Aria sat in the waiting room of the doctor's office. She sniffed, congested, as that was the reason she was here. A cold has befallen her, and she was here picking up medicine. Though for some reason it was taking longer than it should.
The young woman had trouble entertaining herself. The office smelled of fluoride and rubber gloves, and it smelled all too clean. The white walls were adorned with nothing but a picture of an odd, smiling sun, giving a thumbs up. Above the sun, there were the words, "Daily exercise is totally rad!", and pictures of cartoon kids with backwards hats and sunglasses seemed to be approving it. The only sound in the dull and deprived office was the ticking of the clock, and the low hum of the air conditioner.
The solitary room made Aria squirm. She wasn't used to these sort of things, and certainly didn't like it. She preferred the warm embrace home offered, along with the delicious scent of food that always followed upon entrance.
Here, she was cold and alone in a white room, simply waiting for something that should take ten seconds to retrieve. Deciding she was done with the dull boredom, Aria decided to continue a book she was reading. A chill ran down her spine as she flexed her chilled fingers, reaching for her purse. When she opened the leather bag, she was welcomed by a burst of warmth that was concealed within, and the scent of bubblegum and perfume.
Aria smiled, feeling her chapped lips crack, as she grabbed her book. "City of Gold", the cover read.
Opening it, Aria felt the dry, crinkled paper brush her numbing finger tips. And so, she began to read, or more so immerse herself within the fascinating book...
...and Celia's heart pounded in her throat as she sprinted away from Midas.
"You get back here!" Midas shouted. A sharp, crisp, metallic buzz echoed through the hall, and, startled, Celia looked at the walls and floor to see that they were quickly materializing to gold. Midas had truly gone insane, though Celia would never let him have the Skeleton Key. Just as the gold spilling across the floor was about to reach her feet, Celia jumped back onto the floor that was already turned to gold, avoid her own materialization.
This was Midas, the Monarch over the island of Nyx, that Celia was dealing with. He had the horrid and grotesque power to turn anything, and everything into gold. If his wave of gold even touched her heels, Celia would die.
"Celia... Celia..." Midas heaved, leaning against the gleaming wall, out of breath from chasing Celia. Celia froze, staring wide-eyed at the insane man. His golden eyes gleamed with a madness that craved power, and power over everything.
This reminded Celia of a phrase she had once heard from her storybooks as a child. "Madness is merry, and merriment's might!" Though could Midas really be all that merry? All that joyful, and happy with his life of power and death? If he were to gain the Skeleton Key, his empire would grow even beyond the island of Nyx. His reign of terror upon the world may prove to be never-ending.
Midas started taking wide strides towards Celia, and fear swelled in her chest once more. She wanted to run, to hide, for the Skeleton Key to not be a burden she would have to bear any longer.
Though something kept her rooted in her place.
It wasn't Midas' golden fever locking her in her spot, or any sort of bondage. Instead, it was fear. She had always heard of fight, flight, or freeze, and Celia had always considered herself to be more of a fight person, if anything. She was stubborn, and hardly ever backed away from a good challenge.
Though this... This was different.
Although she and Midas were alone, Celia couldn't help but feel Midas had some sort of army with him. His brooding, intimidating stance complemented his sick need for power almost like a shirt with nice shoes.
Celia needed to end this. She needed to put a stop to Midas' hierarchy once and for all, but her fear of the unknown rooted her in her spot.
"Celia!" Midas hissed. Spitting, he said, "Give me the Skeleton Key... And you'll be rewarded... Oh, you'll be rewarded so greatly! Just by handing over one little key..."
Midas hd out his bare hand. Celia felt the hair stand up on the back of her neck. She clutched the irregularly shaped key in her hand, holding it slightly closer to her. Her lip quivered. Shocked, she knew what to say, but not how to speak. The fear was as impaling, as if a sword had been driven through her chest, stopping all time and meaning for her.
Finally, she spoke, and trembling, she said, "No."
"Aria?" a voice called.
The story of Celia and Midas ended as Aria looked up to see the doctor, holding a bottle of pills. Aria had to blink a few times to get the words that had printed themselves on her eyelids off of her mind. As she stared at the doctor, she was hardly able to get over what she had just read.
She had been Celia.
Figuratively, of course.
She felt as if she had just walked in the girl's shoes, seen Midas himself, and had felt the same fear that gripped at Celia. As Aria stood, going to take her meds, she thought of how talented an author must be to make the reader feel that way.
The story was so well woven, so entwining, so immersing, Aria decided it was almost like a spider web.
