Through the Garden Gates

Centuries ago, well, actually continuing still some in recent years, the Chinese had a practice of binding their daughter’s feet as babies, and continuing the practice as they grew older. This stunted the growth of said body part, forcing them into an existence of disability and pain. This was all for the sake of marriage. A man would sometimes pick his wife, or concubine (in wealthier families at least) based on her feet; the smaller, the better. Due to her inability to walk properly on her own, and therefore do any other day-to-day tasks normally, the lady would need a high amount of assistance. The wealthier the man, the more readily he could provide for such a cause. Thus, the small-footed, possibly disabled woman became a sign of the man’s power, her frailty a testament of how much he brought in.

Where I stand now, being a mortal woman is the equivalent of being a crippled girl married for her useless limbs. Because where I am, frailty and powerlessness are just as valuable as they were back then. Except there’s one major difference; in no way am I physically impaired. All of my limbs work just fine, everything about me works perfectly, in fact. I may have been a few inches below normal in the height department but I had always thought that to be the worst of my problems. That is, on the standards of normal people. Here though, everything was different.

Something small whizzed by the window, a blinding, speeding ball of light. The sprites were back in the garden. Clemestra and Alfen must have been slacking off again; those little things were notorious for destroying the castle’s prized flower garden. At least that’s what I had come to understand. The fiery, troublesome little things didn’t listen to anyone, or anything, except the elves that is, and that was only because they shared a common language. An odd collection of noises I knew I would never be able to translate and understand. But the elves and the sprites had no problem communicating.

On Earth, things like this never would have happened. Elves and sprites were about as real as big-foot. But Earth and all of its scientific proof which cancelled out the existence of such things were nothing more than a far away illusion at this point. Running my fingers along the heavy, chaotic masses of the dress I was far less than willingly forced to wear, I could only view it as proof of such. No one would have caught me dead in this, even for prom. Formal for me was a black pair of pants and a button up top. This was a circus tent. I halfway expected small children to run out from under it and begin dancing around in front of me; after all this had to be the same size dress Mother Gigogne wore in The Nutcracker. Here it seemed plausible.

“Lady Olivia, you are being summoned.”

I cringed, glancing away from the flashes dancing around the outside world. A small, mousy girl by the name of Joanna stood in the doorway, hands folded before her, against the stiff maid’s uniform. She curtsied, a habit she refused to break no matter how much I pleaded with her to.

“Can it wait?” Please say yes, please say yes.

“The king himself demands it, m’lady.”

I had known before I asked my plea would go unanswered. Desperation still pushed me to check, though. Those inevitable words were shoving me towards a sealed fate I could no longer escape.

Sighing, I pulled my gaze back towards the window.

“Tell his majesty I’ll be there shortly.”

“Yes, m’lady. He also sent one of his personal guards to escort you,” Joanna murmured before her footsteps faded down the corridor. A guard; it was almost as though the king had foreseen my plan and sent one of his faithful servants here to see to it I made no attempt to run. Damn, this really put a damper on things.

The other girls may have wanted to be in this spot, but I wasn’t one of them. This kind of fate didn’t suit me; it wasn’t something I fantasized about as a child. I had never played dress-up and Pretty, Pretty Princess hadn’t been my favorite game my parents bought me as a small child, in fact after connecting all of the cheap bead necklaces I had hung more than one of my stuffed animals from the bar in my closet execution style.

I rubbed my hand across my forehead, examining the ballroom I stood in. Cold stone floors, a wall made entirely of large, brilliant mirrors was opposite the windows I stood before. For some reason this was the only room I could get any peace. None of the castle workers or servants dared step foot in here with me; not even the nobles would enter this room, at least while I occupied it. If I could have stayed in this room the entire time, be sure, I would have. Unfortunately food was not delivered, and the freezing stone floor didn’t appear as though it would make too good of a bed. No matter how frequently I returned to this room, I always had to leave for some reason or another. Aside from this room, the stables were the only other place I wasn’t constantly bombarded by whispers and stares. It was there I had learned the real reason for my treatment in this insane world known only to me as Alluan.

One of the stable-boys found me there, thoroughly fascinated by a pure black stallion that height-wise, towered over me considerably. He was the first person who hadn’t gawked, or avoided me aside from Joanna, who was assigned to me. He was the only one here, on my admittance of befuddlement and fear who had at least tried to explain why my existence was significant to this world. Daily trips there brought me added bits and pieces to the puzzle, the stable-boy surprisingly intelligent for his standing. But there came a day when he was no longer there, almost as though he had vanished with the night. The others at the stable were not as understanding, claiming to know nothing of the fair-haired stable-hand who had so often been seen by my side in the recent past. That was when I retreated back to the ballroom, spending my days alone watching the two garden elves chase the persistent sprites around the maze-like hedges. Even they, who frequently waved and smiled had never spoken a word to me, the stable-boy had been the only reason I’d known their names.

It had been he who explained to me the difference between myself, and the humans of this world. Whereas people like Joanna and others like herself seemed normal enough, their blood was riddled with a weak magic, hardly enough to give them any gifts. As children, their families noted such problems, selling them into a life of labor. He also whispered that some of the “humans” I crossed paths with were not humans at all, creatures, monsters ordered to be in disguise by the king himself for my sake at all times. And then there was me, the human girl that could own no gifts of the sort, blood pure of any tainting of the arts. I had once asked the stable-boy where he stood in it all, a human with minute powers, or a creature guised as a human. A chuckle and a smile had pulled out the dimples in his tanned cheeks, but no answer was ever given.

And now I stood alone, a destiny not mine by choice about to engulf me entirely. The king’s summons meant one thing: He had chosen the successor to his throne and I was bound by the ancient rules of the land to be tied to them in holy matrimony. A powerless wife offered a purer vessel to carry the child of royalty. That was my only charm in this world, to be viewed as the perfect incubator for the next in the royal lineage. My untainted blood would not interfere with the gifts the child would inherit from the father, by what strange reason I didn’t know. But so it had been passed down through stories from centuries ago.

“Lady Olivia, I do believe it’s time to go.”

My head jerked up too quickly, a sharp pain ripping through my neck as I did so. An irritated moan reverberated in my throat, my hands reaching up to massage the sides of it where the shock of pain still lingered slightly. I hadn’t realized my escort had been standing just outside the door, nor did I expect him to barge in like so. I glanced up to shoot him a dirty look—

“You…” I breathed with a slight gasp. What may have been irritation building up in my chest evaporated in an instant, replaced with a shock similar to what I had experienced upon landing in this strange world. A kick in the skull from the black stallion in the stables couldn’t have left my mind ringing with such disbelief.

In the large doorway the stable-boy, who for weeks had been missing was standing before me then. Except instead of being dressed in the dirty, frayed rags I was so accustomed to seeing him in, he was suited a clean-pressed navy jacket adorned with shining gold buttons and thread, starch white pants and knee-high black boots I had so often seen on the castle guards. The only difference being the sharp navy of the coat, whereas the normal castle soldiers’ coats were white to match the pants. There were no longer traces of dirt marring his face, or dried mud flakes in his hair. Still tanned, with impeccable gold curls no longer matted with grime he almost didn’t look like the same person. But the tight smile that had tugged the corners of his lips upwards, pulling his dimples out was impossible to forget.

“Me?” He inquired innocently, hands folded together behind his back, a stance I had seen so many of the other soldiers take.

“You…Why…Guard…What…?” My babblings made some vague sense in my mind, but none once thrown into the air from my lips.

“I’m simply here to do my duty, which is to escort you to the court for a word with the king, milady,” He bowed slowly with an amused smile still playing on his lips.

“But you’re not a guard; you’re a stable-boy!” I blurted quite loudly.

He watched me silently from the doorway as he regained his upright position. I wasn’t inclined to move an inch from where I stood, mind still racing in confusion thanks to his sudden, unexpected appearance. The king, I knew wasn’t patient but I wasn’t one who enjoyed being toyed with. Biting traces of frustration began to gnaw away at my confusion, causing my mind to fester with more than its fair share of questions.

“The king beheaded two of his own nobles last week for keeping him waiting for a mere fifteen minutes, shall we go, Lady Olivia?” His warning was presented in a softly calm manner, face betraying no hints of any emotion.

“Why are you here?” I proceeded to ignore his words, my fists balling around the mass quantities of material my dress was made of.

The smile on his face diminished slowly, something hard replacing the previously mischievous glimmer in his eyes, “Let’s go, Olivia.”

I didn’t budge, fixing him with the same stare I was receiving. Moments passed before he glanced in the direction of the mirror wall he stood beside, and then let out a weary sigh.

“I’ll come get you if I have to. Unlike the others I’m not afraid to walk in this room, although I may not be fond of the idea,” He regained his composition. “Would you like to know why no one sets foot in this room while you are in occupancy, Lady Olivia?”

There was a flash of curiosity, intermingled with a growing feeling of anxiety as his black boots clapped against the floor. His steps didn’t waver, continuing a steady stride into the room. It startled me slightly, and I found myself moving backwards, nearly tripping over the heavy layers of my dress as I did so to the point where I was pressed against one of the windows. I had always thought this place to be my safe haven from the complexities of this world, yet here he was, destroying the barrier I had imagined to exist around myself while I was here.

He finally stopped, maybe two steps away from where I stood stark still. There seemed to be nothing different about him as my eyes fell to examining him, the room didn’t seem to cause him any pain like I would have imagined it to with the way everyone else avoided entry. In fact, he seemed perfectly normal, as though nothing had changed from before he had stepped over the threshold.

“I don’t get it,” I muttered.

“That’s because you’re looking at the wrong thing, dear Olivia,” With a sweeping gesture of his hand, towards the mirror opposite us, he stepped aside and graced me with my first glance of the truth.

For a moment, I questioned the mirror’s validity, it wasn’t reflecting what was in the room, instead it held an image of something dark, something that sent my heart flying into my throat. But as I stepped closer, to get a better look at what I thought was just a picture, the girl opposite me, with the same dark brown hair, the same oversized, poufy dress also moved. I froze, an unexpected chill quickly creeping up my spine; that really was a reflection of the room? It couldn’t be. Glancing behind me, the blonde boy I remembered from the stables still stood there, a placid smile on his face as he watched my actions. When I turned back to face my own horrified image in the mirror, it wasn’t him I saw. Something stood there though. It had a shock of silver hair, hovering above a set of glowing orange eyes. But the sinister looking face that watched me wasn’t the most horrifying part, not by far. From the humanoid’s back sprouted a pair of wings, the same height as the figure they were attached to. I could only watch them intently as they seemed to flex and stretch out, glossy black feathers shining with the sun’s light that filtered in through the windows.

“Wh-What the hell is that?”

“What do you think it is, Lady Olivia?” I watched in disbelief as the blonde boy’s words mirrored the movements of the creature’s mouth.

I shook my head, “No, that can’t be you.”

The thing in the mirror stepped closer to the image of me, a white gloved hand reaching to rest on my bare shoulder. I jumped as a slight pressure was felt, and turned. My eyes were met with the same creature behind me that had only been a mere reflection seconds before, a short, shrill scream piercing the air as I stumbled backwards, tripping over the layers and layers of dress which also provided to cushion my fall onto the cold stone floor. I blinked rapidly, the thing above me watching silently. Then, just as suddenly as it was behind me, the image of the daunting, black-winged creature was gone, replaced by the blonde, smiling stable-boy that had previously been there. He reached a hand out, hesitantly, and shaking, I took it. After I was back on my own two feet I jerked my hand away as quickly as possible, being sure to lift the long layers of the dress before I scurried a few feet back from the boy.

“What the hell are you?” I hissed.

“A monster, or that’s what you would like to call me, isn’t it, Lady Olivia? That’s how the mirror works; it shows you what we really are. But I do recall telling you there are creatures like myself who take a human guise. Do you hate me now, or is it just fear?” He mused.

The trembling in my arms and legs couldn’t be denied, he could see it probably just as well as I could feel it. I offered no reply. And then carefully, almost shyly, he stepped forward. The same gloved hand that moments before, had scared me senseless gently reached out, palm up.

“Milady, I think we’ve dallied long enough. The king must be growing impatient,” He stated calmly. I nodded, extending a jittery hand out to accept his.

“Is everyone in the castle like… like you?” I swallowed hard, our hands remaining where they were while neither of us made a move for the exit. My back was to the mirror, I wished it to stay that way. I couldn’t rightly hate the only person to offer me any help and kindness simply because of something like this. He did warn me, after all. But I knew that image would certainly cause me to push him away, again.

Most of them, yes,” He smiled kindly. “Not necessarily the same form as I, but they’re not in their true appearances around you if that is what you’re inquiring. But we need to go now.”

We moved silently towards the door, my heart pounding heavily in my chest. What I had just seen left me horrified, yes. But, what awaited me with the king also struck its fair share of fear as well. The corridor was empty as our two sets of footsteps echoed off the stone walls and floors. My mind felt borderline numb, the thought that I had no control over my own fate acting like a novocaine filled needle. That was the only thing I had desired as a child, the ability to control my own destiny. But here, in this large, stunning castle filled with magical beings, all hope of that had been stripped away. Living itself seemed senseless if I could not do so the way I wanted.

“Lady Olivia, what would you do if you were presented the chance to escape?”

My steps faltered, a hand on my back steadying me before I could topple over once again. Had I just misheard?

“Excuse me?”

“There are more than a fair share of subjects in court that actually oppose giving the title of queen to a mortal girl such as yourself,” He stated, my eyes fixed on him in a curious manner as we continued to walk. “And you obviously have no desire to claim the role, either, do you?”

I opened and closed my mouth multiple times, failing to bring forth any syllables at all. He briefly glanced down at me, dimples once again showing themselves as he smiled.

“Come, Lady Olivia. It’s been written on your face ever since back in the stables when I informed you of your purpose here,” He chided. “Would you be open to taking the scenic route to the court?”

With a turn towards the heavy wooden doors that led into the maze-like garden, it seemed as though I had no option in the matter. But what was all of this about escaping? Why was he jumping subjects like a madman? Wasn’t he a damn stable boy?

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow it down there, buddy,” I pulled back, my head spinning with more questions by the second, the rush of daylight from the opened doors caused me instinctively shield my eyes. It looked brighter out there now than it had minutes before in the ballroom.

“We are currently on a rather tight schedule, Lady Olivia, dawdling isn’t very time efficient at the moment.”

“My head isn’t going to roll, we both know that,” I frowned, my eyes adjusting to the light flooding in from the open door. “Of course I can’t really say the same for you. But I’m not moving, not at least until you tell me who you are and just what exactly is going on.”

I could smell the faint scent of rain lingering from the previous night’s storm drift in as he shift, pressing his back weight against the door while crossing his arms before him, for a brief second orange flashed in his vibrant irises. Perhaps I was trying his patience.

“I’m just doing what needs to be done, milady,” He motioned to the outside world. “Now if you will graciously continue walking, it would be much appreciated.”

“Your name?”

“Names are dangerous things in this world, Olivia, or do you not recall hearing that?”

Stalemate. My eyes were set on the bright gardens just beyond the stone floor in front of me. Yes, I certainly remembered. Names of ancient beings long since gone had been known to pulse with life once again with a mere whisper. The havoc and chaos those beings brought upon being revived was unimaginable. He had fed me many tales of such situations. There were books in a forbidden section of the castle library supposedly riddled with many an outlawed names, they were considered blasphemy when spoken; the punishment being immediate death. There were also those who carried names the equivalent of curses, which harmed those who naively or foolishly uttered them. This world was deadly on many more levels than I could ever fully comprehend.

I slipped past him in silence, my way of admitting defeat. I stepped over the threshold that divided the shadow provided by the castle and the daylight, the sun’s rays felt like warm hands on my shoulders. The click of the door behind me provided me the knowledge that I wasn’t alone, confirmed seconds later by the footsteps against the cobblestone ground and appearance of the currently blonde, boy-like creature at my side. The way this world made me give in and let go of any self control that had existed back on Earth was soul-shattering. In exchange the only thing I had received was a hollowness that came with a meaningless existence.

The balls of light danced quickly through the garden, sounds too high for my mortal ears to hear. They continually vanished into the deep green bushes and hedges around us. The two garden elves really had slacked off today. Normally their presence was never tolerated for this long, considering the havoc they could wreak on the castle’s prized garden.

“At the next opening in the hedges to your left, I want you to run and not look back, can you do that for me, Olivia?” The hushed voice at my side sent a jolt through my zombie-like body.

“What the—“

“If you want to escape, it’s then, or never. I won’t stop you.”

I glanced up; the gap in the tall hedges he was referring to was approaching rapidly. By this point freedom seemed like such a foreign concept, but my heart stirred longingly with its promise. I wanted to get out of this place, no, I had to get out of this place.

“Just tell me, why are you doing this for me?” I asked hastily, the turn getting closer by the second.

“No matter how special, the prince does not want a caged bird that’s lost its will for a wife, if setting it free is the only way to make it happy then so be it,” Strained words were followed by a rough shove as the clearing paralleled where we were. “Now go, this is the only chance you’re going to get.”

I managed to catch myself against the tall hedge of the garden, small twigs pressing bitingly into my forearms; scratching them as I precariously turned back to face this boy for presumably the last time. The excitement from freedom being on the tip of my tongue nearly overshadowed all other feelings, except a small trace of confusion still lingered along with a hint of sadness. This was the one person I had been able to rely upon in the castle, which I still was able to rely upon. And he now stood before me knowingly putting his life on the line to allow me the only thing I desired.

I breathed, a knot forming in my throat, “Thank you.”

With a turn I secured my fingers in the thick fabrics of the dress, prepared to bolt as quickly as I possibly could. I hesitated, wanting to glance back once more but shook it off; this was my only chance. The patter of my footsteps on the tan stone and the pounding of my heart in my ears were the only sound as I raced down the aisle, until I took my first turn, down the next lane that zigged back towards the castle in the maze of the garden, its sharp towers, and overly elaborate designs still strikingly beautiful.

“If you dare remember me, Olivia, let this name of mine linger in your thoughts, do not hate me for it, though. That is all I ask, my dear lady,” His voice fading, the next word he spoke struck me like a train, my legs managed to continue moving against the dumbfounded, stalled condition of my brain.

What carried up to me from behind was not an accursed name, nor one that delved into some dark magic that at one time had grasped the land. This was not a name feared, nor banned to pass through the lips of those here. It was a name I had heard countless times throughout the castle, more revered that feared from my understanding.

Riyole.

The name echoed continuously through my head as the path through the garden continued; I barely noticed the one sprite keeping pace with me, glistening fantastically in the sun’s light, or the lessening density of the shrubbery as I neared the now open back gate of the garden.

Riyole, the name etched deeply in my thoughts. The creature that had taken human guise in my presence was no stable boy, or soldier. The knot growing in my throat was due to him, I realized, its contents relief, frustration, and a strange aching sensation I tried not to dwell on. Once through the garden gates, and into the deep forest beyond there was one thing I could not allow myself to dwell on anymore. Crossing that threshold, through those garden gates, I'd leave these thoughts behind for good. I swore to myself that was the first and last time I would ever allow myself to think about it:

Prince Riyole had kindly and sacrificially released the girl who could have assured and cemented his ruling as king. But would he have let her go, knowing that girl would have done anything for that beloved stable boy?