When Meryl turned from the mirror, Isla already gone. She really wanted to ask what syrup it was, since she had a lot on her mind last night, she didn't bother to check for the name or anything else that she was given.
Meryl made her way out of the room down the hall to the kitchen. She needed to get out of the room.
Rangard was not by the door so she thought he might be getting her new her the new clothes she requested for.
She now wore a purple silk gown with laced long sleeves that reached her elbow- the dress flowed to the ground swept the ground as she walked.
She felt practically strange as she walked down the hall again. She didn't know why she felt that way, seeing as she had made quiet a few trips on this path.
She took the stairs down just like Isla had told her to but the other time but she ended up coming face to face with the front door of the palace.
She looked around suspiciously to check if anyone was around watching her but there was no one. So she walked down the last set of stairs and stepped out of the opened grand door, momentarily forgetting how urgently she needed to speak with Isla.
The cold winter wind hit her hard as soon as she stepped out into the utterly stunning garden. She was left in awe by the beauty of the place. Unlike the rest of the castle, this one felt safe.
The cold wind began to seep into her skin that she began to shiver. She didn't understand why it was so cold considering it was mid October and they were supposed to be enjoying the autumn warmth before winter comes crushing in with it's glazing cold embrace.
But it seems it was different around here. Time seemed to be out of sync around here.
Meryl folded her arms in front of her as she walked around the enormous garden. It seems everything around here had to be enormous and objectively unique.
The garden was unlike anything she'd seen before. The well trimmed tree looking hedges that was scattered all around the wide space to protect the fragile flowers and plants that grew within its borders was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.
It felt like she'd been transported to a different place. It felt so serene, it brought comfort to her tensed posture and she allowed herself to relax for the first time in hours.
Meryl closed her eyes and breathed in the magical scent of the place and it made her feel so calm, she felt like she could face the world on her own.
She slowly felt a heavy weight being lifted of her shoulders.
But it didn't last for long, because she was distracted by a smooth rustling of leaves from behind her as she opened her eyes to search the place to see what it was. But surprisingly, there was nothing or nobody there like she'd anticipated when she turned around to look.
A nudging feeling that she was being watched began to form on her mind. So much for relaxation she sighed.
With a frown registered on her face, she turned back around noticing for the first time since she stepped into the garden the water spring directly across the garden, a couple of steps ahead of where she currently stood.
She covered the small distance that led to the water spring and settled down on the bank and started to feel the cold water with her fingers, getting lost in the sensation when her hand came into contact with the water.
She'd been so stressed lately she had forgotten how it felt like to feel relaxed and enjoy the simple things around her.
Meryl's desperation began to show as soon as she relaxed. Crawling slowly in anguish from within the clutches of her stomach to her troubled mind, threatening to take over her emotions.
But she shook her head to get a grip of herself, she had done enough crying for a day already. She was not the person to cry in the face of her problems or scornful situations no matter how hard it hurt. That was one of the life lessons, like her mother liked to put it, that she drilled into her so deep, ever since she was old enough to understand.
Marianne believed tears solved nothing, actions did. She wasn't high on the cry it out and let go method. She was a fan of curbing bad situations into better ones with the boost of her anger and hurt in the heat of the moment. And Meryl admired her for that, it was the one thing she wished she inherited from Marianne. She was the strongest woman she had ever known.
Meryl brought her palms to cover her face when she got overwhelmed by her emotions. But it seems she can never get used to this situation she was in, not at the moment at least. Not until she found her bearings at least.
She remained like that until she was able to get a hold of her emotions that were all over the place. Until she was calm enough to stand on her feet without wobbling back to the ground. She stood up from where she sat after a long while. The rustling sounds she heard moments ago came back again, but this time around. She heard the rustling sounds again, this time around it was near the hedges that was a few inches away from her. Her suspicion that someone or something was watching her hit rock button as the scrubs of the hedges a few centimeters from where she stood made wriggling movements that caught her attention.
She waited for any signs of movement again but after a while and nothing came, she made her to the hedge, mindful of her steps all the while looking around her environment to detect any invader. Or who knew, maybe she was the one invading.?
Her heartbeat sped up as she approached where the noise and movements came from not too long ago aware that if there was danger behind that hedge, she'd be done for. Her inner voice screaming at her to abort mission but she was already there.
She went round the hedge in hopes of finding God knows what. But to her surprise, there was nothing there. She walked further around the hedges, shrieking in fright when she stepped on a dry tree branch that made a snapping sound.
Her tensed expression eased off-she didn't realize how much tension her whole body was subjected to until she confirmed that she was not being followed. She'd hate to think that this place was not save for her, like the rest of this haunted castle.