* * *
Rushing through the maze without the help of a fairy guide to show her the way, Jane followed the hedge walls, remembering every turn as if she had done it a hundred times before. Saah'Mee serenaded through her heart as Jane hummed the tune, and she hurried to meet her friend again. She somehow stumbled into helping the Beast, the princely boy, now she needed to convince the giant rose, the girl sorceress, to allow her to try and break her hex also. She had no idea where to start with a plant enchantment. The Beast's curse could be connected with a kiss or maybe a rose. Jane considered maybe the giant rose was somehow linked to the Beast, and maybe their curses had something in common. She found the hidden garden where the giant rose resided, and her thoughts went to the item she carried thoughtfully in her backpack.
"Erosa... Erosa... I've come back like I promised, and I brought you something!"
"You do not need to yell, I can hear you," Erosa told her with a hint of welcome hidden under her irritated tone. She perceived Jane entered the maze the moment she crossed the boundary line where the gate stood, and a sense of joy filled her. Erosa wondered why she didn't perceive this peculiar female elf before when she entered the maze the first time. Could it be she had been so obsessed with her own death that she ignored her ability to rule and govern the Hedge Labyrinth?
The female elf rushed through the entrance into the garden with a big smile on her face, and it brightened the gloom and misery of the dead garden. Erosa's own heart smiled back; it had been so long since she felt like smiling, but she kept all of this to herself.
"What did you bring me?" Erosa inquired, trying not to sound too excited or very curious to see what it could be.
"I brought tea," Jane replied as she removed her backpack. She unzipped it and pulled out the glass jar filled with the brown liquid as she said, "It's black and it's unsweetened. I'm not sure if you even want it or not, but I thought if you would like to try to see if you can drink it, it might be something nice to have besides the rain water. You might even consider it a treat."
The thought of tea filled Erosa's mind with jubilant delight, but she wasn't about to let this female elf know just how much she was looking forward to tasting the brewed water again. Erosa decided she would toy with Jane a bit first and questioned, "How do you propose that I drink this murky water? Are you to pour it on the ground? You did call it a treat. Do you think me a pet? Do you expect me to lap it up from the ground like some dog?"
"I'm sorry," Jane replied as her demeanor saddened. She didn't think her gift through, she only thought her friend would enjoy it. She admitted, "I hadn't thought that far ahead. Do you want it? If you don't, I can take it back with me to the barn loft and have it later."
"I did not say that I did not want it," Erosa quickly replied, fearing she might lose her special treat. "I merely asked how you suggest that I partake of it and not look like some lowly animal doing so."
Jane asked her, "Are you able to grab things? You can drink right from the glass jar if you're able to grab hold of it. If that isn't possible, I'll try to think of something else."
"I believe I can grasp the jar," Erosa replied and couldn't help but toy with her again as she asked, "Now tell me how should I drink it. Will I simply pour it on my roots and cause myself to lap it up like a mongrel?"
"No, silly," Jane answered. "Use your mouth. You can, can't you?"
Her suggestion flustered Erosa, and she snapped, "You can see my face? You never said you could see my face!"
"What does it matter if I can see your face?" Jane questioned her.
"It matters because..." Erosa started and then she decided that she needed to keep that detail a secret, so she stated, "It matters because you know that I am more than a plant."
"I know who you are," Jane replied. "I have known the moment I saw your lovely face again."
Erosa wondered what she meant by again as she said, "I would thank you for the compliment, but my mother once told me, speak the truth always."
She thought now would be a good time to hint at who she was, so Jane said, "I told someone once, we should always speak the truth, but sometimes it shouldn't be uttered." Jane waited, hoping to see some sort of recognition within the giant rose's face or to hear her say something that would tell her that maybe the giant rose did recognize her. Neither came, and Jane felt a smidgen of defeat.
"I am not sure what you are trying to say to me, but I will up hold what my mother taught me," Erosa spoke. "Now let us return to the matter of my tea."
"Of course," Jane told her. "We were talking about you drinking the tea with your mouth, and since we are talking about always speaking the truth, I think now is also a good time to bring up what appears to me as if you're trying to pick a fight with me. Here I thought we were starting to become good friends, but you seem to want to only argue."
"You caught on to my game very quickly," Erosa said. "I guess I will have to find another to play."
"After we have tea," Jane insisted.
"Are you going to partake tea with me?" Erosa questioned, noticing she was a little excited at the notion herself.
"I forgot to bring myself a cup," Jane said as she turned to the exit. "I could run back and ask for one, but I believe the servants or the Beast might ask too many questions, and I haven't exactly told them I've been in here."
"You are lying to the Beast?"
"No, not really. I just didn't tell him, which I guess means I'm sort of lying to him. Now I feel terrible. I should tell him I've been in here and that I've met you."
Erosa told her, "If you do that, he will become upset."
"I guess I'll have to figure out a way to tell him so he won't be upset, and I just thought of something. I'll be right back." Jane rushed out and shortly returned with her bike's water bottle. "I can put a little tea in here and sit down and have tea with you or stand if you're not able to sit."
"Why would I want to have tea with you?" Erosa questioned her.
"Because any food or beverages are better with friends sharing, and I thought you decided to play a different game with me than the one where you try to pick a fight."
"I did say I would figure out a different game, but I have to say, you do throw out that word friends a lot. I know that I never said we were friends."
"You're right. I consider you a friend, but friendship only works when both people have the same feelings," Jane said with a bit of glumness to her tone, but it was soon replaced with optimism as she spoke, "I'll restate my answer then. Food or beverages are better when you share it with friends or people you just met."
"I can accept that we are acquaintances," Erosa told her. "Now please serve me my tea."
Jane poured a little into her empty water bottle, then went over, and set the glass jar close enough for Erosa to grab it, and yet she didn't get too close. Jane stepped back when she was done, and Erosa picked up the jar with one of her thorny vines. It was almost like the vine was a single finger wrapped around the glass. Erosa lifted the jar to her mouth within the red petals and took of the brown liquid, and it was as good as she remembered.
The two of them sipped on their tea as Jane remained standing. Erosa closed her eyes and remembered tea parties gone by, but the memories were bitter-sweet, so she didn't linger on them very long.
Jane waited till the giant rose finished half her jar and then she spoke, "I did want to tell you that I have a second job that might interest you."
"Why would such a thing interest me?" Erosa questioned her.
"I'm a Hex Breaker," Jane stated. "I might have my first client, but first I have to pass the Beast's test tonight."
"If it is tonight, it will be an interesting test then," Erosa told her.
"If you're ever in need of a Hex Breaker, I can offer you my services," Jane said.
"Ask me again once you have completed the Beast's test."
"Okay. I've actually already started on his case, so I was wondering if you mi
ght answer a few questions for me."
"I might," Erosa told her, and then she noticed the distance the female elf kept between the two of them. Somehow the female elf must know or subconsciously know how dangerous it was to be near her. It must be fear she sensed from her now. Erosa continued, "But first I have a question of my own. Why do you not come a little closer? Are you afraid that I will hurt you?"
"No, I was afraid of stepping on your feet or I mean your roots. I'm not sure how far out they go and how close to the ground they are. Is it okay for me to come closer?" Jane questioned.
What Erosa had seen earlier wasn't fear but concern. Erosa wasn't sure that she liked the concern this female elf seemed to have for her, and yet in a way it was also somewhat comforting.
"My roots are well in the ground, so it is fine for you to come closer," Erosa told her and then urged her, "Come stand before me while we talk."
"Thank you," Jane said. "I did feel a little awkward standing so far back." Jane moved forward and stood before the giant rose, and then Jane said, "The questions I have for you are concerning the Beast. I haven't been hired yet, but I'd like to go ahead and start the investigation. I know that his curse most likely concerns his appearance and that it might have something to do with something he did in his past, if it's anything like the other fairy tales." She paused and then continued, "I believe he has to be kissed by one who loves him and that maybe a rose is also involved. Since you are a rose, I was wondering if your curse has anything to do with his curse?"
The delight Erosa had over the tea evaporated as a sense of outrage rushed over her. She couldn't believe what she heard. The female elf spoke of a lot of nonsense and things that Erosa didn't understand, but the female elf had already figured out how to break the Beast's curse, and she had only been there a day. It infuriated Erosa to think that the Beast's curse may be lifted while she was stuck in this horrendous garden with only this irritating female elf as company. She wasn't about to let this would-be Hex Breaker take away the only gratification she had left in this world. The only satisfaction she had was in knowing that the Beast was equally cursed as she. Erosa may be a prisoner of the garden, but he was a prisoner of his own vanity. She would make sure the female elf wouldn't break his curse, and she needed to act quickly while the female elf was distracted by her investigation.
When Erosa was hexed, she wasn't completely helpless to the world around her. Her curse came with a few things she could defend herself with. Twelve thorny vines covered in green leaves, sprung out of her stem in curls, and she could move them about like tentacles. The thorns on the twelve tentacle vines were two inches long and could slice and pierce like daggers. A thirteenth vine she kept hidden wrapped around her large stem was thornless except for one large thorn at the vine's tip. The thorn was huge, a foot long but narrow, and it was very poisonous like a stinger of a deadly scorpion. The poison contained in the stinger thorn melted her victims from the inside out in a slow agonizing death. While the female elf talked to her, Erosa snaked the noxious vined down from her large stem and toward the ground, intending to eliminate the female elf and her ability to break the Beast's curse. Erosa thought the female elf would also provide fertilizer for herself and the lifeless garden.
"I cannot tell you if our curses are related," Erosa replied to her question.
"You're unable to tell me like in the case that the curse prevents you or you're unwilling to tell me?" Jane questioned.
"You will have to figure that out for yourself," Erosa told her as the huge stinger thorn reached the ground and started to slither toward the female elf like a viper on the hunt.
Jane realized she wouldn't get anywhere if she didn't convince the giant rose to help her. Jane thought about detective shows she'd watched, and decided she needed something to give her in return for her help, so she asked, "What's the price?"
"What do you mean?" Erosa inquired as the serpent vine gradually slithered through the dead grass toward the female elf's exposed legs. Erosa had the vine approach it slowly so that the stinger thorn wasn't detected and it could strike with no warning. Erosa questioned, "What is the price of what?"
"What must I give you in return for helping me?" Jane answered. "I could offer you my services for free in exchange for your help."
The stinger vine paused as Erosa thought of a world where she was rid of her curse. She would be whole again and free to do as she willed. She could walk... no run about on her legs and have use of her arms and hands. Her dark black hair would flow down her shoulders, and she could eat. She could consume all the delightful foods and drinks she enjoyed and most of all, she could have someone embrace her again in his loving arms. Erosa fell deep into her wishful thinking, but then she realized the female elf trapped her and used her own desires against her as if she weaved some sort of spell. Erosa couldn't let the claims of this female elf sway her from her murderous intent, and so the serpent vine continued on its deadly trek.
"I decline your offer," Erosa told her.
"Oh..." Jane replied and then she said, "I guess if you don't want to help him, I can't make you." Jane thought about the way she had gone about questioning her friend, realized how it sounded, and then she said, "I'm sorry. I intended to offer my services for free anyway. I shouldn't have used the offer to pry information from you. Please forgive me."
The way the female elf spoke and her bizarre actions baffled Erosa. The apology seemed genuine and the offer to help her with her enchantment also seemed genuine, but Erosa had been fooled before by someone who confessed their love and their undying devotion for her. Sentiment couldn't be trusted, so anyone professing to care couldn't be trusted. The only things that could be relied upon were actions and words brought on by lust, greed, and the desire for power. Erosa saw none of those attributes in the female elf, so she had to be hiding something from her, something sinister or dangerous. She felt more certain of her decision to take the life of this pretender as the serpent vine edged closer. Erosa would be isolated again in her barren garden, but she could handle loneliness as long as the Beast suffered along side her in his castle.
"I did not take offense in your offer, so there is nothing to forgive," Erosa told her as the serpent vine reached its destination, and she prepared to strike. "I can understand wanting something for something," she said as the stinger thorn rose up behind the female elf like a deadly cobra and pulled its long and slender dagger-like head back.
Jane couldn't let herself off the hook that easily, and she stepped to the side away from Erosa and out of the stinger thorn's striking zone as she stated, "It was still wrong of me to do so. I would still like to offer my services as a Hex Breaker to you for free. You're like one of the first true friends that I ever made." She realized how it sounded, so she restated, "I mean to say you're like one of the first friends I've made since I arrived here."
"You consider us friends?" Erosa uttered as if repeating a joke.
"Yes, silly, but maybe in your eyes we're not there yet," Jane replied as she moved back over to Erosa.
"I do not care what you claim, I am unwilling to help the Beast," Erosa said, knowing the female elf would take back her offer to help once she knew that fact. "He does not deserve redemption and therefore, he does not deserve to be released from his curse."
Hearing the anger and the passion of one who had been betrayed in her voice, Jane knew there was so much more to the giant rose and the Beast than she could possibly understand. She took the opportunity to find out a little about her, so Jane stated, "You sound like you know him very well." She started her investigation into Erosa's enchantment without her consent and asked, "Is he the reason why you are in this garden?"
Erosa made a face as if she wanted to scream something at her, but her mouth within the red petals seemed to be prevented from opening and stopped her from uttering her vexation.
"Finding out the truth may be easier than I thought," Jane told her. "All I have to do is
pick my questions carefully, have someone who's willing to speak with me about the subject, and then all I have to do is pay attention." She clapped twice in victory and then Jane spoke, "I'm right about the Beast somehow being connected to your curse, but what is your connection to him?" She thought about her recurring dream and said, "I think I know your connection to him, but why would you be transformed into a beautiful rose, and why would he be transformed into a gorgeous and handsome beast?"
The stinger thorn lowered itself back to the ground before it was spotted, and the serpent vine started to snake its way up behind the female elf's new position as Erosa listened to her ramblings. She was surprised to hear the female elf call her beautiful and the princely oaf, gorgeous and handsome. Was the female elf cursed with rose-colored perception? No matter the answer... The toxin her stinger thorn would inflict upon the foolhardy female elf would melt away any desires she had of helping anyone. Erosa may even hear her swear at her and finally hear how this peculiar creature really considered her.
Jane put a hand to her chin as she thought out loud, "So much must have happened over the years, and I'll need to find out what did happen or I won't be able to help either of you." She turned to the giant rose and asked, "Can you give me some background on yourself?" Jane thought of her recurring dream again and asked a question she believed she already knew the answer to, "Did you work for the Beast at one time? Did you worked for him as some sort of magic wielder?"
"How do you know I worked for the Beast and that I am one who can cast magic?" Erosa questioned and then she demanded as the serpent vine paused in its hunt, "Whom have you been talking to?"
Jane spoke of herself as she said, "The person who told me about you knew you only for a short time, and it was a very long time ago. My connection actually knows very little about you and the Beast, so what they know is of little help."
"Your answer is not an answer," Erosa stated.
"Sorry about that. I wish I could tell you more, but I can't right now," Jane said as she sighed, getting no where in her investigation and feeling a little guilty not being completely honest. "If you won't help me with the Beast, could you maybe help me? Can you tell me about the test the Beast wants me to complete? If I understand it, I might understand..."
The serpent vine reached its destination behind Jane again, and it rose up behind her again like a cobra ready to strike. The poison that the stinger thorns secreted dripped from its tip, landed on the ground in little droplets, and melted patches of the dirt. Erosa aimed for the back of her neck and decided on the spot to strike; it was just below her ponytail near the base of her skull. She prepared to strike, thinking about how much agony the female elf would go through before death, then a split-second before Erosa struck, a puff of smoke consumed the female elf. A duckling emerged once the smoke dissipated, and it flapped its tiny wings and squawk as if startled by a vicious dog. The duckling started to look all around for danger, and Erosa dropped the serpent vine back into the dead grass before it was spotted. The duckling continued to search for danger, but didn't see any. The duckling calmed down a bit, and the stinger thorn rose up slightly in her blind spot and prepared to strike again. The duckling was so tiny, Erosa had difficulty targeting her. A small puff of smoke consumed the little duckling and then the smoke exploded out till it was the size of a person, and once it dissipated, the female elf stood there stunned.
"It happened again," Jane uttered. "I'm still not quite sure what triggers it." Her face flushed red, realizing the giant rose saw her change and she stated, "Sorry about that. I seem to be turned into a...." She didn't utter duck, knowing her hex would prevent her from talking about it. "Sorry again. I forget I can't explain my curse. It looks like I need to hire myself."
Erosa let out a loud laugh as she spoke, "You who is cursed is trying to free others of what afflicts them!"
"Maybe," Jane replied after the ridicule. "But who better than one who knows what it feels like to be cursed."
"Fair enough," Erosa stated as she stopped laughing and then she asked, "Where were we?"
Erosa needed to keep the female elf talking while she thought about the events that led up to the female elf escaping her murder attempt. The enchantment seemed simple enough, and Erosa had hexed a few with this particular curse. The female elf must turn into a duckling whenever the enchantment senses danger or maybe just the intent of harm. Erosa thought she would test this theory by trying to kill Jane a second time, but she needed to do so without such murderous intentions. She slithered her serpent vine towards the female elf again as they continued their conversation.
"We were talking about many things," Jane answered. "We were talking about the Beast's curse and about me helping you with your own curse."
"Yes, we were," Erosa stated.
The serpent vine rose up behind the female elf just as it did the two times before. Erosa carefully moved the stinger thorn towards the base of her skull, and she was within striking distance again, but then she paused. Erosa knew she wouldn't be successful; she couldn't eliminate her deadly intentions from her mind. If the female elf turned into a duckling again, she may realize what Erosa was up to and never return to the maze. Erosa would lose her chance to destroy the one who might free the Beast, and she would be alone again. Erosa's last thought shocked her. The thought was the opposite of her wishes. It the female elf discovered what she was up to or Erosa was successful, either way, she would end up alone. She also realized she had come to enjoy the time she spent with the foolhardy female elf, and if Erosa was to be honest with herself, she actually hoped she would return after their first encounter. The dead garden was a miserable prison. Erosa decided she couldn't go through with her murder plot till she could eliminate the murderous thoughts from her mind.
"I have given you my answer as to helping the Beast, but as for my own predicament, if you can pass his test tonight, come and speak with me again. I will tell you at that time if I wish for your services as a Hex Breaker. More likely than not, you will fail the test."
"Way to boost my confidence," Jane told her.
"We are acquaintances," Erosa said. "I only spoke the truth to you."
"I do hope to upgrade our relationship to pals soon," Jane replied and then she said, "I'm off to AaBack. I need to check in with my boss and get a little rest before tonight. I have a feeling I'll need it."