Realms [ON HOLD]

Chapter Four: A Place of Knowledge

     Maeve's harsh, slit-pupiled gaze raked across the small room.

It was quite nice, most of the furniture being bright orange, with greens, greys, and browns to balance it out. To the right of the door was the vast kitchen. The counters along the wall were grey stone, and the part that stuck out from the wall was warm brown wood. Shelves of the same wood lined the wall above the sink, the higher one held tight to the ceiling by two metal chains.

In the corner, directly under the lower shelf, was a cute teapot. It was white with a butter yellow lining and lid. On the side of it was a little pattern of wheat heads and tiny lilies of the valley.

Above the teapot, attached to the ceiling, was a wooden cabinet, and beside it was a lantern, lighting up the room in a warm glow. Under the lantern to the left was a sink, and next to it was a dainty orange tulip in a clay flower pot. The pot had a small illustration on its side of an orange butterfly with a dark green sprig of rosemary overlapping it.

Just beside the left chain connected to the higher shelf was a small vine of leaves attached to the ceiling. It had a few little orange flowers blooming from its stem. Maeve would have to ask Fenn what it was, as she had never seen it before. He was savvy with plants; he would know what it was.

On the right side of the door was a tower of drawers, surrounded by a fluffy orange carpet. It expanded from the ceiling to the floor. Maeve made a mental note to look in there once she was done exploring.

Straight across the room from the door, under the stairs, was a compact writing nook. A wooden desk connected to a lectern on which Maeve could write while standing. The desk was held up in the corner by a metal chain, and from the ceiling sprouted another vine with tiny orange flowers.

Atop the desk were three candles, all varying in height. They were lit, the flames dancing and swaying with every movement of the air around them. Underneath the desk in the corner was a record player, and next to it was a box of records, probably music.

Maeve took them all out of the box; there were five, and they were all various colors. The one on the top of the stack was a disc with a lime green center and a darker green bar through the middle. The second one was split in half; one side was blue and the other green. The third was solid white. The fourth was dull blue with two slightly darker stripes.

The fifth was different. Its center was fully black and what would normally be round sides were jagged and broken, as if they had been snapped off.

The discs were titled too, all just one word. The first, Flourish. The second, Victory. The third, Alive. The fourth, Reflect. But the fifth... the name was scratched through but still legible.

Macabre.

Maeve shivered. She had read enough books to know what that word meant. Why would it be the name of a record? And even stranger, why was it in her new house?

Maeve didn't ponder for long, as she felt a distinct tingle in the back of her head. She dropped the discs back into the box and slid them hastily back under the desk. The feeling tugged at the back of her mind, giving her the gut feeling that something was wrong.

And when Maeve had a gut feeling about something, everyone listened.

She was being observed.

Maeve sprung into action like a wily cat ready for battle, ears back, pupils dilating into slits. She swung around, turning towards the kitchen, and rapidly whipped one of the plentiful rubber bands off her wrist. It wasn't a deadly projectile like her bow, but Maeve always aimed for the eyes. Aiming the band, she looked around, ready to shoot at the first thing that moved.