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<center>Welcome to the _Choose Your Own Adventure!: "The Garden Kingdom"_ series. If you're new, confused, and don't want to spoil the story for yourself, ***stop right here*** and go to [the first chapter](https://steemit.com/writing/@mandelsage/the-garden-kingdom-chapter-01-choose-your-own-adventure-on-steemit-62fc265c32d7cest) where all is explained!<br>
**We hope you participate and enjoy the journey!**</center><hr><hr>

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<p>https://pre00.deviantart.net/3138/th/pre/f/2018/255/0/b/the_garden_kingdom1280_720ch_6_by_augitsu-dcl7nlo.png<sup>@mandelsage ---  @anyaehrim</sup></p>
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https://i.imgur.com/6Wh0pTX.png
<center><h1>Jump on Belle's Back</h1></center><br>

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<div class="pull-left">https://media.giphy.com/media/2ipUh7KuRIU2xOmxFv/giphy.gif
<sup><a href="https://thumbs.gfycat.com/NaiveSoupyDwarfmongoose-size_restricted.gif">Source (©NaiveSoupyDwarfmongoose)</a></sup>

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**Harold's inhaling was creating a strange vortex of blowing dust and rocks. Sarah felt it was extremely dangerous to stay around, and Dip exchanged a glance with her in an obvious, mirrored conclusion.**

_"Well, Harold,"_ Dip said, not nervous at all, though her face certainly looked so, _"It was a pleasure seeing you again! Haha! Hope the spore children are doing well! We'll meet again soon, I hope! And tidy the place up some, would ya?"_ She then tugged Sarah back toward Belle.

_"Yoooou... AaaaaaAhhh gotta coooome... baaack.... to do... thhh...aaaaa...."_

_"Yep, yep. Not sticking around for a reply. Taxi!!"_ Dip picked Sarah up by the waist to retreat faster as Belle landed close by.

The hummingbird hopped in place a little, and twittered. _"Oh, taking up my offer? I've been getting hungry fluttering for too long."_ Dip jumped onto Belle's back, and set Sarah down.

_"Aaaaaaahaaaaaat~,"_ Harold kept trying to contain his sneeze while replying. _"Aaaaand... ddd... aaaaaa."_

_"Couldn't have been more than twenty seconds!"_ Dip replied to Belle, now ignoring Harold completely.

Sarah, however, continued to stare. She saw King from a better perspective now, and fully realized she was talking to a mushroom, a sentient mushroom with grass allergies. "Why would he choose a spot he's allergic to?" Sarah whispered. She was so confused.

Dip waved her hand in front of Sarah's face, then sighed, _"Up, up, Belle, before Lord Fungi blows!"_

Harold continued, _"Haaaaaaaaeeeey~!"_

_"Oh, oh no!"_ Belle took flight, _"Don't tell me twice, darling."_

**Sarah felt the wind pressure from the wings and immediately closed her eyes, and crouched down, feeling a softness beneath her. Through the sound of her wings flapping so fast, she could still hear him sneeze, but it just sounded like a sniff from a dog at this distance.**

_"Oh,"_ Sarah then realized. _"How... I'm on a hummingbird now."_ She looked to Dip, _"How... did I--"_

Dip responded, _"Oh, welcome back! I picked you up and we jumped, silly."_

_"But... huh?"_ Belle zipped about so fast that Sarah was dazed again from seeing everything in a strange parallax. They were already high above the grass, too.

**Looking about, the landscape from left to right was blurry because of Belle's wings. When Sarah looked behind, she saw her house receding into the distance. Tall. Oppressive. Especially in the dark. Seeing it this way, she was glad she wasn't going home.**

However, despite Belle's speed, they weren't going to the pond. Belle had instead stopped at the hummingbird feeder hung up on the broken fence line just before it. Sarah could feel Belle's tongue licking into the plastic flower through her hands. Sarah could even feel Belle's warmth. She laughed to herself; Belle might not have been near the grass if it wasn't for the feeder and she was glad that she had put it up now. Perhaps most amazing, she was on one. On a hummingbird! Sarah marveled at the possibility that this would be as close to a hummingbird as anyone would ever get.

<div class="pull-right">
https://i.imgur.com/iBI8CmX.jpg<sup><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/7206176954/in/album-72157629700701826/">Image</a><a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/3.0/us/80x15.png" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird">Michael L. Baird</a></sup>
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_"Aww, man. Why are we stopping... are you always hungry?"_ Dip crossed her arms and sat down like a kindergartner. 

**With such a flamboyant move, Sarah fully regained awareness of Dip again. Particularly, it was odd that Dip had been standing the whole time they were in the air. Upon observation, Sarah could see a faint bubble around her. She thought, perhaps, that was why.**

Sarah asked, _"Dip, how... what kind of magic do you have?"_

_"Hmm?"_ She returned with a rather cunning smirk, although a touch coy. _"A lot of kinds. Why?"_

_"Well, it seems you're able to jump really high. You were jumping on top of the grass when you shrunk me, right?"_

_"Yep!"_ She pointed at the transparent sphere around her. _"I call this my air bubble. I use it to go faster. Jump higher. Uhh... all sorts of things!"_

_"I see. And you can stand on Belle so easily because of it, too?"_ Sarah was having so much trouble staying on, so Dip's ability seemed like something only magic could do.

Belle had moved to another side of the feeder, and the sudden acceleration made Sarah grip harder.

Dip giggled. _"Don't pull her feathers out now."_

_"O... okay."_

Dip smiled, _"You giants really don't know magic, huh?"_

_"O-of course not! Would I be here if I did?"_

_"Well, your family can fix a lake. That's kind of magical...?"_ Dip said trying to be encouraging.

Sarah wasn't sure how to respond. Dip knew of giant-only things like ovens, Peter Pan, and taxis. She must've known giants didn't have magic.

Belle drank and Dip's foot started twitching. Awkwardly, Sarah went to ask again, _"So..."_

Dip sighed, _"I've learned a lot of magic. Magic I'm not allowed to learn. Rules, you know?"_ But she pointed to herself with her thumb, _"I'm the princess's cousin, though, right? I should know magic! Lots of magic! A bit unfair that the King doesn't think I'll use it right. So I cheated."_

_"Cheated... like by asking the fairies?"_

_"Ah, just one cooperative fairy, really. But he's a nice person. I think. I would've taken you to him if you'd asked. Can't trust the rest of them."_

_"Fairy magic can change people's sizes, though..."_ Sarah remembered.

_"Ah. Yes, but again, it's not specifically fairy magic..."_ Dip said, a touch less happy. _"BUT that doesn't matter!"_ she exclaimed, and perked up again while patting Belle. _"We're going to fix that as soon as the Misses here decides to stop being a pig!"_

_"Really, now, dear,"_ Belle swished around to another opening of honey water. _"You surely know my kind eat all day."_

_"You eat all day_ and _night because you have babies. I can totally tease you for it."_

<div class="pull-left">
https://i.imgur.com/lEGdbqb.jpg
<sup><a href="https://www.southernliving.com/garden/hummingbird-nectar-recipe">Image</a><a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/3.0/us/80x15.png" /></a><a href="
https://www.flickr.com/people/critterseeker/
">Daniel AS. Leifheit</a></sup>
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Belle sighed while landing. _"Yes, and this is such a great spot to do so."_ She chittered a little. _"So, you're an unfortunate giant, hmm?"_

_"Oh, you're asking me?"_ Sarah was surprised. Belle hadn't spoken directly to her yet.

_"Yes, dear. I'm curious. Do you know which of the giants put this here?"_

_"I... I did,"_ Sarah replied shyly. 

Belle drank for a little before flapping in place, _"Oh? Is that so? Well, aren't you just the sunshine on my rainy day? I can thank the giant proper now!"_

_"You're welcome,"_ Dip said quick.

_"It's so generous of you, darling Giant. This much must've taken you years to collect."_ She went back to drinking, and Dip sighed again.

Sarah noticed some of the creatures in the garden weren't as aware of giants since honey water was easy to get. _"It was nothing, really."_ She looked back to Dip whose fingers were now tapping her arms.

_"Ugh!"_ Dip jumped up. _"Alright, we'll never make it to the lake at this rate. I'm jumping off!"_

_"Wait, she's just replenishing her energy, if we just wa--"_

Dip wiggled her fingers at Sarah, _"We don't have time. She's got babies to feed, that's why she's drinking so much. We're heading right to her nest after this,"_ and she stomped, _"which is NO WHERE near the lake, mind you!"_

Belle flapped her wings again, and Sarah got the sense of agitation from them. _"Were you expecting a direct route? So impatient, dear. Really."_

Dip started walking in circles, arms folded over one another. Sarah asked, _"How long would it take if we waited?"_

Dip replied while pointing over the fence, _"At the rate she's filling up? Forever. With my magic? From here, we'd be there in four hours-ish? Anyway, definitely faster."_

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https://s26162.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/garden-at-night.jpg<sup><a href="https://lithub.com/night-garden/">Image </a>from <a href="https://lithub.com/night-garden/
">Lithub.com</a></sup>
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_"Four hours?"_ Sarah looked over the fence. She saw the garden spanning to the distant stone walls like an overgrown and immense forest. It looked like tall hills made of thousands of colorful tree flowers beside plateaus made of thick stone. "Oh my," she said, amazed. Even the lights she saw from her window looked brighter. Sarah suspected they were dwellings for the gardenfolk - perhaps even towns - but she couldn't be certain until she got closer.

**Would it really take that long to travel to the Pixie Kingdom on Belle's back? She felt safe now, despite feeling like she'd fall off.**

Dip tapped her foot against Belle, and Belle fluttered again, refusing to respond. Belle was likely just as agitated at this point. Ignored, Dip then turned to Sarah, and put her fists to her sides. _"It doesn't look like you want to abandon ship, but Mother Hummingbird is going to take forever. And you want to get bigger sooner, right?"_

**Sarah puffed out her cheeks. She was sure that being on Belle's back would be the safest for the both of them, but perhaps they really were in a hurry? Sarah really wanted to wait, but Dip's insistence seemed equally important. Perhaps there was a reason they needed to get there as soon as possible.**

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<div class="phishy"><h1><center><em>What will Sarah do?</em></center></h1><br>

<div class="pull-left"><---- <a href="https://steemit.com/writing/@mandelsage/the-garden-kingdom-chapter-10-choose-your-own-adventure-on-steemit">Jump overboard with Dipity.</a></div>
<div class="pull-right"><a href="https://steemit.com/writing/@anyaehrim/the-garden-kingdom-chapter-11-choose-your-own-adventure-on-steemit">Convince Dipity to stay.</a> ----></div><br><br><center>
or<br><a href="https://steemit.com/writing/@poeticsnake/the-garden-kingdom-chapter-03-choose-your-own-adventure-on-steemit-"><em> Go back and choose another path.</em></a></center>
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<hr><center><sup><em>If the above links do not work, the next part of the story has not been written yet.<br> Patience, my little birdie!</em></sup></center>

https://i.imgur.com/6Wh0pTX.png<br><center><sup>
Dividers <a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/hand-drawn-text-dividers_1312470.htm">found on Freepik</a></sup></center><hr>

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