Chapter 37: Fresh Mint

Tiana sat on the floor, her back against the huge flowers; she was worn out; it was over six hours, and she was still walking around the maze. Her legs ached from so much pain and her whole body hurt from walking too much.

She wished she had listened to Bella when she told her not to go into the maze, now see what had happened; the worst of all was that no-one would save her; if she didn't find her way out, she would sleep there for the night. She had heard Bella calling her name, and she called back, but it seemed Bella did not hear her because she kept on shouting,

After a while, she didn't hear her voice again, and she felt she had left. Tiana didn't blame her though, it was her fault; she warned her not to go into the maze, but because of her stubbornness and curiosity she had gone into the maze.

At first, it was thrilling, and then when she was tired of playing and she wanted to leave, she couldn't find her way out; every path looked the same, she had been walking roundaboutly for hours!

She sat there tired and hungry; she didn't eat much that afternoon because of the maze and now she was starving;

She was still thinking about the worms in her belly when a thought dropped in her head and her eyes shot out immediately;

Nicklaus! She was his Pa now, and she needed to be out early tomorrow! What if she doesn't get out of the maze that night? What would she tell him?

Instantly, Tiana sprang up from the floor; she needed to get out of the maze no matter what; gathering up strength, she began walking forward; she walked around the interconnected paths, but she arrived at the same spot again.

'Not again!'

She cussed in her head; kicking her feet against the flowers; her brows squeezed frustratingly as she winced at the pain coming from her toes; she was still in pain when her eyes suddenly flickered towards the flowers and a thought entered her head;

If she could climb the flowers one after the other; she could come out on the other side; she traced the height of the flowers with her eyes and her heart sunk when she saw the length;

But she had no choice; she would still have to climb it if she wanted to get out of that worthless maze. Taking in a deep breath, she stuck her foot into the flowers and held onto a bunch of stems with her both hands; when she was balanced a little, she stuck in her second foot and continued climbing up;

…

Nicklaus hands were in his pockets as he strode forward; the guards following behind; when he approached the maze; he stopped;

Turning to the guards, he said;

''Wait here, ''

And with that he walked into the maze. There were illumination from the street lights so he could see clearly in the maze; his eyes fell to the floor, and he narrowed them; he saw footmarks lead into the maze and he followed it;

He reached a spot where there were many footmarks leading into different pathways and he stopped;

She must have walked around this part severally;

He thought n his head; closing his eyes, he listened for any sound; then he heard one; the shuffling of leaves coming from the path on his left and he immediately walked into it;

His feet made no sound as they stepped on the path; and soon, he saw a body struggling against the flowers;

She was almost at the top of the flowers but her legs were struggling to get a footing; Nicklaus brows creased as he wondered what she was doing;

He walked closer, his hands still inside his pockets and when he was directly behind her; he spoke calmly'

''What are you doing?''

Tiana was so concentrated in getting to the other side that she did not hear him approach, and when she heard a deep masculine voice behind her suddenly, she screamed in shock and her legs lost balance involuntarily and in a second she was flying backwards;

The second Nicklaus finished asking, he heard a loud shriek and saw a body falling towards him; his eyes widened in shock and he reflexively stretched out his hands to catch her before she would fall on him;

Tiana's eyes shut as she awaited the harsh fall; she had already braced herself for the impact but her body stopped halfway; her eyes remained closed for a few seconds as she waited for her body to continue falling but it didn't; coming to her senses, she felt hands on her sides and she knew she was caught by the person who had spoken earlier.

Slowly, the scent of the person behind her wafted into her nostrils; he smelt like he was just out of the shower, so fresh. She could smell his fresh mint cologne on his neck which was almost touching her face, and she didn't feel like leaving his arms but almost at that moment, she realized that she didn't know who had caught her and she quickly escaped from his grip; turning around, her face paled when she realized who it was.

Nicklaus hands grew cold when the warmth of her body left his; he watched her face pale as her eyes fell on him; he didn't want to admit it but he liked the feel of her body against his; her hair smelt like lavender and another distinct smell, but just when he wanted to discern what it was, she left his arms.

''Mr. Nicklaus…''

Tiana trembled; why was he here?

Did Bella go to call him?

God! She was in trouble now! What was she going to tell him brought her to the maze?

And to think he caught her ruining his maze!

''I… just came to look, I didn't know I would get lost…''

Nicklaus did not reply, his eyes just kept keen on her face;

When Tiana saw that he wasn't saying a thing, she thought he might be angry that she had climbed the flowers, so she quickly opened her mouth to explain;

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