Wonderland: Origins of the Oraculum

Chapter Five

Stayne led me through this hall that I had never been down before. I thought I'd mapped this castle all over, but this hall was so unfamiliar. It was dark and gothic, the sconces on the walls framed with the stone carvings of severed heads. The candles glowed a little too hauntingly here, and yet I felt comforted by them. Even when the wax dripped like blood over the empty sockets of the fraudulent, screaming skulls.

Stayne hadn't released his arm around me since the moment we left the library. He wasn't forcing me forward. His arm just rested there, keeping me close. It felt like a shield, a suit of armor... a promise of protection. Despite that, and his cloak consuming me, I still felt unprotected, the cold sinking its teeth into my skin.

We stopped in front of a door made of crimson wood. It glimmered in the candlelight, insignias of card suits in wrought iron decorating the bloody display.

Down with Bloody Big Head.

I winced at those words. The whisper grazed the edge of my mind, hurting as if someone stabbed me with the edge of them. Everything my father fought for. Everything he was willing to die for. And now they were coming for me. They would show no mercy to the daughter of a rebellion after she has turned to the dark.

I tried to keep my breaths steady as Stayne unlocked the door. When I refused to move, I think that's when he realized something wasn't right. I rolled my shoulders to try and prompt some movement, but I was rooted to the spot.

"My lady?"

I couldn't look at him, my sight fixated on the hem of my nightdress. I gnawed on my lips so ferociously that I soon tasted blood in my mouth. Is this what it would feel like if my throat was slit? If my days ended just like that? Would I taste this same tang in my mouth? It's most likely that I'll find out sooner than I hoped. If it wasn't by command of the Queen, it would be by command of the rebellion. I had nowhere to hide now.

"My lady?"

I bit harder into my lip, fending off the tears that threatened to spill and soil the moments of numbness that I'd been blessed with on the walk here. I covered my mouth with my hand, hoping a premature sob or shaken breath wouldn't escape my throat. Don't show any weakness. Don't do it...

But they were coming for me. My days were numbered now.

"My lady, look at me."

There was no demand in his words. They were light as air, brushing against my face just as his fingers began to. He cupped my cheek with one of his long, thin hands. His fingers slipped around my ear and into my hair. The gesture left me colder than ever, ice sliding its way down my spine. My heart quivered with my breath, my nerves expanding, threatening to burst.

I still refused to look at him. If I made eye contact, I was bound to break. I didn't trust him with something as personal as my tears and fears. Yet I knew he could set them in motion with one glance.

His breath tingled the edge of my nose, smelling of the tea usually served at breakfast. My stomach grumbled at that, loud enough that it drew him away. I was experiencing the first wave of heat in my body, the warmth filling up my cheeks.

I wished he didn't draw himself away. I needed comfort. Even if it was from him.

"Come now, I think it's time you get some rest."

I stepped over the threshold. The room was so much bigger than my old one. Guilt punched me in the lower belly with each glimpse at the glossy mahogany detailing, the crimson silk sheets, the porcelain bathtub... oh that bathtub. It was detailed with these paintings of roses in a watercolor style, detailed with the most incredible gold rim. It was the most delicate thing I'd seen in the entire castle. It was the first time that I actually thought something in this hellhole was beautiful.