In His Arms

The Castle

It was around two in the morning when I left my room and headed off to the castle, filled with both curiosity and anxiety. I know Kenneth specifically told me not to go near it, but I couldn't help myself. Why didn't he want me to go to the castle? What was in there?
Sneaking out wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. I had to be sneakier than I had ever been in my whole life. If anyone saw me⁠—human or purple demon⁠—they'd tell Kenneth and I'd be in trouble. Thankfully, not many people were awake at this time so my chances of getting caught were lowered. Heck, even if I did get caught I doubt anything too severe would come of it.
It took me a solid hour to finally get out of the hotel, and as soon as I was out I started sprinting like a mad man in the direction of the Spooky Island Castle. I felt the sand between my cute little toes, the ocean breeze in my luscious hair. Eventually the sand became cobblestone, and the air became musky.
I was at the castle. For a long minute I just stood in front of the door, staring up at it. Would it open on its own? Was there a button or a lever? Could I just pull it? Fuck, was it a push door? I ignored these questions, stepping forward and grabbing the handle. Thankfully, it opened easily when I pulled it. Though that wasn't really surprising considering doors always opened for princesses. #YouShouldSeeMeInACrown.
I shut the door behind me, taking in the new environment. It was dark, the floor was cold beneath my tootsies. I started down the hall, looking around at everything curiously. It was an amusement park attraction, I knew that, but where was the ride? I expected to see some roller coaster tracks at least.  Maybe that was just a lie, maybe there wasn't a ride inside here at all. I was determined to find out the truth. But why would Kenneth lie?
"Hello?" I winced at the sound of my own voice, it seemed to vibrate off the stone walls. I was silently hoping I didn't get a reply, and after a minute or two I was glad to say I didn't get one. Was I alone in here? If I was this was the coolest thing in the world. A whole castle to myself, I was practically the queen of Spooky Island. Unfortunately, I didn't know where the heck I was going. This castle was giant, there was no way I'd be able to find myself around without some kind of help. It didn't take long for me to decide that I was a strong independent woman who didn't need anyone's help. I started walking down the hall, making sure I did so quickly just in case anyone came through the castle doors and saw me. Before I knew it I was turning corners and going down even more halls. I slipped inside the first open door I saw, shutting it behind me. It was some kind of office, with a large desk sat in the centre of the room and filing cabinets lining the walls. White sheets were draped over most of the other furniture, including a few over (what appeared to be) large easels. I walked to one, taking hold of the sheet and yanking it off.
Boy, did I regret that one! I was met with a painting of the ugliest creature I'd ever seen. It looked like a much older version of Kenneth, either that or a severely disfigured version. I picked up the sheet off the floor and threw it back over the painting so I didn't have to look at it any longer. I took a step back away from the painting. This room was creepy, I started to leave. A loud noise stopped me dead in my tracks, my gorgeous blue orbs scanned the room for any sign of someone else. I knew I was alone in the room, there wasn't anywhere anyone could hide in here without me seeing. I ran for the door, but the second I stepped out I ran smack into someone. My small dainty petite body fell to the ground with a thud, I looked up at the stranger. It was a boy! A human, just like me. He didn't seem to be a tourist, either. His hair was deep brown, and his eyes matched. He was pretty, but not as pretty as me. He looked at me like I was disgusting or something.
"What are you doing in here?" He questioned, shining his flashlight in my face. It made me angry.
"None of your business." I scoffed. Who did this guy think he was? It wasn't like he owned the castle or anything, he was probably just some barely paid janitor. "What are *you* doing here?"
"I live here."
"Why do you live in this crusty musty dusty castle?" I asked, finally getting up to my feet. He took a step back from me as he replied.
"It's the only place on the island where those gross purple things aren't."
"You should watch what you say about those gross purple things." She began, speaking again a second later for the sake of clarification. "I just so happen to belong to Kenneth."
"Kenneth?"
God, was this guy stupid? How could he not know who Kenneth was, but more importantly how could he not know who I was. I'm practically, like, a celebrity.
"Yes, Kenneth. I belong to him, he bought me."
"He.. bought you?"
"Yes, he bought me! God, are you deaf or something?"
The stranger was looking more and more confused by the second, I wanted to slap him across his face. He started running his stupid little mouth again.
"Isn't that like, illegal?" He asked and looked into the camera like he was from the office. I tried following his eyes.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing." His gaze snapped back to little ol' me. "You can't be here."
"Who says?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Me." He replied, clearly not wanting to give me an answer. This guy was a dorito shard in the gums. Thankfully, he didn't leave precious me waiting for too long. "My name's Elliot."
"I'm Emily, aka the Queen of Spooky Island."
"I didn't ask." He rolled his eyes. How dare he speak to me this way? He was going to regret this sooner or later. God help anyone who dares to disrespect Kenneth's queen. He was lucky he started talking again, I would have told him what's what if he hadn't. "Like I said before, you can't be here. Leave the way you came."
"Are you gonna make me?" I asked, smirking. Surely he wouldn't dare to touch me. Well, actually I was wrong about that. He grabbed me by the back of my shirt and started to yank me towards the door. I weighed practically nothing to him, which made sense considering how petite and dainty I am. I didn't let him pull me out of the door, though, I grabbed onto the doorframe and held on as tightly as I could. Elliot took the flashlight that had been in his hand and hit me as hard as he could over the head with it. Everything went black after that.