Յյ 𝔇𝔞𝔶𝔰 𝔬𝔣 ℌ𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔢𝔫 [𝔄 𝔗𝔚𝔖𝔗 𝔉𝔞𝔫𝔣𝔦𝔠]

𝟏𝟗 | 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐮𝐬 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚

ᵗʰᵉ ʲᵉᵃˡᵒᵘˢ ᶜᵘʳˢᵉ

𝔖𝔬𝔫𝔤: 𝔖𝔪𝔬𝔨𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔐𝔦𝔯𝔯𝔬𝔯𝔰 - 𝔍𝔞𝔶𝔫

Warnings: branding (in the use of a magic curse), mentions of death

♥♠♣♦ ——　☠　—— ♥♠♣♦

Malleus had never known true terror. Sure, there were times as a child when he found himself frightened by one thing or another, clinging to his guardians for support, but there was never a time when he found himself unable to move due to a paralytic fear that consumed his every sense. There wasn't much that could frighten a powerful fae who was well aware of the magic that coursed through his veins. 

But as he stood in the corridor, he was suddenly overwhelmed with terror. It rooted him in place, the fabric of his costume falling around his legs, and his muscles tensed as he stared at the other end of the hallway. He had been down the particular hallway many times. It was one of the hallways of his own dorm, and one that he frequented whenever he wanted some time to himself. It was one of the few places in the school that Lilia was completely unaware of. And after the Ramshackle dorm had been lost to the magicless student, Malleus had explored other options for hiding places. 

The corridor had always been rather nerve-racking. A long stone hall that seemed to bleed cold as humans would bleed blood, deadly silent. There was no skitter of rats across the ground, no sweep of a draft as it managed to slip through the stones, no howling of the wind at the opening of the tunnel, and... He lifted his foot and stomped it down on the stone beneath him. No sound of his feet, no matter how hard he slammed them into the floor. It seemed as though everything had been silenced. 

The prince turned to leave but stopped when he realised that iron bars had fallen into place behind him. He waved his hand, expecting the bars to disappear as he commanded, but they remained in place. Malleus inhaled sharply, his breath catching on the air and turning to fog. He tried again. Still, the bars remained in place.

"That won't work here~"

Malleus shivered at the sound of the warbled voice, slowly turning back down the hall, hoping to see what had spoken. But even as he turned, he saw only the end of the corridor, a single torch now illuminated, its flames flickering in a tantalising display. Malleus longed to reach out and take it, but for some reason, his body remained frozen. 

"Come on, Malleus~" another voice cooed, this one much lighter than the first, though still shaking. As if there wasn't anything physical attached to it. "Just take the torch. You'll need it where you're going~" The fire on the torch started to dim, and before he knew what he was doing, Malleus was running down the halls, sweat starting to form on his forehead, his chest heaving as he willed himself to reach the torch before the flame went out. 

Just as the last ember was about to die, Malleus lifted the torch from its place, rejuvenating the fire.

"Excellent~ Now... you know what to do..." The voices disappeared and another long winding hallway appeared. It seemed to stretch on forever, and as Malleus glanced behind him, wondering if he could turn back he realised that the hall behind him was starting to close, a thick stone wall slowly moving towards him.

He took a step forward into the darkness, his breath oddly shaky as he tried to focus. 

"I never meant to call you out."

Malleus suddenly wished for the hall to be silent again as a third voice appeared, this one seemingly a combination of the two, though it seemed to flicker between them both.