Together: A Dark Romance Duet || Leon Kennedy x Female Reader

Chapter 17: FMC

Darkness and bookshelves—that is what waits before me.

I'm stumbling in the darkness, rounding a corner to find the only light source this room offers. The glow of a lapis-hued lantern shines a meager throw—that blue flame again, flickering within the glass.

A thud sounds somewhere behind me.

I reach for the lantern, holding it up by the handle to illuminate the space before me. The blue fire casts a blueish-white light, almost like a flashlight.

Thump.

I jump at the sudden noise, a fist coming down against the door at my back, followed by the grumbling of scratchy male voices...

I need to get out of here before they break in.

I cast the lantern's light over the room—a study. That's where I ran to, the room I locked myself in to escape those creeps. But here, this room seems to be abandoned; no torches or lights offer any reprieve from the dark. There must be another way out of here than the way I came, so I shine my way forward. The thought of Leon trapped and vulnerable wills my fear away. I silently beg the universe to keep him safe.

One room leads to another, papers littering the floor, abandoned books thrown open to random passages as if someone went on a rampage. Dust motes drift in my lantern's light. Shadows dance at every corner of my vision, but I keep my gun tucked away in the holster strapped to my thigh, unsure how many bullets I have left to save me. I'd rather not use any; if I can stay quiet, undetected, I might get back to Leon quicker.

In this unknown area, there is only the dark and I, as if this part of the castle remains forgotten by the light.

I stumble forward, crouching to move under a fallen bookcase, and coming to a long hallway lined with mounted animal heads—deer, elk, boar, buffalo—all stuffed, trophied decorations now staring down at me with cold, bleak eyes. I quicken my pace down the seemingly endless hallway, only seeing as far as my lantern will allow...

I flinch as one of the animals comes crashing down from the wall, a deer head landing in the lantern light before me, severed from its wooden plaque. "Fuck—" I gasp, my heart rate spiking. "Maybe a warning next time."

A door waits at the end of the hallway, and when I push it open—more bookshelves. Where is this going? It feels like I'm in an endless library. I hurry my steps but stay hyper-vigilant as I follow shelf after shelf, rounding corners to more books and aged paper recklessly tossed to the floor. It hurts my heart to see so many books mistreated. I can tell this area has been abandoned, too, by the lack of proper lighting, the spiderwebs, and I wonder why it's such a mess. Seems Ramón can't keep track of every room in his castle—

A creak somewhere to my left. I freeze, anxiety pumping through each heartbeat as I wait for the source of the noise to reveal itself. But...nothing.

I continue, hoping to find some way out of this maze. The bookshelves open to a larger, open area, with floor-to-ceiling windows lining the wall, looking out on a bleak night. Moonlight lights the space in a pale glow, a somber aura, and with the light of my lantern, I can discern the grand space that holds this labyrinth—a library. A forsaken one, all dusty shelves, and mothballs, furniture covered in white linens, dust floating up to the high ceilings.

I come across a wooden desk among the stacks of books, strewn with more books, journals, and papers. I drag my lantern over its contents—and then I see the glint of something underneath a document. Moving the papers aside, I find...

"Keys..." I mumble, holding up the intricately patterned, shiny gold keys, all dissimilar lines and sharp angles. I let myself breathe at the find, the progress I've made, however small.