It was strange to wander around all alone in this huge garden, in a world that was completely foreign to you and yet threatened to drown you with its beauty.

Once again you felt transported back to your childhood. You had been alone then too, surrounded by nothing but a garden, beautiful and yet a cage. The bars had been made of gold, but it would remain a cage forever.

There had never been anyone to keep you company in captivity. Everyone had only been there because duty demanded it of them.

Something began to burn in the corner of your eye. Blinking, you stopped in your tracks and turned round in circles several times. You bit your lips with your teeth to stifle a cry of frustration.

"Shit!", you gasped.

Something was burning on your skin.

Or was it in your chest?

Every single breath made the nausea grow.

How ridiculous you felt. Like a small child. You had sworn you would never be like that again. Guided by others and not yourself. You wanted to be proud. And now there was nothing but wounded pride.

Why did it feel like someone had taken something away from you?

Sighing heavily, you continued to wander through the garden.

A gentle breeze made the fans of leaves rustle. Colourful flowers stretched out towards the light of the moon.

You had never seen anything like it before.

The blossoms shone like lamps. Little fireflies sat on the colours and were then swallowed up. When the flowers opened again, there was the smell of perfume.

Exhaling deeply, you close your eyes and let your head fall back.

The sound of folk songs could still be heard in the distance. But no voices. No conversations. It was peaceful. A moment of peace at last, without festivities and the obligation to make a good impression.

Some of the weight fell off you as you found a place hidden between arches of pink and purple flowers. Sighing, you dropped onto the stone bench.

In front of you lay a pond so wide and huge that the moon was reflected in its full splendour on the still surface. Right in the centre of this pond grew a tree that looked very much like a lime tree. But the trunk was as black as sin while the leaves fell from the branches in a flowing purple colour. It was a beautiful sight, kissed by the silver of the stars.

Peace filled your chest and emptied your mind. Just for a tiny moment, there wasn't the responsibility of always thinking and living up to expectations. You could just exist.

Gentle waves created a murmur, brought to life by strange-looking fish whose scales shone like mother-of-pearl in the water.

It was neither cold nor warm. Neither dead quiet nor disturbingly loud. Everything was just right.

And in the middle of it all, your mind was at peace.

Inhaling deeply, you took in the scent of unknown flowers and the iron of the purest spring water. Your eyes fell closed.

Relaxed, you let your head fall against the trellis. A cushion of soft leaves caught you. Perhaps a nap would be just the thing right now. You felt how drained your body was, tortured by months of training and years of a legacy you had learnt to loathe.

How nice it would have been to stay in this world. So foreign and so much to see. It almost hurt to know that you would definitely have to leave at some point.

Calm breaths rolled from your lips. With every moment that passed, your eyelids became heavier and your head lighter.

It wasn't long before it felt like your feet were floating across the floor. Weightless and bound to the earth.

You were too deep in a trance to realise that footsteps were suddenly approaching. A voice called out, but you couldn't work out what.

You wanted to open your eyes to see if everything was alright, but your body refused to obey. How strange. You had never wanted to sleep so much before. Just keep your eyes closed and only wake up when the problems had sorted themselves out.

Footsteps cut through the idyllic silence again.

Your eyebrows drew together. It was almost annoying that you seemed to have to share this place.

Even when the person didn't seem to be far away from you, you still didn't open your eyes. You wanted to savour the darkness for as long as possible.

"Y/N).", that was Johnny's voice, scratching a place at the back of your mind.

Sluggishly, your eyes opened a crack. (E/C) glistened in the moonlight.

"What do you want?", maybe your voice was a little too sharp.

Maybe he just didn't realise what he had done wrong. But the look on Johnny's face was one that told how much it hurt him to hear you talk to him like that.

"You left so suddenly.", his voice was the complete opposite to yours, gentle and caring as he stepped closer to you.

Still, he kept an appropriate distance. He seemed to sense that you didn't want to be too close to him. Not now.

You sucked in the air sharply. Then you exhaled.

Of course, you could give him the cold shoulder and only make things worse by miscommunicating. But you were both too old for that. And admittedly, you didn't have the nerve for that either.

You wanted to hold on to the belief that he would at least listen. Still, the prospect of the outcome made you nervous. There was an ideal one and one you didn't even want to think about.

But what good would it have done to sit this one out?

All it did was delay the inevitable.

And you hated that. Again, you couldn't help but sigh audibly. This time you failed to hide the hurt that made your heart cramp in your chest.

Suddenly, the feeling of a shadow fell over you.

Fabric rustled.

Irritated, you popped one eye open. Johnny's face hovered over yours. He smiled gently.

"Do you wanna talk about it?", he asked, as sweet as candy.