Cold.
Everything felt so cold.
The candles couldn't provide the warmth Mireya was looking for. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked around the room that she had been sleeping in just hours or so before.
She hadn't a clue of what to do for the time being.
After making the deal, she was brought back to her room.
"I shall be in the library looking for a way to help you home." Ciaran, as Ariel called him, said. "If you need anything, just call my name."
Mireya nodded, almost ready to be rid of his intimidating presence when she realized.
"How do I call for you?" She asked. She already know his name, but he didn't aware of that.
"Of course. Where are my manners." He bowed slightly and held out his hand for her.
"Ciaran." He introduced himself. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Mireya hesitated, but took his hand for appearances sake. She needed to appear approachable and innocent in order for him to open up to her. Establishing a good, first impression was key.
His hand felt the same as before. Cold. The places his skin touched both chilled and burned her at the same time. No words could truly describe how it felt. She wondered if he could feel it too, or if it was just an aftereffect of being in this unfamiliar astral plane.
She wondered if her hand was warm to him. It was probably a little sweaty; she should've wiped it before taking his hand.
Mireya sensed the, now, familiar pull tug at her chest. She looked up from their joined hands to see Ciaran's transfixed gaze on her.
She realized she hadn't introduced herself and had been staring at their hands. Mireya tried to regain her composure and quickly introduced herself.
"Um... My- my name is Mireya..."
"I know."
He took his hand out of her grasp and slipped it back behind him. He gave her one last once over before walking past her in the direction they came from. Mireya turned around to watch him leave and she did so just in time to see him opening and closing his fist behind his back.
He felt it too.
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There was nothing much to do but wait. She stood up multiple times, looked out the window, trailed her fingertips on the surprisingly undusted vanity, looked through the drawers for anything of interest before finding herself seated on the bed once again.
Every now and then, she would flinch as a dark shadow would zoom past her window. She tried to lay down and close her eyes, hoping she would be able to sleep through her boredom, but the sound of wings and the occasional hiss from the demons flying at the top of the castle had her on alert.
Not to mention the heavy atmosphere that surrounded the entire castle. The pressure had been too much to bear when she first arrived, but now it had become a never-ending headache. Mireya feared if the pressure became too much, she would die from the heavy atmosphere before Ciaran could kill her for betrayal.
After many more minutes of boredom and headaches, Mireya decided to leave her room and wander the castle halls.
No one offered to give her a tour, so it was up to her to do it herself. Though she was meant to be gaining Ciaran's trust, Mireya preferred to have him find a way out of this place he brought her to.
Now that she knew exactly how the halls of the castle worked, Mireya thought it would be much easier to explore it.
She was wrong.
Within a few minutes, she found herself lost in the dimly lit halls. Occasionally, her heart would stop at the sound of a gentle pitter patter, a sound that vaguely resembled quick footsteps behind her. Mireya tried to catch the source of the sound, but all she could find were lanterns, pillars, shadows, and shattered windows.
Everything felt so ominous. Uneasiness washed over her with every footstep she heard. Each time she heard it, she expected something would creep up behind her and snap her neck and kill her, but it terrified her more when the footsteps would stop and she was left in the silence.
Every so often, Mireya would come across a door, but most of them did not open. She assumed the locks had rusted over the years of not being used or touched. She continued to try each door. Only a few of them opened and revealed guest bedrooms, storage spaces, and some oddly empty rooms.
Mireya stopped when she came across two large doors. One had been left ajar, allowing her to peek through and see the rows of bookshelves that were lined up against the walls.
The door creaked slightly as she slipped through. She marveled at the sight of the enormous library. The books looked worn and old while others looked fresh and good as new. The room itself was furnished by tall bookshelves and was fairly clean, as though it had been used very often. The only light source came from the back of the room.
Mireya trailed her hands against the wooden bookshelves, recalling the times she would leave a single candle lit by her bed so that she may read one of the books her mother would give out in the flower shop. She smiled wistfully when she remembered the stern scolding she'd receive the mornings after, when her mother would find her fast asleep with the book and candle wax spread on the floor.
She reached the back of the room and found an open space with two tables surrounded by chairs, large rectangular windows, one of which was shattered, two couches, and a fireplace.
A cluster of candles were lit on one of the tables. As Mireya approached them, her eyes scanned the table and saw various books. Some were sprawled open while others were closed and put in a pile. Loose pieces of paper were placed haphazardly on the table.
One piece of paper in particular caught her eye. It sat at the edge of the table, slightly covered by other pieces of paper. It looked as though someone had spilled a bottle of ink onto it, yet the writing was still legible. The longer she stared, the more Mireya realized it was in a language she did not know or recognize.
She reached forward to pull the paper out from below the others, but was abruptly stopped short when another hand slammed onto the table, blocking her view.
Mireya jumped back, her heart racing rapidly in her chest. Her eyes shot up from the hand to the blank expression on Ciaran's face.
"What are you doing?" He asked. His voice didn't give away any signs of hostility or anger, but it still sent chills down her spine.
"Um..." Her mind went blank when she realized how close they were standing. She could easily stand back or put her arms out to push him away, but Mireya stood paralyzed in fear. Fear that if she moved or said the wrong thing, it would mean the end of her short life.
Ciaran's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he tilted his head to the side. Maybe he hoped he could see Mireya's thoughts and intentions from another angle.
"Did you need something? I did not hear you call." He said. All the previous tension in the air slowly began to disappear.
He remained rooted in his spot and continued to look at Mireya with suspicion.
"No-" Mireya coughed away the tightness in her throat. "No, I was just walking around the castle, giving myself a tour." She hadn't been lying.
She was touring the castle on her own, when something drew her towards the library. Now that she stood mere inches away from Ciaran, she quickly realized what had possessed her to come to this place.
The pull.
Whatever she could call this tug in her chest that was currently leading her in his direction. She took a step back, feeling the pull protest at the added distance between them.
Ciaran hummed in response and stared at the space between them before blinking and turning back to the table.
"I am currently in the midst of doing research to find a way out for you, but I can give you a tour if you would like." Mireya watches his hands as he sets down a large book where the paper with the strange inscriptions sat.
"Or would you rather stay here?" He added, and Mireya's eyes darted back up to his face, hoping that he hadn't seen her eyeing the parchment of paper. She spoke her response before she could stop herself.
"No, it's fine. I don't want to bother you. Please continue your research."
She, once again, noticed the speck of disappointment in his eyes when the words left her mouth.
"If I need you, I will call." She added before turning around and walking out of the library with the feeling of his eyes on the back of her head.
The further she walked away, the pull in her chest grew heavier until it slowly dissipated. Instead she was once again plagued with the heaviness in the air and the light headaches.
I should've stayed in the library. It would've been the perfect chance to gain his trust.
The image of the mysterious parchment with odd inscriptions reappeared in her mind. She wondered if it meant anything important. If it was, then it was a clue that would get her and the rest of Aitháli their freedom.
Mireya started the long walk back to her room, the piece of paper and its markings remained engraved in her brain for the rest of the day.
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