Dark (Excerpt)

The gloaming enchanted castle was said to be occupied by terrors. 

It was located meters away from the reach of humans. The castle couldn't be sold because it was plagued and filled with despair. No one dared to even step foot close to the castle surrounded by dead bushes.

Except they were all making a death wish.

The Lord of the dark was said to live there and was the one who brought great misfortune to the land.

He lived among humans and was a scary blind creature behind a mask.

He was darkness itself and a true form of darkness. He was called the man of the dark. Light has nothing to do with him.

A bloodsucker that no one would like to befriend.

How true was it? Not all rumors are true! Who knows if anyone was truly residing in the enchanted castle when no one has been there?

Diana looked ahead at the gloaming enchanted castle from afar. It was scarier than she has pictured it to be.

The dark clouds hovered around the peak of the castle. The dark clouds formed a scary creature, enough to make her run away for her life.

But she hesitated.

She had already risked her life to come this far and wasn't going to give up all of a sudden.

The gates guarding the castle were not fully opened and she had to go through the dried bushes. Her feet were swollen with all sorts of bruises but still, she was determined not to turn back.

Running away from the lion's den to a place called hell.

It was like another place on the earth called the dark earth.

She forcefully used her hand to push the gate open, the gate of hell.

Diana was welcomed by two giant statues in form of a dragon and she was standing in the middle of it.

Tears rolled down her cheeks because of the horrifying things surrounding the entrance of hell. She shouldn't have expected much.

The road was too narrow for her to pass and guessed that she must climb on top of one of the statues to get to her destination.

She climbed the statue with her eyes fully opened but the darkness overshadowed her. Her bare bruised feet were already bleeding because of the long walk and the sharp objects on the statue didn't make things any easier.

Diana's destination was a bit farther from the entrance and was tired. She sat on the statue, trying to catch her breath but there was no point in it so she had to continue with her awful journey.

After much exhaustion, Diana thought if she was insane to ask the demon lord for help. Running from the lion's den to hell was uncalled for.

However, the demon lord could still stand tall in dignity and power even amongst the crowd but she couldn't. Her hands were already stained with blood and were now referred to as a murderer with no dignity.

He was a powerful man, with the aura of danger surrounding him but still, he was noble and the King's last son but she...she was a woman without dignity...a murderer....a...

Diana snapped out of that thought, thinking about all of it would make her heartache and she might end up breaking into tears.

She clenched her hands into a fist and the pain and guilt in her heart motivated her to climb to the end of the statue.

As if the dark earth was against her motivation and zeal to climb off the statue, heavy rain poured out of the dark clouds. 

Was it a sign to make her go back and face the world?

Diana shook her head. She couldn't beat the consequences and the people already condemned her.

A deep rumbling sound was heard from the sky, thunder and lightning were enough to get her frightened.

The thunder from above struck the head of the other dragon statue, the sculptured head fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Diana felt the urge to run for her dear life. Once she reached the end of the statue, she climbed down, fighting the obstacles; the fuzzy wind, and the rain that sent shivers down her body. She paused for a moment to catch her breath.

She came prepared but didn't expect things to turn out the way it was.

She examined the castle in front of her but she couldn't do it properly because her eyes were begging to be shut down.

The castle had chunky walls and obsidian and the widows were scattered on the walls forming a specific pattern that she couldn't describe.

It had a vast entrance that comprises small towers on each side. The step leading to the entrance were made of stones instead of bricks.

The cold was starting to get her all freeze, she quickly made her way to the entrance. The entrance was made with two large doors with knockers in form of a dragon head.

Was this demon lord obsessed with dragons?

Her heartbeat was accelerating and she moved from glaring at the dragon knockers to knocking at the door. She was going easy with the door as she forcefully knocked. She would die of cold at any minute.

A creaking sound came from the door and it opened with smoke coming from the inside. 

Diana held her breath. The torture she was receiving was more than getting beheaded.

When the smoke suddenly made its way out, she was greeted by total darkness. The only thing that could be heard was the sound coming from her heartbeat. 

Curious to know what was hiding behind the walls of the dark enchanted castle.

Without beating around the bush, she lets her curiosity get the better of her and peeked her way inside.

Her mouth opened, wanting to say something but nothing came out. She stood in there like a statue and heard the large door closing with a loud bang.

She was scared almost to death. Her heart jumped from its position to her mouth and she swallowed it back to its position in fear.

The feeling that the wind must have shut the door didn't cross her mind. She was all clothes in fear.

Diana's legs were shaking, and her breath seized. Her whole world was coming to an end. She needed a place to stay and rest her head but her only option turned out to be a nightmare.

Having the feeling that someone was standing behind her, Diana wished for the darkness to take the whole of her away.

Where did her boldness disappear to? It had left her the very moment she opened the large doors.

She gathered enough courage but was still trembling in fear before turning around to face the person, her gaze met with the demon lord of hell.