"The Garden Kingdom" - Chapter 01 - Choose Your Own Adventure on Steemit!

Sarah loved her backgarden. It was the envy of all her classmates. Their house was old, a fact Sarah had loved when they first moved there 2 years ago, and it had come with a huge back garden that had been left to grow wild.

It had obviously been very well cared for by the previous owners, with meandering pathways, stepping stones in the colourful garden beds, two ponds (a smaller one in the corner and a big one in the middle, sporting a beautiful stone water-feature - her father had fixed the pump) and majestic trees that looked hundreds of years old.

But now it was overgrown, giving it a different kind of beauty... The longer grass, untrimmed bushes, and plants growing willy-nilly wherever their seeds fell lent a sense of wild jungle to the garden, and Sarah delighted in it. It was her sanctuary.

After 2 years, she knew every rock and tree, every stepping stone, every flowering plant and bush. She had many secret hideouts in which she would read, play and often, fall asleep in. And being an only child, her imagination was as wild and rampant as her beloved garden.

The only thing she missed was how, when she first started exploring, she often used to get lost in the maze of pathways and garden beds... Not to mention the mini-maze itself, right at the back.

The thing she loved most of all, though, was staring out over the garden at night from her top-floor bedroom window.

The wondrous lights that appeared all over reminded her of a fairy kingdom, and indeed she imagined that there must be all sorts of fey creatures populating her garden, all secretly living magical lives, with their own joys and sorrows.

And it was on just such a night, as she stared lovingly at all her kingdom, that she decided she would sneak out of her bedroom and go to her favourite hideout: The hollow inside of the biggest tree in the garden, which she hadn't even shown to her friends... The access to it was small, which she hid easily with some bark.

It reminded her of Peter Pan's glorious tree hideout, even if it was much smaller, and sometimes when her parents were fighting, she'd go there and spend the whole day hidden.

She crept downstairs, careful to skip the steps she knew creaked, and got to the backdoor. Opening it without making a noise was a challenge because it was old and squeaky, but by nudging it very slowly, bit by bit, she managed.

The tree was on the other side of the garden, close to the maze, in the corner... With a thrilling feeling in her tummy and the deliciously cool grass (the only patch her father had bothered to mow) tickling her bare feet, she walked over, ready to enter her beloved garden at night for the first time.

She smiled as she thought about how mischievous she was being, and at the thought of creeping inside her home-away-from-home at this time of night.

Making her way slowly over the grass, and admiring the beautiful spectacle of the mysterious lights all over the garden, she suddenly felt a gut-wrenching floop! and the world around her changed drastically.

She turned about in fright... And turned again, and again, not understanding! Where had her house gone? And the garden? Why was the ground muddy and why did the air smell so richly of earth and rain? And what was that!?

A monster was approaching, that's all she knew...

So she ran. She ran until she couldn't see the monster anymore, and then stopped to catch her breath, leaning on... On something. What is this? And as she looked up and lets her wits catch up a bit, she realised that she was still exactly where she had been - on the grass. Except now, somehow, she was in the grass, and about as tall as the tip of a pencil!

"'That afraid of an ant, are you?"

Sarah whipped around at the voice, and saw... Peter Pan? Peter Pan??

"P.. P.. Peter Pan? Are you really...?"

"What? No! That's just silly... But don't change the subject. Who are you? I've never seen you before, which is odd, because I make it a point to see everyone."

"I'm... I'm Sarah. I live here. Except, I don't know what's happened... I'm not supposed to be out here at night, and now look! I'm so, so... So small!"

Sarah sat down on what must have been a tiny stone, though big enough to serve as a seat for her, and started crying. The panic had worn off and she now felt lost - truly lost, not like getting lost in her garden - and very frightened.

Not-Peter Pan didn't seem to care though.

"Wait just a second! ... You - it can't be... Are you the giant? The careless giant who sometimes wreaks havoc in the Kingdom?"

Sarah looked up, tear-stained and frowning, "Wreak havoc? And no, of course I'm not a giant! Can't you see I'm just a girl?"

But then it dawned on her, and she said, "Oh... Actually, yes, I think I am the giant... But wait.. Who are you?"

Not-Peter Pan said, "Well, I'm not Peter Pan, that's for sure. First, because he's way too famous, and I'm not. Second, because he's a he, and I'm not."

"You know about Peter Pan, then? But how - and wait, you're not a boy?"

"Nope!" not-Peter Pan said, with a wink. "Looks can be deceiving! I've cut my hair, and yes, worn this green cap, so I look boy-ish, but that's just so I don't get my hair all caught in things while I'm running about. The others are too vain to do it but then hey, they don't get to have as much fun as I do! My name's Dipity, by the way... But call me Dip! Everyone else does."

"Dip... It's nice to meet you, I guess. Excuse my crying please, but this is all very strange and scary for me... I just don't understand it! One second I was walking on the grass, next second I'm 2 millimetres tall, tripping in the mud! How could this even happen?"

Dip looked at Sarah quizzically and then suddenly got a surprised and sort of bashful expression on her face. "Uh-oh", she let out softly.

"What do you mean, 'uh-oh'? ... What?"

"Uhm.. Well, Sarah, I gotta say, it was wonderful meeting you, but I now just realised that... Uhm, that I left some cookies baking in the oven and my house has probably burnt down so I really should be getting along- OH, alright! I think it was me! No need to look at me with that expression!"

Sarah didn't think that she was looking at her with any kind of expression in particular, but she caught Dip's tone and thought she'd play along, "You mean...", she gasped dramatically, "You didn't!"

"I did, I did! I'm sooo sorry! It wasn't meant to hit anything! I do this kinda thing all the time - to practice, you see - and the spells usually just shoot harmlessly into the sky. How was I supposed to know you'd be right there in the way all of a sudden?"

"Wait... Oh gosh...! So you did this to me?"

Dip looked more abashed than ever and paced to and fro, looking at Sarah and gesturing, starting and not finishing a dozen excuses... Finally she said, "Look - yes, it was me and it's done now and I don't know how to reverse it! But I can help you, I promise! I'm the Princess's cousin! I just know her father will help us!"

Sarah looked at Dip and despite the resentment she felt for what she had done to her, she couldn't help but like her too - with her large, expressive eyes and rather pretty, hopeful smile. She had a million questions though. Cousin of the Princess? So there's a King and Queen? So, her garden kingdom really was... A Kingdom?

Much to Dip's surprise, Sarah suddenly jumped up and yelled joyfully, "I knew it! Oh man, I knew it! I saw all the lights at night and conjured up what I thought were crazy ideas of fairies and goblins living in my garden, and look! It's true! All true!"

"Oh, I'm not a fairy, thank you very much, and I'm definitely not a goblin! I am a pixie, of course."

"A pixie! Well, yes, I see! You don't have wings! A pixie!" Sarah was smiling now, from ear to ear, her own problems temporarily forgotten. "So, you're the Princess's cousin. Can I meet the Queen? And see the great tree castle?"

"Hold on there... Again, not a fairy. The Great Tree is the home of all Fairykind. The Pixie Royals are all over at the Great Falls, in the middle of the lake."

"The Great Falls? ... Oh, the water feature! Ok, I see..." said Sarah, trying to hide the disappointment from her voice. She had always loved the fairies, in all her lore books. They were the nobler, fairer kind. Pixies were known to be full of mischief, even rude sometimes, and were often looked down upon by their fairy brethren.

But here was Dip, a Pixie, offering to help her out of the fix Dip herself had put Sarah in. She seemed very nice too, despite what Sarah's lore books said.

It was an important decision... Go long with Dip, or instead, ask her nicely if she wouldn't mind taking her to the Great Tree instead, and ask the fairies, with their own powerful kind of magic, to help her.

Dip was watching Sarah as she thought, and finally said, as though reading her mind, "I know what you're thinking - and I can't blame you. We pixies have somewhat of a reputation, whereas the Fairies are just oh-so-perfect, and know it! It's really up to you... Honestly, I wouldn't mind taking you to the fairies. Unlike most Pixiekind, I have a few fairy friends too."

Sarah was glad to know that her new friend would be okay with either decision - goodness knows she needed a friend and guide right now. But what to do?