As Corabelle headed back to her room to look over her chore list, she wondered now long he’d be gone. She was used to being alone; Even when he was here she hardly saw him. She hadn’t thought there was anything different between living in the maze and the long stretches of times the Faedemon disappeared into his lab, but now that he was actually gone everything was so quiet.

  There were usually echoes, rumbles, footsteps from the floor above her, but now it was all silent.The other sound was the soft echo of her feet on the floors.

  Out in the maze there was the constant crackle of the Fireroses, thunder in the distance, and the sounds of wildlife. But this was the first time she’d ever experienced true silence that she could remember. Even as a child there were the sounds of shuffling farm animals and insects humming in the trees.

  A wave of loneliness washed over her, deeper than even her years in the maze. In the silence it felt like she was the last being alive. She quickly detoured into the beast room, tense nerves relaxing as the sounds of nature reached her. She didn’t know if she had any chores left to complete here, but she didn’t know if she could deal with the silence the whole day.

  She wandered around the beast room for around an hour before finally working up the will to get back to work. She went back to her room, humming to try to break the silence, but that only furthered the feeling of solitude.

  She skimmed the note not really taking in any of the words written, but she eventually found focus on a task that sent her back to the beast room.

  Collect the dropped feathers from the Dawn Sparrows. I will require at least three dozen.

  Below this task was an expertly drawn color picture of a variety of pink and gold feathers. She wasn’t sure why it surprised her that he was a talented artist, he’d been around so long and she’d seen firsthand his skill with the sigil lines. It stood to reason the two skills would overlap.

  She headed to the garden to grab a basket before heading back to the solace of sound in the beast room. She was not upset when tracking down these birds took hours, followed by the even longer task of climbing the impossibly tall tree with slick bark to reach the nests. She worked until her basket was filled. The note had said ‘at least’ three dozen. Of course she knew that was merely an excuse to remain in this room longer.

  By her estimates, it was the middle of the night by the time she was done, but she was unsure of the reliability of the day-night cycle of the Beast room, so it was possible it was later.

  In the main atrium, on the way to drop off the feathers outside of the laboratory doors, she could see that in actuality it was not long until dawn. She’d been up for almost twenty four hours, but the anxiety of the silence was keeping her from feeling the effects. She knew she needed sleep but she didn’t know if she’d be able to, so she took her time taking the stairs up to the lab.

  Her footsteps echoed eerily on the stone stairs on the way up. The few times in the past she’d climbed these stairs, she’d been greeted by Zaramir’s voice. Without that distraction, she became acutely aware of how enclosed the staircase really was; It seemed to narrow as she ascended.

  It was a minor relief as it opened out onto the landing, but it was still very overwhelming without any windows. She set the basket down and hurried back down the stairs. Her brain told her there was nothing to worry about but at the same time it told her that nothing was what she had to worry about. She suddenly understood why her grandmother had always been scared of silent woods.

  Back in the main atrium, darkness still hung over the maze. The sound of the burning flowers couldn’t reach her here, but she wished they could. Until that moment, she never thought she’d want to hear the sounds of the maze again.

  A headache was forming behind her eyes, she was tired even if her nerves kept her alert. She knew she needed to sleep. She reluctantly headed back to her room. The only room outside of the beastroom with a bit of sound. The never ending water of the bathtub, at least provided a small break in the silence, but not enough to quell her unease.

  She changed into her nightgown and curled up under the covers, pulling them over her head. The blankets silenced the running weather, but at least she felt secure. The prickling fear of the all encompassing silence, mellowed by the weight of the blanket.

  She hardly slept. Nearly a full day without sleep allowed her to nod off every now and then but she didn’t sleep long. Her body lurched her awake, time and time again. The headache only grew without each awakening, at one point she could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears, which didn’t help the all consuming tension.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Her attempt at sleep only left her feeling worse. Her heart pounded against her sternum so hard it hurt. Her stomach turned to stone. The headache intensified to a sharp stab into each of her optic nerves. Her jaw ached from clenching it so tight. Her whole body was covered in sweat but she couldn’t bring herself to come out of her blanket den. She was left paralyzed in the quiet darkness.

  An indeterminable amount of time later a startling sound startled her so hard she nearly fell out of bed. It took her a moment to realize it was a knock at the door.

  She scrambled out of bed and across the room, quickly opening the door. She could have hugged the Faedemon for how relieved she was to have sound, any sound, back in the house, but she held herself back, instead wrapping her arms around her own body.

  “You found the Elemental?” Her voice cracked unexpectedly.

  “I didn’t.” He said carefully, seemingly trying to sort out why her voice was strange.

  Her chest clenched, “So you’ll be leaving again… for… much longer?”

  His words were slow, “Yes. I was just returning to gather more supplies and to let you know I wouldn’t return for a while,” He looked her up and down, clearly wishing she was wearing an outfit that would portray her emotion. “You seem… uncomfortable. Are you alright?”

  She squeezed herself tighter, trying to soothe her nerves, “I’ll be fine.” She nodded quickly.

  “If you’re ill, I can easily take care of that before I leave.” He offered.

  “No, I’m not sick. I’ll be fine.” She answered wishing her pounding heart would quit slamming her sternum before it cracked.

  He stared at her for a long moment, “I would like to believe you’re telling me the truth but I can tell something is different about you. You don’t seem to be feeling like yourself. Were you bitten by a snake or an arachnid in my beast room? I have the antivenoms in my lab. If you can recall what it looked like, it would save a bit of time.” His voice quickened. “Or was there another infestation like the Needleroot in the greenhouse? Did something seem different there? Because you may not know the infestation of flora from my collection of plants from the Faerealm. Tell me quickly. Time is of the essence if it’s Faerealm flora infestation. Toxins from that would kill a human much faster than I would like to say.”

  “It’s nothing. It’s nothing like that.” She assured, hurriedly. “I’ll be fine really. It’s truly nothing you need to be concerned about.”

  His jaw set as he released a slow breath. There was indecision in his eyes. His breath held and his expression suddenly changed. His shoulders fell, guilt flickered behind his eyes. He set a hand on her shoulder.

  Her body tensed involuntarily, shying away.

  He pulled his hand away quickly, and there was a short moment of silence before he asked, “Would you like to accompany me on this journey?”

  He had been so adamant about her not leaving. She was beginning to wonder what changed when she realized; that guilt she saw was due to an intrusion, “I thought you said you weren’t going to read my mind again.”

  He let out a breath, “It seemed important I know the truth and I was correct, it was,” He said shortly. “So, I ask again, would you rather stay here alone and work this out on your own, or come with me on this journey?”

  The pounding in her chest was finally beginning to ease, “You know there’s nothing I want more than to get out of this maze.”

  He gave a short nod, “Well, then, here are some travel clothes,” With a wave of his hand a simple traveling dress and jacket appeared at the foot of her bed and a pair of black boots sat on the floor. Unlike the fabric of her previous outfits that had changed with her mood, this one was a pleasant scarlet material, “Get changed and I’ll prepare another ritual that will work for us both. We’ll head out within the hour.”

  His tone felt final, but he didn’t leave, instead he hovered awkwardly in the door for a moment before straightening his posture slightly, “I shouldn’t have read your mind, I apologize. Next time I will take you at your word.” Then he vanished before she had a chance to reply.

  Above her she could hear his movement in his lab. That familiar sound quelled the last of her nerves, finally allowing her tense muscles to relax.

  He crossed to the bed, laying a hand out on the travel outfit. It was soft material, perhaps giant rabbit wool. It would keep her very warm if the travel conditions were less than favorable. The dying and weaving of this material was expert, much nicer than her family could have afforded, but the color was nowhere near the most expensive. She expected it was so that they might blend in. Zaramir’s own outfit had changed to a casual white tunic and brown leather travel jacket and pants from his usual flamboyant red and purple.

  She pulled off her nightgown slipping into the dress that hung down loosely to her mid calf, where the tops of the boots would meet it. It was heavier than her work attire and quite cozy. Once the jacket was on, it would be too warm to wear inside. She tied the attached ribbon tightly around her waist.

  She slipped on the boots, almost forgetting how to lace them after all this time. She shouldn’t have been surprised that they fit perfectly. Having shoes on after this long felt odd, especially the slight heel making her feel wobbly for a moment as she stood. She hadn’t worn shoes in so long she’d forgotten how uncomfortable they were.

  As she put the shoes on it finally registered in her brain what was really happening. She was leaving this maze. She was going out where there were humans. She was finally going back.