43

Grace was walking outside in the yard just before sunset. She was thinking hard, but she wasn't quite sure what. Then, it all snapped together.

'We have three things we have to do,' she said to herself. 'Get to Earth. Do something about that darn Assistant. And... make life here more pleasant while we're trying to achieve the first two nearly impossible goals. Hope is a good thing, but one's got to be realistic, too. The most achievable thing of the three is the last.'

She nodded and walked on until she had gone full circle. 'This yard, for instance,' she thought, looking at her depressing surroundings. 'I've got to make it look better!'

She paused at the part where Lucien had conducted last night's ritual and sighed as she remembered its outcome. As she looked at the dirt, she noticed seeds from the withered moonbells scattered around the place, seemingly unharmed.

'Hmmm,' she smiled, pushing them further in. 'Now that's an excellent start... I wonder if I can possibly get them to grow?'

She ran inside and fetched a pitcher of water from the kitchen, bringing it outside and watering the patch carefully. The ground was so dry that the water all seemed to disappear at once, making it look almost the same as before.

She pouted. 'So it's like that, huh? All right, I'm getting a bucket this time.'

A few minutes later, as she poured water onto the patch, she nodded approvingly. 'That's better; at least it looks remotely wet... Now, for the rest of this place; I can't water it all, but at least I can take out the weird stuff and tidy it a bit. After that...'

'Seriously, human? Don't tell me you're trying gardening in this wasteland,' said Lucien behind her, startling her with his sudden appearance.

'It's not a wasteland,' said Grace firmly. 'Plants grow all over Hell. So why not here?'

'Uh, yeah, but like, they're just weeds...'

'No plant is a weed!'

'I bet Azel told you that,' grinned the demon.

'Well, whatever. It's true. And I've decided: I'm going to plant moonbells and petula and that weird unruly plant which flowers once a month,' said Grace with determination. 'And a whole bunch more!'

Lucien raised an eyebrow. 'That's quite ambitious and all, but nothing really grows easily here, and—'

'No,' said Grace excitedly. 'It's almost autumn, and that's like spring around here, isn't it? I've been thinking, and you know what? That's the perfect time for these kinds of things. Lucien, you said you loved The Secret Garden, didn't you?'

'Well, I did, but—'

'So, we're going to have a garden! And it's jolly well going to grow!'

'One wants to go to Earth, the other wants a garden in Hell,' said Kuro, rolling his eyes from a shadowy corner. 'Aspirations really touch the sky here, don't they?'

'Hey, it's called a dream, okay?' said Lucien indignantly. 'And if you're so hellbent on it, Grace, I can't say I mind, but, are you sure...?'

'Lucien tries to plant stuff in this yard every year, just so that you know,' said Kuro. 'And he fails every time. He just doesn't want to see you sad.'

Grace smiled. 'It's all right. I can handle failure. But I haven't forgotten how to dream. And I'm going to try to do something to this place anyway. Maybe it works out?'

Lucien saw the hope in her eyes and found her rather endearing. 'All right...' he said, breaking into a grin. 'Let's try this, then. I'll get another bucket of water, and you can do the rest of the weeding, okay?'

'Okay!' said Grace happily. 'Kuro, won't you help?'

'Ugh, you've got to be kidding me,' said the cat, reluctantly pulling out the sickly yellow plant they all hated and tossing it to the side. 'There, that's quite enough for me, thank you!'

'Thank you, fluffball,' said Grace, removing the half-dead stems and dried up weeds with the help of a tough stick she used to scratch the earth with.

'Hey, who's a fluffball?'

'You are. You know you like being called that.'

'Hmph, whatever.'

'All right, here's another bucket of water,' said Lucien, bringing it towards her. 'Where should I pour it?'

'In the driest place?'

'Human, this entire yard is drier than Kuro's humour.'

Grace laughed. 'Maybe near that tree?'

'It's a useless tree,' said Lucien, throwing water all over it. 'It doesn't die, but it doesn't grow a single leaf, either.'

'Well, you never know...'

'You're going to need a lot more than that stick if you want to dig around here,' said Lucien, taking it from her. 'Here. I got you a large old fork thing I had lying around. Use this. It's metal, so it's stronger.'

'Oh, thanks,' said Grace, smiling at him. 'You're sweet, you know?'

Lucien went red. 'Sun's almost down,' he muttered. 'So better hurry before it gets dark.'

'Right, I've cleared most of the yard, so I'm going to dig around this tree and give it some breathing room—'

A tiny movement from around the corner made them all look in that direction. Before anyone could say anything, Kuro sprang forward and pounced at something hidden there.

'Ouch! Let go!!' said a squeaky voice as Kuro dragged it in full sight before them all.

'Squeaks?' said Grace. 'What are you doing here?'

'Trespassing, I might add!' said Lucien. 'You always turn up here when you don't find anything anywhere else! Does this look like a rat charity or something? Oh fine, I'll get you some cheese—'

'A–actually,' said Squeaks nervously. 'I came here for something else...'

Kuro frowned. 'Oh, it'd better not be something tiresome or else...'

Squeaks squealed and cowered back. 'No, no, please! I'm terrified of cats! I'm sorry, you see... as much as I hate being the one to bring this message, it's all due to the tragic misstep I made in my childhood...'

'Ugh, just say what you wanna say!' said Lucien impatiently.

'No, I don't want to say it,' said the rat apologetically. 'But I have to say it... Miss Grace, um... the Devil's Assistant would like to see you... he told me to bring you – alone...'

'And you just came here directly to take her without a bit of remorse, didn't you?' said Lucien reproachfully. 'You really don't have any spine in you. Or maybe you just don't care.'

'I do care,' said Squeaks, casting his head down in shame. 'But I can't say no to him, can I?'

'I suppose not. And neither can we, in this case,' said the demon with a sigh. 'Well, Grace, be careful, all right? And stay on the lookout. If you don't return within two to three hours, I'll ask Azel to bring you out. He's the only one who can challenge the Assistant in his own mansion.'

'I'll be sure to be on the lookout,' said Grace, nodding at him. 'Lookout' was their code word for confirming if the map they had found was still correct – and to explore, if possible, the red section. 'Goodbye for now. Lead the way, Squeaks!'

*  *  *

'We're deep into Mainland already,' said Grace. 'How much further?'

'Just a bit more,' said Squeaks nervously. 'Oh, Miss Grace, how sorry I am to have to be the one to take you to a place even I am terribly afraid of... How I regret that sad moment when I set foot, unbeknownst, in his territory—'

'There you go again! You can't change the past, Squeaks. But you can change the future, you know...'

Squeaks paused for a second with a sniff, before going on. 'I'm just a rat. A coward. An opportunist. People like me have no future. Only an ever-fearful present lived in the shadows of the past.'

'Well, if that's what you've decided...'

'But I can't help it!'

'It's the ones who could face themselves and change that made it to Heaven, you know...'

'Well, if I don't obey the Assistant, I'll probably end up there, too,' said the rat with a shudder.

'And what have you done that would lead you there, Squeaks? Have you ever tried to be brave – even once?'

Squeaks sniffed again. 'No, I haven't... but it's too late now, even if I try. I just can't stand up to the Assistant...'

'No one's asking you to,' said Grace kindly. 'But perhaps, you could try to get out of those shadows of the past he's cornered you in and turn towards the light of the future. If you keep your head turned back, how can you ever escape the darkness?'

Squeaks said nothing, but he thought over her words for the rest of the trip, until they arrived at last in front of an unmistakable gigantic castle, with an avenue of gnarled trees leading up to the main doors.

'They aren't sentient, are they?' said Grace nervously, just as one of the branches moved slightly and made her flinch.

'Yes, they are,' nodded the rat. 'They're not just decoration; they act as guards, too. They won't hurt you, though, since you're his guest and all.'

'That's right,' called out a familiar velvety voice as they approached the end of the terrifying avenue. 'Quite impressive, aren't they?

Grace said nothing and the Assistant laughed.

'Don't worry, I instructed them not to lash out on you. Come, my dear,' he said as he held out his arm to escort her inside.

Grace cringed at the gesture, but she accepted it and went into the mansion with him.

'Sire, I have brought her,' said Squeaks, pattering behind them. 'Now, can't I get a tiny reward, please?'

The Assistant rolled his eyes before producing a piece of cheese out of nothing and tossing it a few feet away. 'Here, you little beggar! Now begone!'

'T-thank you,' said the rat with a sniff, darting at the cheese before scurrying away.

'You could be a tad more kind to him,' said Grace reproachfully. 'And maybe free him from having to do what you want all the time.'

'Well, I don't see why,' said the Assistant, beckoning her into a large hall. 'After all,' he said, looking into her eyes, 'it's so hard to make something truly yours in the first place. Why let it go so easily?'

Grace felt a chill run down her spine, but she didn't let her fear show on her face. 'I see,' she said. 'Now, where are you taking me?'

'To my library,' said the Assistant. 'Because you like books, don't you?'

Grace stared at him. 'How did you know that?'

'I told you,' said the Assistant pleasantly. 'I can see through your heart and soul. I can sense what you desire. What you love, what you hate...'

Grace listened and discreetly looked around as he talked. The hall they were now walking through – and the adjacent doors and rooms – matched what they had seen in the map exactly!

'Just a little way now,' said the Assistant, turning a corner.

Grace already knew that the library was up ahead, where they were going. And she also knew that to her right was the red section. As they passed it, she lingered just a few seconds longer to peer down it, and sure enough; everything was arranged exactly the same as the map had told them. How could something so important to him be in plain sight, though, she wondered...

She turned to rejoin the Assistant before he got suspicious, but just then, she heard a muffled sound from the passage she had been looking at. A scream for help?