It must have been around seven am. The sun's unnaturally cold light broke through the gradually lightening grey clouds, and the mist started to clear slowly.
Natsuki lay on her back, eyes sealed close as the light crept across her face. She groaned rolling to the side, dragging the covers over her face. The sent of lavender smothered her senses, her brow furrowed in confusion. This wasn't her room.
Slowly she cracked her heavy eyes open, once again coming face to face with that pure white room. And all at once the memories of yesterday flooded her, shooting up she looked around, no sign of her dirty clothes, just clean ones folded at the end of the bed. No blooded or dirtied sheets, or stains on the pure white floor.
Her fingers instantly went to her arms, her chest, her leg. No cuts, no scrapes.
"What?.."
Pulling the covers off, she peered down at her legs, expecting a blooded bandage and other multiple cuts. But no, nothing. She ran her hands over the smooth unscathed skin. Her eyes not quite believing.
Confused she crawled to the end of the bed, grabbing her socks, she pulled them on before stepping onto the cold floor. There were no aches or pains, no headache, she couldn't help but think that what happened was a dream…
Shaking her head, she got dressed.
Maybe it was a dream, maybe she was just homesick.
A yawn broke free from her and she made her way to the dining hall. Or at least as she shuffled around in those mazes they dare call hallways in here, she just hoped she would find it by herself.
And apparently her unheard prayers have been deemed worthy - she did indeed find the way to the dining hall - and even in just half an hour.. that was quite respectable in her books, she had still not really had a clue which hallway led to which part of the manor, and which hallway connected with another, connecting with another and another and so on and so forth. It was quite ridiculous, now that she thought about it, that there are this many hallways that join and connect only to trick people into thinking they are getting somewhere, when in truth they are just getting more and more lost.
With a sigh that seemed to send away all thoughts running around in her head she pulled open the huge doors to the dining room.. well. It was more of a hall, really. Way to big for the people present in the house.
Natsuki was stunned to see that she was the only one present. She shook her head, blinking twice. "Did I get lost without noticing on my way here and missed breakfast?" she thought, confused. Taking some steps toward the table after closing the doors behind her, she spotted the blue flowers again on the table in-between heaps of freshly cooked food - it was even still steaming!
Now she was even more confused and turned to a clock in the room - it was not even eight am.. so where the hell was everybody?
She shuffled over to the seat that seemed to be assigned to her, her fingers winding round the mahogany, almost too carefully, as if she was just waiting for someone to be hiding away around a corner. Sitting down she took in the sight before her. In all honesty it seems as though they had taken her lack of appetite to heart.
There were fruits, toast, jams and some eggs, all still fresh and well made. She calmly picked at the food while looking up to the large door every once in a while. She truly was alone, those little blue flowers were pretty much the only light colour in the room, and Natsuki couldn't help but take in the artistic brilliance that had gone into this room.
As her appetite dissipated, she realised that this was probably the only time she had felt comfortable while eating in the mansion.
Setting down her knife and fork she couldn't shake off the feeling that what she had seen wasn't a dream. She couldn't remember it fully, but she could recall a hole in a boarded up room, where the only light was seen through the slight cracks in the bordered windows.
Slowly she stood and made her way from the hall, looking left and right to make sure no one was there she made her way back to the abandoned part of the house.
Natsuki wandered down the hallways, trying to remember the way to that strange room she could vaguely see in her mind and even trying to remember something else regarding the room, anything. Wasn't there something different apart from the wood? She was not so sure anymore.. maybe some other decorations as in the rest of the house? Maybe they had had those flowers from the dining room in there as well?
A hand went up to her temple, rubbing little, soothing circles on it. She did not have a headache, and did not feel one coming up.. but she just.. had to do something besides thinking and trying to figure out the way to that room. Something had been different about it.. the whole atmosphere was different, if she remembered correctly.
With a sigh she gave up on figuring out how the room exactly looked, she had quite the idea of it, so she would be able to find it, right?
Wrong.
She had now been wandering around these long dark hallways for about an hour - why had she not taken her phone with her, she would have at least been able to see how late it was, since she honestly doubted that she would be able to get through to someone in these hallways.
Feeling a slight pang of frustration a strangled cry slipped from her and she ruffled her long hair in aggravation. Why was it that she just could not find her way around these hallways - she had thought she was getting somewhere, since she noticed some minor details being different on most hallway, and she figured she could use that knowledge to find her way.
It had not helped. She seemed to be lost again, and before she started to get even more lost - if that was even possible- she decided to just somehow get outside. Paranoia had started to set in and she could not stop herself from taking a little extra time to move about, looking behind her or even thinking that she was getting led somewhere by this cool wind that graced the hallways.
Unable to find a exit, Natsuki started to open up random doors in hopes of getting outside or to some room where Kado might be lounging around in - where was that old man anyway, she had not seen him since..
...did it count that she had seen him in her.. dream?
Never mind that, she thought and after some more minutes of pulling open door after door she opened one that lead to a little room with just a chair inside, and a coffee table with a vase placed upon it. The chair was from the very same quality as the ones in the dining room, though designed more to let whoever sat upon it relax and just rest. Disregarding that, it was practically the same.
She noticed another door in the room, opposite of the door she just came through and once again covered in beautiful carvings - this time of the wildlife one would find in a forest, some deer strewn about on that side of the door, a rabbit near the handle and even some birds she could not identify frolicking about in the air.. and all that was carved in a door.
Before she even knew, her fingers traced the carvings again like they so often did, admiring the craftsmanship and all the effort and work put into it.
A shake of the head had Natsuki snap back into reality and after tracing one of the birds for a moment longer she let her fingers wrap around the doors handle and with bated breath she opened the door.
She was promptly blinded by the sun shining straight into her face and immediately a wonderful scent of flowers invaded her nose.
She had found the - or was it just one? - way to the most magnificent garden she had ever seen.
Floating in the grey sky were hundreds of petals, they hovered over the ground dancing with the wind, despite it being almost winter most of the flowers were still holding onto their bloom, even as the wind tore at their fragile stems and ripped them out of their home.
Natsuki stepped out, the chill in the air was apparent as her breath became visible, she rubbed her arms as she ventured further.
Holding her hand out she caught hold of one of the petals that swirled playfully around her, she rolled it between her fingers, its dusky pink colour looked so out of place within this black marble manor.
It was then that she realised how blank the manor was. So lifeless. Its dark majestic glory stood so tall and proud, she had not even spared a thought to any other colour but black, white and grey existing. But as she looked around, the garden - though entering the deep clutches of winter - still tried its best to give colour to the blank landscape.
She walked over to one to he hedges, her fingers brushing the flowers gently as she walked. Forgetting everything even just for a moment, she let her breath free.
Slowly she made her way deeper into the garden, until she came across a stone bench. She watched as some birds hopped around the figure sitting on it.
Instantly her eyes took in who it was. Once again it seemed that Shizuru was the only one she was ever able to find in this house.
"Shizuru-chan.." Red eyes looked up questionably. "Do you mind if I sit next to you?"
A slight shake of the head and Natsuki was disregarded again in preference of her world full of skipping birds nibbling at bread crumbs.
Shizuru was glancing at the dark-haired girl from the corner of her eyes, a smile playing on her lips that steadily grew with every glance. The chirping of the birds providing a nice little tune in the background, they sat there for a moment in silence.
The silence was disrupted by Natsuki, clearing her throat before she asked, "Shizuru-chan? I kind of need your help..?" She scratched the back of her neck again while shooting a look to her companion, trying to see if she would agree. At the tilt of the pale girls head, and the questioning gaze she elaborated with a sigh, "There was this strange room I discovered yesterday while wandering around and I really would like to go there again. But.. well. The problem is, that I cannot find the way.."
The red gaze still held confusion, the head now tilted to the other side.
"The room was full of wood.. the floor was wooden, the walls were wooden, every piece of furniture as well. And I think.. no, I know it had a blue carpet as well. It was so different from the rest of the manor..", the deep voice drifted off, the room piecing itself together inside her head and providing a nice and relaxing picture. She was so lost in her mind, the image distracting her so much that she did not catch the strange look Shizuru shot at her as she described the room.
Startled, Natsuki looked up from the patch of grass she had been staring at while being lost in her thoughts as Shizuru all too suddenly stood up. She was still running around barefoot - did it not hurt to walk around like that all the time?
A thin, pale hand came into view, urging her to follow the white-clad girl as she slowly made her way back into the manor through the door she had just entered the garden. She got to her feet hastily and wandered after her second-cousin after admiring the surroundings for a second more.
She followed after the girl as fast as she could, the slight burn of her legs as she practically ran after her was showing that. The long maze of hallways appeared before her again, as she watched Shizuru navigate the passages as if a map had been imprinted on her mind.
She almost wished the girl had taken her hand. At least then she wouldn't have to worry about loosing her.
Doors blurred past them and Natsuki could tell that something was wrong.
But she couldn't stop to ask, not now.
Eventually they came to a stop, Shizuru's hand ran across the wall grasping the doorknob.
It looked familiar at least - the same handle, the same angle.
"Is this it?"
Nodding gently, Shizuru's fingers tightened on the doorknob, so much that you could hear the door shake with her arm.
Natsuki walked up a little closer. Licking her dry lips she gingerly placed a hand on the pale shoulder of the girl, a crooked smile made its way onto her face, uncertainty apparent.
Shizuru relaxed for a moment, her eyes flickering softly like a candle light in the dark.
"Its okay. I just want to know." She was certain there was a hole in the floor that led to that awful room, she was so sure of it. But she wasn't certain that she wanted it to be real. The feeling in her stomach reflected the one from the room, she should run away. Just run and keep running till she was home. Till she could forget.
It was a curious feeling. Finding out you could be going insane, or finding that your families ancestral home was a hot bed of murder and deep blood slathered secrets. Which could be better? Writing it off as a dream? A fantasy created by a lonely and disillusioned mind.
Or finding that you are trapped in a house ripe with murderers. A big, dark, secluded house. No one was around for at least eight miles maybe even more.
But Natsuki had to know, she couldn't let it lye. That is why she wrapper her hand over the trembling one of the younger girl and twisted the handle, letting the door squeak open.
She noticed the other girl holding her breath as the door gave way and let them enter the dimly lit room. It was just as she remembered and imagined, the rotten wooden floorboards creaking as she took a step further into the room, the dust clinging to the surfaces and swirling around in the air - made visible by the little light that was shining through the gaps where the windows were supposed to be. And the carpet, the wonderfully blue carpet. She still thought, that it did not fit into the mansion. It was of the same colour as the flowers on the dining table. It was nice.
She did not notice Shizuru being rooted to the floor, still standing in the doorway. The girls breathing had slowed down considerably - so much, that you almost did not notice her breathing at all.
"This really is the room.." Natsuki whispered in awe.. it really was curious. She was amazed by this room yet at the same time it terrified her. It was after all this room that led her into these strange caverns and to that cursed room.
All of a sudden an eerie feeling overcame her and she shuddered visibly, her hands coming up to gently rub at her arms. She swallowed softly as the chill that had appeared did not wear off as fast as she would have liked.
She had to look for that hole.
She did not like that at all, it was as if she was confirming her family being a bunch of crazy murderers who just love to torture their victims for some crude game or ritual or whatever it was.
But she had to. She would not - could not - let that issue rest. She just had to know if she was going insane and was imagining such horrible things.
Slowly she trotted from one corner of the room to the other and to another, her feet careful and treading lightly upon the rotten planks of wood. Her eyes scanned the floor as well, but she could not make out much in this dim light. Was the sun setting already, or why did it seem as if the light was disappearing more and more the longer she was in here?
Not finding any indication of a hole - or any work that may have fixed the hole up while she was sleeping - she resorted to crawling on the floor, her hands helping her feet in checking for something - anything!
But there was nothing.
She lifted her dust covered body from the floor, laughing. It had to be a joke. She jumped up and down. There had to be a hole here.
But no.
Nothing sounded.
So she was… crazy. A lunatic.
She had been worrying about something that didn't exist. She had imagined such horrible things. Did she even know what was real anymore?
Was this real?
Here she was in a empty room, jumping up and down on the spot.
Turning to Shizuru she could see.. Nothing.. The girl was gone….
"…What..?"
She rushed to the door, her hands held her as she slammed them into the frame looking down the hallways. But no one was there she was alone.
Could the girl truly disappear? Was it possible for her to be gone in a matter of seconds?
"…I don't… I don't.." She crouched down, her head cradled in her hands. Confusion bounced around in her head.
What was happening to her?
She had to get out. Right now!
Almost throwing herself forwards she hurtled out the door, swinging it shut with force.
She almost ran into the wall directly across the door, having forgotten it was there at all, but she managed to stop in time and instead she practically flew down the hallway to her left, not even bothering to try and remember where she turned and went down another hallway.
Doors passed by in the blink of an eye as she ran through the labyrinth made from black marble. Her eyes noticed different things, her mind questioning them immediately as they did so. This painting on the wall - did it not hang somewhere in the main hallways that led to the dining room? Why was it here? Did she just imagine it hanging here, or was the one in the main hallways the imagination?
She was not sure what she could trust anymore. She was a lunatic. She was not to be trusted.
Her feet slowed almost to a stop at that thought, but she still dragged herself further, beyond the painting that mocked her for the third time, beyond the candleholder with it's candles that were almost gone already.
For a moment she even thought she saw those candles flickering to life and burning - but it was only for a second. Her mind was playing tricks on her. She was a lunatic.
It kept repeating in her head. She could not stop it.
Natsuki's breathing was ragged from the full out sprint she had done, a bit of sweat adorning her forehead, making some stray strands of hair cling to it with all their might. She needed a break.
Her hands found themselves against wood and for a moment she feared she had run in a circle and had arrived back where she had started. She threw herself back, almost tripping over her own feet in the process and leaned against the wall, her gaze rising up to where her hands had just moments prior been.
It was just the door to the library, no need to panic. It was just the door to the library.
Just the door to the library.
A bit of warm air slithered out from under the door. For a few seconds Natsuki rested her head against it, she felt as if she was in some kind of sick mind play. The hallways were so dark that it was impossible for her to tell how long they went on for. For a moment she felt as though she was in an old video game where you could only see the light about five meters away from you, and it gave you that lonely, dim feeling.
Her hand slowly turned the door knob. Too tired to worry or think, she opened it, the warmth from the other side of this door was a unusual but not unwelcome feeling to get in this place.
As she yanked the heavy door open, it's large wooden frame creaking on its hinges, she was met with the sight of a wood burner, sparking away at the other end of the large room. There were a few chairs around, royal red and blue with high backs, the door slid shut behind her before its weight made it slam at the last second, the sound echoing around the room, making it even more intimidating than before.
Jumping forward a little, she looked around.
Visiting the place where a nightmare happened.. But who's to say what Shizuru did a short time ago to her in this room was in fact a nightmare.
Regardless of the fact that she was even doubting her own mind at the moment, this place gave her a spooky feeling. She scoffed at herself, when hadn't she been spooked since she had been here?
Putting that aside, who had been here anyway. Surely that old woman hadn't been.. The room was at least a good twenty minute walk from her office.
On uneasy legs she took her fist step further in.
The warm air enveloped her in a welcome and gentle hug as she crept closer to the chairs and thus closer to the burner. Natsuki anticipated the feel of the incredibly soft looking material that covered the chairs and reached out with her hand to stroke over it as she was able to reach it. It felt warm, the heat from the burner being the cause more than likely, and soothed her mind. Her hand traced the decorative seams stitched into the velvet and the more she traced the less uneasy she felt, it was almost like magic.
Her eyes flickered up to the fire and for a moment she thought she saw something in it, but it had vanished as soon as she tried to focus on it.
She turned her head to the side, the flames and the heat too much for her to look into longer than a few moments, and let her gaze wander to the rest of the library.. at least the part she was able to see from where she was. It was huge, like the rest of the manor, so it would not surprise her if she were to end up god knows where, were she to start walking into one direction.
Her hand slid off the warm velvet and Natsuki nearly jumped as her fingers brushed against the cool wooden surface of the armrests. To think they were this cold, even with a fire raging quite nearby.. it really was strange, but she did not ponder further on it, it would not help her. She'd only give herself another painful headache. She'd had enough of those already within this last week.
And suddenly the uneasy feeling came back full force and hit her like a train, almost flooring her. She quickly held onto the armrest for she feared she really would crumple to the floor with that weight upon her shoulders again.
"Maybe.. maybe I should just sit down for a while," she whispered to the air in front of her. She right out fell into that chair and into the welcoming velvet, her head coming to lean against the high backrest as she closed her eyes for a moment and simply breathed.
Too many thoughts and feelings running through her head made the silence in the room welcome. And for a few seconds she felt a pang of calm.. before something large and hard smacked her right across the face as she recoiled, her eyes clenched shut in pain. She heard the fluttering of paper and a loud thud as the object tumbled to the floor, sliding a short way.
Cupping her sore cheek she rubbed at it. Her eyes narrowed in anger and she got up, her whole body tense as she glared in the direction it came from.
"Who's there? Come out you ass. That hurt!"
But no answer followed. No sound was heard.
Tightening her lips into a line, figuring they must of run out of the room or had hidden. She turned to the book stomping over to where it was. Picking up the large tomb of a book, she lifted it up brushed it off.
Throwing a book. What were they five?
As the dust floated up into the air, silver writing made itself known on the black surface. Her fingers slowed as she brushed off more of the dust, showing a familiar symbol.
Her brow furrowed, putting the book closer to her face she could make out the dimmed silver symbol as something very familiar.
A flash of images.
An eyeless man.
A large bloodstained room.
Corpses.
Death.
Blood.
And a symbol.
This symbol. The same one she holds in her hand at this very moment.
"No…"
Unable to speak her mind voiced her thoughts.
There is just no way..
OXOXOXOXOX
Lion: Ok then lets start this an off with a quote from one of my role models
"Bite my shiny metal ass!" -Bender.
sheep: Who would've guessed that Bender is one of your role models.
Lion: I think he's a great role model. live fast. live hard. party baby! Yeah!
sheep: ...yup. Who would've guessed. By the way, I am drooling on my keyboard. It is not as funny as it sounds.
Lion: well not for you but for me its a right laugh
sheep: Yeah, my mother starts to giggle every time she looks at me 'cause half of my face is numb, thus I am making hilarious expressions, apparently. Fucking dentists. Hate them.
Lion: Aw poor sheepy *hugs you* Don't drool on me
sheep: Oh fuck you Lion. *still hugs you and tries not to drool on you*
Lion: Forever love. anyway down to business. first we would like to say a huge sorry for the delay, and give a slight update on life and how much it kicks our ass. we don't want this AN to be too long so.. take it away sheep!
sheep: Yeha, I love you too. So very, very much *sarcasm*.
But yeah, I am getting my wisdom teeth pulled - and lucky me, not all at once, instead my dear dentist is pulling them one at a time because I don't even know why.
So.. I may not always be in the mood to write some horror that includes dentists and pulling teeth and stuff, since I hate dentists. We'd end up with a weird-ass story. Trust me.
Lion: yeah that's why... cause EVERYONE wants to read a horror story about dentists..
I've been studying... and i did some exams Oh.. i got assassins creed 3 which was pretty cool... though Connors voice actor did angry really well.. but everything else was kinda mono tone
as for B.a.w the next chapter will be up soon but first i must update my own story Game so any readers of that look forward to it. OH and futurama is awesome!
sheep: Woop, another chapter of Game! Finally!
But yeah.. no one wants a horror-story about dentists, especially not I. Forgive me.
...I'd smile right now, but I can't. Half my face doesn't fucking respond to my brain.
Lion: XD yes game will be updated. sorry for the wait. but we should end this here so sheep.. *picks up gun* lets lock and load!
sheep: Where'd you get the gun? *looks around and shrugs after finding nothing* Well, who cares.
Hope you enjoyed this shorter chapter.
Lion: as bender would say.
"Who are you, and why should I care?"
Ah you've got to love bender. R&R!