Matilda Jane and The Abysmal Road

Chapter 9

                  After a tearful goodbye and one last meal together, Morfi left Matilda on the outskirts of a soul city that was crowded with buildings, sleek and mostly metal other than some stone accents. Then she noticed many of the windows were boarded up, and while there were many cars, there was no traffic- and no one walking. There were lights in many of these metal towers though, so she wandered on as she usually did in new cities until she found a place to fit in there. It was so quiet that all she could hear was her breath and her thoughts, which reflected on her journey so far, and all the friends she'd made. She'd been through so much in so little time, grown so much - for the worse and for the better. The Doubt she felt seemed like a shadowy stranger that had stalked her since she left the Hive.

           Eventually MJ found an alley lit up brilliantly with neon signs, and made her way to one advertising a hotel with stars blinking around it. Making her way in she found it was warmly lit,  and a jazzy tune echoed around her. She saw no one though, and decided to call out, "Hello? I'm looking for a room, please?" her voice echoed off the marble floors, and then came the echo of heels. "One moment sweet thing!" came the voice of an older woman from a hallway above. The woman strolled down the stairs to the right and met her at the front desk, she was dressed in a sleek black evening gown accessorized with some of the most extravagant jewels she had ever seen. She had brilliant golden locked light blue eyes that seemed to shimmer as much as the diamonds on her neck. The woman eyed her up and down and then pulled some lipstick from a bedazzled purse on the desk and reapplied it in a mirror on the wall behind the desk, refreshing the velvet that made her eyes pop even more, Matilda was completely entranced by her until she spoke, "So you'd like a room, miss?" 

          "Oh yes I-" MJ paused as she glanced into the mirror at herself, disheveled from the road and her last battle, and then to the woman- who was not as she seemed in the reflection. "Miss?" The woman said again, raising a perfectly sculpted brow at her. "I need a single bed, please." MJ said, trying to remain unaffected by what she saw, she was tired after all and the woman didn't appear to have any interest in devouring her soul- yet. "It's been a while since I've had any visitors, so I hope you won't shy away from joining me for dinner after you're settled. I'm Irene, by the way." Irene smiled widely at her and gestured up the stairs, "Second door to the left, it has the best view besides my own. I'll have a dress sent up for you, since dinner is formal and your attire is, well..." she eyed MJ again and clicked her tongue. Feeling rather uneasy about Irene, she just nodded and paid her before scurrying up the stairs, eager to shower and rest for a bit. At the top of the stairs though she stopped and focused on Irene's soul.

              Irene had the soul of a traveler, and something else, almost like a magnetic frequency came off of her, giving the same sensation she felt watching her apply the lipstick. Then there was something strange, or rather many strange things that swooped in and shrouded Matilda from seeing anything else. MJ quickly made her way to her room, wondering if she should have just left and looked for a different hotel or shelter. But leaving may have insulted Irene more, and despite the magnetic vibe she gave MJ also sensed a bit of loneliness to her, much like the rest of the seemingly empty city. She felt the Doubt taunting her then and hushed it as she showered, rinsing the dirt and sweat of her travels away. When she got out she found on her bed was an evening gown of royal blue, simple silk and floor length but with a long cut up to the thigh and a low back. Matlida hadn't worn a dress like this since she left the Hive, and even then it was only for birthdays and holidays. "Well I guess I'd be a pretty rude guest if I went to a formal dinner in jeans." she said to herself as she slipped it on, feeling exposed but curious as she made her way down to dinner.

              Irene was waiting at the base of the stairs for her, "You look ravishing, sweet thing!" she gestured grandly at her, and MJ gave her an awkward smile, "Thank you. It fits really nice actually, and this blue silk is stunning." Irene nodded her head down the marble hall from which the jazz music echoed loudest. "So you own this hotel?" MJ asked, partly to break the ice, partly to see if anyone else might be joining them for dinner. "Yes, this hotel, and this city. It was such a mess when I got here, from the war, of course." "War?" Matilda asked, confused. She was fairly well versed on the know history of the Abyss, but the last genuine war, the Holy War had raged and burned it's last fired more than seven hundred years before. "Yes, sweet thing. But enough about that, I want to know where you've hailed in from." they entered a large ballroom complete with a chandelier and a stage, where the jazz sourced from. "I've come a long way, from a place called the Hive. I'm  on a journey to my highest self, or something like that." she chuckled awkwardly as she noticed that while the instruments on stage were indeed being played, there was no one actually playing them. "And what do you intend on finding here, sweet thing?"