✓ WITH YOU. ( mcyt )

✘（ 𝟭𝟮 ）CASTLE, eret

( 12 ) CASTLE ERET ✘
ERET x 2ND POV READER

( abandoned areas, eerie vibe )

SOMEHOW, YOU FELT A LITTLE COLDER.

RUMOURS SPOKE OF an abandoned castle sitting atop a small hill with stone walls that crumbled and wooden floorings that creaked under the foreign weight of unwanted visitors. Whispers carried by the crisp, spring winds, rustling the soft leaves of trees that had seen so much, telling stories about a wrongfully crowned king, who'd been gifted power far too great for him. History books told tales of heeled leather boots that wandered the halls and colourful banners draped over what had once been a great fortress, now wore down from the harsh winters and sweltering summers.

You'd been intrigued. A castle that had housed a traitor? How peculiar. It wasn't very often that people like them were accepted into society, nevermind turned into those who ruled over it. It had to be a very special case in order for that to happen.

There were explanations, of course. Written in the margins, an afterthought to quick judgments and opinionated statements. Most historians didn't bother to include the why; they were usually more focused on the when, the where, and the who. Facts were facts, after all. Why would you need to know the why when you had the hard 'truths?' And who in the world would want to go search a dusty old castle built from lies and betrayals anyway?

The answer to that question was rather simple, really; you.

You weren't foolish enough to mistake the words of a historian who hadn't even taken the time of day to visit the ancient monuments themselves as the truth. And, well, to put it bluntly, you were curious. What exactly had been so special about this one person that they'd been granted such power for giving a tyrant such a measly piece of information? ( At least, that was what the historians had written. ) Why had their ruling come to an end so quickly, with their reign lasting less than a year? What about them was so special?

The battered soil shifted underneath your weight and the eerie silence of the place twisted your gut as you gazed up at the towering frame of the-compared to all the ones you'd seen before-oddly small castle, eyes darting here and there in paranoia as if you were expecting the traitor king-who had to be long dead by now-to appear out of nowhere and spill your secrets to the entire world, just like he had done to a failed nation. And, steeling yourself and pursing your lips, looking into the dark, unlit hallways, you took your first step in.

For one thing, it seemed much larger on the inside than it had looked on the outside, which confused you for a few moments before you remembered the effect the arched ceilings above you brought. An air of importance seemed to fill the empty hallways, and the musty smell that usually settled over places like these ( abandoned places ) assaulted your nostrils-it was accompanied by the dust that seemed to be everywhere and kicked up from the movement of the soles of your shoes against the worn wooden flooring-causing you to cough for a few minutes, and you stopped in your tracks, letting your lungs adjust to the change from the cold wind outside to the stuffy air inside.