The House of Truth: Sickening Discovery
Leana sat staring at the painting on the opposite wall, the only sound being the ticking of the large grandfather clock near her, echoing around the huge open area above her. Daniella thought the whole house was designed very irrationally, and she wondered if it had been made this dark and foreboding on purpose. She was sitting in the left stairway alcove in the foyer, a strange little place down a stairway in the middle of the room. The painting was one of her husband Aureolus, a dignified portrait that had been done years ago. His cold eyes stared straight at her, the sour expression fitting for the man.
She just sat there, not knowing what else to do. These days she just aimlessly wandered the house, hopelessly bored and sad. Her life had slowed to a depressing drag, never being let out of this place, never allowed to see another human being again... and never allowed in that room at the end of the hall. Her curiosity had been growing ever since she'd gotten here... what was in there that he didn't want her to know about? What did he do in there for twenty-four hours a day? She didn't really think of Aureolus as her husband anymore. He was nothing to her. Nothing was really anything to her now.
Suddenly, a sound at the top of the stairs broke her out of her reverie. Somebody was coming down the stairs. Leana looked around, but knew there was nowhere to hide down here, nowhere to run. She gripped the sofa cushion beneath her, holding her breath, and let it out in a relieved sigh when she saw the form walking down toward her. It was just Fendari. He reached the bottom of the stairs, looking worriedly at her. He knew she hated it here... and she knew he did as well.
"Milady... what are you doing down here at this hour?" He approached her, holding out a gloved hand to her. "You are normally in bed by now. Is everything all right?"
Daniella took his hand gratefully, standing beside him. "I don't know, Fendari."
So far, she had tried to stay positive when he was around. She tried not to drag him down into the depressing truth. But she knew he saw it in her eyes... she couldn't stand it here, and wanted to get out. But he seemed to serve them as he always had, this godawful place hadn't changed him, or so it appeared. But Leana knew that deep inside, just like her, he did not like this place.
"You must be getting very lonely, miss. It's not good for one's mental health to stay in a place like this. I'm sorry the master has made the decision to keep you here. This is no place for a lady to be."
She looked at the servant. He stared at her with concern and pity, yet she pitied him as well. His fate was even worse than hers.
"What about you, Fendari?" she asked, glad she was at least talking to somebody. "Don't you ever get lonely?"
"Yes, I do," he replied, a distant tone of sadness in his voice. "But I have food, and shelter, and I am at least grateful for that."
He put his hands on her shoulders. "I want to be able to help you, milady," he said, "but I cannot. All we can do is hope that soon the master comes to his senses."
She moved in closer and wrapped her arms around him. Still optimistic, after all Aureolus had put him through. Still calling him "master", when Fendari meant nothing to the man. She knew that they would likely never get out of this place. But it wasn't so bad, not as long as they were trapped here together. She felt his muscular arms around her, felt his heart beating in his chest. And then she leaned against him and pressed her lips against his.
Leana did not know why she did that then. She was just so lonely, and so was he. They needed each other to stay alive. She knew that what she was doing now, just like what she had done before, was considered unforgivable. To fall in love with one's own slave was something that was unheard of... but nobody would likely ever hear of her again anyway, so that didn't matter anymore. She put all of her lost passion in that kiss, all of her longing for something else. And Fendari returned it. She knew that there would be no turning back now.
He apparently came to the same conclusion, because he suddenly pushed her away, breathing heavily. She knew it was what he had wanted, she had known it for a long time. He turned away from her, shaking his head.
"I can't do this, miss," he said softly. "If the master found out, we would both be in trouble. Please... don't do this to me."
Leana walked up behind him. "I need somebody here, Fendari! I need you! Otherwise I... I'll..."
Fendari walked back up the stairs, pretending he hadn't heard her. "You should get some sleep, milady."
He disappeared from her sight. Leana slumped against the wall, sighing dejectedly. She had been out of line doing that, and she knew it... but she also knew that Fendari had enjoyed it, and that he wouldn't be able to avoid her forever. After a while, she walked back up the stairs and headed for the main hall. He had been right, she needed to sleep, needed some time to think. Hearing the distant sound of thunder outside and the rain still beating savagely on the windows, she walked around the large pillar and entered the hall from the left door.
She made for her room, which was down the spiral stairway that branched off from the hall... but right as she was about to enter the doorway, she looked down at the end of the hall and stopped dead. The door at the end was standing open. She looked around in the hallway, not seeing anyone, and slowly headed toward it. She couldn't keep wondering what he was doing in there... she was going to find out tonight. She walked down to the end of the hallway and carefully opened the door, stepping inside.
The first things she saw were all of the people. The people, stuck in the stone... The cement that made part of the wall and the ceiling had... people in it. They looked like they were screaming, struggling, in pain... She took a step back, gasping. What the hell... why would he have this here? Was it some sick decoration? She peered fearfully around the dark room, and saw nothing else. It was empty. Except... she saw something in the back of the room. Another doorway. She moved toward it. Where was Aureolus?
As she approached it, she saw a long, dark stairway heading downwards. She began descending it, her curiosity overcoming her fear. Not fear of what she'd seen... fear of where she might find her husband. There was something very wrong here... She noticed the cemented bodies along the stairway as well, sometimes just limbs, sometimes a head, a face. As she got closer to the bottom, she began hearing strange noises... moaning, sometimes screaming... there was more than just her husband down there. She took a deep breath, then walked down the last few steps and looked into the room.
It was a terrifying sight. People in animal cages lined the room, some living, others dead. Blood was smeared everywhere, on the walls, the floor, even the ceiling. Two large tanks filled with some red liquid stood in the back, holding what appeared to be deformed people... and she saw them breathing. They were alive. And in the center, staring at her with incomparable fury, was Aureolus Belli. He stood behind what appeared to be an operating table, holding a knife in one hand and a strange tool she'd never seen before in the other. He was standing over somebody who had their abdomen cut open lying on it... and the person turned his head toward her, his eyes filled with terror. He was still living, even though she could see his innards hanging out of him... It was too much...
Leana stumbled back, clutching at her heart, and she fell down on all fours. She felt herself throwing up on the floor, but she hardly even noticed. Dragging herself to her feet, she walked backwards back up the stairs, still staring in horror at the scene before her. Aureolus had moved from his position behind the table, coming toward her. She turned around, running in a blind panic back up the stairs. This is what her brother, her husband, had become. More than a murderer, more than a sadist... but less than human. She kept running until she reached the top of the stairs, choking back a sob and continuing to run through the room with the bodies in the walls... Little did she know that within two months' time the entire hallway would look the same.
Suddenly, a flash... then the field appeared again. Daniella felt the grass, felt the wind, knew that it was real... she walked toward the well in the middle, wanting desperately for reasons unknown to her to be able to look down there, to see what was inside. She began running, knowing she could make it... but suddenly, it disappeared. Instantly, the grass turned black and the sky turned red. She saw the form of a person materialize before her, glowing with a brilliant blue light. He reached out for her, and she felt herself falling, dying at his touch...
And suddenly, once again, she was awake, sweating and gasping for breath.
