A/N: Hello everyone! StoryLady35 here!
Sorry about the long wait between my stories, I've been stumped and busy. With my very active flatmates, cooking, cleaning and with classes starting… tomorrow (:S) I just haven't had either the time or the energy to right as much as I have before.
I get a little done each day in the hours I find to myself but as I said, you will have to be patient now.
But, one with the information on the story!
This one is called Demon Hotel. It's not as scary as it sounds, it should be a heart-warming but… striking story.
In it, Rin is a backpacker (Travelling student normally, who lives out of their backpack if you know don't what that means) of around… 22 years old I'd say who gets lost in a storm before stumbling across a building.
There she accidently…
Wait… why am I telling you the story? That kind of ruins the idea… Oh I'm being a stupid lady.
Anyway, it's based in the modern time but the hotel is… I don't know when but it's before electricity.
Oh! And I almost forgot! It's in 1st person! Yeah, I'm experimenting again! Thought I'd give 1st person a try. Might suck, it's not my favourite format but… nothing ventured, nothing gained.
So, read, review, tell me if I nail or fail… and if you have any, make some suggestions on where it can go. D
PS: Extra thanks to Midnight Reader who turns out is one of my flatmates. _
I can't remember the last time I was so cold. The wind was battering against me, I was soaked to the skin and I was so hungry. Oh, if I didn't find somewhere to get out of this storm… I don't think I'll make it through the night.
Wait… what… what's that?
Some kind of building?
There's a light on…
If someone lives there…
Only a little further…
Come on legs, a little more and you can rest…
I hardly felt the handle in my grip, my fingers were so cold. But it moved. Oh the relief when it swung in and the welcoming warmth of the light.
Inside and I pushed the door, the wind tried to keep it open but I forced it closed. And then my legs gave way and I crashed down on the wooden floor, my backpack falling from my shoulder with a thud.
My lungs screamed at me, yelling at me to slow my breathing. Somehow I managed to slow down and my mind focused, allowing me to look over the room. It was all covered with planks of strange orange wood, two dark archways on the far wall. But my eyes focused on the table between the archways.
My mouth was so dry all of a sudden and I acted before I really thought. I crawled my way over to the table and grabbed the metal tankard. I was so grateful when something wet moved inside and I looked to see it was a dark red.
But I was so thirsty. Before I knew it, half of the glass's content was down my throat. I stared at the second half. Too late to go back now.
The last mouthful was wonderful, I licked my lips and leant back on the table, the world just finally appeared to be playing fair.
I sighed.
Then gasped. What… I… I can't… I can't… I can't breathe!
Oh my… please… help… someone… I… I can't breathe. My throat… my lungs… please… someone…
"Oh? It's only some foolish human."
Who's there? Please, help me!
"Ah, I have to admit, you're strong to have lasted so long already."
Even if my body was pulling itself apart around me, I still managed to look up at who was speaking. I was sure my mind was playing tricks on me. It had large yellow eyes and a small pointy beak while it…
No, I can't see anymore…
I tried to speak, ask it for help…
"Ba! Help you? You were the one to drink the wine of the demons."
What?
"Just give up you stupid thing. The poison is too strong."
Help. Please… help me.
"Give up human. Just die."
No… no I won't die. No, please… no I won't die. I won't. I can't see… my lungs… I can't… I can't breathe… I can't…
Please… please…
.
.
.
I took a deep breath. Then another. Then another. I felt my breath come back in a wave and I felt strong again. My eyes opened and I was lying on my front. I must have collapsed but… I didn't care, I was still alive.
"Stand up human."
A new voice. Dark, powerful and…
My body moved without my control. I stood and felt something light on my back and shoulders. It was some kind of blanket. I was about to shrug it off.
"Unless you wish to die, don't remove the cloak."
I looked at the speaker. How could I have forgotten to look at the voice? He stood right before me, taller than me but that wasn't hard. But I stared at him. That might have been stupid. Oh this man… he could kill me, I have no doubt in that. But his eyes… oh they were beautiful.
I never liked gold, it looked cheap to me but his eyes…
"Lower your gaze human."
My head moved without my control and I was suddenly looking at my feet. Why was I doing this? I appear to have lost all control of my body. This man spoke and I obeyed.
I opened my mouth to speak.
"Silence."
My voice failed. What… why was he…. How!
"Your body is filled with poison, human. That cloak will slowly purify the poison in your blood. But you are from now on under my control. It will be of my choice when, or if you are freed."
Freed? Control? Does he mean…
"You are now my slave human."
Slave?
I'm… I'm a slave?
How can this be? Slave?
"Jaken, see that she is given some food, somewhere to sleep and a change of clothes. Tomorrow, put her to work."
"Yes mi lord."
"You will work hard human."
I swallowed. I don't think I had a choice. "I… I will." I heard something twitch beside me. "My lord." I added very quickly.
I stood, head down, voice stuck, and just… waiting.
"See that you do. Jaken."
I waited and I could feel… as strange as it was… I could feel control… or… my freedom come to me. I felt like I could do what I wanted… so I looked up.
That golden eyed man was gone but that little… well he was a green thing. I had no idea what he was. Not human. Definitely not human.
What had the voice… called it? Jake?
No… Jaken. That was it. Jaken. But why was he staring at me?
As I looked at it, it growled deeply, frowning. "Follow me, human."
It turned and went through one of the archway. Grabbing my bag from by the door, I hurried to follow it and that was when I noticed the stick in his hands, over his shoulder. We walked down a long, silent wooden hallway. As we did, I looked at the creature. Jaken had some strange black hat on, held in place by a white band and his clothes were brown, puffy and baggy.
I kept silent, watching the corridor. There was no windows, no electricity… no candles… no source of light. So how was the corridor being illuminated? I looked down at the thing beside me. "Where are we going?"
The thing stopped… my hand stung in pain. "Oww!"
I shot daggers at the little green thing. Jaken pulled his stick back to his shoulder and looked at my hand where he had struck me. He frowned. "You do not speak unless spoken to, slave."
I swallowed and held my hand while the back turned red. That really hurt. I wanted to say something, my voice was still mine, it wasn't being controlled but I had a feeling I'd only get hurt if I spoke. So I nodded and lowered my head, my hand shifting my backpack as we continued to walk.
Finally there was a change in the never ending corridor. The path split in half and we went down to the left side. That was when everything changed. I stopped in my steps. The place before me was huge! High into the sky and deeper into the earth, at least a hundred stories high, each floor filled with doors, the sound of voices, laughter and music was in the air… it was magical! I hurried to a barrier that surrounded the square room, looking up and down. I couldn't see the roof but the floor wasn't far below, filled with steaming baths, dark figures moving in the steam.
"Amazing!" I laughed. Then felt the sharp rap across the back of my legs. It was so hard that I fell to my knees in pain. I called out and felt tears in my eyes.
Jaken was frowning at me, now eye level with me. He frowned a little more then lifted his stick and brought it down on my shoulder twice and then on the top of my arm four times, scolding me as he did.
I didn't hear what he said, something about not being worthy…
The tears fell as I held where it hurt. I'm not use to being hurt. Not on purpose. Never beaten like this.
My knees, shoulder and arm throbbed in pain but as Jaken spoke to me, my ears dead to his words and warnings… I felt… if I closed my eyes, it felt like arms, wrapping themselves around me, holding me tight, warming me and easing the pain.
It was the strangest feeling. Soft and calm. I looked down and saw that the cape around my shoulders had fallen to cover the rest of me, wrapped around my neck, my own hand holding it close around me. It was a pure white and felt like fleece with blue tassels to hold it around my neck. As my hand ran over it, Jaken huffed, getting my attention.
"Why the master saved you, I have no idea but it's not my place to question him. Now, get up and follow me. You will be fed and given a place to rest… but tomorrow you will be put to work."
Still holding the cape around my shoulders, I stood, and followed it. My legs hurt with each movement but I tried not to cry out in my pain.
I decided, I wasn't going to let them think I was weak.
Bag on one shoulder, the fleece cape hanging over it, I walked after Jaken with my head down. I better learn the rules of this place but what I knew about slaves was only what I knew from history.
AH! How on earth did I go from being a lost travelling in a storm to a slave? All because I had a drink? I looked up and saw we were now walking down a bleak corridor away from that grand elegant multi-storey part of the… well… I still had no idea where I was but the closest I could think of was a hotel of some kind. It would make sense, that room I found was some kind of check in… then there was the rooms for the guests… and…
Wait… when I was choking… Jaken… Jaken said… he said… I had drunk the wine of the demons. Did that mean…
And they kept referring to me as human… as if they weren't human.
No.
No… that's ridiculous, demons don't exist.
There must be something else to it.
Then… what was this place?
I looked down at Jaken. He didn't… look human. And that… the master… his eyes… and… and other than a few shadows, I haven't seen anyone else in the corridors.
So… where was I?
Jaken stopped so suddenly that I almost tripped over him. He frowned and growled a little at me so I lowered my eyes from him. He huffed and opened the door in front of him. "This will be your room. It's away from the guests and the other staff."
Guests… did that mean this was some kind of hotel?
But I walked past him and looked at the small room.
And I mean small. It was tiny. My head only just avoided the roof, which was saying something as I'm only 5foot and there was just enough room for me to stretch my arms to the side.
It was tiny!
And empty.
There was nothing in it. It was more a cell than a room. In fact, if it had a window, I would have imagined it having bars on it. But no window, no bed, no table… nothing.
I was about to turn to Jaken when the door slammed closed and I heard it lock from the outside. Panic set in as I ran over to it, the only light coming from a hand sized grate at the top of the door.
"Wait! Wait please! Please let me out!"
"Be silent human! You will stay in there until I have some food for you. Be grateful I gave you that and not making you sleep with the tacoos!"
What the hell is a tacoos? Sounds like a deformed taco. But if he was using it as a threat, I don't think I want to find out.
So I slung my backpack off my shoulder, opened it up and pulled out my trusty torch. Turning it on, I rummaged for my phone.
Please please please please…
No signal.
DAM IT!
I had hoped to call for help but no, nothing. After looking at it for a moment, willing it to give me a signal… I turned it off. This place didn't appear to have any electricity. I won't be able to charge it anytime soon. Better save the battery.
So, phone for help was not an option.
I looked around the room again; the bright light of my torch more than enough for this tiny room. No bed…
Out comes the sleeping bag.
Ah, the life of a student backpacker.
I wonder if the others are alright. Bet they are really worried about me. Oh, I shouldn't have gone off on my own… that is travelling 101. Never go anywhere alone or at least tell everyone where you're going.
I just wanted a shot of the sunrise before we moved on to the airport… I didn't expect that storm to sweep in. I got so lost…
No, no now is not the time to get all emotional. Count what you have. You have warmth. You have some kind of shelter… Jaken said he was getting me some food so that's something.
Look, make the best of it. Think of it as an adventure!
An adventure into the unknown.
An adventure… where… there is the high possibility that I'm now the slave of a demon…
.
.
.
Ok, thinking positively is an epic fail.