The Mansion

Part 2: Locked

I opened my eyes to find myself in a room made completely of glass on one side. It reminded me slightly of a greenhouse as the glass continued across the ceiling as well; however, the floor and three other sides of the room were made of dusty aged wood that took on a grayish-blue tint in the moonlight that was shining into the room. I could tell that it was, indeed, night; or at least it was here and now. The moon was full, and its rays penetrated the dark dreariness of the small room granting it a feeling of comfort. Outside the long window wall was a dense and magical-looking forest; like something out of an elven fable. The forest was glowing with the twinkles of fireflies, and the stars made pictures of beautiful places and things, that pulled me in, in breathless wonder. Then the sound of footsteps nearby tugged me away from natures' spell and back to the room I was in. I searched the room for a light switch or lamp of any kind but found none. I then stepped in front of the one door in the room across from the window wall. I heard the steps beyond the door move ever closer...closer...and my curiosity got the best of me. I saw the door had a large skeleton keyhole and I crouched down to look through it to the other side. What I saw was darkness, and then blackness and fear, as a looming shadow lurched slowly toward my door. I backed away from the door for a moment as my mind raced with thoughts. The room itself was so comforting and peaceful, and yet I felt a sense of guilt in such comfort. How could I be comfortable and sit in here while that shadow haunts the hallways just outside? Shouldn't I try to help the situation somehow? Maybe to ask this shadowman what he wants, and why he is here roaming the halls? Then I suddenly remembered that I had yet to check the door to see if it was locked. I turned the handle...it was. I examined the door a bit further and noticed the bottom was large enough for a hand to fit through possibly. Without a second thought I reached under the door and called out, "Please, who are you? Why are you doing this?"... then pain. I pulled my hand back in to find I had a large cut through my palm. Blood dripped onto the floor in front of me as I cradled it in my other hand, and yet I remained perfectly calm. I looked around and spied a small box in the darkest corner of the room. I walked over to it, and opened it to find a needle and thread,... and so I began to sew. I continued to sew under the stars until my hand was stitched up cleanly, and the bleeding had ceased. I rolled over onto my back after finishing, and stared up at the stars. I had heard stories of such places as these,... where princesses were held in towers against their will; locked away from the world until a noble stranger would find and rescue her. I wasn't a princess though. I was a simple commoner, and I couldn't recall any stories of kidnapped commoners being nobly rescued by anyone. "Who would care about a commoner like me?". A tear rolled down my cheek as I dreamed of happy endings anyway,... drawn delicately through the stars. "You should just give it up already", a voice echoed out from the corridors beyond. I sat up and tiptoed to the door. I lied on the floor and looked out down a long red carpeted hallway lit dimly by delicate sconce lights. There were many doors ahead, as well as hallways to the left and right with more. There was one door almost directly across from mine. I turned over and placed my face next to the door's gap, "Hello?", I called out. "Is anyone there?". "Stop doing that!", an exacerbated voice responded from what seemed to be the door across the hall to the right." "What?..."Doing what?", I asked her. There was a short pause followed by an audible *huff*, "Caring...It'll only get you hurt. You can't reach for a blade and expect not to be cut". I clutched my chest. Why did her words hurt so much more than that blade had? There was a long silence that seemed to go on forever until..."*Hahahahahahahaa*", a shrill woman's voice rang out from another room nearby. "He isn't even human", she continued with a sing-songy inflection. I replied despite being afraid of the answer: "Then what is he?". "The devil of course! *hahahahahahahaaa*...", her laughter trailed off manically into unhinged silence. Then a light scuffling could be heard from down the hallway straight ahead. The floorboards creaked as they bent under a light weight. I looked through the keyhole intensely to see a young girl with blonde hair and blue eyes appear. She was walking down the hallway toward me in a tip-toe fashion, with her head lowered. She looked to be between 6 and 8 years old and was tightly holding a black bunny in her arms. I called out to her, "Hello?". She tilted her head up from the ground she was looking down at as she walked and motioned with a raised finger that I should be quiet. She tip-toed over to my door and looked through the keyhole at me. "Hello", I whispered, trying to contain my excitement. "Where did you come from? Can you get me out of here?". She softly shook her head no. I looked at the door again..."Oh, that's right. You'd need a key! Do you know where the keys are? Can you find them?" Her eyes grew wide and shifted nervously. It was clear she knew something but was afraid of where the conversation had gone. "Leave her alone!", a young girl's voice called out from another nearby room just loud enough to make out. "The ghosts are going to find her!". Just then, the end of the hallway grew dark like a fog had developed and was beginning to spread outward toward us; blocking out what little light had been there to begin with. Even through the small keyhole I could see the young girl begin to shiver and then stare off distantly in icy fear. The blackness moved ever closer...and closer...as my heart pounded,...and pounded ever louder in my head, until it began to throb painfully. I swallowed down my own fear and screamed out, "Run!". The little girl jumped out of her skin and into action, running off down the hallway to the right and out of sight; and as the blackness descended on my door blocking the last bit of light there was, I could make out the blacker than black form in the center. The form seemed to be staring right through me,... into the recesses of my soul; grabbing my heart and squeezing it over and over...pounding and pounding...breath lost to its' sound...until I felt my body fall beneath me, and everything went away with a *thud*.