Something Peculiar

14

After sleeping fruitfully, I got up and got ready for the day. I wandered around the house, but not intentionally. I had been trying to get to the kitchen, but I took a wrong turn somewhere and got lost. Wooseok had given me an explanation of the palace layout the day before, but not enough, apparently. The palace was divided into two massive wings, separated by the grand entryway. All official business took place in the south wing, which housed the meeting rooms, ballroom, a massive dinning hall, offices, the throne room, as well as staff quarters and the Queen's bedroom.

The north wing was more casual and contained my room, guest bedrooms, a living room, the kitchen, and the sitting parlor. I was wandering around the north wing, opening doors and investigating. As far as I could tell, this place had almost as many guest rooms as a Holiday Inn, only they were a whole lot fancier. I eventually found Hye-kyo's parlor, but she wasn't there, so it didn't help me any.

I moved on and tried to open the door across the hall from Hye-kyo's space, but it wouldn't budge. So far, this was the only door I'd found that had been locked, and I found that strange. Especially in this wing. I suppose in the south wing, locking up official business would make sense.

Fortunately, I knew a thing or two about lock-picking. In attempts to keep from being expelled, I had broken into a few school offices and stolen papers. I don't recommend it, and in the end, it was usually ineffective. I pulled a bobby pin from my hair and looked around. I didn't see anyone, and hadn't so far this morning, so I set about breaking in. After a few unsuccessful twists in the lock. I felt something give, and I turned the knob.

Pushing the door open slowly, I peeked in, half expecting to find the royal bathroom or something. When nobody screamed at me to go away, I pushed the door open wider and stepped inside. Unlike the other rooms, this one was completely dark. Feeling along the wall, I finally found the light switch and flicked it on. The room reminded me of a large storeroom. It had no windows, and the walls were dark brown. With a bare light bulb in the ceiling, it held none of the grandeur of the rest of the house, and it had no furniture. But it was filled to the brim with paintings. Not hanging on the wall. Just stacked and piled around in every available space. At first I assumed they must be leftovers from the King and Queen room, but from what I could see, none of them were portraits.

I picked up the one nearest to me, and it was a lovely picture of a newborn baby wrapped in a blue blanket. I set aside and picked up another, which appeared to be Hye-kyo, looking much younger and even more beautiful, dressed in a gorgeous white gown. Despite the beauty of the picture, her eyes looked sad and remorseful. Holding the picture at arm's length so I could get a better look at it, I realized something. It had the same brushstrokes, the same technique as the painting of the baby. I picked up another picture to compare, and it was the same too.

These were all painted by the same artist.

I thought  back to the drawing room and the painting I had seen Hye-kyo working on. Something with dark smoke and chandeliers. I couldn't be certain, but I would guess these were hers. I sifted through a few more of the paintings, growing even more bewildered, and then I saw one that stopped my heart cold. When I picked it up, I wasn't surprised to see my hands were shaking.

It showed me looking about the same as I did now, except dressed nicer. I wore a beautiful flowing white gown, but there was a tear in the side of the dress, revealing a thin line of red blood. My hair had been pulled back., but it was starting to come loose, wild strands falling free. In the painting, I lay on my belly on a marble balcony. The floor around me was covered in pieces of the glass that shimmered like diamonds, but I didn't seem to notice. My outstretched hand extended past the balcony, reaching into a dark oblivion. But my face was what struck me the most. I looked absolutely horrified.