Solace quietly opened the door of her room, studying the stage: a long corridor led towards the main stairs to the first floor. On the opposite side of her room, the hall went on. There were about four more rooms, from what she could make out of the darkness. Fog rested everywhere. Solace assumed the rooms the creeps occupied were behind some of those doors, so she hurried down the cold stone stairs. Once she got down, she looked left and right: more rooms. Darkness engulfed the whole house. Only faint beams of light allowed the woman to not trip over anything. The silence was deafening, to the point she could feel her heartbeat.
Pum pum, pum pum
She slowly walked while crouching down, trying to make herself as small as possible. Her ears rang. Every little movement made a sound.
Pum pum, pum pum
She constantly scanned her surroundings, fearing the worst. Her breath suddenly quieted. She knew it was best.
Pum pum, pum pum, pum pum
The way was getting torturously long: her lungs screamed for precious air.
Pum pum pum pum pum pum
She finally deciphered the shape of the main door.
Pum pum pum pum pum pum pum pum
She reached for the handle.
Pum pum pum pum pum pum pum pum pum pum pum pum
She made it.
Solace swiftly closed the door before leaning against it. Large amounts of sharp, freezing air were sucked into her lungs. The cold was such that every breath she let out became visible.
Slowly, the ash-haired woman slowed her breathing and returned to reality: meeting "E" was more important than her fright.
Solace found herself latching onto the first thing she could perceive to keep her from stressing out of reality.
The oleander smell.
She started discreetly following the scent. Her usual strong and assertive steps were now gentle, light, delicate even. Solace followed the fragrance up to the other side of the mansion, where the only thing she could sense...
...was awe.
Solace wandered in the massive white oleander forest. The flowers glowed, reflecting the light of their queen: the elegant moon, now free of her cloud cape. The silver one enlightened the scene, knowing explanations such as this one require illumination. She gently asked her subjects to glow and aid her in her task, revealing the woman below the way to the glasshouse.
There, a young man stood. His sleepy eyes reflected the silver queen perfectly, despite their dark nature. Thin locks slightly covered his face, for the rest of his hair was tied back into a small bun, adding to his features' softness. He wore a lazily put-together outfit: dark baggy pants and a white shirt. His presentation was very unlike the other two self-proclaimed upper class men: they both wore more formal attires and presented sharper features, notably their cheekbones, collarbones, and jaws. Also, lips and eyes, in Skafil's case.
"E.S. and nothing more than a rendezvous, not something most would find... reassuring." Solace joked with a soft grin.
"Well, it is still better than being locked up with psychopaths, am I wrong?" 'E' joked back with a smile, earning a bitter chuckle from the woman.
"You got me there." She admitted. "What's your name?"
"Esvidaijah Sutton, I presume you are Solace."
"The one and only. So, what's the deal with you and the pov-ers? Siblings, maybe?"
"Yes, but that's beside the point. Sadly, I don't have enough time to expand on that." He explained, suddenly antsy at the mention of his family.
"Are you o-"
"I can get you out of here."
Solace's eyes widened for a split second before becoming hesitant.
"And what's in it for you? I don't think anyone would betray their family for a stranger. Besides, wouldn't Cascade and Scaffold realize it?" She inquired, still wary of the barely taller guy.
"Please refrain from talking about them as if they were my family, it ills me greatly to be related to those brutes...." Esvidaijah demanded, full of resentment. "As for them noticing, I believe it won't matter if you get away. They can't leave the house, or great harm will come their way." He finished.
"What the- What's the deal with this family?" Solace asked no one in particular.
"I'm pretty sure that, considering Kasvald's big mouth, you are aware we are practically royalty, are you not?" He supposed.
"Don't tell me you have this complex as well." she started complaining as Esvidaijah got closer. "Oh God, how do grown-ass adults such as yourselves still play on with that? I'm not going to kink shame, but pushing it this far makes it look like a problem! I-"
"I believe the problem might be yours, even if you didn't cause it... being against and stuck with these dangerous individuals who allegedly have economic and social power isn't safe." He responded just above a whisper, though his voice was loud and clear. "For some reason, one I cannot understand, I was able to snap from my destructive origins and gain sense.... what my familiars are doing is wrong, and I'm here to clear my name... So I'll repeat myself: I'll help you escape," he assured, sounding determined.
Solace didn't understand what was going on. Upper class men, unable to leave the house, snapping out of a destructive origin; she knew all those words. Yet, when they applied to her reality, it seemed near impossible: if they were so powerful, how had she never heard of them before? All she understood was that she had to get out of there and would need all the help she could find.
After explaining that to the man with lazy eyes, he smiled softly at the one he would aid from then on.
"I'm glad we agreed," he concluded. "Now, go back to your room: they mustn't know you and I interacted."
...........................
Oop- new character! Now it's getting real.
What do you think of Esvidaijah?
YOU ARE READING
Hung by chains
Mystery / ThrillerAfter the death of her adoptive father, Solace must go to a mysterious house to fix her etiquette, but barely anything is known about her soon-to-be teachers. During her stay, she obtains information and those who she would even dare to call "friend...
