A/N: Heyyyy sorry I know said I'd probably update earlier but ehhhh sorry school's been kinda...distracting recently. Anyway, here's another chapter! Please read and reveiw? thankkksssss - LMAC


~ Chapter 24 ~

Stairs


Blossom paced about the dimly lit stables, gripping her dress till her knuckles turned white and scolding herself silently with each step.

She shouldn't have lost it like that. It was completely unacceptable.

Her horse, silvery coat catching the light of the lanterns hung high on the beams, neighed softly when she rested a hand on his head.

"I should probably go back, right Moonlight?" She murmured into his chest, stroking his mane. The slow beating of his heart warmed her bones.

The stars, whispering to the wind, gazed back at her when she turned around to face the sky. She inhaled deeply.

She shouldn't have gotten so upset, but she did.

A faint glowing blur against the stark black of the night, the castle of Gadrea loomed in the distance, the closest kingdom to Selodia.

Turn right upon entering library. Third case from the left. Under the second shelf. There is a key. Remove the back panel of the fireplace. Insert key. Proceed with caution.

Should she go? Right now? Blossom knew the answer was a definite No, Of Course Not Are You Insane, however, the barely existent option still lingered in her head.

"What do you think?" Moonlight whisked his tail as she breathed the question. "It's disgraceful, rude, and completely out of line, but…in the end it's still my choice."

Her horse twitched his head slightly in her direction, a slight movement—a nod of consent. Blossom smiled, her heart pounding in her throat, ready to leap out any second.

"Let's go, then."


Blossom climbed onto the gray steed, adjusting her dress and placing her tiara into a pouch on the saddle with care. A gentle flick of the reins and she was off, nothing but a cloak of darkness.

From his place behind castle wall, Brick frowned as he stepped toward where she had been moments ago. Where was she going? What was she thinking?

He could feel himself getting angrier and angrier at the thought of her running from the party. The party her father was hosting, the party everyone had to attend, the party that he was attending.

Was she leaving because of him? Was he so repulsive that she couldn't bear to stay? Brick balled his fists. Well, if that was the reason then he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of getting away.

Lifting the lock of another stable, he grabbed one of the leather saddles airing on the wooden gates, and threw it over the brown horse waiting obediently inside.

Digging his heels into the horse and tossing the reins, he bit down on his teeth.

No, he would give her the damn satisfaction.


He flung open the castle doors angrily, the bang of wood against stone startling one of the guards positioned outside. Brick glared at him with fervor.

"Why did you let her in."

"I-I—she's the princess, sir."

"A. She's a princess. Not your princess. You let her in without permission again and you'll find yourself out on the streets, you hear?"

The man gulped. "Yes, sir."


The slam echoing from downstairs made Blossom jump. The floor trembled and the tapestries muttered to one another anxiously. The girl turned to face the direction the sound had come from. She took a step towards the stairs. A snarling voice berated one that sent off waves of fear and regret.

"A. She's a princess. Not your princess, for that matter. You let her in without permission again and you'll find yourself out on the streets, you hear?"

"Yes, sir."

Brick.


Brick was on the verge of tearing this whole goddamn pile of trash down in his fit of pure rage. He stormed up the stairs two at a time, glaring at disgusting, woven portraits of his "lineage".

He wanted to rip them all down and burn them until nothing but ashes remained. Then he would burn the ashes, too.

His keen hearing picked up on a muted thud of heels against carpet, and his snapped to the direction of the library. So, that's where she was trying to get in.

Blossom's eyes were wide in anxiousness. Not fright. No, she definitely wasn't frightened. Not at all. No way. Brick couldn't do anything to her anyway, could he?

She nearly cried at that small sound her shoes made with each step she took. Pressing herself against the wall of a corner, she desperately hoped he would go the other direction.

She could feel him approaching. The top step of the stairs. The landing. Ten meters. Nine. Eight…


Brick grabbed her arm, his eyes glowing and mind drenched in a thick sap of deep red. Blossom froze, terrified of turning around to face the consequences.

"Why are you here?" He growled, his grip tightening. She grimaced. "This is my kingdom, my castle, my hallway. Why are you here?"

There it was. That doe-y, innocent, wide-eyed look she pulled off so well. Her lips parted, to speak, and his chest tightened.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Don't you care about appearances? What happened to 'being the good girl'? Does anyone else know you're here? I'm so goddamn mad—I can't believe this!" He hissed, letting her go. His chest burned, burned hotter than the sun. "Do you know how fucking dangerous it is at night? Especially during a full moon? Mojo—fucking Mojo—do you know what could've happened to you? What was I going to do after everyone found out that you—"

He couldn't bring himself to say it. A ball of crystal was lodged in his throat and he couldn't swallow it down. The flames died, blue ice suddenly encasing him.


Lava was pouring over the edge. Her whole body shook.

"Why should you care? Huh? I can do whatever I please! Go find Berserk! I'm not your damn property! Leave me the Hell alone!" She screamed, molten rock erupting from her heart and pouring into her veins.

He almost lost it. He almost fucking lost it. One small tip and he'd be falling off the cliff. Almost. Fucking. Lost. It. She didn't have the right to talk to him that way. She didn't know anything.

She was just some dumb orange-haired girl in some dumb pretty dress in this dumb stone castle in his dumb useless kingdom in the dumb fucking goddamn world.

And now she was walking away.

She had the nerve to walk away from him. His vision was oozing purple from the red and the blue all swirling together and his anger fading and exploding and his mind in a perpetual state of unknown feeling.

His hand reached out and grabbed desperately at her.


The world was stuck in a vat of amber syrup. Blossom felt a sharp tug at her neck as the clasp of the cloak loosened. Her eyes widened, red seeping into the pink.


The world was melting like warm chocolate. The rose fabric was a drowning dove. It fluttered a bit—just a bit, though—before falling down, down, down, down then limp. Limp in his hand. Pale skin. Pale, milk white skin.


The world was melting like warm chocolate; the world was stuck in a vat of amber syrup.

A bright flash of piqued pink and red regret. His cheek was the surface of the sun.

Fifteen billion degrees.

It didn't hurt. No, it didn't hurt or sting or travel up his spine or make him wince even a little—it blazed.


Her flaming frozen hand hung limply as her legs carried her forward in wobbling heels, barely keeping her upright. She couldn't believe she did that. The guilt was already settling in, and it hadn't even been ten seconds.

Blossom could feel him standing behind her, slack-jawed and his fingers reaching up to touch the red welt. She could feel his eyes narrow, his stare burning into her back. She could feel him blink.

She could feel him sigh as his footsteps followed hers.


His mind a burnt field. Nothing but ashes and smog and the murmuring echoes of the blackened grass. He tread behind her, the cloak seized tightly in his hand weighing him down.

She stopped.

In front of the library door.

For a moment, he stood behind her, brows twitching. Blossom's shoulders slumped. She turned around, despair painted over her face. Her gaze shifted from the floor.

"I'll pick the lock for you." The words escaped from Brick's lips before he could swallow them. He fell into a coughing fit.

Blossom blinked hard. "R-really."

"I-I I don't know. Yes? I'll need a pin, though."

She stepped to the side, reaching up behind her head to remove a hairpin. "Thank you."

His hands worked by themselves. The thin pearl studded metal wriggled in the keyhole, and a few moments later, the door cracked open.

Blossom brushed passed him, mumbling to herself as she navigated through the towering bookshelves.

"Here, here!" she exclaimed to herself, gathering her dress up to her knees before squatting down and fumbling under a shelf.

His interest now kindled, he moved next to her to see the object grasped in her hand. A dusty golden key lay in her palm, no bigger than his index finger.

"What is that?"

"It's—oh, I'll just show you! I can't believe this! It's real, it's real! How is this possible? Oh, I'm so excited! Where's the fireplace?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, opening his mouth to say, "It's about seven shelves down—on the back wall. What are you talking about?"

She took his hand in hers, and he almost yanked it back, but she was already tugging him along.

"I read in a book—in a book oh, I can't believe—I think there's supposed to be some sort of secret passage! This is amazing! Do you know anything about it?"
He shook his head, mouth dropping open slightly. A...secret passage? He didn't know of any secret passage in the library. Sure, there were a couple here and there around the palace, but he'd never explored the library that much.

Glass doors closed off the five-foot tall hearth, but she flung them open with ease.

"Help me remove the back! You're going to need to bend over a bit; it's kind of a small space—" She stepped over the wood, her arm stretching eagerly towards the fireplace.

"There's no back panel! What are you doing?" He demanded.

"Just wait a moment, alright? You'll see! Please let this be real, please, please, please."

She ran her hand over the wall fireplace, searching for a crevice or ridge or anything, anything that could let her continue to fantasize and hope. The tips of her fingers brushed passed something, and she latched onto it.

Brick's mouth twitched as he leaned forward to see, now quieted by the possibility. Blossom pulled hard, and his eyes widened, the throbbing in his cheek subsiding.

It didn't budge. Brows knitted in frustration, she tried again. This time the panel wriggled out a little, but not enough to fully dislodge.

"Let me try," Brick said, nudging her out of the way. She nodded, massaging her sore hands.

He gripped the ridges tightly, sucking his teeth as the stone groaned in protest, removed from its spot. Behind him, Blossom let out a whisper of cheer.

A faint breeze shifted her hair when she leaned towards the narrow, dark passage. His brows lifted. She walked into the abyss, a soft click sounding as her heels fell upon the stone.

"Wait," Brick grabbed her arm. She flinched."We don't know what's in there."

"You don't have to go."

"No, it's not—I'll go—just…" He took a torch from the wall. "I'll go first."

His heart was racing when he took the first few steps, bending over to avoid the low ceiling. Behind him, Blossom bristled in irritation, but followed, too.

The tunnel widened significantly after a while; they could walk with their backs straight and side by side, but neither of them chose to do the latter.

"Stairs."

"What?" Blossom said, leaning forward.

"There are stairs going down. I'm not sure how far, but I don't see a bottom." He moved aside to reveal a gaping hole in the floor, with narrow steps jutting out of the walls.

Her mouth was dry. She swallowed, but it didn't help much.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Let's go." She replied nervously, her soft murmurs of laughter echoing.

"Are you sure? There's no turning back after this point. If there really is something down there—something dangerous—I'm not sure we can make our way back up very fast. One small trip and down we go." His gaze burned.

"Yes." Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Alright," he descended the first step.

"Into the unknown we go."

- end of chapter 24 -