Chapter Ten: The Painting

The stairs leading up to the front door were covered in ruble and broken, cracked, or chipped in several places. It took some time to climb them, as Kie had to constantly look out for lose rocks or brace himself from slipping. Finally he made it to the top where the huge stone doors stood ominously before him. At the base of the entry the rocks and ruble had been pushed back, as if it had been opened recently.

Looking it up and down, Kie saw no way in. There were no handles, no latches, no nothing. Perhaps Amadeus had let Nami in, but how was he supposed to follow.

Suddenly he felt strange. It was like a sixth sense, but somehow he knew that someone inside the house knew he was here. He felt their mind acknowledge him and pass away. Apparently he wasn't that important. Kie got the chills as another person recognized him. This mind was cold and dark. It gripped him like an icy hand of anger for a second, before also passing over him.

Kie's heart beat wildly. He had never experience something so strange. There was something about this place that didn't feel right at all. And Nami was inside!

He needed to find a way in, and he needed to do it now. It didn't matter that he didn't know how to defeat this Amadeus. All that mattered was that Nami was away from harm. Then he could come back. Maybe he would even find someone to help.

He went to the edge of the steps and looked at the large building top to bottom, left to right. It was made of old black stone that was covered by a small layer of what looked like dust or sand. The rock was carved and decorated in certain places though it was hard to see now that it was so cracked and broken. Kie could tell that in its prime this place had been something to behold, but now it just looked like an encasement for a bitter man.

With a jolt Kie noticed small areas climbing up the walls of cracked and gaping stone. They looked oddly like foot and hand holds. He could climb it! Glancing further up he inspected the windows. They looked like glass, maybe a little thick but if he threw his body against it, they would break. It would be a risk; the noise might alert Amadeus and then he could be in big trouble. But at least he would be in. He couldn't do much outside of the castle walls; that he was sure of.

Then his heart jumped. There, a little to the right, two stories up was an open window. He looked once more up the wall, plotting out his route to his entrance before beginning his climb.

It seemed to take him no time at all to reach his destination. Though his hands screamed for him to let go and he had almost lost his footing halfway up, he was now sitting crouched on the window ledge, gently pushing the multi colored window pain open a little farther so that he could climb in.

His boots landed heavily on the dusty ground, causing it to blow up around his legs. He looked at his surroundings carefully, taking in each aspect of the room. It hadn't been used in a very long time; that was evident by the cobwebs and dust that covered every inch. It was sparsely furnished, holding nothing but a chair and painting stand. Going closer, Kie saw that there was a painting still resting on the stand. He squinted his eyes at the picture, which was hard to see because it was covered by dust. He blew once and the filth dissipated to show a woman.

It was a painting of the most beautiful creature Kie had ever seen. She had raven black hair and eyes as clear blue as sapphires. Her smile bright and enigmatic. Kie wondered why such a work of beauty could reside in such a dark and dank home. He wondered who she was, or who she had been. With one last glance at the woman he could never know, but never forget, Kie turned to the door that would hopefully lead him to Nami.

It opened easily enough onto a hallway that was much different than the room he had just left. It was spotlessly clean. The strong walls towered high overhead and were covered with what looked like some kind of script. Kie touched one of the carved figures tentatively and felt a jolt run up his arm. He jerked back and shook his hand. That would be the last time he tried anything like that in this place.

He looked down the hall both ways, wondering which was he should take. They both seemed to lead nowhere and they both looked exactly the same. He took a deep breath and tried to gather that feeling of Nami he had known earlier, the one that had told him to go northwest. All he knew was that she was downstairs.

With a sigh he decided he would take his chances going right. He hadn't taken one step however, before he jumped, looking curiously down at the ground. It too was covered in the small evil looking markings, but not only that. At intervals of a few feet there were circles of pink and blue and purple lights on the ground, about as big as his head. Peering closer to one of these circles he saw that they showed things. People. It showed them moving and talking and laughing about their normal business.

This struck Kie as very strange. What was the point? Were all these pictures of people he knew and wanted to watch? A chill ran up his spine. If that was so he probably had one for Nami. Maybe even one for him?

He shook his head and began running down the corridor. Faces passed beneath his feed with each step and he tired his hardest not to look at them. The very thought of them made him sick to his stomach.

Finally, after he had been running for what seemed like forever he reached a rather odd looking door. It was decorated with gems and glass and shown to a light that Kie couldn't see. It seemed almost out of place with the rest of the hall. With a shaking hand he touched it once, and very quickly before recoiling. Nothing happened. Again he stretched out his hand, only this time he let it rest on the cold surface. Finally he pushed.

He found himself standing at the top of a landing that over looked what seemed to be the main room. The stairs, which were off to his left, went down one floor to another landing. Father down that level there was another set of stairs that reached the main floor.

Without taking the time to use the stairs, Kie gripped the railing and jumped over it landing on the second level. He did the same with that until he was at the bottom. On the floor was a very large circular design. It made Kie uneasy.

Quickly he looked around, and the first thing he noticed was that underneath the stairs, exactly opposite of the entrance, was a large opening into another room. He didn't hesitate before making his way into it, knowing that Nami was close by.

Soon he found himself in a large, towering room that would have held the whole of Freya's home. That wasn't what he noticed however. He was looking dead ahead at the two people sitting on a throne that was raised far above him.

"Nami?"