Obscured Dolls // Puppy in my Pocket~Adventures in Pocketville

14: the blade of a flower

[TW: WEAPONS, BLADES, POISON. AND ANGRY BALLOON.]

Two felines slowly walked through the shadows of a silent and cold gallery of the palace.

Their paws stepped on the freezed floor noiselessly, almost like they were ghosts from an unknown era.
Their eyes, a pair of shiny lapis lazulis and a couple of golden stars, suspiciously studied the environment in an anxious waiting for a sudden attack, which could come from literally anywhere.

Seeing through the darkness of that haunted place was impossible, even for their feline sight: whatever was cutting light off felt like a deep, creepy and dark enchantment, an unnatural and dangerous presence surely against them.
That place, which used to be so familiar and safe, was now a cage filled with traps and enemies prepared for them and only them. They weren't welcome anymore in their own house.

After all, it used to be Balloon's second house as it was the most restricted part of the Royal Guards Area: the corridor they were passing through led to the Apartments, where the Guards' bedrooms and private rooms were placed, and to the Working Area, where they spent a part of their daily shift.

- It's still not long, right? - whispered Eva, all of a sudden.
Balloon thrilled for the surprise: her nerves were so in tension that any noise could make her jump.
She gave a nervous glare to her fellow and briefly answered:
- We're close to the Training Room. The Armory is inside it.
Indeed, Eva recognized some doors on her left side: the Strategy Room, the Armored Archive, the Captain Office, the Meeting Room... each of them was covered with the same black substance that dripped from the ceiling, which sealed them like glue wax.
There was no way to open them.

- Be careful - continued Balloon - We can't know if and when she'll come back. Maybe she's nearby, but she waits for us to reach the chosen place.
- She can't be far, but I don't think she'll get us now. What sense would make, to stop the game so early? She wants to have fun. - shrugged Eva.
- Maybe you're right, but we can't get our guard down.

The two cats took a little stair that lowered the level of the floor by a couple of meters. It led to the end of the corridor, where a huge double door was open.
Inside, a circular and enormous space still divided on two levels: the lowest one was huger and flat, which ground was covered with a polished wooden floor.
Everywhere were visible random objects stuck on dangerous piles or scattered around in an unusually messy way: gym objects, obstacles, ropes, chains.
It was the Training Area, where Royal Guards daily exercise for running, jumping, planning strategy methods and, most importantly, fighting.

Balloon herself used to do it, so that view wasn't weird to her.
She gave it a fast glance and smelt the air carefully, making sure no one was hiding through the darkness, then proceeded up to the second stair. The higher level was square and smaller, built in the shelter of the tall wall. There were some pillows and carpets, which resembled small stands to watch who was training in the gym area, but right after it an enormous door stole a big part of the wall.
It was engraved into the hardest and strongest rock existing in the kingdom, but it was beautifully decorated with gold and wood. The frame was precious and thin, which contributed to give to such an entrance an elegant and valuable look.
A lock closed the door, but nothing else was blocking it. The black substance didn't even touch it.

- It's... open...?
Balloon lowered her head and took the key she tied to her neck, right above the Jewel, the one they were given in the Throne Room. She slowly pulled it inside the hole and turned it seven times.
A loud click, which echoed in the whole room, made them jump.
The door opened.

Eva hesitated, then followed Balloon inside the room.
They had an unusual feeling when they didn't find darkness in the inside, but, instead, a warm light that hit their eyes like a sword.
It came from the torches hanging on the walls, which lit everything in a perfect way.
Eva wasn't new at that room either, but it still gave her a weird effect.