The Birdcage

The Garden

As it turns out, they had a garden for that exact purpose; a very lovely garden, full of coloured flowers in all shapes and sizes. The plot of land spanned an area around the back of the hospital, lush and well kept; a small oasis in the hospital's barren landscape.
She hadn't really seen the hospital from the outside before; not in any manner in which she'd been willing to pay attention. The grey bricked building loomed over her; almost stereotypically gothic and sinister, seeming to watch her with its million glinting window eyes. She'd find it cool if it wasn't so foreboding.

But hey, she could appreciate anywhere with a good garden.

Perry had come out to walk around with her, and very quickly had gotten distracted by a sculpted water feature; the garden decoration fenced off like they were going to abuse it for kicks if left unchecked. Like everything here, it was look, don't touch.

Wandering aimlessly over the soft grass under the watchful eyes of the ever-present hospital orderlies, she raised her face to the sky, closing her eyes in bliss as she soaked up the warm rays of sun that fell on her face.

Then, opening her eyes, she scanned the rows of windows, looking for telltale signs. The top of the huge three storey building was Solitary, as well as whatever else they crammed up there out of the way; which meant the one below was the sleeping quarters and Doctor's private offices. Which meant... There, on the end, overlooking the garden; Doctor Montgomery's office.

Nonchalantly, she began to wander up the garden towards it; swinging her arms almost childishly like she was playing around in the midday sun whilst all the while she was craning to have a better look.

For what better place to examine, than the scene of the crime? Part of it, anyway; she wasn't exactly too keen to return to that room in a hurry.

As she drew near the window, she saw that planted under it was a huge rosebush; the twisting vines of blood-red flowers creeping up the side of the building, making it look even more like she was in some gothic fairytale. The air was steeped in the roses strong perfume; the sweet, heady scent almost putting her in a daze as it soothed her senses.

Walking over under the act of admiring the flowers closer, she looked up under her eyelids as she reached to smell one of the delicate blooms.
There, in the window, she could see the framed silhouette of Doctor Montgomery seated at his desk, sifting through some papers. It was kind of fascinating; although the moment was benign, there was a thrill of watching the scene from the outside when he thought he was alone.

She also took the opportunity to quickly examine the window; at this initial glance, it seemed just a normal window. No broken glass, all the window panes looked the same; although she was no expert, and windows could be replaced.

It caused her pause for a moment however, as she realised she didn't have any idea as to when the events in her vision had happened; there had been very little context at all to what she'd seen.
That put a different spin on it; perhaps this was fruitless. Perhaps there was nothing to find. Perhaps it had been so long, it wasn't relevant anymore; nothing would be achieved by following it up.

Pulling herself out of her doubt, she steeled her determination; stopping her speculation to boil it down to what she knew.
A woman had fallen. And she, Nyx, was here in the garden to investigate that.

Whether or not she found anything was a different determiner entirely.

Well, this next part was definitely going to get her in trouble; there was no way she could play this off casually if she got caught.

Crazy lady digging in the dirt wasn't going to be a good look for her. Well, here goes nothing.

Nervously, she waited a few more minutes; knowing she'd have to do it soon otherwise her hanging around that particular bush would begin to look suspicious, but still hoping the perfect moment would present itself.

And then it happened. Glancing behind her, she saw Perry walk up to the nearest orderly, clearly engaging the woman's attention by asking her a question.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Nyx carefully crouched besides the bush; trying not to get give-away grass stains on her clothes. Reaching out, she eased her arm under the thorny bush; and immediately came across a problem. The ground was hard and space was tight, so she couldn't exactly fig in it; just scrabble along the surface.

Still, she was here now. Peering under the thorny boughs, she felt along the surface for anything unusual, raking the ground with her nails in an effort to unearth some secrets. Finally, she came across something rough, sticking out of the ground. Peering through the gloom, she saw it was a stone slap; covered in mud and corroded with time, propped up against the roots of the plant.

Swiftly, she began to pick at the mud; scraping it from the stone to reveal the remains of weather-worn engraving. Some of the letters were lost to time; but working diligently, she soon pieced together two words.

... Memory... Bernice.

'I knew it.'

"Uh, what are you doing?"

Nyx swore under her breath. "Dammit."

And the plot thickens! Nancy Drew, eat your heart out. XD

Also, sorry if the music seems like a weird choice; I thought it was atmospheric. I love Celtic style music and will find excuses to include it when I can.