The Duchess' Daughter

Episode 22: A Maze of Emotions

A/N: I've been away from Wattpad for quite a while that I thought I lost my creative juices already but fortunately, I discovered I didn't. Kasi nakapag-update pa rin ako, hehe, ngayon. Here's to the comeback!

Anyway, the following images are not mine and are merely put here to help you grasp the atmosphere of this chapter.

Note that these are only examples of how a hedge maze looks like. Please do not limit your imagination to this as I also did not limit mine while writing. Ey, enjoy reading! And thank you in advance🤍

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The afternoon breeze was cold enough for Lady Lara not to complain about the layers Rory had put upon her to be a garment. She wore a warm linen undergarment, followed by a fitted long-sleeved kirtle dress that made her feel a bit bulky. However, its supposed rich embroidery was on the sleeveless surcoat serving as the third and outer layer. Despite feeling a bit thickly dressed, the brown and white theme of her attire provided some comfort as she walked through the palace hedge maze behind the castle.

"Rory," she slowly called her companion, who quietly trailed behind her. "Would you mind . . ." nilingon niya ito. "leaving me here alone?"

Rory stared at her pleading face. "I—I wouldn't mind, young miss but I'm afraid you—"

"I will survive," she assured her with a genuine smile. "I was . . ." often alone in the manor. She stifled her thought. "I mean, I can just stay here. Oh there's the bench." Masigla niyang tinuro ang nasa unahan na upuan.

"P-Pero gumagabi na po, mahihirapan kayong umuwi niyan nang walang kasama. This is a maze, Lady Lara," Rory said with so much concern.

The young lady tilted her head. "Do I need a map or something?"

"Oh," imik ni Rory, tsaka nagmistulang nag-iisip. "Just a hack though. From here," she approached the wall of leaves at Lady Lara's right. She faced Lady Lara's back, at humarap naman ito sa kaniya. "You just have to stretch your right hand, touch this." She began demonstrating. "And then from here you may run or walk until your hand touches nothing but air."