A Million Roads to Nowhere

Super Secret Dealings in the Woods

He doesn't stay asleep for long. He's woken up by the soft creak of the chamber door unlocking and opening. Castle doors are heavy, so Patrick is aware of the thud as it shuts. He keeps his eyes closed for a few seconds, waiting for Lena to come in and wake him up so he can help her do whatever it is she got up for, but he doesn't hear her calling for him. Sighing, Patrick slides out of bed and exits the room, peering down the dark hall.

"Lena?" he calls in a hushed voice.

He presses his hand on the jamb of the door, expecting her to come back to him. Once he realizes she isn't, he starts to wonder if she's lost and starts to walk down the hall.

Patrick has a hard time finding his way due to the lack of light, but he manages. The moon illuminates the hall through the windows just enough that he can see where he's going. He leaves the hall of bedrooms and finds himself in the entry. He stands there for a moment, looking around.

Where is she? Patrick wonders.

He scratches under his chin, yawning, debating whether or not he should continue looking for her or just go back to bed. It's only until he hears the slide of metal, the sound of a door being unlatched, does he decide he should go on.

He follows the sounds, just catching the glimpse of her nightgown, a flash of white in the otherwise dark surroundings. Is she headed outside?

"Where are you going?" Patrick whispers as she shuts the door behind her and exits the main building.

Quietly, Patrick follows her outside after a few seconds. Somehow, he knows she didn't plan to be followed. So, he stays back behind her, far enough that she won't hear him, but close enough that he can still see her in front of him.

How does she know where she's going? Patrick thinks to himself, watching her struggle to lift herself over the gate, ripping the skirt of her gown in the process.

The two guards on duty are slouched over on the brick pillars beside the gate, either sleeping or passed out drunk. Careful not to wake them, Patrick follows Lena over the gate, nearly cutting his bare foot on the metal spires as he does so.

Lena vanishes between the trees just as Patrick hits the ground. He speeds up in order not to lose her, mind going haywire as he tries to come up for a logical reason she's out by herself, especially at this time of night.

Patrick recalls Lena telling him that she can make out lights and shadows even in her blindness and he wonders if she's following wisps the way he had once. He searches frantically for the glowing blue lights, but doesn't find them.

Patrick breaks out into a run, praying that she can't hear his footsteps. He catches up to her. She's walking almost as if in a trance. Is she sleeping? Is that possible?

She winds through the trees, following a path. Patrick struggles to follow her, thinking it's almost as if she knows she's being followed. She goes in a circle around a tree, then another, then Patrick realizes they've been walking in circles. He glances behind him and then back. Lena's gone.

Heart racing, Patrick begins to sprint through the woods. Did she take a left or a right? He tries to retrace his steps in hope of finding his way back to Maesity. He should probably get someone's help. That sounds like a good enough plan, only if he were able to gather his bearings. He has no clue which way Maesity is or how far he's run.

With half a mind to sit down on the floor and start bawling, Patrick takes a deep breath and starts walking forward once again.

I have to end up somewhere, he figures.