DRYAD

When they heard Peony start to stir, Chinatsu and Miyabi pulled apart. They weren’t doing anything necessarily wrong, but Chinatsu also didn’t want Peony to catch them in that position. They seemed to like Miyabi, and he said he didn’t feel any particular way about her, and he didn’t want to give the wrong impression, and…

Wait, why was he trying to come up with an excuse in his mind?

“Should we take this with us?” Miyabi asked, holding up Masha’s pack.

“There was still some food in there when I looked through it before, so I think that would be a good idea,” Peony replied. Enough peaches for the three of them were picked and added to the bag to enjoy later.

Before leaving the orchard, the three of them paid their last respects to Masha. They marked her grave with branches angled and tied together with ivy to form an arch. On top of the fresh soil, they laid an assortment of wildflowers. Maybe if Spring ever came to this world, the peach trees would blanket her in their soft blossoms.

At the top of the hill, on the other side of the orchard, Chinatsu looked back to see that they had risen above the trees and were high enough to just barely be able to see over the tops of the stone walls that contained the maze.

The scale was far more vast than he could have even imagined. It had taken them a week to get to this point, so he understood they’d covered a huge amount of distance in that time. But seeing the way it radiated outward in all directions made him realize just how enormous this maze was.

From this vantage, Chinatsu could tell they were still nowhere near the base of the tower, but now it seemed closer than ever. It loomed over them. At this distance, he could see windows spiraling up the side of the tower.

Separating them from it was another tall stone wall encircling it. Peony led them through an opening in the wall. Like the openings leading into the orchard, these too were incremental at first. After circling what felt like the entire span of that wall, they reached a portion that was just solid stone walls on both sides and a stone path beneath their feet.

The corridor was far narrower than the ones within the maze, resulting in them walking single file with Peony at the lead. The curvature of the walls was disorienting. It felt like they were walking in circles, but eventually they reached the end of the path.

As they exited the claustrophobic corridor, it opened up to a series of stone stairs and terraces that seemed to be carved out of the cliffs. Yew and Juniper trees grew straight out of rock faces, their branches sweeping over the terraces like giant bonsai trees. Water cascaded over the edges of the terraces like waterfalls.

“Peony, this place is incredible…” Chinatsu said with awe.

 “Isn’t it? Even though it’s not the center, I like to call this place the ‘heart’ of the labyrinth,” Peony replied, bounding ahead.

“Why is that?” Miyabi asked. Peony stopped and turned around.

“Because this is where I kissed Leonheart for the first time.” The Elf beamed.

As they climbed the steps, Chinatsu soon realized that each terrace was a small pool with crystal clear water. The air became warm and humid the more they surrounded themselves with these pools. Steam seemed to hover around the edge of the water.

“Are these…hot springs?” Miyabi asked, holding her hand over the surface of the water.

“That’s right,” Peony said. “And the water is a safe temperature to swim in.”

“I wonder what Masha would have thought when she saw this,” Miyabi said, dipping her hand into the water and swirling it around.

“I bet she would have been excited…” Chinatsu put his hands into the water and let the dried blood and dirt wash off. Not too hot, not too cold, just perfectly warm.

“Um…” Peony said, clearing their throat. “If I might be a little presumptuous, might I suggest we rest here today and enjoy a bath?”

Chinatsu and Miyabi looked at each other, then at the water wistfully. They’d been taking birdbaths with cold water since they arrived here, and the thought of a soak in a hot spring sounded like heaven.

“Um…a short break shouldn’t hurt, right?” Chinatsu said, unable to take his eyes off the inviting pool.

“It can’t be helped,” Miyabi nodded. “We should take advantage of it while we can.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Chinatsu thought he saw one of the trees move. He whipped his head around to look. On an adjacent terrace, he saw a human-like figure dip into the pool. Their body was like wood, and their hair like leaves. Small blossoms dotted the creature’s form.

“P-Peony…what am I looking at here?” he asked, beginning to notice more of these beings congregating around the pools. He put his hand on the hilt of his katana, ready to defend himself from an attack.

“They’re Dryads. They’re like the guardians of this spot. As long as we don’t harm or threaten them, we’re safe,” Peony said, placing their hand on Chinatsu’s to stop him from drawing the sword. “It’s part of the deal I made with them.”

The Dryads seemed to eye the group curiously, but kept their distance. They at least didn’t seem hostile for the time being.

“S-so should we pick a spot away from them so we don’t bother them?” Chinatsu asked.

“Sure!” Peony rushed up some stairs and waved to Chinatsu and Miyabi from a terrace a couple levels above them. “Over here! This one’s a good spot!”

Chinatsu began to follow, but he was stopped by Miyabi when she grabbed his arm.

“Wha–?”

“Chinatsuuuu…” she said, shaking him by the shoulders. Miyabi had a crazed look in her eye. “What are we gonna doooo!?”

“About what!?” he asked. What the hell had her so spooked all of a sudden? The Dryads?

“About…our…situation,” she said through gritted teeth.

Oh. Right. That situation.

“Hurry up!” Peony called out from the edge of the pool. The Elf had moved fast–they were already in the water.

It was going to seem suspicious if they kept Peony waiting. There had to be a solution to this that wouldn’t seem unusual if they wanted to keep their body swap a secret.

“I have no choice. I have to blindfold you,” Miyabi said, patting Chinatsu on the shoulders.

HUH? Surely that would come across as more suspicious, wouldn’t it!?

“And what about you!? Or did you forget you’re in my body?” Chinatsu hissed. Miyabi seemed to contemplate the implications.

“I just won’t look,” she said, taking off her shoes. Before Chinatsu could protest further, she blindfolded him with socks.

“W-what about separating between b-boys and g-girls!?” Chinatsu stammered as Miyabi led him up the stairs. Couldn’t she have at least waited to put the blindfold on after the stairs!?

“I’m not taking your blindfold off if you’re undressing in my body, even if we bathe separately,” Miyabi whispered, dragging him along. “Especially if we bathe separately.”

“Peony, which one of us should join you in the bath?” Chinatsu asked. A last-ditch effort to make this less weird. Obviously, the Elf was going to prefer to bathe with someone of the same gender.

“Hmm? It’s okay if it’s both of you,” Peony responded.

Damn it! That helped nothing! It solved nothing!

Chinatsu felt himself reach the top of the stairs. He heard light splashing and the trickle of water as it went over the edge of the pool. They were already there, and he’d have to go in blind.

“P-P-Peony!?” Miyabi stammered. “Y-you’re a girl!? Wait…no! A boy!? Or…”

Huh?

What the hell was Miyabi freaking out about? Chinatsu lifted the blindfold. There was no harm in taking a little peek.

In the pool, Peony was relaxing in the crystal clear water, completely nude. He instinctively averted his gaze, but something made him do a double-take. Chinatsu wasn’t surprised when he spied a pair of small breasts, but as his eyes traveled downwards, he saw…

“P-P-Peony! Your…Peony!!”

He felt himself turn red. Miyabi clapped her hand over Chinatsu’s eyes.

“D-Don’t stare! It’s rude!” she shouted. Even though she was definitely already staring. Peony, who clearly had no sense of shame, laughed.

Chinatsu and Miyabi looked at each other. It was time to come clean about their predicament. Considering Peony’s circumstances, it was starting to feel silly that they were keeping it a secret.

“Ah, so that’s why you were blindfolded,” Peony said, still laughing at the two of them.

“Yes,” Chinatsu mumbled.

“I see. And is that also why the two of you got in with your underwear on?” Peony asked, trying to hold back more laughter.

“Yes,” Miyabi mumbled.

“Still, I’m glad you shared that with me,” Peony said, relaxing in the water.

“Um…so are you a b-boy or a g-girl?” Chinatsu shifted awkwardly, trying not to stare at Peony’s body.

“Chinatsu! You can’t just ask someone that!” Miyabi snapped. Completely forgetting her own outburst before.

“I guess you could say I’m both,” Peony replied.

“Were you…born like that?” Miyabi asked, looking away.

“No. I became like this to fulfill my role as Saint,” Peony explained. They leaned against the edge of the pool. “What do you know about Alchemy?”

“Alchemy?” Miyabi asked. “What’s that?”

“Hmm, well, it’s something I kinda know from fantasy books in our world. It’s kinda like magic, right? Turning lead into gold and stuff like that,” Chinatsu said, scratching his head.

“I suppose it’s something like that where I’m from as well,” Peony nodded. “In my world, Alchemy was developed by humans because they lack the ability to channel mana, unlike us Elves. It became their way of solving the power imbalance inherent between a race that could use magic for anything and the ones that could not. They can now make potions, weapons, and technology through this practice.”

“Do Elves also practice Alchemy?” Chinatsu asked.

“There are some that do,” Peony smirked. “And their ability to combine Alchemy with the channeling of mana makes them completely unparalleled in power.”

“I’m sorry if this is a stupid question, but what does this have to do with you?” Miyabi asked.

Peony leaned forward and looked at Chinatsu and Miyabi intently. “Because it was those extremely powerful Alchemists that created the ‘me’ you see before you.”

“How!? How can you create a person through Alchemy!?” Chinatsu couldn’t comprehend how something like that was even possible.

“You can’t,” Peony laughed. They seemed rather amused by this line of questioning, as if the answer was obvious. “But you can combine two people into one.”