Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━
ᴊɪᴀ |
The gate's heavy metal screeched open, the sound reverberating through the air and breaking the eerie silence that blanketed the palace grounds. I stood for a moment, my flashlight casting a faint, trembling beam down the stone path that led to the main entrance. In the dim light, the palace seemed a thousand miles away. I took a deep breath, stepped forward, and the crunch of leaves beneath my shoes felt louder than it should. Every sound out here felt magnified, even my own heartbeat.
Halfway down the path, a sudden rustling in the trees made me freeze. Before I could react, a flock of birds burst from the branches, their wings beating against the night, filling the air with a chaotic flutter. Stupid birds. I exhaled, rolling my shoulders and shaking off the tension. The path stretched out ahead, the only part of this place untouched by trees, like some unseen hand had carved it out on purpose, forcing me toward the looming entrance.
Standing just before the massive palace doors, I tipped my head back, taking in the towering height. The place was far more imposing than I'd ever imagined from my apartment window, where it always seemed just a shadow. Now, up close, I could see the intricate carvings that decorated the exterior-figures twisted in strange dances, their faces frozen in expressions that could've been either joy or agony. It made my skin crawl.
I turned to look back, catching sight of my friends' flashlights flickering by the gate. They were too far for me to make out their faces, but the lights bobbing in the dark were enough. I wondered, suddenly, if Stefani had planned this. She'd seemed drunk, sure, but now I wasn't so certain. The idea crept into my mind-had she set this up? Had she wanted me to wander into this place alone, while she stayed back with Jackson, playing the concerned friend but secretly hoping I wouldn't come back? I brushed the thought away and forced myself to focus. I wasn't here for Stefani or Jackson.
The main entrance was ajar, yawning open like a mouth waiting to swallow me whole. I hesitated, took a breath, and stepped inside. My flashlight barely penetrated the thick darkness. Dust hung in the air like a suffocating blanket, and the smell of decay clawed at my throat. It felt like the walls themselves were pressing in on me, thick with age and the weight of things long forgotten.
The hall I entered was vast. My light skimmed over towering pillars that seemed to reach endlessly upward, disappearing into the blackness above. A massive chandelier hung overhead, its crystals clouded with dust, cobwebs draping it like veils.
It must have been beautiful once, but now, with its chains rusted and its light long extinguished, it looked like a ghost of something that had been left to rot. I swallowed hard, a prickling sensation creeping up my spine. There was something about this place that felt wrong, but also disturbingly familiar, like I'd been here before.
To my right, a door stood slightly open, moonlight spilling through the crack. Drawn to it, I crossed the hall, my footsteps echoing in the silence. The door opened to an open courtyard, and I found myself staring at an overgrown garden. It spread out before me, bigger than I'd expected, stretching into the night. Dead vines clawed their way up broken statues, and a dried-up fountain stood in the center, its stone cracked and split, filled with the debris of years left untouched.
