Going Mad (Once Upon a Time)

Chapter XI - A New Adventure

Chapter XI

“Follow me,” the guard orders.  We walk down a brick pathway through the garden until we stop next to a couple of trees growing the most beautiful red roses.  “Take a closer look,” he tells me.  I walk up to the roses and notice that they’re dripping.  Upon closer inspection, I see that the originally white roses were only painted to appear red.  Through the branches of the tree I can still see white roses that have been missed in the process.  I step back, never having seen a tree that grows roses before.  I look at the trunk and notice that the bark is twisting in such a pattern that it almost looks like… an “E” carved in cursive.  I gasp and the guard walks up next to me.

“Your sister sold us white rose trees after I messed up the order form,” he tells me, “I was supposed to buy red rose trees for the queen.  When I found out they were white, I tried to cover it up but another guard caught me.  In my fear I put the blame on your sister, and for that I am truly sorry.”  I know I should be horrified, but the look on his face tells me he really does feel terribly about it.  Seeing the long scar run around his sun-tanned neck makes me wonder what the queen would’ve done to him for angering her a second time.  I don’t think I want to know.

“Do you know where my sister is?” I ask on the verge of tears.  I don’t know if I could handle seeing her with a scar like that.  The guard notices my gaze.

“Don’t worry,” he assures me, “She only beheads people if there’s something she wants from them.  Your sister is safely locked up as a simple punishment.”  I sigh in relief, not realizing that I have actually been holding my breath since seeing his scar. 

“What’s your name?” I ask curiously.

“Acer Spade, now follow me,” he tells me, quite a peculiar name.  We sneak out of the garden and meet the mouth of a large hedge maze.  On the slight incline we are standing on I can tell that this maze goes on for quite a distance.  If only Dexter were still here, he could just transport us through the maze.  Luckily Acer seems to know where he’s going; we reach what looks like the center in no time at all.  There is a large stone columned building with a gold dome on the top of it.  He hastily opens the doors with his keys and inside there is box after box stacked up, all about the size of only a jewelry box. 

“I thought we were trying to find my sister?” I ask confused.  Acer ignores me and studies the small plaques on each of the boxes before he slides one out.  “What are you doing?” I ask him.  He sets the box carefully on the ground and opens it.  He takes a peek inside and smiles, waving me over.

“Look,” he says.  I glance inside and see a small person sitting in the corner of the box.

“Elizabeth!” I squeal, and she stands up to the whole three inches she has.

“Take her out of the box,” the guard tells me.  No need to tell me twice!  Now that I have my sister I want to get out of here.

“Why is she so small?” I ask, letting Elizabeth walk onto my hand while Acer hurries and puts the box back in its place.

“I can fix that, come with me,” he says demandingly.  We rush out of the maze faster than we entered it, and he sighs in relief when we reach the edge of the garden again.  He bends down to the edge of the garden’s fence and plucks a piece of a large mushroom hidden by vines.  “Give this to your sister and put her down,” he tells me.  I set her and the mushroom on the ground and she takes a small bite.  Suddenly smoke starts crawling around her and the air above her, and she turns back to her normal size.

“Elizabeth!” I exclaim, running to give her a hug.

“Alice, I can’t believe you’re here!  Don’t you know how dangerous it is here?” she scolds, but I can’t help but both laugh and cry in happiness while I can tell that she really is happy to see me. In the midst of our reunion, I hear voices and footsteps quickly advancing towards us from deep in the garden.  I look at Acer and he has a look of pure fear written across his face.