Chapter 2: Strangers in a Strange Land
The wardrobe doors flung open only to reveal a man and a woman. I clenched my eyes shut and held up my hands in a pathetic attempt to defend myself.
"P-please don't h-hurt me…" I pleaded, voice shaking from my fright. My whole body was quivering, anticipating the first wave of agony. But nothing happened. Warily, I opened one tear-filled eye and glanced upwards to the strangers. They were staring at my trembling form with worried expressions, which bewildered me.
"We aren't going to hurt you," The woman said gently. She had stunningly beautiful aqua eyes. Her raven black hair fell just short of her hips. Everything about her was perfect, except I could see fear hidden in those pools of aqua.
"Where are you injured?" The man asked, taking a step towards me. He had pale green eyes, similar to mine, along with chocolate brown hair that rested upon his shoulders. They both looked my age, maybe a bit older. When he took another step, I flinched and scrambled farther into the wardrobe.
"Don't touch me!" I shrieked. The man recoiled, surprised by my reaction.
"W-we just want to help." The black-haired woman said, trying to reassure me.
"I don't need any help." I retorted, trying to seem like my old self, but I realized that fighting them was a mistake. With a long sigh, I climbed out of the wardrobe and stood up. I realized was a bit taller than the man.
Nervously, I gestured towards my back, wincing when the man went behind me to get a better look.
"You should sit down." He stated before turning towards the woman, "Isabelle, is there anything we can use as a bandage?"
"Don't ask me." She replied with a shrug. I walked over to the bed and sat down, relieved that I could repose for a few moments. My eyes were heavy with exhaustion, and my limbs were aching. I watched the two strangers through narrowed eyes as they argued for what seemed like an eternity. Finally I spoke up, annoyed at their voices.
"I don't need a bandage; it's not a deep wound." I said, provocation lacing my tone, "The blood is already dried." They both looked at me with uncertainty before Isabelle nodded slightly.
"Well, I was thinking," The man said as he turned towards me, "That you should stay with us. It'd be safer that way." I glared at him for a few moments before letting out a sigh.
"I suppose you're right." I agreed reluctantly. It was a good idea, but I wasn't too fond of these strangers.
"Great!" His happiness was irritating, "My name is Daniel, by the way. And this is Isabelle." He gestured towards the girl.
"I'm… Felix…" I said slowly, straining to remember my own name. What's wrong with me? I can't recall a thing… Did something happen? I shook my head in dismay, worried about my memory loss.
The three of us had been exploring the castle for a few hours by the time I began to grow doubtful. I knew that Daniel and Isabelle had some sort of plan, but they wouldn't tell me. We had entered the Entrance Hall by the time Daniel spoke up.
"There is some sort of fleshy tissue that's blocking a hallway. We need something that will get rid of it."
"And what exactly would we use?" I asked, raising a brow.
"I'm not sure, but we might find something if we explore." He replied coolly.
"Where should we start?" Isabelle piped in, her aqua eyes sparkling with interest. Daniel took a moment to take in the whole room, green eyes observing every detail. Then he pointed toward a hallway upstairs.
"That looks like a good place to start." He stated. With a shrug, I started off in that direction, Isabelle following closely. When we entered the room, which was called the Archives, I could feel a change in the atmosphere. Instantly, I was on edge, and I could tell the others were tense as well. Hesitantly, I took a step forward, wincing when the floor creaked beneath my weight.
"What exactly are we looking for in here?" I whispered to Daniel.
"Anything that can get us through that tissue. Or anything that looks like it might come in handy." He replied mutely.
"Maybe we should split up. We can cover more ground that way and meet here later." Isabelle suggested. The thought of being alone sent chills throughout my body. I started trembling slightly, before I caught myself and stopped.
"I don't think that's wise…" I said quietly, voice quivering. Why am I so terrified?
"Felix is right," Daniel alleged, "Let's just explore and get out of here. It's creepy…" Isabelle nodded and we began our slow search of the Archives. It was quite nice actually. There were exquisite paintings hung on the wall, elegant furniture and decorations, and gorgeous architecture. I wonder who lived in this place…
"Wait!" Isabelle hissed as we entered a long hallway. There was a carpet with abnormal patterns sewn into it, one huge painting that took up most of the east wall, and a fireplace at the end of the hallway. I stared in awe, oblivious to Isabelle's warning.
"What is it?" Daniel asked, concern edging his timbre.
"I-I heard something," Isabelle said worriedly. At that, I snapped out of my daze and frantically glanced around the room, praying nothing else was in our presence. When my gaze landed on nothing but walls, I let out a small sigh of respite.
"Let's take is nice and slow." Daniel stated before taking a faltering step forward. I waited, afraid that some monster would show up as soon as I let my guard down, but nothing happened. With a shrug, I followed Daniel until we reached a door at the end of the corridor. Hesitating, I stopped, anxious for my own wellbeing.
"Come on, we need to keep going!" He urged. "You don't want to be left behind, do you?" I shook my head vigorously, instantly terrified at the thought. Ever since that experience when I first woke up, the thought of being alone sent chills down my spine. I thought of my wound for a moment, wondering if it was as gruesome as it felt.
All three of us went through the door, and rapidly the light vanished. I could see dust swirling throughout the air, dancing and taunting us with its freedom. The hallway ended a few meters in front of us, but there was another that veered to the left. We turned left, walking until the darkness started growing thick. I had to squint to see Daniel in front of me. But soon, the gloom lifted as we came across a door. Entering, it turned out it was a map room. There were shelves full of scrolls, a few mapping out sections of the castle. Enthralled, I walked over to examine a few, convinced that it might be beneficial. I could tell Daniel and Isabelle were bored, but they were filing through the maps and scrolls as well. After a few moments, I put the paper down.
"Let's move on." I stated, going over the drawings in my mind. The two nodded and we moved across the hall to the second door. But Isabelle paused.
"Look!" She pointed toward the wall, "Its breaking! Maybe we can get through." She peered inside. "There's a room on the other side."
"A room?" Daniel and I said in unison, bafflement in our tone.
"Yeah," She sounded impressed with herself, "We should try to break through." At that sentence, she slammed one fist down on the fragile stone. She repeated the process until the wall crumbled, revealing a passage into the secret room. We climbed through one by one. When I reached the other side, it turned out the room was just a few bookcases and one locked door. I looked around, dumbfounded, until my gaze landed on Daniel. His eyes looked glazed over, as if he were dead.
"Daniel?" I called out, worry gripping my body. Suddenly, he shook his head, color returning to his pale green eyes.
"We need to pull a certain three books out of the shelves and something will open." He said calmly, walking over to the cases and searching for one of the three. What just happened? I glanced at Isabelle and I could tell she was just as confused.
"Here's one." Daniel pointed, "Felix, on my call, I want you to pull this out. Isabelle, there is another right over there. I need you to pull that as well." He walked around a bookcase. "Now!"
I gripped the book firmly and tugged it out of its spot. There was a strange clicking noise, but it was soon disrupted by the sound of something swinging open. One of the shelves had moved!
"How the hell did you know what to do?" Isabelle accused.
"I-It just came to me…" He lied.
"Whatever, he figured it out. No big deal. Now let's see what opened." I said with exasperation. They nodded and we walked over to the case that had swung open. There was a room with a desk and a wardrobe: plain and simple. But on the desk, there was a key.
"Look over here," I said, "There's a key."
"What for?" Isabelle inquired.
"There's a label on it." I narrowed my eyes to read the sloppy handwriting, "It says Wine Cellar."
"Then our next stop is the Wine Cellar." Daniel stated, but his voice was cut off by the sound of wood shattering. A low, foreboding growl came from the previous room, and I immediately darted toward the wardrobe. Panicking, I scrambled inside, desperate to hide from the beast. Daniel and Isabelle followed, and we barely managed to fit inside the closet. I struggled to slow my breathing as I strained to hear outside our hiding spot. When no sound came, I let out a sigh of relief and climbed out, grateful to have my own space.
"What was that?" Isabelle asked, voice quivering.
"I think that's what attacked me," I droned, gripping the key securely. "Let's just get going. I don't want to stick around in case that thing comes back."
It turns out, the Wine Cellar was the place I woke up in.
