CHAPTER 35: The Black Garden

The harsh wind blew Aella's golden locks over her face and she used her hands to keep them bay.

A small smile was placed on her lips as she was able to see the premises much better now that she was out fully.

The tall gates which surrounded the Castle were larger than she had thought and a small cemented trail led to the black-painted gates.

The ground was covered with pure, white snow which made the scene look like it was taken straight out of a fantasy novel.

The sky was clear and no clouds were seen while the air was a bit frosty but not what she couldn't endure.

"It's all covered with snow!" She let out as she ran down the route with happy feet.

"This is much more pleasing than I thought," she had a huge smile on her face as she turned back to Bane who was standing like a statue by the Castle.

"You haven't seen snow prior to now?" He had a bored look as he crossed his arms on his chest.

She could see he was showing how much he despised being out but she didn't let his sour mood rub on her.

"Not really, where I come from, snow hardly falls unless it is extremely cold," she muttered as she twirled with a wide grin.

She didn't know why she was so excited but the scent of fresh air was seeping into her bones and she couldn't just stay still.

Aella was supposed to be analysing her surroundings and making notes of areas she could use to escape this place but she just wanted to revel at the moment for a while.

It has been so long since she smiled like this.

"Can we head to the garden?" She pleaded to the lad leaning by the infrastructure behind them.

"And how do you know there is a garden?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, don't fool me, a Castle this big would always have one. It is almost abominable not to," she huffed.

"The garden isn't…of use," Bane mentioned as he looked away.

Aella frowned, not understanding what he meant by not of use. Had all the flowers died due to the snow or did his Master not order him to take care of it?

"What do you mean by that?" She asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Can we just head inside now?" He let out with irritation laced in his tone.

"No. I demand to tour the garden as well," she stomped her feet on the ground.

She watched as Bane breathed out with what seemed like annoyance before he began to march around the building.

Aella bunched her skirt in her hand as she followed behind him giddily. She tried to walk as slowly as she could so she wouldn't end up slipping into another scene of humiliation.

She took the time to check out the Castle from the exterior. 

It was much larger than her home with about five stories from what she could see and two elongated towers on each side.

She deduced that one of them was the dark cell she found herself in when she first woke up here.

It was painted a dark shade of grey that it almost looked black if one didn't look properly, with the glass windows all shut with iron bars.

'So this was the infamous Cassa Dron in the legends and the myth,' Aella mused in her head.

It was almost surreal to see it up close and she wondered how it would be when she met the notorious demon who resided there.

She only hoped she wouldn't collapse as soon as she saw it.

Getting out of her thoughts, Aella looked up to see them reaching an enclosed portion of the area. The gates were low enough for her to see the plants that dwelled in it.

Her mouth was left hanging when she got a full view of the supposed garden of Cassa Dron.

It was all black. Dark, bleak, and pitch-black.

The plants were alive because they stood firm on their roots but they might as well be dead with the way they had no colour in them.

It was like something had sucked out all the liveliness in them and stripped them out of what they were supposed to be.

The garden was a spacious expanse with a lane by the centre as flowers bloomed on either side to lead a fountain in which the water had frozen in motion.

Aella turned her eyes around slightly with fright as she saw the black vines growing over the walls and on the benches by the standpoints.

It looked like an abandoned domain in which no man had stepped foot for hundreds of years.

She couldn't help but feel sad to see what was once an extraordinarily beautiful place but tilting her head to the side, it still looked captivating in its own way.

"What happened here?" She asked as she walked further in while Bane remained by the gates.

"Darkness. When darkness consumes, nothing can ever restore the lost glory," Bane muttered with a cloudy look on his face.

She had a feeling that this garden meant more to him than he was letting on. Amidst his lack of expression, she could feel he was hurt to see it like this.

"Light," she said.

"What?" He frowned and looked up.

"Light can and always will penetrate darkness. That I believe," she muttered as she swiped her eyes over the onyx petals.

"Horrendous, isn't it?" Bane scoffed darkly.

"The opposite, actually," Aella remarked as her fingers came in contact with a flower.

"Pardon?" He seemed shocked by her words.

Aella smiled slightly as she stroked the soft bud.

"It is lovely in its own twisted way. It is evident it has a story to tell and no matter how heart-wrenching it might be, I would love to listen to it someday," she turned back to see Bane staring at her with a blank face.

He never gave his emotions away. Never. She would pay a few golden coins just to know what was running through his head.

"Besides, who had ever been in an all-blank garden as this? I am privileged to be in the Garden of Obisidian," Aella curtsied before letting out a peal of laughter.

Her head tilted back as she laughed at her silliness with her twinkling blue eyes.

Bane simply stood with crossed arms, merely staring at her as though she were a marvellous painting on the wall.