Draco's Predicament ✔️

Chapter 14 - Answer Chasing

The moon was high up. The night was cold, crisp and dim. It's a clear terrestrial, magnificent and colourful. Wonderful and velvety. The stars are moon-washed as they let out shrewdly whimsical twinkles. Secret and refreshing.

My feet scurried over the fallen leaves, letting out small but perfectly audible crunches. The tall, ancestral trees tower over me like giants, shielding me.

I finally rounded the bend of the wild and thick forest, and looked up at the castle. Vast and resplendent, with particularly robust and dormant vines running across the walls. Windows admiring warm beams of light into the cold night surrounding it. Like multiple flashlights cutting through the pitch black.

This was it.

My sisters' castle.

I crept around the outside, looking for a safe way in. I didn't want to just blast a hole into the wall, it might be too obvious.

I haven't walked around the castle without a battle raging on in so long that I almost missed the small gap in the wall.

Almost.

I slipped in, the narrow gap just tall enough for me to squeeze through. I tried to straighten my spine so much as I can, my nose inches away from the wall.

I scuffled to the other side, arriving in a dark room whose candlelights flickered on automatically as I entered.

Ah, the Weapons Room. I've missed this place.

I could recall countless hours in this room, decided which sword I wanted once I became a knight with my now-dead sister. I could feel another memory pain coming on again, so I quickly forced the thought out of my head.

I walked up to a knight-in-armour on the far side of the wall. The sword it used to hold—the sword I used to fancy—was gone, leaving its hands empty.

I remembered the day I let Funneh have that sword. Dad asked me to pick out a sword for Funneh for her birthday, and I did. I knew she'd taken to the same sword, but she was trying not to show it since she knew I also liked it. Not trying to recall another memory, I buried that thought deep inside me to inspect later.

I carefully opened the Weapons Room's door and peeked out.

No maids or guards were outside.

If this were an attack and not just me being stupid, they would've been eradicated.

Feeling pity for the—my—sisters, I carefully tiptoed along the hallway and up the stairs. I had no idea where I was going, but my feet led me to the doors of their library.

Wow, I must've been a real bookworm in my past life.

I opened the doors, cringing at the small creak it gave out.

The library smelled stale, and a cool breeze greeted me. The room felt like it hasn't been visited in a long time, which was weird since Gold was obsessed with reading. Though, I guess she has more important things to deal with now.

I suppose Rainbow usually kept this library companioned.

This library was grander than the one back in the hideout. I walked along the walls, my finger trailing along the spines of the books as I read over the titles.

I paused at the far corner of the room, where two sofas sandwiched a coffee table in between them. On the coffee table was a photo album, still opened to where its reader had last read.

I sat down and looked down at the page: a series of pictures of us at Disneyland. Rainbow and Gold were wearing Mouse ears, Lunar was holding a big swab of cotton candy, and Funneh and I were making faces at each other. The shots were taken one right after the other so that they captured all the faces we were making.

Blame it on my stupidity, blame it on my curiosity, but I flipped to the first page and took in each photo. The first few pages were mostly Rainbow, but slowly, the rest of us joined.

I didn't realize I had been smiling until I snorted at a picture of Lunar and Funneh dancing in their matching pyjamas. I could feel the ache in my cheeks from the previous lack of usage.

I covered my mouth in horror and looked around to see if anyone was alerted by the snort, but the hall stayed quiet.

Turning back to the book, I continued flipping through the pages. I could feel the memory pain threatening to explode, but I tried not to focus on it. This photo album was too precious to not look at it. Who knows when I'll ever get the chance to see it again?

My eyes filled with tears at an image of us, all wearing party hats, celebrating Gold's 19th birthday.

The last birthday we ever celebrated with Mom and Dad.

I remember Dad managed to smear some cake frosting on Mom's face, her ever regal demeanour fading into one of a silly girl's. Dad was staring at her with loving eyes as she giggled, her head thrown back and eyes squinted in joy.

The pain was overbearing. I could deal with memory pains surrounding my sisters, but my parents... God, that was a whole other level of agonizing pain.

"...Draco?"

My head snapped up from where I'd rested it against the coffee table. My vision went black for a second. When it cleared, I saw Gold standing in front of me, a baseball bat in her hands.

Where did she even get that?

"Hi Gold..." I mumbled, squeezing my eyes shut for a quick second to steady myself.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice didn't sound friendly at all.

"I, uh," I reached inside my jacket and took out the tangled necklace. "I came to give you this."

I could feel my pounding heartbeat.

Gold raises a delicate eyebrow.

I swallowed nervously.

"That's...all?" She asked, incredulous.

This was so stupid. I was so stupid. Of course she wouldn't believe me. What have I done to gain her trust?

"Sorry, I was being dumb. I'll just... leave," I stammered, leaving the necklace on the coffee table and standing up to leave, head hung in shame.

"Wait."

I looked up at her, hopeful, only to see her baseball bat swinging towards me.

I was silenced.