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Chapter 5: Exploring the Castle, Part 2

Hours before, on Mina and Jane's part, they decided to go exploring in another part of the vast castle and see what this mysterious place had to offer for them during their stay. Though unlike Mary's goal of looking for a specific room in Hollow Bastion and Caroline's objective into searching around for anything that fit her personal interests, the other two merely wanted to take a look around the place to see what they can find. After all, there must be something within this historical abode that would be fascinating to the eyes of people who've never lived within the period that Hollow Bastion has.

Mina took the lead as she began searching through every door to see what they could find that they could look into, with Jane following behind her and sometimes providing her input on what they've found. So far, most of the rooms were either very bleak or empty of any furniture or were filled with contents that have too much dust and cobwebs to count.

"Well, it's such a pity that we haven't found anything interesting thus far," Jane sighed sadly, "I was hoping we might be able to look into a wonderful historical find within these halls."

"Don't worry, Jane. We'll find something," Mina reassured her, "We just need to keep looking, and that's all. I'm sure there's something beautiful that we can find. Perhaps we can see if there's a garden or a studio somewhere. Surely Xemnas has something like those within his castle, wouldn't you think?"

That brightened her sister a bit. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Let's keep looking around."

With that, Mina and Jane kept looking around the rest of the halls until one door in particular caught their attention. The innocent sister couldn't help but grow curious as to what was residing beyond that door that was left ajar; so, without even thinking things over, she approached the door and slowly opened it to find a spectacular room that appears to have been well-cared for in comparison to the other parts of the castle.

The room appeared to be a grand artist's studio, with tables and shelves holding numerous containers of what could be deduced as paint and brushes of many shapes and sizes, and easels waiting to be used underneath long since faded sheets; there were paintings of many shapes and sizes scattered around the place, some of which were incomplete and – quite sadly – faded from not being used for so long. For other pieces of furniture, there were a few sofas in select places that were barely covered by faded sheets as well as stools and chairs shuffled all over the place without a purpose or reason to be used; anything that was once a pot or a vase was either broken or old and worn, complete with flora that have already dried and withered from neglect that lasted for who knows how long.

"Fancy that, our host having an art studio to call his own," Jane said with shock and awe at the new surroundings.

"I wonder how many rooms were cared for in this castle, in comparison to the other rooms we've looked into," Mina wondered as she took a look around, "It's rather unusual to see so few rooms be loved while so many were neglected."

"Perhaps the host had too many memories in this place, and his ancestors were the same," Jane speculated, "There is the possibility that rooms which were once valued so much might've lost their vigor as the owner lost interest for one reason or another."

It did make Mina wonder what it is that might've made Xemnas lose interest in so much as Jane had guessed; it was saddening to her that someone would develop a severe case of apathy for the things that would liven up a person's residence.

But then her mind was quickly distracted when she noticed a group of portraits hung on the wall near a grand door decorated with motifs of flowers and leaves. She couldn't help but wonder who those people in the pictures were and what significance they have in a lonely castle like Hollow Bastion. Out of all the portraits that she saw, though, the one that piqued the most curiosity was the one picture of a radiantly beautiful young woman with an uncanny resemblance to herself; the only difference being that the lady in the portrait was much more slender than her.

"I wonder who you are…" Mina mused softly.

Her curiosity was answered when she looked down at the golden plaque and noticed the name of the subject written with passion: Hellene Steiner.

That made Mina wonder: Hellene Steiner, huh? I wonder what she was like back then. Maybe she was beautiful and full of life…

But then, just as she backed away from the portrait, Mina found herself seeing a ghostly vision of two people before her eyes. One was the woman, Hellene Steiner, and the other was a man who bore a striking resemblance to that of Xemnas. Although there was no voice to be heard from either of them, she could see Hellene mouthing affectionate words towards the man as she was pointing at the picture while the man awkwardly nodded in agreement as he tried to admit his thoughts, whatever they might've been.

Baffled at this, Mina blinked again, but found that the two people disappeared as quickly as they came. This made her wonder what on earth she was seeing, if it was a vision of the past or her mind playing tricks on her.

But Jane snapped her out of it when she asked, "Is there anything wrong, Mina?"

Mina shook her head and answered, "No…it's nothing. Did you need something, Jane?"

"I was thinking we could take a look and see what's behind that ornate door," Jane replied as she pointed toward the decorated door, "Judging from the intricate motifs on it, I'd probably guess that there's a garden out there. What do you say we take a look?"

"I don't see why not. Let's just hope it's not locked," Mina agreed.

Much to their surprise, when they did make an attempt to open the door, it opened with shocking ease and revealed a wide yard covered in plants and old stone structures that give off the impression of what could've been a paradise. The whole area was bound by countless vines that entangled around the walls that stretched yards across the field, and the grass has long been dry from malnutrition; any flora that resided within there was also rather dull-colored and gloomy whilst bearing thorns that could prick more than just someone's finger when touched. Far across the garden stood a solitary willow tree, isolated from all the other botanical entities that surround it, undisturbed and alone in the embrace of the walls that guard it.

"My, what a queer garden I'm seeing. How long has this place been neglected?" Jane wondered as she began to look around.

"I wish I knew. I'm sure this used to be such a magnificent garden long ago," Mina replied, "before something made this small sanctuary become nothing but a faint reminder of the beauty it used to have."

"Let's take a look around the garden for a bit, and see what we can find here," Jane suggested.

"I don't see any problem with that, but we'd best tread carefully," Mina warned, "It'd be bad if any of us get hurt by the thorny plants that have grown in the place of the harmless flora."

Mina took the lead as she steadily stepped outside and began to take a look around the ruined garden with Jane following close behind her, searching among the gloomy courtyard for what could of noteworthy interest to the both of them. However, as they went further down the path, the most they found were more thorny vines and prickly flowers that didn't appear to be quite welcoming to outsiders. Granted, they were very careful as they traversed deeper into the dark wonderland, but they couldn't help wondering if there's anyone in the garden – or anything, for that matter – that might catch their attention.

But then, after much searching within this labyrinth of a garden, the two finally decided to look near the willow tree and find out what this lonely giant might be hiding. Truly, the willow was a majestic sight in comparison to the rest of the flora that lingered within the stone walls; but compared to the hostile species that roamed around the area, the willow itself was merely a lonely tree that weeps by itself, possibly lamenting being the only thing that will do no harm to the curious passerby.

"I wonder how you persisted on living in such a lonely place like this…" Mina wondered quietly.

As she inspected the tree, though, Mina noticed that there was something carefully hidden behind the willow tree. It was an iron gate, long left unused by anyone who used to pass through the man-made haven, erected to mightily guard whatever resides beyond the thick bushes that stand past the old metallic bars; it didn't help that the gates were locked shut by a large, primitive padlock bound by numerous rusted chains that have been exposed to the elements for much too long. What could be past this gate that requires it to be closed off to all who trespass in the garden? Who would know the answer to that?

"Did you find anything, Mina?" Jane asked when she peeked around the trunk.

"I found this gate hiding behind the willow tree, but it seems to be locked tight," Mina replied while she inspected the lock, "Whoever shut this gate most likely didn't want a certain place to be trifled with. But I do wonder what's lurking past the gate…"

All of a sudden, a scream was heard, forcing both sisters to turn with shock at the unexpected cry of pain; they quickly realized that it was Caroline's voice, and she sound as though she had been hurt.

"Oh, goodness, that was Caroline!" Jane exclaimed, "Do you suppose she might've hurt herself?"

"We'd better hurry back and find Mary," Mina answered hastily, "If we find her, we'll find Caroline."

At full haste, the two gentle sisters hurried out of the garden and back into the castle to look for their other sisters, hoping that no harm had come to either of them in the midst of their own personal exploration.