Creature Castle

Chapter 8- Dungeons and Revelations

Tessa was wandering down the empty hall, her nose stuck in a book. It had been an uneventful day for her, but all that was about to change.

Her attention is drawn from her book  when she hears Lucy call out, her voice panicked

"Miss Tessa! Miss Tessa! I need your help!"

Upon hearing Lucy's panicked voice, Tessa drops her book and dashes towards Lucy

"Are you okay!? What's wrong!? Lucy, what happened!?"

Lucy halts in front of Tessa and tries to grab her arm, but her translucent hands went right through Tessa's arm.

"It's Mr. Grey! He- it was- I can't - I can explain!" Lucy stutters

"Then explain, Lucy! Please! What's wrong with Mr. Grey!?"

"Some people- they tricked him into looking into an enchanted mirror! And he's - he is locked in the dungeon! I can't get him out!"

Tessa took a moment to process all of this.
Peter is locked in the dungeon. Some people tricked him. Why? What's going on?

"Why can't he get himself out? Doesn't he have the keys?"

Lucy shakes her head
"No, he dropped them outside his cell! Tessa, he can't stay down there. He is innocent, but he won't listen to me! He didn't mean to hurt anyone, he can't help it!"

Tessa stared at Lucy, thoughts racing through her head. Without a word, Tessa walked away

Lucy gasps, in shock that she just walked away like that. She thought she could trust Tessa.

"Tessa! Where are you going!?"

"To get Mr. Grey out of the dungeon!"
Tessa calls out as she turns down the hall, heading straight towards the dungeon

****

Tessa descended down into the dungeon alone. It was almost pitch black, apart from the torches that scantily lit the corridors.

She nearly slipped a couple times going down the slick stone stairs, but she caught herself. As she entered into the gloomy corridor, she warily called out, half expecting some sort of hand to reach out and grab her at any moment

"Mr. Grey?.. it's Tessa..."

Her sweet voice echoed through the narrowing tunnels. She kept walking, hoping to find some sign of Peter.

"Peter?...say something, I can't find you in the dark..."

After moments off uneasy silence, she hears his voice echo faintly

"I'm down here!..."

She looks down a tunnel and follows the looming echo Peter's voice.

She turns a corner and was about to go down another tunnel, but Peter's voice interrupted
"I'm here!"

She looks to the cell on her left, and sees a figure curled up in the darkest part of the cell.
"Mr. Grey?"

The figure stands up and walks up to the bars. It was indeed Peter, his bright, sad eyes looking at Tessa. He looked like a lost child. His fingers curled around the bars as he looked at Tessa.

"Miss Tessa, what are you doing down here?"
He asks, wondering how she got down here.

"I've come down here to get you out...unless you prefer to stay locked up. In that case, I'll just -"

"Wait!...please don't go..."
he reaches through the bars, scared that he will be left alone once again.

Tessa looked into Peter's eyes and she felt pity for him, he seemed scared, but she still wanted to know exactly what happened. She spots the keys laying on the cold, moldy ground and picks them up. There were two keys in the ring. One very old, rusty key, and another key that looked just like a regular key.

She fiddles with the keys, trying to bide her time

"Tell me what happened..."

Peter looks down and sighs. He sits down on the ground, and leans his forehead agaisnt the bars.

"First...let me explain the mirrors...and why I can't look into them...."

Tessa's ears perk up as she hears this. She was curious as well as to why he couldn't look into the mirrors.

Peter begins his explanation
"The mirrors show your true self...and I have this...severe... split personality...he calls himself Edward, and I've spent the past 10 years of my life trying to control...Edward... he's done terrible things to the people I held most dear...and now-"

He stops himself, gaining his composure. Peter felt like Tessa deserved to hear more. After all, she did come all the way down here to free him. So he continued

"The point is...I can't look into the mirrors, because everytime I do I see....him. Staring at me with those awful eyes..."

He kept his head down shamefully, avoiding eye contact with her
"Miss Tessa, I have to control my emotions- it's the only way to control Edward. And when I look into those mirrors...I lose control...it's a curse... I'm-...I'm a monster...I'm sorry... I'm truly sorry I hurt those people...  didn't mean to. It was an accident, I swear, I-"

Peter hears the creaking sound of the door swinging open

He looks up to see Tessa smiling softly at him, leaning down to offer her hand.

"Come on...let's get you something to eat..."

Usually, Peter hated other people touching him, but he made an exception. He grabs her hand and she effortlessly pulls him up to his feet. She hands him the keys.

"Wait- why did you let me out?... I'm a monster. I told you that I've hurt people. I don't deserve to be let out..." he says, looking up at her with his soulful eyes

She smiles softly and shakes her head as she begins walking, this time, expecting him to follow
"You're a good man, Peter Grey. Don't be so hard on yourself"

Peter quickly catches up to her, putting his keys back in his pockets.

Tessa glanced over at him. Peter seemed a little less tense at the moment, as if he had gotten something off if his chest.  Seeing him like this was very unusual, but she liked this side to him.

A smile of satisfaction came over her, but she still had questions. But first-she had to know

"What are you exactly?"

Peter glances back at her, his emotionless calm had come back into his face as he places his hands neatly behind his back. He stiffens his back and walks in his usual, straightforward manner

"I inherited my curse from my father, Dr. Henry Jekyll"