The Kaerdenia Lily was the symbol of love in Alecha this century, after Dominika O Kaerdenia had, in a feat of crossbreeding, produced the blood-red blossoms with their pure white centers which symbolized both the body and the spirit. 

It said something about the strength of the symbol that, while Dominika had also managed to produce a drought- and pest-tolerant strain of amaranth which still made delicious breads, she was known as Dominika Lily and not Dominika Amaranth (maybe it was just prettier sounding; sometimes that had something to do with it). 

Eduardo the carver (often called Eduardo Fern-Frond) was doing his best to make a gift on commission, but while he could carve a fern-frond so realistic and so fine that, if painted the right color, people tried to pick it up, the lily had already ruined three pieces of imported wood and was threatening to ruin a fourth and fifth. 

He kept going. The mayor of the city had a specific piece in mind, and it must have the Kaerdenia Lily on the top, and it must  be made of heartwood (of course) and not just any heartwood, but that of the Kaerdenia Cherry (A different Kaerdenia ; they were very good at plant-breeding), which could only be found in a very few areas. 

These mistakes, if he could not turn them into smaller pieces, if he could not sell those smaller pieces, would cost him more than the mayor’s commission was worth.

Eduardo frowned at the piece, frowned at the lilies in front of him, picked up his pencil, and began working again. 

If he took the lily down to its parts, one lobe here, one lobe there, the place there where the white would be made from ivory, then he took each lobe down to its parts, the curl here, the vein there, then he could work at it as if it were a series of very small frond pieces.  And if he did that, if he did that, he could make up a whole Love-Lily from a thousand tiny parts. 

If he did that, the mayor would have her love box, would have her love, would have everything she wanted. 

The frown gone, Eduardo got back to work.

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Written to a Thimbleful Thursday prompt & to my Federated Worldbuilding Prompt which was “use the Thimbleful Prompt to write something in your world.” 😉