Sean smirked as the Duchess passed by him. He felt like he had accomplished one thing pretty well. Following her out into the living room, the Duchess asked him with a bright smile. "Thanks for your help. Do you want to have some tea in the garden to celebrate?" Sean looked to the Cheshire Cat that sat in a chair by the crib, uttering out a bit distracted. "Ya, sure. That sounds lovely." The Duchess moved to the crib to lift the sleeping baby from it, telling him a bit bluntly. "Great. Put the cat outside and then help Chefiplier prepare lunch out in the garden." Sean nodded and began to walk toward the cat, when the Duchess rushed out. "Hey?! Aren't you forgetting something?" Sean pointed to the cat, but the Duchess rolled her eyes and told him a bit snobbishly. "Your curtsy? You're a maid. When someone addresses you, you curtsy. When you have nothing to say, you curtsy. It saves my time. So?" Sean blinked with a perplexed look. He'd never curtsied in his life. Was that why Googleplier had gotten suspicious of him? Clearing his throat, he bowed his head and crouched a little. The Duchess's eyes widened in horror, when she asked him a little put off. "What the hell was that? Who taught you to curtsy?"

Sean swallowed, mumbling out with embarrassed honesty. "Well... no one." The Duchess set the baby down on the floor, uttering out flatly. "That's painfully obvious. How did you ever get a job here with a curtsy like that... My people must be slipping." The Duchess grabbed his shoulders to back him up to give them both more space. Then taking a step back, she lifted her chin and told him proudly. "Pay attention. Shoulders back. Chin high. Cross your ankles. Take the hem of your dress between only your thumb and index finger and lift hip high with pinkies out." She demonstrated, then added lightly. "Then with hem high, you slowly and gracefully bend the knees but keep your back straight and lower your head in a bow or close your eyes. Simple." Sean sighed, then did as instructed. He felt silly. The Duchess tsked loudly but mumbled out. "It's better than nothing, I suppose. Keep practicing. A LOT." Sean narrowed his eyes on her but curtsied again with the little bow of his head. The Duchess picked the sleeping baby back up, informing him lightly. "If you want to go to the Gala with me, you better fix that. My father has beheaded people for low standards. It would be a shame to lose a friend over something so trivial... again."

Sean gulped but moved to pick up the cat. The cat was heavier than it looked. Removing the cat from the living room, he went into the kitchen and sneezed loudly. The Cat hissed at him, looking over its fur. Covering his nose, he mumbled out in a strained voice. "Fuck, I can't breathe... It smells like..." Chefiplier whirled around, telling him proudly. "It's my famous pepper soup. Has a nice explosive kick, doesn't it?" Sean coughed as the pepper tickled the back of his throat. Chefiplier was still shaking a pepper bottle into the large bowl of soup on the stove and the air was practically filled with the strong smell of it. Rushing quickly toward the servants open door, Sean strained out to him in passing as quickly as he could in one breath. "The Duchess wants lunch served outside in the garden!" Chefiplier whirled around again, snapping out. "What?! Why?! I just got everything set up in here!" Sean could only shrug, hopping outside the door to gasp for fresh air. Inside, Chefiplier began to throw plates around that smashed against the walls and floors in his rage. Staggering around to the back of the house, Sean coughed so violently that he had to put the cat down. His throat felt like it was dry and burning.

The cat trotted off, leaving Sean to suffer through his violent coughing. When he came around to the backyard, Sean saw the entrance to the large maze. There were colorful flowers everywhere and a grey stone path that led into a nice wooden gazebo that was set before the maze entrance. Inside the gazebo there were stones in the floor set in a spiral design with a nice outdoor dining table that was set up with dessert snacks and a pitcher of iced tea. Rushing up to the table, Sean looked around for any witnesses. When he didn't see anyone, he grabbed the pitcher and began to drink from it. The cold liquid felt great against his burning throat. Setting the pitcher down, Sean noticed the cat jumping up onto one of the outdoor chairs. With a sigh it shook its head and told him grimly. "While I agree that it is time to leave... You shouldn't have done that. It's not only rude, but-" Sean cut him off with a loud gasp as his body rapidly shrank in size. By the time he stopped shrinking, he was even smaller than he'd been before. Stomping his foot, he snapped out in a tiny voice. "Son of a bitch! I'm tiny again!" Tossing his hands up, he yelled up at the Cheshire Cat. "I just got ME back! UGH! What am I supposed to do now?!" The Cheshire Cat laid down on chair to peer down at him. Giving him a wink, he told him in a purring voice. "Try not to get stepped on I suppose."

Sean glared at the Cheshire Cat, asking with a heavy sigh. "Please, just take me to the Mad Hatter already." The Cheshire Cat shook his head, answering firmly. "I'm afraid that I can't do that. I must see to it that your invitation goes through. The Duchess is rarely in a good mood. But thanks to you, she has her Senpai and will be overjoyed to help my cause." Groaning, Sean gestured around and stated firmly. "Then just tell me what direction to start walking in." The Cheshire Cat's tail popped up and pointed off into the maze. Sighing, Sean started walking toward the maze entrance. The Cheshire Cat hoped down to escort him to the entrance, before telling him with a large wicked grin. "The Mad Hatter's house is on the other side of the maze and just across the Hedge Maze Express tracks. Once you cross over, you'll be in the dark forest square. So, watch your back. The second you cross... you'll be playing a game of cat and mouse between the Chess King of Dawn and Night, until you escape their board kingdom." Sean stumbled as he went to take a step into the maze, turning to blurt out a bit shaken up. "Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean?"

The Cheshire Cat's wicked grin didn't fade as he gestured with a paw and informed him. "This is the borderland of Wonderland. The interior is... Well, think of it like a massive chess board. The Chess kings rule their color squares. You enter them, and they'll know it. They can feel all their subjects that are in play. And with everyone on high alert for the ring... They'll send subjects to hunt you down. Like the... Well, don't worry about that. Just get to the March Hare and he'll get you across the board kingdom to the House of Cards." Sean swallowed, reluctantly asking a bit anxiously. "And these Chess Kings... Who are they?" The Cheshire Cat's smile finally faded when he answered without emotion. "The Chess King of Dawn is known in his realm as the King of Winter. The Chess King of Night is known in his realm as Von Battle." Sean licked his lips, mumbling out. "Is there anything else I should know about them?" The Cheshire Cat shook his head, before turning to leave. The way he did it made Sean uneasy. He was hiding something. Forcing himself to walk into the maze, the Cheshire Cat called out loud enough for him to hear. "Oh! And if you hear the name 'Natemare'... Run."

Sean was going to ask why, but the Cheshire Cat trotted away out of his tiny voice range. Closing his eyes, Sean took a deep breath and told himself calmly. "It's fine. I don't wanna know." Opening his eyes, he dusted off his skirt and started walking. The great thing about being small was that he didn't have to navigate the maze. He just had to make his way through the clusters of tall grass, flowers, and slip under the hedges to make his way out. Easy. It would probably take him a week or two... but he could cross through it. He just had to keep going straight. Every tall blade of grass was a pain to wedge through, but he managed it. He had never realized how rough grass was at this height. The fibers snagged his dress and wedging himself through was almost claustrophobic. They bent easily but fought to bonce back at him. When he reached the first flower bed that lined the bottom of the first hedge, he took a breather. Then smacking large leaves out of his way, he ducked and crawled through the soft dirt to get around the thick flowers. He stopped only when he came upon the most fascinating bug that he'd ever seen. It looked like a butterfly, but its wings looked like freshly cut slices of bread with streaks of what looked like butter for a design.

The sweet smell coming from it even added to the aesthetic. Straightening up, he watched the strange butterfly move across the flowers before looking at him with big eyes. Leaning back into a flower stem, Sean uttered out very softly. "Great... Now I'll never think about butterflies the same way again." From above him, a proud feminine voice corrected diligently. "That is a Bread and Butter-fly, Dear. Butter-flies are an entirely different type of insect." Sean's eyes widened with worry before he got the courage to look up. When he didn't see anything that could have answered, he moved away from the flower stem and mumbled out. "What in the world...?" Sean backed up slowly, until his back hit something that whinnied like a horse. Jumping away, he yelped out. "Whoa! Sorry! I..." From the clusters of flowers in front of him, a black horse with long shimmering wings stepped out into the light better with strange bug eyes. Pointing at it, Sean chuckled out softly. "A Horsefly? You... You're kind of cute, actually. So much better than the ones where I come from." The Horsefly nickered happily, walking up to rub it's head up against his chest.

Sean pet the Horsefly with a small smile. He loved how warm and soft the Horsefly felt. Its long wings reminded him of fairy wings. They were pretty and glinted with the colors of the rainbow whenever light reflected off them. From above him again, he heard the same voice ask curiously. "You've never seen these bugs before? What garden are you from?" This time when Sean looked up, he saw a regal looking purple flower looking him over with narrowed beady eyes that were almost hidden under a large pedal that acted like her head and hair. Moving closer to the Horsefly, he hugged it as he blurted out in shock. "You just-! You can't talk! You're a flower!" The flower stared at him with disapproval, correcting flatly. "My name is Iris." From the side, a Rose leaned down to tell him with a warm smile. "Of course, we can talk. We are living things, are we not?" Sean's jaw dropped, but he was stunned into silence. He hadn't really thought about it. The Iris looked to the Rose, stating out firmly. "We talk only if there is anyone WORTH talking to. Judging by your response and how uneducated you are... you are unworthy." From the other side, a Daisy giggled out to them. "That's not entirely true, Iris. We do tend to talk ABOUT things quite often."

The flowers around giggled in response, but Sean didn't get the joke. Sean tried to sneak away, when a Daffodil behind him asked loudly. "You never answered the question that I recall. Please, tell us. Don't be shy. I've never seen a flower like you before." Sean scoffed a little, trying to inform them. "I didn't come from a garden. I'm not a-" Sean was cut off by the Daisy blurting out excitedly. "Do you suppose it is a wildflower, Iris?" Iris leaned in to look him over, uttering out with curious distaste. "Not likely. The pedals are too clean." Sean swatted Iris's leaf hand from lifting his skirt, then found himself facing the large red Rose. The Rose lifted his chin with her leafy hand, asking sweetly. "Just what species or shall we say genus, are you, my dear?" Sean didn't hesitate to blurt out. "Human. My name is Sean." The flowers all glanced at each other with weird looks, before a Lily of the Valley stated aloud. "A genus humanus Sean?" The Daisy began to laugh hysterically, before asking the others through fits of giggles. "Have you ever seen a Sean blossom like that? No wonder it was kicked from its garden! It's ugly!" A Blue Bonnet flower leaned closer, grabbing his long blonde hair to sniff it before telling the others in a dry tone. "No fragrance either. It's not even the proper color for a Sean flower."

Sean pulled his hair away from the flowers that tried to sniff it. Gathering it up to hold the length of it over one of his shoulders protectively. A few touched his dress, while a yellow Tulip told them. "Strange textures for a flower too." The Daisy tugged up his dress higher to reveal his legs as she giggled out to the others. "Look at those stems! Aren't they funny looking?!" Iris nodded, informing the others. "Rather scrawny. Must be why it looks funny. Not getting enough nutrients from the soil with those things." Sean glared at them all, when a small Rosebud butted in. "I think its pretty." The Iris covered the Rosebud with a leafy hand, snapping out firmly. "Quiet, Bud." Stomping his foot to scary them off from touching him, he snapped out in frustration. "Get your leafy hands off me! I'm not a flower! And if you touch me again-!" Sean was cut off by the Iris yelling out louder than him. "AH HA! Just as I suspected! Careful now! Keep back!" Sean fell into silence. He didn't understand the sudden shift as the flowers tensed up. Iris leaned closer to the Rose, whispering more than loud enough for him to hear. "It's nothing more than a common Senecio Vulgaris!"

The other flowers gasped loudly in horror, leaning as far away from him as they could get. Sean glanced around at their reaction, before just asking outright. "I'm a what now?" The Iris straightened up, glaring down at him as she answered promptly. "To put it bluntly for your uneducated mind... A WEED!" Sean rolled his eyes, retorting angrily. "I am NOT a weed! Are you even listening to me?" A cluster of Tulips huddled up as one whispered to them like a bunch of gossiping snobs. "Well, you wouldn't expect it to admit a shame like that." The Blue Bonnet shivered, uttering out with disgust. "Can you imagine living your life looking like THAT!" The Daisy snapped her leafy hand out, bluntly telling the others. "Don't let it stay here and seed! Get it away! Quickly!" Sean gasped as vines and thorned stems lashed out at him to try chasing him off. The Horsefly whinnied in fright, bucking like crazy as flowers moved wildly around and over it to shove Sean around. Sean couldn't find his footing as he was shoved off his feet and tugged all over. None of them wanted him to run in their direction. Which just ended up with him on the ground, trying to avoid getting lashed with thorns and tendrils.

Eventually rolling up to his feet, he yelled out at them. "STOP IT! If I was my rightful size, I'd stomp and tear out every last one of you bastards! Leave me alone!" They all stopped, and Sean felt like he'd gotten his point across. Until a group of Daffodils tipped over a large leaf that was shaped like a bowl, dumping cold water over him. The water soaked Sean to the bone and the flowers all burst into fits of laughter. They all made comments about his looks. The big one being that not even water could make a wilted ugly weed into something pretty. He'd never been a person that cared about his looks all that much. However, for the first time... he felt like crying over it. He'd never been treated like this, and it cut deep. Running to the Horsefly, he tried to calm it down enough to climb on. Once he was on, the Horsefly snapped its jaws at a leaf, tearing a piece off that it ate. The flower screamed like it had lost a finger, causing the other flowers to gasp and move enough to let the Horsefly escape. Laying over the Horsefly, Sean sniffled and tried to keep himself together. He was never going to say nice things about flowers ever again. He refused to even plant them when he got home.

Steering the Horsefly the best that he could, he tried to fly over the whole maze. He didn't want to run into anymore superficial flowers. To Be Continued...