Before they knew it, the car seemed to drive on across a bridge, an assortment of houses and buildings spreading through the area around them. Quilliene stared through the windows and looked around at the almost forgotten beauty of England in its magnificent twilight. Scotland, where her manor was, had been interesting - but not as interesting as the wonderful view that bewitched her.
Neo seemed to be in the same perplexed state as the heir. He gazed outside the window, almost longingly, as he let out a sigh. Quilliene glanced at him, wondering why he was sinking deeper into his seat, but remained silent in her curiosity. Neo hadn't let a single memory of the country slip from his mind, despite the aching three years that had kept him from it. That was, until the day before. Though as the car reached a more open area, surrounded by nice pavement and concrete, Neo's peaceful thoughts were interrupted by Quilliene's voice.
"We're here," She said.
Soon enough, the grass and tall trimmed shrubbery opened up into a giant estate. The building was Ravenheart Palace. It was coloured an off-white, the frames around the multiple windows a deep brown rimmed black. The double doors that led up the half circle stairs were pale, the handles a deep red.
The building was shaped like a split circle, then finished off into a square in the back that had three climbing towers with black points on each side. The roofs were slanted together to form a dome shape in the circular part, then flattened back by the square piece. The castle was built in a way so that it was a while away from civilization, in a way so that the inhabitants would not be bothered by civilians.
Quilliene's door opened when the car parked, and she silently exited the vehicle as a servant held it open for her. Neo glanced through the windows, memories flashing before his eyes in the moonlit clearing. He finally stepped out, looking off across the palace grounds - he had been inside, but he failed to receive the luxury of the gardens.
Even so, both the building and the world below looked equally beautiful, towering over the civilization oh so far away with a powerful yet welcoming aura. As he breathed in, he could smell the pollen in the air, filling his nose and making him want to sneeze. He pressed a finger against the bridge between his nostrils to keep him from doing so, as he shut the car door and walked around to Quilliene's side.
Quilliene was marvelling silently at the magnificence of the palace. She hadn't seen it since she was six years of age, those memories gone and archived in her mind. At least, that's how she wanted it to be. She clutched the folds of her skirt as she brushed her long hair from her shoulders, servants exiting the car behind them and beginning to unload the luggage in the back of the limo.
"Hm," Quilliene mused. "A rather interesting place…"
So many memories, She thought to herself, beginning to walk towards the main steps as she continued to gaze up at the palace.
Neo looked back at the guards, then towards Quilliene. He wondered if she knew where they were going - and if she did, then where? He still disliked the idea of blindly following her around, despite it basically being most of his job. Letting loose a soft sigh, he began to travel across the field and towards the steps, where she was headed, but at a slightly faster pace to catch up to her. He was curious as to what her mother and father would say when or if they saw him, since they were the ones who had given him the job.
Yet, something was off. Something… different, that he couldn't quite place. Quilliene seemed to sense it, too, as a curious look crossed her expression. She went up to the double doors, hesitated, then pushed them open. She stood there in the open entrance for a while, as if thinking about something before a hard and cold scowl settled on her face.
"Something's wrong," She hissed. "These doors weren't locked. That vase is knocked over. Those paintings aren't straight. And the guards… where are the guards? It's quiet. Too quiet. Annoying…" She spoke with a strong hint of bitterness in her voice, as if there was a thought in her mind she dared not speak of.
"And how, exactly, would someone break into the highest security palace in England?" Neo question-ed, glancing around cautiously despite the comment.
"Someone did it before," She responded harshly, her eyes still on the interior. "Three years ago… or so I'm told." Neo tensed at the mention of that time, but he replied with nothing. "But don't ask me such a question. Ask the guards that should have been here - and if they're not around to greet me, then something is awfully wrong…"
Quilliene walked into the building, her hands brushing along the walls and antiques that sat there as she did so. The walls were a creme white, the floor and corner borders being a deep burgundy brown. The floor was marble tiles, and the stairs had deep red cloth travelling from the halls on each side to the front entrance. The stairs circled around a hall that led to the throne room, where the doors were closed. Up above, the stairs had two platforms on each side - one was to lead to other rooms, and the second was met with the other, leading into double doors that fed into the ballroom.
Neo glanced around as he followed Quilliene inside, finding that she was right - something was definitely off. Every time he had gone there, guards were at every corner, every turn, every entrance. Right then, they were simply gone; as if the palace had erased them from existence. He expected the rulers to greet their daughter warmly, welcome her home, but he seemed to be wrong. Questions buzzed about in his mind as he stayed reasonably close to Quilliene, his eyes on the throne room doors.
As he came up beside her, she looked at him, nodding - she expected him to keep to his own space, but that did not even matter to her at the moment. Her heart was racing, sweat building up around her knuckles and forehead. She was disturbed by the entire situation, and she knew - what was about to happen wasn't going to make anyone happy.
(¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.-> 🖋 <-.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯)
After Quilliene had told the servants and guards to remain outside, reassuring them that nothing was wrong despite it being a lie, her and Neo continued down the hall towards the throne rooms. On the way, they were silent, both their gazes darting about in a frantic search for what might have been the problem. Quilliene stopped at the first room on their left, and when Neo paused, he saw why - the door was cracked. She reached out, nervous and hesitant, but pushed it the rest of the way open. As she did, both of their expressions turned grave.
The room was a complete mess, the sheets and the walls torn and ripped as if an animal had trudged its way through and had a temper tantrum. A painting, once portraying a brunette woman and black haired man, smiles on each of their faces, was also ripped and torn. Claw marks slashed across their forms, along with their lower halves ripped and missing. The scene looked like a struggle, bits of what looked to be dried scarlet here and there.
That's what set Quilliene off. She turned, looking down the hallway with empty and blind panic in her eyes. Before Neo could stop her and tell her to calm down, and that they needed to leave, she had already set off down the long corridor. She flung open another door, and was met with a similar scene. She continued on, buzzing through each room, finding the same scattered blood in each - but no bodies.
Neo chased after her, and when he was about to grab her and pull her away, she reached a set of double doors that were a murky brown. The throne doors. The golden handles were stained red, imprinting the handprints that used them. She pushed the doors open as Neo caught up to her, her clicking heels falling silent as they entered the courtroom.
The room stretched bigger than any throne room one could imagine. Metal soldiers made from steel stood at the side of shiny, stained glass windows with scarlet curtains. At the end of the room sat two thrones, each with a crown hanging on opposite sides, untouched by the scene which encased the entirety. What made her stop was not the magnificence of the room, but what it held which ruined its beauty.
Blood scattered the dark red floors like a distorted painting, bodies placed in a circular mass in the centre of the room. Guards and servants alike, their faces struck with horror. Yet, the blood kept going… leading a scarlet path to the thrones. That's when she saw it. There, at the seats that were to hold the king and queen, were two figures. They were sitting in an upright position, their heads low as if they were sleeping - but they were indeed not. It was the man and woman from the torn tapestry, their elegance showing just like in the painting.
Yet… that was not the case.
Red stains were all across their royal clothing, their skin a ghostly pale. It made a physical eerie aura in the room, Quilliene letting out a shaking breath as Neo stood stock still. The princess stood there, her hands trembling violently at the sight. She stared at the two people in the thrones, an almost mortified look on her face. Slowly, she stepped further into the room, blinking every few seconds as if the images would escape her mind if she did it enough times.
It was then that Neo reached out his hand, taking Quilliene by the arm and pulling her back from the door. She flinched at the touch of someone else, but her gaze did not lift from the thrones. Neo had a feeling that something was still extremely wrong as the shock slowly faded from his face, a look of seriousness passing over him. Every bit of the contorted canvas was horrifying, yes - but Neo was literally a person who could turn someone to ash with the touch of his skin. He couldn't be bothered to show his terror at the sight.
Taking Quilliene behind him, he stepped forward towards the door. He glanced around, looking left, and then right, as he leaned inside. Something wasn't right - it was no work of a human. It appeared as if a creature had ravaged through the chamber and destroyed everything with a fiery rage of hate. Yet, that wasn't the only thing. He felt as if they weren't completely alone, a tearing anxiety ripping at his chest as he stepped back.
"We need to leave," He said quietly, his eyes still on the bloody throne room. "Now."
Quilliene's eyes shifted quickly towards him as his voice pierced the air, sounding like thunder in her head from the unnerving silence. Her fist tightened up, her face trying to twist into a scowl that desperately tried to make its appearance. She opened her mouth to utter a few words, but they were interrupted by the strangest noise.
The sound of something rumbling could be heard, and deep growling filled the room. Behind the twin thrones, the tone resonated even louder. An arm, or at least, what looked like an arm, moved from behind the seats. It was made of vapour and a glutinous, jelly-like substance, seemingly moving and swirling within the appendage. Bones could be seen inside, but they were faint; translucent, even.
The arm was far from human looking, clawlike nails extending from the end and clawing at the floor with a horrible screeching scratch. It reached up, wrapping its black nails around the throne, piercing into the king's seat as the growl continued deep and menacing. Quilliene let out a soft gasp, barely escaping through parted lips, eyes widened in horror as she whispered.
"Wyvern…"