The forest is pretty damn dark and sinister by now. There is almost no sound except for her own footsteps, and almost no light except for what comes third-hand through the layers of branches high overhead.

And then, very abruptly, she comes to a break in the trees.

The forest has led her to the top of a shallow slope. A magnificient palace, almost the size of a small city, nestles in the bowl of the valley below; it's stunningly beautiful, veined with streams and waterfalls, ringed by a tidy hedge maze whose arching flowered entrance stands not far from Ziasera. There don't seem to be any people in it, but perhaps from her point of view that's a good thing.

...oh, wow.

This feels very...traplike. Trap-adjacent. Nothing could possibly be this gorgeous and be abandoned for no reason.

But she was already halfway planning to get murdered in a dark and sinister forest, and getting murdered in a beautiful castle seems like a step up in the world. Also her feet are so tired and she would like to sit down on a chair, if possible.

She adjusts her pack and heads toward the entrance to the maze.

The hedges shuffle from side to side until the 'maze' is just a straight corridor from outer archway to inner. This is not normal hedge behaviour.

Whaaaat.

“Uh...are you sure you’re supposed to let me in?”

She peers around to see if she can spot anyone making magic happen in the vicinity.

The hedge corridor rustles invitingly. Absolutely nothing else moves.

Hmmm.

She steps halfway in.

There are tiny blue and white flowers growing from the branches of the hedge. It's very neatly trimmed for an abandoned hedge maze. The corridor doesn't shuffle around any further while she's standing in the middle of it, and there's still no sign of anyone nearby.

–okay! Sure, weird hedge not-maze. Hedge line?

She strolls down to the other end.

It re-mazes as soon as she's inside.

The palace and environs are even prettier up close. The closest outbuildings are a few minutes' pleasant stroll away, across a lovely field of wildflowers shining picturesquely in the afternoon sun.

Hmm.

Does she have enough energy left for a few minutes of pleasant strolling...?

Nnnope!

She flops down in the wildflowers.

After a minute or so, a delicate-looking wooden tray comes tiptoeing through the grass on its pointy wooden feet. On the tray are a cozy pillow and a neatly folded blanket.

...this is so strange. Is this just an incredibly convenient palace or is somebody watching her?

She watches it pick its way over the grass.

When it reaches her she pats it as she pulls the pillow and blanket off.

It gives a cute little hop and then traipses away, back toward the palace.

She's almost too curious to go to sleep.

–she would hate to waste the comfy pillow, though.

She curls up under the blanket to nap. Just for a little bit.

The blanket is very soft.

By the time she wakes up, afternoon has begun to fade into evening. There's a picnic basket settled in the grass nearby, wings of woven straw folded neatly to its sides.

She sits up, a little reluctantly, and leans in toward the basket.

...poke.

It opens its lid to reveal napkinsful of delicious food!

...are there tiny pies?

There are.

Tiny pies! How did it know?

She picnics happily for a while and then reaches out to pick up the basket.

It is a perfectly pick-uppable basket.

Well, then, she'll take it with her as she approaches the castle.

She's beginning to think that there's somebody in there who likes her.

It does seem plausible from available evidence!

The palace is really pretty. There's a lot of water, for some reason - fountains, aquifers, artificial streams, tidy little waterfalls. It's sometimes not clear whether a particular section is a single building with a lot of interstitial courtyards, or a cluster of buildings with gardens in between.