The dripping was maddening. I wished the accursed storm of the night would leave me be. Hadn't I suffered enough, forced to be in this sapped fortress? What had I done to deserve this torment?
That smell. Oh, that smell. It penetrated the crumbling oak, seeming to rot away its rich texture. The ceiling felt as if it would give way to the slightest glare. To think, this had once been a sanctuary, the cornerstone of bygone days.
My cap was blown off in the hall clad with banners bright in days past.
In passing came the oils of portraits, melted, that siege the cause. All that remained were faint shades of pink, brighter than the morning glow, and…no, I refuse. The oil seemed to have stained the charred timber, long since the beams had caved in. From the rubble, I could faintly make out remains of tables, diamond-adorned chandeliers, and the outlines of windows once there, now letting time pass through this place.
It was once our dining hall.
The glass, once stained with such majestic images, had long since shattered, leaving only traces of the past lazily cast upon the floor. Such a shame; perhaps they were all that was left of those times. They were meant to keep the past in the memories of people, to know what had happened, to never let us be forgotten. It seems I was the exception, that we two were nothing but blurs of simpler times. We had been forgotten, erased.
It was her castle, after all. She let this happen.
Nearly every room had been sealed, whether by the overgrown flora or cracked stone. I distinctly recalled a quaint shop used to sell Mushrooms here at a point; those were his favorite. We'd get some with coffee every morn, sometimes buying some for our special ones. In times between tragedies, I treasured the daybreak.
I wonder if he did, too. I know she didn't.
There was a decayed staircase near the garden, long since overrun with vines and weeds alike. I could scarce believe anyone could live here. Younger, I thought it to be endless, with portraits lining the walls seemingly forever. Such a fool, that lad was. Busted up and rotting though it was, I knew exactly where this long forgotten path would take me. The color that pierces and haunts my soul shall torment me know more. Water trickled down on this corpse of a castle, for the storm refused to lift.
Do I even want her to see me?
Sulking through piles of torn pages and collapsed shelves, there were many carcasses, contorted into poses of pure and utter agony. Shells and been ripped apart, spotted caps lay drained and lifeless. Some were mere servants, others elite soldiers, but all rotted together as one. To think, they had been slain by an invisible menace. By her.
It disgusts me.
Outside, high above the ground, was a lodged airship, his flagship, seemingly frozen in time on the crumbling bridge. It was slowly decaying, but it still demolished most of the higher castle. The bridge, gone in a flash. The guest areas, rubble. Like everything else, it served as a reminder to what had happened. I could make still see that torn flag, a blazing insignia distinct in its ferocity, fluttering in the rain. The wrecked battleship had caused much more than collateral damage; it struck fear into her cold, callous soul.
The fourth floor, the top of this forsaken fortress, had crashed onto that room, falling to the ground soon thereafter. I glanced back at that old wooden whip, water pelting its sides. I remember leaping around that thing with him, high above the pitch-black clouds.
The skeleton of an older servant laid in front of the room. He'd been our caretaker. It seemed she let another die for her sake. She was more a monster than the king.
There was no door; it had collapsed long ago. Moonlight strewn in from the ceiling, for the clouds had broken slightly. Entering, I was hit with an overwhelming scent. It was likely a perfume, but it smelled reminiscently of death. Maybe it had hints of that airborne poison that those soldiers would never forget.
Rain trickled in through the ceiling, though only slightly. There was little rubble; if the roof had no hole, I could I see this a bedroom. But no, it was no bedroom. It was his coffin, and her final contraption. Whatever it was made her immortal, so long she stayed in there, with him by her side. Of course, only one would fit. Only one got to forsake this nightmare.
My brother was fool, but I loved him so. All that remained was a soulless corpse, in pain, and his blazing…red…cap.
Contorted though he was, he'd still been in love when he died. It kept her alive; she didn't tell him what would happen to him. So many lives, gone, just for that toxic one. How could I have let this happen to him?
No, it was her fault. She didn't save him. She'd only ever looked out for herself. My brother had saved her, given her peace, given her his life, and she gave nothing. Absolutely nothing. What a nightmare, what a monster. Why should she live?
Was this what he would've wanted?
The glass around that device shattered with ease. I wanted her to see my face, to see what she had done to me, if only for a second. I pulled it out of my coat pocket, the thing I had saved for decades. For her.
She awoke. That rose returned to her cheeks, her blonde locks cascaded down, she breathed in calm cycles. Disgusting. She opened he pale eyes, greeting me with an ocean of blue. She seemed confused when she saw my face.
"Lui-," was all that came. A shot rang out through the ruins, perhaps reaching out to the country. The lost all color, except for one. Bright red trickled down her pretty face, staining her perfectly pink dress. I wonder what she was thinking. Though, she never deserved that thought.
I had made my way down, taking a final glance at everything. The rain had let up, I could see the moonlight cast about on the tapestries. All three of us were there, sewn together as comrades. Such a sight reminded me of what had been, and what remains.
Outside, I waited. For the past to pass. For this nightmare to end. For all of this to be finally forgotten forever. Please, just end this!
I gazed down at that red cap in my hand, its distinct 'M' encircled in white. It brought back so much. I wished he could be here, that the siege had never happened. That we were never separated. That it would all just…I was interrupted by a crack in the sky.
When I looked up, I smiled. I finally smiled. That grin permeated through the night. I cackled at that sight, it was over. Oh, dear God, it was finally over!
The castle was no longer pink; it was a deep, searing, blazing red.