the show once, a hundred and fifty years ago…

     Lisa patted her on the head with a smile. “Of course.” Then she sighed. “It’s a shame they wouldn’t let your mama judge, Fyora knows there wouldn’t be a Chocolatier scene in Neovia if Lucas Benvolio hadn’t stepped in back then!”

     Lily’s chest puffed out with pride. “That’s what mama said!”

     Lucas was close to a mythical figure in the Benvolio family. His numerous diaries were a family heirloom, detailing the many years he lived in Neovia, with a prolific amount of photographs to match.

     Lily’s favourite was a photo of Martha Brigham and Eliza Becks: a stately Lenny and sweet, smiling Cybunny; both posing in front of the Show’s grand prize trophy. Their families had been in a nasty feud, and only Lucas had been able to patch it up. He was said to have made such a moving speech about the enduring nature of love and friendship, the two had agreed to patch up; just in time to revitalize the chocolate industry in Neovia, which was about to be gobbled up by a large company from Neopia Central.

     “Lucas said Eliza and Martha were as sweet as chocolate,” Lily’s mother would conclude at the end of the story, “Even when they fought, they loved each other enough to listen and reconcile. And Lucas helped them do it! He’s a Valentine’s hero.”

     Her ancestor, a hero!

     She couldn’t wait to see him again.

     Lily paid and thanked Lisa for the chocolate, and excitedly left the shop.

     ***

     Lily spent an hour going through the show, tasting samples as she went. Now, with a slightly funny feeling tummy that she blamed on a speciality dark chocolate from the Lost Desert (spicy! It was spicy! Who did that with chocolate?), she sat in front of the makeshift awards stage. There was still a ways to go to the ceremony, but that was this year’s ceremony.

     The one Lily was after was a hundred and fifty years ago.

     Every year, she watched as Lucas, a scruffy brown Kacheek, snapped a photograph of Martha and Eliza accepting the grand prize for their collaborative entry. The spot she was in was four steps away from him and his camera. He’d snap the picture, and meet her eyes as the crowd applauded around them. He had a kindly smile for her, and Lily would wonder if he was a traveller too.

     Every year she travelled, and every year she broke the rule her mother had drilled into her: don’t interfere with the past. It wasn’t like she was doing anything, but Lucas was seeing her, acknowledging her. She knew it wasn’t right. But she could never resist seeing that little piece of history.

     Lily pulled out the photograph of Martha and Eliza. It helped to have something to visualize when the past was so distant. She began to take in the familiar details, and then frowned. Something was different.

     There- in the corner.

     Had that edge of a dress always been there? The lace trimming looked so much like the one she was wearing now.

     Lily had a bad feeling.

     In the distance, the clock tower started to gong.

     She shook her head, it was now or never. She would have to wait another year to go back this far again if she didn’t travel immediately. Lily stood up and stretched. She breathed in deeply and closed her eyes.

     Visualize, visualize.

     The crowd, excitedly chatted as the judging Tonu opened his envelope. The sound of Lucas adjusting his camera. Martha, swept across the stage; Eliza followed timidly- the winner hadn’t been called yet. And then, the moment when the crowd erupted into applause.

     Lily stepped forward.

     One.

     Two.

     She opened her eyes, shining with anticipation to see the stage covered in flowers, baskets of chocolate lined up along-

     Lily blinked. There was nothing but a sparse field. A little Kougra in suspenders looked at her curiously. She gasped and stumbled forward.

     Her thoughts whirled violently in her head as she pitched forward, bracing for the rush to the present. How could she have missed the time? How was the Kougra seeing her? Was the magic not working? Was it that wretched Lost Desert chocolate-

     Her foot made contact with the ground.

     Nothing happened.

     She was still in the past.

     Lily gasped again. What was going on? She wildly looked around. The little Kougra frowned and ran to his waiting mother, who regarded her suspiciously. Lily swallowed and tried stepping forward again. Still, nothing.

     She plopped down onto the grass, and desperately tried to stop herself from panicking. What could she do? She couldn’t make it any worse than it already was and ask for help; not without interfering with the timeline.

     Maybe she’d gotten off too early? In a year without the Show? Lily decided to try travelling again, and reached for the photograph in her pocket. It disintegrated as she touched it. A chill went down her spine.

     Oh no. Oh no. Photographs were windows into the past. If it didn’t exist anymore, if the magic had thought fit to destroy it… it meant that moment no longer existed either. And if that moment was gone-

     Lily made a strangled sob. Oh, she’d made a mess of things. She’d interfered too much, and strained the magic until it broke. And now everything was different, and it was all her fault.

     “Are you alright, young lady?”

     Lily looked up tearily, not caring about interacting with anyone anymore. It was the Kougra’s mother. She looked worried.

     “I’m- I don’t know how to get home,” Lily sobbed.

     “Oh dear, that’s a problem.” The Kougra kneeled down next to her. “What’s your name? I’ll help you find your house.”

     Lily somehow managed to get her name out through her tears.

     The Kougra brightened up. “You’re a Benvolio girl! Oh, you must be visiting poor Lucas from out of town. He’s had such a rough month, poor thing.”

     Lily sniffled, confused. “Rough month?” There was nothing like that in his diaries.

     “Why, being chased by that witch’s Meowclops, and then being cursed to only speak in meows for a week!” She sighed. “And falling out of that tree to top it off. He’s only just started walking about. But you know all that, silly child. Come, I’ll take you home.”

     ***

     As they walked through the streets, Lily had a chance to calm down and think things through. The magic had tried to end her repeated interference once and for all by removing Lucas. But that meant he’d never had a chance to mend the feud. And now the link between her future and this past had snapped.

     Lily swallowed. “Ma’am, may I ask you what the date is?”

     The Kougra told her.

     Her heart beat harder. It was still the right day. If she could get Martha and Eliza to make up before sundown, before she intertwined herself too solidly in this time, there was still a chance…

     Lucas! Lucas would help her! He’d know about the travelling.

     “Here we are, little one!” The Kougra waved her hand towards the Benvolios’ grand mansion. “Quite hard to miss,” she chuckled.

     “Th-thank you.” Lily mumbled. She tried to smile at the little Kougra, who had been looking with awe at the towering mansion, but he only stuck his tongue out at her and hid behind his mother’s skirts.

     Lily was dismayed. Was that some kind of sign?

     She waved goodbye to the two and nervously walked up the stairs to the front door. She knocked. There was a long pause, then the rhythmic sound of something tapping against the wooden floor, the sound growing louder as someone approached the door.

     There was a hushed cursing as something was knocked over, and then someone opened the door.

     “Hello,” Lily gasped out before they could say a word. “I’m Lillian Benvolio, and I’m from a hundred years in the future. I’m stuck and I need you to help me!”

     There was a beat of silence before Lucas meowed. He coughed a couple of times. “Sorry, it’s still wearing off. I meant to say, you better come in then. Let’s see what we can do.”

     ***

     The house was just as she remembered it. Or just as it was going to be. Lily spared a moment to wonder if that was appropriate, if perhaps the Benvolio house, so immersed in time magic, had somehow managed to break away from the timeline altogether to maintain some semblance of solidity.

     But that wasn’t important right now.

     “Lucas,” she began. “I broke the first rule. I don’t know what to do.”

     Lucas was hobbling around the kitchen, fixing them a pot of tea. “I know, you’re breaking it right now, in fact.”

     Lily blushed. “I-”

     Lucas collapsed into a chair opposite her. He huffed and wiped his brow. “I’m never getting used to those crutches. And I suppose you’re to blame for my accident? I knew there was a foothold there when I went up!”

     She shrank even further into her chair. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

     Lucas sighed and began to pour out two cups of tea. “You don’t need to apologize, it’ll heal. Now, how can I help?”

     “You’re supposed to mend the rift-”

     “The what now? Don’t tell me I need to go on another quest with that infernal-”

     “No, no! The feud! Between the Brighams and the Becks. Martha and Eliza. You were- you are supposed to help them reconcile. And they open a shop together. To save the Neovian chocolate industry.”

     The tea in one of the cups began to run over. Lucas hastily meowed again and soaked it up with a handkerchief. “That’s… I’ll be honest with you Lillian, going on that quest might be easier. Martha and Eliza haven’t spoken in a year.”

     Lily wailed. “You can’t say that! You need to help me get home!”

     “Now, now,” Lucas hurriedly comforted her. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t! Tell you what, Martha is supposed to visit me in half an hour, and Eliza said she’d stop by for dinner. We’ll talk it out separately-”

     “That won’t DO! Tell Eliza to come by early. With Martha.”

     Lucas baulked. “They would never. They’d yell at me for suggesting it.”

     Lily raised an eyebrow. “So don’t tell them.”

     “You want me to lie?” Lucas gasped.

     Lily didn’t think Lucas was quite like what he represented himself as in his diaries. “Just… don’t tell them the other one will be here. Tell Eliza that you’re busy during dinner-”

     “With this leg?” Lucas stuck out his cast.

     “Yes, with that leg.” Lily replied primly. She needed to take charge or Lucas was going to get her stuck in the past. “So tell Eliza to come ten minutes after Martha is supposed to arrive.”

     “But-”

     “Lucas, I’ll be stuck here forever otherwise.” Lily implored. “And Neovia’s chocolate industry will be destroyed. And we’ll all be eating things from Sakhmet. Do you know what they’ve got them eating in the Lost Desert? You don’t want to.”

     Lucas buried his face in his hands. “This is not my week,” he moaned.

     ***

     Martha had arrived just when she said she would, on the dot, and announced herself with three curt knocks. Lily could picture her standing outside; looking at her pocket watch and waiting for just the right time.

     Eliza was late.

     Lily nervously glanced at Lucas's ridiculously large grandfather clock. She was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago and Martha had already made several attempts at a graceful exit; plenty of “well then”s, a few pointed glances at her pocket watch, and even a forceful mention of the “next time” she visited.

     Lily knew they were scraping the bottom of the barrel with the conversation now, when Lucas awkwardly complimented her grip on the teacup.

     "Thank you?" Martha said, eyebrows furrowed. "Lucas, darling. I know you're lonely, but I simply must go now, I have an appointment with-"

     "SORRY I'M LATE!"

     Lily whipped her head around in time to see a white Cybunny trip on the carpet and hit the floor.

     "Eliza!" Lucas gasped.

     "'I'm okay!" she said cheerfully, and righted herself with a powerful hop. Her face dropped when she saw the Lenny. "Oh. Martha."

     Martha harrumphed and got up. "It seems I've stayed longer than expected. Good day, Lu-"

     "Wait!" Lily cried. "You need to make up! That's why we're here!"

     "Subtle." Lucas commented.

     "Lucas, you were a part of this- this deception?" Martha glared at him.

     Eliza hopped over and comfortingly patted Lucas's shoulder as he cowered. "Now, now. Deception's a strong word. But it was a little sneaky of you, Lukey. I'm not sure I like it." She smiled at Martha. "Because I definitely don't like her."

     Martha laughed without amusement. "And people think I'm the nasty one."

     "You two are supposed to be best friends!" Lily cried, shocked at this exchange. "Your bond, it's supposed to be as sweet as chocolate!"

     The Lenny scoffed. "Little one, you're not from around here, so I'll forgive you for that nonsense. Chocolate indeed."

     "I'm plenty sweet, you're just an ice lolly." Eliza stuck her tongue out. "Fyora knows what happened to the cute little Lenny who was my best friend."

     "And what of you, my dear?" Martha narrowed her eyes. "Even you must admit it was nasty of you to set up shop right beside me, undercutting my prices so blatantly."

     "You don't know how to run a business!"

     "And you don't care for art!"

     "This is why that Kiko from Neopia Central is swindling you, Martha-"

     “Lucas!” Lily pulled on his sleeve. “Do something!”

     “Me? I…” Lucas looked anxiously between the two as they continued to throw barbs at each other. “What can I do when they’re like this?”

     Lily squealed in frustration. It seemed it was up to her to get back. "Stop!" She jumped in between them, arms out. "You two, don't you see? You care so much about each other, you love each other! Why do you keep saying you don't?"

     "This? This is love? When she calls me an ice lolly?" Martha said the word like it was an insult of the highest order. "She knows I hate those!"

     "She does! She knows you so well! That's why she called you an ice lolly instead of… instead of Lost Desert chocolate!"

     "What?"

     "Not important!" Lily squeaked. "The point is, you two aren't enemies! Uncle Lucas, the photographs."

     Lucas started, and then scooted to the end of his chair. He wiggled out a box from beneath. Lily knelt down to rummage through it.

     "Look!" she said, victoriously. "Your exhibition pieces at the Chocolate Ball last year!" She laid two photographs out on the floor, a statue of a formally dressed Tonu, and a model of the clock tower, both exquisitely crafted from chocolate.

     Eliza moved to stand behind Lily and observe. "Oh yes, Martha's uneconomical statue of the mayor. Beautiful curves on the horns though."

     "Yes, beautiful! So beautiful you used the same techniques on your milk chocolate model of the clock tower."

     Eliza blushed. "I said it was uneconomical, not that it was bad."

     Martha chortled. "What, are you embarrassed? It serves you right! I would never insult another artisan's work. Even if it's a boring architectural model."

     Lily waved the Tonu in Martha's face. "So you're not going to admit you used Eliza's architectural rigging techniques to hold up that huge amount of chocolate? Martha, come on."

     Martha opened her beak to retort, but said nothing. She finally turned away, with a not-quite biting, "That's Miss Martha to you, you little brat."

     "Aw, embarrassed?" Eliza grinned as she gently poked Martha's shoulder. "I'm flattered."

     "And you guys were already fighting! Even when you were mad at each other, you respected each other and your art. And you still cared! Eliza, you were worried she took on more than she could chew with so much material; and Martha, you knew Eliza's work was amazing, but you were worried people wouldn't understand that because it looked so simple." Lily paused for emphasis. "You still cared, even if you weren't very nice to each other about it."

     Martha and Eliza looked at each other; Eliza pouted and Martha with raised eyebrows.

     Lily took a deep breath. "It's like my mama says, sometimes you might not like each other, but if you both put in the effort, the love isn't going anywhere."

     Eliza smiled softly. "I think I've heard Lucas saying that, actually."

     "Yes." Martha gingerly laid a wing over her shoulder. Her eyes widened when Eliza pulled her in for a hug, but then relaxed and hugged her back, though a little awkwardly. "Thank you, little Lily."

     Lucas discreetly nudged Lily. "You might want to make really sure this is going where you need it to,” he murmured. “Do you have any pieces of the future for the magic to find? Something from this shop of theirs?"

     Lily thought for a second. "Oh! The wrapper! Martha, Eliza; look at this-"

     She took a step forward, and promptly tripped over Lucas' box of photographs. Lily gasped and closed her eyes. She could hear the rustle as the pictures scattered, the swish of Martha's skirts, the thump of Eliza's hop, the sound of Lucas' crutches and then… a pleasant crackling fire, accompanied by the clicking of knitting needles.

     Lily slowly opened her eyes.

     "Welcome back. Had a nice trip?"

     It was Lily's mother. Sat in front of the fireplace- their fireplace- working on what looked like a sweater. Her eyebrow was raised, half quizzical and half knowing.

     "Mama, hi." Lily said sheepishly.

     "We'll talk about it after dinner. Go get cleaned up."

     Lily nodded and got up. As she dusted herself off, she noticed something in her pocket.

     A photograph. The same age as the one of Martha and Eliza, the one that crumbled. But it was different.

     In this one, Martha and Eliza stood outside a shiny new Lavender Room, arms around each other; with Lucas between them. All three were smiling.

     The End.