"Huh, well, of course, but I can't do it. Eras ago, others could do it."
Zanus seemed to go cold after letting that last word out. She looked at Misha and looked ahead a few times.
"Others?! Wait, there are more of you?! Where?!"
"That doesn't matter. What matters now is you feel me where you're from. We made a promise."
I should have pretended I didn't hear that last part. It could be troublesome if Zanus knows about magic, and I was hoping that wasn't the case. But a promise is a promise.
"Alright, I'll tell you, but I have one more question. Early you had said, Patch. What did you mean by that?"
Zanus' eyes became more fixated and firmer upon Misha asking that question. To Misha's surprise, he felt things just got a little more serious. Her eyes glared at him as if she was starting deep inside his soul, and Misha himself began to sweat a little. Maybe it's time for him to return…
"What?!!! How can you not know this whole place is called The Patch?!!"
Misha almost dropped dead. After that intense moment that seemed to linger forever, this was what she said?!
"Ah, ok, sorry. I told you I come from far away. "
"Even if you come from far away, everyone knows this place and beyond is called The Patch."
Just then, it hit Misha. So, The Patch is like The Garden, a place with one name but multiple other words for its different areas. Now it makes sense!
"I get it now! So Zanus, which place do you inhabit within The Patch?"
"Huh?? Now you want to know where I live. No thanks. I hardly trust you."
"Fair enough. I'm from Fern Lily, in The Garden."
Zanus' eyes opened wide, and she stopped. Misha stops as well.
"A Garden."
"Ah, Zanus, why did you stop?"
"So, I wasn't imagining things back then."
"Huh, what do you mean?"
"Back when I was walking near the riverbed, I saw something. While you were out, there were green leaves around you. But they slowly turned brown and wilted away. I had never seen green leaves before, only black ones. And those green leaves are only in books I've read back home."
"Well, about that, it's probably Garden Gate. Although that's strange how you describe them, and magical things usually just disappear."
"Garden Gate? Magical? Are you saying you can use magic?"
"Well, yeah, back home, everyone can use magic."
There was a long pause.
"Stop lying to me. I was truthful with you. No such place exists!"
"Huh?! What do you mean? I have no reason to lie to you."
"Then take me there and show me this Garden."
"Hey, you're the one that said you didn't trust me. How the heck do you expect me to trust you? Besides, you can't go to The Garden and have to be born there to receive the mark."
"Fine, then show me that you can use magic."
"It's much more complicated than you think. I'm not a high-class guard yet. Hmm. Oh, I know I can show you my transformation."
It seems like I recovered half of my magic, so I should be able to.
"Transformation Magic: Revert!"
:
: REVERT:
:
With that, Misha had reverted into a full lion on all fours. Zanus' eyes, we're in awe. She began to inspect Misha from every angle. She even lifted his tale at one point, but Misha quickly whacked her with it. She held his head close to hers and stared into his big brown, yellow eyes. She pets him behind the ears and feels his mane, which hasn't fully grown just yet. Misha blushed a bit and Zanus as well. She quickly turned around, still blushing.
*cough* "This is amazing. Magic does exist. I'm sorry that I doubted you."
:
: REVERT:
:
"That's alright. I guess that would be everyone's reaction after telling you all that. Anyways, The Garden is where I am from. Well, not anymore, at least."
"What do you mean? Were you exiled?"
"No, nothing like that. More like I came here of my free will, and I just needed to see the world, you know?"
"So, you're saying you came here all on your own?"
"That's correct. I probably won't return there for a while. Who knows, maybe never."
"Why would you say that? After what you just said, now it sounds like you ran away."
"I didn't run away. The Owl knew I was talking to the book, and I'm pretty sure he and The Rabbit would have stopped me. Besides, I can always return if any trouble happens since I still have the mark."
Zanus' eyes narrowed a bit. She realizes that Misha just said something that she remembers from a long time ago. Perhaps this book…
"Ah, I should have never said any of that to you. Just ignore my random rambling."
"That's alright with me, as I don't even know half the things you just said. But I have one question, why do you sound so frustrated?"
"That's because The Garden isn't all that Zanus. Yeah, it's nice, and the animals are as well. But we animals are never told about the outside world and don't get to be truly free. No animal knows the knowledge of the world. All they know is The Boy saved them and created The Garden. They realize him as their God. I believe everyone should be free to go anywhere they want. I can't live in a place where I feel all my freedom is gone. All my history and ancestors lie beyond The Garden. I feel I have a right to that, to be what nature intended me to be. Roam free and wild."
Zanus looks down with an upset face but quickly brushes it off with a smile.
"So, who is this boy you speak of? And what do you mean by creating The Garden?"
"I'm not exactly sure myself—all my life when I was little and even throughout the school. We learned about The Boy. They said he was a Godly being, and he brought peace to The Garden and worlds beyond. Whatever that meant. He gave us magic and a place to live. The Garden is a strong place that protects animals. That is most definitely true, as there has never been an attack. So, I always question why we had guards."
"I see. It doesn't sound like a bad place, Misha."
"It's not all that, Zanus. Everyone there is so carefree as well. It's like they have no fear or ever worrying about anything. The library is full of books, but they never bother learning from them and never bother to learn a bit about the outside world."
"Maybe, they love the life they have. One doesn't need more than they already have. One doesn't need much to be happy, and just the simple things are enough."
"You sound like her."
"Who is her?"
"A friend of mine back home. Fray always talked like you. She was always trying to convince me of the things I wasn't seeing. But instead, it was her. She was just engulfed and blinded by what was going on."
"Well, maybe she was trying to send a message to you."
"What would you know? You wouldn't understand."
A few moments of silence overcame them. Zanus clenched her teeth and then once again settled down.
"Misha, you don't think this Boy is the one that cursed The Patch, do you?"
"For a moment, I thought so when you mentioned it earlier. But I can't see that being the case."
"Then why leave my animals and me here? Why in this dying and never changing place?"
"I'm not sure at all. To be honest, I came here looking for answers and exploring, and it seems answers will be hard to get. But Zanus, what if I told you I could find all the answers for you?"
"But you just said answers will be hard to get. And besides, I don't need you to go through the trouble for me."
"It won't be any trouble at all. Back home, we have a book that knows everything, and I bet it has answers about The Patch."
"You would do that for me? I thought you said you wouldn't return there again?"
"Of course. And don't worry about that. Now that I know I can be free anytime I want, it's no problem. Besides, I won't have any attachment after this trip there, and not in that prison."
They had walked so far that they reached a cave near the mountains. Zanus guided the way until they were inside a more reclusive place.
"Well, stand back, Zanus. I'll say show more magic."
"Um, ok. Is this far enough?"
"Just a bit more, yeah, that's good. Alright, here we go. Teleportation Magic…"
:
: GARDEN: GATE :
:
Just like before, the gate opened once more. The wind blew this time, and it quickly settled down. The gate was stable. Misha turned around and looked at Zanus, who stared in shock. Her big purple eyes enlarged, and then she glanced at Misha. Misha himself felt fabulous showing off as he blushed a little.
"I'll be back, Zanus."
"I'll be here waiting for you."
But to Zanus's surprise, Misha returned much sooner than she anticipated.
"What happened to you, Misha?"
The moment Zanus touched Misha, a Garden Gate opened and snatched her inside, and she disappeared in front of Misha's eyes. Afterward, the gate stayed open. But to Misha's surprise, he could not enter.
He quickly checked for his mark, but it was gone. Like Zanus, whose fur was once black, he turned the same, and his eyes turned purple.
"It worked! It worked."
Just then, Zanus steps outside of the gate, and it closes. Her fur, which once was black, was brown, but her eyes stayed the same.
"What did you do to me, Misha?"
End of Part Three
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