Prompted Story Snippets

Untold Warnings and Hidden Doors

"Wait, you didn't know this was here?" She glanced over at you, her eyes so innocently confused. 

"And you did?" He sounded almost a bewildered as she did. In a different way. 

"Of course I did. I helped design it." She ran her fingers down the frame of the door, letting them rest on the intricate patterns crawling down the dark wood. 

"Why wouldn't you tell us?" You ask, your tone both curious and sad. She sighed. 

"This wasn't ever supposed to be seen. There are things locked away on the other side of that wall that should never be released back into this world." Her jaw clenched, a muscle jumping as her eyes bored a hole into the door. "They were supposed to warn you." 

"What are you talking about? You weren't even around when this school was first built!" He interjected, frustrated. "What would you need to warn us about anyways? It's just some fancy door." 

You stepped forward, placing a hand on the center of the stylized design. It started to glow, a soft shine that whispered in your mind. You had no idea what they were saying, but they were so hypnotizing. 

She leaped forward, tearing your hand off of the wood. "That right there is exactly what they should've warned you about." 

"The whispers?" You asked. She turned, skirt whirling through the air. Her expression was frantic, almost like something was very wrong. 

"You shouldn't be able to hear those." She slammed a fist into the bookcase opposite the door, a growl slipping out from between gritted teeth. 

"I heard them too, so it couldn't be that bad," he paused, eyes flicking between the two of us, "Unless it is that bad." 

"Just tell us what's going on! You shouldn't have to keep secrets that the others were just too forgetful to tell us about." Your voice was raising, but you didn't care. Your emotions felt higher than they'd been in a long time. 

The whispers were back, but softer this time. 

"Alright fine!" She shouted. Groaning, she ran a hand through her hair and started twisting it around her fingers. "It's a vault, okay?" 

"For what?" He gulped. "Or who?" 

I guess you can find that out for yourselves, dear children. A voice wound through your mind, settling in all the tiny nooks and crannies that you never thought about. It's been too long since the court's had any real entertainment. 

"What court? Who are you?" You cried, shrinking back against the bookshelves. 

He stiffened, eyes wide. He started forward as if to try and chase after the voice, but stopped mid-step. 

She slipped a hand into your stiff grasp and put the other on his shoulder, drawing him close. 

Our wondrous Court of Ash and Blood, little fledgling. The whispers returned as the door started to glow, brighter than it had before. You'll fit right in. 

The light brightened until you felt a searing pain on the palm that had first touched the door. A rune seared itself into your skin as the three of you vanished into the depths of the carved wood. 

The voice laughed to itself as the bookshelves shimmered back to the way they were before and the candlelight vanished into the growing darkness.