Snow's Labyrinthine Library {oneshots and snippets 2021 +}

Despair

The chandeliers provided all the light there was needed. It lit up every speck of the lavish ballroom, showing off the decorated ceilings and walls as well as the grand architecture of the building overall. 

She looked down, seeing herself dressed in a luxurious gown, dark as the night outside, yet the speckled gems and crystals around her skirt and bodice made her glow, all of it accented with gold-colored accents. When did she change? However, she didn't seem to mind. Instead, a glamorous smile decorated her features. 

 It didn't take her long till she was on the floor, dancing away in leisure, a familiar form in front of her, their touches tender against her waist and fingers. Their lips brushed past her ears, giving her sweet nothings. Her glee was what kept her going, eyes not once taking a closer look at the pale, formless figure. 

As the music came to a stop, they dipped her, and she happily took their lead, finally her eyes meeting their face. 

 Everything came to a sudden stop, the music, the applause that followed after their dance, laughter, everything. Her breath hitched at the sight of her lover, and for the first time, words escaped her lips. Something didn't seem right. Their name escaped her lips, and everything collapsed. 

She yelped, falling hard against the tiled floor, and finally cast a look around with glossy eyes. The guests were gone, their ghostly gowns and wonders disappearing with her lover, which had resulted in her falling against the floor without his support. Her gaze went up around the walls and ceilings. Burnt. Paintings against the ceiling charred, some of the architecture already crumbling, and the chandeliers against the same floor she laid on. Shifting onto her knees, she turned to the stage, where charred and ashen instruments and papers left. Her arms wrapped around herself, longing to be in her lover's arms again.

Fire. That was right. There was a fire that night. Screams of anguish left her throat raw as the full realization of what she lost all that time ago set in.