White Stag

Chapter 6~The Chamber

I wake to find Axel gone. I can hear the faint chirps of birds fluttering outside the window. Groaning, I stretch and place my cold feet on the ground.

My mouth opens as I let out a yawn. I'm still exhausted. What will it take for a girl to get some beauty sleep around here? At the thought of sleep, I remember some hazy memories from last night. My face heats up. Even though there were scary moments, I mostly remember feeling safe in Axel's arms with his heart echoing in my ear.

I bury my head in my hands. This is so embarrassing. I hated to admit it, but Axel was quite the good looking man. If it wasn't for the situation I'm in, I would be drooling over him.

I pad into the bathroom and sift through the drawers. I finally manage to find a hairbrush. When I stand to look in the mirror, the sight that I see makes me scream.

"AXEL, WHY THE HELL IS MY HAIR WHITE?!" I run out of the bathroom.

While I'm rampaging through the hallways, I slam into a moving wall. I step backwards. Wait, not a wall, it's an Axel. I growl. "What the fuck did you do to my hair, asshole?"

Axel looks down at me in awe. His eyes widen, and he appears to sniff at the air. "Nothing. You did this to yourself. "

"Yeah, it's absolutely normal for me to want to dye my hair in the middle of the night. ," I answer with a roll of my eyes. Then, I shove him. "Seriously, what is going on?"

Axel lowers his eyes slowly. "It's time for me to tell you what you are. You'll need to know before the change is complete. Follow me."

This situation reminds me of the scene in a horror movie where the character makes a stupid, life threatening decision. I'm the prey and Axel is the predator. Reluctantly, I follow him deeper into the mysterious Estate.

Uncomfortable silence drapes over us as we walk through the hallways. Before long, we reach a large statue of a canine. Its front paw is lifted up as if it's pointing towards something. Its eyes are replaced with emerald gemstones that glint in the candle light. Its face is frozen in a half snarl, but its eyes are wide open. The fur is carved into the dark stone, which strongly resembles concrete.

Axel confidently walks up to the giant dog and places his hand in its mouth. I could have sworn that the dog's eyes turn dark. Expecting the worst, I watch as he yanks down hard on the dog's bottom tooth.

A loud scraping noise that makes the hair on my arms stand fills the chamber when the statue sinks into the floor. A musty and earthy smell wafts through the opening the statue left. "Are you sure that this is safe?" I ask.

Axel gives me a subtle nod. "You can go down the stairs first." I look at him with my eyebrow raised. What stairs? I step forward and glance in the opening. In the faint light, there is an outline of some dusty stairs.

I start walking down the narrow staircase into the unknown. My heart thumps loudly in my ears with every step. The damp path is lit with small candles.. Wax drips down the candles and gathers in the chambersticks.

Axel reaches in front of me, but he still doesn't stop me from stumbling when I reach the bottom step. His arms wrap around my stomach and catch me before I hit the ground. My cheeks caught fire.

Brushing off my pants, I glance up at him and put my hands on my hips. "So, tell me. What is this mysterious cavern you've brought me to?" My sarcastic question appears to have no effect on him. Axel is staring at a wall with a weird expression I have never seen on his face before. He is transfixed with regret.

Painted on the wall ahead of us are ancient murals. There is a small mural of a black wolf standing protectively over a silver pup. In the next mural over, a man with golden wings sprouting from his back in a glorious arch is leaping down from the heavens. The black wolf is fiercely snarling up towards the man.

The last mural includes the silver pup with darkness crowding around him. The black wolf is covered in blood, its eyes open and empty of life. The man with the golden wings, who is not in the mural, appears to have vanished.

Axel swallows and looks away. He turns to the torches perched on the wall and grabs one before walking off. I follow him but feel too nervous to ask any questions. His long shadow falls onto the wall behind him.

We continue to walk down a long, dark passage. Our only light source is the small torch in Axel's hand. The sound of rushing water reaches my ears.

The long passage opens to a huge cavern. A large waterfall is in the middle of it, falling from an invisible hole in the ceiling. The water seems to be glowing in with a strange white color.

Axel takes me by the hand and leads me to the waterfall. "Drink," he orders, but his voice comes out in a strange accent that I've never heard before.

Ignoring this, I crouch down to the water and place my hands together. I dunk them into the water and pull them out. This time, no water leaks through my fingers.

Tilting my head back, I drink deeply. Axel shifts behind me. I feel an unknown power flowing through my veins and making my head feel clearer than it has in a long time. Even the pressure I have felt in my head for days, disappears.

I stand when I hear enchanted voices flow through the cavern.

"Welcome."

Axel looks at me. His eyes turn a dark shade. A deep voice is bellowing from him.

"We have waited for your return, White Stag Queen."

Axel gets down on one knee and bows his head.

"All hail the White Stag."