An Unknown Amount of Solitude

The girl wore a simple light yellow skirt, falling just above her knees, with a top matching her cloud-white hair. Specs of light popped into existence around her right hand—miniature stars phasing in and out of existence.

But I couldn’t deny she was pretty.

I gently grasped my dulled sword. Who the hell is this girl? I’d seen more strangers around the manor than your average guy would like to see throughout their entire life, yet this pale girl was unlike anyone else.

“Who are you?” I readied my sword with a single slash.

“Elizabeth, no last name, and I’m not an enemy so could you put that sword down?” Her voice, something about it caused my stress to melt; with her smooth tone and silky pitch reminiscent of a professional singer.

“Because strange girls who hang out in dangerous caves are trustworthy. How do you know my name?”

She sighed. “Please put the sword down first. That puny thing won’t do you much good down here.”

With a brilliant glimmer, she stood, a great longsword now in her hand. It hummed with the music that only electricity could create. Brilliant yellow lines traveled down its blade, glowing brighter than the torches outside.

It was that blade that was currently pointed at my neck.

“No problem!” I squealed. Her summoned blade had completely severed my sword in two and knocked it out of my hands. So much for that.

“Thank you, Clair.” With a snap, everything went back to normal as her sword shimmered away. “To answer your question, I may be a prisoner of the Galinding Chambers, but Alfie tries to keep me updated on whatever happens up in the manor.”

She walked over to the door, feet gliding against the cool stone like ice skates. “As you can see, I don’t have many opportunities to venture outside myself.” Her hand, petite and pale, reached towards the gap of stone, only for a pale yellow shimmering light to block her path. She reached out, sword a mirage mid-swing towards the barrier—enough force to spit me in two. Yet, it bounced off like a ball. Not a single scuff could be seen against the translucent wall.

“Wait wait wait… First off, what’s that Chambers thing?” Alfie mentioned something similar yesterday. My head was so jumbled that day that his words represented a tumbled mess in my memories now, and it just got worse by the hour.

Hell, just looking at me would make that clear enough, with shaking knees and a girl who pointed a sword at my neck just a few feet away.

Guys needed a bit of excitement here and there. This was just my version of that.

“What lies beneath the manor and my home.”

“Is there anyone else down there, and what do you mean by prisoner?” My head spun. What had Father been hiding?

“Yes, three people entered just a few days ago, all of the Galinding family. But other than those three, no, nothing still human is down in the depths anymore. It’s my prison, and mine alone.”

Three? Who else could have gone down?

“Why don’t you leave? What’s keeping you here?”

“I wonder that myself.” With a pause, she leaped up from her chair. “Listen, why do you want to enter the chambers? For what reason did Alfie give you a key?”

“My sister!” Damn, I needed to calm down. “My father kidnapped my sister and led her down here, and if no one else will save her, I’ll have to be the one.”

For the first time, her voice rose in amusement. “Do you think your fake bravery will be enough to survive? The monsters that lurk down there aren't your ordinary slime. I am talking of beasts banished from this planet thousands of years ago, creatures that threatened entire countries with their presence. I may have little power outside of the Chambers, but I’m not letting someone throw their life away down there.”

“I don’t have a choice!” Emma would fix everything. I just needed to find her and this would all be over.

“I—” Elizabeth stopped as a tear started to flow down my cheek. “I am sorry, but down there lies only death.”

“Then why did Father take my sister down there?”

“Because—” With a start, Elizabeth crashed to the ground, hand roughly pressed against her forehead.

“Elizabeth!” Her cheeks flushed with anguish as she gritted her teeth. I could see her skin—pale, yet the remnants of scars still barely visible. “Are you ok?”

“Yes.” She shakily lifted her arms. “Wherever I try to remember something from a decent amount of time ago, this happens.” Her soft hands gripped mine as I pulled her up.

“Do you even remember why you're a prisoner down here?” I asked.

“Sadly, no.”

“Then let's find out together! Father is the lord of this mansion; if anyone would know how to solve your memory, it's that bastard.”

“Bastard...” She smirked. “Sounds like you're not a big fan of his.”

“The man who loves to decorate my face with whatever bruise happens to be in fashion? Yeah, no.”

She smiled, just the tiniest of grins, yet the way her face brightened made my face flush with red. “I’ll give you a chance. If you can show me you won't flee at the first sign of danger, I will help guide you down the chambers.”

                                                                                   * * *

Some time passed before she spoke another word. From the assortment of tools, Elizabeth grabbed ones at random, pounding away at some pile of junk. Sparks flew, and metal popped like miniature fireworks.

“Here we go!” She grinned, turning my way.

In her hand was a... how do you even describe something like that? When Alfie talked about the horrors down here, I didn’t expect such a mechanical piece of art, if you could even call it that.

If I had to put a word to the contraption, it would be shiny, with a mirror-like piece of bronze at the center surrounded by sparking wires and glowing bulbs of magical light.

Every few seconds or so, a loud bang would explode out as a random wire started to smoke.

“This will project whatever the greatest danger to it is within the nearest thousand feet or so. Think of it as a mirage, or how light can reflect against a waterfall, but a thousand times more realistic.”

“So, what do you want me to do exactly?”

“Face whatever appears out, and don’t run away,” she said.

“That's it?”

“It’s not that simple, you know.” She snapped a few wires together as the bronze mirror began to glow. “Sure, you may logically know it’s just mist, but when you see a creature able to destroy an entire nation, smell its breath, feel the heat it emanates, will you still be able to stand here?”

“Whatever you throw at me, I've faced worse.”

“Very well.”

Her finger glowed a pale pink as she gently tapped the top of her machine. ”One more chance to back away, Clair.”

“It’s imaginary; what's the worst it can do?”

She smiled. “I like that way of thinking.”

The room glowed a brilliant pink.

And before me, the room disappeared, replaced by an endless void.

I fell against an invisible floor, cool to the touch. “Elizabeth… Hello?” I called, just to hear my own voice echo back.

Every footstep called back a thousand times louder than it came out, my breath came out like the winds of a storm, even my heartbeat was a drum as it reverberated against the void.

Where had Elizabeth sent me? Or, has she sent me anywhere? That sense of falling, face-planting against whatever invisible floor lay under my feet, was very real. Yet magic was a fickle thing. For all I knew, Elizabeth’s machine had transported me inside the mirror.

Or maybe something far worse.

A shiver ran up my back just as I reached a hundred paces out. Breath, colder than ice, crept across my neck. Fear shot up my spine as the gears turned.

Something was in here with me.

What to do, what to do? Sure, I talked a big game earlier, but now? What was I thinking?

I threw an elbow back, quickly shuffling away from the thing, and promptly screamed.

Its eyes flickered in the darkness, crimson blood oozing from its orifices. Each inch of its body shone with obsidian scales, from the numerous eye-covered tentacles to its legs sturdier than tree trunks. Sharp rows of teeth slathered with drool grinned.

A low growl emanated from its throat. In a flash, every one of its eyes locked on me!

Sweat dripped down my back, my breath rising.

“It’s not real, Clair,” I muttered, a vain attempt to reassure myself. My legs shook as I took a step back. In my life, Edmund had delighted in showing me creature after creature he had horrifically slaughtered on one of Father's hunts.

This creature put those animals to shame.

“Do you understand now? This creature is only a mere glorified surface dweller. What lies below is much worse than this lizard.” Elizabeth said, her voice a distant echo.

“I-if this is the worst of it, then I’ll tackle it head-on!” The creature snarled. Its great tongue hung across its gaping teeth, blood dripping from its jaw, yet somehow I stood my ground.

With a shaky step, I approached the creature. A foul stench straight out of a battlefield emanated outward. Its constant hum grew as bloodlust poured out. The smell of death.

I stood a mere foot from the creature, its eyes meeting mine.

My heart was beating faster than a titanium drum, breath ragged, yet I stood my ground. Emma was down there! If it came between me and the world, then I’d press on every time.

Honestly, Father was more terrifying than this thing could ever hope to be.

With an outstretched hand, I slowly wound back, clenched my fist, and slammed my hand against its jaw.

“Well…” A snap reverberated around the void, as shadows melted into the floor and the workshop slowly shimmered back to reality. A now wide-eyed Elizabeth stood just a few feet away with her gadget still in hand. “I expected you to pass, but slapping the thing?”

“I told you I’d face anything to get down there.” If Edmunds's first attempt at drawing a lizard was enough to stop me, I couldn’t call myself Emma’s brother.

The corners of her cheeks rose. “Very well. From what I can sense, your family is heading straight for the bottom of the Caverns. I’ll guide you down there as best I can, but be warned that even I have my limits.”

She creaked open the back door. “Say goodbye to everything you know. Down there, the surface is but a distant dream.”