Once Upon A Dream

Chapter 3

This chapter was written by one of my friends, Techi. I had no part in writing this chapter other than checking it with Grammarly. Techi is an awesome individual and I'm really happy that they wanted to help write a chapter!

George walked down the almost painfully bare corridors of his castle, the walls arching far above his head. Half pillars embedded into the walls lined them, with little lanterns poking out, details scattered here and there. Even then, it just seemed so... wrong, something felt wrong, and he didn't know what.

He shrugged it off, pretending like it was nothing, and he was just being paranoid, but his mind screamed otherwise. He continued to brush it off, and walked down the corridor, listening to the tapping of his shoes as he did so.

Listening to someone walk along the floors of the castle was nice at times, it was rhythmic and soothing. It would remind him of when he was around 7, staying up late and he would have to race back to the bed when his mother woke to come to check on him.

Not even a minute later, he noticed a door at the end of the hallway that was slightly ajar, darkness blocking anything from coming inside, and also his gaze.

Slightly annoyed, he walked over and rested his hand on the doorknob, almost shutting it, but something stopped him. It felt familiar, like déjà vu, like he had done this before... wanting to close this specific door, to shut the world out. He opened it slowly, cringing as it squeaked quietly.

There was a dim light coming from the room, from his right, to be exact. He became even more interested, so he flung the doors open, and stepped inside. Once he took a single step in, he immediately felt pressure on him. He quickly looked behind himself, but nothing was there.

He noticed that his heart had plummeted, and his stomach had felt like it had been tied in multiple knots. His breathing hadn't changed, but it hurt to breathe. His hand reached out behind him, ready to reach for the door handle, and fling it shut.

He looked down at the ground for a moment, before walking forward, his heart beating hard in his chest.

He looked around the room quickly, hoping to find a reason to leave.

Some curtains were drawn, but most were closed, blocking any light from penetrating the shadows inside the room. There were huge pillars that surrounded the room, reaching up high, so high he craned his neck to see the top.

The ceiling was covered in little details, little swirls, and dots. If he looked straight up, there was an enormous chandelier, that housed many candles that weren't lit.

He looked down, his neck hurting a little.

He looked behind himself, wondering if the door was close enough to take a couple of steps back, just so he could leave.

The door was actually about 15 feet away. He looked to the ground, dread filling him entirely, and he grimaced before walking forward, pushing through his dread.

His strides were huge, and he held his head up high before he shook his head and went back to his normal pace.

Picking at his fingernails, so that they flicked, he bit the inside of his cheek and licked his lips, before drawing his hands towards his chest, and fiddled with them.

The sounds of his footsteps echoed throughout the room, bouncing off the walls and floors. The floors were covered in an abstract pattern, which he kind of enjoyed.

Once he got to the middle of the room, he looked around the room again. He spotted something in the shadows, it glinted even in the dark, but it wasn't piercing. He squinted before taking a step back in shock.