Heartstone

Windows to the Soul

Arwin cautiously made his way out into the dungeon corridor. The beautiful witch strode down the spooky, dark hall, taking the globe of firelight with her. There was just enough illumination to see thousands of gleaming eyes lining the stone walls of the dungeon all around him. Fear coursed through his veins, and he hurried after his captor through the tunnel of watchful spiders. He kept his arms tight to his sides, all too aware of the way in which the arachnid horde twitched and turned to follow him as he passed. At least none of the ones here were bigger than a small dog. The giant ones seemed to have hidden elsewhere.

She led him up several flights of stone stairs, ascending past other underground levels, then past nicer, properly finished floors. The stone went from damp and cold to dry and warm as they got above ground and then even higher. Thankfully, the stairwell also became less crowded from the second floor upwards, perhaps because insects were more prevalent closer to the ground, and so that's where most of the spiders made their homes and hunting grounds. Still, there was no escaping the occasional cobwebs in a corner or a jumping spider occasionally leaping out of their way. It made Arwin wish he was wearing a full-body hazmat suit. How could anyone live here amongst all these nasty things?

Luckily, Arwin had much to distract him from the spiders. Climbing the stairs behind the Dark Enchantress, he found her backside was naturally at the same level as his face; a great example of why 'ladies first' is a wonderful philosophy. He periodically glanced through open doors into other floors, even looked out a couple of windows, and he cringed whenever spiders got too close. But most of his attention was glued to her gluteus ultra-maximus.

He'd thought her breasts were spectacular. But this bum — wow! Each time she pushed off on one leg to rise to the next stair, the curve of each cheek stretched the thin, purple dress tight over her buttock. He was mesmerized. She definitely worked out, and he appreciated the view that all her hard work had created. It took an act of will to keep from reaching out and grabbing her butt with both hands. Because when sex invades the brain, some humans become very stupid, and the fact that she was a legendary evil sorceress, perhaps bent on killing him, only barely kept him in self-control.

They eventually emerged into a long hall with a towering ceiling two stories above. The space felt stylish and open. Floor-to-ceiling windows covered the entire right-hand wall, bathing the hall in the deep orange light of sunset, revealing several couches and deep sitting chairs interspersed with wrought-iron lampstands, each with small cauldrons dangling from the top to provide both heat and light. Coffee tables next to the seating held an array of books, a couple of empty mugs, and a small pile of papers, likely work stuff.

Flowering plants lined the inside of the windows. They weren't in pots. Instead, they grew on short piles of rough stone and thick branches covered in moss, giving a natural feel to the space. He recognized all the blooms as orchids, of which there were many splendid and colourful varieties, some of which he'd never seen before. From the looks of things, a couple of species seemed to be carnivorous; their petals were shaped like venus fly traps. He hoped they ate spiders.

As he watched, faint, gray clouds appeared over the plants — indoors — and a light shower misted down, just enough to dampen the rocks and moss. A magical automatic watering system.

Arwin looked left as they walked and saw that the wall opposite the window was covered in artwork. His curiosity was piqued; he enjoyed art and wouldn't have minded coming here in the daytime to view the treasures. While the woman leading him through the castle checked off all the correct boxes for 'crazy evil nightmare or a woman', it seemed that she also had other, more normal sides to her. She certainly appreciated beauty in various forms. Could people who were wholly evil appreciate beauty, or was it beyond a true socio- or psychopath's abilities?