Demon's Design

Chapter 3

Zandra headed back to the foyer and up the stairs, it was best they left as quickly as possible. The barrier was broken and not strong enough to withstand any major demon attacks, and she could sense demons nearby. Did they know she was here? That she came back? No, how could they? She escaped. Changed her name. Everyone thought she was dead. Yet, something seemed off. Red flags were raised in her mind, like this was all planned somehow—but how? She was sure neither Tara nor Eric had any idea what was happening, and neither of them seemed to have any power.

Reaching the upstairs platform, she could hear Tara and Eric still arguing loudly. Walking through the halls Zandra found the girls gathering their favorite toys. She heard Erin ask her sister, "what if daddy comes back looking for us?"

Gwen responded, "mommy said daddy would have been back by now if he was coming back."

Zandra wondered what happened to their father. With how dangerous the forest was, it was likely he had been killed. Ignoring the girls, she continued down the hallway stopping at the doorway leading to the upstairs rooms. Her and her sister's rooms—would it be okay if she went up one last time? Looking around briefly, everyone was distracted. Zandra opened the door and headed up the creaky stairs. What was she so nervous about? It's not like anyone could stop her. Maybe it was the old creaky stairs bringing back old memories which were making her palms sweaty. Stepping onto the landing she looked to her left to see Sarah's door. Zandra couldn't help but stop a moment as her heart ached painfully. Clenching her fists, she continued turning to face the door to her room which was along the wall next to the staircase. Reaching for the door handle, her hand rested on it for a second, before taking a deep breath and pushing the door open. Walking through the doorway the smell of musty clothes washed through her lungs.

The rooms weren't very large as they were meant as spare rooms. The pastel blue walls that once helped light up her room, have since faded to a pale grey. Curtains still hung around the windows with shades preventing any real sunlight from entering the room. Parts of the walls were sun stained as they were the only spots in the room to have received any sunlight in years. Zandra was sure if she opened the dusty windows the color of the room would be that of sickness and death. The death of the past. The stale sickness of a room time seemed to have forgotten. Looking at the curtains which were frail and weak, the white lace hinted with a mixture of grey from the dust and sunspots from the sun peeking through the frozen shades. One touch may shatter them.

The bed was still placed in the middle of the room, with the only window on the side wall never giving it light. Along the bed were four posters that held the lace curtains above that cascaded around them. The wood was worn and tired from years of no maintenance and no longer the deep brown they used to be. More white lace filled with dust and cobwebs looking as fragile as thin glass, hung over the bed. Zandra looked on at the bed still neat and straightened as though the maids had made it this morning. The light blue comforter was faded with barely any color differences between the blue comforter and the white pillows that had once made the bed so soft, warm, and inviting. She couldn't believe it had been so long ago that she had skipped study lessons just to stay curled up in those pillows and blankets.

Zandra walked a little further in, and the floorboards squeaked just like before. She remembered trying to avoid those squeaks to no avail when trying to sneak off at night. To the right of the bed was her pile of stuffed animals and toys. As one of the princesses she was always getting gifts from others. She kept them all here in a nice neat pile with larger animals under the smaller ones. Further along the wall was her book corner. Books covered in dust and webs still clung to the wall forgotten and unused, a shame to their adventurous glory. Her small lamp set on top a small table which allowed her to view into her late-night adventures, surrounded by her animal friends. Zandra smiled remembering her many travels.