Forever Lies

~25~

I walked along, trying not to drag my feet, keeping my shoes as neat as possible. Though me and Princey had been going out for almost 3 years, I still managed to care about my appearance whenever we had a date.

It took me a minute to get to the middle of the maze, seeing as the previous weekend had been Roman's yearly rearranging of the hedges. When I reached the center, quite a sight was before me.

Rose petals were scattered about, the quantity becoming denser surrounding the old bench. Roman was nowhere in sight, a wax-sealed envelope where I expected him to be sitting. I rolled my eyes as I broke the seal, thinking about how extra he was. Finally able to read the letter, I peered at the fancy scrawl of the prince.

My Dearest, Virgil,
I have spent the last several hours setting up an elaborate scavenger hunt. The final solution? You'll know it when you see it. This could take a while, so I suggest you get started!
Lovingly,

Your Prince

I noticed an arrow, flipping over the paper to see.

P.S. Here's your first clue: an inconvenient entryway. 

I grinned, starting to make my way back down the path I just came from. No one had heard me complain about the sofa bring in front of the door more than Roman, and I was positive I would find the next clue there. 

5 minutes later I finally found my way back out, sighing as I looked back at the entry. "I should leave a trail of breadcrumbs next time or something," I joked to myself. 

From here, I could see another wax envelope right above the sliding glass doors, taped so I wouldn't see it while walking out. 

Standing directly beneath the entryway, I jumped to try and reach the letter. My fingertips barely reached the frame of the doors, however, leaving the letter out of my reach. 

I slumped, taking a few steps back. I could run inside and grab a ladder. Or... My eyes wandered to a tree with some branches hanging over the roof. I could already hear Patton worrying as I made my way over to the trunk of the american linden. Good thing he doesn't realize I know how to get on the roof. 

As I found my first handhold, I couldn't help but think about how lucky I was that Roman chose these trees when first creating the yard. They had some branches low enough for me to reach, but still stretched up enough to be useful in a situation like this. Hoisting myself up, I started climbing. 

It didn't take long for me to reach the branches overhanging the roof, and I just had to make it across without it snapping beneath me. I decided to go with more speed than anything, readying myself to go across. One wrong step and you fall. Yeah, but have I ever fallen while climbing?

Before I could doubt myself anymore, I sprinted across the branch as safely as I could manage. I landed on the roof with a squat, since I wasn't fancy enough to do a roll. That also meant my knees hurt like hell. 

I stood up with a groan, walking to the portion of the roof where the doors lay underneath. Now, I just had to trust my grip strength. 

Getting in position, I gripped the ledge tightly with both hands, my feet halfway off the roof. 

"One... two... three."

I kicked my feet off the rest of the way, no dangling by both arms from the roof. I let out a deep breath before focusing on the envelope. 

It was close enough now to grab, but doing so would require me to let go with one hand. Leaving one of my arms holding all my weight. Kinda have to though, don't I?