Youth

#80 - Quiet Halls

    "Everyone's gone..."

    Sally had looked around the empty halls of the King's abode. She'd dipped in and out of prohibited rooms, glanced at secretive files, sat on railed off furniture and now she drew close to a room which had been strictly guarded. Perhaps the most guarded room in the place, more so than Nyais' room, which usually only had a single guard posted outside.

    Tara and Damien had gone with her, but refrained from doing all the risky things that Sally had done. In fact, Sally was sure they were both shocked at the sudden change in the usually respectful girl. Over the past few days, after discovering as many secrets of Kutelo as she possibly could, she had developed an intense hate for the vampire race. She also felt a rush of freedom, no longer chained to the politeness her parents forced her to adorn in every spoken word. She could swear without being hit by a belt, and laugh in an unladylike manner without having meals taken away from her. Despite the whole kidnapping situation, Sally had experienced a lot of personal growth.

    The other two had changed as well. Damien had been fine tuning his superior senses with the help of Calen, who had been very supportive of the three. Though they couldn't exactly train to fight, Damien wanted to at least be slightly useful. He could inform the others when someone was approaching, or when someone was listening in. Damien had also lost a lot of his previous exterior defence. He was more open with Tara and Sally now.

    Tara, however, had struggled. Her usually bright and exuberant personality had faded. She hardly spoke. She was scared, and Sally and Damien could see in every step she took the slight tremble in her frame. She was trying to hold herself together - trying to paper over the cracks - but Damien and Sally knew that soon, Tara would fall apart. They were prepared for that, and knew they would do whatever they could to help her. Unless they could find [Y/n] before then, but their situation was beginning to look more uncertain. Not a single vampire was around. No one had told them anything, but they assumed everyone's disappearance was war related, as there had been a great amount of tension in the faces of each and every passing guard, before everyone departed.

    "If we're caught down here, we'll get skinned alive," Damien sighed, staring down the corridor at the single door which had been kept away from everyone for such a long amount of time.

    "I feel like we're gonna find something useful in there," Sally huffed, shaking her head. "We can't just give up. This may be our only chance to get the upper hand." Damien looked unsure, and Tara looked... tired. She always looked that way nowadays.

    "Tara, you alright? You can go back to the bedroom and get some rest if you want to," Sally said softly. Tara simply shook her head, staring dully forwards at the white painted oak door. The paint had begun to chip slightly at the corners. Sally gave her an unsure look, before sighing and proceeding towards the door that they had been standing before for so long.

    Sally pushed down the cool, metal handle. As the door opened, she inhaled a musty, yet strangely fresh, scent. As though it was an old room which had recently begun to be used.

    It was a simple bedroom. The trio walked inside, and Sally and Damien stared at one another in shock.

    "That smell," Damien said, stepping further into the room, walking hastily over to the neatly made bed. He picked up a pillow to inhale the scent further. Sally would've thought the action was weird and creepy if her own superior senses hadn't picked up on it as well. And when Damien placed the pillow down again, he and Sally exchanged a knowing look.

    "[Y/n]," Damien confirmed in words.

    Tara perked up at this slightly, walking further into the room, scanning a vanity unit where surely her friend must have sat. She picked up a hairbrush, silently inspecting it, pulling a single strand of [h/l] [h/c] hair from the soft brindles. She turned around, staring at Sally and Damien with tears in her eyes.