The steps dragging along the hallway were adrift. Sluggish and hesitant was the movement of the body; it was Micah.
She was apparently mindless of where she was going. Her eyes trailed ahead, but she was lost in thoughts.
Today was one of the many days Micah was rethinking her predicament. How she ended up here, from a nobody, a farmer's daughter, to a queen, a caged queen.
What an irony of life.
She should be thankful.
A lot of people would trade their legs just to be in the same position she was in, but she detested it. For this very reason she had questioned her existence, her purpose in life.
But the answers to her question always eluded her… simply out of reach.
By the time Micah bolted from her whirlwind of thoughts, she found herself lurking aimlessly around the hallways of the castle.
She circled around, her eyes wandering, trying to figure out in which part of the castle she was in. When she realized she was in the lonely hallway, one rarely visited even by the servants, she sighed.
She spun, her gown catching the wind, already about to take her leave, when her eyes flashed at something, a door.
What was this door about again?
She tried to recall, searching her memory.
"The Forbidden Room."
The words slipped out of her lips without caution, she now remembered.
So many questions to be asked.
Why was it forbidden?
Making it out of reach only pricked her curiosity. What lay behind this closed door….secrets?
A force pulled her closer, her hand holding up her gown, as she began to make her way towards the room. The door was located at the end of the hallway, making it the only room in this part of the castle.
It was a dead end after the door; if she wanted to take her leave, she had to go through the same path she had come in.
The wooden door was old and dusty.
The wood was already disintegrating, the iron handle…rusting.
Trying her luck, Micah turned the knob of the door. She was expecting it to be locked; if it was locked, all her curiosity would die at that moment, and she would finally be able to take her mind off it, but she was disappointed.
The door nudged open, a stream of sun rays slipping in. A small gasp escaped her lips; she was still holding the handle of the door, refusing to let go.
"I should go."
"This doesn't feel right."
Her instincts were screaming for her to leave, but the contrary was the case; she took a bold step in.
Her chest tightened as she mentally prepared herself for anything that was going to be seen.
Click, click!
The sound of her shoe echoed on the wooden floor in the room. The serenity was deafening; not a single sound could be heard after she stopped walking.
That was a good thing.
It meant no wild beasts were kept in the room; she was safe, for now.
Dust dwindled in the air, clinging to Micah's nostrils, and she sneezed before coughing violently.
The temperature in the room was warm; there was a small window at the end of the room. The window was covered with dust, so the rays of the sun peering through it didn't help to lighten the room much.
The room was thick with the smell of neglect.
Dust blanketed everything—floor, walls, and the few forgotten objects within.
Near one wall, an iron ring was fixed deep into the masonry, the kind meant for holding chains.
The metal was dark with corrosion, the edges eaten away by time. Broken links of chains lay scattered on the ground beneath it, their surfaces rough and rusty.
In one corner, half-buried under a layer of dust, a cracked plate and an empty tin cup sat abandoned.
Cobwebs clung to the corners and ceiling, fine threads trembling at the slightest breath of air.
The chains lying on the floor rang a thought in Micah's head…prisoner.
Someone was held captive in this very room.
Micah sneezed again, the dust getting on her nerves. She brought out a handkerchief tucked in her sleeves, then held it up to her nose.
That was all?
No hidden treasures or sophisticated dark secrets, just a dusty room that hasn't been cleaned…in years.
Somehow disappointing, but also a relief.
Micah turned to leave; if she could get the hell out of there, no one would ever find out she was there in the first place.
As she turned to leave the forsaken chamber, something moved.
A faint rustle came from the corner where the cracked plate lay, followed by a sudden scurry.
A rat shot across the floor, its tiny claws scraping against the stone, disappearing into the shadow beneath a pile of debris.
The sight sent a jolt through her body; she hated those little demons, and this one gave her a swift scare. Her
Breath caught, heart thundering as fear gripped her chest.
She staggered back, the hem of her gown brushing against the dusty floor; just then she tripped on her dress…
For a moment, it seemed she might fall, but her hand shot out, and she caught the lamp fixed to the wall, her fingers clutching it in panic.
For a moment she leaned there, breath shallow, before she straightened up again. The old metal fixture groaned under her weight, bending slightly.
Then, snap!
A sharp sound echoed through the dusty chamber. The wall shuddered, and with a low rumble, a hidden seam revealed itself. The grinding of stone filled the room as part of the wall split open, dust sifting down like old ash.
Behind it was a narrow cavity—a rectangular hollow carved into the wall, almost like a stone box.
The lamp, it seemed, wasn't just a light—it was a lever, a secret key to a door long forgotten.
Micah was taken aback by this revelation.
She stepped closer, her eyes peering into the parted wall.
Inside the recess stood a figure, a corpse, upright on its feet, as though someone had placed it there deliberately.
Its flesh had withered to the bone, the remnants of a tunic clinging to its frame like cobwebs.
The air that seeped from the opening was pungent and cold, carrying the sour scent of decay trapped for months.
By the time Micah's eyes flicked, casting her gaze into the wall, she screamed.
The sound tore from her throat before she could stop it, raw and trembling, her soul almost leaping out of her body.
She staggered backward, nearly tripping over the uneven floor, her eyes wide with horror.
Then, realizing what she had done, her scream—someone might have heard her—she clapped a hand over her mouth to silence herself.
Her breath came fast, the echo of her scream still whispering against the walls.
Without warning, the body lurched forward. It tipped out of the hollow and crashed to the floor in a straight, rigid fall—its skull coming to rest against the hem of her dress.
She hadn't seen it coming. A shriek tore through her throat, louder than before, raw with petrification.
She stumbled backward, arms flailing, her heart pounding so fiercely it drowned out every other sound.
This time she was sure someone must have heard her scream.
She needed to leave.
With her heart still pounding, she bolted out of the room and turned the knob behind her with trembling hands.
She could barely take a few steps when she collided head-on with a guard rushing toward the sound of her scream.
Micah was baffled; she opened her mouth to say something, but all the words she could form got stuck in her throat.
"Your Grace, is everything alright?"
She recognized this man, Sir Lamech, her personal knight.
Micah shook her head from side to side, signifying she wasn't okay. Since no words could escape her lips due to shock, she pointed at the door, which of course was a foolish thing to do.
Lamech gazed at the door behind her before shifting his attention to her petrified face. Micah's breathing pace was unsteady; she tried to calm herself, to stay collected.
"That's the forbidden room."
The knight remembered with a questioning look.
Micah glared at him.
"You think I didn't know that?"
She asked before smacking her lips tightly.
In that instant, more guards trooped in, rushing to be at the service of their queen, Micah.
"My lady…"
"I am fine."
Micah waved off tiredly before the guard could even complete his sentence. She tilted her head, glancing at the door, and by the time she retracted her gaze and fixed it up ahead, she felt her blood drain from her face.
She was gripped with fear, someone was approaching…
It was Selena; she was making her way towards her direction, with a predator demeanor, exasperation bubbling through her veins.
"What in the world is happening here…"
She paused when she saw a guard walk in the room that had been out of reach for months now. Her eyes darkened.
"What do you think you are doing?
She flared, lurching towards the door, but Micah interceded, stepping in her way.
"I found a corpse lying in the walls of that room."
When Selena heard her words, she blinked rapidly, her breath hitched. This was supposed to be a secret; not even a soul had dared to trespass.
Selena placed her hand on her neck, her Adam's apple bobbled, and her eyes strained towards the door. She finally fixed her gaze on Micah, trying hard not to pounce on her.
"What…what have you done?!