Secret Novel Chapter 13: Garden (Patreon)

It took Madeline seven full strides of walking through the strange hedge before she came out the other side. Halfway through it Madeline had thought about turning back around, fearing that there might not actually be an exit and that she might just get lost in the horrid and strange feeling of being inside the hedge. Thankfully she came out the other side, and stood there for a second, somewhat afraid to open her eyes. Afraid that it might be something horrid, or that something might be standing before her. Something that would kill her. But nothing happened as she stood at the exit, eyes still closed. So, with a deep breath, Madeline opened her eyes.

What stood before Madeline was the grandest and largest garden the young woman had ever set eyes upon. The grounds must have been far larger than even the mayor’s entire estate back in Lexford. Flowers of every shade of color bloomed all around. Some in what appeared to be specifically planted batches, and others wild and free. Taking a step deeper into the garden, Madeline noticed that she was stepping on a loose and overgrown path of flack stone that led deeper into the garden, and seemed to branch out into different areas.

The more she walked, the more she saw. Not only were there flower plots, there appeared to be plots for vegetables, or at least she hoped they were vegetables. She was never one for gardening before. Though like the flower plots it was horribly overgrown as well. There were also areas of open grass, which seemed to give the place a nice sense of being wide open while still being full. The sound of running water caught her ear, and following it she found herself at the edge of a decently sized stream that flowed into a massive pond. There were even some fish swimming in it. Food! Well the vegetables would also be food. On the other side of the pond is an incredibly large and flat stone next to the edge. Large enough that would take two and a half of Madeline to fully lay across it. Then further beyond it there was a small grassy hill topped with a large willow tree.

For the next half hour, Madeline made her way around the garden in awe of its beauty and size. Even the steady rain was forgotten as she found flowers that had to be magical, for there was no other explanation. Some glowed with faint, but noticeable light. Others flowed in the gentle wind as if they were in water. The ones that caught her eye the most were the flowers that seemed to be a ghostly echo of actual flowers. Similar to the wolf she had seen a few days ago, they were somewhat transparent and seemed completely unaffected by the rain, as if it was passing right through them. For some reason Madeline dared not try and touch them, feeling that something could go wrong very quickly.

Exploring the other end of the Garden, Madeline found that on the other side of the hill hosted a small grove of different trees. Some of them even bore fruit! Most of the fruit looked ripe enough to eat right off of the branch. She couldn’t help but grab herself an apple and munch down as she continued to explore. As she reached the hedge on this far side of the Garden she found it acted the same way as the side she came in from. Though, with apparent sanctuary at hand, she dared not go out and explore what lay beyond the hedge. At least not yet anyway.

There were many small paths to follow to each section of the Garden, overgrown as they may be. After choosing one to follow, Madeline found it worked its way past the plots into a decently sized open area that eventually led straight up to the hedge. The young woman wondered if this was another area of strange hedge, so she reached out and touched it while closing her eyes. Nothing happened. Her hand didn’t pass through it just stayed there. She tried once again, a little harder and this time it worked! But it was different, it felt like something was giving way and opening instead of her hand melding into the hedge. Opening her eyes she found that she was actually just pushing a door in, which wasn’t completely embarrassing that she forgot what a door felt like. Admittedly the door was covered by the hedge.

Taking a breath, slightly worried of what she might find inside, Madeline pushed the door in. The room before her was well sized, maybe nine foot by twelve foot. It was a simple dirt floor, and the walls and curved ceiling were just cut out of the hedge. Thankfully no rain was getting through. Towards the back of the dark room, Madeline made out what appeared to be a pile of straw, a makeshift bed perhaps? Going in further and letting her eyes adjust, there were two more things in the room that Madeline hadn’t expected. One was a rickety wooden shelf with a clay teapot, cups and plates, and the other was a stone fireplace with a small stack of logs and twigs.

The young woman felt her heart leap for joy as she rushed to the fireplace. Exploring had made her forget about the wet and cold, but now it was all coming back to her. With deft hands, Madeline set about getting the fire started. Thankfully she found a piece of flint and some tinder on the pile of logs. And it wasn’t long before a small spark was turning into a tiny fire.

“Thank the gods,” Madeline said out loud in a gentle sob. She hadn’t even realized she had been crying, but apparently she was. She had warmth at her hand. A dry place to sleep, and potential source of food. It may not have been much but it was everything she wanted and needed at the moment. “Thank you,” she said as she reached out and touched the hedge, realizing that it was the Maze that guided her here. It had brought her back over and over again, just so that she may find this place and she was more thankful than she had ever been in her life. “Thank you for bringing me here.” Never again would she curse this Maze.