Chapter 59: Are You With Me?
When Ivan approached the towering double door at his left, the bulky guards let him through without delay, swiftly unlocking the door and granting him access into the orb room, but when it got to Samantha, the young woman gasped when they meticulously blocked her path with their gigantic swords, their glaring eyes denying her any form of entry, whilst she cowered back in fear, but that was until they heard Lord Ivan speak as he turned to look at the guards.
"She’s with me, let her through."
At Lord Ivan’s command, the guards stepped aside for the half-frightened Samantha to quickly pass through. When her feet stepped on the stone stairs that led her further into the courtyard, she heard the door close shut behind her with a heavy bang, causing her body to jolt in reaction. The tiny hairs on her skin were giving her body goosebumps, and when she turned to look at the door, an unsettling feeling tugged at her nerves.
The sharp lighting of matches snapped her senses back into reality, and her gaze drifted to Ivan who was busy lighting the candles on a sconces. Accustomed to the roles of being a servant, she padded towards Ivan and stretched her hand in front of him.
"Let me do it." She requested with her eyes lowered to the ground, and Ivan’s gaze moved from the sconces to the young woman’s delicate palm that was stretched before him. Not saying anything, he handed her the matches, and Samantha quickly lit up the sconces one by one till the courtyard was bright enough for the both of them to see things properly.
The courtyard hadn’t changed much since she last stepped foot in here. The flickering candles casted eerie shadows along the stone walls, and the sight of growing mosses had her pupils dilating as they weren’t here before.
Ivan sauntered towards the pedestal, and Samantha stayed behind as she watched his keen eyes study the object that was on top. He adjusted his glasses and held his bottom lip between his white teeth, and after some seconds, his eyes lifted to meet Samantha’s.
"Don’t you hear it?" He began, the tone of his voice echoing lightly in the courtyard as he leaned against the pedestal. "The walls, they seem to have stories to share, don’t they? Stories of the things we’ve lost, and are yet to lose." A fiendish smile graced his sinful lips, "I lost my Father here, and watched him bleed to death. I lost my sanity, and still got blamed for it. Your Father lost his name and title, GreenHollow lost its nature and the richness it possessed, you lost.... Basically everything. Good memories are what I call it, aren’t they?"
Samantha shook her head in disapproval, but didn’t utter a word in defense. She could only deny it, but it wasn’t going to change the truth regarding his statement - no matter how painful it felt that he was reopening wounds that hadn’t healed completely, he was still right.