"Ohayōgozaimasu, ojōsan." she said, her voice soft and melodic, her words tinged with warmth.
"I still don't understand you," I muttered, letting out a deep sigh.
This woman, who sat beside me had a striking appearance a captivating fusion of tradition and uniqueness. A cascading mane of fiery red hair tumbles down her back, held in place by ornate combs adorned with intricate floral designs. Her almond-shaped eyes, a brilliant shade of golden yellow, glisten with intelligence and warmth, framed by long, dark lashes that flutter gracefully with each blink.
Her porcelain complexion seems luminescent in the soft light, a subtle blush gracing her high cheekbones as her delicate, full lips curve into a gentle smile. A traditional kimono envelops her slender frame, the rich silken fabric patterned with vibrant cranes in flight, symbolizing grace and longevity. The obi tied around her waist accentuates her feminine curves, its intricate knot a masterpiece of artistry and skill. As she moves, the gentle rustle of her kimono's hem against the tatami mats echoes the elegance and refinement that define her every action.
She wore a face that mirrored my own turmoil, and my heart sank at the sight.
Just as I began to lose hope in this dream or whatever this was, she rose from her chair, approached me with a gentle smile, and took my arm in hers. With a tender gesture, she led me from the bed to the bathroom, where a warm bath awaited.
Using sign language, she communicated her encouragement for me to soak in the soothing water. After my bath, she got me dressed in a kimono, tied my hair up and signed to me, seeking my understanding as she prepared to take her own bath. I nodded in respect, appreciating the silent exchange between us.
While she was away, I found myself wandering through the expansive mansion, curiosity guiding my steps. Eventually, I slid open the shoji doors and stepped into the backyard, settling onto the engawa.
As night enveloped the enchanting Japanese garden, the serene tranquility transformed into something magical. The vibrant hues of the flowers surrendered to the shadows, while the cascading waterfall sparkled under the moonlight, its gentle melody resonating through the stillness.
The stone lanterns, or tōrō, flickered to life, casting a warm, inviting glow that danced across the garden, illuminating the winding stone path. The wooden bridge appeared to float above the koi pond, where the fish glided gracefully beneath the surface, their scales shimmering like jewels in the lantern light.
The traditional teahouse stood quietly in the darkness, its silhouette a testament to the peace and serenity found within its walls. The lush foliage rustled softly in the night breeze, and the sweet fragrance of the garden mingled with the scent of moonlit blossoms, creating an intoxicating aroma.
As I strolled through this magical landscape, the worries of the day melted away, and I found solace in the garden's nocturnal beauty.
Just then...
🎶🎵"Nikushimi ga moeagaru sekai de,
katsute atatakakatta kokoro wa imaya yoru no yō ni tsumetaku," 🎵🎶
🎶🎵"oreta tsubasa ni uchikudaka reta yume,
kurushimi no naka de kibō wa ushinawa rete iru." 🎵🎶
🎶🎵"Kiretsu kara yami ga shimikomi,
yoru ni wa kanashimi ga shinobiyoru." 🎵🎶
Huh? That voice… It was unmistakably my mother's! I spun around, my hair flipping with the motion, but she wasn't there. Confusion washed over me. It felt as if she were singing right behind me, urging me to listen. A sudden realization struck me: what if I was the only one hearing it? What if this was her way of calling me?
As the mother's voice compelled me forward, I stepped out of the house, the cool night air sending a shiver down my spine. Guided by the ethereal whispers, I navigated the dimly lit streets, the glow of street lamps casting eerie shadows at every turn. The voice urged me onward, leading me to the outskirts of town and into the heart of a dense forest.
The trees towered above me, their branches reaching out like skeletal fingers, obscuring the moonlight and casting the path in darkness. My heart raced as I ventured deeper into the woods, the voice growing stronger and more insistent with each step. The eerie chorus of nocturnal creatures served as a chilling soundtrack to my journey.
At last, the forest gave way to a clearing, revealing an imposing structure that rose before me like a specter in the moonlight. A residence of undeniable grandeur, its bold black and red color scheme now faded and peeling, imbued the mansion with an otherworldly beauty.
As I stood before the Go-tei, its once-intricate carvings marred by time, I couldn't help but feel drawn to its haunted allure. The voice that had led me there fell silent, leaving me alone with the whispers of the past that seemed to echo through the deserted halls.
The Go-tei emerged as an unexpected vision of twisted elegance. Everything! Everything I looked upon, stepped on, thought about dulled. Its once-bold black and red color scheme, now faded and peeling, exuded a sense of foreboding that was both eerie and captivating. The intricate carvings on the entrance doors were marred by the passage of time, yet still hinted at the grandeur that once was.
As I stepped inside, the polished black floors, now dulled by age, reflected the soft glow of the few remaining lanterns. Richly-colored tatami mats, though worn and tattered, spoke of a bygone era of opulence. Each room showcased a haunting balance of darkness and vibrancy, with deep red silk screens hanging in shreds against dark wooden beams and pillars.
Throughout the mansion, carefully curated artwork and decorations in a blend of traditional and contemporary styles accentuated the bold yet weathered color palette. A heavy silence, punctuated only by the creaking of floorboards and distant, echoing footsteps, pervaded the air, adding to the sense of haunted melancholy.
Despite the sense of foreboding that grew with each step, I couldn't help but be entranced by the twisted, ghostly beauty of this haunted mansion, a remnant of a once-grand Go-tei. The unique color scheme of black and red lent a macabre charm to its faded grandeur, drawing me deeper into its enigmatic embrace. And it seemed like no one was in here.
The voice kept singing on and on...
🎶🎵"Nikushimi wa,
yuganda unmei o umi,"🎵🎶
🎶🎵"kage ga machiukeru fukami no naka de,
shizukana sakebi,"🎵🎶
🎶🎵"uragira reta tamashī,
kokū no naka de,
hikari wa kiesatta. Nikushimi"🎵🎶
🎶🎵"Nikushimi wa,
nigai shinjitsu o umi,
waka-sa no itami no naka ni ushinawa reta."🎵🎶
The haunting melody piercing the silence of the night. The words pierced my heart, each line dripping with despair and longing. I could feel the anguish in her voice, a mother's cry echoing through the night. Yet, there was a glimmer of hope in the way she sang, a yearning for something more.
I was taken aback. In front of me stood a massive door, towering nearly 7 feet tall, the source of the haunting voice that had drawn me here. With all my effort, I pushed one side of the door open. It creaked loudly, the sound echoing through the stillness of the mansion like a warning *CREEEEK*.
As the door swung wide, the first thing I noticed was a solitary chair facing the window, its back turned to me. The room was expansive, almost overwhelming, and the moonlight filtered through the glass, illuminating only half of the space. Shadows danced along the walls, creating an eerie atmosphere that sent a shiver down my spine.
"So you're here. I've been waiting for you," Mother said, appearing from behind the chair, with a smile and her left hand resting on the chair. She was dressed in a kimono, her hair tied up, just like mine.
"Hah...you purposefully brought me here...didn't you, Mother?" I asked, rolling my eyes.
She laughed loudly, bending down and grabbing hold of her stomach with her right hand while covering her mouth with her left. "AHAHAHAHAAAA, Luxana, you're just as cute as you were," she exclaimed, standing upright with a soft smile.
"Same goes for you, Mother. You're just as..." I turned my face, unable to continue, knowing my words weren't as positive as hers.
"Hmm?" She hummed, tilting her head to the right, her hands held together. "Foolish? Is that what you were going to say?"
"..." Thank goodness you still have a few brain cells remaining, I thought, letting out a sigh.
Striding forward towards me, she reached out her right hand and rubbed my face. My eyes widened. Tears fell from her eyes...
"Why're you..." Before I could complete, she sullenly laid her head onto my shoulder.
"You think I'm foolish... don't you?" she asked, stuttering. I could feel her tears wetting my shoulder.
"Is admitting you're foolish going to change anything?" I pressed with an expressionless face, facing the window.
She pushed me back,
*THUD*
I hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the wind out of me. Before I could even attempt to get up, she was on top of me, her hands pressing around my neck, choking me, attempting to kill me. Her grip was strong, and I could feel the life being squeezed out of me. My vision started to blur, and my lungs screamed for air.
Even though I couldn't breathe, what shocked me more was the expression on her face—she was drenched in sweat, tears flowing rapidly down her cheeks. Her eyes were wild, filled with a mixture of rage and despair. Why... why was she doing this? I couldn't interpret it at all. But I wasn't interested in dying without answers.
With every ounce of strength I had left, I gritted my teeth and forced myself to cry. The sound was a desperate, choked sob. She jolted, her eyes widening in shock. I could feel her grip on my neck loosening, the pressure easing just enough for me to gasp for air.
"Mother... please..." I croaked, my voice barely more than a whisper.
Her hands flew to her face, covering it with stretched-out fingers, yet I could see her widened eyes peeping between them. They were filled with an unbearable torment, as if she was wrestling with some inner demon. Her body shook with violent sobs, and for a moment, the room was filled with nothing but the sound of her anguish.
I lay there, gasping for air, my own tears mingling with hers on the cold floor. The pain in my neck was nothing compared to the agony in my heart.
"You...Why?" she mumbled. Her tears still kept flowing. "Why...why are you...like...him?" she bawled in a high pitch, enough to screech me out. "HADES...HADES...HADES..." she wailed, her eyes shut, her face facing the ceiling.
Hades? Father? Does she still love that assh*le? HAH...I can't believe her...even after all this? She still loves him? HMPH, I thought. "Love really makes people go insane," I admitted, rising up with a rolling expression, taking hold of my neck with my left hand.
Her tears halted. She got up, turned around, and wiped her tears away. Turning back to me, with a cold, expressionless face, "Love? My child, what do you know about Love?" she asked with superior eyes.
"..." I looked down, unwilling to argue.
She exhaled, her body facing my right and her head looking back at the moon that was fixed at her eye level through the window.
"Do you smell that?" she asked. I couldn't see what sort of expression she was making anymore.
"Roses...they smell like roses..." I uttered, looking at her.
"Omeen. This is a place just like Omeen. A place that reflects the emotions of those innocent souls that were given no justice in life," my mother said, calmly.
What's that supposed to mean? I thought, getting up. "Innocent?" I scoffed. "And what sort of injustice was done to you, Mother?"
Omeen, a fictionary word, is a realm for the souls of women and children in particular, who have suffered immensely in their earthly lives. These are souls of infants killed prematurely, victims of abuse, those mistreated or blamed for others' misdeeds, and those who were made to borne the consequences of others' wrongdoings.
They say the souls here are neither dead nor alive, existing in a realm between death and life.
"Do you really think...I, Roxana Von Olar Mera Eana Kior, the 2nd Princess of Kior who lost all of her family members, would fall for the killer of my own family?" Mother screamed from the top of her lungs, bending down slightly with her right hand clutching her chest.
WHAT? I thought as my eyes widened in shock. "Killer of your own family?" I asked, emotionlessly.
"That's right. Hades Limonizer Vernoke Domino. My deceased husband," she said, making a pitiful face.
"Deceased? WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN, MOTHER???" I pressed, my voice rising.
"Hades...you're just like him. That's why I hate him even more. Even more than you hate me," she said, turning around with a bright smile. "But I also love you...just because of that," she added, her head lowering sullenly.
"So...the person I call 'Father' was never my father?" I asked, looking down, my voice barely audible.
"Hades was reported dead the day you were born. But his body wasn't found, yet he came back, alive that very day. But you know what? No one, absolutely no one suspected him. You know why? Because Helios was obsessed with me, from the very beginning to the very end."
"..." I stood there, my mind a whirlpool of confusion and disbelief.
"Oh right, you don't know who he is. Helios is my husband's twin brother, your uncle, and my brother-in-law. He wasn't talented like Hades, so he would cling onto me, something Hades wanted to keep...like a souvenir of the Kior Empire?" She explained, her voice dripping with disdain.
"So, the fact that you love Father was just a rumor and Uncle's way of getting rid of Father?" I asked, my voice tinged with desperation.
"Hades would be so happy if he were to ever hear you call him that," she replied, her eyes narrowing slightly, a bitter smile playing on her lips.
What's the meaning of all this? I thought, my heart and mind both racing uncontrollably.
"AHH!" I screamed, clutching my head as a sharp pain shot through it. It felt like a thousand needles were being driven into my skull. My vision blurred and darkened, and I stumbled, barely able to keep my balance. The room seemed to spin around me, the walls closing in.
"Luxana, I never...once...hated you..." Mother's voice echoed faintly in my ears, but the pain was overwhelming. It was as if my brain was being torn apart from the inside. Each pulse of pain was a hammer blow, resonating through my skull.
"AHHHHHHHH," the pain was killing me. I couldn't even hear her words correctly... "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
*GRASP*
My eyes widened as I gasped for air.
"PRINCESS!!! The Princess is awake!" Myla exclaimed joyously, rushing to my side.
I tried to sit up, but my head throbbed with intense pain, like needles piercing my skull. Groaning, I clutched my temples as the pain radiated to my neck and shoulders. My vision blurred, and a cold sweat broke out on my forehead.
"Easy, Your Highness," Veles said softly, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "You've been through a lot. Just take it slow."
To be Continued...