"Dried leaves everywhere.  I looked up and found that the vines that entwined above our heads were dry and lifeless.  The leaves had folded in upon themselves or dropped completely."

"The roses were a last defense for the court.  If enemies penetrated this far, the roses would come to life and kill them, or try to, either by strangling or by the thorns.  The newer, lower growth had thorns like any other climbing rose, but there were vines deep in the tangle that held thorns the size of small daggers...They were a symbol that there had once been magical gardens under ground." - Kiss of Shadows