Nothing but a Painting (Ib Fanfic)

Wandering

~3~

I crouch down, my head to my knees. Tears stream down my face as my cries echo through the museum. I don't remember crying. But I remember what it feels like. A sorrowful empty hopelessness that makes your heart sink. I look at the painted words splat across the room. Those words...

Do I even have a heart?

I wipe away my tears and stand up, clutching the empty bottle to my chest. I begin to follow the painted words. I stop when I reach an exhibit. It is the Abyss of the Deep, one of the partition ropes is missing. Slightly wet footprints of paint are in front of this open area, and I walk through, the dark water beginning to soak the skirt of my dress. I walk on down, keeping my eyes open under water. But where was I walking down to anyway? The water begins to sting my eyes and I shut them tight. When I open them, I'm in an empty hallway, I am completely dry. Two paintings hang in the hall. One is red and the other is blue. I choose to walk to the right, but a painting is smashed to bits across a hole that is too big to jump across. I turn back and go the other way. I walk for a long tim. Something is beckoning me to travel deeper into this maze. So I continue. I find myself looking at a portrait of a beautiful woman. She is dawned in blue, half of her body leaning out of the portrait. She is plucking petals of a blue rose. Her eyes flick up to mine, and gives me a look of disgust. "So you finally decided to come back."

Come back?

"I'm sorry?" I reply, confused. Theres something about this woman's presence, its kind of... comforting. The woman pauses from plucking the rose. "You know. When that girl came. She's still here, you know."

"I'm afraid I don't know what your talking about," I say, still confused. "Well then. Looks like it's true." The woman goes back to plucking the petals. "Well then, I'll be going." "Lock the door on your way out." The woman doesn't even give me a second glance as I walk out the door. I walk further on and hear a door open, then footsteps. I turn around, and see a girl. She looks so young, maybe eight, nine? I stare at her, but she doesn't see me. The girl unlocks the door which I just came out of. All I hear next is roars, and running footsteps. The girl runs out of the room, and the woman in blue crashes out through the window. She screams at the girl. The girl runs in and out of the room, when I next see her, she is clutching the remains of the blue rose I had previously saw the woman in blue holding, in her left hand. In her right, holds a red rose, like her eyes, skirt and neck tie. I run down the hallway, and see a man, who looks about 18. He lays motionless on the floor, but begins to moan a little. He sits up. I run into the next room, but a statue is blocking my path. I manage to push it aside, only slightly. There's not enough room for me to squeeze through to the door. I run back, and the girl from before is talking to the man. I freeze, and try to go back, but they see and approach me.

"Are you one of the people from the gallery, too?" the man's voice is filled with excitement. I nod slightly, not quite sure of anything anymore. But there's something about him, he looks familiar. The man offers me to come with them. "By the way, my name's Garry," he says smiling, "and this here is Ib." The girl's face is soft and emotionless. But her eyes are full of curiosity. I can't do anything but accept the offer. "Great! Lets go!" Garry says happily.

"Wait, I completely forgot," Garry says, spinning around. "What's your name?"

It's Lorelei, I think... I pull out my name tag to make sure. "Lorelei," I answer quietly. "Lorelei," he repeats after me. For a second, his eyes fill with confusion. "No... you couldn't be her," he mutters. I give him a look as if to say "who?".

"Nevermind. Lets go everyone!"

Our journey begins, but my thoughts were only focused on one thing.

Why did the woman in blue attack Ib, but not me?

And why did Garry look so familiar?