Twisted Wonderland One-Shots

1.The Sea Of Red

This is my first story, hence special to me.
This is totally unrelated to the book. You can skip if you want 😉

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An art enthusiast entered a palace that belonged to royalty from thousands of years before. Awed by its majestic designs and amazing collection of paintings he lost track of time. As he was lost in its beauty he could hear a faint melody playing in the distance. Drawn by the addictive music he started moving towards the inner walls of the palace. As he started climbing the intricately carved stairs the music became more audible and much more beautiful. It was as if the music was luring him.
As he reached the top floor he could see a big door at the end of the corridor. The doors were twice taller than him with royal carvings. He could hear the soothing music from the other side of the door. It was too soulful for him to disturb it with annoying knocks so he thought otherwise and waited for the music to end by itself. But his mind said to get to know about the magical musician hidden behind the great doors. He leveled his eyes to the keyhole so that he can take a peek through it. They're not so far, sitting on a stool facing the outside window surrounded by pale walls was a girl. Her slender fingers danced on the keys of the giant piano. Her long white colored gown spread on the floor. Her silky waist-length hair was swayed by the gentle breeze.
He could not bring himself to disturb the scenic image with the annoying knocks on the big doors. He waited for the music to end by itself. The sereneness which engulfed him by hearing it made him feel euphoric. It was calm and gentle but with a hint of sadness and loneliness. Combined with the fragile image of the lady invoked the man's instinct to protect her from whatever she was feeling. His heart softened melting to the rhythm.
As if to break his train of thoughts, the bells outside the city walls rang indicating the departure notice from the sun. Oh... it's dusk already better to reach the hotel before it's too late. Thinking this he started moving away from the doors. The tune changed as though wanting him to change his mind about leaving. He walked away in the hopes of meeting the angel in the attic the next morning. He drifted off to the dreamlands with the tunes ringing in his ears like a lullaby.
The next morning he rushed to the museum as soon as the doors were opened for the visitors. As he reached the big doors in the attic he sadly could not hear any music. Intrigued by the eerie silence he leveled his eyes to peek through the keyhole. He was met with nothing but a blood-red color. It was endless, and surprisingly it was like he was looking at the insides of a Ruby but an alive one as it had a gentle movement like a droplet on a lotus leaf on a breezy day. Even though it was calming it gave off a cold feeling, that could make anyone want to run miles away from it.

Instincts won his curiosity and he started moving away from the source, more like escaping from the approaching danger. He bumped into someone in hurry. It was an old guardian, he apologized quickly. Now that he was a bit calm he asked the keeper about the room in the attic. The keeper was surprised at first but started telling the story in his husky deep voice. "The last king from this family of royalty had a daughter. Known throughout the country for her angelic beauty. Befitting her beauty she was a kind soul, her nature had attracted a lot of suiters even before she turned into an adult. But something happened on the dawn of her 18th birthday, which changed her life. Telling it loud is considered a curse here. After that incident, she was locked up in the attic and never allowed to come out. She would spend most of her time in front of her mother's beloved piano." Now he became interested in her more. He asked if he could see her portrait or a picture of that angel in the attic.

The guardian instructed him to go to the west basement as it was hidden from most visitors. He starts moving towards the basement doors. Among all the discarded works of art was a portrait of a girl at her ripe age. Even though her birth date was printed it was approximately 300 years ago. Yet her death date was not mentioned. A chill run down his spine thinking about the possibilities. But looking at her face he was bewitched at first but dreaded the very next second. Because the girl sitting elegantly looked at the viewer with her blood-red eyes.

This time he was frozen to his feet. The red abyss which seemed oddly alive was her eyes peeking at his soul through the keyhole. Sweat ran down his body thinking how close he was to a ghost if it was not for that door. He ran out of the museum like his life depended on it. Yet he could hear the tune ringing in his ears. His lack of presence in mind led him to an accident with the truck leading to his demise. There, in the attic looking back at him was that same blood-red abyss........