Between the flashing of lights, the shutter of thousands of cameras, and the screams of the crowds in excitement, the screeching wheels of a Bentley was unheard as a slender figure slipped out of the car with splendor and style as the crowds rushed in and the photographers stationed their cameras to get a better view of the "most famous and the arising sensation of the year"- Larcia Grace.



At the young age of 25, Larcia has made enough name and fame all across the world to last her a lifetime. For the past 6 years she has been listed under Forbes 30 under 30 most influential people and arose as the richest person on the list. After almost 7 years in the entertainment industry as a singer, Philanthropist , and as a heartthrob Larcia has made herself a renowned personality throughout nationwide.



At the red carpet she started waving with a perfect smile plastered onto her beautiful face. Her dark hazel brown hair which almost seemed to be black shone in the lights, her green eyes with flecks of black shimmerd like the dazzling of crystals, her moles also played a huge role in her beauty. She wore a navy blue bodycon dress with glitter which absolutely looked straight out of a movie, everything about her was just perfect and almost........unreal.



After the award ceremony was over, she bid her fans goodbye and again tried her best to put the perfect 'her' in front of them, got into her car and let out an exasperated sigh.



As the car started revving up, through the tinted windows she saw her fans trying to get another glimpse of her. Even after all these years she wondered to herself that, her fans never cease to surprise her. When the car turned at a corner and the view of the crowd was blocked by debris she realized how much she loved those people.



After getting completely exhausted Larcia fell into a slumber as the commute from the venue to her house took almost 2 hours. As she fell asleep, through a cluster of clouds as they departed, a little girl was visible, lying on a hill with her hands resting behind her head, basking in the sun and gazing up at the sky.



She didn't seem much older than five, her long hair splattered in every direction as she laid on the ground without a care, her eyes had a striking resemblance to an ocean. The weather was the most sunny it had ever been in a while. Mostly the sun was never out at where she lived and it almost seemed like a miracle that day.



But suddenly she sat up as heavy wind started blowing and a woman's shriek was heard at a distance. She bolted towards the house, while going downhill she felt a droplet of water trickle down her spine. She got a weird feeling......something that she was very familiar with.



She bust through the door and saw a woman standing in a corner with a girl not more than nine wrapped in her arms. The woman held a pan in her hands and the girl held her little barbie doll as tools to protect themselves. Both of them looked at her pleadingly and then suddenly a hissing sound was heard. It sounded...angry. The little girl knew very well about what it was. A slithering, scaley, and a creepy reptile always associated with evil and treason. It was a snake that looked like a young adult, almost 7 feet and curled up into a ball. It's width was about the size of an adult's thigh, raised itself to the eye level of the little girl and looked at her.



The little girl was never scared of snakes (or reptiles) but was never much interested in them too. She looked back bravely at the snake which seemed like a boa constrictor, straight into its eyes without blinking and started repeating to herself in her mind, "LEAVE. PLEASE. LEAVE. FROM. MY. HOUSE. MY. FAMILY. IS. SCARED. OF. YOU. PLEASE ".



It seemed to have no effect on the snake at first but then again it broke off their eye contact and looked at the woman and the child in her arms, whimpering at a corner. With a last look at the brave child, it lowered itself and started slithering away into the outside without any harm.



As the snake slipped outside, the girl in her mother's arms burst into tears as her mother sat there comforting her. The brave little girl ran towards the woman, put her arms around her neck and embraced her but the woman swatted away her little hands, a faint frown visible on her porcelain face with hints of freckles. She completely ignored the brave girl and started comforting the crying girl.



By this the brave girl was quite hurt and ran outside with tears in her eyes. It's always been like this, as tears threatened to fall she thought to herself, they never care about me. All they ever care about is their "baby girl Lenna" but never her. It was completely pouring outside. The brave girl sat down on a big Boulder at the backyard of her house and wondered about the snake.



Though she was never afraid of snakes but at that moment, she couldn't deny she definitely thought that if this doesn't work out then she will be snake-food pretty soon. It wasn't the first time that they saw snakes in the place she lived, I mean what can you expect if you live on a hill in the middle of a forest.



As she sat there looking onto the view as the rain blurred the lines of tears and rainwater , she felt something like a long thick wood beside her feet. When she looked down it was the same snake, the boa constrictor from the kitchen! She jumped to her feet and was about to run away when the snake suddenly.............spoke. 

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2: Chapter 2 (Dreaded happenings)

For a day, an encounter with such a beastly animal was enough to freak out the little girl. But the horror of hearing a voice, that's very much not yours, inside of your head is like a detour to paranoia. "HELLO, MY CHILD", spoke a rumbling and almost primordial voice.

 

That stopped the little girl dead in her tracks as she was trying to run away from the malignant creature. Slowly she turned around to look at the same boa constrictor from the kitchen before, raised above the ground and staring down at her.

 

"DONOT BE AFRAID, CAUSE I ONLY SEEK THYNE HELP", the boa moved forward as if in a way to approach, but the little girl stumbled backwards as trepidation danced in her  face and her eyes turned a darker shade of green.

 

Hesitantly, as if the boa might strike her the minute she opened her mouth, she asked, "M-m-me?". The snake now almost towering a feet above the little girl, dipped its head as if in an attempt to show approval as well as if she's distinguished. 

 

"I'M AJAX, THE PROTECTOR OF THE SNAKE FEDERATION OF NAINE. AS THEIR CURRENT LEADER I SEEK THYNE HELP TO RESCUE A MEMBER OF OUR COMMUNITY, WHO UNFORTUNATELY HAS BEEN CAPTURED BY THE VILE NEANDERTHALS". The snake spoke in a very articulate way, the little girl perplexed, asked, "W-wait, how can you speak and why can I hear you inside my head? And you need m-my help? But I'm a little girl, how can I be able to help you?"

 

The snake bared it's fangs, and the little girl flinched then fell backwards. Upon seeing this reaction, a sense of almost shame and a fleeting mask of regret passed the snake's motionless face. It lowered itself to the ground and spoke in a supposedly calm and placid voice," PLEASE, I'LL ANSWER THYNE EVERY QUESTION BUT BEFORE THAT WE MUST SAVE MY COMRADE, YOU MUST COME WITH ME". 

 

The sky was almost clear again with deep puddles of mud forming everywhere. A hint of orange tinged the almost blue sky now with heavy clouds still hanging round the corners. The petrichor of rain washed over the entire hill, with the calls of the birds at a distance, perched on top of the trees and the end of the branches, splayed their beautiful feathers and wings as if showing gratitude and pleasing the sky for the pleasant rain. 

 

As if in an altercation with herself, the little girl wondered to herself, what if all of this is just a dream and I'm already killed and eaten up by the snake?, what if it's lying to me just so it can lure me and take me to it's friends to feast on me?, those worries tangoed in her head as a frown tugged the corner of her mouth.

 

With caution she assured the boa and questioned, "okay I'll come with you but.........what's in it for me if I help you?"

 

"ANSWERS, I ASSURE TO TELL THEE ABOUT A WORLD WHERE YOU WILL BE WELCOMED WITH OPEN ARMS AND WHERE 'YOUR' KIND IS WORSHIPPED ".

 

It sounded all too thrilling and dangerous for a little girl to handle but nonetheless she wondered, what does she even got to lose? 

 

"Fine, I'll accept but I have no idea how I'll be of help to you other than as a bait".

 

Together they continued West downhill, where only a small part of land was inhabited by people. It was a small village where the village head and other bit well to do people resided at. Her house was situated on the outskirts of the village with lots of tall spruce trees almost shielding the house from the entire village. Little kids played with their toys and wheelies made from firewood and raw lac.A huge amount of glee and laughter surrounded them. Women went around doing their daily chores, collecting firewood, shopping for dinner, etc. All the men sat in a pub enjoying their liquor and some crispy briskets. The aromas of hog stuffed with rosemary getting roasted, wafted into the entire village giving it a merry-day touch. 

 

As the little girl and Ajax, following closely behind her reached the tall trees, completely hidden from all the people and life playing before them, they came to an abrupt stop as she spun around, "Now, will you tell me what I'm supposed to do to help your little friend?". A hint of frustration splayed on her little face as she confronted him.

 

The snake seemed to completely ignore her confrontation but at the same time seemed quite alarmed. His eyes spanned the entire area as if they just entered an enemie's lair.

 

His eyes zoomed and fixed onto a couple a kids at a distance, who seemed not more than ten or twelve, one of them held a little jar, so small that it was impossible to make out what was stored in it. A fierce hiss escaped his mouth as his tongue flicked the air as if tasting it's next meal. 

 

" YOU MUST GO TO THOSE B*STARDS AND RESCUE MY FRIEND ". A look of confusion passed over the little girl as she looked back and as horror struck her face she realized, in that little jar something as thick as a jute hemp rope was coiled tightly with bits of blood staining the glass. It was the snake she's supposed to rescue, but can she take on all those boys alone?

 

"But how will I do that? I have no power and I'm not even strong to beat them up, how can I save your friend?". Tears pulled at the bottom of her eyes as she realized her helplessness.  

 

" YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO YOU ARE, MY CHILD. YOU WOULDN'T NEED PHYSICAL STRENGTH TO DEFEAT THOSE PUNY KIDS. BUT YOU HAVE THE MOST COVETED GIFT OF THEM ALL - THE POWER OF SUMMONING. RIGHT NOW, THAT'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW TILL THE TIME COMES, BUT IT MUST BE YOU, WHO COMPLETES THIS TASK AND RESCUES MY FRIEND. SO PLEASE HELP ME, MY CHILD."

 

The power of summoning? That was something the little girl had never heard of in her entire life but after listening to Ajax trying to comfort and strengthen her, she discovered her new found strength. She wondered if her mother ever talked so tenderly to her...........it's been some time since she left home, was her mother searching for her?

Will her mother even notice, if one day she disappeared completely and never returned?

 

The little girl overwhelmed with emotions, grabbed a long spikey wood from the ground which was almost too heavy for her to carry and rushed forward.

 

Around three to four kids squatted on the ground, eyeing the injured or probably dead snake with curiosity and malice as one of them opened the lid and they all started throwing pebbles at the unmoving bloodied snake coiled inside.

 

With a heavy grunt, the little girl swung the heavy stick which struck a little boy across his head and he stumbled back and fell down. As he layed their motionless, horror struck all of the kids. For a moment, it was completely silent, until a boy probably the oldest of them all threw a rock, the size of a fist at the little girl. As she tried to duck, the rock flew across her face, tearing apart her delicate skin as something warm gushed over her face.

 

The boy on the ground started squirming and stood up too quickly that he almost fell back on the ground. Anger circling his black eyes as he tackled the little girl to the ground and a painful shriek filled the air.

 

Her ankle was twisted at such a horrible angle that it was impossible not be broken. Her eyes searching for Ajax or someone she could ask for help as tears trickled down her eyes and onto her throat. The pain was excruciating and with the boy's weight on top of her tackling her to the ground,  it was almost unbearable. 

 

The boy on top of her raised his hand into a fist, she closed her eyes in fear and all she saw at the back of her mind  was her mother going farther and farther away from her, when he was about to strike her nose, an eerie feeling settled over and almost like instantly the ground started rumbling as from a distant, hundreds of ropes of all sizes slithered towards them.

 

The kids screamed at the top of their lungs and scurried down to her homes. The kid on top of the little girl was too caught off guard, when without realizing it, with all of her remaining force, she headbutted the boy as blood trickled from his forehead onto her face. 

 

A ghastly white settled over his face, as he stumbled forward, a hand on his forehead and ran at the top of his speed.

 

The little girl after finally defeating those kids, sat up as if all her gashes and injuries suddenly vanished and crawled towards the little jar. 

 

The snake almost unmoving, but when she tried to touch it, she felt it writhing under her calloused tips. She took it out, it looked almost dead when she saw those kids messing around but now as she takes a closer look, the wounds of the snake's were slowly healing. On it's own! 

As if ..............Magic!

 

The thought disappeared as soon as it occurred when she took a look at her surrounding. There was no hint of the boys now. The sky was turning crimson as night settled upon the hill. A huge number of snake's surrounded the little girl, as if she was their prey. All of them hissing but bever attacking as if in .....confusion. She wondered to herself that, at least on that note they were similar.

 

And suddenly all of it came rushing as if she was hit by a lorry. How she almost caused a concussion, her broken ankle, blood spilling out of her cheeks, her mother not searching for her, everything........it all felt surreal. 

 

She went back to sleep so if it's all a dream, she wished for it to end sooner....... or maybe not. 

 

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3: Chapter 3 (The Red Door)

Present

 

Lying on her side, her body jostled with the whir and hum of an engine as it came to a stop. As the doors flew open, Larcia woke up with a throbbing pain in her head as two men in suits hurried outside from a limousine to hold the door open for her. 

 

She realized that she was completely passed out during the entire return journey from the award ceremony. She was already home! The look of the huge mansion, where she resided, on almost the outskirts of civilization, was more than enough to bring peace to her mind.

 

She always wanted to live in a place, not too crowded nor too quiet so, through her connections she got to know about this huge mansion in Lancaster, where the commute to the nearest supermarket was around 10 minutes as well as the distance to the nearest forest which was sparsely inhabited.

 

The mansion was so huge that it's almost foolish to live alone. 

 

After everything that she's been through, for a while Larcia struggled to entrust herself to someone else. But as if through a clash of fate, she met Roseanne Valley, a person no less than her own mother. Roseanne was introduced to Larcia during her harshest of times, when she had none to rely upon, it was her who lend Larcia her support and care.

 

Two men in their late 30s, one of them held the door open as another held his hand in a gesture of respect and protection. 

 

Larcia took his hand and stepped out of the car, her hair all tousled up and almost looked like a coyote's nest after her long nap. Her sweet home looked, so huge, so magnificent, yet.......so lonely without her.

 

The mansion was completely surrounded by trees and well- trimmed bushes, the stone walkway with flagstone, gravel, and pavers, to the entrance of the house was completely decorated with palm trees in a row on both sides of the walkway, which was lit up with yellow lightings. 

 

At the entrance of the house, stood a woman wearing an apron with flour dust all over her front. A ladle sticking out of her pocket. She seemed like a woman in her mid 40s, rather pudgy. Her auburn hair tied up in a loose bun as strands of hair plastered over her face. The crow's feet under her eyes deepened as their eyes met and Larcia made a run for her with a bunch of dress in her hand.

 

She threw her arms around the lady's neck and embraced her in an everlasting hug. 

 

"Oh my, sweetpea! You'll get all the flour on your pretty dress!"

 

"I don't care, you don't know how much I missed you, Aunt Rose!"

 

"Aw, but it hasn't been that long since we last met, am I right? I remember this morning making breakfast for you...."

 

"Come on, for once just say that you missed me too....you don't know how hard it is, even after all these years I still feel like I could pass out in front of those cameras "

 

A huge smile spread over aunt rose's face, as she whispered,"I missed you too, sweetpea!". With an arm around each other, they walked inside as two furballs, almost jumping, made their way towards the ladies. 

 

Larcia bent down to pick both of em in her arms, as one licked her face out of excitement while the other was too busy playing with the glitter all over her dress. She was too accustomed to this life, that if she could, she would love to live this for the eternity. 

 

Neither the past nor the future eagered her. The past scared her, while the future's......unknown. 

 

The two little furballs food bowls were clear and almost shining, as if they just had two ravaging beasts feed on them. 

 

"Aunt Rose, have you fed George and Genova?"

 

"About them..."

 

"What? Don't tell me they haven't eaten yet again, I swear..."

 

"I was about to tell you the minute Gabe came from the backyard, I knew that you would get stressed so I thought that maybe it could wait......I'm sorry "

 

"Ugh, not again! It's not your fault but please refrain from stalling these informations from me in the future. Ultimately, their still in my care and if this continues I don't know how long I can keep those two together "

 

Larcia heaved a heavy sigh and made her way towards the backyard, she opened a huge sliding glass door leading to the backside as a strong wind blew across her face, sending chills all over her body.

 

"Wait! You shouldn't go there alone during the night hon, it's dangerous! They can wait for tomorrow, please come inside, I know your exhausted too, so take rest, eat your fill and then confront them, it's the weekend anyhow. What do you say?"

 

At the mention of food, her stomach grumbled as if in agreement, as realization hit her that she hasn't eaten anything since her breakfast in the morning!

 

As if through telepathy or more out of habit, Aunt Rose beamed at her and rushed towards the kitchen and after a while, she started humming while setting up plates on the dinner table. 

 

A delish aroma of fresh grated cheese and bacon filled the foyer, as Rose carried a cloche and set it on the dinner table. Salivating, Larcia ran to her room, threw the dress over her head and got into a huge Pink Floyd t-shirt and ran downstairs at full speed as her stomach grumbled ardently.

 

As she sat down, Rose lifted the cloche and revealed a freshly made carbonara, decorated with dollops of cheese and bacon. After a long day of schedules, Rose was the only person who knew how to satisfy her.....and nothing else can do a better job than some good homemade food!

 

"How does it taste? Even though it's unhealthy, I thought you deserved a break...". A look of concern hinted her speech.

 

The creaminess of the pasta and cheese was enough to form the gates of heaven for Larcia. The crispy bacon was just the cherry on top. "Thank you so much! This is the best thing I've tasted in the entire day and if this continues I don't think I can let you go to your kids ever again". As mischief drooled onto her face, she thought of Benjamin and Mikela, the children of Aunt Rose and massively felt envious of them.

 

Rose pulled out a chair in front of her, sat herself down and looked at the girl in front of her with utter adoration. 

"You see, I wanted to talk about this .....issue of yours. I know you asked me not to dig around, though I can't help but feel anxious everytime the topic arises - "

 

"Aunt Rose, I know what your getting at but I swear I've never been more okay than this, George and Genova are someone I care about deeply and looking back to how many years it already has been since we all have been together, I just can't turn my back on them now."

 

Aside from herself, the only person that was aware of Larcia's curse in disguise was none other than Aunt Rose. George and Genova, the two snakes that resided with Larcia as pets, were the only snakes in more than over a decade that actually responded to her speech.

After the incident during her childhood, she felt betrayed and was deprived of information. She felt used but she just couldn't bring herself to hate them. And all that time later, whenever she tried to search for answers, she was treated with hostility and fear.

 

She was filled to the brim but craved something sweet and out of nowhere, Rose pulled out her special Tres Leches cake, which was just the best end to the supper. The hint of cinnamon gave a spice to the sweet sponge cake and left her mouth watering for more. 

 

After devouring the entire dinner table, Larcia gave a big kiss on her cheek as a "thank you" and left her all flustered as she made her way up the stairway. Rose stayed with her during the weekends and went to her own home, to her children, during the weekdays or sometimes the other way around. It was a very normal day in that household. Larcia bid her goodnight and made her way towards her bedroom.

 

It was a big room in the middle of which laid a teak wood grand poster bed, the sheets and the duvets were all very complimentary colours and brought about a harmony of shade. A yin-yang wall hanging decorated one of the beige walls, portraits of daft punk, boomslangs, Guns N' Roses and a bunch of self portraits were splayed on one of the other walls. The bedroom opened into a vast balcony, enclosed with balustrade. The view in front was covered with trees and bushes, in a distance a closed lake flowed and the rippling of water giving it all a very idyllic look.

 

As she laid on her bed, and stared at the ceiling, she remembered the dream from before. It wasn't a dream, but more like a recollection of the past that she dreaded. Those dreams contained with her only when she slept in her bedroom but now, they followed her everywhere.

 

Beside her bed layed a couple of books stacked above each other, as the clock struck midnight and sleep paralyzed her, as all her thoughts wandered away into the distance and she fell into slumber. A cool breeze crept in through the windows, made the curtains dance around, as if a caress to her cheeks and in an attempt to wipe the sweat of her tranquil face.

 

A black fog, almost similar to the ones emerging from factories draped the entire sky. It wasn't the nighttime, though everything was pitch dark and unclear. As a figure made it's way through the blanket of Nyx, feeling her way with her hands, there was absolutely nothing that she could grasp onto and inevitably, she stumbled upon a rock and fell face front on the ground. 

 

The ground suddenly sizzled as her bare arms started burning with scratches and cuts. Now, in a distance, ripples of water along with a consistent thud as if a boat moored to the shore, was heared. 

 

Following the noise, she reached the source of the sound. A boat was tied, as if waiting for something or someone. When she thought that it was empty, a hooded figure, as dark as the background stood with an oar facing her. A moment of silence passed as they stood, both unmoving. 

 

As she tried to get into the boat, the shape lifted its oars as if an attempt to stop her. Surprised, she stopped dead in her tracks. After a moment she looked around a bit, and nearby under a stone as big as her fist, something shiny, similar to gold was visible. In the darkness, it emitted a thin ray of gleam.

 

She picked up the stone and looked underneath, it was a coin, a gold coin, covered in dust the colour of black and brown. She wiped the coin on her dress or more of a rag, the front was completely tattered from falling before and the coin shimmerd as if it found it's owner. She walked towards the hooded figure and waved it in front of him. It raised his hand and took the coin and dropped it under the water.

 

A look of horror struck the girl, as she realized what just happened. When she thought she won't be able to cross the water anymore, the shape hit it's oar softly as if telling her to come on board. 

 

As the boat started rowing, the water turned translucent and almost ......golden! And underneath the water, tiny beings moved, as if.....people. But that's not possible! Is it? 

 

After what felt like an eternity, the ride was over, and by that time she realized that the hooded body, most likely seemed to be an old man with crooked fingers. She wanted to pry around more but felt like there would certainly be no answers. 

 

She got out of the boat and right in front of her was a gigantic door, almost the size of the entire Elizabeth Tower. When she turned around, the hooded man had disappeared as well as the boat. The water was again back to pitch black, almost as treacherous as the door in front.

 

The massive door was adorned with.......skulls? No, that can't be, it's not possible. Her heart started pounding against her chest as if it could jump out any minute now, the door looked very rusty, almost too bad to even work. A dark red hue covered the entire door, corroded due to the moist -

 

Her mouth hung open as realization dawned on her face as a familiar scent reached her. She started backing away, as she noticed blood dripping from one of the nearby hung skulls onto the 'red door'. Horror struck her as she tried to comprehend, that the door wasn't 'rustic' or covered in rust, but it was literally draped in blood and thus living upto it's name of 'The red door'.

 

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4: Chapter 4: ( Untold prophecies )

Larcia

 

I lurched forward with a heavy gasp as I found myself staring into the distance. It was the breaking of dawn and cool wind was blowing from one of the open windows. It's been quite some time since I had these nightmares, I used to have them when I was very new to all this and had no idea about what to do, but now.......my dreams are a weird mixture of my past as well as scenarios that I've never even heard of. I wonder if these dreams are what they call, precognitive dreams, but again I've absolutely no idea what to make out of all this.

 

Light Footsteps in the hallway and a bark brought me back to the reality, with a knock, Aunt Rose opened the door with Perry on her tail. 

 

She's the only person except myself who knows about my past as well as my obscure secret. I believe it's also one of the reasons why she's always been so kind to me.

 

She's been there for me like my own mother and I've shared my every little quests with her. But I have yet to disclose this return of nightmares to her, which I won't ever be going to do. At last, it's one of my own problems that I need to solve myself, on top of that, telling her will only trouble me than help me. 

 

She was completely dressed up in one of her ivory shirt dresses with a floral scarf around her neck. A boater adorned her head, her long hair tied back into a tight bun rested on her shoulders. I'm confused, what is going on? It ain't even morning yet unless..........

 

"Good morning, sweetpea! I hope you haven't forgotten about your lessons, have you?". Perry gave a coy bark as if trying to catch me in my carelessness. 

 

"Lessons? You mean.......it's today? I thought we moved it back a couple of weeks after the news of ruby getting pregnant". Sweat licked my forehead from the nightmare, as I tried to get a hang of the situation. 

 

"That was the initial plan but ruby had an early delivery, and fortunately the baby is all cute and healthy as well as his mother. The owner asked me yesterday, if you would like to continue your lessons and guess what? I agreed!"

She did a swirl as in an attempt to dance from the excitement but stopped in the middle as she took in my face. 

 

"Why are you sweating hon? I heard yesterday was a chilly night, are you okay? You don't look too good". Worry danced across her face and she started frowning as if contemplating what could have been the cause of my illness. 

 

I want to meet the mare as it's been quite a long time since I met her. The last time was when I visited her before her pregnancy, I also want to meet the baby. Horseracing was something I was always interested in, but just never had the guts to try it out.

 

It was only after I met Olivia, a buddy of mine, who's uncle owns a stable nearby my house, asked me if I wanted to try it out. And since then I've been giving up my weekends to learn the sport. At first I was stingy and felt overworked, but as time passed, i bonded with the horses there and now I wait eagerly for the next lesson. But it's been quite a while since I last rode.

 

"Don't worry, Aunt Rose. It's nothing, I just felt a bit fatigue after last night's event but do not fret, before everything else comes ruby, I too can't wait to see her!". I assured her, knowing damn too well that my confirmation was the only thing that will make her at peace.

 

And after how she literally came to wake me, all dressed up and almost dancing in excitement, my wounded heart couldn't dare to deny her.

 

It was starting to get really bright outside with birds chirping to wake the nearby residents of the forest. A light blue hue tinged the clear sky with the bright sun welcoming a new day.

 

I folded my sheets, straightened the pillows and made my bed like a good child and went into one of the nearby closets to change into my specially tailored emerald green shadbelly, my breeches were a shade of vanilla white which complimented emerald, my wide calf boots that were the colour of dark brown, and made my way downstairs.

 

Aunt Rose was already waiting at the foyer, with a derby hat in her hand. A wide smile creased her jowls as she looked up and stretched her hands towards me. Something passed in her dewy eyes, something I was very familiar with, as if she was desperate. 

 

She is the only person I've ever loved and........that may not be the same for her, at times, I've seen that similar look, as if she misses them. Her kids, who had to grow up without their mother, not because their mother is dead but because she is forced to work for someone who is pretty messed up for a human. 

 

If I could, I wouldn't even let her leave me for her to go to her kids, I could have her waiting for me at home, cooking me good food, caring for me....like a mother. But I cannot do that, I can't be the person I abhorred so much. I can't take away a mother from her kids just because of my selfish reasons. 

 

A gulp formed in my throat as I pushed it down and took her hand. She pulled me into a hug and when she looked at me, a proud look fluttered her eyes. 

 

When we reached the stable, a woman whose blonde hair was tied into a slick ponytail, rushed forward and pulled me into a bear hug. 

 

Olivia, one of my closest buddies since a long time. I met her during a rodeo carnival, where she dressed up as a boy to take part in the competition because she thought it was unfair to have two winners, one from the boys and the other from the girls. She believed that the winner could always be one, while others could just be imitators. I was very impressed by her win and eventually we became friends. 

 

"Look at you! You're as beautiful as ever, lark!"

 

"Please stop with that name, it's been years already and I absolutely hate that name"

 

"Why not? It's suits you perfectly, a carefree and happy lark. Yep, definitely you"

 

I sighed which marked my defeat and gave her a warming smile. I felt happy to meet her after such a long time, I absolutely missed her.

 

I let her show me around the stable, it was her uncle that ran this stable but now that he's away for his oversees equestrian work, it's just Olivia that operates this place.

 

If it was someone else, it could've been a little overwhelming but since it's her, I believe she can run it as well as her uncle if not better.

 

In a stall away from the other race horses, was a black mare fastened to the stall. It was a rather big stall than the other horses, maybe cause it stationed two horses now.

 

My Ruby, a beautiful, black, elegant backed mare, she was something phenomenal. Everytime I looked at her, it was a moment to be captured. Though I haven't spend enough time to know her, there's a connection between us that I like to believe both of us prioritize. 

 

At the sight of me she neighed aggressively, and for a minute I thought maybe she doesn't remember me anymore but as soon as Olivia unfastened her, she galloped towards me and I fell into a hug so dear to me.

 

She nuzzle against my nape, my hands around her long slender neck. No words can describe how jovial I felt at the time. Her little son peeked his head out as if trying to figure our foe or friend.

 

As soon as his eyes landed on his mother, he whined and ran giddily towards me and we embraced with the same warmth as before.

 

Olivia set up a saddle upon a saddle pad. In one swing of a leg, I got onto the seat with my lower back resting against the cantel. My legs rested upon the stirrups on both sides. I never liked to use whips so I didn't need it.

 

"You sure you'll be alright? You know it's been a while since you did this, need my help?", Olivia asked with a smirk.

 

"Don't worry about me, you sure you can run this place well on your own? Without your uncle? Need my help?", I returned her smirk and she burst into a cheeky laugh. Aunt Rose stood in the spectators stall, waving at me with the most motherly smile plastered onto her face.

 

"Well you haven't changed a bit, stubborn as the Mt. Everest. Off you go then, good luck I'll be watching you"

 

"Thanks, I may not be as good as I used to be but I'll sure as heck complete this obstacle course"

 

With a nod Olivia went towards Aunt Rose and I looked at Ruby, she was in very good condition but the reins felt a bit distant. I sighed heavily and whispered to us, "It's been a while, so let's do this Ruby!". She trudged forward as if ready to start and with a command the horse leaped forward. 

 

The obstacle course was over in a minute. It felt good, it wasn't quite tough but I still felt my touch in this hadn't completely vanished. There were moments when I felt that Ruby was maybe a bit scared, since she's a mother, but I can't blame her. We've both been out of practice.

 

After brushing Ruby as a reward and bidding Olivia goodbye we returned home. The sun was nearly over our head now.

 

"You should come every weekend like this, I adore having you here. And don't bail out on me again, promise?"

 

"Oh come on, it was you who ghosted me and you have the nerve to say this? I promise I'll come every weekend, not to see you but for Ruby", I pulled her into a hug with promises hanging in the air.

 

We returned home, Aunt Rose congratulated me for not losing my touch and gushed over how proud she was of me. It all felt too good to be true.

 

It's been quite long since this continued. Whenever something goes on too well for a longer period, it usually doesn't end well, at least for me. It's not exactly going well though if we count the nightmares. Maybe I'm just jinxing it while thinking about it.

 

We reached the mansion and I saw Gabe, my gardener and the caretaker of the manor, a worried look on his face brought me to reality and the issue that I had completely forgotten about.

 

His wrinkled face creased further with a frown. His furrowed brows gave him a distressed look. 

 

Even though I knew the cause I asked him,"what's happening Gabe? Is everything alright?"

 

"Eh, I-I don't know what's going on. George and Genova still aren't eating anything. It's already been more than a month since they last had their fill and now they stay on the complete opposite of each other and don't even spare a bite of the food"

 

Accepting the inevitable, I made my way beyond the backyard. It was a walkway completely adorned with apple trees, beyond that was a wrought iron gate as if leading to an enchanted forest. 

 

I opened the wrecked gate with the force of my body. It was stuck in place, since it hasn't been used for over a month now. It opened with a grunting and creaking sound. A walkway which was very poorly kept, made way to my destination. Dried leaves and roots of uncut trees covered half of the path. This area was directly connected to the forest and only a measly jammed door separated the manor and the forest.

 

At a distance I saw the giant glass terrarium where only the top or the ceiling glass was not present. Inside of it were various plants and trees growing as if in a greenhouse. Mobile existence seemed non existent at first but then as I reached nearer, two heads resting on branches on the opposite sides peeked up as if they were only waiting for me. 

 

I was angry with them but as soon I saw their dark crystal eyes, a fear that I had never known surged into me. It reminded me of the past, all the haunting memories and how I was used. 

 

I hated very minute of it. Since that incident I've never been the same, at least they haven't to me.

 

A vein popped in my jaw as I gritted me teeth. Both the snakes, a shade of reddish brown, came forward as if to greet me. I fisted my hands, crossed them and looked straight into their eyes as I had, so bravely in the past.

 

An eerie male voice spoke in my head and I retched internally as I tried to register it's speech.

 

"Larcccia, thank you for coming. We've been waiting for you.", I closed my eyes unable to look anymore. 

 

This time a much smoother and lighter voice spoke up.

"Though you're late, we ssstill appreciate you coming to us. Also we are grateful to you for offering us food but we cannot accept it, that is until you listen to usss....", It spoke with a light lisp, same as the one before. 

 

Not the same shit as before! It's already been too long for them to be stuck on that unreasonable prophecy.

 

It hasn't been that long since I met George and Genova. One night when I was returning home completely drunk and wasted, I saw two snakes hanging from one of my apple trees in my backyard. Both of them were completely bruised and battered but after I helped them recover, they spoke up a likely prediction:

 

"When the seven gods of hell unite,

 

You must take on the monster.

 

Cause if you fail to do so,

 

You'll have your life to offer."

 

At first I believed it was nothing to be worried about. Maybe it's just a caricature but even if it's true, I'm all powerful now and I'm not that measly, lanky, scared kid anymore.

 

After they both recovered they pleaded to stay with me and after all these years, it was the first time in a while, for me to converse with snakes. I realized I still got the curse.

 

At first I was hungry for information that I could get, but one day I realized what I had been doing. I was trying to dig up my horrible past, for what? I didn't care anymore about it so I distanced myself from the snakes even though I visited them at times. 

 

I winced as I reminisced the horrible prophecy spoken by the two snakes in front of me. It was getting weirdly dark outside even though it was just the afternoon. The clouds from all the corners hid the sun and covered the entire sky. Heavy wind was blowing as if the brewing of a storm.

 

But that's impossible! We're in the middle of march!

 

Suddenly my feet went cold, almost freezing. I rubbed my hands together to keep them warm but to no good. It was just sunny a while ago but now it was chillier than the winter months. 

 

A white fog draped the entire area, the birds chirping merrily a moment ago, dropped dead from the cold. An eerie feeling set over the forest and I looked over at George and Genova, both of their eyes were fixed upon me.

 

"What is happening? Why were you waiting for me here? What do you want!?", I asked a bit frustrated. My chest heaved up and down, from the bitter cold as well as from anticipation. 

 

Nothing. They didn't answer and just stared at me. But suddenly when I looked up, their pupils turned purple and a blaze danced around their iris. This time they both spoke aloud at the same time, the same way they did an year ago.

 

"You will travel to the command of the king of lust,

 

Beware of the good and who you trust.

 

A conquest in disguise will decide your fate,

 

But it's the devil himself who awaits"

 

I felt chills down my spine, this didn't happen during the first time. Both the snakes slouched and layed unmoving, as if almost lifeless.

 

I couldn't speak, as if bounded by a spell. Without a single word I ran away, the cold was getting stronger. At this rate I wouldn't be surprised if it snowed. Dried leaves crunched under my feet as I made my way out of the forest. It seemed to take a lot longer than it used to.

 

I was walking in a strong pace when suddenly in front of me was a huge pit, as if someone recently dug it. But as far as I can remember, there was no pit when I came.

 

It seemed more like a deep hole and no one can do this in such a short time. I couldn't see the end of the abyss, it seemed endless. That's just me hallucinating, right?

 

A nearby bush shook vigorously and I was prepared for a wild animal attack. I mean how more crazy can this day get? It stopped almost instantly and from my behind I felt a strong knuckle in the back of my knee and my legs gave out and I fell face front into the abyss.

 

I fell and as darkness engulfed me, we became one. And as time passed, I fell endlessly into the pit. Light faded into the distance, leaving me helpless and vulnerable in the lair of demons.

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

5: Chapter 5 (Just a hallucination)

A crying child, a careless mother and not being loved anymore.

These 3 things constituted Larcia Grace's nightmares. 

 

Larcia

 

A piercing pain in my sides tore me away from the terrors as a sharp object prodded my sides and a groggy moan escaped my lips. I sat slouched against what felt like a wall. I brushed my hand over the surface, the ground felt very rugged and craggy. 

 

Slowly I tried opening my eyes, at first they became blurry and suddenly a figure crossed my eyes. As my vision cleared, a shape that seemed to be that of a man came into my view.

 

Almost as soon as he appeared, the entire place seemed to light up. It seemed to be a tunnel of some kind but except the spot the man was standing, the entire place seemed dark. I looked up and there was no sign of the spot I fell from. Heck! I couldn't even see anything. 

 

The man in front of me looked like someone in his late 20's or early 30s. I couldn't quite see his face, his stature seemed tall and quite lean. He was wearing a khaki shirt which hugged his proportions, his beige trousers made him look taller and a pair of shoes that I very much remember - a brouge from Prada's AW'13 menswear collection! 

 

It was a reddish brown pair with chunky, jagged-edge soles. The reason I remember it so well is because, when I had traveled to LA for a commercial of a cereal, almost ten years ago, I came across a billboard that promoted this very pair of shoes from Prada. Maybe that was the moment when it all started.

 

I had wondered to myself, if a mere (not really, it's Prada) pair of shoes could be on such a billboard then, who says that I can't be too?

 

Anyways, the man now towering above me shifted his position and offered me his hand. I felt offended, how can you kidnap someone and then offer to help? No way in hell I'm taking it.

 

With the help of the wall, I scrambled onto me feet. My sides felt sore from lying on the debris. I was still in my riding suit, my hands shot up to hug my sides as shrewd cold wind hit my bare face and hands. My beige breeches were stained black, my white gloves were shredded into pieces and my hands burned from cuts and abrasions. 

 

Before I could ask about the situation, I took in the face in front of me. 

 

Almost as instantly as my eyes landed on his face, my mouth hung open in an involuntary action. A white light emitted from him, the halo made mide him look divine.

 

His face seemed to be a shade of honey tan, his nose well built, his almond eyes and a light pink tint to his lips gave him the look of a greek god. 

 

This man was undoubtedly handsome. But that doesn't mean he can kidnap me like this!

 

I was just about to speak when a waddling sound drew my attention towards a dark corner. I turned my whole body towards the noise as I realized that this kidnap could be the deed of more than one person.

 

But the man in front of me had his unwavering attention fixed upon me.

 

As the noise of walking became increasingly louder, a small figure waddled towards the light. 

 

At first, it seemed to be a small, plump child. Maybe this man kidnapped a kid with me too! But how c-

 

Before my mind could process anymore, the little plump figure which was supposedly a child's, almost galloped and stopped right in front of me. 

 

In light, our eyes met and once I took in what the being in front of me was, a loud holler resonated across the tunnel. 

 

But before I noticed the source of the sound, I realized that I was the one screaming my lungs out, the man standing in front of me clasped his hand onto my mouth, choking me on my own screams. 

 

A green, scaley reptile-like skin, something I was very familiar with and wasn't. Large bat-like ears, and eyes almost as black as the darkness itself. Three razor sharp claws on its feet as well as on its hands. A huge mouth with similar piercing teeth. A long tail with a pointed end, and bat-like wings gave it off a menacing look.

 

Reaching upto a height of almost 3 feet, the little atrocity looked up at me with disdain as if I was the hideous one. 

 

As my screams eventually became muffled, the man released me and whirled me around to face him. He seemed to be giving off radiance. ......I'm not kidding, at first I believed him to carry a torch or maybe a candle but as I took a good look at him, I realized it's him who's emitting light! A white shining light outlined him as if he was the walking torch.

 

"Please do not scream". His voice dark, something very opposite of his looks. "Don't make a scene if you don't want to attract something you wouldn't wanna encounter even in your darkest nightmares".

 

Suddenly my fear evaporated and heat rose to my head, I was ready to completely thwart these fuckers who actually kidnapped "the me", and on top of that they're keeping me locked up in a what, a fucking tunnel!?

 

And with no light? Hell no. But again, I guess I understand where they're coming from. They must be some of my biggest fans, I mean I've seen a lot of stalking in my entire career till now but, never to such extreme. 

 

Whatever I'm today is only because of my fans. The man is definitely a fan of mine but the green gob....................he seems like one of my og fans! He even took the effort to dress up as a gremlin from one of my TV shows back in the day.

 

Ain't gonna deny I'm very impressed with the makeup artist.

 

(Idk what's happening, but I guess this is the part where I go crazy with all that's currently happening. I swear it's not a disorder)

 

The anger in me dissipated as soon as it had appeared. I walked to the gremlin, crouched down so we could be at eye level, I smiled at him and shook his hand. The gremlin looked disgusted as well as confused.

 

As soon as I shook his hand, his razor sharp nails dug into my palm and I realized it's got to be him who knuckled me in the back of my knee. Even after all that, anger was nowhere to be seen. 

 

I realized I was slowly losing my mind. I smiled again and said, "whoever did your makeup is very good at their job!", the creature seemed befuddled. I touched it's ears, they looked so real! 

 

"Woah, do u think your makeup artist would like to work for me? I promise the pay's quite great!", I asked them with utter admiration. 

 

There was no response from both of them. It hit me as hard as a boulder that, I was stuck between a freaking torchlight and a plump green cucumber in the middle of nowhere.

 

Every now and then, a shrill shriek made me break out in a cold sweat. I was laughing hysterically and it was getting chilly.

 

I sat distancing myself from both of them. I rocked back and forth like a troubled child with my back slouched against a wall, my hands wrapped around my bent knees.

The cold was getting worse and every now and then, a small whimper escaped my mouth. As my thoughts ran wild, I wasn't sure what to do anymore. Memories of the past, danced in the corners scaring me.

 

At a distance, both the man as well as the creature sat surrounding a small bonfire. I wanted to go there, I wanted the heat, I needed it.

 

With trembling legs, I slowly walked over to them. The soles of my shoes scraped against the rough lane which echoed in the tunnel.

 

The man sat with his head in between his knees. He seemed to be asleep. The green creature had it's gaze fixated upon me and as I approached nearer a slow growl escaped it's chafed lips.

 

I licked my lips out off nervousness. The man most probably sleeping, slowly looked up. His hair tousled, he still discharged a light even brighter than the fire itself. I gulped as our eyes met, straightened my posture and looked at him with pure indignation. 

 

This has been going on for a long time. And now I needed answers. Without a word, I sat down cross-legged and wrapped my arms around my torso. The heat of the fire felt almost like a shard of glass piercing into your skin. It felt as warm as fresh blood gushing out of a slash.

 

"I have absolutely no freaking idea about what the bloody hell is going on, what the hell do you need from me? Autographs? Money? Name anything you want and I'm ready to grant it but you gotta get me out of here", I said with a frustrated hand running over my scalp.

 

Both of them now sat straight and watch me with utmost curiosity, which made me look like a psychopath. A while passed, the unknown malignant screeches continued, while my front was enjoying the heat of the fire, my back felt as if someone was poking me with an icicle. 

 

"Please, whatever I'm about to say might sound absurd to you or even completely impossible but please, I beg of you to listen to us first", the man pleaded somberly after a moment of consideration. 

 

I was terrified. I didn't knew what awaited me in the future but this much was very clear to me that, whatever it was I was being forced into it and I was here completely out of my free will.

 

I nodded to inform the man to begin his explanation, if any. He looked at his friend sitting beside him to get confirmation. And after a moment he said, "First of all, we are not here to harm you. You can be rest assured".

 

I scoffed loudly at his face to show my utter disrespect. "So you're telling me your friend knowingly knuckled me into the abyss to not harm me? Then to do what? Get my autographs? Well too bad, I can't since I don't have any pen or paper", I replied sarcastically. 

 

The man sighed and looked a bit lost. He looked at the creature for help. It cracked it's knuckles and I jumped slightly. Without any response from the creature, the man continued his explanation. 

 

"We aren't doing this because we wanted to, but it's something out of our control. You must come with us in order for us to help you".

 

Everything that came out of his mouth went above my head. It felt like he was speaking a foreign language. 

 

"What are you?", I asked them wisely choosing my questions, "What the heck do you want from me!?"

 

This time the green creature spoke in a groggy voice,"I'm a gremlin and he..........he's a ghost". Yeah right, this was it. I couldn't take anymore of this escapade. But if I need to get out of here, I have to know more about my whereabouts. 

 

"Help. That's all we want from you", the man replied pleadingly. I didn't know what was to be said to such a confession. If the man was actually telling the truth then, I wonder what forced them to seek my help. I wanted to know more, maybe it was all just a mistake and if they needed genuine help then maybe I might think to act upon it.

 

I cleared my throat and said, "Ahem, I'm not sure if you already know my name or not but......I'm Larcia Grace. "

Following my lead, the man greeted saying, "My name's Frank and I'll be your protector during the journey". Not sure what that means but anyways, the gremlin said it's name was Jester, definitely an apt name for a gremlin.

 

I had no idea about the time, but it's definitely been more than three hours since I fell into this pit. I wonder if Rose is searching for me.....Aunt Rose! I had completely forgotten about her! She's probably freaking out by now, I just hope she doesn't take any extreme measures. I missed her warmth , I missed my sweet home, I missed her.....food, at the thought of food my stomach grumbled greedily. Colour flew into my cheeks as the man passed me a nearly squashed bun out of his little sling bag. 

 

Before the thought of contaminated food passed my mind, I had already taken a bite of the sweet bun. It tasted stale, but surprisingly quite delish.

 

"You didn't poison the bun right?". Jester smirked and walked away into the distance. Frank just stared at me as if I was the ghost. Even if it was poisoned, I wished to be delivered to the gates of hell or heaven with at least my stomach full.

 

"So, you're a ghost? But, how's that possible? I mean, how can I still see you? ", I asked Franj, now a little curious about him.

 

No answer. He just stared at me as if I was a showpiece at a museum. I was getting annoyed, you can't just kidnap me and ask for help without actually telling me about your problem!

 

"Atleast tell me where I am, for God's sake!", I said raising my voice. As soon as my speech was over, crackling of thunder at a distance gave me goosebumps all over my face and exposed skin. 

 

"Hell", he replied. 

 

Yeah, for sure I am. This all just felt absurd. It's even worse than one of my nightmares. At one point they at least got over but this felt everlasting. 

 

With a look that I couldn't quite decipher he continued, "You're in hell, the underworld, the land of the dead, or whatever you name it. But that's the truth, you're here according to the wishes of prince Marcolf."

 

Marcolf? That's a name I've never heared in all my living years! But how does he even know me? I mean yeah, I'm famous in the real world but they also know of me in hell!? Yeah sure, like I'm a 5 year old.

 

"Who's that? What does he want from me?", I asked playing along with him.

 

"Prince Marcolf, one of the seven prince's of the underworld. The mortal followers might know him as the king of Lust: Asmodeus", he said leaning back with his hand resting upon his knees as if reciting an old tale.

 

My mouth hung open. What's going on!? First, I was kidnapped by a gremlin and a ghost, I'm stuck in hell like literally, and now one of the mythical seven prince's of hell summoned me to receive my help? Nah, I abort.

 

"So you mean those mythological and fictional prince's are actually real? Please, I beg of you, I'm absolutely not interested to become a part of a cult", I shaped my arms into a cross as if to show my utter denial.

 

Frank shook his head, "I'm telling the truth, you have to believe me for us to continue our quest!", he said standing up. Now towering above me he continued as a sparkle lightened his eyes, "I even know that you have the blessing of Ophis and that's why you speak the language of serpents."

 

My eyes widened, my ears started ringing, the heat that protected me dissipated and the surrounding cold engulfed me into it's thick blanket.The blessing of Ophis, I have heard of it before but just couldn't seem to remember. As I tried to stand up, my legs gave out under the pressure of dizziness and as I stared into the distance, I realized I was in a much deeper pickle than I initially believed.

 

"H-How do you know that? It c-can't be possible, nobody knows that except m-me and Aunt Rose", I was stuttering, I was shaking , all of this constituted one of my worst fever dreams.

 

The man now bent down to my eye level, his face inches away from my ear and whispered, "It's not your world anymore, Larcia. Here the only rule that prevails is that of the seven kings of the underworld"

 

The fire was now completely extinguished, with the support from the wall, I stood up, my eyes completely trained upon the man. From my peripherals, I could see Jester, the gremlin sauntering towards us. 

 

"I swear to your seven prince's of hell that, if it's some kind of a scam then I'll be the one to bring your demise". The man smirked and went over towards the gremlin to check on him.

 

I need to be present at all times. This place seems treacherous and if this is really hell then, I'm sure as heck doomed. At times like this I just have the urge to laugh hysterically and just scoff at everything.

 

I walked over towards both of them and in a loud voice declared,"I will help you only if you let me free, that's my condition!". As soon as I said that, a loud piercing screech in the distance made me shiver. 

 

And before I knew anything, I was getting dragged away by Frank. My hand clasped in his, as we ran at full speed with Jester galloping beside us. With the light emitted by Frank, a shadow was formed in front of us, at the sight of it I could taste the bile in my throat. 

 

The shadow took the form of a huge winged creature with sharp talons. It felt surreal, almost a while ago I was riding horses in my pretty attire but now I'm running away in tatters in between a ghost and a gremlin.

 

Life is sure as heck unpredictable!

 

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

6: Chapter 6: (I see you as a Friend)

A while ago if you had asked me about the underworld, whether I believed in ghosts and gremlins or winged creatures almost the size of an adult jaguar for instance, I would've laughed at your face and probably would've guided you to a therapist, just out of goodwill. 

 

Larcia

 

As we started running, everything was passing by in a blurr. My hand tightly gripped Frank's, he's eyes straight ahead without a hint of terror as if this was something he encountered every single day. Jester the gremlin, was nowhere to be seen. He didn't abandon us to save his ass did he? I tilted my head to see the creature. 

 

As my eyes landed upon him, I took in it's features. It was something I had never seen before. Or even heard of for that instance. It looked mostly like a skeleton but it's porcelain wings seemed as huge as an aeroplane's, pieces of it's flesh dangled from its visible bones. It's eye socket was completely hollow, as if devoid of sight. It's body was completely covered in wrinkles with stains of black liquid all over it. It's honed talons so massive that I wouldn't be surprised if it pierced through a boulder. 

 

Suddenly it's mouth opened in a shrill screech, almost bursting off my earsbuds. It stretched it's sharp claw penetrating,  my back with hot, red liquid gushing out. It's claw was in so deep that, I even felt it in my front. I wanted to scream myself out of this hell-hole but before I could do that, again a huge hand clasped my mouth to stop me from screaming. My eyes started pooling with the pressure, as Frank dragged me with him, tumbling down a shallow slope.

 

My chest heaved up and down with my back paining from the tear. He still had his hand over my mouth, and gestured me not to move.

 

The winged creature hovered above us, it's hollow nose similar to that of a skeleton, it's beak straight with insides from a nightmare. After a while it went away in the opposite direction, flying in a somewhat sluggish manner. 

 

After the creature left, I didn't realize I was actually holding my breath. I heaved a sigh, but a shrewd pain tore me out of a fleeting sense of safety.

 

I sharply sucked in air as, I traced my finger along the gash, my shadbelly around the cut had completely vanished. Everytime my hand touched or even came nearer to the slash, I winced in pain. 

 

Frank with his back to me, searched for something in his backpack. Jester came running from somewhere with bundles of firewood in his hand. He layed them on the ground and went to check up on Frank. It felt like I was completely invisible to them. I wanted to ask for help but, my pride got the best of me. It hurt like a bitch, that I couldn't even sit anymore.

 

My sweaty fingers were of no help as I tried standing up with much difficulty. The cold was back and it teased my tear, every minute of it felt excruciating. I felt high on the gash, my sight became muddled, suddenly my legs gave out and I fell with a thud on the ground. My eyes rolled to the back of my head and once again I was a welcomed guest of the darkness. 

 

A splash of cold water jerked me into my senses. I winced as cold water dripped from my eyelashes onto my face, in front of me stood Jester. His gaze upon me and his hand holding water as if ready to splash me again. I was shivering now, when suddenly a roar of a voice made me jump. 

 

"I told you not to wake her up like that! Why don't you ever listen to me!?", It was Frank! Was he worried about....me?

 

"This is the fastest way. Besides, don't be such a pussy", Jester replied looking at me. My anger was surfacing once more, I was ready to throw a punch at him when he looked me up and down. What!?

 

I followed his gaze and looked down. Immediately I wished the ground would open and swallow me entire. My torso was completely bare with just bandages around my bust and my back. Wait, don't tell me that one of these assholes were the one that changed me into these! I mean of course it was one of them! I don't see anybody else here. 

 

My back was feeling......incredible. It actually felt even better than it was before the incident. I marched towards Frank, my eyes fixated upon him. His hands held something similar to the bun, that he had offered me earlier to eat. I fisted my hand and a swift swing was enough to knock him to the ground. Silence.

 

Jester started howling with laughter, I looked back at him with utter abhorrence. Frank groaned on the ground when I grabbed his collar and forced him to look at me, I didn't realize but I had busted his lip. Regret crossed my mind as something black dripped out of the corner of his mouth. 

 

"Were you one who undressed me?", I asked sternly.

 

His eyes searched for mine, his reply steadfast, "Yes, but we had no choice. If I hadn't, you may not have even survived".

 

"What do you mean? It was just a cut from that ghastly thing, surely it wasn't that deadly.....", Jester started tisk, tisking at me as if out of disapproval. 

 

"That thing's tip of the claw is enough to wipe out an entire village of people. If it wasn't for him, you would've been dead by now missus!", replied the gremlin in a plaintive voice. 

 

"Don't worry, I didn't see anything. I had a blindfold over my eyes, I swear!", Frank gestured me towards a thin cloth on the ground. 

 

Oh my, the regret was coming back. I just gifted the man who actually helped me, a busted lip! I gave him a hand to help him up but from a distance I heared a slow, "oh boy, but I did see", it was Jester as he waddled ijto the darkness once again.

 

Crimson red flew into my cheeks and the regret from before was replaced with anger. A smirk played upon Frank's lips, I withdrew my helping hand and pushed him to the ground, cause embarrassment made me do it.

 

Fuming with anger I walked over to the fireplace and sat cross-legged. He dragged himself to the spot in an exaggerated manner, his hand over his now almost black busted lip. He threw me a bun as if I was some kind of a dog, I wanted to throw the food away into the fire but my stupid stomach always gets it's way. 

 

Without a thought I gobbled down the sweet bun, it felt even tastier than the before. I was eating so fast that I started coughing, I must look like a complete slob to him. I wonder if my fans would still like me, if they saw me in this state........ugh, I missed my fans, I missed warmth, I missed my aunt, I missed my furballs waiting for me at home. 

 

Home. That single word was enough to bring me to tears. Before I knew anything, a single tear trickled down my cheek. I got flustered, I didn't want this stranger to see me crying like this. Never! I wiped my single tear with the back of my hand. Frank sat beside me surrounding the fire. He seemed to be searching for something in that bag of his, when suddenly he offered me a bottle. 

 

The bottle was made out of polished glass, the liquid from the outside looked to be transparent but I was skeptical. The fire cast a shadow upon his face, his eyes enchanting, his front hair now falling sideways gave him off a 90's red carpet look. 

 

Upon seeing my reluctance, he snatched the bottle from me and took a swig of the liquid as if to prove his innocence. He winced a bit but the liquid didn't seem to be poisoned. I took the container from him, the inside looked pitch black, complete opposite of the outside. I gulped a small portion of it, at first it tasted mellow in taste but suddenly it burned my throat as if I was drinking acid. I coughed, it felt like my throat was on fire! It definitely didn't felt like alcohol but something worse.

 

"Cough, what is it!?", I asked clasping my hand upon my throat. Damn, it burned so bad!

 

"Venom", he replied. Yeah right, like I was gonna believe that. 

 

"Seriously? I'm not in the mood for your silly jokes"

 

"It's the venom of the the Great Delphine the Serpent. She's referred to as the mother of all snakes, this venom of hers is something that is similar to that of nectar of the gods.", he replied.

 

"You mean the heavenly drink, that cures any gash or injuries and promises longevity and immortality?", I asked him with utter surprise. That can't be actually real!

 

"Quite similar, it cures you and all but just doesn't confer immortality. We're already dead so it's pretty useless", he said with a solemn look on his face. The silence was too loud, was his death a sensitive subject? I wanted to know but I was afraid to ask. "Jester, he was joking you know. He didn't look when I was tending to you, he wasn't even there. He just likes to tease."

 

A hint of red tinged my cheeks, I tried to think of a clever Segway to distract him. "Why's your blood....black?", I asked genuinely as curiosity piqued my interest. 

 

"Isn't it obvious? I'm dead, and we're in the underworld so there should be something differentiating us from the living ones, right?", I don't know if it was just my imagination but for a fleeting second, he looked almost....sad.

 

"I know it's not my place to ask, but how did you die?", I asked with much braveness. He just stared at the blazing fire as embers danced around his statuesque face.

 

After a moment of consideration, he replied, "The most earliest memory that I have of my living days is that of the age of 9. I was raised in an orphanage because apparently my so-called parents had abandoned me on a pavement after I was born. It was Mrs. Michaels, the director of a nearby orphanage that found me and took care of me". A look of uttermost adoration moulded his face. 

 

"Until the age of 16", he continued, "She was kind enough to supply me with shelter, food and all the basic human needs for free. After I completed my high-school from a nearby local government school, I decided it was time to finish my studies and start earning".

 

"Wait a minute, but what about your relatives? There must have been some, at least on one of your parents side....."

 

His face turned grim, I realized maybe I shouldn't have asked him that, "They didn't want anything to do with me, after I started earning my first keep I thought of searching for my relatives. I even found some....."

 

"Then what happened?", I asked him.

 

"I even found some of my relatives but, they told me that my parents were already dead some years ago in a car crash. Also they didn't want anything to do with me and asked me to never show my face around them."

 

Wow, what a douche of a family.....I was slowly having sympathy for him, maybe it was his situation or maybe it was that, he also like myself grew up without any parents. I guess that's one of the ways in which we were similar.

 

"I returned and promised myself to never search for them, even in the most dire of situations. After that I changed a lot of jobs from a butcher, a part-timer at a Cafe, to working at a cheese factory. I was already 24 and had gotten myself 2 or 3 girlfriends by then", a sly smirk tugged his lower lip as he brushed his thumb over it.

 

Ugh, I so wanna wipe that smug look off his face. I mean it's no surprise that he had "girlfriends", and I didn't even ask about his love history! I just wanted to know if he ever got a funeral!

 

"All my past relations didn't last long, I mean looking back I still don't know what kind of a girl would date such a loser, that was until I met a girl so lovely that I believed her to be the love of my life. We both were very deeply in love", he seemed genuinely happy reminiscing about this girl, but there was something dejected about it too.

 

"But the problem was that, we both were from completely different worlds. She was filthy rich and I was dirt poor. Even though now I had a steady paying job at a construction site, it still wasn't enough to even come anywhere near her wealth. I loved her a lot and looked forward to our future but just somewhere I knew we wouldn't work.", he said. The tunnel or whatever now was too silent. The only noise came from the crackling of fire.

 

Where the heck is that son of a bitch Jester!? Even though he's annoying he can't leave me to deal with this sadness alone!

 

"I even made a friend out of an elderly lady, Mrs. Puddles, in my neighborhood. She lived with her cats, everyday she would ask me if I had eaten anything or if I was feeling well. Every Thanksgiving, Christmas she would ask me to celebrate it with her. She was so sweet, once just out of curiosity I had asked her why she was so good to me. She said that, she used to have a son that ranaway after stealing all her savings and since then she has never seen his face. She also said that I looked like I needed a parent, so she thought she would take care of me as her own"

 

Oh no, he was crying. I could see it, even though he tried to hide his face, I could see from here that he was overcome with emotions. I wanted to comfort him but how!? I cannot just hug him! He's still a stranger, but is he now? He's even trusting me to share his past with me.......ugh I don't know!!

 

I scooched near him and placed my hand over his folded onss resting upon his knee. I don't know if this was enough but that was all I could offer other than comforting words. 

 

His gaze lingered over our stacked hands as he sucked in a sharp breath and continued, "Everything was going well or so I thought, I had a mother figure now, a lover and a steady earning. Everything was ideal but during my 27th birthday, I accidentally got to know that I was diagnosed with stage four cancer and after that all my dreams crashed. Any little hope that I had, just vanished like my parents."

 

Tears stung my eyes now, I knew that feeling of despair. The desire to be loved, cared was immense during my childhood. But since then I've grown up. After hearing his story, I feel like maybe I was just overreacting. 

 

"After I knew about my disease, I didn't take any treatments since it cost a lot of money. For one whole year, I didn't say a thing about this to anyone, I just tried to went on with my life. But it wasn't so easy, eventually I felt guilt that I was letting my beloved one's love go to waste. What good can she get from loving a dead man? So, without any prior hint or anything, I broke up with her. Not because I didn't love her but because I loved her so much that, I wished for her to love someone whom she could be with forever", he said with a sad smile tugging at his lips.

 

"What!? Why!? Oh my, how can someone be so fucking daft!? If you loved her so much, why didn't you share your side of the story with her? How did she react to your revolting confession?", I asked blaringly with mixed emotions. 

 

"I don't know, but I guess she moved on. Since then I've never looked back", he replied with a proud look.

 

"Well, what happened then?"

 

"After I broke up with her, I was mostly absent-minded. Even though I spent a lot of time with Mrs. Puddles, I was slowly losing interest. There were times when I didn't even wanna meet her, I've even made excuses just not to see her face. I felt guilty but I didn't have the courage to spend time with her when I knew she would be alone once again after I was gone."

 

Can this story get any worse? How much more pain does he have to go through to......oh no, he's death is still impending.

 

"I started avoiding her and like that my 28th birthday arrived, I was sitting in my room with no lights when I got a delivery. It was from my now 'ex-girlfriend'. I was excited, I thought maybe she hasn't forgotten me yet! There was a box completely wrapped in ribbons with a note that read:

 

                   I'm happy, hope you're too.

                                Happy Birthday!

 

The minute I read it, I knew she had already gotten herself a new, suitable man for herself. I was happy for her, then why did I felt sad? I opened the box, it was a shoe from a brand that read 'Prada'. It looked super costly and something I could never afford on my own. Just out of my little ego, I tried to return the shoe but then realized I didn't know how to, so I just wore it everyday to work with intentions of it completely tearing apart from all the rough work".

 

I laughed, I know I shouldn't be laughing at such a point of the story but I just couldn't contain myself. I needed to out my emotions one way or other. And for heck, I wasn't gonna cry.

 

Frank looked at me puzzled, he didn't seem offended or saddened by my reaction but just seemed perplexed. He was still wearing that shoe gifted by his girlfriend, maybe he died while wearing it.

 

I gestured him to continue and he did with a little hesitation, "Then after that I was all alone, I didn't go to meet the old lady across the street, I didn't check up on my lover, I just went to work everyday and worked overtime.", he sighed heavily. 

 

"One fine day, I was walking to my work site. The sun was just extra shiny and everywhere I saw happy faces, except mine. I didn't have any reason to be alive now, a fleeting thought brushed my mind. As I reached the construction site, the work had already started and a massive crane was hoisting up a huge heavy load stock to the 4th floor,  when suddenly the machine malfunctioned and crashed, the huge heavy load fell, crashing people under it. And among them..........was me."

 

I couldn't say anything, I gasped so loudly that even I had to cover my mouth. Such a tragedy, I couldn't believe my eyes earlier and now not even my ears. 

 

"Since then I've lived in regret, I wanted to do so many things. I wanted to apologize to my girlfriend, I wanted to say goodbye properly to Mrs. Puddles, I wanted to thank every person that was ever kind to me. But then before I met death, I realized that I was just too late."

 

Every now and then his voice cracked, "What happened then? How did you end up here? Is this where everyone comes after their death?", I asked carefully choosing my words.

 

This time, he laughed. "Not everyone, after death people go somewhere completely different. This place isn't for everyone, just some souls are allowed to stay here under one of the prince's rules. After I died, I was a lost soul when I met prince Marcolf- The king of Lust. He took pity on me and asked me to stay with him as his personal contributor. Me, Jester and a few others do his dirty work. At first, like you I couldn't believe my eyes nor ears but eventually I got accustomed". 

 

He looked a bit troubled as if contemplating his decision of sharing his past with me. Without thinking, I got up on my knees and pulled him into a side hug. At first,  he seemed as confused as I did, but then he relaxed and patted my head. A loud whistle whiped me into reality, Jester stood at a corner, his hands folded over his chest, his legs resting against a wall and a smug look plastered over his ghastly face.

 

Colour flew to my cheeks as I swatted at Frank's hand for patting me, I wasn't a kid. I scurried over to the opposite of him as Jester approached, his eyes moving skeptically back and forth between me and his friend. He puckered his lips, "I left you two for what, five minutes and you're already down each other throats?"

 

WHAT IN THE HEAVEN'S SAKE!?

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

7: Chapter 7: (Marking of the Inception)

Frank burst out laughing. Such a horrendous thing to say! Jester sat between us while stretching his hands towards the fire for warmth. I couldn't bare the misunderstanding even though I really didn't care about what this green pickle thought of me but, I chimed up, "It's a misunderstanding, I was just trying to comfort him with a hug".

 

"Is that so?", Jester raised his brow at Frank. I knew he didn't believe me, but I couldn't care less.

 

For a while, the silence dawned on us. As time passed, it was getting extremely excruciating. Man, I couldn't take it anymore. 

 

"Enough of all this! I was kidnapped, forced to help you without my free will, got injured by a flying skeleton, drank 'Venom' and even got to know one of your back stories. Yet, I still have absolutely no idea about what I could possibly help you with, and just because I'm asking you this doesn't mean I believe in any of your shenanigans. After hearing Frank's story and meeting that horrible creature, I'm leaning towards this but I still can't regard this as reality. So tell me for the last time without wasting any more time, what I actually have to do to get the fuck out of here!"

 

Both of them exchanged looks at the same time, they made it seem as if it was much complicated than this. I don't know how long it's been that I'm stuck inside of this dungeon but I've had enough of it. According to my knowledge of time, it's been some nine to ten hours since I'm stuck here.

 

"Ahem, okay, so we really do need your help or so we believe. But first of all let's get on moving cause at this rate it's gonna take an eternity for us to reach our destination", Frank said. 

 

Out of his I don't know, ever-supplying-bag he threw me a t-shirt. My back was now completely healed, I threw on the t-shirt which had a Pink Floyd's print on it's front. I couldn't imagine anyone from hell actually listening to Pink Floyd. That would be a sight to see!

 

He stomped the fire out with his foot, with Jester already sauntering ahead of us. We started walking, it was quite dark but Frank's emission made it more than clear to see. 

 

"Don't you have some special ability?", he asked skeptically. 

 

"Special ability? The only ability I have is that I can talk to snakes, that's hardly an ability and more of a disability", I replied sarcastically. 

 

"Hahaha, that's the problem with you foolish humans! Y'all never know how to appreciate such precious gifts, Shame!", Jester shouted in an anguished voice. He was walking ahead of us but was definitely within the hearing range. It was my first time hearing his voice take such a turn, usually he kept silent or only opened his mouth to say the most brain damaging thing but now didn't seem to be the case.

 

"Look, we believe that only through that ability of yours, you'll be able to help us", Frank said hurriedly, trying to cover up Jester's disappointment in humans.

 

"What do you mean? I have to speak with.......snakes? But it's been years since I've talked to actual, wild snakes!"

 

"Before you fell into the pit, weren't you only visiting your pet snakes?", Frank asked questioningly. 

 

"No! I mean- yes but, they don't fall under normal snakes. They approached me first in ten whole years and asked me to help them! Before them, all other snakes I've encountered, didn't ever speak to me! They're afraid of me!", I said half-screaming, half-talking. Both of them went completely silent, I continued,"Also I believe they only talked to me because they had some kind of a stupid prediction to make". 

 

I though back to one of the prophecies they had recited:

 

You will travel to the command of the king of lust,

 

Beware of the good and who you trust.

 

A conquest in disguise will decide your fate,

 

But for you it's the devil himself who awaits"

 

Wait a sec -  The king of Lust!?!? No, no , no, this wasn't actually happening. I-I-m d-definitely- this is definitely a nightmare!!! Oh no, please tell me this wasn't actually happening.......

 

Even in this bitter cold, I was slowly starting to sweat. My heart was racing faster, my legs shook so vigorously that had to halt for a sec. Frank walked beside me, so I held onto his shoulders to steady myself. My palms were getting sweaty from all the nervousness. 

 

If I wasn't mistaken, a look of worry passed his face. As soon as I saw that face, it hit me like a boulder. All the tragedies he faced, his past, everything. And that was more than enough to prove reality for me. I just couldn't fathom that whatever he shared with me was all just a silly lie.

 

"Hey, you okay? Why are you sweating? Is everything alright?", he asked me stopping beside me. Jester paused as well and with a swift look at me he turned forward and started walking as if it was nothing. 

 

"I-I'm fine. I was just lost in a thought, please let's continue. I just want to get over with this", I said trying my best to keep the stutter away.

 

With a cynical look, he asked, "what do you mean by prediction? What's that about?"

 

Oh no! ugh my darned mouth. I can't tell him about this, at least not now! I still have a lot of things to confirm. Even if he wasn't lying to me, still he could be in a lie. "Nothing,  they just talked some gibberish after eating their food. And I just thought maybe it was some kind of a prophecy you know, but I was just completely wrong!", I tried to ward off the implausible tone of my voice by laughing. Damn, my big mouth!

 

He didn't seem much convinced but was wise enough to leave it at that. "So tell me what I need to do and why", I asked.

 

The gremlin walked only 50m away from us. He was definitely taking his sweet time. What's the point of walkibg ahead? We were gonna catch upto him in no time! 

 

"Bare with me, okay?....... So every year like us humans have a lot of festivities and celebrations, similar to that, here in the underworld they have the most awaited occasion of the entire year, 'The Seven-day ball'. It's named after the all the 7 prince's. Every single day of the week is assigned to one of the prince's where each of them prepares a magnificent, striking and glorious gala, which is attended by beings of all nature."

 

"But what is the purpose of this gala? Is it for peace among the realms?", I asked confused. 

 

"Hmm, partly. The aim behind is quite vast but the one that everyone likes to hold onto is - to find suitable partners for the prince's." 

 

"Partner!? You mean like a spouse? But didn't you say that this was celebrated ever year? How many more wives do they need that they're still going at it!?!?", I asked frustrated. I mean I wouldn't be surprised if polygamy was still in practice in the underworld. 

 

"As I said earlier, the reasons are vast and this is more likely a cover. The point is, this route that we're currently walking through leads to the main entrance which is guarded by the house of Lust. But in the middle of this lane, there's a hindrance. A huge one at that. It's a fire breathing monster that's rigid as a rock and burns all the beings alive if they try to approach it", he said in matter-of-fact voice.

"The tales of the locals say, that it was the one that fought alongside the prince's during the war between demons and angels. But it's too much power is more of a bane than anything, so after the war the creature was locked up inside one of the torture doors to repent. It was due to utter carelessness that it's on loose."

 

"You have torture doors here? Besides, what can I do? If it's so huge and deadly, how do you expect me go deal with it?" I asked hopelessly. 

 

"You'll get to know that when the time comes. For now just understand that, we together need to remove this monster, so that it doesn't create a hindrance for princess Evelyn's carriage. "

 

"Princes Evelyn? Who's that?", I asked suspiciously. 

 

"She's the daughter of one of our neighbor empire. It is said that her beauty is blinding even to the gods", he said as if in a trance.

 

I don't think I like this Evelyn woman. Also I don't like how he talks about her. Does he have a crush on her!?

 

"So you're telling me that I was dragged here without my free will, just to clear up the road for your pretty princess to not suffer any discomfort? Oh, I'M GONNA FUCKING FLIP YOU KNOW!!!!!", I screamed so loudly at him that even Jester was too shocked. He came running towards us as if he was concerned but, I knew better. 

 

"No way, take me back right now!! I won't take a single step from here. I have a lot of important work to do other than clean up roadkill or what-not", I stood grounded to my feet.

 

A distant screech made me jump out of fear, that reminded me of the injury from that scraggly creature. I shuddered from the recollection of the thought.

 

Frank sighed heavily and looked at his little friend for help. Jester seemed as lost as a little child in a chocolate factory and just stared into the void. 

 

"Please, Miss Grace, we have no more choices, other than you! It doesn't depend on us, we're just doing the work assigned to us. Nothing more, nothing less. Please, you cannot back away now!", Frank pleaded with a really fucking annoying look. Darn it, that reminded me of Aunt Rose. Ugh, I miss her!

 

After a minute of me eyeing him with indignation, I finally gave in. I asked, "What's in it for me? Why do you think I'll help you without anything in return? You didn't believe that I would do your bidding just out of goodwill, did you?"

 

Frank looked lost for a moment. As if he was trying to recall something important. Suddenly he replied, "Answers".

 

Oh no. Thump, my heart was beating heavily for the 2nd time since our little expedition finding this monster. I couldn't bare it anymore, I rushed to the side as my stomach heaved. All the memories of the past came rushing at the speed of X-15. I closed my eyes out of fear, I saw a vision of blood on my face, a woman screaming, crashing of vases, and me........lying there completely unmoving. 

 

A gentle pat on my back was enough to soothe my nerves. It was a very familiar hand, Frank stood beside me with panic dancing on his face. My hair was now completely loose and fell on both sides of my face. Even Jester was looking at me, with something of a look I wouldn't quite call worry but, somewhat similar. 

 

I needed to get my nerves under control. I cannot react so drastically like this to such news. Eventually they will catch up but still I didn't wanna think about it. I don't need any answers, just let me return safely!! 

 

I heaved a sigh, as I tried to think of an excuse for such a reaction. "Are you okay!?", Frank asked for the 2nd time. 

 

"Yeah, yeah. I'm alright, it was that sweet bun that we ate I believe. It must have gone bad", I said in a dramatic motion of swiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

 

"Huh, bun? That can't be possible, I thought it was fresh. I even kept it in my bag! Are you sure it's that?", Frank asked as if almost hurt. 

 

Frank was naive. Jester looked at me skeptically but kept his mouth shut. I knew he didn't believe me again, how can he always catch me in these lies?

 

After a little rest of five minutes, we continued on our expedition. As we walked, the slow, distant ripples of water was heard. It was a river that stretched out long ways in two opposite directions. 

 

Jester halted abruptly, Frank was getting anxious every second we neared the water body. The air surrounding us seemed hefty and congested. That was weird, it was such a big space yet still it didn't felt right. 

 

The water was almost as blue as it could get, completely transparent, shallow with something shining at the bottom.

 

Frank and Jester stopped and turned to me, I didn't like where this was going. Frank approached me, put a hand on my shoulder and whispered, "You see that shiny thing under there? That's the vessel for the monster, we must get it out of there."

 

The depth of the water didn't seem much, I could go get it but there was something else about it. 

 

"Since we're already near the river of death, that means the serpent's quite nearby as well", Frank said as he moved around to evaluate the water body. 

 

"But who's gonna get that vessel out of there?", my question was met with dead silence. This was odd, upon seeing there reluctance, I offered, "Fine, I'll go. You two wait here ".

 

"No, you can't do that. How can you say that so casually without not even having an idea about the danger!?", Frank asked in a reprimanding tone. 

 

"What danger? It's just water, what else can there be?", I asked.

 

"It's the river Trix, the river of the dead", this time it was Jester that spoke, quite surprising me and Frank. "As the name suggests ", he continued, "Only the dead are able to e

Infiltrate this but, if so the living does try to enter this river, he or she'll be destroyed, with just bits of you hanging from the body."

 

"Those birds before- is there any relation to it?", I asked as I remembered those horrible creatures. 

 

"Those creatures are the first beings that were born out of this water body. That was how they were born, dead from the beginning. That is why it's said, even if a claw of those birds touches your flesh, your bound to receive a visit from the death itself", said Frank as he shuddered slightly. Even though he's dead, he still seemed to be afraid of death.

 

"Ah, that makes sense why I couldn't almost breathe for the time being. Well, if it's the river of dead, I don't believe a walking, healthy human being should go", I said with a subtle cheer in my voice.

 

Frank just stared at the river, he seemed to be in deep thought. Was he thinking of going? I mean he's already dead so I guess the river shouldn't be affecting him.....what's he thinking about then?

 

"I'll go inside, but I cannot touch the vessel. Only the living have the ability for that", he looked at me. I didn't know what to say, if he cannot touch it then how are we supposed to take it out?

 

This time me and Jester exchanged a look, but before anything could happen Frank stated clearly,"It's gotta be you, Miss Grace. Jester can't take the burn, it's gonna disintegrate him completely. There's no guarantee nothing will happen to you but at least we have the cure for it."

 

Suddenly he shimmied out of his khaki shirt, his stomach completely toned with honey biscuits. Shirtless, he was as good as any clothing model if not better. He took out a long rope out of his little backpack, turned around and with a promising look jumped into the river.

 

The soft splash echoed inside of the dungeon. As soon as he got into the water, it looked like he completely disappeared! The water still looked transparent from the outside but there were no signs of Frank.

 

A slow, dragging sound against the craggy lane made me whip my head in it's direction so fast that it almost got dislocated. Me and Jester were all alone now, but that ever increasing sound put us on alert. 

 

I bravely moved to the front as if I knew about what it was. Even though I had an idea, I just couldn't comprehend it to be the truth. 

 

A ginormous body only heard of in tales, a head so massive that is enough to hold two elephants, it's eyes shining ruby as if dipped in blood. At the sight of us, it hissed blaringly that I had to cover up my ears with both hands and  before I knew anything, a huge scorching blast of flame moved towards me. A voice beside me shouted "DUCK!" , and I did in time cuz when I opened my eyes, in front of me was Jester! 

 

As I crouched, he stood before me, shielding us from the hot balzing flame with a ....bag!? Wait- that's Frank's backpack! How is it able to protect us like this!?

 

The snake now moved in a very agitated manner, I noticed that one of it's eyes were bleeding. Jester pushed me forward to the snake, it was humongous! 

 

When our eyes locked I didn't know what was happening but, it followed my every move. As if he was alert but couldn't decide whether to strike or not. I wanted to help, it's bloodied eye looked incredibly terrible. 

 

"Hey! Hey! Look here!!", I shouted at him. At first I didn't seem to have any effect on him but after a minute or so, it looked at me almost grounded to the spot.

 

When Jester moved towards me, it's pupil fixed upon him. It hissed menacingly as he approached nearer.

 

"We're trynna help you! Please!!"

 

As soon as i said it, at the shore a rope floated to the front. Frank! He got it! While keeping my eye's fixed upon the serpent, I moved backwards and once I turned to the front, Jester was at my back again, protecting me from the blanket of fire with the little bag.

 

I held the rope and started pulling it up, it seemed quite long. An, "hurry up!", from Jester made me work faster. I could feel it, a heavy object bound to the rope. I dipped my hands inside the water to grab it and as soon as the water touched the surface of my skin, it sizzled. It burned so bad that my hand was completely filled with blisters upto my elbow almost instantly. 

 

I screamed at the top of my voice, Jester didn't look back. I was hurting so bad, why did it hurt so much!? Tears rolled down my face as I got a hold of the vessel, It looked like a regular Mason jar. As soon as I got a hold if it, I ditched tne water and ran. I was completely panicking, I couldn't feel anything in my hands. For a sec, I even thought they were gonna fall off. 

 

At a little distance, Frank's crown of hair was visible. Jester jerked me around and I was once again face front with the serpent. It hissed at me threateningly but didn't dare to pounce. "W-what do I do?", I winced as the cold touched the red, swollen area on my hand. 

 

"Trap it inside!! We don't have much time, it seems to hate movements and looks like it's got it's eye's fixed upon Frank!", he wishpered near me as we both stood completely unmoving.

 

Put this huge ginormous serpent in this jar!? But that's not possible, I just couldn't wrap my mind around the idea.

 

A stream of fire went over my head towards the direction of Frank as soon as he got out, he dipped his head inside once more to survive from the flame. I had to hurry, but I didn't know how!?

 

I shoved the jar towards the snake and recalled about the power of summoning. With a blinding light coming from the jar, the gigantic body was gone with a poof! White smoke belowed from it's spot as silence confined us in it's grip.

 

I just stood there in a daze, when Jester came running. He took the jar from me and hastily closed the lid. I didn't notice before but his hair on top of his head were giving out smoke, I didn't expect him to protect me like that. I was very much thankful. 

 

Frank got out of the river, his hair slecked back, water dripping from his hair sizzled and evaporated as soon it hit the ground. He approached us and before I could ask about how he was, he took in my arms in his. They burned from the cursed water, my hands had turned unsightly. But then, why did he look at them with such adoration and care!?

 

We set up a fire to rest and recover. We finally got the snake, I believe the only reason it seemed agitated was due to it's injury. I fell down on my butt with relief. 

 

We sat surrounding the fire and surprisingly, Jester sat beside him with his eye trained upon my blistered hands. 

"Thank you, for saving me earlier. Who knows, if it wasn't for you I may not have even survived", I said with genuinity. 

 

Maybe it was just the effect of all the burns or probably just my imagination, but a slight tint coloured his cheeks. His eyes seemed to avoid my gaze, for a sec I almost called him cute before the silly thought evaporated into the thin air.

 

I smirked as he turned away from me flustered, this was the second time he has shown such emotions. Still, this was progress.

 

Suddenly Frank kneeled beside me completely dressed, his hair still wet from the river. His hazel eyes turned a shade darker under the cast of fire and made him look almost too good to be real. He passed me the same transparent bottle from before, I knew what was inside. I gulped it in one go, and the familiar sensation of bile in my throat returned and before I knew it, I was completely passed out.

 

I didn't realize how long I was actually blacked out but a cold splash of water woke me up again. I didn't need to even guess, a vague groan escaped my mouth. Jester stood before me in a very familiar stance, holding water. My hands now had a mild sting to it, my brows furrowed as I took in my vicinity.  

 

Frank was nowhere to be seen, we were still at the place before I lost consciousness. I smiled at Jester slightly, he got super flustered as our eyes met. He wasn't the one to react like this, something's definitely changed in him.

 

I remembered the snake, it was locked up in the jar. That sight was oddly uncomfortable to me. I took the bottle containing the venom of Delphine and poured a few drops inside. The snake layed unmoving but I hoped it would recover. 

 

"How can this little jar hold such a gigantic being? .......it's almost as if magic!", I said as I remembered there's no such thing as magic.

 

"You already know the answer. The jar's specially enchanted to hold this beast."

 

"Then what about the backpack? How can it shield us from such fire without taking a single tear? And how can it store such amounts of amenities inside of it?", I asked eagerly.

 

"The backpack was something gifted to Frank by the cyclops", he replied in a grave tone. "We don't have a great relationship with them as of now but, when we did, they used to gift us items made with immense durability and accuracy. The backpack is also enchanted with magic to store a huge amount of stuff in it without restraint. "

 

"Cyclops? They're actually real!? B-but how?", I asked confused. 

 

"Yes, a lot of the things you know are real. Even cyclops, even magic and many more. So broaden your horizons because a lot of things that you believed to be not real are actually the reality in the underworld", he said.

 

Frank came walking from the opposite direction. He seemed deeply engrossed in a slight parchment that looked to be a map. 

 

"Come on, we don't have much time. We should be reaching segregation by now ", he said in a hurried voice. 

 

When his eyes landed on me, they searched my face for any discomfort but I reassured him with an encouraging nod.

 

We traveled a bit further before coming to a stop. Black fog,  the blanket of nyx, this was all too familiar. I felt like I've been here before,  b-but that was impossible!!

 

A silent thud of a boat made it's way towards us. A black hooded figure stood with a single oar in it's hand. Frank walked upto him, digged through his back pockets and handed him some shiny golden doubloons. 

 

With a motion of a tourist guide, he spread his arms wide open and announced loudly, "Welcom to the Segregation!".

 

The what? We got onto the boat and I realized that this was too much familiar. Suddenly I remembered my nightmare, black hooded figure, a boat, a bloodied door with skulls ...... this all couldn't just be a coincidence. 

 

We got on and the boat started rowing, below us flowed golden translucent water as I has guessed. I didn't realize that Frank was staring at me,"Ahem, I've seen this place before", I said to distract myself. 

 

"That's not possible. No actual living human beings have ever seen this and made it alive, maybe it was something similar?", he asked confused. 

 

"Nope, this exact same place, boat, hooded figure. Everything's the same..........I saw it in a dream", I shivered while recalling the memories of the nightmare.

 

Both of them got completely silent, the only noise came from the splashing of oar against the water. They looked at me as if I had said something inhumane. But before I could open my mouth to explain further, the boat reached the shore and we hoped out of it. 

 

"Well, this concludes the segregation. This place is enchanted to only allow the higher beings in the society to enter the gates of hell", Frank said inspecting the surrounding. 

 

Jester was already ahead of us. He looked extremely tiny compared to the huge black door that stood before him, it was nothing like my dream. It was shining as if recently polished. No skulls, no dripping blood, nothing. With a light push from the gremlin, the door opened upto a loud, buzz of people. Thousands of lights and glitter fell upon my face and made me wince but then my heart raced incessantly when, somewhere behind me Frank declared, "WELCOME TO THE UNDERWORLD!".

 

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