Striding into the passage, she found it to be cold, but dry. Cobwebs hung everywhere, and there were no windows, only a very long stair the descended far beyond the light of her little candle.
She tensed as she stepped down, waiting for a single sound that would send her sprinting back to her room. It was silent-- silent and dead and completely forgotten.
Mailee held the candle aloft, her cape trailing behind her, leaving a clean wake on the dust-covered stairs. Minutes passed, and she scanned the walls for any engravings or makings, but saw none so far. "Was this just a forgotten servants' passage?" She found herself a bit disappointed.
The bottom of the stairs soon appeared, and she came to a halt before three equally dark and imposing doorways. "Where am I?" She had difficulty imagining that such a space could be forgotten in a castle like this one, but-- The ground was covered with dust. "Not even a hint of a footprint."
Knowing how the story always went, Mailee lifted the candle to the arches above the doors, looking for any inscriptions regarding the sure death that would meet her if she walked beneath a specific arch.
She looked at the ball of yarn in her hand. Now it was just little more than a lump of string. She set down her candle and tied another ball to the end of the string. Perhaps she should have taken another. "Well, at least I still have the chalk."
She chose the door in the middle, if only because it was closer. On the other side, the staircase continued downwards-- in fact, it went so far down that she wondered if she were beneath the castle. The passage became very damp and very cold, and Mailee's candle sputtered in the moisture.
There were many pathways now, but Mailee choosed to go straight, following the moisture that grew by the inch. Water trickled down the walls, and the stone became slick with whatever fungus had grown over the centuries.
Her bare feet felt cold and wet against the wetness of the passage. She would have considered turning back were it not for the sound that arose.
It was running water-- slow-moving. In fact, as she walked, the passage became lighter. It was getting lighter than the light of the candle, it was smoother, brighter light of the outdoors-- of the sun.
Her yarn ran out, and she left it on the ground. There were no more turns to mark. She knew that was-- rather, she didn't care to hope that it was actually what she believed it to be. "No way..." She hurried along, slipping twice, her heart pounding so loudly that she thought her ears would break. An archway appeared, and beyond it, beyond it...
Mailee stared at the vast garden before her. She wondered if anyone knew that this was even here. She studied the other side.
The thick plot of grass is contoured by tangled hedges and climbing plants. A pond built in the back left of the garden, home to many frogs, bugs, and other creatures.
The flower beds are bordered by the larger ones, but have no difficulties claiming a spot of their own; they're giving off a plethora of scents. The hedges and climbing plants reach 2.1m/7ft high, but doesn't usually grow this tall.
A path of stepping stones curves around each bend in the garden, offering a glimpse of the best spots. Vines playfully creep and crawl their way through the gardens, eager to expand their foothold beyond the locations given to them. A pagoda stands in the middle of the pond, offering a tranquil resting place.
The pagoda claims all the glory within the garden as it outshines all others. The flower beds usually look amazing, and the hedges, bushes, and shrubs do deserve some credit, but the spotlight will always be on the pagoda.
Mailee set down her candle, removed her enchanted chalk from her pocket, and wrote a few magic syncs on each side of the archway to alert her if any intruders passed through. This mental alarm will alert her with a ping in her mind if any intruders wall through without permission. The metal alarm produces the sound of a tiny bell for 6 seconds. This ping will wake her if she's sleeping.
Mailee returned the chalk inside her pocket and picked up the candle. She will return later. Still, Mailee had difficulty leaving the garden. She was grateful for the silence of the garden and the beauty of it too. But she had to get dress properly and mark all the other doors and passages too in the tunnel. With that in mind, she turned around and begin her journey back.
YOU ARE READING
The Mirror Guardian
Random((Book One of The Guardian Series.)) She was the Flame of Light craving peace... They say she is powerful. They say she is the Flame of Life. They say she instill fear into the hearts of many. It is even said that the Devil himself is afraid of her...
