Skylar listened for anything that sounded out of place. Footsteps, the rustling of leaves, or the telltale thumps of a giant glaive used as a walking stick instead of a weapon.
Nothing. For now.
Skylar shifted against the hedge, leaves cushioning her back and tickling her ear. She was hidden in the shadows within the very centre of a maze. It had been built before Skylar was born, in the Western quarters of the castle, as part of the courtyard where her parents often held ceremonies or ate their breakfast. She knew every twist, every dead end and loop. She had learned them the hard way, spending much of her childhood exploring and getting lost.
But Skylar knew she'd be found soon, because there was someone else who knew the maze just as well as she did. Her mind drifted to a memory, one she hadn't thought of in a long time.
***
As a child, Skylar thought the maze was a monster. The hedge walls loomed like towers to someone so young and small, and the paths seemed to multiply the deeper she went. She got lost constantly, but she never stopped trying. She had to find it centre: it was the only way to defeat the maze.
Unfortunately, her stubbornness posed its own challenge for the guards of the castle. Every time she vanished, they would have to find her. They'd tramp through the maze, reach dead ends and get lost themselves. Hours would pass by before the disgruntled men would emerge from the maze. With their scuffed armour, and their dignity bruised, they escorted their young Lady to safety. Skylar always looked far too pleased with herself, and the fire of determination in her eyes never dimmed.
One day, it took until evening to locate Skylar. Her parents were not happy. She was sent to her room, and the doors to her garden, locked. Alfred talked about tearing the maze down, and Saira agreed. But he couldn't go through with it. His daughter warmed his heart like so many times before, so he came upon another decision.
Skylar was forbidden to enter the maze unless she found someone capable enough to accompany her. They would have to know the maze, and all of its countless twisting, looping and inter-connecting paths. Skylar knew that such a task would be impossible, for every guard was much too busy for something so tedious.
Skylar knew her father chose such a challenge on purpose. He intended to keep her out. If she was caught entering alone, or to get lost one more time, he would have no choice; the maze would fall.
Skylar asked every guard she came by to attempt the impossible challenge. They agreed reluctantly and gave up quickly. They stumbled about in circles, and lost their way like usual. Skylar tried to help, they never heeded her advice. She was a child, after all.
Fifteen guards attempted and failed before Skylar decided to take matters into her own hand. She'd enter the maze by herself. At night, when everyone slept. No one would know. She'd memorise every corner and dead end, and prove that she did not need a guard. She only needed herself.
***
When night fell, Skylar stepped out into her garden. She slipped through the opening in the wall hidden by ivy, crept along the colonnade that connected to the Western Quarters, and kept to the shadows to avoid any patrolling guards.
When she arrived, the entrance gaped like an open mouth. The cold wind whistled through the hedges, giving the maze an eerie voice, and the night's darkness draped over it like billowing smoke.
For the first time, Skylar hesitated to enter. She questioned her own decision, and a voice within her begged her to return to her chambers.
But she pushed forward anyway. Skylar was not sure what drove her forward. Perhaps it was stubbornness, or determination, or more likely, her fear of failure. Whatever it was, it gave her the courage to march ahead and ignore the ice cold fear crackling through her chest.
The hedge walls rose up and flanked either side of her. Skylar looked up. She tried to discern where the walls ended, but it was difficult to see with only the faint and far moonlight. Her heart raced, and her mind whirled with alarm. The same voice, echoing the same words, spiralling as it begged her to turn back. Skylar took a deep breath and took another step forward.
In the daylight, she'd have run along these paths without a fear in the world. But her legs now felt heavy, each step more difficult than the last. She reached the first corner, and dared herself to take a small peek. She turned her body, and saw the deep belly of darkness. Deep and endless. An abyss. It tempted her to fall, and promised she would never return if she heeded its call. Skylar leaned forward, balancing on the edge, when a voice called out to her and pulled her away.
It was not her own.
"What are you doing?"
Skylar froze. The voice was too young and too calm to be a guard or her parents. She turned to see a young boy standing behind her. He looked a little older, maybe, and he stood there with a bored look on his face. He wore a cotton nightshirt, and in his hand was a wooden sword.
Skylar was so glad to see this strange boy, that she didn't question why he was in the courtyard all by himself. In that moment, she didn't care if he had followed her, or that he might be a ghost that lived in the maze, or anything else at all. She was just so relieved to see him.
"I-I'm sorry!" she cried, and she ran to hug him. He was taller than her, so Skylar embraced his torso. All the fear that she'd swallowed, spilled out. She couldn't hold back the tears that fell from her eyes. It made the boy freeze. Slowly, he relaxed and his hand patted her on the head.
"Let's go back," he said.