An Abandoned Castle

[Amazon]

Dark feathers cloaked a built male figure, standing looking out over a tall wrought iron gate. His features looked as worn as the castle he accompanied, though there was something endearing about his face.

Dark circles under his eyes betrayed the thoughts that haunted his mind, he lifted his muscled arms, grabbing the bars of the gate and squeezing them tightly. His knuckles whitened and he surely cut his palms, though he seemed apathetic to it. As always.

A loose fitted navy blue shirt hung from his frame, and his legs were shadowed by gray colored, washed out, jeans. He hung his head, seemingly lost in thought.

Keegan had found the abandoned castle, seeking refuge from his torments. Though they had clearly followed him. His jagged cut was abstract, though it flattered his pallor and his prominent bone structure. He hung his head, still gripping the iron bars as if his life depended on it, and mumbling things to himself absentmindedly.

Most people called him crazy, he almost thought he was. But “most people” didn’t know his story. He didn’t blame them for judging, he was teetering on the fine line between genius and psychopath.

Perhaps he would die here, he doubted anyone would find him. He could be forever left in peace, alone with his unsettling thoughts, eventually turned to ash. The idea pleased him, though he subconsciously knew he didn’t yet have the guts to go through with it. Unfortunately. ‘

Death brings pain and pain’s outlet simultaneously’ he whispered to himself, his tone cryptic.

[Lauren]

"You're lost." A whisper in the dark echoed throughout the dusty halls. "You need a place to hide?" A cold voice reverberated off of Keegan's back. "You're lonely." Any normal human would have chills, and fear stepping through the corridors of this abandoned castle. Some could describe the feeling as a nightmare, but Ariel couldn't affect your dreams. Only your reality.

Echoes and whispers with no true forms continued to sound in which ever part of the castle Keegan went to; a seldom laughter or the scampering of feet could also be heard on rare occasions as Keegan's stay in the castle continued.

"How much longer? How much longer?" The cobwebs seemed to be asking Keegan questions now. "Will you stay? How much longer?"

Keegan happened to be standing down a particularly long stretch of hallway when footsteps sounded behind him; they had sounded more materialistic than the other noises he had been hearing. A young girl in a long dress holding a bouquet was slowly walking towards Keegan; it was the first visible manifestation in his presence since he first entered the castle.

[Amazon]

Keegan turned around slowly, as if the suspense thrilled him instead of scaring him. Some strange girl was standing with flowers now, was he in some sort of nightmare? No, this was usually his reality. It would seem he had the worst luck of anyone, and he would walk into some sort of bewitched or haunted castle.

The obscure voice that echoed around him didn't give him many hints as to what it might want. He held up his hands, staring at the girl with the full force of his eyes.
"I could stay here forever or leave whenever you please." he stated, clearly indifferent to each of the ideas.

[Lauren]

"Can you leave?" The girl in front of him whispered. "Or are you trapped now?" She dropped the bouquet and all of the dark red roses scattered all over the floor. In an instant, the life that the flowers held was shriveled up and gone; now only dry, brown buds and dead, thorny stems remained of them.

The girl's eyes seemed the most translucent out of her whole presence as she took several steps closer to Keegan, the only readable trace her eyes left behind was a strange apathy when she vanished in thin air.

The cobwebs whispered to him now, a disgruntling echo, "Trapped now, trapped now, trapped now..."
A maniacal laughter bellowed in a room directly across from Keegan.

[Amazon]

Keegan knew he should be feeling something, fear, maybe. His fists were clenched, though not in fear, or anxiety, only his own thoughts. His face was bland though, and betrayed no emotion.

“I would suggest finding someone else to play with, you bitch, because I don’t care if I’m trapped here forever. You aren’t taking anything away from me that I haven’t already lost.” The words were uttered quietly, and almost as emotionless as his face.

[Lauren]

"Play with you?" the voice sounded from the room where the very audible laughter had been. "You should be begging to play with me... This is my playground after all." You could hear the smile lining her sweet, sultry voice. "After all, it's only a nightmare if you let it become one." Suddenly, mirrors lined the halls and all that he could see was himself.

"Do you know who you are? Or are you who you see?" The room was light in every direction and his reflection was plain for him to behold. "Can you become ... something else?" His dark pallet began to change, from black to gray, then gray to white.

[Amazon]

"Well then come out and play. Or will you just hide behind your mirrors?" Keegan tempted, though seeing his reflection was agony. He knew who he was, and he hated it. Why was he living when other, better people should be? Questions swirled around his head and he lifted his hand to his temple, crushing his eyelids together and attempting to will the thoughts away.

How come he couldn't protect those who he loved? How come everything he needed was gone, just like that? For an instant, he had everything. The next instant it was gone. His life was a dead end, he had no idea how to find his way out. His breaths dragged in and out of his lips difficultly, though he knew this was exactly what the torturer wanted.

[Lauren]

The mirrors all around him slowly shrank into separate bars, and like a cage they surrounded him. "Hiding? This is just how I play. Excuse me for being so rude." A figure stepped through the doorway that had reappeared when the mirrors turned into a giant birdcage. "I guess I'm not accustom to people's pleasantries. My name is Ariel, and I'm here to play with your mind. I can send you on a trip if you let me."

The figure that pressed forward was a young woman, 5' 9", dark hair tied up in a messy bun, a pale complexion, a short black dress with a long train flowed behind her; her high heels clicked on the stone floor with every step she took.

"You're not afraid are you?" She smiled at his cold, deceiving eyes. "Surely you've been through so much more than I could ever make you suffer here. So, what if I do the opposite? I'm a demon of sorts, but that doesn't mean I'm completely evil..." she spoke softly, working her best to entice him.

[Amazon]

Keegan was yanked from his turmoil, and faced with a creature who he was not too fearful of. He had seen much worse.
"No, unfortunately I'm not afraid." he stated. Fear would be something, if he had something he didn't want to lose, he would have fear. But everything he had ever needed was gone, what was there to lose now? He didn't care.
Keegan's features twisted, what was this woman up to? She slithered forward like a wily temptress, but what did she want?
"Send me on a trip huh..." he responded
"Why are you trying to help me?"

[Lauren]

"Help you? You're still playing my game; whether it helps you or or does not is none of my concern." Ariel now stood in front of him, the only thing separating the two of them were mirror-glass, cage-like bars. She reached her hand through the bars and pressed a cold hand against his cheek. "I'm glad you're not afraid. That way, I can let my imagination run wild instead of doing the normal routine... Do you know what that's like?" She questioned him with a sad look, a feigned sexy pout to allure him into her form of reality. "Every day is exactly the same... Nobody wants to live like that... Heh, it seems like you hardly want to live at all." she laughed softly. "What is your deal?" she asked him, her first serious question.

[Amazon]

Keegan eyed her suspiciously, there was something she was hiding, obviously, she was an illusionist so there were many things she was hiding. Literally. He wondered where he had actually stumbled. Was he in a decrepit building? A cave? As if he knew. It seemed a castle to his eyes. His hands shot out, gripping the bars separating them forcefully, he leaned towards her face. “That doesn’t seem your concern.” He murmured, the words were malicious but electrified, as if the idea of this game was exciting. His wings shuddered behind him, they were half folded, hiding his full size. “But sure, I will play along with you. Though I doubt I had a choice.” He mocked, words alluring.

[Lauren]

Ariel shrugged in agreement; of course she was of no true concern to him, but she was always in the mood to hear someone's story. It fueled her like ammunition and this man was most likely a gold mine almost ready to be harvested.

Ariel's eyes shined when he agreed to play with her. "Well, of course you'll have a choice! Just not until I'm finished with a couple rounds; then, you can decide whether to leave or stay. I warn you, I can be cruel, but the game is fun, I promise. You see, I've already pin-pointed a large weakness of yours." She smiled at him noticing the bars still had their reflective properties, portraying every angle of the beast within. "But, that one is sure to get old... What's really fun is figuring out how all your loved ones left you, or, in some cases, will leave you. But, it's not all torment- I'll find the joy in you one way or another as well."

In that instant, all of the bars that surrounded Keegan fell outwards to the floor with a crash and a shatter, the floor now littered with broken glass. "Your move." she said in a slightly seductive whisper, while her eyes shone bright as a new game of cat and mouse filled her with excitement.

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