Leaving - Part 2 |
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Chapter 6 |
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| Green, leafy walls surround me; the pungent scent and dulled feeling in my mind telling me that I am in the greenthorn maze. I look for the makers showing the path through to the farms, but there are none in sight. Fighting down panic, I take a deep breath. I can’t be too far from the path and even if the greenthorn blocks mindprobes, it doesn’t block sound. Suddenly, I remember something my mother once told me about beforetime mazes; if you follow one wall, you will eventually find the way out. I shudder at the thought of the size of the Obernewtyn maze, but it is better than waiting and doing nothing. My hand lightly running along the left hand wall, I walk forwards. I walk through the maze for what feels like a long time, the green walls twisting unchangingly around me. The sky above is a faintly luminous pale grey, the air perfectly still and silent. I pause, hearing a rustling sound behind me. Turning, I see Rushton rounding a corner. My face breaks into a smile. At last someone has found me. I beckon to him, but something keeps me from going towards him. Breaking into a smile of his own, his eyes filled with love, he turns and walks towards me. As he approaches, a feeling of panic hits me with almost physical force. He will keep me form my quest! Tearing myself away, I turn and run down a side passage; trying to escape myself as much as him. When at last I slow down and look around I realise that still I have no idea where in this featureless maze I am. I shrug, and continue walking. It is not the first time that fate has guided my steps. Turning a corner I find myself face to face with Rushton again. My heart leaps and I almost step towards him before remembering and pulling away. I turn and run again, my mind filled with the image of the love in his eyes turning to hurt, confusion… and anger. I see a flash of cloth ahead and dart down a side passage; voice calls behind me and I run faster; an achingly familiar face looks up in surprise as I pass an opening; steps match me, stride for stride, on the other side of a thorny barrier. Everywhere I turn he is there; in front, behind, beside me. I no longer know if I am running towards him, away from him or with him. My mind is filled with images of love, longing and duty and I no longer know which is which. All is confusion as I run through the twisting corridors of the shadowy maze. All is confusion, and I no longer know if I am Elspeth or Innel or someone watching from the outside. Shadows of confusion and chaos surround me and the world fades. |
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