The Shadow House

Chapter 5 - The First Stair

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Author's note-

I thiink this one is longer.

Thanks for sticking with me this far!

Have a lovely day, boys, girls, neither, both, or in-betweens!

-pix

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Clover looked away, terrified.

Whatever that thing was, it looked about ready to eat her. She looked around frantically, but the eyes had disappeared.

"Did you see that?" she whispered to the boy. "Did you see those eyes?".

"No."he responded. "But let's find the first stair before going monster-hunting."

Good idea, thought Clover. But there was still one thing on her mind.

"What is the first stair?" she asked the boy.

"It's an ancient relic that will help keep you out of harm's way until we find all 5 stairs, or keys, as you humans like to call them."

"Us humans?" Clover said, a bit of that snark she'd had earlier returning to her voice. "What do you mean, 'us humans'? You mean to say I've been traveling with a monster all this way?!" She shook her head. "Impossible!". 

The boy laughed yet again.

"You will find that many things that are impossible in your world are possible in this house, Clover. Like how I can do this." 

After he said those words, he started flying - no, levitating - several feet off the floor.

"How..." Clover found herself murmuring. "And I don't even know your name." 

As if he thought this was the most ridiculous thing in the world, the boy tipped his head back and laughed, a surprisingly clear sound for the muddled darkness surrounding them. When he was done, he smiled and said

"My name is Ash. I used to have a clan, but now I just wander in the Shadow House."

Clover tilted her head and asked, "The Shadow House?".

"Yes," the boy, Ash, said. "Where else would we be?" Clover could think of lots of places, but she held her tongue.

"It's always night here," said Ash. "I've never seen the light of day, and I probably never will. The House is too much of a maze. No one in their right mind would dare try to find the exit, the chance of getting lost is too large."

He shook his head, then looked up at her with those piercing red eyes. 

"But now that I'm with you, I might have a chance at seeing the day. You must go back up there to live, so we need to find all 5 stairs."

" That is so sad. I'm so sorry." said Clover. "I didn't know. That's why, when I go back up, you're coming with me.''. Ash smiled. 

"Now you're thinking like me.".

"There it is!" whispered Clover to Ash, and there it was indeed. Just when they had given up hope, there it was, a glimmer of light in the darkness. 

It was, in fact, a key, glowing gold and floating a few inches off the large stone pedestal that was positioned under it. If only he could reach out and touch it, grasp it, hold it, but no. 

He could not touch it without silent alarms going off throughout the house, all the monsters in the house were alerted that they were here (as if they didn't know already!), and them being eaten. So, they had to wait for the old trader that protected the key to come and bargain with him to get the first stair. If they did it, he could have a chance of finding and seeing his family again, his brother, mother, father, and the person he missed most of all, his sister, Star. 

That girl, Clover, had an uncanny resemblance to her, and she looked so much like her that some small part of his mind thought that... no, it couldn't be. Why not? 

First of all, she didn't know anything about the shadow house, where he and his whole family had lived, including Star, for nearly 15 years before they had found a way to the surface and left him behind in this cold, damp decaying house they called The Shadow House. Suddenly, a shape moved in the shadows. It was the old trader who protected the key. 

They had to bargain with him to get the key. And it would not be an easy task. First of all, just talking to the trader would be hard because he only spoke the old language of the shadows. 

Ash only knew enough of that language to say "hello" and "need money". This was going to be a problem. They needed to remember the way to the key, go find the translator- a device that allowed anyone to speak any language at any time- and bring it back to the key's pedestal in time for the trader, or they might miss him and have to wait again for him to come by, and that might be awhile! 

"There he is!", Clover whispered. She approached the old man and said, "Hello? We need that key. Yes, the one floating on that pedestal there, right behind me.". She used her hands and arms to gesture to the key. 

The trader replied "ryhgisldugz!"

"What did you say?" Clover asked curiously. 

He said again "ryhgisldugz!" 

"Hello." Ash translated. 

"Geir Jb Swi Eius?" The man cried, his eyes fixed on Ash. 

"What did he say?" Asked Clover. 

" He said: What do you want?" Ash replied. 

" Geir Jb Swi Eius?!" He said again, harsher this time. 

"Um... " Ash cleared his throat, but did not speak. "I don't know what to say!" Ash whispered to the air. 

"Try saying 'hello' or something!" Clover whispered back. 

"Oh-ok. I'll try, but I don't think I'll be able to translate anything else he says, because, remember, I only know a couple words." Ash said uncertainty. "Ahem!" He cleared his throat again, and this time, he started blabbing super duper fast! "Akee Oshagaotiey, Lokhaow Jaqua?" 

"What????" Clover did not understand her friend, and she was very flustered by this lack of translation. "What did you say to him, Ash?" 

"I asked him if we could borrow his key, because we need it desperately." Ash translated. 

Clover noticed that Ash looked.... Scared. Ash looks scared? Clover thought incredulously. 

Her friend, who had saved her from the closet, was actually trembling with fear.

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Author's note-

Oh my god. 

Yeah, looks like I kind of forgot that the "language" is just  a 10-year-old's keyboard smash.

Welp, hope you liked it, cause there's more keyboard smash coming!

Have a lovely day, boys, girls, neither, both, or in-betweens!

-pix

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