What the Heart Wants.

Ominous Night.

Author's Note. I decided to upload this because it is one of my favorite chapters I have written so far in the story, and some people seem eager to have more. so here you go.

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Marco walked along the dark corridor with naught but a candle in his left hand. The small light illuminated his way as he traversed down the seldom-used hallway that was located in the lower levels of the castle. It was exceedingly dark compared to everywhere else, and the flickering light cast shadows upon the wall with every movement he made.

His eyes glanced around, and he could see decorative paintings, furniture, and a slew of cabinets that furnished the long hall. The distance of the hallway was obscured by darkness, and he could not see anything that wasn't within the candle's reach.

His eyes kept track of all the ornate objects along the way, but nothing about any of them stood out to him. There were quite a few cabinets, and a few of them had decorative ornaments and trinkets encased in glass.

"Man... This is nuts..." Marco whispered to himself with a sigh.

He was wandering about, hiding every action as if his friends were his enemies, and he couldn't even recall why. The world was so jumbled to him at this point he was practically praying this was some lucid nightmare he was having.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Four steps.

His feet seemingly dragged the further he went, and inevitably, he found himself wanting to retreat. He honestly might have if he hadn't noticed that about halfway through his journey, there was something out of place that caught his attention.

Marco stopped and began to examine a sizeable decorative cabinet placed neatly against the stone wall. He held his candle close to it and could see the illustrious shine of polished antique china. The elegant plates and dishes that looked to be worth a fortune, like many other things in this castle. However, this was the only shelf he'd seen along the way that had dishes, and why would fancy dishes be displayed in here rather than the dining room?

After about 10 minutes of examination and pondering if he had lost his mind, he placed the candle holder on the cabinet shelf and tried to move the giant piece of furniture with his strength. The solid wooden piece failed to budge an inch.

"Jeez..." Marco said with a huff as he stopped and wiped the sweat off his brow.

Perhaps there was some mechanism? He ran his hands along the sides and cervices of the cabinet but found no such thing. The light of the candle made the dishes shine, and Marco started to run his fingers delicately alone the expensive china.

Marco still found nothing and was beginning to feel disheartened. He placed his hands in the small space in the back of the cabinet and could feel naught but the solid wall behind it.

"This is hopeless!" Marco became loud with anger and kicked the cabinet with his shoe. A loud banging sound echoed through the abandoned hallway, and he immediately covered his mouth with his hands.