Chapter 7: The Hadge maze

What followed were a few hours of normal school activities, as normal as they got for the children of the Academy that is. It is worth noting that The Royal Academy was not in fact the only place for children to learn. Just in Seabright City, there were dozens if not hundreds of other schools. What separates the Academy was that even for its normal students the curriculum was more intense, a lot more intense.

A six-year-old studying in the Academy was expected to be leagues above their peers. The standard was about four to five years of academic training. Meaning the first-year students of the Academy had to hold as much knowledge as regular students in at least their fifth year. That of the recruiters had to evaluate them as people with high potential in other areas.

After their lunch break, the students went outside where their teacher waited, and they all collectively went towards the maze. It was that time of day again, self-study, the second part of every day where students were allowed to choose how to manage their own time. The Academy was very strict with its expectations, but it also wanted its students to be raised according to their own individual needs.

It wanted to cultivate the young blood to be capable of choosing for itself, not just following the rules someone had laid out for them. Tradition and discipline were valued but not as much as progress, and to be sure the potential of the kids would not be wasted, the solution of the higher-ups was to give children a lot of time to work on what they liked.

This was not their free time however, every week they were evaluated on exactly what they did with this opportunity. Most of the first semester was used to beat the idea of slacking off out of their heads, as a lot of children used that time to play around rather than learn.

Today was no different, but as always they could do what they wanted at this time but not wherever they wanted. Some of the students when to the petting zoo. They liked a more hands-on experience with the animals. A few wanted to study botany in the garden. Most wanted to go to the Library. Each option had a cost or a test if you wanted to call it that.

For the Zoo the kids had to answer questions about the animals, and new questions about new animals every single day. That was the reason why the Library was so popular. Like it or not they had to go there periodically so that their reservoir of knowledge could be filled.

The students interested in botany, or the plant kids as their fellow students called them had a similar test. But since they were not taking care of the animals, but simply observing them, at least for now, they had an additional cost. They also had to learn the use of these plants. Some were used to give color to different paints, some in medicine, some in perfumes, and occasionally there were more… niche uses as well.

Finally, there was the Library, the cost for which was the weirdest of all; they had to get to it in thirty minutes. A simple task, except that they had to go through the hedge maze every time they chose this path. And the darn thing had the habit of changing each time, as weird as it sounded. The worst of all was the fact that it seemed tailored to each pathfinder. No matter the age, intelligence, memory, or physical prowess, they all finished at the same time.

Of course, there was always the possibility of failure. Those who failed had two more tries to complete their given assignment, the fourth try was their last. If they failed four times they were sent home for the day. Not a bad deal, if one was to consider that the ones, who did not meet the minimal requirements at the end of each year, were transferred to another school. And no one wanted to fall behind.

The Academy loved to inspire friendly competition, but it did not end there. Every level of the Library was divided into sections, and every section when up in difficulty, in regards to the subject a student needed to learn. All students started with full access, in regards to the level they were allowed to visit of course. Every time they failed, however, their access got limited.

And therein lays one of the difficulties for the Goons. Not only did they have to make it, but they also had to do it on their first try. A hard task, considering no more than ten percent of their whole Year made it on the first try every day. Not even exceptional kids, like Ciaran, Clara, and Rayon were guaranteed to succeed. The test was matched with their skills, it stimulated effort. It was meant to give an edge to those students who were not born as privileged as their peers but were willing to put in the effort.

'Nothing is ever easy is it?' asked himself Ciaran. 'Everyone has to fall in line; everything needs to fall in order. I hate their rules, I hate being caged, and I will have what is mine by the end of the day. I WILL find out your secrets you damn stacked pile of stones' He swore in his mind.

He did love knowledge, but contrary to what people thought, hated the Library. It had all the knowledge he would ever need, but others got to decide when, or IF he should learn it.

'I hope everything goes as planned. I don't need all of you to make it first try, or at all actually. But I do need you to follow the plan' He kept on with his internal monologue.

'I also hope today this sentient pile of rotten leaves will not be in a bad mood' he frowned.

Unlike most students, until Year three that is, he had already figured out the "magical" part of the maze. It was alive, and it was sassy, moody, and playful. It also liked playing favorites, and there was not a damn thing anyone, even the headmaster, could do about it.

'It loves chaos more than anything, and I am banking on that today' he thought.

The kid had a nasty habit of talking about his plans in the maze and had noticed that whenever a more destructive, or nasty plan was mentioned, or when he used colorful words to describe his teacher and the Academy, the test just so happened to ease up a lot. And the second time when he tried it, and was still none the wiser, he had used the same words to describe it. Needless to say, he got home early that day, with red marks on his ass left by vines.

"Well, this is unusual. All of you want to go to the Library today?" Mrs. Parker asked amused by the situation.

"Very well, I wish you all luck and I will wait for you at the end of the maze," she said as she entered it.

The next moment a straight path had opened for her right to the Library.

'It can do what it wants with us, but it's wise enough not to fuck with the staff it seems' Ciaran observed.

He was wrong on that part. The Maze didn't care who it was, it would mess with all who came to it, it was just in its nature. Once it messed with Elizabeth too. One tantrum and a sea of fire later and it no longer wanted anything to do with the Crimson Devil. Nothing other than using Ciaran to get her back for its burned flesh that is.

They went into the Maze one by one. At first, they could still sense each other, a minute later and they were all alone.

"Hello again today my friend," Ciaran said surprising the maze. "I know you love it when I fuck with the Library, and I know I have been a good boy lately. It was all for today." He said with a smile. He then explained his whole plan and asked.

"Can you please let all of us pass? I swear it will be worth it for you" he asked not expecting a response; nevertheless, he got one.

"Your friends can pass, but can you? A test for you, a game for me." He heard a voice. Not really a voice more like two sticks rubbing into each other, and somehow making words.

Ciaran was dumbstruck. 'It talks. It actually talks. Either this is my best opportunity or the rest are right and I really did lose it' he thought.

"Bring it!" He said, wanting to sound respectful, but failing due to the sheer amount of adrenalin coursing through his veins.

'Whatever it throws at me today it will be worth it if it agrees to help. I will open those doors damn it, no matter what." He thought one last time before his trial began.