Chapter 77 – Echoes in the Verdant Labyrinth

Princess Thyra’s declaration hung in the air, her tone dripping with unrelenting fury. With a fluid motion, she unsheathed a massive folded sensu fan from her side. Its surface shimmered, a deep crimson made entirely of tightly woven rose petals edged with sharp, thorn-like ridges. With an elegant flick, the fan snapped open, revealing its deadly beauty.

Before Selena could react, Princess Thyra dashed toward her in a burst of speed, her fan slicing through the air. Selena raised her spear just in time to block the first strike, the clash of their weapons ringing out like a metallic echo. Princess Thyra continued to attack, which came fast and relentless, her movements fluid and almost dance-like as she swung the fan left and right, revealing her true intentions with each strike. Selena parried desperately and moved back on each blow, unable to be offensive. The force of each blow reverberated through her arms.

Being on the defensive, all Selena was able to do was parry around Princess Thyra’s relentless strikes. Then, with a graceful spin, Princess Thyra used her fan to create a flurry of rose petals, obscuring Selena’s vision. Seizing the moment, Princess Thyra delivered a swift, powerful kick to Selena’s midsection, sending her flying backwards into the maze. Selena’s body slammed into the hedge maze and fell on the ground, the dense grass absorbing some of the impact but leaving her winded and disoriented.

As Selena staggered to her feet, the earth beneath her palms felt wrong—too soft, too cold. Coughing and clutching to her abdomen, she saw the path she had been thrown now vanished, sealing her in the grass labyrinth, and her surroundings began to groan, shifting and twisting unnaturally.

The air thickened, carrying the sharp, metallic tang of blood mixed with the sickly-sweet perfume of roses. She spun around, spear at the ready, but the sound of rustling grass behind her made her freeze. The faint rustling of the hedges grew louder, like whispers carried on the wind. And then she heard Princess Thyra’s voice—soft, eerie, and echoing as if it came from all directions at once.

“Run…” The words echoed in layers, as if the maze itself were speaking.

Selena spun around, her heart pounding in her chest. “Show yourself!” she shouted, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and defiance.

Selena bolted down a narrow corridor, her footsteps pounding against the earth, but the whispers followed her. Every few steps, a gust of air carried a faint scent of roses—sweet, cloying, and nauseating. The walls of the maze seemed to pulse, their green walls closing in tighter, brushing against her shoulders, cold and wet like clammy fingers, narrowing her path as she ran through them. A sudden rustle made her stop, her heart pounding, as she looked front and back on the long corridor with heavy breaths, but nothing was there—only the suffocating green of the maze.

From nowhere, a single rose petal drifted down through the hedge, and Selena noticed it, but before she could react, a flurry of petals exploded through the grass walls, slicing through the air and heading towards Selena. Selena dodged instinctively but doing a back flip, but several petals grazed her, leaving shallow cuts on her shoulder, arms, and thighs. Another petal grazed her arm, the cut was shallow and burning. Blood seeped through her clothes as she gritted her teeth, clutching her spear tighter.

Princess Thyra’s laughter echoed, high and lilting, reverberating from all directions. “Can you feel it? My garden hungers for you.”

Selena’s instincts screamed at her to move, and she did—running blindly through the twisting pathways of the maze, clutching her wounded arm. Every few steps, more petals flew out of the hedges, cutting through the air. Some she deflected with her spear, and some she evaded with a twist of her body, arching midair flip, while others nicked her skin, each cut a reminder of the danger she was in. The scent of roses grew overpowering, almost suffocating, as if the maze itself was trying to ensnare her.

As Selena rounded a corner, a shadow shifted in the corner of her vision. It was Princess Thyra Gardner, and she nearly collided with them. The gardners raised their hands in the air with an overflowing kimono like they were trying to grab her, and their movements were eerily slow and deliberate.

“Stay back!” she shouted, her voice trembling.

Selena shouted and jabbed her spear forward as a defence. The figures didn’t respond, its head tilting unnaturally to one side as it staggered closer. Selena lunged, her spear piercing its chest, but instead of blood, a thick, amber sap oozed from the wound. The creature convulsed, its body crumbling into a pile of vines and petals. Selena stepped back in horror and her heart racing as the pieces dissolved into the earth, absorbed by the maze itself.

Before she could catch her breath, more gardeners emerged, shambling toward her from the shifting walls. Selena backed away, swinging her spear in wide arcs, slicing through the creatures one by one, and they kept on coming. The one gardener appeared out of nowhere behind Selena’s back and grabbed her by her arms and raised her in the air alongside the hedge wall. Selena struggled a bit, then the gardener who grabbed her turned into vines that twisted her body. Before it was getting worse, Selena spun her spear that cut off the vines and dropped her to her knees, and once she landed, she saw more gardeners were approaching near her. She started running on the other side.

Princess Thyra’s voice returned, a chilling whisper in her ear. “Run all you like. But there is no escape.”

Suddenly, a flurry of rose petals burst from the maze, slicing through the air. Selena slid down the ground, dodging them, but a few found their mark, leaving stinging cuts on her hands and cheek. Selena was tired and leaned against the wall, her chest heaving, when a faint rustling made her freeze.

A single, delicate rose bloomed from the wall in front of her, its petals vibrant and full. Selena stared at it, her exhaustion momentarily forgotten. Then, the rose petals curl inward and let out a piercing scream.

Selena took a step back and closed her ears, and fell to her knees. Her frustration boiled over as she turned to see Princess Thyra, her fan folded on her hand and resting against her shoulder. The princess’s gaze was calm yet unnervingly intense. Without a word, Princess Thyra lunged with a sudden burst of speed, swinging her folded fan like a club. Selena raised her spear to block, but the impact was fierce, pushing Selena back on her knees, dragging against the mud. She retaliated with a swift thrust of her spear, but Princess Thyra was already gone by melting into the hedges.

“Damn it!” Selena gritted her teeth. The cuts on her arms and legs throbbed with pain, but the sting of Princess Thyra’s taunts was worse. The cycle repeated itself—random attacks, eerie whispers, and the constant presence of the Princess just out of reach. The princess was toying with her, like a predator enjoying the chase.

Selena’s breath came in ragged gasps as she leaned against the maze wall, her strength waning. Cuts littered her body, her clothes torn and bloodied. She was fed up—fed up with the taunts, the tricks, and the endless running. The maze seemed endless, its paths twisting and turning, always leading her back to where she started.

Princess Thyra’s voice came again, this time mocking. “Run, run, little runt. Run to your colleagues. Perhaps they can save you…”

Those words struck a nerve, but also Selena’s mind flashed to Shawn and Makara, and she wondered, ‘Where are they?’ This is the first time she has thought about Shawn and Makara since she chased Princess Thyra up the stairs. Her mind raced with many thoughts: ‘Did they follow me and get lost in the maze, or are they in trouble?’

Then she had a thought, they had always saved her when she was in trouble; Makara saved her when she was about to be swarmed by huge birds and during Prince Enthril’s trail, when she thought she would take care of it, but ended up saved by Shawn. This time, she is alone, running, scared and from the princess’s taunts, she thought about them.

She stood up, Selena wiped the blood from her face with the back of her hand and tightened her grip on her spear. “I’m done running,” she said, her voice steady despite her exhaustion. She raised her head, her blue eyes blazing with determination. “I am Princess Selena of Atlantis, daughter of King Atlann. Now face me like the princess you claim to be!”

As if in response to her defiance, the air stood still, and the rustling of the grass maze stopped, and then the maze walls began to shift again. The path before her opened, the dense foliage moving aside to reveal a long, straight long and wide corridor. At the end of it stood Princess Thyra, her fan in hand, her green eyes gleaming with a mix of admiration and malice.

Princess Thyra tilted her head, a faint smirk playing on her lips. “Princess of Atlantis, uh!” She snapped her fan shut with a sharp click. “Very well, let’s end this.”