Aura [bxb]

Nineteen

Laken P.O.V

I should have thought before I decided to run after Tristin. The moment I pushed the doors back open, I knew I would never be able to find my way to him. This was an environment that I wasn't used to, I didn't know these hallways, I didn't know this house. This place was too big, and I have no idea which direction I should try heading in.

The hallway outside of Tristin's room was enormous, extending in both directions, looking to be never-ending both ways. I hesitated before leaving the safe and known room of Tristin's, leaving the door open in case this place became a maze, and I get stuck in a never-ending loop. Glancing around at the doors near me, I couldn't figure out if I needed to go left or right. The logical thing would be to stay in Tristin's room, I wouldn't get lost looking around in his room. Unless he has like a million different doors in his room, which I can assure you, he does not. At least, I didn't see a million doors before.

I should have followed my logical side. After wandering down the hallway for a couple of minutes and still finding no exit, I began to panic slightly. I didn't want to open each door just to see if the exit was on the other side. This place was owned by dragons, supernatural creatures that are known to be extremely territorial. What if I accidentally walked into a room that wasn't meant to be walked into? What if I entered a private room? The last thing I wanted was to accidentally enter a place I wasn't meant to enter and enrage a family of dragons.

I was scared of that, which was probably why I didn't go opening every door. Heck, I have yet to open one. Maybe I was too good of a person for not snooping in every room that I could. I also don't have a death wish either so . . .

While walking down another hallway, yet again a new one, a loud slamming noise made me jerk in shock. The sound wasn't that far from me, closer than I would have thought. The noise was from below me, though, encouraging the idea that I needed to find some sort of staircase. You'd think that kind of thing would easy to find. The longer I attempted to search for this staircase, the more lost I seemed to become.

At first, I had attempted to look around the area in which I first heard the noise, but after not finding a big staircase like I expected, I wandered a little bit more. And now I was most definitely lost. A while ago, I was able to find my way back to Tristin's room, but now? I couldn't find anything similar anymore.

The more I wandered through, the more I noticed small factors. The walls weren't covered in pictures of the family, instead covered in modern and figurative arts covered the walls instead. For rich people, this would be expected, but it made me feel bad for both Tristin and Trina. Was it only to display wealth? I could only imagine that was the case. Every so often, in the middle of a hallway, there would be a small table with a vase of flowers sitting on it. The flowers were always white lisianthus', and they were always fresh. They looked almost fake with how beautiful and perfect they actually were. As if a single touch would ruin their delicate beauty.

You'd think I'd get tired of seeing the same things. The only thing that changed between different hallways was the art that was on the walls. The wallpaper was the same. The flooring, the same. The number of doors varied between five and ten, but never more and never less. It was so repetitive and made it extremely difficult to remember specific hallways. The perfect maze.

Another turn, the same looking hallway. How did Tristin and Trina live here? I can't imagine they have lived here long, regardless of how naturally lived in the mansion was. Everything looked too clean, too perfect. They had to have just moved here, starting to attend school soon after arriving. How did they already have the layout down? Unless they've been living here forever, and I'm miles away from my beach-sided home.