I remember waking up at sunrise, but I don't remember falling asleep. I got out of bed and looked around to see if I was alone. No one was in the room with me, but I saw a chair by the doors with the most beautiful dress sitting on it. I ran over to it and picked it up to get a better look. It is a shiny, black, V-neck gown with sparkling violet sleeves that were long enough to graze the floor. I couldn't help but smile as I pressed the back of it to my chest and looked in the mirror. 'I've never owned something so pretty!'
But then my smile faded and I let the dress fall over my arm. 'But, if I accept this, it would be like I'm saying that I will marry Sython and he can win me over by giving me nice things. After all, he did kidnap me, imprison me, and is forcing me to marry him.' I picked up the dress again and looked in the mirror one more time. 'Although... He also saved me from Mary and healed my wounds, and he's the only person in the world who has ever called me beautiful. Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt If I tried it on...' I quickly changed into the dress and went to see how I looked.
'Wow. I look good in black.' I turned back and forth, making the dress spin, and enjoyed how comfortable the fabric was. I then looked behind me at the doors. I slowly walked up to them and turned the handle. 'It's not locked. I wonder if I can take a look at the place I'll be staying for all eternity.'
I opened the door and peeked out, hoping that no one would be looking back at me. All I saw was a hallway that was full of doors with candles in between them and in the chandeliers on the ceiling. Despite so many lights, all of the black walls and carpet made the castle look so dark and haunted. I left the room and walked down the hall, a little afraid of how spooky the castle seemed. I didn't see anyone as I explored, but that made me feel even more uneasy.
'Where is everyone?' After hours of walking through so many hallways, ballrooms, staircases, and towers, the castle kept getting bigger and I forgot where I was. 'Great. My first day exploring, and I get myself lost.' I looked around some more but everything looked the same as it did a few hours ago. I walked past a room, then immediately came back after seeing that someone was in there.
It was a small goblin with long pointy ears and blue skin. He was sweeping the carpet of a music room when I walked up to him. "Um, hello." He gasped and quickly covered his eyes when he noticed me. "W-What are you doing here, Malady?" He said in a high-pitched voice.
I tilted my head at him as he continued to cover his face. "Um, are you okay? Why aren't you looking at me?" He shook as I asked. "Lord Sython has forbidden all of his servants from ever seeing your soul. He will kill anyone who gets so much as a glimpse." My eyebrows went up in surprise. "Wow. That's intense." The goblin turned further away. "I apologize that I can't be more respectful." I sighed, but then an idea came to my head.
"Hey, you wouldn't happen to have some black glass and wire lying around here somewhere, would you?" The goblin paused, then nodded. Later, I was sitting on a couch and bending the wire while the goblin watched with intrigue. "Ta-da!" I held up a pair of dark glasses and put them on. "Now you can look at me without seeing my soul." The goblin shook as he looked up, but then sighed in relief. "That is brilliant. Where did you get an idea like that?"
I smiled, remembering the time Mary had a dark glass plate break over her head when she was trying to get the sun out of her face. "I'm just creative. It also helps with getting sun out of your eyes." The goblin smiled back at me. "Well, you saved the servants here a lot of worry. Is there anything I can help you with, Malady?"
I stood up and looked around for a moment. "Actually, yes. just... Where am I?" He jumped in shock upon hearing my question. "Oh! I'm sorry! I forgot you haven't had a tour. If you're looking for your room, just go down the hall, up the stairs and it should be at the end of the hall on the right." I smiled again as I headed to the door. "Thank you. What was your name?" He looked surprised as I asked that. "Um, Liem." I stopped at the doorway. "Nice to meet you. I hope to see you again." I then left the room and followed his directions.
On the way, I couldn't help but think about why Sython would be so strict with his servants when it came to seeing my soul. 'He's probably just being greedy and rude. Sure my soul is pretty, but how would that make a difference?' I reached the room and opened the door, but to my surprise, Sython was sitting on the bed and facing me. He was wearing black and silver-lined robes that were sleeveless and open in the chest. He had a belt that held a sword, and the same black crown and armlets as he wore before. "That's odd. I don't remember saying that you could leave this room." I walked inside and closed the door behind me while ignoring his comment.
He then stood up and noticed my glasses. "What are those?" I walked past him. "I don't feel like talking to you right now." He put his hands on his hips and turned to me. "Why not?" I took off my glasses and put them on the bed. "Because you're mean, and, and I don't like you." He raised an eyebrow as I turned away from him and sat down on the bed.
"Um, okay..." He walked to the other side of the bed to face me, but I turned around and crossed my arms. Then he shocked me by appearing in front of me on the bed. "That's not fair! Don't teleport when I'm mad at you." He looked at me for a moment, then placed his hand on my cheek. "Why don't you like me?" I pulled his hand down with mine. "Why do you think? You're imprisoning me and forcing me to marry you when we know nothing about each other."
He then tightly grabbed my wrists with one hand and forced them over my head, making me lay helpless as he climbed over me and held my waist with his other hand. "You forget that I can see your memories. I know everything there is to know about you, and you know all you need to know about me." I blushed deeply as he got closer to me and smiled. "I also know you're a sucker when It comes to men. You can't even look at one without blushing, so imagine how you must feel right now."
I turned my head away from him with annoyance. 'That bastard. He's just doing this to make me feel uncomfortable!' Without thinking, I said something stupid. "Well, it's not my fault I find you to be the sexiest man alive!" He froze, then let go of me with his eyes wide. With his expression, I realized what I said and covered my mouth. 'You idiot! Why in the world would you say that?!' I thought as I sat up. Sython blinked and then raised an eyebrow. "W-What did you say?"
I uncovered my mouth and avoided his gaze. "Nothing. I didn't say anything." He tilted his head. "You said I was the sexiest man alive." I cross my arms. "In my defense, I already thought you knew that... But it doesn't make a difference anyway, because I still don't like you!" He smirked at me and then leaned closer. "I thought you were blushing because men made you uncomfortable, I didn't know that you found me attractive. That makes things interesting." I blushed again and tried to back away as he got closer. "Um, h-how?" He then wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against him, tightly. "Because now I know I can tempt you."