A GODDESSES PARADISE (girlxgirlxgirl)

18; Crash and cry

Sure, he's been getting some language lessons lately, but he still doesn't understand anything that is going on here. He doesn't understand why the women and men are separated, he doesn't understand why everyone seems so fascinated with his simple presence, and he doesn't understand why the emperor constantly wants to be with him. Everything is so confusing and different from the life he had before. Oh how he misses his old life. His sister, his village, and most of all, he misses knowing everything about the world, he misses when everything made more sense. Now it's all scrambled up into a huge pile of what? and how?

Suddenly the corridor comes to an abrupt end. Just as he thought it would continue on forever, maybe spiral towards the middle and then stretch outwards again, it stopped. And all that's left, is a staircase downwards. To the second floor. Isaac grimaces as he tries to figure out his options.

He could continue the slow, fifteen minute walk back to his own room. Or, he could walk down the stairs to the second floor. The second option seems more tempting. He doesn't want to go back to his room, he won't be able to sleep anyway. He feels more awake and energized now than during the previous day. But even though Anaxagoras gave him the freedom to walk around wherever he wants, Isaac isn't sure if he should go down the stairs. It leads to the second floor, a place he has never really been to properly, and not to mention it's the middle of the night. Isaac gets frustrated at how conflicted he feels.

Then a sudden thought pops up in his head. Why is he hesitating? Since when was he so scared of doing things like this? He used to be a fisherman! A guy who sailed the dangerous seas ever single day, almost dying five times in a short span of ten years and getting through twenty three storms before the one that lead him here. He's seen rain, snow, ice falling from the sky, a volcano erupting on the nearby island with smoke covering the skies, and a sun so bright and hot that he almost passed out fifteen times before getting close to shore. At the young age of ten he was already working twelve hours a day to get any kind of food on the table for him and his sister.

He's seen a lot. And he's been through a lot. Walking down the stairs is nothing compared to that, no matter how scary it feels to a hazy mind in the middle of the night. So Isaac takes the first step, and then the next, with a determined glint in his eye. There are no candles down the narrow staircase, and he almost stumbles three times before getting a hold of himself. Upon getting to the second floor, the first thing he notices is how much brighter it is. Isaac gulps. He really wants to continue his walk, and he really wants to continue to explore, but there are definitely going to be people here.

Ignoring his thoughts and fears, Isaac continues down the even wider corridor. There are chandeliers and candles by the walls giving light. Here and there, couches of blue and purple velvet appear along the way. Isaac walks much slower than he did before, and this time he's looking around himself like he's being followed by some creepy murderer. There are less windows here on the second floor, so it's much warmer. Isaac can let go of the death grip he has around himself, and actually try to relax a bit. The walk becomes interesting and calming, he feels himself smile slightly at the beautiful paintings along the wall.

Especially one painting makes him halt. Turning to the side, Isaac inspects it a bit closer. It's standing right above a green tinted, blue sofa. It's painted in darker colors, or maybe that's just the bad lighting. But for the first time Isaac recognizes the man in the picture. It's the emperor. He is standing in a ballroom of sorts, looking all high and mighty. The emperors hand is slithered around the neck of a slightly shorter man, and he seems to be threatening him with the most deadly glare Isaac has ever seen. Anaxagoras looks exactly the same as he does in real life. With his long hair and fierce eyes, strong arms and wide shoulders. Isaac wonders what the painting is about, because he can't read the text underneath.