A few hours later and my long, long hair was cut to just beneath my ears, my dress was exchanged for trousers and a shirt and my small sandals were traded for heavy boots. Lulu commented how it was a good thing my breasts had never been that big but I just blushed. Overall I looked very much like a young man, a couple of years younger than Ben.

When I walked back into the inn, the manager didn’t even recognize me. He just asked me how long I was staying for and how much money I had. I was nervous to speak because of my voice and tried to make it deeper. “I’m here to see Maria,” I said gruffly. I sounded ridiculous but the manager just led me to the kitchen. Maria was sitting on a bench, looking out the window thoughtfully. She didn’t notice as we walked in.

“Maria, stop daydreaming. You have a visitor,” the manager said. Maria jumped and looked at us sheepishly. I saw recognition and surprise in her eyes but she kept her mouth shut. Thankfully, the manager left us alone.

“Oh no,” Maria cried, jumping off the bench and running to me. “What has Lulu done to you?” She threw her arms around me and hugged me.

“Do I really look that bad,” I asked quietly. If I was self conscious before it was nothing compared to how self conscious I was now. But Maria quickly stepped back and took me by my shoulders.

“No, no,” she amended quickly. “You look like a very handsome boy, which I presume was Lulu’s plan, but you look like a boy. You were such a pretty girl and it’s going to take so long for your hair to grow back!” I was hardly reassured by this.

“Well tomorrow morning I am going on a boat to the Yulin Islands to try to find what I’m looking for. The ship’s captain wouldn’t let a girl onboard but he said he would let me on if I disguised myself,” I explained. Maria nodded sadly.

“I just wish Lulu hadn’t gone to such drastic measures,” Maria sighed.

“I’ll go to whatever measures I want,” Lulu said from behind us. We both jumped and Maria let out a shriek. “Don’t you question me Maria,” Lulu finished as she headed for the back door, to the garden. Once she was out of ear shot Maria started giggling and I couldn’t help but join in. The manager walked in just then and my girly giggling quickly turned to manly coughing. He didn’t seem to notice though.

“Well, will you be needing a room for tonight,” he asked me, rubbing his hands together. I looked at Maria who nodded at me.

“Ah, yes sir,” I said in my gruff voice. I saw Maria bite her lower lip to keep from laughing out of the corner of my eye. It was all I could do to stop from laughing myself. “How much is a room for one night,” I asked even though I knew the prices of the rooms and that he would probably try to over charge me.

“Two golden coins,” he said quickly. After the way he treated me just the other day I wasn’t willing to pay him that, even though it was the usual price. I knew how this worked and knew I could get him to lower the price.

“Oh, well, I guess I can’t rent a room. Unfortunately I was robbed on my way here and all I have left is this one gold coin,” I said. I was a horrible liar but I held up one of my gold coins and watched as he eyed it greedily.

“Well, since you are a friend of Maria’s, that will be acceptable,” he said as he snatched it from my hands. I gave my first gold coin away to the man who had not only given it to me originally but the man who had fired me on dumb superstitions. “Maria, take this young man to Room Four once you are done visiting.” He left then and I made a face at his retreating back. Maria laughed at me.

“Apparently getting rid of your hair got rid of your shyness as well,” she told me and I blushed, realizing what I had just done. If Ben could see me now he would be amazed at the change. My second thought of Ben that day made me sad. He was dead somewhere in an unmarked grave if his killers had even bothered to bury him at all. The pirates had probably just dumped his body in the ocean.

“Gemma not shy,” Lulu asked as she walked back inside. “That’ll be the day. She didn’t even say one word to James, the captain who will be taking her to the Islands. Speaking of, we need to get you fed and to bed. Tomorrow will be a hard day.” I nodded and set about the kitchen looking for something to prepare for myself.

“Oh no honey,” Maria said, pulling me away from my task. “It’s your last night; let us cook for you.”

“By us she means me,” Lulu informed me but she did start making a small meal. A few minutes later we were sitting around the table eating together for the last time. When we were done, Lulu left and it was time for me to say goodbye to Maria, my first friend, other than Ben. It was sad and tearful and I went to bed with a heavy heart. I promised Maria and myself that I would visit her again someday.

I slept fitfully. Nightmares flooded my dreams of Ben being shot; of that dead man; of Lulu and Maria in danger or dead. Tomorrow I would be starting again, leaving behind everything. For the fourth time I was being taken away from everyone I knew and cared about. I knew that if the manager hadn’t fired me I wouldn’t be leaving right now. I would have been content to just live here the rest of my life and forget all about the garden. But I also knew that its death would weigh heavy on my heart for the rest of my life.

A new thought occurred to me as the sky began to lighten and I lay awake. What if that man’s death had been the garden’s doing, to get me moving again? But that was ridiculous; how could a garden kill someone and be able to predict the events that would follow? It was the garden that had held me captive for five years however. I was sure it was capable of things I couldn’t even dream about.

Before I could think about it anymore though, there was a knock on my door. It was Lulu and it was time to go.