Hauntingly Lovely

Epilogue Chapter 1

15 years later...

Elizabeth's P.O.V.

I was always told that I looked like my sister, my missing sister. I was always told her and the prince who used to live in the castle not far from here were kidnapped, that's why I have to be escorted by two knights everywhere I go. The kingdom used to be two smaller ones, but not long after the prince disappeared his parents handed their half of the kingdom over to my parents and moved to some suburb far away from here. That castle has been empty ever since and some parts are crumbling already. I go there often when I want to be alone since it's one of the few places my knights won't look for me, I have a small set up of blankets, pillows, books, and flashlights, in an empty room with bars on the windows and a large lock that locks from the outside, one of the windows is broken and there are brown stains that are likely blood on the floor. I assume this room must have been a prison cell back when the castle was in use, I always wonder what kind of prisoners they might have kept up here. Having a prison on one of the top floors instead of the basement must have meant it was harder for them to escape so maybe it was for worse prisoners, but at the same time they had a bathroom with a shower and door so maybe they were the special prisoners? Either way I find it fascinating. I've seen many pictures of the prince and my sister but I don't know much about them since my parents don't like to talk about it. I often wonder what kind of fun things they did, they must have had much more freedom than I do since they weren't followed everywhere by knights and they probably didn't have their room searched for burglars multiple times a night. I bet they could do anything they wanted back then. I wish I had that much freedom, but I understand why my parents have so many rules for me, they just want to keep me safe.
Apparently the missing royal kids liked Halloween, I know that from the fact that they were stolen while trick or treating, apparently they had their faces covered with masks and nobody could tell who they were and that's why they were taken. Tomorrow is Halloween and my knights will be taking me trick or treating like they do every year. We were supposed to be looking for a costume today but I purposefully lost them in the crowd to come back here to the abandoned and decaying castle. I decide it's time to leave now so I can go reunite with them before they get back to the castle and I end up with a lecture about the rules and responsibilities from my parents. I walk downstairs and out the castle door, the rusty hinges creaking as I exit. I walk down the path that will lead me past the castle and to the market and get about halfway down said path before stopping. In front of me is a cat. I kneel to pet it for a few minutes and then it gets up and starts walking into the woods, it stops to look back at me. I know I shouldn't follow it since if I do the knights will probably be at the castle to report me missing by the time I get back and I still don't have a costume yet, although since I'm fifteen now I might be getting a bit old for trick or treating anyways. Something about this cat intrigues me so I decide to follow. It leads me through the woods for a long while, I almost decided to go back but just when I think I might, the woods end. Now I'm on a street with normal-sized houses except for the one on the end, it's bigger and older and I can tell from comparing it to the abandoned castle that this place is abandoned too. The cat jumps up onto the gate and to my surprise, there's a sign on the gate door.
"Halloween Party! October 31st Starting At Sundown! Come One Come All And Be Anyone But Yourself!" Is written on it.
"Good kitty." I say as I pet the cat a few more times. I guess I'm going back to the market after all.